Robert
The two claws that had nabbed Arlet and Starbi continued their ascent into the eternal darkness of the stairwell's ceiling across from one another— but it was soon evident as their bases became out of reach from the rest of the group that they started to slow down, inch by inch, albeit not to extremes. The firmness of its grip was weaker, which would indeed open the window for *Either* One of them to try something, anything to break free from the grasp of the claws. Perhaps using a personal ability or weapon to overcome the slightly weakening grip, slowness or strength discrepancy could help. There was no 'fight or flight' here; there was only fight, or what came next. Being forcefully lifted into unknown consequences, with the exception of Alexis, who was doing so voluntarily and was in a position to lend a hand by accompanying their ascent.

Regardless, the ascent of the claws would continue towards a destination surely unclear, and both their visions were mostly consumed by the absence of light. There *Was* A faint glimmer of. . . An object, but it was too quick to tell what it was, nor what it meant for them— Alexis had better positioning to explore that, perhaps. The metal wiring still rang in their ears, and something *Else* Did begin to intensify in contrast to the small weakening of the claw. That rotten, flesh boiling smell from when they entered the Inn? It had become more. . . *Prevalent* Than it was beforehand. This was abnormal, because there was no imagery or source to indicate where the growing stench was coming from.
Sung
The pressure had not waned, yet it seemed it would not grow stronger. Lifted and suspended by her torso, Arlet's eyes remained in a squint as she opted to reserve her energy (though **`Internal Transfiguration`** Was still in effect). She had already accrued a small amount of `Fatigue` attempting to dodge the initial onslaught of the claw, and, seeing as her life did not appear to be imminently at threat — her instincts absent of that distinct sense of bloodlust that always preceded lethal circumstances — would thus allow the thing to carry her while she rested.

*`...Weaker.`*

Its grip was weakening. Shooting a final gaze through the darkness to the only individual opposite herself — Starbi — Arlet closed her eyes, exhaling deeply, the scent of rot filling her lungs.

**```fix
"Let's go."```**

***`INTERNAL TRANSFIGURATION.`***
__***`OVERCLOCK.`***__

Once more, her muscles begin to tensen as mana courses through them, chimerically shifting as the innate ability of her physiology was revealed. Tripled over its normal value and eclipsing most average humans by over fifteenfold, Arlet's raw physical strength massively increased as she forcefully burst out of the grasp of the claw. Before she might fall, she hoped to clutch something still solid of the claw to propel her body toward the wall, and — hopefully — allowing her to bound against a nearby wall to close distance between her and Starbi. Supposing she was successful in doing this, she would then quickly attempt to use her single-second's-worth of leftover overclocked strength to break him free, as well.

 Regardless of any successes or failure, following the expiration of the **`Overclock`**, she would disable **`Internal Transfiguration`** Outright. Her physiology would thusly return to normal, as she let out a deep breath.
_ _
Robert
The overclocking of Arlet's Internal Transfiguration was indeed successful in removing herself from the claws grasp, having weakened its grip enough to where initiating such an ability could seamlessly free herself, retracting backwards into the continued darkness of the ceiling. *However*, this maneuver was short-lived for the white-haired woman, and her attempt of discovering a wall to bounce off— as well as to free Starbi within her enhanced state, if possible— was thwarted for one simple reason: before she could take action, yet *Another* Claw came soaring in replacement of the one that lost control of Arlet, ringing the sounds of that now all too familar metal wiring. In fairness, it wasn't immediately possible to deduce whether it was a different one or not, but what was obvious was that a *Fourth* Snatcher also accompanied its rapid descent towards her.

***``ttRSKKKK. . .``***

Two brand new claws, and their approach had changed. One gripped onto the*Left* Side of her body around her torso, with an amount of force and grip strength that even *Exceeded *Her initial nabbing, and the other predictably latched onto her *Right* With the same level of pressure. Even with Internal Transfiguration active and amplified to the extent it was, the culminative effort from both snatchers made it a near impossible task to remove herself once again. What's more was that as she was taken, two unidentified masses *Flew* By her in a rapid descent— there were rather large, and upon close inspection, they both resembled something awfully. . . *Humanoid* In shape. It'd only be a brief thought anyhow, because the claws then ascended with Arlet in their possession; this time, it was also drastically *Faster* Than it was previously, almost to suggest that the claws somehow identified the potency increase in the white-haired woman's composition and adjusted accordingly. She rose at incredible speeds, rose, and rose, until. . .

