[Kyrit]

Ah. Aliens. Alright, so she was indeed the only boring as fuck human around. She hadn't ever heard of Notails, but her mind hadn't been shut off to the idea that there was other life out there somewhere. After all, Faen had given her plenty of proof just by being around that Chaos existed, and if Chaos existed it only made sense that the Seraphim did too. And if those existed? Yeah, sure. There could definitely be aliens out there, even if they just found Evelon to be too boring to visit or something.

Everyone seemed to be starting to follow Ailou though, so Zae didn't press about just what a Notail was for the time being. Maybe she could convince them to visit the lab later and have a chance to talk in a much more conducive setting to learning. Or maybe not. She probably didn't have much to offer them, since they seemed to know plenty about humans if they had an opinion enough to say 'fuck no' about being human. Regardless, for now she followed after all the others, explaining along the way that the 'Little Hunter' she was referring to was Ailou, Faen's.... pet? She wasn't really sure what that dynamic was but did know Ailou didn't seem to know how to speak at the least.

As they proceeded, Zae ran a hand along the walls, being careful where she walked in the darkness. The scent of the sewer started to fade and somehow she didn't feel the sticky white threads bunching up against her fingers as she continued explaining, "Faen.. Faen has been. Stubborn. She has been living with a Chaos? A friend? Calls him Haru. Probably could easily ask him too, yet when she showed up at my doorstep she had apparently run off on him." She gave a shurg. Wasn't her place to prod into Faen's personal life. "She came to me first and foremost to just work at the lab. Both for money and well," as she continued Zae gestured ahead of them with her other hand, presumably toward Ailou, not that she could make her out in the current darkness. "Needed some place she could fix that one. Or try to. I think the more uh... variety of samples we can get though the more likely we will be to figure out something to stabilize her."

[Moofius]

Safi, with a practiced and careless motion, draws a rune on the palm of her hand and a soft yellow light surrounds her hand and lights the dark tunnel. Was this the same tunnel they had used to enter all those years ago?

"She left Haru?" Which sounded more like a relationship thing... and maybe it was? As much as Safi's feelings towards Haru had soured at the end of that expedition, she could see the two had gotten along well and hated to hear Faen had left him, too.

Not that anyone in that group had an reason - and infact the opposite of a reason - to stick together.

"You tell Faen toi call me," Safi huffed, "if only to catch up, and have somebody to talk to who went through that whole... thing."
THIS whole thing, Safi reminded herself, which was not really needed.

While Safi led with Ailou, Cuss had decided to take up the rear. Seemed more likely that something else might be lurking in the sewers, or try to follow them in, right?

"What IS it? Smells like a dweller, but it looks like a hatchling but it's all... wrong. Does it talk or have a human form? How old is it? Er, her?" Cuss was not the best with his words, "Also humans are awesome, so don't be rude, masked dude!"

Look he wasn't gonna get too invested in what species was superior. Yeah Chaos were powerful, but they also had a really tightly controlled food source that didn't cause starvation, but madness. It was like if humans could only eat apples, but there was only one apple tree and the guy in charge of it was a psychopath.

"What sort? I... dunno?" Cuss asked right back, "... Are you trying to give me an existential crisis?" His role in the universe? His significance?
"I-uh-uhm... Geez, lady, be gentle!"

[Moofius]

Up ahead Safi called back, "Chaos are a species from a different plane from that of the mortal world and is not bound by the same rules as the planet we reside on. Similar in structure to th Tirumvirate where the Gods and seraphim are from. So Chaos classify as their own creature in the same way. As far as I know nobody has tried to bother classifying them the way you might classify plants and insects and mammals, but they do classify themselves based on the "purity" of their bloodline, which is marked through lineage but more visually through physical traits."

Safi was in her own zen mode, answering questions was her happy place, and she swore she could smell chai tea...

Cuss was a little more ruffled from the questions and then having a  seraphim answer them better than he could.
"I mean yeah, but we're not ALL caught up on that stuff! The OT are more than the Hierarchy, and the Hierarchy is only if you're not Lord Baal's kid and that's cause he fucks everything and anything and they all come out stupid powerful. Unaffiliated chaos generally don't care... as much... Comes down to power! And GENERALLY if you're red, black, and scaley you're going to kick more ass than not!"
He said, gruffly batting away cobwebs.

