Flooded Hallway -- Tower of Illusion -- Niflheim

        The moment you step through the doorway there's a four foot drop 
down. Quite a doozy of a step. But the good, or not so good part is that 
there's water to catch any falls. The water is at least waist high, 
oddly warm, which is a good thing in the end. If it were freezing like a 
lot of the things here it may not be so nice. It appears to be a flooded 
hallway. There's walls, the corridor is about 7 feet wide in all, the 
walls stained with water damage, but not appearing to be leaking. Oddly 
though soft sands squish between your toes. Definatly not a normal 
hallway. The corridor stretches a long way, and it seems the only 
direction to go is forward.


Its one thing to be against Sam leaving that room that seemed to come 
out of the Shining. However as Terry yelps, it is certainly another to 
find oneself plunging into warm water, "Yipe!"

Auric impacts against the water with a bright flash.

Trudge trudge trudge "FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-*SPLOOSH*" *gulg* "BWAH?!" 
Paige gains her bearings after the brief drop, and her head - still 
crystaline - suddenly breaks the surface. "Gah!?" She sputters, and 
looks around briefly, looking for her companions.

*SCHOOOM* The /moment/ Sam is through the wall with the group, he turns 
his blast field off out of sheer exhaustion. Meaning? Down he goes right 
into the water with a splash. The impact shocks his system to the core, 
splashing and struggling to fgain a stance in the waist-high water. A 
hand wipes the wet, moppy hair from his forehead as he peers around, 
/overjoyed/ to be out of the freaking blood room. Water is /much/ better 
then blood, Mmhmmm.

	Water better be better then bloody. But the water is gonna be icky 
looking instead of really clear after you all spend more then a few 
minutes in it, covered in blood as you are. But, hey, at least the 
blood's off you know, hmm? Yup. That's a plus. Now, since the last room 
didn't seem to have a focas, you almost gotta wonder... what kind of 
room - err... hallway - is this supposed to be? Another one for all 
room? or is this one focased towards one of those present? Hmmmm. Only 
time will tell.

Terry rinses her hair again, hair that long does not do well with any 
lingering blood in it. She places her hands on her hips and blinks, 
"Ok... s' she was considerate enough t' gi' us a bath?"

Auric bobs in the water.

The blood sloughs off Paige's crystal-skin in the water easily, leaving 
her only slightly stained. Not like she really notices. She turns and 
looks over at the trio behind her, and sighs. "I doubt the miserable-" 
she takes a breath, and then just goes silent. "Courtesy is something 
this bitch dosen't know anything about."

Sam shivers slsightly, even at the warm water. He can see the blood 
slowly seeping off of him, but his clothes will forever stay stained. 
His arms cross over his chest as he looks everyone over, 'Alraght, yoah 
all still in good shape. So, we move on. Follah behind...." Sam says as 
he sloshes through the deep water, heading down the hall. Only way to 
go, right?

	The water doesn't make moving through easily, obviously, but hey, 
at least it's warm. The hallway is pretty much straigh... so why can't 
you all see very far? The water isn't moving, isn't flowing in any 
direction. Everything about the room seems almost... tranquil. Umm... 
Terry, you're foot just ran into something in the sand. Something... 
moving. Before she has a change to look whatever it was has apparently 
swam away, or hidden against the wall under a particularly dark spot in 
the water.

Terry jumps, "Oh God!!! There's somethin' in here.." She moves to glance 
about the water, as she notices the dark spot, she kicks at it 
experimentally, mentally being glad for boots. Hey she's curious, and if 
they're going to have to fight it better see it now.

Auric glows in the water.

And... Paige is nekkid in that water till she husks. "Oh, hell..." She 
drawls, and then *SHRIP*, and then ... Paige is gone? No, she's 
underwater and she's in some sort of... eel form sinewy body slipping 
through the water with ease. Well, hell, let's rout the damn thing out 
in it's own territory. You know, it's no wonder Paige isn't leader of 
anything.. she's far to impulsive.

Sam turns rapidly in the water, hearing Terry's screaming. He assumes 
the worst, turning and expecting to see some big bad monster attacking 
poor Terry. But nope, it's a sea monster in the murky depths that 
slithers around Terry's legs. Ick. "Terrah? Ya alraght?" His eyes peer 
into the dark water, trying to see something for a target that will 
allow them to know what their up against. As Paige goes under, he moves 
toward her and waits...

	Well, Paige, underwater, with this formes new eyes, you can see 
two things. One, a vent in the wall near where Terry is standing, likely 
where whatever it was she felt swam into. It's a small vent, not big 
enough for any of you. The other thing is... towards the direction 
you're heading. There's... something... moving underwater up ahead. 
Something big. As big as a person at least. But it's too far to make out 
clearly right now. Just looks like a vague, largish, shape. And 
something pale as well. Or at least light in color.

