ArchivedLogs:Escape from New York (Sewers)

Escape from New York (Sewers)
John Carpenter's Masterpiece.
Dramatis Personae Anole, Peter, Shane, Sebastian, Ross
In Absentia	2013-07-24 During the Morlock raid.
Location <MOR> Below New York
Buried beneath the bustle and noise of New York's busy streets, the world underneath the city is a quieter place. Quieter, but far from deserted. Occasional ladders, often rusting, ascend to the city above and are evidence that at /one/ point these tunnels had been in use, or had been planned for it; perhaps by way of maintenance, or access to subways or sewers. These stretches have been abandoned by civic infrastructure for some time now, though, but occasional scraps of evidence -- discarded food wrappers, piles of tatty blankets or moldering old mattresses, sometimes voices carrying echoes through the dank concrete -- give evidence that /someone/ still uses these tunnels. The rumbling of subway trains sounds frequently through the walls, many of the train routes accessible through various doors and openings. Peter and the twins have acquired an ANOLE! And they are currently in the process of -- helping him learn how best to THWP things! And /swing/ from things! Although there's probably a /great/ deal of caution all around. Also maybe sometimes hugs. Peter's clad in his red hoodie and blue jeans; two odd black plates poke out from his shoulders out of the hoodie -- holes have been made for it! He's currently standing on one side of a wide channel in the sewers, and -- THWP! Swing! To the other side. He makes it look ridiculously /easy/, probably; just extend a hand, make a gesture, and -- a silver cord snaps out, catches hold of the ceiling -- then he's jumping off and swooping to the other side! Landing with ease. Nothin' to it. "Okay," Peter informs Anole, who is -- probably! On the other side of the channel. /Probably/ with twins. "Um, if you fall, I will totally catch you." How is Peter going to do this all the way over there? WHO KNOWS? The twins have separated themselves! There is one on the other side with Peter; Bastian is dressed in hiking pants (black), a light pink Fluttershy t-shirt, sturdy boots. A black hoodie that says 'HERBIVORE' on it on a yellow cross over the chest. "/One/ of us will totally catch you, anyway." "Pfft," comes from across the channel, where Shane is also in boots! With black shorts and a green v-neck t-shirt. And his thick red collar strapped around his neck. "Just don't fall. You'll be fine." The twins both have webshooters of their own, for ease of THWIPPING around and demonstrating proper thwippery to Anole. Even if Peter is the thwip/master/. Shane isn't thwipping anything at the moment, though, he's just extending a wrist in demonstration. "You can totally do it with your tongue, it's --" "-- pretty much just like that," Sebastian tells Anole from the other side, "except not /licking gross sewers/." "Oh -- oh-oh-oh, oka-ay." Anole doesn't sound, admittedly, /entirely/ confident about this venture. But he's bouncing slightly on his bare toes anyway in nervous-exhilarated anticipation. "OK. Yeah. I could make it with my tongue just. -- Just swing like that," he tells himself. He's in shorts, too, barefoot with an oversized black RENT t-shirt hanging loose on his skinny frame. The green lizardboy takes in a deep breath, raises one hand -- lowers it again. "-- You'll catch me?" is asked of all three juuuust in case. And then again another snap of wrist upwards, this time with an accopmanying THWIP! He grabs the webbing as it snaps out, swooping -- not landing, though. Just swinging back again towards the other side, clinging tightly to the cord. "Aaaaah --" It's hard to say if this is an excited 'aah' or a terrified 'aah'. It might be a little of both. This is a terrible day. The sound of someone slodging through sewage grows closer and closer, along with large amounts of cursing. In the midst of all of it is Ross. Her purple skin, lime green tanktop, and thin jeans covered in sewage, she trots closer, exhausted from running. Her legs are bruised, suggesting she had fallen. She looks up from panting, spotting the thwipping group. At first, she seems relieved, but then, becomes slightly panicked. She turns around to run, but, instead, climbs up onto the concrete and sits down, exhausted. Peter reaches forward as Anole swings! And then... swings back, out of reach. And, /kind/ of grins, before -- THWP THWP THWP. Three strands snap out; two for Anole's shoulders, one for the center of his sternum -- and suddenly, Peter's pulling /back/, very firmly but very slowly -- drawing Anole toward