Varian? Hey, hey! Varian! Snap out of it, goggles!
[ Her hands are at his shoulders, fingers gripping tight with worry. He seems to finally be coming out of his daze, but when his focus returns he'll find Piper staring at him with worry in her eyes. He hadn't let go of the artifact yet, and he'd reacted to it so much more strongly than she had that she was beginning to get scared.
They'd been on the hunt for a while now, for clues that might lead to the legendary Archimedes' workshop, in hopes that SOMETHING in it might provide the means to free Varian's father, but in these old walls they'd paused, lingered. Something magical had called out to her, and thinking that it might be what they sought, Piper had cautiously picked up the medallion. It was just a necklace, exactly how dangerous could it be?
She'd dropped it so quickly that you'd think it was scalding hot, but she was pale after, staring at the object in confused horror. When Varian bent to pick it up she was too slow, still recovering from the after effects, her own daze. She didn't even have a chance to warn him before he'd touched it himself.
Dropping to her knees in front of him, she isn't sure how long he'd been staring into nothing, but her voice was just beginning to edge on panic when she recognized his pupils returning to normal. ]
Gods... Varian! You scared the wits out of me! Are you alright...?
[There's something entirely unsettling about having a vision, and Varian is certain there's no other term for what he's just seen. Magic. Once again, something has justified his disdain for it. The experience of seeing memories that weren't him had been nothing short of dizzying. As for what he'd seen, specifically...
His hands clench into fists against the dirt floor of the ruins, and he doesn't meet Piper's gaze. Her father had been through such great trauma because of her - in the way that now, on a good day, he can see what happened to Quirin was his fault. If he'd only listened-
No! It wasn't the same, he tells himself, because Varian had gone to all lengths to save his own father, while Piper had reacted by- by running away from hers. By removing herself from the picture in every sense.
In an instant, he's on his feet with his back to her. He knows he's relying on her, now, to help him save Quirin. He also knows that no one else will be able to see that what he'd done hadn't been the simple act of villainy. But, oh, he's furious.]
[ The feeling of emotional whiplash is disconcerting, Varian snatching away from her and turning his back, standing above her even though he wasn't looking her way. It immediately set warning bells to ringing in Piper's mind. The air felt even chillier all of a sudden, and Piper wasn't sure if it was just her imagination. ]
Whoa, okay...? So then do you wanna tell me what the Hades just happened?
[ She asks, standing up, frowning at his back but giving him his space even though it was making her chest feel painfully tight. He'd been guarded until now, but NOW the air around him was downright FRIGID. ]
Piper's expression should serve as answer enough, hurt flashing across her face. ]
You saw that...?
[ Her voice was tight. Her chest hurt. It felt like the room was starting to tilt and slowly spin. No... not like this. She didn't want him to find out like this. ]
[ Would he even believe her now if she said yes? ]
I was... it just never seemed like the right time.
[ And she was afraid of this very response. Her voice goes thick with emotion. ]
I did it to protect him, Varian, I'm not gonna pretend like that makes it better. But what would you have done? [ The idea of there being a next time, of him not being so lucky as to get out with only mental scars and a few bruises, and it being HER FAULT. She couldn't live with that. ]
[ Okay. You know, that's fair, telling her she can't bring up his dad. That's HIS relationship, that's HIS family, but hearing him this angry at her is only pushing her into a corner, one that Piper is terrified that she'll be left in alone, always alone. ]
Well I wasn't strong enough! You seriously think it would have been better to have to keep erasing his memory over and over?!
[ It's at least half selfishness and she knows that. ]
[ She's quiet for what almost feels like a long moment, but then she looks away, putting up her own walls now. He's right. They aren't done yet, they'd come here for a reason, and after they've accomplished that goal if he wants nothing to do with her...
She'll cross that bridge when it doesn't hurt so much to think about. ]
Yeah... Okay. Let's go.
[ She takes lead again, knowing that they've got a long way to go before they find everything they need to free his father. ]
[ Days had passed with few to no words spoken between them since the catacombs and the amulet. Even though Varian was seldom ever more than ten feet away from her at any given time she'd never felt as alone as she did in the days since the fight- if you'd call it a fight, honestly. She could all but taste the anger rolling off of him whenever he started thinking about it, or if she tried speaking to him, but she didn't call him out over it. Instead she cautioned against letting it blind or distract him.
