open | event | All Shook Up!

[ironwood]

Characters: Teams Alpha, Beta, and Charlie; also, everyone!
Date: February 17th (through 28th)
Location: Tu Vishan's shell damaged areas (multiple locations), sewers
Situation: There are a number of damaged sections of Tu Vishan's shell and the kedan are working at repairs and, where the turtle's flesh itself has been damaged, healing. There are many convoluted sewer passages now open that Foreigners technically could access, if they can make it past the police that have been stationed around each exposed area.
Warnings/Rating: Medical examinations, blood & gore references, sewage; to be updated as needed.


Exposed Areas
The damages sustained during the dive event are not excessive in number, but are plentiful enough to require work groups of kedan to be deployed in a twenty-four/seven repair schedule. They are signed into each area through one of Evandau's direct reports and their numbers are counted throughout the day to enforce strict controls over those that have access to Tu Vishan, their most precious resource.

Those making it past the checkpoints or sneaking through gaps in the sentries find that the Emperor did not lie about the damages done. There are scars near each damaged bit of shell that shift into spider webbed stress lines and end with the jagged edging of broken shell. Kedan workers are busy trying to clear away broken shell and install metal-and-wood framing that will hold these pieces back in place when they are done.

Beneath the surface, some are working at dams and blockages in what appears to be an ancient sewer system. The walls are smooth and indicative of architecture done in concert with the natural growth of the turtle. Lanterns provide some pinpoints of light where dark mosses have grown over the bioluminescent shell itself, but the further one goes from the work sites, the more one must rely upon the natural lighting of the shell in order to proceed.

At the core of each operation are the best healers that the kedan population has to offer. They can be seen tending torn and blooded flesh of a momentous scale, mending the damages done directly to the turtle to the best measure that they can. These areas are the most stringently guarded, for Tu Vishan is most vulnerable beneath the armoured layer of its shell.

Sewage meets most that enter the tunnels rather than skulking about the sites, with an unpleasant smell lingering in the nose and mouth the longer that one stays there -- oh, and in the clothes, which may make a stealthy exit more difficult if one is not downwind. The tunnels twist and turn aplenty, crossing one another with a design more evolutionary than engineered. Those that wander in are at risk of becoming lost beneath the surface, with only a few doors and small closet-like rooms to be found where tools were stored once upon a time.

Be wary, Foreigners! There are many a kedan patrolling these areas and they will give chase in an unauthorised party is found. Evandau briefed a number of the teams himself, advising that Foreigners are all considered unauthorised. Parties subject to arrest are to be brought to the surface and handed over to either the police or, once it's in place, Raylan's civilian team for eventual escort to the palace prison.

OOC: Thread headers (and starters for the teams) are provided in the comments area of this post!

Comments

[duelkatana]

[Leonardo is in a far away place, distant from these living walls and hollow tunnels carved out of breathing flesh. Distractions. Everything but the yawning darkness ahead is a distraction, an empty vie for his attention. The walls don't fracture. The flesh doesn't bleed. Only the passageways ahead, only the sounds of clanking tools and resonating footsteps.]

[But the stench of rot doesn't escape him. When it first hits, there's a falter in his movements, something old and foggy rising from a deep corner of his memory. There's a sudden tension in his left shoulder, the muscles gripping bone like a steel trap. He forces it to relax. Pushes away the familiarity of the smell before he can place it. And they keep moving.]

[When the passageways open up and the sounds of rushing water begin to mix with the construction work, it's almost a relief. They continue pushing through the tunnels, now moist and dappled with patches of heavy moss, the echoes of hammering and sawing tools growing to thunderous levels.]

[Finally they round a corner where the walls slope away dramatically in all directions, expanding into a cavern easily the size of their old Y'lintian lair. Paper lanterns propped up on scaffoldings burn in the darkness, lending visibility to the silhouetted shapes busily toiling at the cavern's edges.]

[Urgency weaves into his bloodstream; they're completely exposed. Leo's eyes quickly fly across the room, looking for an exit. Then he sees it.]

[On the far wall, stretching high above a row of paper lanterns, basking in their warm glow like a prehistoric cave painting - a humongous section of shell that's been completely rotted through. The center is a furious pink, inflamed, like the surface had just been sliced clean away, leaving the tender tissue beneath to swell and blister with infection. Gouges of rotted, blackish-green tissue spread out from there, creating valleys in the wound like endless sand dunes carved into bone. And at the very edges, a sick, milky, greenish-white mold cements it to the surrounding healthy shell.]

