"the capture gives me a good idea who is in the pitch black though" a man, bound by chains, suspended inside the pitch black, no clothes to speak of, burn marks across his body and steam emitting from his very skin "then he is the most feared man on this waterlogged world, a man who hunted Paladins and killed thousands, Azazel Master.
Winter drops down from the vents "alright, its clear" he stands up straight and looks up into the vent, Abbi and Max peer back down at him, if not slightly shaken, Abbi points at him with a piercing gaze "you better not get yourself caught" Winter dismisses her "ehh don't be ridiculous" Winter walks off toward a light, he gets underneath the light, he looks at it for a few seconds before raising his arm at the light, bends his knees and jumps, upon touching the light, starting from his finger he dissolves into small cubes, the cubes then fly into the light, the light absorbs the cubes as it shines a flickering white-ish cyan blue.
Winter is completely gone and the light returns to its original white shine. in overwatch above the cafe that doubles as a Control Room for the Deep, Winter spawns out of one of the Operations Consoles (OC) and lands kneeled down, face shrouded by his bountiful hair, in a moment of confusion, the personnel inside pause to fathom what has transpired, a convicted Varlen used the flow of technology to teleport inside of overwatch, using a tool that he should not have access to.
Chaos ensues inside of overwatch, multiple guards attempt to make contact with the Shallow but its no use, Winter has cut off all forms of communication, he stands up throwing his head back and puffing out his chest, inhaling deeply, guards try to get the door open but all attempts to open, barge, and destroy the door are fruitless, Winter laughs manically as canisters, 4 on each forearm reveal themselves "YOUR TRAPPED IN HERE WITH ME!" 8 canisters containing Winters home brewed sleeping gas shoot out from his arms and spread out across the room, a faint silver shiver quickly sweeps across the floor as it fountains at the canisters, guards begin to make contact with the gas, one grabs their head and struggles to stand, a second uses a OC to keep himself upright, the first guard collapses, disappearing under the thick fog, the second guard follows, third, fourth.
In no more than 15 seconds of blanketing all of overwatch flooring, all the personnel reside underneath in a deep slumber, near 20 of them.
Maxwell sits up against the vent wall, staring at the cauterized neck of the deceased guard, pondering, Abbi looks at him, she's sat next him "no you will not" Max interrupts his own silence "but i could" Abbi responds "but you wont" Max flicks his hand and shakes his head in dismissal.
Winter pushes up the vent with a bang, frightening Max and Abbi, he jumps up clinging onto the vent opening "are you crazy??" Abbi raising her voice at him, Winter heaves himself up into the vent "yes" he goes up to the 2 of them and sits down, he shoves his hand in his right pocket and shows them 3 earpieces, Abbi and Max gather around Winter.
"these are earpieces, I managed to jailbreak them from the system so now they're their own thing, no outside connections" Winter takes one earpiece and stuffs it into his ear "put them on, i made sure i grabbed working ones" Max takes an earpiece, Abbi takes the other, still as if cooties coat it "you mean I have to stick this thing in my ear knowing full well that you've touched it?" Winter looks at Abbi "have some sympathy" Abbi rolls her eyes and sticks the earpiece into her ear "ew" Max also stuffs his earpiece into his ear "if you want to contact me, just hold your fingers on the earpiece" Winter holds 2 fingers on his earpiece in his left ear "so long as your holding the piece, your voice will be transmitted to me and Max, move your hand away" Winter moves his hand away from his earpiece "and it'll stop transmitting, got that?" Max nods while Abbi acknowledges him "then lets go"
In the Control Room (CR), Winter re-appears out of another OC, he lands on his feet then stumbles "woah" he stands upright "I'm out of practice" Winter walks up to the door that leaves the CR, he puts his palm on the keypad using his fingertips to outline the keypad, his palm glows a cyan colour before the door unlocks itself and floats a tad bit open toward the outside "no more card access for you~" he closes the door and it locks itself behind him, Winter walks off to a OC, he grabs a wheely chair to sit on, running over a sleeping guard in the process, he sits on the chair in front of an OC and cracks his knuckles "alright" he shuffles forward shaking his hands "lets try these quantum computers I've heard so much about" Winter taps away at a glowing keyboard "technology changes so much in a decade, like the screen is fucking holographic, who needs this advanced of a simple monitor?" a guard groans in his sleep, Winter calls out just as he's denied access "it was a rhetorical question George!"