Terry calls to Sam, "I'm fine! Jes' spooked a bit. I jes' think we 
better find tha' thing befer' it tries t' teach us ha' it likes human 
served." She keeps her eyes gazing into the water, but she certainly 
isn't seeing what she should.

Paige's head bobs up, and her voice is gurgly with the water flowing 
through her head with gills. "Vennnggtt. Suuunnnggthin' innit." She says 
pointing toward Terry, and thne points at the oppisite end. 
"Suuungggthin' bigggg in wagggter. Man-siggzed." She blinks her strange, 
new eyes at Sam, and then says, "Whaaaggtt now??"

Auric sinks to the floor of the passage, glowing slightly. "Message 
received."

Sam cringes as he peers at the part of the water where the large figure 
swims. What to do, what to do? He just gives a look to Paige before 
moving towards said figure, going at a snails pace. He's ready for 
anything, ready to turn on his field and kick the tar out of the first 
thing that slithers on his leg.

	Well, the thing thats up in the water a good hundred feet away 
isn't moving at all, it isn't even disturding the water any, hense the 
only ripples in the water, are made by the team themselves. -Except- 
near the vent Paige pointed out. There's a few ripples there that are 
not caused by the team, but whatever is there, it has chosen not to show 
itself yet. Is it stalling? Waiting for the big thing deeper in the hall 
to make it's move? Who knows.

Terry without a word after Paige indicates the direction, she submerges 
herself. She swims to the vent and reaches to it! What is wrong with 
this girl.

And when Terry proves that she's lacking in sanity, Paige heads after 
her, cursing in her mind. Stupid stupid irishwoman! What do you think 
you're doing!?

In the meantime Sam is busy splooshing towards the still figure in the 
water, once fianlly coming close to it, he slows his pace. Just inching 
towards it, he pokes out a boot covered foot, trying to gently prod the 
figure and see what happens. Heart continues to race incredibly fast as 
he waits for the thing to move, oblivious to the fact of what Terry and 
his sister are doing.

Again the frustration of water dulling the senses. For all that she 
enjoys swimming, it disorients her to be in a tense situation in the 
water. Where is Jo when they need her? Rahne simply tries to find a spot 
somehwere between the split group so that she can stroke off after 
anyone in need.

Auric continues to stalk after Terry, silently submerged, silt pouring 
from her weighted armor boots at each step, massive claws on the soles 
sinking in, step after step.

	Well, as soon as Terry reaches in her hands go around something 
slimy, and a little squish, but over all-solid. It feels like a fish. A 
little fish? How... quiant. It's a pretty big sized fish, and it tries 
to get out of Terry's grip. And... Hehe. Good question, Rahne. Where's 
Jo when you need her. Well, as Sam is about to discover, said Water 
Girl, might already be here. The figure in the water, as Sam get's 
closer at least, looks like Jo. Could it be Jo? Maybe. Paige and Jono 
did find their way here after the fact. Jo could have very well got 
sucked in - but she didn't - *shhhhhhhh*. But you all don't know she 
didn't get sucked in. Damn. Don't you all just hate lands of illusion? 
But if it -is- Jo, you better get her out of that water and check if 
she's breathin' don't ya think? Breathing water was -not- on her list of 
powers. 

Well no words come from Terry but she's going to bloody well going to 
get that fish. Odd ain't she. She slides deeper and continues to try and 
grab it.

Paige just follows after, swishing her tail behind her, a quiet shadow 
in the water behind Terry. She'll be able to move much quicker then the 
girl, but hey. It's good enough to be backup, right?

Auric quietly stalks after Paige, each step slow but sure.

"Oh sweet Jezus!" Sam prods at the body, soon realising that it is /Jo/ 
face down in the water. He gets a sickly feeling, touching the lifeless 
body and the thought of having his dead girlfriend right there in front 
of him. By god, he will not go through this a second time. "Jo!!!" His 
yell is loud and full of terror as he falls to his knees in the water 
and scoops up Jo's lifeless body into his arms. He studies her, moving 
with amazing speed, his only choice as he knows this is a life or death 
situation. It's hard to save a persons life while they float in the 
water, gah. He checks for a breath, not finding any and beginning to 
panic. Yes, he may be a leader, but he does panic. His mouth covers hers 
as he tries to fill her body with his spent air and breathe some life 
into the limp body. Streams of water drip from his face and body, 
sending shivers up his spine as he tries desperately to get Jo livin'! 
He doesn't stop for a moment, just keep breathing air into her and 
/waiting/ for her eyes to pop open. Was she sucked into the game after, 
just like Paige and Jono? According to Sam, she was. Lishka got a hold 
of her and did this. Look out Lishka, you've just messed with Sam's 
girl!