Maybe there was a part of her that wanted him to stay angry with her. She deserved it after the way that she'd run off from home, for making her father think she'd abandoned him because she couldn't tell him the truth. It was complicated, and it was hurtful, and it was messy, but he was safe.
At the end of the day, that's all that Piper cared about. Her father is safe, and she's going to help Varian save his, too. After that... if he still couldn't find it in him to forgive her?
Well, she'd traveled alone before. She'd just do it again. And he could be angry later. The belly of the labyrinth wasn't the place to be losing one's head or one might lose their head permanently.
They tred through the corridors of in cold silence, and not only because of the tension hanging between them. The maze was like a living, breathing thing, its malice and contempt for her kind pulsing over her skin like a hot, clammy second layer, and of course she'd taken the lead. That meant she could feel Varian's eyes on her back, between her shoulders or on the back of her head as they attempted to navigate the shifting landscape and the plethora of traps.
Her stomach gave a weak lurch that she tried to ignore. She was thankfully distracted by a draft blowing into the corridor with them. When she stopped to listen, at first she thought maybe it was an open room, but once they were closer she realized it was actually a-
... What WAS it, actually? ]
There's something here. [ She'd observed with a frown, moving closer for a better look. The stonework was different, and Piper realized that the labyrinth had brought them to some destination. What it was she couldn't be sure, but she felt like it was important.
Then she got a closer look at the detailing and began to pick out details, like celestial bronze pipes and a soft hiss of steam from somewhere. Stunned, she follows the sound and stops at a spherical looking lock. Some type of Greek puzzle, probably Archimedes' handiwork. It was once he began working on finding the solution that the sound of something moving in the dark reached her keen ears.
Of course it was booby trapped.
"Keep working. I'll hold them off."
than Piper felt the pinprick of her intuition, making her turn. The glint of metal in the dark was the only warning. Instinct took over after that, meeting celestial bronze with celestial bronze- a shield she'd picked off of a skeleton during their exploration. Damn good thing, too. It had saved them both from being impaled by the spear stabbing out from the darkness. After a scuffle she managed to break the spear in half at the shaft, kicking the automaton back into one of the Greek pillars behind it.
"I got it!" Came Varian's cry of success, the sound of the door swinging open for the first time in gods knew how many decades.
Four more lumbering figures came out of hidden depressions in the wall, the tops of their bronze heads scraping the ceiling, and Piper knew at once that they had terrible odds. Without thinking about it she'd reached out behind her to shove Varian through the doorway, turning only long enough to slam it shut after him and jam the broken half of one of the spears through the handles so that he couldn't get out, and the automatons couldn't get in.
"Find the workshop, Varian. You're the only one who'll be able to figure out how to use anything from it. I'll catch up."
She was a damned liar, but she liked to think she could put on a brave face all the same. Knowing that they would be after her first, as a demigod, and just to be sure he didn't get any stupid ideas she'd taken off, leading them further down the tunnel where the fighting continued, and eventually she was overcome.
Piper wasn't even sure how much time had passed between her blacking out and now. Pain flared in her ribs as she was roughly dragged along by the hood of her cloak, struggling weakly not to choke on her own clothes and pass out again from asphyxiation, fought for every breath. The copper taste of her own blood filled her nose, mixing with the damp stench of the underground.
Suddenly she felt the pressure around her neck alleviate as she was dropped unceremoniously in a heap. Something was jabbing at her sides, and an unnerving clatter told her she probably should be thankful that it was too dark to see even if she did open her eyes. She had a hazy suspicion that she'd just been dumped into some kind of cell and that her new roommates had expired a long, long time before she got there.
The four sentries left after that, slamming a door shut behind them, and the last thing Piper heard (aside from the sound of her own ragged breathing) was the sound of a mechanism engaging.
Those bastards had locked her in. ]
You'd better not... get yourself killed, goggles...
Varian could hardly think after he'd realized what Piper had done, the sacrifice she'd made. And thinking was his best defense, his best way to cope with anything. Now, he was powerless. He'd tried to fight the door open, but clearly, Piper had barred it shut, leaving him pounding his fists against the mechanism desperately.]
Piper-!
