fracturamods | [break-in 2] this is a crime and it’s punishable by crime.

[To the left!

Lan Wangji gets a yard or two as Tsukasa and Kangai head right, and then he realizes........ man, it's fucking dark! He really can't see shit, though he can feel the walkway edge beneath his feet, and he can feel the wall to one side when he reaches out. If he looks back, he can see Tsukasa and Kangai wandering down their end--lantern in hand and all.

He can keep going, though, if he wants.

To the right, Tsukasa and Kangai fair a bit better in terms of visibility. The tunnel leads them along a good stretch of path. In the distance, there seems to be a giant grate blocking the way forward, probably leading toward the river. There's a small footbridge across to the other side of the sewer, and--careful! Ahead, there's also a dip in their path. It looks like a sloped landing.

The dark water beside them makes a very soft, sinking splash and ripples outward.]

[uh.

kangai looks up? did something drop from above to make that splash? also holds the lantern out—can they see what landed in the water, if anything?]

[It's fine he has a superpower, and that is EXTREME STUBBORNNESS

So he's gonna keep going with one hand on the wall until he hits a blockade or almost falls into the sewage]

[ Please Don't Die.

Tsukasa's going to inspect the grate with some growing disappointment - does it look like there's a way to move it, is there anything around they could... never mind neither of them are strong enough to bend any bars even WITH something for leverage. How wide's the space between the bars?? ]

[Lan Wangji the Stubborn presses onward! Since it's dark, it feels a bit like forever for him to skirt down the sewer hallway, though it's much like the one on the opposite end with Kangai and Tsukasa. He can hear them distantly tinkering around behind him. Ahead, his hand runs out of wall.

WAH!

Just kidding, the wall bends to the right to signal there's a turn, like another hallway. If Lan Wangji squints in the dark, he can see something that faintly looks like light at the far end. The din from before is louder now--it sounds like a running car.

Back in the other direction, Tsukasa finds that the grate looks sturdy and immovable. Whatever nutjob did the welding did not, in fact, make the bars wide enough for Kangai or Tsukasa to squeeze through. :( But at the very top, well above Tsukasa's head, the grate has a horizontal hole design; there's probably one on the bottom, too, in the murky depths.

Kangai can't see anything in the water where the noise happened; holding the lantern up reveals lingering ripples and that's it. Nothing is thankfully hanging above, but it's maybe kind of damp on the stone of the ceiling.]

See anything?

[as he crosses the bridge to check out the other side in case.]

[INTO THE WATER-- no okay. He'll wait for a minute just to make sure Tsukasa and Kangai don't start screaming bloody murder for some reason, but when it seems like they're still doing fine, he'll round the corner. Now that he's away from The Pacifists he'll draw a gun, too, though he keeps it pointed downwards, his other hand still on the nasty sewer wall. Towards the light he goes!]

There's a hole at the top of this grate we might could squeeze through - or at least, there's probably one underwater we could swim through...

[ ................ ]

I wouldn't want to risk the lantern going out though. [ Nor does he want to get drenched, actually, but he's going the more practical thought route. ] And you?

[Lan Wangji..........

This is fine. He can continue on down this sewer line toward the noise and the light. When he gets a bit closer, he can tell the light is coming through a small grate on the sidewalk. The rumble is deeper, louder. It sort of sounds like one of the boxier trucks rather than a car.

There's also some footsteps moving around through the light. Over the sound, a voice yells, "Hey, you got 'em all? Hurry the hell up! We're ready to go!" Someone else growls something, but it's intelligible. "Christ," the voice says, lower, but still over the noise as if they're talking to someone closer. "Glad we tied some of those kids up. Those Mori brats like to bite like dogs. If we can get to the other town and around that haunt, we'll get our dough."

Back down the other hall. :) Tsukasa gets an answer to his question, but not from Kangai. Something very wet and thick slaps against the incline sloping from the water to the ledge he's standing on. When he turns around, Kangai's flickering lantern reflects red off two pair of beady eyes.

It's an alligator, and it's coming up to join them.]

Edited (WHOOPS) 2020-02-17 23:49 (UTC)

[UM]

Holy crap—run!

[though he can't really move yet without tsukasa because he has the light and isn't about to leave tsukasa in the dark, so. he takes a step, waiting tensely as he taps his emblem.]

Edited 2020-02-18 02:07 (UTC)

[ oh, that's an alligator. he didn't realize they really had them in the sewers. wow.

at least they (obi-wan voice) have the high ground, given he's fairly certain alligators can't move... that quickly on land? unless the rule was that they're surprisingly agile on land, and--

never mind, this isn't time for fun animal facts. his hand reaches for his gun, but he rethinks it immediately; it's probably not a great idea to waste a bullet, and he gives a nod to kangai. ]

Please watch your step!

[ thanks tsukasa. see ya later alligator, they're gonna head to lwj instead. ]

[Good luck with that gater, y'all, because that is Lan Wangji's cue to get out his knife and pick up the pace!!! It's probably dangerous to full-out run down here but he's gonna get as close as he can to it. HOW CAN HE DEAL WITH THIS GRATE can he open it, can he kick it down, can he shoot it open LET HIM GO GET THOSE KIDS]

[The alligator doesn't make any kind of growl, of course, as Tsukasa and Kangai panic. Its beady eyes watch them without moving, though when Tsukasa rushes by, it does turn its head and open its mouth.

OH BOY.