Sebastian and himself. "You're doing fine! Just hold on, don't let go of the cord, we've got you uh Bastian could you--?" Peter does not notice Ross, yet! "Just like that! You're good, see --" Bastian is grinning -- bright and toothily unrestrained in a way that happens very /rarely/ in any sort of more public venue -- stepping forward to reach up towards Anole. "/Catching/ the thing's actually the hardest part, I think, and you've got that down. Need to be --" Shane is watching this with an echoing grin. "/Really/ quick for that or --" "Just boom! But you skipped that part." "Actually there's still a nonzero danger of going /splat/, walls are --" "-- hard, turning corners is also -- what," a sudden familiar smell amidst the noisome sewer aroma swivels Shane's head very abruptly, "in the /actual/ fuck." Sebastian is just curling his arms around Anole's hips, tugging him down to land with them. "-- {What.}" The short word of Vietnamese is blunt ant startled. "What in the /goddamn fuck/ are you doing here," Shane asks Ross with sharp irritation. Anole exhales a shaky laugh as he sets feet on the ground again, prooobably getting some sticky webbing-cord on Sebastian with his sudden abrupt hug. "Oh. Oh wow that's -- /OK/, I think I can do that. It's not so bad after --" He trails off, smile fading into a wide-eyed uncertainty at the sudden new presence. He backs up towards the wall. "You know her?" He sounds cautious as he examines Ross, though there's curiosity in his expression. Ross is still regaining her breath, as she sighs. "Nice to fucking see you too, Shane. I could ask the same fucking thing to you.". She turns to wave to Sebastian and Peter. "Hey Sebastian, Peter.". She lifts her footing, leaning against a damp wall. She's disgusted, but tired, so she just pants while making an ill face. She turns to Anole. "I go to their /school/. Not as pleasant as it sounds, believe me.". Still panting, she checks her pocket, cursing as she pulls out a damp, broken cell phone. "Fuck! My school phone.". She examines it for a few more seconds, before tossing it at a wall. She sighs, brushing her brown hair backwards. "So, how are you guys?" "...Ross?" Peter's eyebrows /dart/ upward -- exchanging a glance with the twins, with Anole, and then -- back to Ross. "Ross, what. Why are you in the-- Ross, you shouldn't be down here there are /traps/ and stuff down here and /monsters/ and." And buzzing things. The sound is distinct; distant -- it hums down the tunnel in the opposite direction from which Ross came. A constant, thrumming /hum/ that fills the passageway. Bzzzbzzzbzzz. Sounds kind of like -- a bumble-bee? A really /big/ bumblebee. Maybe a couple of them. "--should not," Peter repeats, turning down the tunnel at the sound -- eyebrows knitting together. "--be here uh. That's..." Suddenly, his eyes /pop/ open. Big and wide. As if in recognition. "Yeah. You /could/ ask me the same thing but you'd be a /fucking moron/ you goddamn idiot, /you're/ the one not allowed to leave school. /I/ came down here with my fucking dad. It's really fucking dangerous down here --" THWIP. Shane shoots out a silvery cord, swinging aside to join the others on the other side of the channel. "How /are/ we, what the /fuck/ this is not fucking /small talk/ time oh my god." "-- Anole, can you -- maybe get us out of here? Ross needs to go back to school," Sebastian says, more gently but not any more /happily/. Both boys quiet, though, at that humming. And exchange a puzzled look. Sebastian looks at Peter with more concern for that pop of eyes. "-- Peter?" "Yeah. I -- it /is/ dangerous why are you --" Anole frowns deeper. "/How/ are you even here didn't the sentries --" This puts a worried look on his face. He shifts away from the wall, gesturing the others -- Ross included -- to follow down the tunnel, back the way Ross had headed. He pauses, though, freezing when that buzzing starts up. "-- Are. Are there /bees/?" He is suddenly confused. He slooowly continues to inch back down the tunnel. "-- Those. Sound like /really big/ bees." Ross furiously shakes her head. "Oh, no no no, I can't fucking go back they'll /kill/ me. There's a /cop/ up there looking for me, fucking hell I /can't/ go back.". She lifts herself and makes a defensive measure, before looking at Anole in question. "Sentries? What sentries...?". She looks like she's going to ask more, before suddenly, buzzing. "What the fuck is that, sewer bees? What the fuck?". She backs towards the others. "Do we...do we run? Are they poisonous? WILL THEY KILL US?". She begins panting again. "This is the worst fucking day /ever/." Peter's just