[That had been... He isn't sure how long ago. He's collected himself since, and started to try finding the workshop. It shouldn't have been as difficult as it is, though. Not having Piper around - not thinking about how angry he is at her - should mean it's easier to focus, but the exact opposite is true. He is, despite everything, so worried about her.
And he can't even do anything about it. Again. But this time, it's not that everyone's turned their backs on him, it's that he's in over his head.]
She's fine. She probably got away and left.
[Because... Why wouldn't she leave? Everyone was letting him down, these days.
After that thought, he makes it about fifteen feet before he turns around with a groan.]
I can't believe I'm doing this...
[There has to be a way for him to get that door open.]
[ While Piper struggled to draw her next breath without passing out from the pain, Varian would find himself navigating a living maze. Where most of the maze had felt cold and removed, like it was actively trying to pull away from them, this section he wandered now felt less malevolent if he cared to notice. That didn't mean it would cooperate any more than the earlier segments, not in the way that he might expect.
Upon doubling back he'd find the path had changed. Instead of a straight hallway there was a sudden turn, taking him to the left. That wall blocking his progress and steering him in this new direction was definitely not there before. It seemed that magic wasn't done messing with his life just yet.
Following the maze's direction, however, would soon lead him into a room filled with the remnants of partially assembled automatons and an archaic looking control panel. At its center sat a bronze sphere, orbited by two crisscrossing rings. It resembled, in a way, the locking mechanism they'd encountered at the door, but much larger- still small enough that it could be carried under an arm, should he choose to dislodge it.
There was a viewing panel overlooking a large room, and if he found the right switch he would manage to activate the mechanical torches lining the walls.
There, in the shadows at the edge of the wall was a beaten and bloodied shape lying in the dark atop a pile of bones. A close enough look would reveal that her shoulders were rising and falling, but the movement was minimal and too stilted to be regular breathing. She was hurt, her ribs injured in the fight.
The panel would begin to frost over before he could act past that, however, two of the four automatons from before entering the room that held Piper below, looking up towards the control room.
It was a trap, Piper was the bait, and Varian was the target. The doorway that had led him into the room slammed shut without warning, heavy and unmovable.
A cold voice hissed and crackled, like a rapid freeze racing through a forest, snapping branches and solidifying everything in its wake. ]
We knew you would come for this one. Human, stay where you are or the demigod dies.
[ As the voice spoke the other three automatons began searching for a way into the control room.
Ready or not, Varian will find that he's working on a time limit. ]
[This was all happening too fast, and even the clever young man could barely keep his thoughts straight. One thing at a time. He could do that. Just one thing at a-
That mentality was lost when he made out Piper's figure, struggling to breathe. Varian's own breathing seemed to stop for a moment. No. No, he wasn't losing anyone else.]
Where are you? [He shouted at the voice, trying to be heard over the banging on the door from the automatons.] Why are you doing this?!
[ If he looks, he'll find that he has everything he needs in the control room. The sphere is the key, it can activate the traps. Or perhaps the answer lies in the broken parts around the room, something he can use to fashion NEW traps of his own. ]
[He needs to focus - ideally, without actually appearing to do so. He doesn't want the automatons and this strange voice to be too on their toes, if he can help it.]
I asked where you are, not who you are.
[He approaches the sphere. He's on a time limit, though, that's the problem. He needs to think it through - but not any more than necessary. He keeps talking, trying to keep his tone casual, as he sets to work.]
This sounds like some serious dark magic... Are you sure you want to mess with something like that?
[ From where Piper lay in the dark she wished that she could provide an answer. She knew about them from her reading. Eidolons... spirits of the dead who refused to move on. They spent all their remaining time searching for bodies to possess, and it seemed as if they'd settled on the two of them for hosts.
So then, that chill they'd been feeling since stepping foot in the area of the maze with the workshop had nothing to do with the labyrinth. It was THEM. ]
Foolish human! Even if you know, what can YOU do to stop us? These metal bodies will be sufficient to destroy this obstacle and then we shall have NEW bodies. There is no need for foolish magical trickery!
[ He may wish he hadn't asked. The voice laughs, a crackling and popping sound. ]
Simple... we will take yours. Now enough! OPEN THE DOOR! OR- OR...