Winter stops in his tracks at the denial "oh whatever shall i do?" Winter's foot glows cyan as he kicks the OC, the screen blips to an access granted screen "thank you" the screen begins to show layouts of the Deep and the Abyss "oh boy oh boy, the choices" he hovers over different options "release mental disturbance gas, set to true? now why would you want to mess with our heads?" he sets the gas to false "hmm, release mental sound waves, set to false, at least someone doesn't want to see us suffer, i thank that person" he spins around facing the guards "clearly not one of these snoozers" Winter continues spinning till he completes a full 360 "next, call for reinforcements? no thank you, i know I'm gonna cause a ruckus but i don't want to directly call them" Winter scrolls over another option that peaks his interest "open cell doors? now that's what I'm talking about" he taps his left ear.
Maxwell and Abbi hide behind a wall, keeping out of sight of a patrol, a inmate from inside a closed cell talks to them but keeps his voice hushed "hold up, how did you two get your collars off??" Abbi turns to the inmate, she pressed her index finger against her lips, telling him to be quiet "we're getting out of here" winter calls over the earpiece "Oi Max, what floor are you on right now?" Max holds off on answering for the moment "yoooo, anyone there?~" he taps his left ear "be patient, dodging some guards" Winter swings around in his swivel chair "yeah you'll want to avoid guards since they'll notice your devoid of collars, the one thing they rely on to have the upper hand" Abbi taps her left ear "no shit" winter reply's, tapping his left ear "that and the fact you're in a prison 5km below the surface" Max and Abbi push forward again into the corridor, it takes a very slight left turn all the way around "we're on the same floor, just passing cells 4081" Winter hunches, he speaks in a monotone voice "god don't you 2 make quick progress" he taps his earpiece in his left ear "give me a sec" Max and Abbi stop at a intersection, Max peers left, cell doors cover the walls on both sides, no guards, he peers right, no cells but a short corridor leading to a large flight of stairs, left goes down, right goes up, Max steps back and taps his left ear "Winter, we've found our way down, is there any way for you to tell us what's below us" winter answers "floor 41?" Abbi chuckles "funny, but seriously, can you see anything below us?" Winter maintains a radio silence "Winter??"
"hold you horses Max, I've been trying to bring up a map of the prison so i can see- AHA!" Winter claps his hands "I've found it" Winter finds Max and Abbi, both red dots on the holographic monitor "i see you... and i see guards" 4 blue dots come up behind Max and Abbi "its safe to descend, move quick now, there's 4 guards behind you" Max and Abbi run for the descent.
In the Shallow, a woman carrying a tablet walks between Operations Consoles, holding a tablet in her right hand, she wears a Matte black vest with charcoal grey undershirt and sleeves, matte black pants and steel capped boots, her vest and pants are adorned in subtle crimson highlights, she approaches the Abyssal Arbiter, he wears a matte black vest with a charcoal grey undershirt, the vests sleeves are long, matte black with crimson hands extending over each other to the Abyssal Arbiters hands, as if reaching for everything, matte black pants, ironed to perfection, a matte black trench coat with a flame pattern of crimson rising from the bottom of the trench coat, the shoulder pads of the trench coat adorned in charcoal grey, steel capped matte black boots and a respirator mouthpiece, crimson hand patterns cover his mouth on the mouthpiece, speaking no lie.
"Sir" she shows him the tablet, it shows an aerial shot of a 5 carriage Vapor Train traveling along the lands of Elementica, hastily moving through trees "the Vapor Train containing the experimental suppression weapons will arrive in 15 minutes" Abyssal Arbiter uncrosses his arms and takes the tablet, kindly "arriving on schedule i see" the woman acknowledges, bowing her head slightly "yes sir" Abyssal Arbiter trails on as rows of assault rifles line the insides of the Vapor Train, to the naked eye, an indescribable amount of firepower. But Abyssal Arbiter knows all too well "2500 EF88 Steyr Rifles, all made to suppress the flow of Essence in the human body" he hands the female guard back the tablet, she turns and walks off "in years time, they wont have collars" his eyes tighten, focusing on the future ahead "but it wont matter, control through fear is absolute"
Max taps his left ear "Winter, we've made it to floor 75, how green are we" Winter responds "there's no guards within the next 5 floors" Max peers over his shoulder "we're about to head in" then stares back into the Abyss "begin the masquerade"
A masculine voice blares through the prison, the Abyss doesn't hear it "WARNING: ABYSSAL PRISON DEEP CONTROL ROOM REQUESTING REMOVAL OF ALL ELEMENTAL ESSENCE SUPRESSION COLLARS-"
it cuts off, the entire prison lights up, most convicts have hope on their face, some are smiling, few have manic, murderous intent, the masculine voice returns, alerting every prison guard from top to bottom "ALERT... ALERT: ALL ELEMENTAL ESSENCE SUPPRESSION COLLARS REMOVED IN 10... 9... 8... " Guards instantly mobilize, moving hastily for the cafeteria entrances that lead to the Shallow "7... " HQ drains of guards, equipping batons and lethal arms on the way out "6... 5... " guards inside the Deep panic uncontrollably, crying for safe spots, pulling out their hair, biting their skin on their fingers, chewing nails as an anxious response "4... 3... " Abyssal Arbiter remains to be the only one inside HQ, watching the dozens of camera feeds in the Deep, criminals run at breakneck pace, a track of hope comes through the microphones of the cameras "2... 1... " Abyssal Arbiter speaks, seemingly unfazed by the whole situation "scream all you want" he raises his hands as if receiving a gift "THIS IS THE ABYSSAL PRISON!"