staring, kind of wide-eyed, down the tunnel that /isn't/ in the direction they're going. Until, suddenly, he just says -- with a surreal sort of calm: "--Murderdrones." This statement is followed by Peter /spinning/, hard and fast, arms /slinging/ wordlessly around Shane and Sebastian, just -- HUP! Trying to pick them both up as if they were suitcases. "Anole, /ON MY BACK/. Ross, SHUT UP AND RUN." Because suddenly that is precisely what Peter is doing. While, behind him, three basket-ball sized MAVs -- mechanical drones, powered by four internal propellers, armed with all manner of gadgetry -- are /slinging/ down the tunnel, swooping with that buzz, lenses flashing as they lock on the children. Swooping down like an angry nest of hornets. "Ross, fucking /run/." This comes sharp from Shane, very abruptly when Peter speaks. "-- Peter it's. Probably actually /faster/ if you don't. Carry us," Sebastian isn't /fighting/ the pickup, though. He's just saying this a little uncomfortably. Shane isn't really fighting it, either. Though he is twisting in Peter's grip, turning to watch the drones with wide black eyes. "We could. Glueball Ross. Carry her like that." "Anole shouldn't be on your back. He knows the tunnels," Sebastian points out, "-- Anole we need. To get. Out. Like now." Anole is beelining straight for Peter when Peter says to get on his back. At least until Sebastian points out that he's -- probably the only one who knows where to go! "Oh -- ohgod," is a tiny terrified squeak. "-- OK I don't know who you are," he says to Ross, "but come -- comecome/come/." He's skittering, now -- not along the floor but parallel to the others, climbing straight up the wall to run ahead of them along it. He does pause, though, just -- for a /second/. To fling one wrist out behind himself and shoot a glueball towards the nearest of drones. Ross is running like hell, panting. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE THINGS?!". She runs towards Peter, choosing him as the safest place to go. "FUCK YOU SHANE! Guys, just give me a weapon or something, I'll smash them!". Great idea, Ross. She gets closer, before almost tripping, slowing down. She quickly keeps up pace again, just hoping /not/ to get killed by flying basketballs. "WHY THE FUCK ARE THEY CHASING US, PETER?". She screams at the top of her lungs, not looking back. "SHOULDN'T WE USE THE PANIC BUTTON? BEST. FUCKING. DAY. EVER." She grabs a camera out of her pocket, and tosses it backwards, hoping to hit a robot. It instead falls into the water, short-circuiting. She looks back at this, still running. "THAT WAS A BRAND NEW CAMERA!" "--oh," Peter manages, already /halfway/ into a run when the twins point out -- "--ngh RIGHT just okay RIGHT just gogogogo/GO/," and suddenly Peter is /slinging/ Shane and Sebastian out of his arms and ahead of him, further into the tunnel; when Ross turns to throw that camera, Peter's eyebrows grind together -- and suddenly -- THWP! He fires a glueball /STRAIGHT FOR HER MOUTH/, before barreling between the twins for Ross, aiming to swoop one arm around her waist and /heft/ her up, trying to throw her over one of his shoulders! And just /run/. The drones, meanwhile, barrel down the tunnel like bats out of hell. They are fast and intend -- there is a THWP THWP THWP that comes shortly after, grey glueballs splatting down on the ground at the position where Peter, Anole, the twins, and Ross were just a moment ago -- but they're already re-adjusting their aim now that they're coming after moving targets. Anole's glueball hits one of the three, splatting against its chassis -- managing to spread a bit of greyish smear over one of the pivoting shielded propellers, but not managing to infiltrate the interior mechanism. The twins follow after Anole. At a sprint, on the floor, admittedly, rather than along the wall, but they're off like a shot when Peter releases them. Mostly a shot. Shane glances back (frequently) to Peter. Sebastian glances back (less frequently) to the drones. "Thank /fucking god/," Shane mutters, when Peter glueballs at Ross's mouth. And then, with sudden alarm from Sebastian: "-- Pa's down here." This sounds smaller. He looks back again, lifting a hand -- but then just turns. Keeps /running/, boots splish-thudding in the dank tunnel. Anole keeps leading the way! Racing down along the hall; he hesitates at a cross-tunnel, glancing back to make sure the others are still following when he turns to the right. Hesitating, again, at the tunnel mouth. "-- Your pa -- he'd be --" His forehead crumples into deep furrows. "C'monc'mon --" Another desperate THWIP THWIP, though