**``THUD.``**

It stopped, for it had finally meet the very top of the otherwise endless ceiling as far as one could tell. The room was still dark, but it seemed that the narrow walls had expanded, and surrounding her was. . . Something *Despicable*. An absolute truth within the largely uncertain Marcellus Mancini Inn, one defined in grim fashion. It was, at least to some extent, the fate of what exactly happened to those who entered room 1-B. Arlet was suspended mid-air to have a birdseye view of exactly that.

. . .A seemingly endless amount of these *Claws* Took up the room, but that wasn't the damning part. A good amount of them within Arlet's vision, about 25 or so, carried what was now evidently a myriad of *Corpses*. Dead humans, quite obviously, and it was now apparent where that rotten, flesh-eating stench was coming from. Many had logos and stamps stemming anywhere from Astra Cantum to the Order Of the Sacred Apollo across their chests or shoulders, but their skins were gray and dulled, their soulless bodies constitutions decomposing rapidly and nastily, eyes filled with *Maggots* And bloodied stains spread throughout their attire. Many were missing ligaments outright, from hands, to legs and arms, to exposed brain matter— and those insects of which typically infested the dead were atypically *Larger* Then the average sort. They feasted, endlessly, as the stench had reached its absolute peak. It was *Horrible*, and also a good lesson on why listening to random voice recordings wasn't actually a good idea at all. It's like they were hanging from a noose. . .

And that *Object*, the one that appeared in sight earlier? It was an illuminated box, one that made it easier to see said bodies using a blue lighting. It had strange scriptures and symbols on it, none of which were indicative of what purpose it served. It was situated directly in the middle of all the claws, and those maggots— the insects, they seemed to gravitate towards it. Those that crawled on it were not as rowdy as their fleshing eating friends.

_ _ 
Furthermore, while the end of the walls were now considerably far from where Arlet concisely was, there was something she could make it written on them; to be exact, they were written in human *Blood*, fittingly so. Incidentally, it may've been more clear as to what those objects that fell from the grasp of the claws that held Arlet actually were, if not certain already. This confirmed it, and soon enough, Starbis claw, of which had follows Arlet, as well as Alexis, would also be witness to the massacre. It was just a matter of time. The phrase was in Italian, but simple.

**```
VUCTO DI CADAVERI.
```**
Vickie
Amidst the darkness, Starbi had accompanied Artlet in being taken up into the unknown; ue to the grip of the claws, Starbi's arms had been restrained for now. Starbi had remained quiet but still very worried about what was happening. It was as if that Artlet or Starbi could've done was just let it happen, but... That couldn't have been all, as Starbi has said before, even the smallest events can change everything. 

Starbi had wondered if there was anything that could've been, before noticing a faint glimmer in the darkness, his focus now stuck on that glimmer with the looming undertone of the familiar rotting smell and sounds of metal wiring.

```"Let's go."```
Artlet's words broke Starbi's focus on the glimmer, as she then managed to break from the claw's grasp. As Artlet was doing her best in the situation, Starbi's arms then felt as if they could gradually move more freely, as he then tried to pull his right arm out of the claw's grasp, with given a few more seconds, he may be able to get control of his arm and assist Artlet.

But then, her intentions have been intervened, as she then was grabbed side-by-side by two new claws emerging from the darkness. However, Starbi was luckily able to control his right hand, which had the gun he was given by William. 

With haste, Starbi quickly aimed the gun at one of the claws as they descended with Artlet, along with him, at a faster pace; Starbi's arm angling to keep his eye on the claws, with his finger ready to pull the trigger. With Starbi already sent in motion, he saw something... Or some *Things*, dash by him, as he pulled the trigger.

