-[ prismic △ sanctum ]-

[knux400]

Jump up and grab Roux's boots, using your body weight to pull them back down.

Then brace for getting yelled at.

[ಠ_ಠ]

Nah, we can trust roux i think. Give them a boost into the vent.

[victorianflorist]

Roux has proven themself. Let's boost them up.

[SHIVERS]

You debate on pulling them back out, but ultimately decide to let them go, even reaching up to help get them fully inside.
"Be careful," you warn.
"Yeah," they call back.



Soon you can't see them anymore, only able to hear the sounds of them clambering through the vent.



The sounds start to fade.



Without warning, a deafening metallic cracking noise rings out through the vent, making you jump in surprise.



When the echo of the crash stops, the vent becomes entirely silent.



"Roux...?" You call into the vent.





No response.





You debate trying to climb up into the vent, 
but you know there's no way you'd be able to fit, 
if you could even lift yourself up inside in the first place.

So, 

you wait.









































You sit up from the floor. 

Your legs creak.

You have no idea how long has passed, but it feels like hours.



You've tried calling into the vent several more times, only to be met with silence.




You check your pockets.
There's the museum employee badge, the pepper spray and the instant camera.
On your keyring, you have the sealed letter door key and the mall atrium key, meaning the key to SDU hall 2 must've been the one that fell into the hole.

You've also got the knife Roux gave you, though it's too big to fit in your relatively small pockets.

What remains of Roux's shovel lays on the floor, now nothing more than a broken stick.



You aren't sure what to do.

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MAPCURRENT ROOM: GALLERY MAILROOM

[ಠ_ಠ]

Collect yourself. Start unlocking doors. Take the stick with you. Never know when you need to poke things.

[victorianflorist]

Use the knife to cut a strip of cloth off your clothes and use the cloth to fashion the stick and knife into a rudimentary spear.

[RibbonCharm]

Seconding the makeshift spear. Hopefully you won't need to use it, but it seems like now's the appropriate time to arm yourself.

[knux400]

Let's head to the atrium first and see if we can't find where that key goes. If it goes to the switchboard, we'll have a huge pile of loot to pick from.

[SHIVERS]

You take a breath, trying to collect yourself.
You were alone before, you're alone again.
You can figure this out.

It's more likely they'll turn up sooner or later. 

You hope.



For now, you decide it's about time you armed yourself better.
Using the knife, you carefully cut a strip off the bottom of your jumpsuit, around your lower leg.
It comes off with some difficulty, the material much more resilient than expected.

With the strip and knife in hand, you pick up the broken handle of Roux's shovel.
You do your best to tie the knife onto the end, but it doesn't seem to want to stay together.
You continue tinkering with it, doing your best to stay calm.

Eventually, you manage to get them tied together into a spear of sorts.
Testing it out, though, it doesn't feel as if the knife is attached very securely.
You're not sure how well it'll hold together, but at least it has a few feet of reach compared to the knife by itself.



Armed with your spear, and everything in your pockets, you start making your way towards the atrium.
You pass through the gallery photo room into SDU hall 2.

Come to think of it, you have no idea what 'SDU' means.
Or why this is supposedly the second one.
Still, you can't help but be somewhat disappointed, looking over all the locked doors in the hallway.
If the blue person hadn't interfered, you'd have that key already.
Oh well. 
This hall is pretty creepy, anyways.
The less time spent in here, the better.



You push through the double-doors at the end, entering the river exhibit.

You glance at the timeline on the wall in the lower part of the room as you head towards the stᗗ ↈↈ‱ ∅
                                                                                                                                                                 ᚙ҈ ᴚṧ  











You're on the floor. 
On your back.

Something hit you. Hard.

You look up.















High up, nearly at the ceiling, a purple aerosoul is crouched atop the giant fake tree in the center of the room:
 
Crossbow in hand.


Text on their shoulder reads 'VERONICA'.
Their eyes burn into you.



You can see them loading another bolt as you force yourself to your feet.
Panicking, you frantically scramble behind the huge model fish for cover.

Your head hurt₷



You examine it with your paw.

To your horror, you can feel the end of what you assume is a crossbow bolt, jutting away from you.
But, there's something at the end of it, against your head.

It feels like a small, metal... box of some kind.
The device seems to be attached to your head.
You try to pull it o∰ ∫



It's stuck.

It's doing... someth⇡ng to you. 

You can feel it.

You can't think.

You fⅇⅇl faint.



You need to do something.



Behind you are the doors you came in, which lead back into the SDU hall.
But you'd be out in the open if you tried to run to it, and that path eventually leads to a dead end at the gallery mailroom.

To your right is the employee elevator, its sensor just beside the elevator door.
It's the closest exit to where you are now, and it's somewhat tucked away to the side, providing just a bit of cover.
But you have no idea if the elevator is on this floor, or how long it'd take to reach here if it isn't. 
And you don't know where it leads.