[ Well, now the cat's out of the bag isn't it? They can't KILL Piper if they want to take her body, can they? But they can't take her body before they get Varian to cooperate. ]
[Okay, it's harder to calmly snark now that the idea of possession has been introduced. It's reflected in the rush as he works on the spherical puzzle, as well.]
So then stop resisting and surrender! It would be easier and you would no longer have to fear the passage of time! You see? It is VERY mutually beneficial!
[ Meanwhile, Piper has found enough strength, it seems, to snark FOR him. ]
Get bent, you... ghostly bucket of... rusty bolts... preferably... literally.
[Even if - when, when - he ensures their safety, she's going to need medical attention. That cuts the little time he thought he had... About in half, he realizes.]
I'm going to get this...
[And sure enough, something in the puzzle clicks into place.]
I am so pulling things out of thin air right now. LOL
[ She didn't even have the energy or breath to agree that that was probably a good idea. But if she'd bought him even just a few seconds, it was enough.
The puzzle solved, the sphere responds, and the control room brightens to life. He'll find that he can now control the partially assembled automatons, who's lights begin to blink to life, pulling mismatched parts towards one another. On the other side of the room a door appears where there didn't seem to be seams for one at all, and a set of stairs led a clear path down into the arena. The sphere had detected the presence of the Eidolon's and was reacting accordingly, providing what it thought was its creator the means to fight back and escape. ]
[When that door opened and Varian realized he could control the automatons, the logical, rational thing to do would have been to send one down that way. He could retrieve Piper, getting her to safety without endangering himself. But after having to stay rational as he completed the puzzle, he found that he couldn't anymore. That his fear for Piper's life was the only thing that mattered.]
Here we go...
[He does take one moment at the control panel to bring an automaton over and make it pull its unfinished, hand-less arm out of the metal socket - then snap it in half.]
Thanks!
[He grabs the impromptu weapon - it's no staff, but it'll do if he needs something. He really hopes he doesn't need something. Then he takes off at a run down the stairs.]
Edited (lol what is html even?) 2019-05-04 23:20 (UTC)
[ The fates are not on Varian's side today. When he reaches the bottom of the stairs he'll find one of the automatons standing guard at the base of the stairs. It doesn't have glowing eyes unlike the others, but is no less dangerous for it lacking an eidolon possessing it.
Turning at the sound of his footsteps the celestial bronze monstrosity brandishes a sword and advances without a word. ]
[He'd been mad at Piper for - how long, now? But all the same, in that moment, Varian was endlessly grateful to her. She'd taught him to fight, and now he needed it.]
Let's go.
[He charged at the automaton with the rod he'd gotten, first blocking a blow with its sword and then combining what he'd learned to do with a spear with his mechanical knowledge. This way, he was able to entirely remove the arm of the automaton that had been wielding the sword.
The now unarmed mechanical guard soon lay on the ground, the rod sticking through its body, as Varian raced to reach Piper.]
[ She was on the verge of blacking out again from the pain, but with what strength she still had she managed to bear witness to Varian's skirmish with the automaton. The noise was bound to have drawn the others attention, but either they were too far away or the maze was doing its thing and they were just as much at its mercy as Varian and Piper had been until now. Either way, he would find his path, for the moment, unhindered.
Her eyes were barely open by the time he reached her, her breathing quiet but present, still shallow to avoid jarring her ribs as much as possible. If she could just get to the abmbrosia and nectar in her bag...
Looking up, she isn't sure what to expect. Piper had never doubted that at heart Varian was still a good person, maybe just made some bad choices, but given what he'd been through there had been a part of her expecting him to take the sphere and leave her to her fate. She'd gone into it knowingly, after all, she wasn't even his responsibility. That he's here now and had come for her, chosen to rescue her over taking the sphere... Piper was at a loss for words. ]
[He shook his head sharply, but the look in his eyes was undeniably caring. Did it really take losing or almost losing someone to realize how much he cared about them?]
Don't talk. Just... We have to get you out of here.
[ Despite the pain that look still managed to give her a sense of relief. She'd been a little afraid that the next time he looked her in the eye it would still be a look of disgust and anger. Maybe he still is, but he obviously doesn't think it's important right now if so.
