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[Sutoratosu Akira]

Mike
"Hmmm... shifty little bastard isn't he?" Mike sighed as he turned back to the others. "Alright, now that we've found everyone, lets..." The vet seemed to pause, eyes widening as he came to some realization.
   "Aaaaah fuck!" He snarled. Of course. They were in a group, a very large group. But Mimi was not. Even atop a decent perch like the one they'd found on the way over, there wasn't much to deter that cretin from.... dammit! How could he not have thought of that sooner!? of course the little shit wouldn't be here, he was going after the easier prey first. Without wasting a moment, mike got back on the radio "Gienna! what's Rem- Mimi's status? Can you get a visual of her in her perch?"

[Takosher]

Everyone

"Friends..." Klepto nervously accepted Erika's explanation, and quietly slunk to the edge of the light, though he was thankfully too afraid to move completely out of sight.

Stephen's lack of presence was equal parts good and bad. Since they knew his tactics involved preying on lone individuals, it meant they were safe as a group. But as Mike quickly realized, Mimi had gone off alone. And while Stephen shouldn't have any way to know that, there was still the possibility he was one step ahead of them. After all, he'd been several steps ahead from the start.

And Mike's intuition would have been correct, if anything they knew about Stephen's tactical choices were true. Alas, they were not. As everyone had a momentary panic upon realizing that Mimi was in danger, Stephen made his move. All at once they were thrown into a fit of coughs and sputters, one which momentarily prevented them from taking action. And in that moment, Stephen appeared beside Harold, grabbing the driver not with his hands, but by the man's own throat. A shot rang out from across the warehouse where Mimi had made her perch, but Stephen was already prepared for that, and Harold was quickly swung in front of him to block it, the bullet driving directly into Harold's eye as Stephen pulled himself and the ill-fated truck driver back into the blackness.

Klepto was the first to react to the horror that had just gone down in front of him, letting loose a blood-curdling screech of pure terror that rapidly faded into tears of panic and a wild search about himself for any way to escape, yet his search was met only with darkness. Left with nowhere to go, he once again clung to Erika for protection, his sobbing face attempting to hide itself within her shoulder.

The entire event was made far worse when Stephen came through over Mike's radio. "Nice try." he said smugly, "That little radio trick was good, really. I didn't even realize until I heard you talking on your radios but it wasn't coming through on mine. But tricks won't save you, not so long as I have a job to do."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Mike
Immediately following the coughing fit, Mike leveled his MP7 and unleashed a short three round burst directly into the darkness where he'd seen the boy drag Harold mere moments ago. He silently cursed himself all the while, the file really had been bullshit... he was so busy thinking about Mimi's isolation and the boy's apparent absence in relation to it that for just the briefest of seconds, he forgot about the very alternative scenario he'd warned Arkady of just minutes prior. That split second had just cost them a man's life.

His fury, which had until now been smoldering like cold ashes, proceeded to steadily rise in it's intensity as Stephen mocked him over the radio. Adrenaline began to pump in spades, as the veteran turned the volume all the way down on the device. At the same time he used the heightened awareness provided by fury and survival instinct to listen out into the darkness for the sound of Stephen speaking into the stolen receiver. Without taking more than a fraction of his focus off that task, he leaned close to Arkady, and in a hushed tone that only the frightened lad would hear, gave a quick order.

"You carry a flare gun on you, don't you? Light this place up, but try not to hit anything flammable. We need to eliminate his stealth advantage."

[IntSys]

Arkady

"Ha... aaaah..." Arkady strained his eyes, tightening up every bit of his facial muscle as he took out his flare gun. For once, he took aim at the incarnation of all of his fears. An incoherent scream accompanied the flare round as it flew for the ceiling above the general area where Stephen had retreated into. A red-hued glow was cast upon the floor, banishing the darkness.

Taking a second to grasp for his breath, he switched back to his handgun. He whispered back to Mike. "Mimi's exposed. We need to beat him to it. Let's go. Together."

[Takosher]

Everyone

The flare shot illuminated the area as Mike intended, but it had several unintended consequences. The first was that the bright flash blinded the cameras, preventing Giena and Dodger from seeing exactly what was going on in the area the flare went off. The second was that the flash blinded Mimi, who had been on her way to join up with the group, and whose eyes were very sensitive to bright lights. And the third was that it revealed Stephen's location. That could have been an intended consequence, if Stephen's location weren't directly behind Arkady.

"You guys really aren't very good at this, are you?" He taunted, reaching his hand out towards Mike.

There was no time to react, Mike felt an invisible grip close around his neck. It lifted him into the air and dragged him towards Stephen at a rapid pace, knocking over Arkady as he practically went through the younger man. He felt the grip tightening, slowly but forcefully, crushing his throat. He involuntarily reached for his neck, trying to claw away the thing that was choking him, but his hands only met with air. This was it, the end, and there was nothing he could do about it. His life would end in a fit of rage, knowing that he had failed to protect anyone. The death he had died so many years back in the war, the one sought to make meaningful for so long, that death had finally caught up to him, and there was no meaning for him to give.