Every single collar clicks, then falls. Corridor lights shine off the silver metal, reflecting the upside down dance of the corridor, collars flip, turn, spin, pitch, yaw, and finally, crash in a oh so fine tune, silence begins the coordinated chaos, orchestrated by Winter Fidell.
3 steel doors hiss and open with immovable weight to them, paving the way for guards to spill from, they carry Rail Assault Rifles, Light Rail Machine guns, batons, weapons to not only combat convicts, but to put them down. A rumble grows from the Deep, they use the chairs and tables of the cafe to form barricades in hopes of slowing down the convicts, response of urgency, the rumble of empowered criminals nearing, "LETS GO, FASTER, FASTER" the barricade is setup and guards retreat to the doors that have closed shut, sealed from the Shallow, the rumble approaches, guards position themselves, prioritising the big guns up front.
All is quiet with the defense training their eyes on the corridors, rumble growing louder and louder, deafening them all, faster than the guards could respond, criminals in the hundreds flow into the cafeteria like a rampaging rapids from a river "FIRE!!" 8 LRMG's light up the convicts, mowing through them like nothing, wasted munitions sing across the ground below the LMG railguns, thuds of spent convicts paint the ground in red like a scene from a horror movie, bullets piercing and penetrating the convicts going through one after the other, and the other.
Meanwhile, Max and Abbi walk side by side in the Abyss, its not like the Deep, the ceiling is raised tenfold, cell doors are titanic compared to the small ones in the Deep, built to hold Varlen's of catastrophic magnitude, Max stops and glances back at Abbi as she peers through the eye hole of one of the cold, steel doors.
She's sees a criminal, bound by chains and a straight jacket "its like they've been tortured" worrisome, she presses on, gliding her hands over the steel as she leaves.
The wave of convicts slows to a trickle, allowing the guards downtime to reload the LRMG's "BE ON YOUR GUARD, REMEMBER THEY CAN USE THEIR ELEMENTS NOW!!" convicts hide in the corridors, plotting. They nod their heads and get up on their feet once more, 5 convicts dig their hands into the corridor ground and walls, stealing chunks of stone and steel, the stone bends to their will, contorting around their body's, turning them into walking tanks, then they charge, gunfire lights up again, but this time they ricochet off the stoneclad armour, the tanks breach the guard front line, throwing twisted steel pillar at the guards, guards retaliate with batons amassed, fire floods one side of the guard line as a fire elemental cooks guards alive, blood curdling screams satisfy the criminals ears.
Steel doors scream of steam, turning like clockwork the doors open with a loud creak, followed by the man of the hour, the Abyssal Arbiter walks through, expression is calm and focused like its another Monday, convicts sweat and step back, no element in his hair, no essence in his eyes, yet leaking of no mercy, an Alard Elemental swallows his fear and swipes his hand up, telekinetically throwing a pillar of stone, adorned in rebar, the pillar launches for Abyssal Arbiters head... and stops, the apex of the pillar just millimeters from Abyssal Arbiters nasal bridge, he touches the pillar once, it disintegrates, turning to dust, rebar and all, he then clenches his fist and pulls it behind him, the same Alard Elemental is ripped toward Abyssal Arbiter without consent before Abyssal Arbiters clenched fist erupts of rock, he swings his arm with the force of a Vapor Train, caving in the convicts stomach as the hit launches him into the wall on the other side of the cafeteria, the sudden velocity of the convict hurls the still air into awry, kicked up dust clouds the convict as the rest of them inside the front line cower, the dust splits as the convict vomits bile and blood.