***``BanG!
BanG!
BanG!``***
Went the gun, Starbi trying to shoot at the claws to try and help Artlet break free, if was unsure if he managed to do any sort of damage or even managed to hit the claw he was aiming for given the distance between him and Artlet, he wasn't exactly skilled with firearms.
** **

Regardless if he managed to shoot one of the claws or not, Starbi felt everything halt in place, the two stuck up who knows how far up.

Starbi's eyes looked around. 
"Hey, are you okay?" Starbi called out, he wasn't even sure if he got Artlet's name. But then, Starbi was met with the grotesque picture of strung bodies, they are mutilated, deteriorating,

Disgusting.

Starbi felt scared, letting out a yelp when he first saw one of the corpses strung up. Looking around to find anything besides corpses, he then noticed a familiar glimmer, recognising it as an illuminated box that was glowing a blue light, Starbi's turmoil then washed away to end up as him just feeling nervous, there wasn't anything he, or Artlet maybe, could do now, except wait.
Robert
The complete indecision of the suspended Arlet in light of her situation proves to be irreparably costly. Both action and inaction has consequences, especially when the former is ill-advised to begin with. A man once said that the strong *And* Weak suffer. There exists no fixture on fate. 

As the two claws hold her in place, gripping and pulling against both sides of her body to an extent that felt like she was slowly ripping at the seams, a bright, glistening and yet intensely foreboding lapis-colored light would overtake her peripheral vision. This illumination came from none other then that strange, archaic-like silver box that had shifted its position slightly and began to glimmer intently. Despite being ways away from her exact location, it contained enough radiance within itself to reach her. The pressure from the heat of the light was intense, especially on the eyes, which was undoubtedly painful. Starbi— and likely Alexis as regardless of the fact that she was still floating upwards, could see it, albeit Arlet would be forced to endure the worst of it. Little did the three of them know that it was, more then anything else, a metaphor, and most grim sort in nature.

The reason as to why the object directed itself towards the white-haired woman would become quickly apparent. Those fatty, abnormally sized maggots that tore at the flesh of the dead, assorted between different corpses across the endless, darkened space, would seemingly, in combined unison, interrupt their meals turn around to face the same direction as the box: with prying, unnatural eyes that upon close inspection glowed an unnatural *Red*, they all stared at Arlet. What was to come next came in rapid, sudden succession, in line with the events thus far at the Inn. In particular, however, the inability to counter here was not as forgivable— actually, it wasn't forgivable in the slightest. It was damning, because a malevolent presence was clearly afoot, and yet purely indetectable. 

A considerable number of the maggots— a large amount, but not quite all of them— began to crawl upwards against the surfaces of their lunches, before then outright *Jumping* And hopping from the original bodies they sat on to another, any one that was closest nearby. Using the edges of the claws that suspended the corpses, they continued to maneuver as an eventual collective from consecutive flesh to flesh diagonally, as if abiding to a certain instructions in correlation with a specific destination, possessing relative speed that was unnatural for slimy insects as themselves. Steadily, they approached Arlet's position using the perceived understanding of the blue light, until. . .

***``TTTTTTRKK—``***
The two claws that hung above Arlet made an unusual, uncomfortable mechanical sound, unlike its previous examples of metal wiring. The *Weight* Upon them increased from their exterior bases, causing it to lower and thus forcing the actual components that physically held Arlet slightly loosened once again, nearly dropping her entirely. That brief glimmer of plausible hope wouldn't last long, however; the added heaviness was a direct result of those *Maggots* Having reached their terminus, as the substantial amount of them quickly took up the space of both claws and their respective handles. Like watching oneself be marched towards their own execution, she could see, if looking up, the insects wiggle and slide downwards towards her. It wasn't long before they were crawling against the surface of her scalp and nape, invading that precious bed of white-hair ungraciously.

_ _
Once they reached around her neck, it all happened fast. They, in concert, *Pierced* And ripped through the flesh of Arlet's jugular, tearing, burrowing into her skin as blood immediately began to relentlessly spill out due to the sheer amount of maggots and the pressure from their jaws in grim fashion. There was nothing she could do due to the overwhelming number that converged across her muzzle and upper-body— even letting out screams or yelps was implausible due to the damage of her vocal cords, likely resulting in guzzling. The life of the white-haired woman would soon leave her eyes, causing them to roll over, and her clenched fist would loosen its grasp. The blue light illuminated the horrific encounter, casting a spotlight on her demise— or metaphorically speaking, entering the light. She was *Dead* In minutes.