[IntSys]

Arkady

A loud thud, and Arkady was on the floor, rolling along the momentum caused by the collision. His eyes shifted, refocusing.

Arkady saw Mike ahead of him. And Stephen was a few steps away from Mike, choking him across a distance.

He could still feel his gun in his grip. He had just taken it out a few seconds ago.

Could he do it?

No, that was the wrong question. It didn't matter whether he could do it or not. What mattered was that he tried.

As Stephen enjoyed a glorious moment of triumph, Arkady subtly took aim at his lower legs. An awkward line of fire, but it was the least defended part, with the least chance of him using Mike to shield the shot.

Maybe Mike was really done for. But Stephen hadn't won yet. And Arkady was about to remind him of that simple fact.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Erika

"SHIT!" Erika shouted in response to the swift turn of events, barely having time to react everything that went down before she saw Harold get shot in the eye, lifting her magnum up just in time for her to see the driver get dragged into the darkness. Still, even with that happening, Erika put a protective arm around Robin, backing away from where Stephen had appeared, who she had barely even seen before he simple vanished, "Okay, okay, let's get moving and regroup, we're-" she began to say after taking a few breaths to calm herself down, almost finishing off with 'exposed out here' until Arkady fired his flare gun.

A bright flash of light, one that Erika had thankfully looked away from before it blinded her, and the same, undistorted voice that came from Mike's radio talking just behind her, causing her to turn back once she was able to and spotting a sight that sent her blood to ice. Mike clutching at his throat, lifted into the air and being pulled towards Stephen, without the latter even touching him.

"MIKE!"

With that, Erika went into action, arguably the first time she had done so since her time in the military, brushing Robin off of her as she sprinted towards Stephen and her old partner. She didn't try to shoot at him, she had already seen that Stephen would have enough time to just move Mike into her shot. She swore to herself years ago that she wouldn't let Mike die. Markus was dead, and now so was Harold, by all likelihood. She would NOT let another person die under her watch. Which led her instincts to pull off this one gambit, to try and flat out tackle Stephen before he could strangle Mike to death.

She would not let anyone die under her watch.

[Cheesy Honkers]

Giennadii

Life is a fickle thing. One second it's there, another and it's not. A lot can change in that one second. Regret, rage, sadness, fear or joy. For some, death is an everyday occurence. For others, it is a terrifying spectre haunting their lives from beginning to end. There are some, however, over whom neither life nor death holds sway. Some just don't care.

Giena sighed when he saw the video feed cut off. The death trap he unwittingly sprung had taken it's first victim. Giena wasn't afraid, however. For once in a very long time he was serene. "See you later, Badger." He said before leaving the room. The door out beckoned, a sure way to freedom. For now, however, Giena waited.

[Takosher]

Everyone

Arkady's stomach lurched as he tried to get off a desperate shot, causing him to aim wild as a stream of vomit erupted from his stomach. Erika in her mad rush to save Mike, slipped on the disgusting mess and found herself flung forwards towards Stephen uncontrollably. Stephen tried to sidestep her, but her hand caught on his pocket. That was all though, she couldn't make anything of it and she fell to the ground, Mike's gun falling beside her. Stephen took the opportunity to fade back into the maze as the light from the flare slowly faded, leaving the warehouse dark once again. Mike was gone.

There was so much lost, but one thing was gained. Lying on the ground, ready to give in to despair, Erika felt hope jingle in her hand. She wasn't sure how, but apparently she'd accidentally managed to pickpocket the warehouse keys from Stephen. There was a chance now, a way to escape, they just had to live long enough to take it.

They didn't have calm just yet, because when Mimi crept back into the light, Klepto decided to have another panic attack. "Acantelope keratitties!" he shouted, and tried to scramble for somewhere to hide.

"Oh no, not you." Mimi groaned, "I told you, it's acanthamoeba keratitis. And why are you even here, Klepto?"

Klepto didn't answer, he was too afraid, both of Mimi, and the threat of Stephen once more emerging from the shadows to take one of their lives.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Erika

He was gone. She could barely believe it. Mike was gone. Her almost twenty year partner, one she had worked with through thick and thin, went into war with, helped cope with his life changing injury… Gone.

She had tried. What she had done was reckless and impulsive, but she had tried. Erika was fully willing to give her life to save Mike’s… Even if her actions only led to both of them dying and dooming the others. Part of the issue had been her slipping on what was likely Arkady’s vomit, but she couldn’t blame him. It was a stressful situation, and the kid never had to deal with something like this.