The Fire Elemental clenches his fists and clashes them together in front of him, a blaze of scorched red fire builds up around his hands "RED HELLFIRE!" a solid beam of red golden fire homes in on Abyssal Arbiter, he gets low and waves his right arm up, followed by his left arm, the flare of fire kneels to Abyssal Arbiter following his right hand as the cast wraps back around, doing a full 180 back at the caster, punching a hole straight through the convict, blood boils as the convict falls to his knees.
An Ice Elemental creates an axe of ice and tests Abyssal Arbiters close combat ability, she hurls herself at him swinging her axe down at him, Abyssal Arbiter stands and moves slightly out of the way, the axe dents the ground missing him, just enough. She twists her body and the axe responds, swinging behind her then up and over, missing Abyssal Arbiter again, the carried momentum of the axe lets her swing it around her back and attempts again to swing it horizontally, Abyssal Arbiter leans back matrix style and kicks out her feet, Abyssal Arbiter effortlessly stands back up without a spec of dust on his trench coat, like he got it yesterday, the convict hastily stands back up, she swing her ice axe out wide whilst out of reach of Abyssal Arbiter, but it reaches, the axe liquifys into a Kusarigama, the blade end of the Kusarigama aims straight for Abyssal Arbiters head, leaving a trail a condensation in its breakneck velocity, cutting through the air like a hot knife through butter, beautiful but dangerous, he grabs the blade before it manages to pierce his temple, the convict stands in disbelief, Abyssal Arbiter overtakes the blade and chain, freezing the Kusarigama to her hands. Unable to let go, she yanks on the weapon, he stands unmoved, he pulls, she's jerked from a stand still, Abyssal Arbiter moves his left leg forward once, breaks the ice chain with his left palm and spins to his right with his body and right leg moving forward, correcting the blade to point at the convict until, he impales her heart, the convict instantly falls limp, hands still frozen to the Kusarigama.
He drops her, a stench of fear fills the cafeteria from top to bottom, one word echoes silently, from mouth to mouth, a man whispers.
"False"
A woman shudders.
"False"
A convict who started the charade as a manic insane man.
"False"
Until that word, that one word is all that the prison can hear for the rest of its days, a convict points at Abyssal Arbiter, his skin writhes of fear and anxiety "HE HAS THE FALSE ELEMENT!" Abyssal Arbiter glances to his side "HE CAN USE YOUR ELEMENT AGAINST YOU!" expression is calm and focused, like its another Monday.
Max and Abbi walk through the Abyss, unaware of the chaos that unfolds in the Deep, Abbi speaks, breaking the silence between them "is it true?" Max turns to his right facing Abbi, confused "is what true?" Max slows a tad "that it took upwards of 7 Paladins to turn you in" Max stops, Abbi's solo footsteps halt, turning to face Max, he looks down, his face shrouded "Max?" he responds "the funny thing is... i don't ever remember fighting the law, let alone Paladins.. i heard someone barge through the front door about 3 days after burying Abigail then the next thing i knew, i awoke in custody" the air feels thick "when i asked what happened and why i was cuffed, they just glared at me, told me 'you're in a lot of trouble son'" Abbi doesn't know what to say, comfort isn't her forte "i insisted, begged i know what happened, they humoured my request and showed me the bodycam of one of the Paladins, think her name was Sol?" he pauses, preparing mentally to dig up what he saw "i saw... me... attacking police and... Paladins" tears begin to stream down his face, he wipes them away "it wasn't me but... it was me" he raises his head, smiling through his pain "i was smiling, Abbi, i looked like i was enjoying it"
The Deep, Arbiter receives a transmission "sir, we're picking up 2 Varlen's in the Abyss, they're ignoring the locked up convicts, possibly going after the Pitch Black" Abyssal Arbiters face suddenly washes of anxiety, he quickly bottles it "thank you" Arbiter calls over a separate channel.
"Warden, i have a mission for you..."
Max falls to his knees, looking down at his hands, sweat drips from his face "i- i don't- it wasn't me, i swear it" Max begins panicking, his pent up sorrow leaking out, his mind echoing of another, he grips his head "it wasn't me, it wasn't me, it wasn't, it wasn't, i swear it, help, no, no, NO, NO, NO!" he yells his denial "IT WASNT ME!!"
Plasma floods the room, its hardly noticeable, cold coils around the both of them, Max snaps back to reality standing tall and prepared, Abbi speaks "this is-" Max interrupts her, his voice curdles through Abbi "Run"
Max and Abbi run for it, bolting for the Pitch Black, the movement alerts whatever released the plasma, it speaks under its breath "found you" Max and Abbi turn left, stairs down, Abbi freezes the stairs below them creating a slide of ice "YES" cry's Max "USE THE ICE TO MOVE FASTER!" Abbi grits her teeth, smooth floor at the bottom of the stairs but Abbi continues the ice slide, Max extends a vine from his hand, it wraps once around Abbi's waste and meets with his hand again, they blaze through the corridor, descending another flight of stairs.
