Twisting Paths of the Dungeon, Somewhere, Thursday

[makemyownway.livejournal.com]

The pathways of the dungeon had changed overnight. Anyone who had stayed in a room beyond their welcome had found themselves booted out back onto the hallways that belonged to their camp and feeling pressed down by the sudden increase in gravity. The doors of yesterday had closed. Other doors had now opened.

And other routes.

[ pathways | gremlins | space battles | room of the past | flooded room | free space | strange vault | ooc NOTE: room doors not belonging to your camp will lock when you enter. so please designate whether you're from camp 1 or the joint camp 2/ camp 3 ]

Comments

Re: An Aged Door

[playsforkepesh]

Sam hadn't even recognized the Kaidan beside Shepard for a moment: the age and the armor combined with the shock of seeing Shepard had distracted her. Now she looked from this younger Kaidan back to the rest of the... wherever this was, trying to find the Kaidan who had spoken.

She took a few more steps into the room, slowly. "What is this?"

Re: An Aged Door

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan sounded like he was facing an uphill battle with distraction. "Never seen the files on Virmire?" he asked. "Thought it made the news."

Maybe not everyone recognized Virmire as immediately and viscerally as you did, Kaidan.

Re: An Aged Door

[playsforkepesh]

There were a lot of beach planets. And without recognizing Ashley's voice - Sam knew her face, but her voice? - it was hard to put a name to it.

Virmire, though. That one, she knew.

Her voice was a little more gentle as she asked, "This is what happened to you there?"

God, this felt so invasive. But she couldn't very well excuse herself now, could she?

Re: An Aged Door

[not_a_whiner]

Behind him, Shepard grabbed Liara and Wrex and hightailed it through one of the large iron doors, leaving young Kaidan to work on the bomb.

"Heads up, L-T. We just spotted a troop ship headed to your location."

The large, bee-like Geth ship wasn't just heading there, though: it was already landing.

Kaidan glanced briefly over his shoulder. "Yeah," he said. "Look, it doesn't matter. We need to get out of here."

Problem was, he had no idea where the door was anymore.

Re: An Aged Door

[playsforkepesh]

"Right. Sorry, sir. I came in just--"

Hadn't the door been there just a second ago?

"...I'm not sure," she finished.

In the meantime, without any idea where the door was or, in fact, where the real Kaidan was standing, her gaze landed briefly on the younger one, setting the bomb. Even Sam knew what was going to happen next.

She tore her eyes away and renewed her search for a door. Intruding on this memory wasn't right.

Re: An Aged Door

[not_a_whiner]

Geth leaped out of the ship, several at a time. The few marines young Kaidan had backing him up slipped into cover, but he couldn't move - he had to set the bomb.

"They're already here," he called. "There's geth pouring in all over the bomb site."

"Can you hold them off?" Shepard's voice was matter-of-fact over the comm.

Young Kaidan sank down to one knee, getting water all over his armor. "There's too many. I don't think we can survive until you get here." Resignation and determination dueled on his face.

"I'm activating the bomb."

Actual Kaidan ran his hands over his face. No. He had to focus. The room was trying to trick him somehow. "You see anything over there?" he yelled, running across the area and straight through the mirage of an attacking geth. Maybe through one of those big doors?

Re: An Aged Door

[playsforkepesh]

Sam had never seen live geth up close before, and she was finding it surprisingly difficult to remember that this wasn't real; as shots started firing in Kaidan's memory, Sam mostly wanted to hide.

Instead she walked briskly through the... simulation?, feeling out the air with her hands in the hopes of encountering something solid that was just camouflaged by the memory right now.

"Nothing yet," she called back, but that was unacceptable. She picked up the pace and began to jog.

Re: An Aged Door

[not_a_whiner]

"Alenko, what are you doing?"

"I'm just making sure this bomb goes off. No matter what. ... It's done, Commander. Go get Williams and get the hell out of here."

"Screw that! We can handle ourselves. Go back and get Alenko!"

Kaidan could only hear it now, his back turned to the unfolding drama. He chose not to look, jogging after Sam. Behind him, the memory grew faded, distant. Suddenly they seemed to be running through a pastel blue painting, leaving behind the bomb and the people and the damned clearing.

Re: An Aged Door

[playsforkepesh]

That was a relief, at least. If they had to be trapped here... at least the memory was over with.

"Lieutenant Commander, I am so sorry," Sam babbled as soon as she could no longer hear Ashley's voice. "These rooms - I had no idea this would be what it was." Then, more firmly: "It's awful of this place to put you through that."

Re: An Aged Door

[not_a_whiner]

"It's fine, Specialist."

There was a tiny bit of bite in his voice. Kaidan kept a tight lid on his emotions even under ordinary circumstances - and these were hardly ordinary. "Just find an exit."

Re: An Aged Door

[playsforkepesh]

Sam gave a short nod. "Yes, sir."

She continued what she'd been doing - feeling along the walls of the room in the hopes of encountering something solid, disguised by whatever was controlling this place.

Re: An Aged Door

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan tried it himself, a few paces away from her. Except those paces... almost seemed to be turning into miles, and then he glanced over towards where she had been, there was suddenly only a speck in the distance.

"Traynor?!"

Re: An Aged Door

[playsforkepesh]

Sam... couldn't quite hear that.

But with a lucky guess as to a spot on the wall to push, she did find a door. "Commander, I've got it!" she exclaimed. "...Commander?"

Well, that wasn't good.