he isn't really -- taking all that much time for proper /aim/, more a panicked desperate fling of glue before he is taking off again. "-- why. Are there /murder/bots?" Ross is still running when, THWIP! Her mouth shuts tight, followed by mmphs and attempted cursing. Peter has no trouble grabbing her, as she slings over his shoulder. She attempts to remove the thwippings, to no avail, so she begins pounding on Peter with her fists. She wiggles her body, trying to get out of his grip, and then continues to try and remove the thwippings. She finally just stops, and allows Peter to carry her off. Not before hitting him one last time, of course. "Nnngh," is Peter's only response to Sebastian's comment re: Jax; he is running /fast/, nearly bounding forward with every step -- pushing himself off the ground with so much force he is almost /jumping/ with each kick. Ross' attempts to escape are /mostly/ ignored; Peter grits his teeth a little at the pounding on his back, but otherwise just keeps /moving/. Anole's desperate THWP THWP actually manages to strike home -- the same drone he hit before is hit again, this time the two thwps /both/ scoring a shot into those shielded propellers; the blades inside make a peculiar *SCRRRTCH* sound before -- smoke, along with the distinct odor of burnt plastic emerges from them -- and now the drone is /zig-zagging/ wildly, trying to compensate for the loss of two of its four propellers before -- THWACK! Right into the wall. Suddenly, up ahead, as Anole moves down that next tunnel -- there is a flash of silhouettes; the smell of sweat, armor, and gun powder. 30 yards up -- two men in sleek black uniforms, body-armor, face-plates, low-light-vision goggles -- moving down the tunnel with assault rifles at the ready. At the sight of the four incoming kids, their voices rumble toward them: "DOWN! GET DOWN ON THE GROUND! HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!" Sebastian's eyes widen when the THWIPS take the drone out. "-- nowaitguys," comes just a moment before those voices come, the sharkboy tensing as he sniffs the air. Reflexively, he shifts towards his brother and Peter, abruptly positioned in front of both of them as he -- /starts/ to back them up the way they came before remembering /oh shit drones/. Shane lets out a small strangled noise in his throat, backing back around the corner. He shoots out a wrist, sending a silvery cord towards the /fallen/ drone -- intending to snag it and /fling/ it towards one of the others. "-- Anole they have guns." Sebastian's eyes are pretty decent in the dark, his nose even moreso; he squeaks this warning as the lizardboy rounds the corner. "{/Get/ the guns,}" Shane says lower, in Vietnamese. "-- Too far." Sebastian sounds glum, his hands at least lifting /towards/ his head though he stays -- tucked just /around/ the corner from the soldiers. Towards the drones, unfortunately. "Ohgodohgodohgod." Anole skitters up towards the /ceiling/ when they say to get on the ground. But then drops down to land on the ground, on his knees, his hands lifting to his head. "Ohgodohgod I'm sorry I'm sorry we should've gone -- other way I'm -- ohgod." Ross's eyes bulge, as the soldiers run up and tell them to get down. She continues to make noise, pointing to her mouth, gesturing for Peter to remove the thwippings. She continues to struggle, trying to loosen herself from his grip. She continues to try and beat on him, hoping he'll release her. She begins to grab things from her pockets, tossing them towards the soldiers, missing and effectively ruining her belongings. "MMMPH!" Shane's web-line catches one drone; when he slings it up, it manages to score a /DIRECT HIT/ on the second drone -- crashing against it with a loud, sharp /CLANG/, leading to sparks. The second drone sweeps confusedly to the side, smashing against the wall -- briefly scraping across it! -- before re-adjusting, managing to sluggishly sweep its way back into its previous path, now scuffed and wobbling. The third drone manages to squeeze off a shot, though -- this one directed at Sebastian. Aiming for his feet, attempting to glue them to the floor. Like a little automated turret -- THWP THWP THWP THWP! Aim is tricky, because it's /bobbing/, but for a moment pauses to try and get it just right. Meanwhile, Peter's heard Sebastian's warning. He also hears Ross' yelling, her arms /flailing/ against his back. Rather than slow down -- he just keeps going, pausing only long enough to -- HUP! -- /TOSS/ Ross to Sebastian. And then, Peter's in the tunnel, charging full steam, right behind Anole. Peter /leaps/ -- just as he reaches