"THERE IT IS" Abbi's and Max's faces ignite of glee, circular, armoured to the bone, elevator in a circular room with only 2 entry points from above, Abbi stops her ice slide, Max lets go, they run for the Elevator before dust and debris emerge from where they came from, the ice, shattered, a singular light illuminates a looming figure, it walks out from the dust.
Warden walks out from the dust, clad in Obsidian Black with sunset blue veins through his entire fit, a cloak weighing on his right side in Zinc, no headgear, all his needs in his eyes, Max's confidence sinks into a see of void "oh shit, ITS WARDEN" he stops "HE'S A WALKING SIEGE ENGINE FOR FUCK SAKES!" Abbi hides behind a boulder of debris that Warden kicked up, Max runs behind the Elevator, Abbi swipes her fingers across the ground clockwise, ice trailing across the ground, she flicks her arm, the ice races across the ground making contact with Warden's right foot, freezing his right leg to the ground, its no use, Warden superheats his body, the blue veins to a midnight red, melting away all the ice in the room rendering Abbi useless, she tries creating ice in her hand, but water is all she manages "MAX! DO SOMETHING!!" he yells back "LIKE WHAT? I CANT HURT A PALADIN!" Abbi responds "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT TOOK ON 7 PALADINS AND LIVED!!" Max pauses, rendering his choices.
Warden turns to the elevator, he heard that "do i truly turn into a bad guy or keep calling myself innocent? i don't know what i am anymore" looking at his hands again, flashes of dry, bloodied hands cross his mind "i don't know" clutching his hair once more squeezing his eyes shut, before "wait" he clicks. Max puts a hand on the ground "Life Sight" envisioning the room and Warden, he sees him through the elevator, vines of great mass burst from the ground, Warden goes to move, but nothing, vines have ensnared him in place, the massive vines, enough to grow a tree of colossal size punch Warden back into the dust he emerged from, the boom once Warden hits the wall, thunders across the Abyss, dust dissipating under the turbulent winds, Max and Abbi make a break for the Elevator not turning back.
The riot up top continues, convicts are being pushed back, too afraid to use their elements, some test their luck, some of them costing their lives to the hands of Abyssal Arbiter, he taps his ear "Warden" no response "Warden, come in" nothing "Warden, respond!" an uneasy feeling settles across Abyssal Arbiter, he growls, the floor pooled in corpses from both factions, a wall decorated in an Alard Elemental, Abyssal Arbiter makes a hard choice as he stares at the war between Guard and Criminal, "if i don't call them in, thousands of criminals wall escape into the open world" he turns around, leaving the cafeteria "we cannot have that" a transmission reaches Abyssal Arbiter "Sir, the Vapor Train containing the experimental weapons has arrived" he responds, spirits lifted but still uneasy "good, haul them to the Deep, get those weapons on the frontline" the call drops, Abyssal Arbiter makes another one "Axium, raise the threat level, let the entire Paladin force in Genium know the details of the riot"
The AI answers "Acknowledged, raising alarm threat level to level 4, Genium City's Paladin organization titled '10 Sentinels of Genium' have been contacted, first arrival in approximately 5 minutes, request fulfil" the AI silences as Abyssal Arbiter enters the elevator for the surface, doors closing as a burst of elemental power sows a seed of violence, the criminals saw Arbiters departing.
The Pitch Black, a single cell so far under the surface that modern cooling systems whine under the heat and pressure, housing one man, surveyed by a separate team all together. Azazel Master, wrapped in cold tungsten chains, held a strung by his arms with brackets ran through them, escape is no more than a dream, but here, dreams turn to nightmares, and nightmares turn to worse.
Axium calls over the Pitch Black Division "NOTICE: PITCH BLACK ELEVATOR DESCENDING, SCANNED OCCUPANTS ARE CONVINCTS" the team alerts themselves "SUGGEST EXECUTING PROTOCOOL 3: DISPOSE OF AZAZEL NEIL MASTER" A male adorned in matte black and crimson, like the woman that handed the tablet to Abyssal Arbiter, walks up to the window that look over Azazel Master, he looks down the window into the cell, not a sign of life from Azazel. The man flicks up a clear box shielding a red button, he presses it.
