[h2][color=gray]HiveMind Underwater Research Facility, Hallway Outside the Contained Lab[/color][/h2]
[@Lexisheeps]

[hr]

The rocket aimed true, and the crocodile groaned in pain as it fell, half of it burnt away from the excessive blast. As the unresponsive Nick and Thierry backtracked through the maintenance room and the air ducts, a low chuckle echoed over the intercom.

[b]"Well, well, so the prey wants to play?"[/b]

It was none other than Director Von Galloes, watching through the security cameras. 

[b]"Monsieur Thierry, I seem to recall a certain meeting I had scheduled with you. How [i]fortuitous[/i] it is that you're here. Now I don't have to chase you down."[/b]

As Thierry carried Nick through the hallways past Nick's old contained lab, something would... [i]happen[/i]. A command sent from Von Galloes to Nick's central nervous system: [i]Subdue.[/i] A program would kick in, giving the blank slate [i]purpose[/i]. If Nick didn't fight the programming taking over his system, he would do everything in his power to overpower and subdue Thierry with the goal of detaining him.

[hr]

[h2][color=gray]HiveMind Underwater Research Facility, Sealed Section, Armory[/color][/h2]
[@WhiteAngel25], [@Days]

[hr]

[i][b]"How did they get you to move out of the vents, 3? I still had time left before you needed to get to the submarine,"
[/b][/i]

[b]"I... I was in the vents, but,"[/b] Subject #3 pursed her lips, trembling as she remembered. [b]"There were all these... 'snakes', cutting off every route and cornering me. That drone, the one with the red eye, grabbed me. I'd never been so scared..."[/b]

She took a steadying breath. [b]"You know what happened after that. You saved me, Stella."[/b]

Subject #3 smiled despite herself, fiddling with the new up-do Stella had given her. These little things made Subject #3 feel more than just a number. More than just the memories of being strapped to a padded table. More than being Director Galloes' failed experiment.

She felt... whole. Like a real person, almost.

With the crocodile half-destroyed, and Thierry taking Nick back into the upper parts of the facility, Subject #3 couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest. Was this the feeling of worry for another human? She wasn't sure. The doctors had never taught her how to regulate anything like this.

She turned back just in time to see Star return from the depths, and she held up the oxygen takes.[b] "I don't know how to use these..."[/b]

One way or another, Star, Stella, Aaron, Ramses, and Subject #3 took turns using the oxygen tanks to navigate the submerged depths of the sealed-off section of the facility. They safely navigated the research room with its ethereal tubes and went through the second steel door, coming up to the platform where they could breathe. Past the platform, down a long, dark hallway, was another steel door.

Opening the door would reveal an armory of sorts. Or what remained of it. Scattered within it on steel shelves were small handheld devices, opaque, made of plastic with an outdated look. Any archeologist or researcher versed in dark energy would recognize them off the bat: handheld TRUMPET devices. There were also a few oversized rods that gave the appearance and functionality of glow sticks, except when snapped, they produced deep purple radiation that repelled dark energy: Anti-dark energy rods. There were a few other miscellaneous items, like riot shields, rope, and tempered glass containers with anti-dark energy properties.

On the far wall was a row of bright yellow hazmat suits, dusted with age. Beside them was a door marked in hazard symbols, with a pressurized decontamination room before one final door led to... whatever this door kept contained. Beyond the weathered paint of caution symbols, there was a small window in the center top of the door that displayed thick, swirling purple smog.