But in the end her partner was gone, dragged into the shadows where she couldn’t protect him. However, while it took Erika a second of lying on the ground, cursing herself as she watched Mike vanish, she managed to find a silver lining. The warehouse keys.

She was the only one left to lead the others to safety. She had to use this.

So, pushing herself off the ground, Erika quickly pocketed the keys, gun raised as she took several steps towards the group, making sure that Stephen wasn’t nearby before holstering her pistol and running over to Klepto, only a spare glance letting Mimi know that Erika knew she was there, “Robin, look at me” she began, grabbing a hold of the kid, “I need you to be quiet. I know it’s terrifying right now, believe me, I know, but panicking isn’t going to help any of us. You’re going to be fine” Erika promised, yet another empty one being flung out without care as she looked back at the group, “Remi, help Arkady up. We're going to regroup with Control and plan our next move from there” she ordered, before taking a slight pause, “... I… Take it Hands wasn’t with you prior to coming here?”

[IntSys]

Arkady

Arkady wheezed as he rolled back up, still recoiling from Stephen's ability. Not even numbness remained after witnessing the fourth death of the night. He had never felt so clear before.

There had always been a solution. But it was one that required sacrifice. A meaningful sacrifice. But between wallowing in grief and panicking in despair, such an idea had been impossible to imagine. Not anymore, though.

He wiped the vomit stain from his mouth, and walked up to Robin. He whispered calmly, "Keep taking my hood," as he went around him. Then more vocally, "He knows where we are. He can easily intercept us before we get there."

Swiftly, he took out the lighter in his pocket. "And clearly, being in a group does not protect us from him. Erika, could you pass me your radio and your lighter too?" Though it was a request, Arkady's tone made it sound more like an immediate demand, as if he was unwilling to take no for an answer and would take them from her forcibly if it came down to it.

The only thing that could defeat Stephen was a time limit. A time limit that would force him to choose.

"We're splitting. I'll take Robin and escape from the roof. The ladder's inside the warehouse, so we need direction from the control room. Everyone else will follow the path back to the control room and unlock the door to the outside. With a big fire, he can't attack both groups."

"That's four people guaranteed to live to tell the tale," Arkady smiled. "We'll do our best from here."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Erika

While Erika had expected Arkady to be on the ground for a bit longer, she was rather pleasantly surprised that he got up by himself and chose to take charge of the situation with what seemed like cold determination. In any other scenario, she’d be extremely proud of him, and most likely be smiling.

Not right now though. If anything, his determination was a problem, especially with the fact that they only had one set of keys, and were both literally and metaphorically in the dark.

"No, you're not doing anything like that. None of us are. Right now, we need to regroup and figure out what the hell is going on. We’re blind, and making decisions without knowing anything” she replied, letting out a heavy sigh as she stood up, “So stay close, keep an eye and an ear out for anything” Erika ordered herself, grabbing her flashlight as she walked over to where Mike’s gun lay, picking it up with only a brief delay. It was the best she could do for him right now… Insuring that his weapon could protect the others.

“Control, continue directions to your location, over”

[IntSys]

Arkady

"The hell is going on? This is the most amount of information we could ever get in the dark. He's the one watching, we're the one being watched. And Mimi's still hiding information from us. What is acanthamoeba keratitis supposed to mean anyway? She's an incubator as well?"

Arkady sighed, burying his frustrations.

"You want more information? Then we're heading towards the flare, and the exit closest to it. Then we'll see how he moves, rather than spotting him when he's at our throats." A piercing stare came from Arkady. "We'll be less blind there."

[Takosher]

Arkady and Erika

At Erika's behest, Klepto went silent

"We haven't seen Hands since you left him. it's safe to assume he's dead." Mimi confirmed sorrowfully. She was about to say more when Arkady suddenly jumped to action. She understood what he was doing, and wanted to agree with him, but the rashness of his judgement worried her, and she was a little grateful when Erika shot him down.

"Before we do anything... Yes, I am an incubator." She said, drawing attention from Arkady and onto herself. She quickly gave Erika a rundown on what incubators were and showed her Stephen's file, then showed everyone hers and Klepto's. "I know I haven't been open with you all." she admitted, "I wanted to keep myself distant from you, because I knew you could get hurt. But it's too late, I've gotten attached, and I want the chance to keep being friends with you, and to mourn the friends we've lost. So please..." she looked hard at Arkady, "please don't give yourselves up yet. We still have a chance, we have to have a chance. We'll make it out of here." It wasn't exactly the greatest pep talk, Mimi wasn't used to trying to get along with people, but she hoped her words could mean something.

"Um..." Klepto said quietly, afraid that his words would destroy the positive mood Mimi was trying to build, "I know you're all worried about being serial killed, but what if the scary one comes for us?"

[Cheesy Honkers]

Giennadii

"Dodger can handle the directions. I'll make sure the zoinker doesn't sneak up on Dodger."