[Leonardo stares. The renewed stench of rot slams into him like a freight train, and before he can control himself, his hand flies to his mouth as he turns his head to the side and coughs wetly. He finds his other hand gripping his shoulder with bruising force.]

[Shell rot.]

[meanandgreen]

[Through the gaping, wet maw of pus, and rot, meat and bone, he can see the stars. Surreal and unblinking, casting the rancid flesh in a gruesome, silver light. It stinks like an abcess, warm, rancid, and sticky sweat. Dust from bone and clotted blood make a thick soup of the sewage pooling around their legs.

A feverish heat erupts under Raph's skin, making him break into a cold sweat. Leo gags somewhere beside him, and his hand blindly gropes for his brother's arm, steadying them both. This's the most disgusting thing he's ever seen.

Someone drops a tool, shouts erupting from the working men like a chain reaction. Raph's head is still reeling, but his body moves without him.

They've been spotted.]

Time to go!

[He stumbles in the filth, but doesn't fall, doesn't let go of Leo's arm until they're both running. The commotion fades behind him, smothered by the miles they put behind them and his own heart pounding in his ears. In the darkest places of his mind, the beats becomes the throbbing agony of the turtle closing in all around them.

He doesn't stop running.]

[duelkatana]

[Raph's hand finds his arm just a second before the tool clatters to the floor, and both actions are a catalyst - his gaze tears away from the wall of decay, bouncing across their surroundings as the kedan begin rallying. His mind is buzzing with disgust, far too shocked to make out what they're saying, but he doesn't need to.]

[Raph's exclamation jump-starts his brain. Leo stumbles alongside Raphael in the murky sewage, but the moment they get their bearings, they sprint back towards the way they came, running blindly through the dark tunnels that bear down with claustrophobic intent. The echoes of shouting and footsteps follow distantly at their heels.]

[Leo jars to a sudden halt, the jagged shell underfoot scraping mercilessly at the thick soles of his feet. Up high against the tunnel wall is an alcove, just big enough for them to crawl through. A small stream of water flows down from the opening - if water's coming through, it has to lead somewhere -]

[His brain screams with rapid-fire calculations: the path from here is mostly linear with a few exceptions, and the patrols...]

Up there! [The order tears from his mouth as he runs to the opening and goes to one knee, arms dropping low and hands folding together to signal that he'll give Raph a boost.]

[meanandgreen]

[Raph lets his brother help him clamber up into the narrow tunnel, his hands scrabbling across the wet edges of water-smoothed bone. The shouts of their pursuers are getting louder again, and lantern light floods the end of the tunnel behind them.

The little tunnel is narrow. There's hardly enough room to turn around. Raph's shell scrapes against the walls as he turns and ducks down to help his brother up. They don't have much time. The kedan are getting closer, brandishing hammers and saws. But he knows these guys aren't fighters. They're only doing what the Emperor told them to. They can outrun them again, easy. He just has to grab Leo's hand.]

Come on!

[duelkatana]

[It's been a long while since Leo's had to give Raph a boost - he's heavier than he remembers (or maybe it's the lingering nausea in his gut making him weak), and takes a second longer than Leo had anticipated to boost him up into the tunnel's opening. By the time his brother slinks inside and tries to turn himself around with the sounds of scraping shell, Leonardo finds himself outlined in the glow of the kedans' lanterns.]

[Raph's hand suddenly flies down from the opening; all Leo has to do is make a jump and grab it. He reaches up, leg muscles coiling as he readies to leap -]

[- but instead he finds himself dodging backwards, away from the thrown claw hammer that comes sailing between them. Leo's gaze whips towards the mob of kedan - just well-meaning civilians, stupidly loyal to their awful ruler, dammit -]

[No time. Leonardo glances back at Raphael, face grim.]

Go! I'll meet you back on the surface!

[And without waiting for a response, he turns on his heel down the tunnel, disappearing into the darkness.]

[meanandgreen]

[Raph doesn't have time to argue. He has no interest in fighting these morons, and Leo can take care of himself. They'll just meet up topside soon they shake these kedan off their tails.

He turns and ducks deeper into the narrow tunnel, a handful of workers still brandishing tools scramble through the passageway behind him.

The tunnels wind unlike anything he's seen in New York - twisting and dipping, bifurcating in strange places. They trail more like veins and capillaries than anything man-made. No, he reminds himself, this thing's alive.

