Mission: What Lies Underneath.

The demon would hear the question posed by HABIT and find himself grinning in pleasure at this one as he turned to meet that mask that seemed to be living. “You are very good at spotting things, Mr. HABIT,” the demon would chuckle before continuing. “But to answer your question. We have an interesting read. A very interesting read," the demon would say at a volume only HABIT could hear. In any case, the demon would let that one go where it would before becoming quiet to focus on the matter of the monster once man.

Being aware and still you while being consumed by the unknown factor that made people into creatures. How curious. It made him wonder if everything here and what they had fought thus far was once human. The demon would flick his tail at that thought as his eyes narrowed a bit; however, he would soon find himself refocusing on Mr. Rhines as he asked a question. Heh. At least someone was paying attention to what he had said.

“Yes. The discussion would happen after we are done here. We can perhaps discuss finer details when we have found what we are looking for,” the demon would say before falling silent as the ID became the hot topic. The demon would hum at the name and the information floating about. “Well we certainly have some solid clues to get us started. And yes we can run it by CWIS. We know her and have a way of reaching her easily enough. We suppose if we cast our net wide enough we should be able to drag in something.” The demon would say before falling silent and focusing on Kuzi.

To say the demon was pleased with the little one eating what was offered was an understatement. The demon was practically grinning with joy as his tail swished back and forth with the pleasure. “But of course.” He would say in pleasant tones not minding the little one crawling up onto his shoulder and settling once more. He would get to his feet as Nagami spoke about food and Onyx decided to throw something towards Kuzi...and in turn himself. On instinct, he’d raise a gloved had and catch the thing thrown. He would open his hand looking at the item with a curious gaze before handing it to Kuzi. After all that was not his to eat. Regardless of that the demon seem to be in a good mood or something because he was grinning again as he looked over at Nagami.

“There is plenty of food for the little one around here, even more so since he too seems to be able to eat whatever is lying about.” Honestly it was such a joy to find someone that truly could make anything food. So wonderful, but not something he would let go to his head as he nodded as everyone seemed to be ready to go forward. “Yes. Let's go find our friend.” Was the hum of agreement the demon would give as he moved forward to follow.

Though as he moved, he would glance back the way they came wondering what happened to their last guy. He thought the guy had been with Nagami, but he hadn't showed up during battle and did not seem to be appearing now. Huh. Made him wonder what happened to people left behind. Ah well.

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"Mhm!" Kuzi would reply towards Nagami as he questioned his eating habits. "I don't really know the full details of it myself, but my Ma says that we Dreedle's need a lot of energy to keep up with a lot of physical activities throughout the day. Something to do with high metabolism alongside the fact we can't fit much into our stomachs at one time." He'd continue to explain as he finished the last piece of scrap given to him. "I'd guess that's why we evolved to be able to eat anything! If we couldn't it'd be super hard to have proper food on you at all times without a way to carry it all!" He'd finish with a light chuckle.

"Harth Maxwell, huh?" The pink fluff would comment once up on Inky's shoulder, slightly late to the conversation as his energy caught back up with him and alongside it his interest in the conversation. "Can't say I've ever heard of someone with that name before either. Though the guy did look kinda familiar under all that gunk and stuff that monster had around him, dunno though. Maybe passed by him on the street one time? That or I just find it hard to tell some people of certain races apart... Though even then I'm not sure. Probably best to ask Gate though. Like you've all said already, even if it wasn't one of his men it was most likely someone from the slums right? So maybe he'd still know them regardless? Unless they were one of the people left over from the Failed Jump... Though how'd they get all the way down here if so? Hmmm..." Kuzi would contemplate the though for a moment, his tail swishing back and forth rubbing against Inky's back.