Starbi would have an exceptional view of watching someone be gorged to death, as Arlet eventually slumped over, his gun effective, albeit not to say he couldn't do anything at all— his own claw had reacted impulsively to one of the many hopping maggots, and loosened up for a vulnerable moment. Alexis was still finding her way up, but perhaps if she *Already* Did so, she too could've at least tried to help. Instead, the maggots, once satisfied with having practically removed the muscle and tendon of her neck from her body, quickly began to ascend back her up lifeless corpse, up her hair follicles and back to the edge of the claws that held the woman. The blue light had shifted away; generally speaking, the maggots preferred to allowed their victims to 'marinate' in the air before continuing to consume their flesh, enjoying it to be less-so filled with blood and spasms. Sort of like aged wine or steak, deader flesh simply tasted better.

**``Arlet Monte de Navar - DECEASED.``**

Don't be like Arlet
Vickie
Starbi's focus from the cerulean light amidst the strung abyss of corpses remained up until he began to look around once again, trying to look for something, a silver lining, a glimmer that offered some sort of hope, anything that could help, even if, in the end, it'd remain futile. For a moment, the recording from before had crossed his mind, thinking about it, maybe this was a bad idea, maybe he should've gone to Door 1-A instead, like Arlet jokingly suggested from before, but it's not like he could do much about that, all he could do is hope that this was all just a simple bad dream, one you could simply just wake up from.

Starbi then looked back, noticing to see that the claws had been moving strangely. Starbi began to feel nervous, he couldn't exactly tell what the claws were doing, but most likely, it wasn't helping. Starbi aimed the gun at the claws again, but now, he took a glance at Arlet, he tried shooting before in the sense of urgency to help her, but now he was significantly much more closer to the white haired woman, who knows if he managed to hit Arlet with the bullets from before, not to mention the fact that the claws are still in tact. Glancing away, Starbi then aimed away from Arlet, and then tried to shoot at one of the claws to at least try and stall them from whatever they were doing.
** **

***``BanG``***
Went the gun once more, in hopes for it to do anything. But similar to before, no dice, as the claws remained intact, Starbi just had to do it again in hope of anything working in the two's favor, who knows what would happen if the two stayed here a second longer, Arlet and Starbi certainly didn't. Focused on trying to find a way to free both him *And* Arlet, the Starborn was oblivious to the maggot's hive minded-like movement towards Arlet for a fresh new meal, dead or alive, most likely the latter. Had he remained distracted by his thinking, he may have not had to watch and see as the maggots make their way to her with ease, but one couldn't be that clueless, could they?

Starbi looked back at Arlet, to then notice that now, she, as well as the claws had little white specks moving around her at a pace in apparent unison. Starbi was at a loss for words, and thoughts from the sudden surreal scenery laid against his eyes, it hadn't clicked yet, but they did seem familiar, it was as if he instantly forgot about the maggots around the two when they ascended up in this calm storm of corpses. It then clicked, the image of the first deteriorating body that he rewarded with a fearful yelp playing in his mind, it wasn't difficult for Starbi to put two and two together, time was ticking, he needed to save Arlet before she became a raw pile of flesh for the maggots to sink their atom-sized teeth into.
** **

```
[☆ "H-Hey, don't worry– I'll..." ☆]
```
The Starborn spoke in haste as he then aimed his gun at Arlet, ready to pull the trigger, one second passed as Starbi out-of-nowhere decided not to pull the trigger, looking at Arlet's face, he didn't want to hurt her while trying to get the maggots off of her, but maybe...
**``BanG!``**
Another shot rang out against one of the claws restraining Arlet, Starbi tried to use his gun as a sort of warning for the maggots to get away from her, but nothing worked as the maggots kept getting closer and closer as they slid across the metal and flesh of Arlet and the claws.