He loses the kedan easily enough in the labyrinth, but doesn't stop. He has to get the hell out of here. He's sick of feeling like an insect tunneling under this thing's skin. The reek of infection is still in his nostrils, images of the broken shell, blood clots and exposed bone flash through his mind along with the sickening crunch of an older memory. As he runs, the fever-heat sweeps over him again. His stomach lurches into his throat, and a moment later he's bent over against the wall, vomiting into the filthy water.

Great. This's just great. On the upside, he was able to keep his stomach until Leo wasn't there to see it. On the downside? He's lost more than just the kedan. He has no clue how to get out of this nightmare.]

[wholenewstory]

[Cass moves quickly through the tunnels, but her steps are delicate, motions mindful. The smell of sewage doesn't bother her, particularly, but the smell of decay, of open, weeping wounds - it's all too familiar, and it aches in her nostrils.

She wonders, again, if she should be here. She thought long and hard on it, ultimately deciding that if there were secrets being held here, she owed it to herself, to the rest of them - to the city - to find them.

But she feels like an intruder here, no matter how quiet her breaths, how reverent her movements.

She's about to turn a corner when the sound of gagging stops her. Not a kedan, she thinks, but all the same she peers round warily.

A - smaller turtle. Well, that's unexpected, but that part isn't important. He's upset, and he's alone, and she approaches him slowly and softly.]

[meanandgreen]

[It takes Raph a minute to regain his composure, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. The action is interrupted by the feeling of a presence; not the giant turtle-god that lives and breathes and bleeds all around him, but the sound of cautious movements. Alarms blare in his head. His posture stiffens. But when he turns his head to look at her out the corner of his eye, she's already standing there, watching him.]

You got a problem?

[If she wanted a fight, he figures she would've attacked him already. But maybe not. The way she's approaching him seems pretty non-threatening. Either way, he's in no mood to get arrested.]

[wholenewstory]

[Cass shakes her head, holding up her hands. She's never needed weapons, but it seems to reassure people when she doesn't have them.]

No. I - shouldn't be here, either.

[She could tell him she was worried, but she can see the defensiveness clear as day and she doubts that would make it better.]

[meanandgreen]

You're tellin' me.

[Okay so she's not gonna arrest him. But that doesn't mean he's gonna trust her. He stays sharply aware of his surroundings, listening for any sign that she might not be alone.

At least he feels a lot steadier now, facing her and crossing his arms over his chest. The way he stands is about as uninviting as someone could possibly be, chin tipped down, jaw set and lips pulled back into a sneer that looks right at home on a face all too used to scowling. He's freaked out and worried, yeah, but that defensiveness is as good as an iron wall between that and a hell of a lot of bravado.

This place is way beyond creepy. Nobody should be here. If you ask him, none of it should even exist. He can't wait to get the hell out of there. But he's not gonna let her see that. Bad enough she had to bump into him when she did.]

What're you doin' down here?

[wholenewstory]

[He doesn't let his guard down. That's good, and her gaze is approving as she lets her arms fall.]

Exploring.

[He might not be human, but he moves like one, enough for her to peer through his - and her lips quirk, just slightly - hard shell.

He reminds her of Jason.

So much anger and bluster, and it's real, but it's hiding something more sincere; empathy, and compassion, and protectiveness.]

We need to - know more. Knew I could look - without hurting. [But as her gaze wanders, her face crumples.] Didn't expect...this.

[meanandgreen]

[The actual compassion this girl has for the turtle knocks him off guard. He's used to most humans not giving a shit about anything but themselves. He's seen them abuse and kill each other, poison and tear the world to shreds for their own gain. In a weird way, she reminds him a little of April, only in the fact that she actually seems to care about something that isn't herself. But it's not like he knows that many people to compare her to.]

Yeah, well you should have. [He grits it out, knowing fully that he made the same awful mistake, but like he'd ever admit that. City boy through-and-through, all he heard was the word "sewers" and thought of long, concrete tunnels. He thought of home. But this... He even hates the idea of admitting that the Emperor might've been in the right about something. But he can't believe that. There has to be some other reason she's so obsessed over keeping people out of here, something she's hiding.

But whatever. Pissed off as he is, all he really wants to do is get the heck out of here and meet back up with Leo.]

There's a bunch of kedan lookin' for trespassers back there. [He jabs a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing to the tunnel behind him.] Better keep movin' unless you wanna get your butt caught.

[So they can... maybe find a way out together. He guesses. Or that's what he's trying to imply in his overly-defensive, roundabout way.]