Rahne's ears almost manage to perk up, even in this human form, as she 
hears the anguish in the cry coming from Sam. She begins an urgent 
freestyle stroke towards her old friend and his strugglings, but once 
there is somewhat helpless to do or say anything, not certain herself. 
This Jo doesn't resonate to the senses as the original might, but it -
seems- real. He is touching her, trying to force life into her... her 
eyes are wide, lost for anything to do or say.

	Hehehehe. If only you knew, Sam. If only you knew. The body is -
extremely- cold compared to the warm water. But that could possibly mean 
because she was recently moved here. The processes of Lishka's 
teleporting uses icy winds. That's a good sign. She hasn't been here 
long, right? Right? Hehehehehe. Somewhere, someone is enjoying this. 
Even if that person sure ain't Sam. After a few moments under Sam's... 
attentions, the Jo gives a few coughs and starts spitting water out of 
her lungs, all the while trying to hold on to the person holding her. 
Hehehehehehe. Any wild guesses who -this- room might be aimed towards? 
I'll give you three guesses.

Terry pops up out of the water, and takes a gasp of air. Not having the 
advantage of the gills that Paige has. SHe takes another deep breath not 
really paying attention to anything out side of this. She slips back 
under and tries to grasp at the fish thing.

Paige just patiently waits for Terry to get her hand bitten off her 
something. Stupid Irish.

Auric pauses, then turns to follow Terry.

"Oh thank gawd!" Sam says as he keep Jo in his arms, allowing her to sit 
up more and cough away. He holds onto her, feling how cold she is and 
knowing she needs to warm up. So he holds her close, waiting for her to 
fully awaken and tell us what the hell just happened.

Rahne looks for a way to get a better view of the events, but, well, 
there really isn't a way and nothing to do to help with Jo and Sam. Cold 
is indeed settling in and Rahne lets her limbs fur out. "Kin I do 
anythin' t' help?"

	The Jo hugs against Sam, relaxing and continueing to cough for a 
little while longer. She does take notice through the side of her eye 
that Rahne is furring up. Hmm. How to counter her sense of spell? Of 
course.... Suddenly the air smells expecially salty, as if the water 
just turned to sea water. Now, as for the stupid Irish reaching after 
the fish, suddenly something slimy and thin, like a snake's tail, or an 
octopus' arm, wraps around her wrist and tries to pull her down through 
the vent. Yes, she isn't big enough to be pulled through the vent, but 
that doesn't mean the creature isn't gonna -try-. Now what does Paige 
see under the water? Well... remember that part in Star Wars where Luke 
had something wrapped around him in the grabage place? Looks like that. 
Not so obviously a diversion from the -real- purpose of the room.

Terry doesn't get a chance to scream. One can't when one opens her mouth 
and its filled with water. SHe jerks in the water shifting herself about 
and plants her feet on either side of the vent, clearly intending to 
pull as hard as she has to, to free herself from the fish. She moves her 
hand about as well to get a better grip on the bloody thing. She's 
pulling its pulling. Lets hope she'll be able to get air.

And Paige has grabbed Terry and is trying to slip around to pull her 
back. Damn, she wishes she was in a husk with legs! This'd be EASIER!

Sam just keeps holding onto Jo, patting her back and trying to help her 
cough. "Jo? Hon?" He says softly, wiping the wet, moppy hair from her 
face. Eyes full of worry glance up to Rahne, "Nah, she'll be 
okay...she's a tough gal..." That's all he can say, it's up to Jo to 
fight. I have to hand it to you, Lishka, you sure know how to mess with 
one's head.

Auric steps over next to Paige. A golden arm forms into a golden blade. 
It raises, then lowers sharply across the invisible? tendril.

Rahne's lips curl as her senses register in that second before being 
overwhelmed by salt. As Terry disappears under the water, Rahne tenses. 
"Sam, give 'er t' me. Go help Terry... they may need yuir field. I want 
t' be gettin' on ahead from where we came in. I'll take care o' Jo."

	Ok, let's start with the critter around Terry's wrist. Well, ok, 
Gwen, you caught the critter right when it was giving Terry a little 
slack so it was actually outside the vent so you could cut at it, but 
you don't get a very good slice out of it because it's moving. But there 
is a loud beastial growl from behind that wall. You hurt it. It 
withdraws from Terry's wrist. Now, as for the "Jo." She looks around 
with her eyes... For a sec did they look goldish? Maybe, but a second 
later they're the normal light gray shade. She looks... confused. Then 
shakes her head towards Rahne, still holding onto Sam. Her voice sounds 
strange for a moment, but that could be from just having coughed up a 
lung full of water, "I'm... *cough* fine. Really. Let's go help Terry 
and Gwenny." 