Anole's back -- and then he's on the ceiling, scuttling forward on his hands and knees, toward the soldiers. There are soft little *THPTS* -- the rifles have a secondary option, firing electrified pellets. One of them hits Peter's shoulder; there's the distinct smell of burnt fabric -- but Peter doesn't slow down. Shane actually looks vaguely surprised when he scores that hit, but only for a moment. He tugs at the cord, flinging the Osbot like a flail once more towards the second drone. "-- B --" That is all he manages when the third drone starts firing. Sebastian hisses, starting to dart backwards. Unsuccessfully; the drone scores a direct hit on one of his feet, gluing it to the floor just as he twists around towards Peter. "Fff --" But, though the sharkboy may be /tiny/, he is strong; he catches Ross in both arms, grunting as he shifts her up to a shoulder. "Ross," his voice is quiet; it lacks Shane's usual harsh anger. "Calm /down/. These things will kill us. You need to -- calm." Though there's a definite (not-calm!) tension in /his/ muscles as he tugs uselessly at that one foot. "-- oh. Oh --" Anole's eyes are widening as the others decidedly do /not/ get on the floor with hands on their heads. He wavers, rather /shaky/ where he kneels. "Mngh -- /Peter/ -- /Bast/ --" His voice is a nervous squeaks, and his eyes scrunch tighter shut. He takes in a deep breath, then another, then lauches himself after Peter, rapid-scuttling across the /wall/ towards the soldiers. With -- his eyes still closed. Though he cracks one open to toss out a wrist, just desperately thwip-thwip-thwip firing, panicked, half-blind, cords of webbing towards their guns. Or -- vaguely in the general terrified /direction/ of their guns, at least. Vroosh! Ross's nimble body easily flies from Peter to Sebastian. She listens to Sebastian, still panicky, but doesn't pound on him. She just points to her mouth, gesturing for them to remove the webbings. "MMPH!". She reaches into her pockets, looking for something that could help. With no luck, she continues to make noise, just wanting to help desperately. "MMPH!" Shane's getting extraordinarily lucky, it seems; his Osbot Flail manages to score a /second/ hit on the drone he's attacking, sending it rolling back and crashing to the floor. There's a series of loud clanks as it skids, coming to a halt -- then a series of bzzt -- bzzt -- bzzts before it begins to limp its way back up, wobbling much more confusedly beneath the strike. Anole's web-lines are fired blindly and across a considerable length of distance -- one hits the wall to the left of the soldiers, one manages to hit about 3 yards off the mark -- and one actually manages to hit the tip of the rifle currently aimed at Peter. This doesn't go unnoticed; the soldier immediately swings the gun down to take aim on /Anole/. Which is when Peter /drops/ from the ceiling. One hand /snagging/ the line Anole just scored; the other hand extending out toward the second soldier -- now ten yards away -- THWP THWP THWP. Web-balls splat across the metal visor, blinding him, even as Peter twists and /yanks/ that rifle out of the first guard's grip, tearing it free of his hands and sending it rattling down the hall. But despite being blind, the second guard is opening fire -- and this time, it isn't electro-pellets. There's a flashing burst of /actual/ gunfire; Peter manages a yelp, stumbling back. Then there's a FWOOSH as the first soldier pulls a small gas grenade on his belt and drops it on the floor -- a distinct odor of vinegar /flooding/ the space surrounding Peter and the guards. "-- Oh my god." Sebastian is thwpping again, but not glue this time; this time its vinegary as well, spritzing down towards his foot. And then, after a moment of hesitation, towards Ross's mouth, to dissolve all the glue. "-- I swear to God if you try any shit," Shane is gritting through his teeth to Ross as he lifts his Osbot-flail again, "I will clock /you/ with this thing." But now he's swinging it towards the third drone. "Stay the fuck here and shut the fuck up." Sebastian is just /charging/, though, when he smells that vinegar. It probably doesn't look too intimidating, tiny pixieish thing that he is. Ducking low beneath blind gunfire -- but by the time he's nearing he has long claws extended, long teeth bared. He is launching himself towards the guard's arms, trying to grab, to /yank/, to train that gunfire somewhere that is /not at Peter/. Anole squeaks, pressing to the wall and fading away into a mottled blend of dingy tunnel-colours when that rifle trains on him. "Nononononono Peter --" He scuttles a little bit