Time was ticking, Starbi had to do something;

```
[☆ "Don't worry– I'm coming to help!" ☆]
```
He promised with urgency as he tried to free himself as best as he could, placing both of his hands flat against the claws to push himself upwards; with some sort of strange luck, Starbi was able to push himself up a little, it was as if the claws' grip of his torso had loosened after he had been brought up to this void-like sea. Using most of his strength, Starbi let out a few grunts, and little by little, Starbi was able to get out of the grasp of the claws. Starbi then let out a sigh, as he took a glance at Arlet and her inevitable fate, washed with dread, Starbi got back to pushing himself out, he couldn't take a break, not now.

Time was ticking, Starbi pushed himself upwards, and he was then able to lift his right knee upwards to push his foot against the top side of the claw, Starbi didn't waste any time, he pushed himself up hastily to then quickly jump over to Arlet, unfortunately, one of the claws' fingers managed to pierce Starbi's pant leg and as well as scratch his ankle. Pain coursed up to Starbi's calf, and in turn, lost his balance, against the pain, Starbi used his right leg to push himself off the claw, as he was then flung against the edge of Arlet's claws.
** **

Starbi was exhausted with little to no energy, but there was no time to waste. Despite hanging from the edge of the claws holding Artlet, Starbi did his best to pull one of the claws' fingers to hinder its grip on her, Starbi even pushed his right foot against the side of the claw for extra help, nothing was on his mind besides to free Arlet. Even with all of his raw strength, Starbi wasn't successful in freeing Arlet, Starbi couldn't do anything, he exerted all his energy to try and pull, rewarded with one of the claws opening slightly. 

Starbi was out of breath, he couldn't do anything anymore, he was too tired. But the one thing he shouldn't have done was look up. As he unfortunately did so, he was met with the lifeless eyes of the person he tried to save, Arlet. Her head tilting forward with no movement, one might say she was still alive, but just dying very... Very... Slowly.

Starbi's eyes widened with fear, as he froze with his eyes staring back at her dull eyes. Shock coursed through his body as he felt weak, very weak. In the span of a second, he lost his grip for a moment but managed to still hang on, he didn't want to let go.


```
[☆ "N– no, I-I..." ☆]
```
He muttered.

...

...

...

***``BanG!``***
A gunshot was heard, piercing arlet in the forehead. 

```
[☆ "I couldn't save her..." ☆]
```
Jerri
Dead.
She sighed, it was a rather unfortunate turn of events but Alexis had been in this line of work for some time, she grew desensitised to gore, decomposing bodies and horrific stenches after a few months, and to her temporary colleagues dying after about a year and a half.
All that mattered now was to try save the one who was still alive.
She came to a stop, floating in the space between Starbi and the corpse formerly known as Arlet.

```
[0;40;34m "Hey, wake up" 
```
Her eyes glowed subtly in the dark, staring at Starbi, giving her the appearance of some sort of uncanny sleep paralysis demon.

```
[0;40;34m "You don't have time for a breakdown now, save it for when we're safe" 
```
The words were harsh, but they came from a place of concern, hesitation lead to death and they were the very same words that had once been conveyed to her some time ago, in a tangentially similar situation.
Her third eye twitched to focus on the glowing cube, and she turned it psychically, to point toward one of the bodies, *Holding* It in place actively.
She made sure that both Starbi and the cube were in her line of sight, then, straining and concentrating, she began to pry the claw open.
Robert
Alexis was successful in her immediate effort of turning the cube away. The claw that held Starbi proved to be resistant, and red-eyed maggots did attempt to bite at her whilst trying to pry open the claw, but not too long after, she could free him due to the metals initial malfunction. She could take him as she pleased— however, once freed, the collective agenda of what surrounded the two of them shifted from the deceased Arlet. The silver cube, after a few moments of internal struggle, able to magically *Shed* Alexis's telekinetic control over its surface, forcing her non-corporal grasp to relinquish itself through uncertain means. It seemed to possesses some sort of integral durability or powerful resistance that made it capable of loosening itself from even the harshest of grips, physical or not. This was no simple or normal method of illumination, that was for certain. 