Well every action has an equal if not greater reaction. Terry goes 
flailing backwards as the creature lets go. Her body stirring the water 
up and thrashing it about, poor Paige is wrapped about her too. Damn

And Poor Paige is thrashed with. She flexes her tail and breaks the 
surface of the water, trying to haul Terry up with her so she dosen't 
start inhaling water.

Sam reluctantly nods to Rahne, standing up and passing Jo into Rahne's 
arms. "Keep 'er warm..." He mutters, turning to his other teammtes and 
actually /jumping/ into the air. His field flares up when he does so, 
and sends him rocketing towards the creature that continues to pester 
Terry. "Move out o' the way, guys...." *SCHOOOM--SPLASH* He rockets 
toward the vent and the wall, hoping to smash through it and into the 
creature that lays behind it. The entire move sends a rather large 
splash towards the surrounding team. Maybe it was a stupid move, but 
after finding Jo, Sam just wants to killkillkillkill anything Lishka 
throws at them.

"We need t' find a way out o' here. Sam will be able t' help Terry," 
Rahns says confidently as she moves away from... well... however they 
got in here. After all, now that she's conscious, Jo shouldn't have any 
trouble in the water, right? At this point Rahne's not exactly in her 
most exploratory adventurous state of mind. She wants to get through 
this, and she knows there's not much she can help with in this watery 
realm.

	Um. Sam? You should really stop being so impulsive. Expecially 
here. Going off without thinking is a good way to make your situation... 
well... worse. Either way, here, it is going to be allowed to work, 
because the monster behind the wall isn't the real reason for the room. 
The "Jo" yells out, "Wait!" and then raises her hand to stop the water 
from splashing on her and Rahne. It's Illusion water, but she can still 
control it? Can we say first hint that something is off? But then again, 
Lishka -can- make real water with a rune, so it could be real. The 
cannonball barrels into the vent, and busts through it. There's a loud 
roar on the other side, which fades after a minute. Good job, Sammy-boy. 
You killed it. As soon as it's dead it vanishes. It was just an illusion 
after all. It's lost it's purpose. But what about the wall that has a 
big ol' hole in it now? Hmm?

Sam tries with all his strength to make it back to Rahne and Jo as the 
water begins filling up the hole he just created. There is now a current 
against him, making his job at getting back to the two even harder. 
"Guys....we need ta get out o' heah....fast..." Why? he has no idea, 
just gets that sinking feeling that they should go along wth the water 
and go where it ends up. Looking at Rahne, "Ah think we should go 
through the hole, n' see where it leads..." Eyes dart about the hallway 
as the water slwoly lowers.

Rahne nods to Sam as she treads the water and takes a deep, steadying 
breath. "I'll come after the two o' ye, then. I dinnae want t' hae 
anythin' sneakin' up on us." The redhead turns her head, trying to keep 
an eye on everything at once as she keeps her head above water.

	"Jo" threads through the water easily, moving towards Sam, not 
seeming to be bothered by the current, "What if it doesn't lead 
anywhere?" In reality, the woman behind the Jo face is thinking, 'Damn, 
these people learn to fast. Almost like they've been through these 
things before. I should make sure I don't suck experienced people in no 
more.' "I mean, what it if like leads to... a waterfall or something?" 
She glances back at Rahne and continues to create the illusion of sea 
water smell to help trick the young were-wolves senses a little longer.

"We just roll with the punches, girl..." Sam says to Jo as he leads the 
pack through the hole, letting the current carry him in. He'll just wade 
around in the water and wait to see where they are and what happens. He 
swims over to Rahne and Jo, staying close to them as they now all are 
out of the hallway ans in....who knows where.

Rahne takes a deep breath and dives to the hole if it is still 
underwater. They might seem fearless to some, but you know, they've 
already been dead and waterfalls just don't seem that frightening. Jo? 
Afraid of a waterfall? That does seem disconcerting, but she shuffles it 
to the back of her mind for now.

	Welp, on the other side... how's the nicest way to say this? Well. 
There's a sewer. Which would explain why that monster was on the other 
side. It's an extremely flooded sewer now, because of all the extra 
water in it. The smell of saltwater vanishes, and is taken over by the 
smell of... well... a sewer. "Jo" wrinkles her nose upon seeing where 
they ended up and murmurs, "Wonderful..." Then she glances at Sam and 
notices the blood stains on his clothes. Lishka doesn't really know how 
to act conserned, so this could be yet eough tip off when she just says 
in a casual voice, "You ok?"

Ok, Jo just must be acting 'off' because of what she has been through. 
Sam really does notice the change in his girlfriend, shoving the 
thoughts tothe back of his mind. "Dammit..." He mutters as he tries to 
gain footing in the sewer. "Rahne? Ya okay there? Ah think we should 
move on ahead as fast as we can, the watah's risin'...." And with that, 
he begins to stroke forward in the muurky water, Jo following in the 
middle and Rahne pulling up the rear. "Gawd ah hate this...."