The fluff ball would jump slightly as the object was swiftly thrown towards him but then caught before it reached him. He was so lost in thought he barely noticed it coming until the last moment. Though once he realized how it got there and saw Inky offering it to him, he'd give it a quick test before drinking it properly. "What is this stuff? It tastes kinda... Funky? Though it's definitely made me feel like I could do even more now! Thanks a lot, Horny!" It had an odd bitterness to it, though the aftertaste was fairly pleasant. Even if the food he'd eaten before had restored his natural energy, he felt more so that whatever it was he was just given helped out Denki more than himself. Which he hadn't really considered before... Did Denki need food? Water? Anything? Maybe he should ask her at some point. Would probably be valuable information to know before a time comes where its important to know or not.

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I scribble down a note and put away my writing utensils. “Wow you can eat anything huh? Does it taste good though? More importantly how would you be able to convert materials to nutrients? Does that also protect you against poisons or toxins from the food?” I ramble on a bit until the name Harth Maxwell is mentioned.

I scratch my chin for a second, nope the name didn’t ring a bell. As the others pressed onward I couldn’t help but linger for a bit longer. They used to be people before this… just regular citizens of Junction going about their day. Now with the infection they’ve been twisted, morphed into these things. Even though I knew that fact I’ve already lost count of how many we’ve defeated… killed up until this point. How could I have accepted that fact so easily? End their lives without hesitation, without even blinking. Even now as I desperately try to draw out some form of sympathy from within me, I still feel hollow. I didn’t know what would have disturbed me more, being forced to kill your fellow man, or having this hollow feeling inside while doing it.

Honestly, I’ve felt it for a while now, it was almost as if when I fight I’m in the passenger seat. Fully aware of what was going on around me but also distant. Was this some sort of trauma? PTSD? Whatever it was I don’t know if I would be alive right now without it. Taking one last glance before following the party I notice a toy truck sticking out of the wall. Kind of a weird thing to find in a place like this. I approach it slowly and stare at it for a second.

“Are you ready!?”

“Not yet!”

The words ring through me head clear as day as I spin my head around but see nothing. What was that? Some sort of rhyme? It sounded like the voice of two children… Maybe some sort of game? Either I was getting a little hungry like Kuzi and it was making me delusional or maybe I was really starting to lose it. I shake my head and chase after the gang. The air down here is probably getting to me is all. I guess there were a lot of questions that I wanted answers to, and most of them weren’t related to the case.

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The demon would listen to the conversations that floated about taking note of what the little one was saying about how he processed food. He found that interesting making him wonder if there was a limit to what the other could and could not eat, though it would seem that Nagami was already asking the questions needed to satisfy that curiosity. So the demon would stay quiet for the time being as he moved along with the group.

He would continue to be unusually quiet as the others spoke more on the situation of Mr. Harth Maxwell and how he got down here in the first place. To what the little one said, the demon would hum a bit before actually responding. “All are possibilities. I agree Mr. Gate should have more information about this. Perhaps some of us should approach him and ask. As for me, I want to do some research on this concept of one entrance into this place. See if the gate is truly the only way in here.” He wanted to rule out the possibility of more than one entrance and exit and hopefully narrow down a bit more just exactly how the man got down here in the first place. He had some things he could dig through after all. Though on that note, he would flick his tail as he looked at their fifth member. “Habit, how did you get down here?”  A random question? Maybe, but he wanted to know for his own reasons. Now whether he would get an answer or not only time would tell.

In any case, he would let that go as it would before becoming distracted by Onyx as he tossed one of those strange thingies to him also. The guy said it was special supplies that could keep them fit and Little Bit said it tasted funky. The demon would look at the item in his hand his tail swishing a bit as he observed the item. Then with a amused grin and chuckle, the demon would toss the thing in the air and catch it in his mouth crunching down on it as he hummed with pleasure. “We like the odd taste. It feels nice. Thank you Mr. Rhines ~” he would say seeming overly pleased for something so small.

Still chewing on the remains, the demon would become a bit more serious as the door they were before was opened and a friend was on the other side. How delightful! Though…

The demon would not follow right away as he paused and looked back at Nagami. He had taken notice that the other had lagged behind though at the time he had not made a mention of it. “How are you, Nagami?” he would ask as he decided to be caring for a small frame of time. However, once that frame of time had ended, the demon would refocus as he took a step forward. “It is time play with our friends again, Little Bit,” he would say as he carried himself and the small on his shoulder into battle.