[wholenewstory]

[He's only seen the harsh side of human nature, she thinks. That - makes too much sense, in a way that makes her chest twist. People are cruel to what they don't expect, what they don't understand, even when they don't mean to be.

But he offers to stay with her anyway, and that makes her smile beneath the mask, through the darkness and the smell of blood.]

Yes.

[She turns, gesturing ahead of her.]

I think - I know a way.

[meanandgreen]

[Relief washes over him, happy she didn't make him spit it out. The sooner he can get the hell out of here the better.]

Good.

[He'll let her lead the way.]

You didn't happen to see another turtle like me goin' that way, did you?

[wholenewstory]

[She doesn't pause, but her movements slow, for a moment.]

No. We could - look for him, first.

[Her first thought is that they must be brothers, and she'd never ask someone to leave family behind.]

[meanandgreen]

[Raph shrugs, not especially worried. Leo can handle himself. Worst case scenario he has to fight off some kedan. It's something they were trying to avoid, but not because they were scared of losing.]

Nah, we agreed to meet topside once we gave those kedan guys the slip.

[All right, so maybe he's a little worried. He always is. Being fiercely protective of your brothers to the point of being a little crazy about it can do that to you. But he masks it well with that brusk air of confidence. His expression is hard and determined as he travels soundlessly through the tunnel, tense with senses dialed to eleven for any hint of sound or movement up ahead.

Part of him almost wishes someone would try to arrest him. Somebody who would put up more of a fight than your everyday kedan. Then at least he wouldn't feel like this was a complete freakin' waste of his time.]

tell me if this is cool!

[wholenewstory]

[She glances back, every now and then. He's - Barbara would call him a powder keg, she thinks. Yearning to explode.

She stops, suddenly, as they come to a turn, and gestures for Raphael to imitate her as she presses her back to the wall. She's not worried about it; he might wish for a fight, but she doesn't think he'd want people hurt just for that.

When the danger has past, she straightens, but she doesn't start to move just yet. Instead, she turns to him, voice soft.]

It's...okay. To worry.

[Cass offers a faint smile.]

I...worry about my brothers.

hey, I'm cool with pretty much anything

[meanandgreen]

[Shell pressed up against the wall, Raph stiffens, feeling almost cornered by this little girl in that stupid mask, trying to be nice to him when he barely even knows her. And how does she even know Leo's his brother? He didn't tell her that.

But she's right. He's really freaking worried about not only Leo, but Donnie and Mikey. He doesn't even know what happened to them. He doesn't even know if they're alive. It's a constant ache on his conscience every minute he spends in this wacked-out place, and now this girl's putting her fingers in all of his very private sore spots.

Narrowing his eyes, he pushes off the wall and starts stomping ahead down the tunnel, not even sure where he's going. He just needs out. Now. And if that doesn't happen soon, he's really gonna need something to hit.]

I ain't worried. Leo can take care of himself.

<3

[wholenewstory]

[Cass takes off after him, strides long and swift to keep up.]

Mine can, too. All - fighters. Still worry.

[Because no one is invincible, especially on the inside. She shakes her head, though, as she catches up to him.]

Don't - have to talk, though. If you don't want. Just...wanted you to know - you're not alone.

[No one should have to feel alone.]

[meanandgreen]

[But Raph is alone. Being one of only four of his species, being hunted and persecuted just for what he is can give a guy a few complexes. And out of those four, he's the angry one, the one that pushes everyone away even farther than they need to be. Even when they're trying to be nice because his view of himself and the world is so far skewed in the negative, he has the hardest time accepting that goodness actually exists.

He feels alone every day of his life, but part of that is no one's fault but his own.

He keeps walking, glancing at Cass out the corner of his eye, and snorts incredulously.]

All right, Dr. Phil Girl. You always make a habit of hangin' around sewers handing out psychiatric advice? Or did I just get lucky.

[wholenewstory]

[Her response is as quick and light as her feet.] Usually - rooftops. [A hint of a smile.] And - it's Blackbat. [The name still feels a little strange, like a shoe that needs wearing in.]

[meanandgreen]

Blackbat, right. What is with all the people paradin' around in costumes around here?

[Yeah, this is a safer thing to talk about. Things were getting way too personal back there.]

[wholenewstory]

[She points to her chest.] Bulletproof.

[meanandgreen]

[He gives the costume another sideways glance. Being ornery and picking on people always seems to make him feel better. Good distraction from the sick feeling that's still taking residence in his stomach as they walk.]

Yeah, and what do you gotta be bulletproof for?