[Kodai]

Kay waited patiently for Cuss to get around to answering her question while she and N walked along. The sweeter air wasn't particularly comforting to them – their native planet had a unique stink of its own and so such things didn't bother them much – but the relaxing feeling was nice, especially after that whole scene with the sewer Chaos.

Cuss, of course, didn't really know what to make of Kay's question (which was valid – how many people asked about your species' place in the universe?), but thankfully Safi was there to provide. And how! Kay scribbled furiously on her tablet, writing with renewed vigor as Cuss chimed in with terms she hadn't heard before.

"How unfortunate we have no X-class with us! OuO" she lamented, antennae cocking at an angle that suggested a sigh. "They would have enjoyed this very much, I am sure. OuO"

[Kodai]

"Unless they were like Quiet, I doubt anybody else would've enjoyed it much, >:V" N chimed in, taking notice of the white threads covering the walls. Huh, weird. First the gold thread on the sewer Chaos, and now this... Maybe the lab they were supposed to find had something to do with it all? "You know how X-classes can be. Even alphas. >:V"

He would've backtracked to address Cuss's comment, but decided not to. The conversation had moved on, and trying to discuss humans -- real humans, not the weird, vaguely notail-looking species that called themselves humans -- with Evelon natives tended to result in funny looks and outright dismissal. Though, considering how well everyone else was taking the alien thing, maybe they'd be more receptive...

Still. Who wanted to talk about those loathsome, disturbing, disgusting abominations anyway--

Perhaps it was because he was churning up his inner hatred. Perhaps it was because he was a natural contrarian. Either way, N paused, delicate antennae bobbing up and down in the manner of a dog tilting its head.

"Uh... hey. Anyone else hear that? >:V"

[Moofius]

“What's an ex-class? Something quiet? Man, I can't keep up with any of your alien stuff...” Cuss huffed, utterly unaware that his own little speech was just as foreign to his question askers.

“How do you even live in space? Wouldn't your head ex... IMplode?” They'd sort of dealt with that, vaguely.

Up ahead Safi sighed, her and Ailou's progress seemed to have been slowe, the group starting to catch up to her. She didn't seem to notice the cause as more and more threads collected on her blue sari.

Cuss couldn't see that far ahead, but with the notails keeping him engaged and frustrated, yeah, he wasn't nearly as calm as the others. But he wasn't exactly naturally observant, either.
“WHAT noise?” He asked, before he even bothered to tune in. A quiet clicking, like a series of very distant typewriters pounding away at the keys. Huh. He would have thought there would be wet dripping sounds or... maybe skittering? This was close, but it wasn't like a rattigan or anything like that.

“Eggheads!” Cuss shouted, not exactly known for his sneaking skills. He was surprised when his voice didn't echoe down the tunnel, but pressed on, “What's tha-”

There was no time to ask, as that noise – made aware of the group not being wholly invested in the lull the creature had created – was drowned out by a scream, high and angry. Cuss grit his teeth as he put his hands over his ears and looked around.

When had this tunnel gotten so high? And full of webbing? No, thread. He cursed, but as soon as he took in the colour relaxed a fraction. At least it wasn't fucking gold.

[Kyrit]

Most of their words began going in one ear and out the other the further they walked. Not on purpose, but lulled much like Safi had been. Or perhaps even more so as she didn't even respond as one of the others asked about a noise and didn't initially react to the following growl up ahead from Ailou. The small hybrid was quick to catch that she didn't seem to be heard and began to nip at Safi's hand once again - this time considerably harder to ensure she got her attention.

As Cuss loudly yelled at all of them,  Zae suddenly snapped back to attention. "Noi-" She went to ask for clarification but found herself not needing it. Clicking, clicking, and then that roar.

"Aww shit!" She exclaimed as the spider-esque creature came into view in front of them all. "Gotta say, I would've preferred being eaten by the other one!" Patting around her coat she couldn't think of much that she had that could help in fending it off. Alcohol? No, she didn't have enough for anything that big.... Unsure of what to do she began to just take a few steps back for now.