The stairs leading to the upper section of the room are in front of you on the left.
If you managed to make your way up them, it'd be a short distance to reach the doors that lead into the atrium.
But, the tree's height would give the aerosoul a clear vantage point of you the entire time, and it'd be a long distance to run without taking a hit.

You aren't even sure iℲ you'll have time to enact any of these plans.
You don't f℘el good.



The button attached to the giant, dark brown, white-spotted fish model you're using for cover is right in front of you.
You're still holding your makeshift spear.

It doesn∘t feel like ℽou have l∅ng to aↄt.

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MAPCURRENT ROOM: RIVER EXHIBIT

[ಠ_ಠ]

push the button. startle them, chuck the spear at them. if we manage to knock them off and can get close to them, bust out the pepper spray. otherwise scramble for the employee elevator

[knux400]

That's the button that made the horrible noise earlier. Let's hit it and run to the stairs as fast as we can. We can worry about the thing on our head once we're out of immediate danger.

[SHIVERS]

You tap the button, gripping the spear tight as you get the employee badge ready in your other paw.
The loudspeaker crackles on.

You wait for your moment.



"The coela----h--"
That same high-pitched whine blares from the speaker, and you hop out from cover.

You get a glimpse of one of the aerosoul's eyes wincing, but their crossbow is still raised at you.
You throw the spear as hard as you can.
A bolt whizzes past your shoulder in the same instant.

Neither hits their mark.

Your spear doesn't quite go high enough, instead smacking into the tree and bouncing off.
The spear itself comes apart on impact, strip of cloth fluttering away as the stick and knife clatter to the floor pitifully.

You don't bother sticking around to watch, though, already running to the elevator.
You reach it in no time, just as the whine from the loudspeaker stops, the voice coming back in.



You slam the card aga?nst the sensor.

"This elevator is for employees only."

Luckily, the elevator door begins to open.

You hear a loud bang and swivel around.

"Please make sure to stay with your group!"

The aerosoul is on top of the fish model you'd used?as cover, standing up from a crouch as the model creaks under their weight.

With a heavy thud, they drop to the floor, and begin bounding toward you at high speed.

"For employees: Please tap your badge on the sensor to call the elevator."

The door finally slides open enough.



You shuffle backwards into the small elevator, its button panel coming into view. 
The towering figure looms closer and closer by the moment, sprinting for th⠗⠥⠝levator door.

⎲ou fe⒠l⠎y⠕u⦖re bare⎞y ⠎tand?ng⭙ 

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(CW:FLASHING)MAPCURRENT ЯOOM: RI?ER EX??BIT

[knux400]

Hit a floor, doesn't matter which one, and hit the CLOSE DOOR button. No one else can get in the elevator without a badge, so if we can get the door closed and the elevator away from here, we're free to pry the scrambler off our head.

...Or just pass out, depending on our stamina level.

[ಠ_ಠ]

hold out the pepper spray. if they get to the elevator before the doors close, hit em with it.

[SHIVERS]

You hurriedly tap the down arrow button on the panel, then the 'DOOR CLOSE' button, pulling as much focus as you can muster in your dazed state.

You keep a paw in your pocket and grip the pepper spray as you hear the aerosoul charging for the elevator.
Your vision is hazὙ, continually shifting, but you can see their silhouette growing closer and closer as the doors begin to slide shut.

Just as they're about to reach the door, you pull out the spray, turn its top, and click the nozzle.
A stinging mist bursts out, coating the aerosoul's hands just as they reach out to grip the doors.

You hear a loud yelp as the figure crumples to the floor.

The elevator door shuts, cutting off your view as you feel it shift, beginning to mov e. Y


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       't tT











































































"Roux! Hold on a minute!"







"I'm not sure I can make it up there!
And those arms of theirs are probably dangerous!"







"I'll lose them! 
Just-
...I'll... be back!"







"Be careful."







"Yeah."









You crawl as quickly as you can through the vent.

Your knees hurt from repeatedly slamming against the metal.
But you can't lose them. 


You round a corner.
Then another.

You can see them up ahead.
They somehow managed to turn around - now crawling through forwards instead of backing up.
But you're still gaining on them.

You're getting answers one way or another.




The amerveille cocks their head back briefly.
You see their eyes go wide as their pace picks up.

"Why are you still--?!
You got your little keys back!
Just take them and leave, you insufferable hound!"

You ignore them, panting as you start to catch up.



As you get close to their heels, you ready yourself to reach out and grab them.

A loud clank suddenly rings out.
The both of you slide into the wall of the vent as gravity seems to shift.
You push against the sides on instinct, trying to right yourself.

Horrible, metallic tearing pierces the air around you as the vent rips apart in front of you, reverberating through your skull.

You feel yourself drop.