The claw that held the box entered a sudden backtrack, zooming backwards away from the two of them as if it intent on protecting what it held, creating exceptional distance and making it difficult to even see it between all the already present claw machines surrounding Alexis and Starbi. Moreover, something strange occurred with Arlet's corpse, seeming to move slightly postmortem; a faintly colored light of potently orange and blue hues, being somewhat transparent in composition as it traveled towards the silver box, entering through its backside wall. What that exactly meant was unclear, but there was evidently no time to come up with a conclusion— because now being in control again, the claw that held the box turned it slowly to face frontwards, and that blue light returned to illuminate the endless void from afar. It directly hit the positions of Alexis and Starbi, like a grim spotlight. It was hard enough to see their surroundings already, let alone the glaring light shoved in front of them.

Suddenly, all of the claws that were ever concerned with the box mechanically shifted, turning to *Face* Alexis and Arlet. Moreover, those beady-eyed maggots that crawled amongst the metals looked towards them as well, seemingly ready to pounce on and tear the flesh of who they hoped to be their next meal. Alexis would be wise to not allow Starbi to enter freefall, but also to move quickly— because in rapid succession, the claws rocketed towards the two of them, with awaiting maggots inclined to jump on the shoulders of either of them provided they were reach, let alone effectively grabbed by the machines. 

The sheer number of claws would make it difficult for Alexis to navigate through the hoard of them, akin to a cliche movie scene where a character dodges all of the red triggers with agility and skill. Moving them with her abilities was an option, but again, the quantity remained a concern. In all likelihood, her best bet was to simply move as concisely and yet as *Quickly* As she fathomably could until she could think of a possible solution, identifying a weak- point or finding an escape. The box seemed critical in controlling what their some alive and some not enemies did, but the question remained if she could even reach it. Perhaps Starbi could put his weapon to good use.
Denise
I'll try and get one message in by tomorrow
Vickie
It was before Alexis had made it close to the two, in this passage of time, it was just him and Arlet's corpse. Starbi's body was still clinging to the side of the claws holding Arlet's now marinated corpse. The side of Starbi's hand was pressed against his forehead, he seemed to be in thought, perhaps he was feeling stressed after shooting Artlet in the forehead. Starbi's head then moved away and turned as he looked down to the endless abyss below him, staring down the familiar scenery with dull eyes, no words were being said, just silence.

It was then Starbi's head turned back to look at the surface of the claw, the dull expression on his face remaining. A sigh escaped from Starbi's mouth; eyes now closed in sync with said sigh. Starbi's eyes then opened once again. Starbi's legs began climbing up the claw, angling up to what seemed to be a position for him to jump off of the claws— back into the abyss. As he was ready to do so, he heard the sound of someone's voice, calling him to wake up, it made Starbi's body tense up and freeze, still clinging to the claw holding Arlet's corpse. 

It wasn't before long that Starbi's eyes noticed glowing eyes in the dark. Alexis would've been met with a mixed expression on Starbi's face staring back at her before she said her harsh words of concern. 
** **

```
[☆ "Oh, uh... Right." ☆]

He spoke, his voice now more restful than before, it sounded more relaxed, perhaps it was a voice that would've made Tom dislike him less, but that wasn't important. Starbi's eyes looked back down to the abyss. Now Alexis was here, it seemed that a new plan was in order. Then, Starbi's body swung itself up to sit on the claw holding Arlet. 

With Starbi's eyes, he looked over to Arlet's corpse, a disturbed expression painted on Starbi's face. Starbi's hand then moved over to his face to wipe off the blood on his face, Starbi's colorful gloves were stained with blood, but that was the least of his concerns, at least Starbi now had the blood off of his face. 

[☆ "So uh—" ☆]

Starbi's voice now broke the silence between the two, a question was proposed, his eyes on the hand he used to wipe his face moving to Arlet.

[☆ "Do we just— leave her here?" ☆]

He asked, Starbi's eyes moving from Arlet to Alexis.
```

** **
Regardless of whether Alexis answered his question or not. He wouldn't have responded due to his attention shifting to the claw zooming away from the two, unaware of Arlet swarmed with faint skelebro-colored hues, before noticing said colors traveling to the box, Starbi's head turned to look to the source of it, looking at Arlet swarmed with colors made Starbi's body shift away from her, seemingly uncomfortable. It was then that the two were met with a bright blue light, Starbi's arms used to shield himself from the sudden spotlight.

