Crossover Escape: Gotta be more than Lucky to survive

1.43 Dreams of beyond

The Roach moved slowly across the floor Luca couldn’t decide if it was a deliberate thing of if the injury had actually had a visible effect. Not that it mattered how fast the thing moved at that point since Luca struggled to draw air into his lungs, he wasn’t capable of moving. A shimmering blue wall appeared between Luca and the Roach as Help fluttered in place in front of Luca.

The Roach raised its claws and struck at the wall it shivered and Help yelped before the light intensified. The Roach continued to strike at the wall and Help started to flinch and drop lower in the air. Luca managed to draw in a proper breath and roll to his knees just as the wall shattered like glass.

Help dropped from the air limp and headed straight for the ground. Luca rolled forward catching Help in his left hand while reaching into his belt pouch with his right hand. Coming to his feet Luca pulled his hand out and swung up and around the Roach’s incoming arm. With a twist Luca jumped up and struck hard at the hole he’d made before. As he tucked to roll aside Luca realised that he hadn’t grabbed another step knife but instead one the two syringes he’d had in the pouch.

The syringe didn’t have the same spring loading but thankfully Holly was quick on the follow up. Holly jumped up and slammed a kink onto the back of the syringe. It embedded itself in the creature and injected. The Roach stiffened in place and then collapsed on the ground. Luca straightened a tried to breathe deeply but winced with each breath. That had hurt.

[Rӓv: Is anyone broken or bleeding?] Luca groaned out a chuckle as he shook his head. A chorus of pained no’s came from the room in general Luca was once again relieved that they had made it almost to the goal without serious harm. Luca raised his left hand and looked at Help collapsed in his palm. He hadn’t seen Help get hit by anything and there were no signs of wounds. They appeared to be breathing fine, so Luca hopped that they were just exhausted.

[Tails: Next time I’m bringing both liquid nitrogen and thermal grenades, maybe plasma and a shot gun.]

[Rӓv: I prefer that there not be a next time.]

[Lucky: Seconded]

[Holly: Thirded]

[Rӓv: Motion carried.] Ghost opened his mouth clearly intending to add something but halted with a frown as Luca carefully carried Help across the room.

Luca retrieved his jacket and after shuffling things around carefully settled Help into a pocket. They’d worked hard in that fight it would have been deadly without them. Luca shrugged slightly at the worried looks from the others and gestured for them to have a look but to stay silent. When Rӓv looked Help over and quietly concurred that it just looked like exhaustion Luca let a slow relieved breath. In deference to letting their little friend rest everyone kept quite as they rested, ate and drank to replenish their stamina.

[Rӓv: This would have been almost impossible without Help.]

[Tails: Agreed, we can only say that we choice the Lucky boss.] the familiar joke got subdued smiles around the group as they messaged quietly amongst themselves.

[Holly: What I’m wondering is what was in that syringe. The way it dropped did not seem like severed nerve cluster. More like poisoned.]

[Ghost: Is good question.]

[Lucky: Unfortunately I don’t have a good answer. I don’t know what was in it, it’s one of the ones I took off the Faceless Masks at the airport. It wasn’t what I’d intended to grab either.] Luca shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands in ‘who knows’ gesture. Somewhat recovered Luca moved over and retrieved his two fallen step knives. With careful movements Luca inspected the one that he’d stabbed the Roach with. It Looked fine.

Luca was still a little leery but at the same time he really didn’t have many left to waste. After resetting the thing Luca put it back on his belt and then switched out the two broken shafts for replacements from the pouch. He had six operational ones left. Luca eyed the last syringe and resolved that he might as well try it if they end up in another close call. If it worked on the Roach hopefully whatever it was would work on other things as well.

[Holly: This cube is strange filled with puzzles, monsters and traps I have to wonder what the original purpose was.]

[Lucky: I can’t decide if it was some sort of warrior’s trial or punishment but either way I just want to be done with it before it gets done with us.] The group nodded as at last the cage began to retract. The RAL dropped down and Luca turned away after the recent fight its appearance was more disturbing than before. And Luca couldn’t loo at it without flash backs to the monster they’d just fought.

[Tails: I for one am glad that I listened to Ghosts inspiration. I’d have been deader than disco if I hadn’t dropped a landslide on the swarm of the things in the punishment level. Luca shuddered at the mere thought.

[Lucky: Ghost I am revising permission you can drop landslides or whatever disasters on swarms of Roaches without express permission.]

[Ghost: Da, will be first response.]

[Lucky: Rӓv can you send the RAL ahead with a mapper and low light vision so we can see if there is another room of just the main cave ahead?] Luca wasn’t quite feeling like another challenge right that second he also wasn’t interested in any more surprises. While sending the RAL ahead meant they would be left in the dark Luca was prepared to c***k a glow stick and wait at this point. Luca would have sent a butterfly but for one they couldn’t carry the mapper and for two there wouldn’t be enough light to use their camera functions. The punishment level had had a moon and stars giving enough ambient light for night use. The inside of the cube was not so accommodating.

As they watched the map update Luca cracked a glow stick and tossed it to the edge of the door they needed to progress through. Luca leaned back on his hands and stared blankly at the ceiling. His body ached all over and he really wanted a nap.

[Rӓv: When I get out of here, I’m going to find myself a lab in a quite American town where they shoot trespassers, fortifier it and have the world leave me alone for about a thousand years. Just me and my toys it will be bliss.]

[Tails: You’re going to live in America?]

[Rӓv: What can I say they do good delivery,]

[Tails: The logic behind that decision hurts me.]

[Rӓv: Oh really then what are you going to do?]