Somehow that gives her the strength to nod once, to move, to push through the pain and force herself up into a position that would be easier for him to help pull her up- or try. It isn't done without some sounds of discomfort, though, a little cry of agony that she bites back as much as she can. He's right, they need to go, and that means they don't have time for her to lie there like a useless bag of bones.
In the distance there's a distinct howl of outrage, though it sounds far away and cold, almost hollow.
The eidolons sound like they're having a blast trying to find these two. ]
[Physical strength is not something Varian exactly has in spades, but he takes both her hands in his own and tries to be solid support so she can get to her feet, while also being careful not to further harm her.]
They're still not on our trail, I guess. [He murmurs at the cry.] That's good, it'll give us a little time.
[With Varian's help she manages to find her legs, which thankfully WEREN'T injured in her scuffle with the possessed automatons. Moving around with her injuries isn't the most fun experience ever, but at least she CAN move, and they need to get out of there, fast.
Piper wants to stop to ask if he'd managed to find anything useful, before they leave and- more likely than not -lose any chance to grab said spoils, but just sitting up had made the room spin, and she thinks better of trying to talk again just yet.
She does manage to dig hastily into a pocket on the inside of her cloak, ignoring the pain as she drags out a small sack. Upon opening it her hand disappears inside for a brief moment, and she draws out a small vial of something, which she unstops and drinks from. Shoving the vial back into the folds of her cloak, she tries to think as the nectar begins its work taking off the worst edge of pain. NOW she has enough of her wits about her to attempt speaking, and spares him a glance even as she looks between the door he'd emerged from and the corridor where the angry howling had roughly emanated from.]
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beautifulsynergy2019-04-25 04:20 pm
•||• She's Imperfect but she tries. She is good but she lies.
[ Her hands are at his shoulders, fingers gripping tight with worry. He seems to finally be coming out of his daze, but when his focus returns he'll find Piper staring at him with worry in her eyes. He hadn't let go of the artifact yet, and he'd reacted to it so much more strongly than she had that she was beginning to get scared.
They'd been on the hunt for a while now, for clues that might lead to the legendary Archimedes' workshop, in hopes that SOMETHING in it might provide the means to free Varian's father, but in these old walls they'd paused, lingered. Something magical had called out to her, and thinking that it might be what they sought, Piper had cautiously picked up the medallion. It was just a necklace, exactly how dangerous could it be?
She'd dropped it so quickly that you'd think it was scalding hot, but she was pale after, staring at the object in confused horror. When Varian bent to pick it up she was too slow, still recovering from the after effects, her own daze. She didn't even have a chance to warn him before he'd touched it himself.
Dropping to her knees in front of him, she isn't sure how long he'd been staring into nothing, but her voice was just beginning to edge on panic when she recognized his pupils returning to normal. ]
Gods... Varian! You scared the wits out of me! Are you alright...?
no subject
His hands clench into fists against the dirt floor of the ruins, and he doesn't meet Piper's gaze. Her father had been through such great trauma because of her - in the way that now, on a good day, he can see what happened to Quirin was his fault. If he'd only listened-
No! It wasn't the same, he tells himself, because Varian had gone to all lengths to save his own father, while Piper had reacted by- by running away from hers. By removing herself from the picture in every sense.
In an instant, he's on his feet with his back to her. He knows he's relying on her, now, to help him save Quirin. He also knows that no one else will be able to see that what he'd done hadn't been the simple act of villainy. But, oh, he's furious.]
I'm fine.
no subject
Whoa, okay...? So then do you wanna tell me what the Hades just happened?
[ She asks, standing up, frowning at his back but giving him his space even though it was making her chest feel painfully tight. He'd been guarded until now, but NOW the air around him was downright FRIGID. ]
no subject
You don't know?
[He took a deep breath.]
What it showed me. Did you see it? Was it real?
no subject
Piper's expression should serve as answer enough, hurt flashing across her face. ]
You saw that...?
[ Her voice was tight. Her chest hurt. It felt like the room was starting to tilt and slowly spin. No... not like this. She didn't want him to find out like this. ]
no subject
[He shakes his head, unable to look her in the eyes.]
Were you going to tell me?
no subject
I was... it just never seemed like the right time.