But it was the least of the two's concerns in comparison to the claws now moving to face Arlet and Alexis. Noticed by Starbi's eyes, he acted fast, turning to Alexis with a quick ``Watch out!`` escaping his mouth, with Starbi's hand against the surface of the claw he was sitting on, he then pushed himself up to stand up, the pain from Starbi's leg still present but wasn't a problem. He wasn't sure if using the gun would work seeing how Starbi's use of it didn't work before when trying to help save Arlet. With little time, Starbi's eyes looked to see the silver box in the distance, as he then gained an idea, he wasn't sure if Alexis had an idea herself to share, but the best he could do was just take this chance now. Turning to Alexis, he spoke:

```
[☆ "Hey, I'm going to need you to use that telekinesis thing you have to get me over there, just throw me as far as you can, quick!" ☆]
```
Starbi's voice ordered with haste, his body then turning back to the box in the distance, prepared if Alexis would listen to what he asked of her.
Jerri
Alexis didn't respond, simply giving a melancholy look in response, all things considered there was a significant chance that this room would be the final resting place for everyone inside, but surviving in this field of work required a degree of abstraction and desensitisation.
She turned her attention to matters that were far more pressing, clearly there was more to the glowing box than she had first assumed as it retreated, as if there was some intelligence here that was intent on strategically protecting its vital components.
Time was of the essence.

```
[0;40;34m "Dont throw up." 
```
Throwing Starbi in these conditions was likely a one way trip to getting grabbed again, instead she wrapped her arm around his waist lifting him with little effort, granted he was incredible light but Alexis was anything but muscular.

An uneasy feeling of weightlessness would befall him, as if gravity had suddenly ceased to exist and it would only get worse as they began to move, quickly they dropped, moving about 6 feet in a matter of seconds, then began to travel below the claws and toward the glowing box at considerable speed, each time a claw swung for them they would immediately switch direction haphazardly dodging back and fourth, it was almost as if his organs moved at a different speed than the rest of his body, lurching back and fourth in a manner that threatened to send him into unconscious.
Apposed to popular media representation, flying was quite unpleasant.

As they neared the target she would release her grip from Starbi, floating him up within range to do, whatever it was he planned to, they matched the speed of the claws now and she would need to use her powers to keep them at bay, focusing on so many objects, constantly moving, her head ached, sweat poured down her face, and apparently she burst a blood vessel at some point judging by the stream of blood dripping from her nose and staining her shirt.
Robert
Matters were growing increasingly difficult to navigate, because indeed, time was of the essence. Alexis would be able to grab Starbi and put him into a position where he could, in theory, attack the cube, albeit the numerous of claws throwing themselves at her would make it more then tedious and energy consuming to even get there, let alone dealing with the aftermath or keeping them away. Still, the Starborn nonetheless had a clean shot at the glowing cube, because the box itself was *Focused* On Alexis, as were the claws. It redirected its light directly onto Ms. Ubersich and practically ignored the former, but at the cost of forcing her to deal with the onslaught that would *Eventually* Evolve. At a certain point, the claws would adapt and surpass Alexis's maximum speed whilst airborne, which would leave her fate uncertain putting it generously. Starbi would have to act quickly and, for the sake of his ally, *Correctly*.

The cube stayed exactly in place, held by its chosen claw. There was no valuable indication of its durability or weaknesses, but one could assume it wouldn't be a cakewalk to destroy, let alone inflict damage. Moreover, Starbi would be wise to not get *Too* Close, because if they did, the claw would simply move the cube away from them— unless he was *Quick* Enough to get there before it realized he was present. Perhaps if he waited for a precise moment between what Alexis was fighting off, he could jump at the right moment while the box was occupied by directing mayhem, but that again risked Alexis's life in prolonging his approach, not to mention whatever the claw would do to Starbi. Shooting it with a projectile as many times as possible was the safest option practically speaking, but would that really do the trick? A simple gunshot to a magical, superpowered cube that controls the entirety of their powerful foes within this Inn? Wouldn't it simply pull itself away regardless? The only way to confirm anything was to act. A life depended on it, or would Starbi take *That* One as well?