more forward, though, and even if /glue/ does not work through vinegar -- /THWIP/! The loooooooooooong sticky pink that shoots out through the vinegar is not glue. Anole's tongue whips downward towards the second rifle. Ross begins gagging from the vinegar taste. "That's nice, Shane! If you guys can get me a grip on their skin, I could do something!". She runs towards the wall, where there is a broken pipe. She pulls it off, swinging it in the air as she runs to look strong. "OKAY, WHAT DO I DO?". She looks like she's prepared to hit anything if told to. She's screwed, basically. CRRRRA-KOW! Either Shane's /really/ good with Osbot flails or he's getting extraordinarily lucky; the next hit /slams/ into the third bot with a sharp *crack* that sends it reeling down to the ground -- when it hits, it does so hard enough to actually /damage/ one of the pivoting propellers, producing a long, grungy, growling sound. Grrrrrhzzt... the second, however, has started to wobble back up into the air, and -- THWP THWP THWP -- come glue balls, aimed for Shane's feet and hands! Kind of clumsily, kind-of-confusedly. Peter's having -- more trouble. He's dropped to one knee, where he's spending a moment -- seemingly /confused/ about the sudden misting of vinegar. The shots of his webshooters make a steady THWP THWP THWP toward the soldiers -- but they're evaporating in /mid-air/, hitting the soldiers' visors like splashes of water. His other hand is pressed to his mid-chest, to the left, his shoulders hunched. Sebastian has got a lot of distance to cover when it comes to reaching that second soldier -- who's only now finding his gluesplats dissolving, his rifle swiveling toward Peter -- and then, as he sees him on the ground, back toward the charging Sebastian. The soldier besides him says something -- maybe 'No killing'? -- but it's all happening too fast for anything to make sense, and the barrel is coming down locked on Sebastian's /head/ and-- THWP. What the FUCK? There is a /TONGUE/ on his rifle, and -- the soldier is apparently too shocked to even /resist/ as the gun is yanked out of his grip, leaving him to... oh, /SHIT/. Sebastian manages to seize hold of those arms as he releases a screaming /yelp/ of pain, flailing. He's got on strong body-armor, but there are creases and grooves and places where claws and teeth can /certainly/ sink in. "OH SHIT OH SHIT--" Shane's lucky streak can only go so far. He's just lifting the botflail to take aim at the second bot once more when those glueballs come in. There's a quiet grunt as he pivots; he catches one against his side, but another /glues/ his bot-wielding hand backwards against his chest; another catches his feet against the floor. The flailbot thunks downwards onto his gluedfoot a moment later, with a soft sound, half-snarl, half-whimper. "-- Vinegar. Just /hit them/," Sebastian growls, /clinging/ to the arm he has capture. His teeth do sink downwards, claws curling in to creases, teeth tearing in at whatever weakness they can find. Tiny as he is, the flailing shakes him right along /with/ the guard's arm. He clings all the harder, claws lengthening another inch. Anole finds himself with a sudden mouthful of rifle! He yanks it back in towards himself, two feet and one hand still clinging towards the wall. His other hand shakes where it holds the rifle -- awkwardly pointed back toward the soldier it came from. "-- Ohgod I have a /gun/." The lizardboy does not sound very /pleased/ about this fact. "Guys I think we need to be running again can we -- running. Was good." Ross looks towards Anole, shouting. "I know how to fire a weapon! Slightly! Pass it to me, pass it to me!". She continues running, tossing her pipe at one of the guards, hoping to hit. As she tosses it she gets her hands ready incase someone tosses her a gun. She's just pacing around, staying near them, trying to avoid gunfire constantly. "JUST TOSS ME A GUN, DAMNIT!". The first soldier -- the one that /isn't/ getting mawed by Sebastian -- is withdrawing his service pistol, now. Unsnapping it with quick, effortless precision, swinging about to take aim on Sebastian. Apparently DONE with this 'No Killing The Sewer Children' bullshit. Ross' pipe thwacks him against the side of his helmet; he grunts, swiveling the gun to take aim -- except -- /Now/ Peter gets it, SLAMMING into the soldier with a sudden, ferocious force, just /HURLING/ himself at him with enough power to break bone. The wrist with the gun is gripped, hammered against the wall; bodyarmor creaks beneath Peter's fingers as his other hand snakes around the soldier's neck. Before, suddenly, he swings