[ And she was afraid of this very response. Her voice goes thick with emotion. ]
I did it to protect him, Varian, I'm not gonna pretend like that makes it better. But what would you have done? [ The idea of there being a next time, of him not being so lucky as to get out with only mental scars and a few bruises, and it being HER FAULT. She couldn't live with that. ]
no subject
[The word comes out sharp and loud.]
You don't get to talk about my dad! Look at what I'm doing to get him back, Piper!
What would I have done? I would have stayed to keep him safe.
no subject
Well I wasn't strong enough! You seriously think it would have been better to have to keep erasing his memory over and over?!
[ It's at least half selfishness and she knows that. ]
no subject
[She may have a point, about erasing his memory, but this is not something he's currently equipped to deal with.]
We have a job to do, right?
[He has some nerve, still asking for her help, and he's well aware of it. But there's no shame.]
no subject
She'll cross that bridge when it doesn't hurt so much to think about. ]
Yeah... Okay. Let's go.
[ She takes lead again, knowing that they've got a long way to go before they find everything they need to free his father. ]
•||• She is broken and won't ask for help
Maybe there was a part of her that wanted him to stay angry with her. She deserved it after the way that she'd run off from home, for making her father think she'd abandoned him because she couldn't tell him the truth. It was complicated, and it was hurtful, and it was messy, but he was safe.
At the end of the day, that's all that Piper cared about. Her father is safe, and she's going to help Varian save his, too. After that... if he still couldn't find it in him to forgive her?
Well, she'd traveled alone before. She'd just do it again. And he could be angry later. The belly of the labyrinth wasn't the place to be losing one's head or one might lose their head permanently.
They tred through the corridors of in cold silence, and not only because of the tension hanging between them. The maze was like a living, breathing thing, its malice and contempt for her kind pulsing over her skin like a hot, clammy second layer, and of course she'd taken the lead. That meant she could feel Varian's eyes on her back, between her shoulders or on the back of her head as they attempted to navigate the shifting landscape and the plethora of traps.
Her stomach gave a weak lurch that she tried to ignore. She was thankfully distracted by a draft blowing into the corridor with them. When she stopped to listen, at first she thought maybe it was an open room, but once they were closer she realized it was actually a-
... What WAS it, actually? ]
There's something here. [ She'd observed with a frown, moving closer for a better look. The stonework was different, and Piper realized that the labyrinth had brought them to some destination. What it was she couldn't be sure, but she felt like it was important.
Then she got a closer look at the detailing and began to pick out details, like celestial bronze pipes and a soft hiss of steam from somewhere. Stunned, she follows the sound and stops at a spherical looking lock. Some type of Greek puzzle, probably Archimedes' handiwork. It was once he began working on finding the solution that the sound of something moving in the dark reached her keen ears.
Of course it was booby trapped.
"Keep working. I'll hold them off."
than Piper felt the pinprick of her intuition, making her turn. The glint of metal in the dark was the only warning. Instinct took over after that, meeting celestial bronze with celestial bronze- a shield she'd picked off of a skeleton during their exploration. Damn good thing, too. It had saved them both from being impaled by the spear stabbing out from the darkness. After a scuffle she managed to break the spear in half at the shaft, kicking the automaton back into one of the Greek pillars behind it.
"I got it!" Came Varian's cry of success, the sound of the door swinging open for the first time in gods knew how many decades.
Four more lumbering figures came out of hidden depressions in the wall, the tops of their bronze heads scraping the ceiling, and Piper knew at once that they had terrible odds. Without thinking about it she'd reached out behind her to shove Varian through the doorway, turning only long enough to slam it shut after him and jam the broken half of one of the spears through the handles so that he couldn't get out, and the automatons couldn't get in.
"Find the workshop, Varian. You're the only one who'll be able to figure out how to use anything from it. I'll catch up."
She was a damned liar, but she liked to think she could put on a brave face all the same. Knowing that they would be after her first, as a demigod, and just to be sure he didn't get any stupid ideas she'd taken off, leading them further down the tunnel where the fighting continued, and eventually she was overcome.
Piper wasn't even sure how much time had passed between her blacking out and now. Pain flared in her ribs as she was roughly dragged along by the hood of her cloak, struggling weakly not to choke on her own clothes and pass out again from asphyxiation, fought for every breath. The copper taste of her own blood filled her nose, mixing with the damp stench of the underground.