Rahne recoils from the scent quickly as if it were a slap in the face. 
She reaches up to pinch her nose, features drawn as she tries to deal 
with the unpleasant scents. That doesn't keep her above water, though, 
and she struggles now. There are times when heightened senses are a 
curse and she finally has to inhale to get by it full force. "Away from 
this stench," she finally exclaims.

	"Jo" glances back at Rahne and says, "I'm sure we'll find 
someplace that smells better." She glances around the points at a tunnel 
that leads off in one direction, "How about over there?" Then she 
glances over at Sam and says softly, "I think it's kind of interesting 
here. Where else can you walk through a door and end up in a -totally- 
different place." Ok, that's Lishka shining through. This is her home, 
damnit. It's a nice place. There's only two places in the Tower she 
dislikes.

Either Jo hit her head somewhere or this is not Jo. Sam just peers at 
her with a questioning look as he says, "What in the heck are ya talkin' 
'bout, girl?" He does acknowledge her suggestion, moving towards the 
tunnel that leads off in another direction. Careful glances are given to 
Rahne, and since their being such good friends, she will know exactly 
his worries about Jo.

Rahne swims in closer towards Sam and the tunnel he swims towards, 
hoping to get a scent of the other place. "Best t' keep movin' straight 
ahead, get through here quicker, I'd think. We want t' get home, do we 
nae?"

"Get Everett, then get home.. tha's th' order o' things I believe" Terry 
sneezes as she continues to make her way along with the others.

Auric wades, still spiking her feet to the ground with each step. "Can 
we go back to the lobby? I got an idea."

And beneath the water swims Paige, the quiet watch-out for whatever 
might decide to rear it's ugly head.

	**Ahem** Well, when Lishka comes down to do things personally she 
doesn't wanna be called ulgy. She's gonna rear her pretty-yet-menasing 
head, thankyouverymuch. "Jo" gives a slight shrug after seeing Sam's 
look and just says, "Alright, it is a little scary, but it's all an 
illusion right? Tower of Illusion and all? I mean if they're illusions 
they can't really hurt us." She pauses, then adds, "Well, maybe they 
can, but not like really. I mean I got hit by a hail storm when I got 
here and I don't even got a bruise from it." Alright, Lishka knows this 
isn't working. She should have just drawn an illusion of Jo from out of 
Sam's mind, but now, she had to try and go play the part after Everett 
pissed her off. She glances back toward Gwen, "You have a plan? Like for 
what?"

Sam swims on, listening to the conversation at hand and trying to push 
out all the awful thoughts about Jo and the 'real' Jo. Yes, he's 
seriously doubting the Jo before him, unsure if this is all another 
illusion or Jo is just not herself. "Idea, Gwen? Let's hear it...But ah 
guaratee ya, we're not goin' back ta the lobby. We keeep goin' foah Ev's 
sake n' we get the hell outta heah." His attention is brought back to 
the path in front of him, continuing swimming and saying so Rahne can 
hear, "Rahney? Ya pickin' up any odd scents? Any pursuit?" Better to be 
safe then sorry.

Rahne glowers at Sam's comment about scents. "I smell sewer and 
stench... if ye would like muh senses, ye kin hae them right now," she 
offers, her mood definitely reflecting just how disgusting this place is 
to her nostrils. She goes into a brief hacking fit when it becomes 
overwhelming, but continues doggedly forward. She wants out of there and 
into fresh water.

Terry continues swimming. Girl is probably wishing for that stupid fish-
oid thing to come back at least the water was clean then.

Doggedlly? Does that mean Paige goes fishly forward, under water. She 
unforunatelly cannot find anything just yet - and it;s irking her to no 
end.

Auric trudges, automatonly. Yep. Anyhow, she continues on her present 
thought. "See, the job is to get to the top of the tower, right? So we 
go to the lobby. Tear a hole in the wall. Climb to the top, and tear a 
hole in. Game over."

	Ok, this is boring. She came down here to vent. Not get bored. If 
she wanted to be bored she could watch Everett sleep on the floor with 
all those bruises after she pelted him with a hail storm. Yeah, that was 
a little mean of her, but she made him mad. Blinkblink. "Jo" looks over 
at Gwen and shakes her head, "That would never work. You die of exposure 
before you'd reach the top." She realizes that Jo wouldn't know where 
this place was and adds, "Did any of you all step outside instead of 
into the Elevator? Well believe me, if you didn't, you were lucky." And 
Lishka isn't lying. She hates Niflheim as it is outside the Tower and 
other secure areas such as that. Now, as for the boring part. Lishka 
needs to spice things up a little. Paige will be the first to notice, as 
she's underwater, but there's... something laying against the floor of 
the sewer near where the group is heading towards. Of course it's a 
little hard to see with all the trash and icy stuff in the water. But 
there's something there. And no, not another trash compactor critter.