There wasn't a lot of time to make a decision. At the worst, Starbi causing *Some* Level at harm would be ideal, if not mandatory, even if it sustained the hit. Alexis could very well identify the increasing speeds of the claws and could have incentive to try to pull themselves away given that they would no longer be able to match the vastly evolving potency of the metal grabbers. Perhaps hitting the cube in and of itself would push the light away from Alexis and help her regardless, then? There were too many variables to be certain without concise information, but they didn't have a choice either way. Action was demanded of them both, and they'd have to live with whatever choice they made— or, well, maybe not. . .
Vickie
As Alexis picked up Starbi's body, the sudden sense of weightlessness would phase him for a moment, however, it was not noticeable due to the formed on Starbi's face. It would only get somewhat worse as the telepath carrying him began to do what he had asked of her before. Luckily, it was only a few seconds for him to get used to the sudden pace of movement, which came with his focused expression breaking for a moment, then reforming quickly. He and Alexis had more important matters.

Once the two were close enough which in turn had Alexis float Starbi's body. It was a critical moment, everything would have depended on what he would do now, it was practically do or die. Luckily, he already had a course of action which was quickly crafted, it was practically the best... If not the *Only* Course of action that could be done for him to get Starbi and Alexis out of here. 

If he was lucky, he would be able to grasp his hand against one of the claw's fingers. Now with a form of ground to rely on, Starbi's hand raised, aiming the gun at the cube that was nestled into the hostile metal of the claw. Squinting his eyes, he pulled the trigger. A ***``BanG!``*** Sounding out amidst the web of claws and corpses, the bullet crashing against the box, the outcome decided by the authenticity of that box's silver look.
Robert
I dont think there is litterally anything alexis can do other than continue doing what she is doing so

Tis why star only pinged me

The gunshot meets its target. Starbi's plan proves successful, and upon the bullet making contact with the cube, the various functions it controls falter. The claw that once firmly gripped the box malfunctions and releases, whereas the group of them gradually attacking Alexis suddenly weakened, if not powering down altogether and separating themselves from her position, no longer forcing her to defend herself so adamantly. The light that it emitted begins to twitch and wane as it entered freefall, albeit not before providing them an uncertain message during a period of vital decision making. Each and everything they did, layered in unclear variability, could decide their fate. A game of chance, and of life or death.

**``"RIGHT. RIGHT. RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT."``**

A series of unknown voices, practically talking over one another, creating an unstable tone and yet uttering coherent statement from within the box *Itself.* It repeats directions, not indicating anything furthermore, and it was hard to say whether these instructions where to be trusted objectively speaking, especially when considering the earlier incident with the voice recording. However, it stands to reason that someone with Alexis's capabilities in light of its weakened overall defenses could now discern a truth; the box contained the taken *Souls* Of, most likely, who used to be alive within the Inn, fellow hunters and freelancers alike. Therefore, those who were speaking could've either been the cube controlling what remained of them, or the little of their spirits that were alive attempting to *Help* By giving them a way out. There was no easy way to determine that, though. Much of its nature would demand further evaluation in a less dangerous space.

The claws did quickly reactivate, but instead of resuming chase on Starbi and Alexis, they prioritized the falling cube, the master of their functionality. However, the claws were slower being that they were completed out of commission and required time to reacclimate, meaning that if so bold, Alexis and Starbi had the choice of going after the box instead. Conversely, they could go 'right' as the voices that rang out instructed them into the extended darkness and gamble on trusting the dead, or so it appeared. For what it was worth, based on the amount of damage Starb with one bullet did, it stood to reason that the cube was not nearly as durable as it could've been assumed, making continued pursuit more viable provided it wouldn't be too difficult. A split-second decision had to be made here, and despite progress made, time was *Still* Of the essence. It all depended on what they did.