As if acting to buy time for the others, Ailou took the lead as she let go of Safi's hand and rushed forward, running underneath the beast and beginning to snap at its legs.

[Kodai]

Oh boy, another creature to grab a specimen from! Just as soon as they were done getting not eaten by it. At least this beastie was just some sort of enormous spider and not the spitting image of a Limbo god. Made things much easier and less terrifying.

"Well! Surely this will be much easier for you to deal with, OuO" Kay remarked almost cheerfully, stepping aside (and slightly back) to allow Cuss to deal with their new adversary. "If you could bring back a fang from this one, too, that would be wonderful! OuO"

"You gonna start paying him, Kay? >:V"

"I will if he would like that, sure. OuO"

[Moofius]

Safi was pulled from her trance by Ailou, though it was really only moments before the creature screamed. Stunned and feeling as though she had woken from a dream Safi tried to back away, only for her own tired limbs and the webbing around her to catch her off guard as she fell back.
“Wh- how?”

Cuss growled, teeth already too big for his mouth as he stepped – or more aptly stomped – forward. His gaze was set dead ahead at the target, nose wrinkled and the growl in his chest growing. Only for him to pause, perk up, and turn his gaze on Kay.
“Oh?” He seemed to perk up and calm down at that, the dark colouring of his sclera retreating to something more normal for humans, “Yeah, actually, that'd be nice. We'll talk about it later.”

Right, time to fight. Again.

Safi, being in the lead, had a giant spider monster bearing down on her. And while Ailou was taking some of its attention, prone prey was not something easily given up. Safi rolled left and into the wall as one spidery legg came down, hooked feet trying to snag the webbing Safi had just coccooned herself in.
“Ah-hff!” Safi tried to push off the wall as the spider monster shoved her into the wall and rolled her up it; tightening the threads around her while adding more.

[Moofius]

Cuss restarted his move down the hall, brushing his hands against the walls. Where he touched and where he stepped the threads- shining and sticky- shrivelled and lost their glossy sheen and seemed to shrink in volume some. They were not so easily destroyed as other organic materials Cuss had come across, but they were organic and so they did lose a certain ammount of potency with the effect of his powers.

Not being able to get into his chaos form was a pain, but with tight quarters like these, and with this many people in them, he didn't have much choice.
“You got too many legs,” Cuss said with a snarl, pushing past Zae and putting himself between her and the thing.

The thing was very spidery in nature. Many limbs with ends similar to an arachnids. The body was slim abd the tail end where a spider was generally round and firm and full of the material for spinning was long and flexible. More like an earwig, the pincers at the end seemingly collecting the fluids the threads were made from there. As the fluids dripped away they'd solidify in pulpy clots, though this didn't seem to happen so long as the creatures hand limb caught the fluid and pulled it between the pincers. Many strands were made in pulled and collected. It was a messier design than your average spider silk, but it explained the curtains and curtains of the stuff decorating this hallway.

Safi – now attached to the wall – took in the monsters make as any scholar might, while also trying to escape. The was bound pretty tightly, but if she could wiggle her smaller dagger out of her sleeve and into her hand, in the same way she did with the chalk, she could at least try to get down.

[Moofius]

Once in front of the thing Cuss opened his mouth and roared, a sound much too large for the body it came from.

Ailou had been the things main target after Safi was pinned. Long legs had been trying to catch and wrap the little beast in its sticky, messy webbing, the loosely woven “cloth” passed back and forth between the legs as the creature tried to pin the experiment down. It was not too concerned with Cuss until he roared.

The head of the monster – uncomfortably human in shape – turned to the new threat. The shape of it, and how it attached to the body, was about the only human thing about it. Where a human face would be was no mouth of nose, only a surface of dark eyes. There was a larger, oblong eye in the center of the face, with a few dozen more spread out in a circle around it. From under the chin a mouth split open and another scream – tinny and warbling – met Cuss' challenge.

Cuss winced as he clapped his hands over his ears, which gave the spider creature a free shot at him. He slammed into the wall under Safi, and gasped as something inside him broke. A few broken bones never stopped him though as he staggered back to his feet. Again he opened his mouth, though this time a stream of high pressure water came out, smacking the spider-thing against its face and neck.