"But then what? Lishka can send us raght back ta the beginnin' foah 
cheatin'. She can just think it n' put us raght back where she wants. Ah 
know ya hate it, but we have ta play by her rules." Sam says as he swims 
forward, hoping to see some sort of end to this sewer. He catches 
Rahne's snippy comment, sighing to himself and hoping he can get 
everyone, Rahne especially, out of here. He wrinkles his nose at the 
smell, trudging on. "So, Jo? 'Member when me n' ya went ta the carnival 
in Boston?" Sam asks. Yes, it's completely made up. He needs to test 
this Jo, see if she is the real thing. Lishka may be a mind reader and 
may be able to tell the fib out right away, but at the moment he says 
it, Sam uses all his psi shields that Xavier taught him. Clouding his 
mind with thoughts and hoping it off's Lishka just enough to not be able 
to figure out his test. That is...if Jo /is/ Lishka.

Rahne is very succesfully distracted by the scent and her tunnel vision 
towards getting out of it. Her movements take her towards the next 
source (hopefully) of fresh air. Someone else will have to be curious 
about what's under the water. Right now the girl is too focused..

Terry swims hating the weight of her boots in the water. She presses 
through, erks a bit as something brushes against her. She peeks at it 
but its just some more of that icy stuff. The redhead scowls mutterin, 
"When we g' ou' o' this I'm never leavin th' bathtub.."

The water stirrs - Paige's form pops up. "Suuuggthin'... veenngggtt. Not 
critter." She gurgles, cursing the funky vocal chords this form gave 
her. "Gunna cheggg' it out." And then her head ducks beneath the water 
and her slim form is swimming toward ... whatever it is.

Auric tilts her head as Paige appears. She nods once, then submerges to 
follow Paige, armor changing into a MerAuric form. It also clings 
slightly tighter to her form, making her previous stiff and unreadable 
body language a bit more expressive.

	Uh. Well, actually, Lishka isn't a mind reader exactly. She can 
just draw out memories and turn them into illusions. But she hasn't 
drawn out all of Sam's memories yet and looked them over, because she 
hasn't had the time. So she falls for it, "Um. Sure. What does that have 
to do with anything?" Welp, there goes that attempt of being in 
disguise. And as for the two underwater, well, the closer they get to 
the thing against the floor, the sooner it moves. Ok, who here was 
always afraid of crocs living in the sewers of New York? Well, whoever 
it was, this is blamed on them. The huge reptile moves from it's resting 
place on the bottom of the sewer and moves to attack bite out at Paige. 
This creature is only an illusion. Any damage it does to Paige will 
vanish this room is finished.

"Fuck me...." Sam mutters, stopping dead in the water to face Jo. 
Without a word he swims up to her and says calmly, face to face, "What 
does it have ta do with this? Everythin'." A hand swoops out of the 
water, rather a fist, and *WHAM* he moves to punch "Jo" in the face. 
"You stupid BITCH!!!!" Someone better stop Sam, he's has just lost it. 
Good job, Lishka, you just made Sam snap. If he lands the punch he goes 
to tackle her, pulling her underwater and flailing his arms to hit her. 
Eyes full of rage and anger, enraged at the thought that he thought his 
girlfriend almost died in his arms. You have decepted him way past the 
border line, and now he lashes out at Lishka for putting him and the 
people he loves in this god-awful situation. It's surprising that he is 
even able to hit "Jo", most would hold back because of the lingering 
thought that they look so much alike, but not Sam. He knows this is 
Lishka and has the chance to ambush her. You think he's going to pass it 
up? Hell no.

"Dammit SAM..." Terry swims through the water and wraps her arms about 
Sam's waist, she struggles to pull him off of Lishka. After all they 
will need Lishka alive to get the hell out of her tower. "SAM!!! 
SAM!!!..."

ACK! Okay, suddenly there's a BIG stir in the water as Paige is suddenly 
engages with .. whatever it is on the bottme of the tunnel. She thrashes 
and Her tail suddenly flips in the air as the thing get's a solid hold 
on her shoulder, and attemps, well, to gouge out it's eyes so it'll let 
her go.

Auric actually manages to speak underwater. It's a tricky thing. You 
have to create a false diaphram, but it works. It's a bit distorted to 
people above the surface, though. "Grab it by the mouth, and hold it 
shut! Gators can close really strong but they can't open!" She moves in 
to aid Paige, grabbing at the tail of the gator to distract it.