The vent tumbles sideways in freefall.
Your world spins.

A blue mass crashes into your chest. 

It knocks the wind out of you.

There's a splash as your head slams int-



























Water douses your face.
You blearily open your eyes.
You can feel your arms gripping tight around something rough and wet.

Your head is pounding.
But you do your best to shake yourself awake, and focus on your surroundings.



You're in some kind of underground river, as best you can tell.

The water is rushing fast, and you're thankful you managed to cling onto some large rocks standing in the river, otherwise you would've been washed downstream.
The current is still testing your grip, but you're holding on solidly enough for the moment.

The only reason you can see at all is thanks to a strange, dim blue-green glow illuminating the cavern.
You look up to find the source, and find strange, bioluminescent objects hanging all along the ceiling.
You squint.
It sort of looks like fungus. Or... some kind of worms?
You can't tell. Doesn't really matter, anyways.



The section of vent you were in is visible further downriver.
It's propped up, wedged in diagonally against stalagmites jutting out of the water.

There's a large silhouette stuck against the vent.
You soon recognize it as the amerveille you'd been chasing after.
They aren't actively holding on to the vent at all, and instead seem to be slumped against it.

They aren't moving.



Further past them, way downriver, there's a massive, dark hole in the bottom of the wall at the far end of the cavern.
All the water is funneling down into it.
You can't see anything at all past the hole, just an abyss of black.
The rapids swirl into it, and disappear.

You don't like looking at it.





You glance to your left and right instead, looking for some way out of the river.



The left side is just a wall, but there's a gravelly shoreline along the right side.
The river is wide, so you'd need to swim a bit, but you think you can make it to the shore without too much difficulty.
It extends most of the way down the river, but cuts off about... fifteen feet or so past where the vent is stuck.

Beyond where the shoreline ends, it's just slick cave walls on both sides.
Which eventually lead straight into that black void.



The amerveille downriver looks to be in bad shape, and the vent is subtly shaking with the current, looking unsteady.

...You doubt they'll make it out on their own, unless they manage to miraculously wake up.



Whatever you're doing, you should do it fast.
You can't cling here forever.

Show Content

STATUS
ROUX - OKAY: SORENESS PRESENT. TREATABLE WITH PAIN RELIEVERS.

MANTIS - NORMAL: FUNCTIONING NORMALLY.

CERULEAN - UNSTABLE: UNCONSCIOUS DUE TO BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA. CONCUSSION POSSIBLE. KEEP AIRWAY CLEAR.

[knux400]

We can't get any answers if there's no one to ask. Let go of the rock and let the river do the work of getting to them, then see if we can haul them to the shoreline.

They are bigger than us, but we can always drop them if we end up getting overwhelmed.

[ಠ_ಠ]

Tie their extendo arms in a knot first. Splash some water on them to wake them up.

[SHIVERS]

You breathe in, and out, then let go of the rock.



You fight the current as best you can, but it's even stronger than you were expecting.
Thankfully, you don't have to cover much distance til you're lined up with the vent.

You let yourself drift and land against it.
You hit it harder than anticipated, nearly sliding off as you slam against it.
It creaks and shifts - almost coming loose as you struggle to hang on.

You manage to steady your grip, but the vent is hardly stable.
It feels as though any movement could unwedge it, and send the both of you downriver.





Any plans you had before fall out the window as you second-guess yourself.

The current is harsh, and the shoreline's far enough away now that battling it's going to be a challenge.

You're fairly confident you could make it alone, but you have no idea if you'd be able to reach the shore with another person's weight.
You're not even sure exactly how to position yourself so that you could swim while holding someone, let alone someone larger than you are.

And with the vent looking more unstable since you crashed into it, you don't have much time.



You need to act.
Now.

Show Content

STATUS
ROUX - OKAY: SORENESS PRESENT. TREATABLE WITH PAIN RELIEVERS.

MANTIS - NORMAL: FUNCTIONING NORMALLY.

CERULEAN - UNSTABLE: UNCONSCIOUS DUE TO BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA. CONCUSSION POSSIBLE. KEEP AIRWAY CLEAR.

[knux400]

See if you can splash some water on them or slap them awake. You can still bail if you don't get them awake in time, but at this point it looks like their magic arms are the only thing that's going to get both of you out of here unscathed.

EDIT: It says to keep their airway clear. Make sure their head is above water and compress their chest/ribs so they can

Show Content

cw: unsanitaryhack up any water they might have inhaled.

[ಠ_ಠ]

Move yourself behind them. When you are directly behind them, hook your arm around their neck with your elbow at their throat. Then swim with your legs and the other arm. They will naturally float and you can haul in someone who is substantially larger than you are.

As far as the current goes, try to swim diagonally to the curent until you get near the water's edge. River currents are less strong around the sides of the river, so from there you'd have an easier time getting up to the shoreline.