There was a moment where the creature was still, dumbfounded from the attack but seemingly unfazed. Then the screaming started, followed shortly by a much easier to miss hiss of acid.

[Moofius]

A quick thump to his chest with a closed fist (from his good hand) and a burp and Cuss – gratefully – watched the creature pull away from him. It drew itself as tight as it could to the cieling and then slunk away along the cieling into a hidden alcove. Cuss waited until its screaming was little more than an eery echo. He stuck a finger in his ear in the meantime to clear it out, flicked away some earwax, then turned to the rest of the group that wasn't pinned to the wall.

“Tah dah... Okay you guys get Safi down, my shoulder is SUPER broken.” Cuss said, shrugging said same shoulder and making his face crumple with pain, “AAAAI'M AN IDIOT!” He shouted, and turned to kick the wall to distract from the pain of his shoulder.

Safi, to her credit, was working on thread around her body with her own seraphim dagger. It was her own range of motion that was halting her progress, as the blade was cutting the threads with ease.

“I uhm... yeah I need some... help. Good work, Cuss!” She added, trying her best to rally the troops and be a good team lead.

She hated that more than she hated being back in the labs, honestly. At least ebveryone here WANTED to be here. Well. Besides Cuss.

Cuss kicked through the threads on the ground, but didn't seem to find any good left overs from the spider. If anyone wanted to help with his arm, he would have taken it white the group recovered from this encounter.

[Moofius]

--- START PART 3 ---

“So...” Cuss now lead the party, even with a broken shoulder, “this 'simple' mission has been a real piece of work, huh?”

Safi was nearby trying to figure out a non-seraphim rune she could use to help with pain or healing but... really she had one niche expertise and it caused Cuss more harm than good.
“I... yeah. But these halls are starting to look... familiar. We're almost there.” She said, though there was little pleasure in her voice. There was very little 'good' in these memories, and they were onces she had been trying (and failing) to think about for years now.

Cuss sensed as much, but really didn't have the tact to know what to do with that information, so he sighed.
“Oh, hey, that looks ominous.” Cuss said as he stepped out of the tighter tunnel and into a room with a high ceiling, rough walls, and a door that did not fit the decor.
“Mm, somebody with a working arm want to uh?” he gestured at the door and did a card swiping motion.

[Kyrit]

As everyone helped get Safi free and recovered from their most recent encounter, Zae checked to make sure Ailou was alright and had offered to look at Cuss's shoulder. Not that there was much she could do in their current situation to actually fix it. At best she could pop it back in place if it'd just been knocked out or give him some pain medication, but she didn't exactly know the dosing for a Chaos. In human form would just a normal dose work? Would she need something more like a dose for a Zephion? Ultimately she decided on just a human dose for now rather than possibly knocking him out. Guess they'd just have to wait and see if it helped any after it had a while to kick in. No time to sit around and find out, as they'd continued on.

As they continued on, Ailou stuck very close to Safi, occasionally bumping up against Safi's leg or pushing her head against a hand, almost as if trying to comfort her. Almost as if she wanted to say "It's okay, Safi! I'm here! I'll protect you!"

[Kyrit]

When Cuss asked for someone else to open the door Zae let out a quick, "Oh! Yeah!" as she fumbled around her lab coat in search of one of the keys that had been given out. Finding it, she briefly took the lead to get close enough to the door to swipe it for access. Success! Excitement was briefly halted as the doors opened to what seemed like a fully functional lab. Were there actually still people down here?

For the time being, Zae took the lead as she took a few curious steps in, looking around. "Huh..." she started out, slowly turning back to the others. "Pretty clean down here for an abandoned place. Either we were lied to or these guys got the hell out of here within the past few days." It... didn't match up with what Faen had told her before. Shouldn't the labs have fallen into ruin quite a while back? Or maybe they kept up the experiments even after Habersham was gone?

"Well," she clapped her hands together with a smile. "I guess that means there's probably a lot more goodies to be found around here than if they'd just left this place to ruin year ago! Hopefully it'll be a little safer here with the door shut behind us too."