	Well, fortunately for everyone - Auric and Paige mostly. The 
minute Sam attacks Lishka she looses hold on the illusion she was 
substaining. The entire thing falls in on itself. The whole area 
shimmers, water, croc, everything vanishing. Everyone finds themselves 
in a plain, medium sized room, with white walls, a white ceiling and a 
white floor. And an archway leading into another room on one. The form 
of Jo which Lishka was using fades after the first couple of punches 
land. If she wasn't so warn out from her attack on Everett, and all 
these illusions she's been running she would have just let the attack 
pass through her. She actually grunts under Sam's asualt and reaches 
towards something near her waist, but with his wieght on her she can't 
seem to move well. Yes, even Goddess-Wanna-Bes have weaknesses and bad 
days.

Sam continues his assault on Lishka, not even budging as Terry tries 
desperately to pull him away. Then the /entire/ illusion disappears, 
leaving Sam laying on top of Lishka in the all white room. Sam grunts, 
stumbling around the woman to put her in a headlock. His grip is tight 
as he peers around for the rest of his team and turns back to Lishka, 
tightening again and saying, "Ah want Ev heah now! N' we want out o' 
heah this minute!" He's dealing all his cards on this once crucial 
moment. Hoping that Lishka is too weak to lash out and kick the tar out 
of him and the rest of the team.

Terry is desperately glad to be out of the water, but still, this is not 
going to work, she knows this is the wrong way, "Sam g' off her! Yuir 
na' gonna save us this way... " She grips at him still trying to get him 
off the woman, that she'd personaly like to throw off the top of Cassidy 
Keep. She shakes him a bit trying to get him through this strange 
berzerker type rage he's in

With a wet 'flop', Paige hits the floor. Uh... this form ain't 
amphibious, and so before she suffocates to death, she's tearing at her 
skin away, unable to concentrate enough to husk clothing as she begins 
to thrash and choke. Well, good thing no one but the Femmes (And her 
brother, but hey, he's seen her since they were kids, right?) are here.

Auric falls to the floor with a thud and a brilliant flash of light. She 
flips to her re-created feed with a smaller flash, and moves to support 
Sammy in any way he needs. Including beating up the mean ol' Lishka!

	Well, Lishka doesn't really feel pain like a human does, so this 
doesn't effect more then her pride. Instead of reaching to try and 
unlock his hands from around her, she grabs at something near her waist 
and tries to murmur something softly. Something that starts with a U and 
ends with an z. Whatever she said must have been enough because 
something flashes near her hand and she's empowered again. She summoned 
up energy with a rune to empower herself again. A second later, there's 
a swirl of air above them, and someone - namely Will - is teleported 
into the room. He's aimed to fall on Sam and Lishka, hopefully break 
them apart so Lishka can fully escape.

Will lets out a bloodcurdling yell as he appears above, and plummets.

Sam is impacted by Will, the blow feeling as if it broke his back. He 
falls to the side as Will rolls off him, arms falling from around 
Lishka's neck and freeing her. His eyes weld close as he winces in pain, 
laying on his side and arching his back to channel the sharp waves of 
pain away. Grunts and moans can be heard as he opens his eyes and peers 
around, hoping someone grabs Lishka before she can make her escape and 
continue toying with them for another.../ten/ floors.

Killing Lishka was one thing, but keeping her down here is another. 
Terry drops rapidly, her leg sliding out to knock Lishka down and keep 
her around for a while is a good option.

And Paige? Well, she's stripping away the sticky fish-skin and is now 
laying panting on the floor, husked - but buckass nekkid. Now, does 
anyone have a coat to lend her before she can husk again?

Auric charges in to catch Will as he falls, but misses. She shrugs, and 
pounces Lishka. "Mommy!"

	ARG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lishka is so pissed off now she 
wants to murder someone, but she can't, she won't, so instead she gets 
pinned down by both Terry and Gwen. She yells out, using a little of her 
illusion power to increase the volumn of her voice, "GET OFF ME! Or I'll 
drop you a hundred miles from this tower and see how long it takes you 
to get eaten by ice giants!"

Will gets up shakily...and spots Paige. He gawks for a long 
moment...then pulls off his blue overshirt and offers it to her, 
stammering. "Y-you're....y-you're,..."

Sam stumbles to his feet, a tight grin creasing across his face as he 
sees Terry and Gwen doing /exactly/ what he had hoped. "Good job, 
girls." He jumps right in, helping hold her arms down with all the 
strength he has left. "Give up, bitch! Yoah beat! We /win/!" His voice 
has lost it's edge of anger, a bit more calm and collected. He scans the 
room for his sister, hoping she is alright. *BLUSH* is exactly what he 
does when he sees his naked sister sitting right there. "Oh gawd..." His 
eyes dart back to Lishka, keeping well away from the sight nature has 
forbbiden him to see. And I don't want to hear /one/ crack about 
'inbreeding' and being 'hicks'.