It's fine. The two of them are much faster because the alligator is being lazy, and it can only slap a bit more up the incline. Hm. Maybe he just wanted some pets...? Gator. :'(

For Lan Wangji, he finds... that despite being a mammoth-sized man, the grate is out of reach on the ceiling of the large tunnel. There's no way he'd be able to reach it, even if he jumped. Someone above gives what must be the hood of the truck a few slaps. (This bad boy can fit so many kidnapped people in it.)

"Alright!" someone barks. "Head 'em out!"

Hm. The truck starts up, rolling carefully away, as the sound of the engine shifts. Kangai and Tsukasa run up with the light finally, and it illuminates the glint of a ladder a bit farther down. Looks like a manhole is above!]

[anna, why are the way you are.

anyhow, as kangai runs up—]

Alligator in the other tunnel...!

[as lan wangji probably nyooms towards the ladder tbh]

[ GATOR IF ONLY I, BELLA, WERE THERE.......

Ah-- well, this seems like a better way anyway. Stopping might be nice, but he's actually got !!a job!! to do so he is also just going to be nyooming to the ladder... LIKE HE'LL PAUSE SO THERE'S NO FIGHTING OVER WHO GOES UP FIRST but rest assured he is here to get out of this awful smelling sew- that is to go help people. ]

[LET HIM SAVE HIS KIDS!!!! HE'S NYOOMING TO THE LADDER how can he climb so fast with his hands full of weapons, we'll never know. MORE IMPORTANTLY ARE THEY GONNA MAKE IT]

[While they scramble, someone on the street says, "We still got one more. We'll come back by the rest, too." And another car starts up.

But oh! There's a manhole cover at the top. :'( It's pretty heavy. Hopefully it was Lan Wangji first so he can push on it. Hm. He'll have to give it some real secretly-ripped-6'2"-dorito-body elbow grease. Wow, it's really heavy!

It's fine, Lan Wangji gets it to slide away after one or two pushes.

Unfortunately, even by the time they get out of the sewer, the cars have already made a turn in the distance. There's a warehouse beside them, though! And one side door they can try to get into if they want. A majority of the lights have been turned off inside, but a single set remains on.]

[... well, if kangai can, he tries to open that door as quietly as possible so he can peek in?]

[ thank goodness for lan wangji.

Tsukasa twists to see where the cars've gone, but... They so wouldn't catch up at this point. At least they still have the warehouse, and he turns attention to those--

Kangai!! ]

I-- suppose that would've been my first idea too, but... [ He's keeping his voice on the quieter side of things, Just In Case. But to Lan Wangji- ] I can bring up the rear this time.

[ It's... probably better to have someone who definitely won't hesitate to shoot ~~bitch~~ than someone who might run even the slightest risk of it, especially with their friend-who-can-only-bludgeon-with-a-telescope snooping first. ]

[HE'S AT 100% INTENSITY RIGHT NOW honestly it's a wonder he doesn't send the damn thing flying up and through a window or something... HE'S ALSO ALREADY AIMING HIS GUN IN THE DIRECTION OF THE CARS but fortunately for everyone, probably, he doesn't want to risk aiming for the last glimpse of a tire and accidentally blowing all those kids up or something. GOD.

It's been many years since he was so clearly, visibly pissed, though, and it looks like he's seriously contemplating running off to scale the nearest building and try to catch up or something--but then Kangai heads straight for the warehouse, so... the warehouse it is.

After this maybe he can murder Anna specifically. As a treat.

Tsukasa just gets a stiff nod; he's more focused on the door, honestly. If Kangai can't open it he'll just shoot it open or something HE'S NOT FUCKIN AROUND ANYMORE]

[Peeking in, Kangai is greeted with... a lot of something. Rows and rows of something; not too many to overwhelm, but enough to be disconcerting.

Cages.

But they're empty. Also, it smells ghastly inside, enjoy. The scent of unwashed humans who definitely had been trapped in here, though it's hard to tell if they had been trapped for long, or if so many of them have just come through to this fate that it compounded. Beneath that is the faint smell of bacon?

There's also crackling off to one corner--it looks like a working incinerator.

Distantly, they can hear the fussy sound of... something? But it's hidden behind the rows of cages.]

[please no dead bodies.]

Ugh...

[but this sure is a disturbing sight! why the fuck does it smell like bacon. hesitantly, kangai's going to check out the incinerator.]

[Good luck with that Kangai!! Lan Wangji's gonna go straight for the noise, if he can. He's at least trying to be quiet but he's moving as quickly as possible... DON'T YANK ANY MORE KIDS OUT OF HIS HANDS AND ALSO LET THEM BE ALIVE PLEASE :< ]

[ AND WITH THAT Tsukasa's going to regretfully shut the door behind them enough that it won't be too sus-looking from the outside should anyone come around and check out... the cages, just to see if there's anything left behind in them, any writing on the metal that might've been scratched in, anything dropped around them, so on so forth. THE CAGES. ]

[Well, Kangai finds out why it might smell like bacon. The incinerator is going, but seems to be on its last few hours of use just judging by the lack of heat. From inside, the faint crackling of flames can still be heard. Off to the side, there's a heap lying on the ground.

It's a woman. But sadly, she seems to be very dead.

Inadvertently, Lan Wangji and Kangai go in the same direction! Lying bundled up in the crook of one of the woman's arms is a baby, its face mottled red and wet, and its voice hoarse. It keeps trying to cry, but is running out of energy.

Tsukasa doesn't find any bodies in the cages, luckily! They are empty of people, though smell bad and look worse. One of them has only lines etched into the bottom plate: IIII, like tally marks. As he goes down along the rows, however, he does come across an interior door at the end, left open. Inside at the only table with a chair is a device: a portable box connected to a metal headpiece.

As policeman, Tsukasa thinks it maybe looks like an electrocution device.]

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