the man around and just brutally /bodyslams/ him to the floor. The soldier beneath Sebastian is flailing, bucking with panic as he struggles to reach his firearm beneath those claws. Sebastian can taste blood -- sweat -- fear. His claws slip past the armor and into meat; the man screams, twisting and writhing underneath him. Nearby, Peter's snatching up the dropped pistol; the guard he slammed is no longer moving. He stumbles; the front of his hoodie has a scorch-mark blossoming over his mid-chest around a bullet-hole. He starts moving toward Anole and Ross, away from Sebastian, lifting the pistol up with both hands -- aiming at the drones Shane's fighting. "--Anole, get Ross, go with Sebastian. Gonna. Get Shane." And Peter just starts /firing/. The first two shots are painful; he has zero clue how to properly use a pistol. His wrist snaps back and he produces a hiss, both from the /sound/ and the kickback. But the third and fourth shots -- those actually manage to hit the third drone with a ping, even as it continues trying to glue Shane in place. Upsetting its balance; causing the /next/ THWPs to be way off target. There's a definite note of panic to Shane's tensed posture; beneath his shirt his gills are rapidly fluttering. His remaining unglued hand shakes as he moves to -- spritz sprits spritz, at the glueballs on his hand and feet. Spritzing /another/ glueball that gets shot there just as soon as the first ones dissolve. "-- {/No/ oh god --}" comes in Vietnamese, muffled around a mouthful of /arm/ as Sebastian's eyes flick to that bullet hole on Peter's hoodie. But there's another moment, a sharp inhale, and he just focuses his efforts on the soldier he is /with/. One arm jerks up, elbow thudding hard towards the soldier's chin. He's along for the ride more than restraining, outside of the sheer /pain/ there's not much to stop the soldier from reaching his pistol. His claws /tear/ though, gouging deep into the man's arm. Shane's head turns at that curse, a brief look of terror in his face as he checks -- Bastian alive. Peter alive? Anole alive? And then SPRITZ again, and then he is backing up, still -- /dragging/ his last Osbot-flail with him. "Mmngh --" Anole skitters down off the wall, darting to reach for Ross's hand with his free one. The rifle is held awkwardly under an arm. "Come on come on come on we're /going/." He's charging straight towards the soldiers, now, tugtugtugging Ross along with him. Though not to attack them -- just to skirt around them and continue through the tunnel. "Bastian come /on/." Ross grabs Anole's hand without a second thought, just, running. "We need to get /out/ of here! Who are these guys?!" She looks back at Peter. "PETER, WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO FIRE A PISTOL?". She soon shuts up though, as to not get thwipped again. As she runs, she looks towards Anole. "Do you even know how to fire that?". AS they run towards the soldiers, she's prepared to maybe grab one of them and try and possess him, if possible. Probably not, though. Peter keeps firing. *BANG*. *BANG*. *BANG*. And then, a pause; Peter's feet are spread, his eyes narrowed. And... *BANG*. This time, the bullet cracks through the lens casing of the Osbot's camera; there is a series of sparks that fly as the third drone proceeds to wildly /flail/ back and forth, suddenly blind. The soldier beneath Sebastian has managed to reach his pistol, just as that elbow slams beneath his chin; there's a grunt, a squawk of pain -- fingers fumbling over the weapon, slipping it free -- and then. THWUNK. The soldier shuddergasps, going limp beneath Bastian. "Shane--" Peter starts, a moment after the boy emerges from around the corner, dragging that Osbot behind him. Whatever hardness had entered Peter's expression is now /fleeing/, all at once; he drops the barrel of the gun toward the floor, holding it in one hand -- kind of frantically reaching for him. "Come on we --" He slings out an arm for his shoulder, pulling, to kind-of-lean, kind-of-/push/ toward the exit. Only throwing the gun aside when they're well past the soldiers. Sebastian gets up, when the soldier goes limp. Blood still drips from his claws; his sharkteeth glisten wetly red, too. He picks up the rusty pipe Ross had thrown, silent, his gills fluttering wildly as he hands it back to her. Pressing it into her hands kind of /sternly/. Shane gravitates towards Peter slowly, but speeds up when he is pushed. Eventually he manages to speed up to a jog -- then a run -- hastening after the others. The metallic scrapethunk of the Osbot being dragged against the floor follows after him.