Terry doesn't even flinch at the increase of volume, "Oooh impressive, 
wanna see wha' I ken d' wi' my voice.. na' even Banshee ken wail like I 
d'.." Her green-blue eyes take on a hard glint.

Ooo. Okay, she's breathing again. Paige sits up slowly, and then groans 
as she realizes she's buck-ass naked. "Aw, hell..." Good thing Will is 
to the rescue. That shirt is snatched, slipped on, and buttoned up but 
fast. Thank god he's taller htem her so it hangs just low enough to ... 
hide the essentiels.

Auric ignores the shouting and sits on Lishka! She hugs the sorceress, 
and for no apparent reason, declares, "Mommy! I missed you so much! Can 
I have a pony?"

	"Gah. This room must be -my- worst fear." Anyway, Lishka shakes 
her head and grumbles under Gwen and Terry and says, "The game wasn't to 
beat me, Mr. Guthrie. The game was to get to the top. And I am not 
taking you to the top." She has to do something -now-. What can she do? 
She's too weak to teleport very far. She could always meld with a 
shadow, but there's too much light in the room. What runes does she have 
on her besides Uruz? ... Ah. Perfect. But does she want to do that? 
That'll mean she won't be able to cheat, or break the stakes, or -
anything-. Then she says loudly, opting to go for it, "Thurisaz!" A rune 
carved into the bracelet she's wearing flashes. But nothing seems to 
happen besides the flash. What did she do? Maybe you all should ask?

Will looks and sees Lishka. He backs up a few steps, now totally 
confused.

Sam keeps his grip on Lishka, turning away from the light as she 
activates the rune. "What in the heck did ya just do?" He asks with 
worry, waiting for another one of his teammates to fall on him again. 
Eyes dart about the room, giving a cautious glance to each person and 
saying, "Be ready foah sumthin'..."

Terry tenses visibly, "Always ready, Sam..." She hasn't released Liska 
either. This woman doesn't deserve a break today.

Paige is sitll a bit groggy. Give her a moment for the oxygen to jump 
start her brain.

Auric initiates Standard AntiMage Combat Maneuver Number Thirty One. She 
tickletickletickletickles Lishka! "But it's not soup yet!" she cries, as 
she tickles!

	Lishka just -stares- at Auric. Then rolls her eyes slightly. Puh-
lease! She can't feel pain like a normal person, you think tickles are 
gonna bother her? I don't think so. She focases her eyes on Sam and says 
in a frosty voice, "I invoked another rune. I should have invoked it 
from the start. It's the rune Thurisaz. A force of defense and 
destruction." She almost smirks slightly, then adds, "Or it can be used 
as a rune of testing or challange. Once invoked it makes a game or 
challange offical. And the rules as well. You can not force me to take 
you to the roof or let you go, because it would be cheating. You would 
forfit the game and instantly lose. So let me go -now-."

Sam just smirks at Lishka, standing up and pulling her to her feet, but 
still holding onto her. "Auric, ah need ya ta form some cuffs 'round 'er 
hands, make it tight n' painful. Just make sure she ain't gunna go no 
where, put a leash on 'er if ya have ta." He trails off, taking a step 
back and looking to Lishka with a grin, "Ya can't take us ta the towah? 
Fahne. Yoah comin' with us on our way up. You'll go through the shit we 
go through." Ohhh, how he's wanted to do this for so long. Yeah, she may 
just teleport away, but Sam doesn't know that. A look is given to his 
teammates as he says, "Everyone welcome our new travelling partner." The 
grin just gets wider.

"We lose, we lose Ev.. b' what happens t' th' rest o' us...y' ne'er 
explained tha'.." Terry lifts her hands from Lishka and wipes them on 
her jeans as if she'd just touched something that had crawled out of the 
gutter. She folds her arms across her chest.

	Believe it or not, Lishka allows Auric to handcuff her for the 
time being. She inclines her head and looks smugly at Sam. She says 
nothing in response to his treats, but then she glances at Terry and 
shrugs her shoulders, "All I want is Everett. I don't want the rest of 
you. But if you don't make it I'll probably just do to you what I do to 
the rest of the prey I catch." Then she inclines her head, and asks in 
Sam's direction, "Do you -really- expect me to stay with your group 
while you go about your work?"

Sam ignores Lishka's words, grabbing onto her arm and pulling her 
towards the archway that he assumes leads to the next room. Not a word 
is spoken, he just puts on a stern face and moves, stepping into the 
arch with Lishka and the rest.

Terry follows, "Wha' ha' y' done wi' th' rest?" Its a simple question 
but its another one that needs asking.


-- Stay tuned for more --