Phosgene Gas leaks from four floor vents on the ground, one in each corner, an alarm rings in the Pitch Black, and in the elevator, the gas floods the floor of the room, invisible to the eye, the same Male walks over to another button, its less alarming then the phosgene gas release, he presses it.
The elevator locks to a halt, knocking Abbi and Max to the floor, Abbi sits up "WHAT THE FUCK!?" Max stands up, dusting his legs off "i think i know what that alarm is now" Abbi stands up, her eyes facing Max "what is it then?" Max drops a seed, it taps the ground and digs into the floor of the elevator "there must be guards monitoring Azazel Master, stand against the wall" Max and Abbi move to the elevator wall, the seed suddenly grows to a magnitude of 3 metre's wide, half the elevator, the explosive seed makes Abbi jump, the seed slowly shrinks and it falls down the rest of the way, thudding at the bottom of the elevator shaft, the seed takes a portion of the top of the elevator with it, ensuring a way back up, Max and Abbi drop down, Max calls out to the seed "OPEN!" the seed sprouts dozens of vines, they consume the bottom of the shaft growing upwards, a vine coils around Abbi's waist, another two around Max, the vines lower them onto the bottom of the shaft, safe and sound, the shrinking vines die, then shrivel into particles of essence, they trade glances before looking at the closed elevator shaft door.
8 people look down at Azazel Master "its safe to say we wont be getting backup for this" Azazel's body twitches, jerking as it reacts to the inhalation of Phosgene gas, all 2500 ppm's "Elements are like a secondary immune system, this is why elementals rarely ever get sick, the element works faster and more effectively than the average humans immune system, making them near immune to diseases, even cancers" the speaking woman sighs "an immune system so powerful, it refuses to let the body decay, leaving it fully intact, so long as the element is present"
The room is painted in ice. Walls, ceiling, OC, everything is frozen, even the guards are frozen to the floor "Wha- THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THEIR ELEMENTS?!" they try to turn around, but are met with thick vines grabbing them and hurling them into the window. It doesn't break to Maxwell's dismay "of course it doesn't break" Abbi walks up to the glass, jumping onto the OC and placing her hand on the middle of the glass window, a small ice needle pierces the glass, she hops down onto the floor moving out of the way, she points at where she stood "throw them at the window where i was" Max reels them back to him, readying to throw them and the vines through the window, one of the guards try's to discourage him "y-you cant break that window, its 500mm's of reinforced glass-" before he can finish, Max hurls them into the glass once more, they smash into the glass with a loud fleshy and crunchy thud, blood exploding across the glass, it doesn't break nor crack again but the impact kills the guards, Abbi bears her teeth as she inhales with a hiss "ouch" she flicks her right arm, getting blood off of her, Max drops the guards, they fall onto the OC, then onto the floor, his vines sink back into the ground "I've noticed its harder for me to use vines down here" Max looks around, finding a staircase in the corner of the control room "my theory is its because we're so far down, vines find it difficult to travel down here" Max descends the staircase, Abbi follows.
Max stops just before the last step of the stairs, Abbi bumps into him "why are we stopping? he's on the other side of that door" Max turns back to Abbi "go back up those stairs" Abbi leans forward "why? are you afraid?" Max resumes walking toward the door "no, its the smell, it smells like freshly cut grass for some reason" Max's mind clicks, his urgency raises, he faces Abbi and points up the stairs "ABBI, GET THE FUCK BACK UP THOSE STAIRS, THIS IS PHOSGENE GAS" Abbi doesn't understand, but trusts his initiative, she goes back up into the control room. Max tries to pry the door open, pulling it to the side "RRAAHHHHHH, COME ONNNN!!" no use, Abbi looks through the window, Azazel Master is jerking violently, his arms pull at the chains, blood leaking from the shackles that are driven through his arms, Max bashes at the door "RAHH" bash "RAHH!" bash "RAHH!!" the bashes get louder, Max gets angrier "OPENNN!" One last bash on the door, it busts off its rails and Max falls through the door, with no time to spare, Max gets up and reaches for Azazel Masters mouth, he grabs it, his palm over his mouth and nose, blocking any more Phosgene from getting into his lungs, and from Max's palm spills a golden gas into his mouth "YOU ARE NOT DYING ON ME!!" the gas works through to his lungs, they're filled with liquid, an often fatal side effect of Phosgene gas, the positive agent makes contact with the red froth in his lungs, the gas shimmers with gold, like a fireworks show. The froth calms, separating from the liquid and dissolved by the golden gas, the liquid goes from a violent thick substance, to a thin water-like liquid, Max glows green, it transfers to Azazel, his burn marks and scars heal him completely, even regrowing a chunk of his chest that was left caved in during the fight that got him captured, vines rip the shackles out from Azazel, freeing him.