Suddenly she felt the pressure around her neck alleviate as she was dropped unceremoniously in a heap. Something was jabbing at her sides, and an unnerving clatter told her she probably should be thankful that it was too dark to see even if she did open her eyes. She had a hazy suspicion that she'd just been dumped into some kind of cell and that her new roommates had expired a long, long time before she got there.
The four sentries left after that, slamming a door shut behind them, and the last thing Piper heard (aside from the sound of her own ragged breathing) was the sound of a mechanism engaging.
Those bastards had locked her in. ]
You'd better not... get yourself killed, goggles...
no subject
Varian could hardly think after he'd realized what Piper had done, the sacrifice she'd made. And thinking was his best defense, his best way to cope with anything. Now, he was powerless. He'd tried to fight the door open, but clearly, Piper had barred it shut, leaving him pounding his fists against the mechanism desperately.]
Piper-!
[That had been... He isn't sure how long ago. He's collected himself since, and started to try finding the workshop. It shouldn't have been as difficult as it is, though. Not having Piper around - not thinking about how angry he is at her - should mean it's easier to focus, but the exact opposite is true. He is, despite everything, so worried about her.
And he can't even do anything about it. Again. But this time, it's not that everyone's turned their backs on him, it's that he's in over his head.]
She's fine. She probably got away and left.
[Because... Why wouldn't she leave? Everyone was letting him down, these days.
After that thought, he makes it about fifteen feet before he turns around with a groan.]
I can't believe I'm doing this...
[There has to be a way for him to get that door open.]
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Upon doubling back he'd find the path had changed. Instead of a straight hallway there was a sudden turn, taking him to the left. That wall blocking his progress and steering him in this new direction was definitely not there before. It seemed that magic wasn't done messing with his life just yet.
Following the maze's direction, however, would soon lead him into a room filled with the remnants of partially assembled automatons and an archaic looking control panel. At its center sat a bronze sphere, orbited by two crisscrossing rings. It resembled, in a way, the locking mechanism they'd encountered at the door, but much larger- still small enough that it could be carried under an arm, should he choose to dislodge it.
There was a viewing panel overlooking a large room, and if he found the right switch he would manage to activate the mechanical torches lining the walls.
There, in the shadows at the edge of the wall was a beaten and bloodied shape lying in the dark atop a pile of bones. A close enough look would reveal that her shoulders were rising and falling, but the movement was minimal and too stilted to be regular breathing. She was hurt, her ribs injured in the fight.
The panel would begin to frost over before he could act past that, however, two of the four automatons from before entering the room that held Piper below, looking up towards the control room.
It was a trap, Piper was the bait, and Varian was the target. The doorway that had led him into the room slammed shut without warning, heavy and unmovable.
A cold voice hissed and crackled, like a rapid freeze racing through a forest, snapping branches and solidifying everything in its wake. ]
We knew you would come for this one. Human, stay where you are or the demigod dies.
[ As the voice spoke the other three automatons began searching for a way into the control room.
Ready or not, Varian will find that he's working on a time limit. ]
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[This was all happening too fast, and even the clever young man could barely keep his thoughts straight. One thing at a time. He could do that. Just one thing at a-
That mentality was lost when he made out Piper's figure, struggling to breathe. Varian's own breathing seemed to stop for a moment. No. No, he wasn't losing anyone else.]
Where are you? [He shouted at the voice, trying to be heard over the banging on the door from the automatons.] Why are you doing this?!
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[ If he looks, he'll find that he has everything he needs in the control room. The sphere is the key, it can activate the traps. Or perhaps the answer lies in the broken parts around the room, something he can use to fashion NEW traps of his own. ]
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I asked where you are, not who you are.
[He approaches the sphere. He's on a time limit, though, that's the problem. He needs to think it through - but not any more than necessary. He keeps talking, trying to keep his tone casual, as he sets to work.]
This sounds like some serious dark magic... Are you sure you want to mess with something like that?
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So then, that chill they'd been feeling since stepping foot in the area of the maze with the workshop had nothing to do with the labyrinth. It was THEM. ]
Foolish human! Even if you know, what can YOU do to stop us? These metal bodies will be sufficient to destroy this obstacle and then we shall have NEW bodies. There is no need for foolish magical trickery!