Azazel Master falls forward, Max catches him "breathe damn it" he comes to with a violent jerk, the water in his lungs stir, Azazel Master gets off of Max and falls forward onto his knees, he vomits up the water, cough's, and breathes, his arms shake endlessly, his body exhausted of strength, his lungs clean and reinforced, and he breathes... weak, but alive.
A radio erupts of frustration "WARDEN!" Abyssal Arbiters urgency makes Warden jump out of his induced sleep "THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR RADIO SILENCE!" Warden gets himself up and clears himself of dust and debris, he responds "Warden to Abyssal Arbiter" he groans over the radio "2 Varlen's have descended to the Pitch Black" ...silence, Abyssal Arbiter doesn't respond for what feels like hours... "You let them pass?" Abyssal Arbiter over looks the unloading of the experimental weapons "what you mean to tell me, is that these 2 nobody's, managed to overpower one of the country's most powerful Paladins, IN A MATTER OF FUCKING SECONDS!?!" the unloading halts as everyone looks at Abyssal Arbiter, Warden holds his radio as far from him as he can, he too isn't impressed with the current situation, Abyssal Arbiter cools himself and re-engages the convo "when they come back up, you shoot to kill" the radio glitches, then nothing, the call has dropped dead, Warden tosses the radio aside, he steps toward the elevator shaft, stretching his arms, rolling them around his shoulders, readying himself for whoever lays in the Pitch Black.
Vines slowly exit max's left arm at the elbow between the arm and forearm, they extend curling around his forearm all the way to his hand, they phase through the back of his hand and lay in wait in his palm, with Azazel having made a full recovery, he stands without Abbi's support "we ready?" Abbi nods, Azazel Master, now fully clothed in the black and crimson guard clothes, stares "ill take that as a yes" Max enters the elevator shaft and stands in the middle, he raises his left arm all the way up and the vines shoot up with near terrifying velocity, they shoot through the elevator and pierce the ceiling of the elevator shaft, Warden notices, the vines root themselves in place. Pink, yellow and red flowers bloom from the roots that emerge from the ceiling, vines extend out the other end of Maxes elbow, curling around his arm and out his shoulder, it acts like a rope for Azazel and Abbi "grab on" they hold on and Max starts reeling them all up, going roughly 5 metre's a second. Max emerges from the elevator shaft and is met with Warden's hand aimed for his neck, Warden had launched himself from the wall, his hand clearly enhanced with Plasma, the essence radiating from his hand so thick, you can cut it with a knife, Wardens hand wraps around Maxes neck, his inertia rips max from the vine, Abbi and Azazel only just manage to clasp the edge of the shaft, Warden slams Max into the ground, Max croaks of pain "ACK!" Max grabs onto Warden's wrist, sharp vines drill through Wardens hand and up his arm, thorns punch through his skin "AHH!" he pulls his arm back, the vines snap, Max hastily gets up and runs from Warden, he looks at his hands confused, he didn't do that.
Azazel Master hoists himself up with his half asleep muscles, Warden and Azazel turn to each other, they lock eyes, the world freezes around them, time stands still and all they see, is the other that one another meets. time slows between them, Warden moves, lifting his left leg to pivot, Azazel reaches down for the ground, using his torso to move faster, Wardens foot contacts the ground, his leg ripples of rebounded kinetic energy, arms raising as deep blue plasma, boils from his entire arm, Azazel's hand digs into the reinforced flooring, material being sucked into the skin of his hands, readying for redistribution, Azazel's legs tense up, Wardens left arm takes the lead of the assault, plasma sputtering from his palm, he superheats himself, the plasma blue veins in his wear turning red with malice, his face grows of determination and anxiety, Azazel's legs spring him into a run, and suddenly.
Radiant blue plasma releases from Wardens arms at full force, Azazel runs to the left, Warden turns to follow Azazel, teeth gritting at the weight of the recoil, the horizontal pillar of pure plasma rips through the walls of the prison and metre's of Alard like nothing, Azazel hand cuts through the reinforced cement and rebar, he grinds to a halt and throws out his left arm, wet cement shoots out of him like harpoons, Wardens pillar of plasma liquifys, his will refines it into a riot shield, the wet cement harpoons dig into the shield, catching them, Azazel bounces from side to side, his options are very limited, Warden catapults the shield at Azazel Master, he jumps to the right, the breeze of the shield brushing his left leg, Max jumps back in rugby tackling Warden in his right, Warden staggers for a moment before grabbing Max by the back of his shirt and throwing him into the wall behind him, Max rolls his back onto the wall, only just dodging Wardens plasma filled fist aimed for the back of his head, fatal, if it landed.
Warden grabs Max again, he tosses him toward the elevator shaft, Max tumbles on the ground, rolling, rolling, gone, max falls into the elevator shaft, Abbi reaches for his arm amidst the chaos, she falls short "MAX!!" ...halfway down, max hits the wall of the shaft, a defeaning crunch, he clears the elevator just barely before hitting the bottom with a fleshy, bloody splat, his body bouncing once, then nothing, Max's vision begins to fade, the last word he is able to utter, before he falls into the void "Abbi... gail... "
Abbi's face is drenched in horror, a defined scene of red, sitting below her in the elevator shaft as she dwindles on the edge, her face flickers between sorrow, and anger, Abbi clenches her fist and squeezes her eyes shut, hoping its all just a bad dream. Warden walks toward Azazel, he knows that he's out of options, with no materials to fuel his element, Azazel is no more than just superhuman, something far below a trained Plasma Elemental Paladin, he plays with his food "Azazel Neil Master" Warden clenches his fist and raises it up "he who stands at the pinnacle" he opens his hand, revealing a flame of plasma in the palm of his hand "of Feldspar Elementalry" Azazel is stepping back, Warden towering over him, he lowers his hand "tell me, most feared man, do you, feel fear?"
Lukewarm water splashes against the back of Wardens head, it boils on contact, Warden turns around, unphased by the boiling water, its Abbi, she's standing upright after dangling from the edge of the shaft, she's clearly enraged with tears streaming down her face "YOU KILLED HIM!" she points to the elevator shaft, her breathing is deep and controlled, her chest rising and falling as clear as day "YOU'RE A PALADIN, YOU ARENT MADE TO KILL!" Warden just stares at her, doesn't care for the elevator shaft "my duty is-" Abbi screams at him, cutting him off "FUCK YOUR DUTY YOU CUNT!" Warden doesn't resume, he exhales, then turns back around, lukewarm water splashes on him again, it boils, Warden gazes over his shoulder, Abbi has her arm out stretched to Warden, its wet "Do Not.. touch.. the Master" Warden tests her, he faces Azazel with malice and marches toward him, Azazel steps back more, nervous of what could come, lukewarm water drenches Warden from above, however something feels odd with this water, Warden becomes waterlogged as more and more water drenches him.
This water, its Cold, Warden faces the palms of his hands at each other, a plasma ball forms between the two, it expands, shrinks, expands, shrinks, Abbi struggling to keep the water going, the ceiling begins to freeze, turning to ice, then suddenly, the plasma erupts, the water dissipates, Azazel and Abbi are hurled back into the walls, and the ice shatters, Warden superheats himself once more, drying himself in the process, he eyes off Abbi, the current biggest worm as of right now, he steps toward her, walking around the shaft.
Azazel impact knocks the wall loose, his mind is jogged, and some memory's come back to him, the compounds of materials, he regains himself, looks at Warden, and remembers, Warden is a Paladin, and a highly-recognised one at that, Azazel grits his teeth, takes in some deep soil, stone, cement and rebar. The deep soil breaks down in his body, the rebar is stripped down to bare iron, and the stones down to calcium, silicates and oxides, they remake themselves inside of Azazel, Abbi falls onto her belly and try's to crawl away from Warden, Azazel runs in, Warden hears him but doesn't care, an often fatal mistake, the new material finishes constructing, Azazel underarm swings his right arm toward Warden's back, red hot volcanic glass fly's to Warden.
The glass contacts his back and instantly burns like hot needles running through his body, he yells of pain "AAAHHHHHH!!" Wardens armour corrodes away from his back, revealing his bare skin, his back begins to blister, Warden runs his back into the wall, fighting the pain, he turns his head to Azazel, staring him down like a blood thirsty predator having found a meal, Warden plasmatises his legs, propulsing him toward Azazel Master at breakneck velocity, Warden grabs his neck and slams him into the ground, Azazel grabs Warden's hand, his other presses against Wardens gut, a stake of volcanic glass pierces his abdomen, Warden doesn't flinch, he's tunnel visioned, Azazel tries to gasp for air, kicking his legs to free himself, Abbi is powerless to help. A beastly roar overshadows Warden's own presence, Abbi, Azazel, Warden all turn to the elevator shaft, where the roar came from.
Max stands upright, but he doesn't look human... not anymore.