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[The words are muttered softly as he continues to try and solve the puzzle. It should be easier. He just did something so similar...]
How is this getting you new bodies, exactly?
[Keep them talking. He's sure if he can distract them some, he can finish this in time.]
Greek villains are morons and I love it.
Simple... we will take yours. Now enough! OPEN THE DOOR! OR- OR...
[ Well, now the cat's out of the bag isn't it? They can't KILL Piper if they want to take her body, can they? But they can't take her body before they get Varian to cooperate. ]
Absolutely excellent!
Ugh! I don't have time for this!
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[ Meanwhile, Piper has found enough strength, it seems, to snark FOR him. ]
Get bent, you... ghostly bucket of... rusty bolts... preferably... literally.
SILENCE!
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[Even if - when, when - he ensures their safety, she's going to need medical attention. That cuts the little time he thought he had... About in half, he realizes.]
I'm going to get this...
[And sure enough, something in the puzzle clicks into place.]
I am so pulling things out of thin air right now. LOL
The puzzle solved, the sphere responds, and the control room brightens to life. He'll find that he can now control the partially assembled automatons, who's lights begin to blink to life, pulling mismatched parts towards one another. On the other side of the room a door appears where there didn't seem to be seams for one at all, and a set of stairs led a clear path down into the arena. The sphere had detected the presence of the Eidolon's and was reacting accordingly, providing what it thought was its creator the means to fight back and escape. ]
LMAO same! But it works!
Here we go...
[He does take one moment at the control panel to bring an automaton over and make it pull its unfinished, hand-less arm out of the metal socket - then snap it in half.]
Thanks!
[He grabs the impromptu weapon - it's no staff, but it'll do if he needs something. He really hopes he doesn't need something. Then he takes off at a run down the stairs.]
LOL Yeah this is true!
Turning at the sound of his footsteps the celestial bronze monstrosity brandishes a sword and advances without a word. ]
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Let's go.
[He charged at the automaton with the rod he'd gotten, first blocking a blow with its sword and then combining what he'd learned to do with a spear with his mechanical knowledge. This way, he was able to entirely remove the arm of the automaton that had been wielding the sword.
The now unarmed mechanical guard soon lay on the ground, the rod sticking through its body, as Varian raced to reach Piper.]
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Her eyes were barely open by the time he reached her, her breathing quiet but present, still shallow to avoid jarring her ribs as much as possible. If she could just get to the abmbrosia and nectar in her bag...
Looking up, she isn't sure what to expect. Piper had never doubted that at heart Varian was still a good person, maybe just made some bad choices, but given what he'd been through there had been a part of her expecting him to take the sphere and leave her to her fate. She'd gone into it knowingly, after all, she wasn't even his responsibility. That he's here now and had come for her, chosen to rescue her over taking the sphere... Piper was at a loss for words. ]
Goggles...
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[He shook his head sharply, but the look in his eyes was undeniably caring. Did it really take losing or almost losing someone to realize how much he cared about them?]
Don't talk. Just... We have to get you out of here.
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Somehow that gives her the strength to nod once, to move, to push through the pain and force herself up into a position that would be easier for him to help pull her up- or try. It isn't done without some sounds of discomfort, though, a little cry of agony that she bites back as much as she can. He's right, they need to go, and that means they don't have time for her to lie there like a useless bag of bones.
In the distance there's a distinct howl of outrage, though it sounds far away and cold, almost hollow.
The eidolons sound like they're having a blast trying to find these two. ]
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They're still not on our trail, I guess. [He murmurs at the cry.] That's good, it'll give us a little time.
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Piper wants to stop to ask if he'd managed to find anything useful, before they leave and- more likely than not -lose any chance to grab said spoils, but just sitting up had made the room spin, and she thinks better of trying to talk again just yet.
She does manage to dig hastily into a pocket on the inside of her cloak, ignoring the pain as she drags out a small sack. Upon opening it her hand disappears inside for a brief moment, and she draws out a small vial of something, which she unstops and drinks from. Shoving the vial back into the folds of her cloak, she tries to think as the nectar begins its work taking off the worst edge of pain. NOW she has enough of her wits about her to attempt speaking, and spares him a glance even as she looks between the door he'd emerged from and the corridor where the angry howling had roughly emanated from.]
Find anything...?