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"Pretty much! Never found something I couldn't eat at least." The pink fluff would reply with a light grin, clearly proud of this fact. "As for the rest, uhh... Well obviously some things taste way better than other things, though there isn't much that I'd say I just straight up don't like the taste of. How I get energy out of it isn't something I'm fully aware of, not much into biology and was born here on Junction so never found out from others. Maybe my parents know though, I'll ask 'em later! And sure! Kinda? I mean, I still try to avoid poisonous things, it still makes me feel queasy, but what it'd do to me would probably be a lot less than what it'd do to somone like you." Kuzi would chuckle to himself as he sat facing backwards on Inky's shoulder to speak with Nagami.

Despite looking his way the whole time, the fluff had been distracted by the sound of his own voice to really take note of how Nagami was acting until Inky chose to ask him how he was. Now that he mentioned it, the guy was acting a lil' strange. "Hmm, yeah are you okay? You sure you didn't eat anything poisonous yeself?" The creature would ask with a slight tilt of his head, his tiny wings fluttering up a little as Inky mentioned it was time to 'play' again. "Okay!" He'd call out, turning himself back around to be facing the enemy that blocked their path and balancing himself in a more readied position. "I've got enough energy now to take on ten of these things on my own~!"

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"I'm fine... I'm fine" I say taking a deep breath, "Probably just the air down here has got me a bit shook." I take a quick second to stretch and check my equipment again for the umpteenth time. What was I supposed to tell them? The part where I think I'm a borderline psychopath who feels no remorse or the part where I just heard random voices in my head. More importantly did I want to believe that was the answer? The more I thought about it the more flustered I got. One thing was clear though, no matter what I had to keep it together, we still had ways to go before our mission is over.

As my companions readied themselves I snap myself out of my dazed state, this was no time to self reflect.

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HABIT's response to Devi's question was cut a little short as the group encountered their next battle.

ζζ-Level 5:

Kuzi would jump down off of Inky's shoulder to prepare himself properly for battle, as much as he had fought on his shoulder before he felt it didn't quite give him the freedom of movement he'd want in a fight. Though something caught him off guard as he did so, the strange and honestly disfigured creature in front of them seemed to be more scared of them. It's position looked more defensive than offensive, or at least that was how Kuzi saw it, especially with the creature slowly backing away whilst making some strange noise.

"Hey." The small creature would begin in a passive tone, taking one small and slow step forward to try and grab the weird things attention. "What are you doing down here? Haven't seen anything like you whilst we were wandering about. Ya don't need to be scared if you don't want to fight." The pink fluff would continue, taking a seat to show that he wasn't about to do anything, at least not do anything himself. He still had Denki ready to appear if anything did suddenly go south. "We just need to get past this area, is that alright?"

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The creature's words were cut off suddenly, as a small stream of black liquid began to lead from its lips. It stood motionless for a moment, almost looking confused as the small trickle grew in intensity"...Void... v̴oi҉d.͠.̵.̀. T̛̛̀h̕i͞s̴..͞.̨̛͏ ̢̛U҉̶n͝í̵̧t͘ is͢.͜.͢͡.̸͢ ̸͜In̷f̷̡e͏̡ct̀͠͞ed̶...v̳̯͞ǫ͍̘̠̙̻̳̭̬ì̶̻̺̞̫̕d̥̼̺̘̀́.̡̫̟̮̭̼̟͘͢.̧̣̤͡.́҉̥̲͔͙ ̵̛̛̭͖͓̦̼̪͚v̵̢̼͇̰̹͔̮̙o̗̱͠i̢̝̟̕d҉̶̺̰͎̩̺.̴̷̮͇͔͈͍͜.̛̻͕̖̬͉͎̕.̮̩̱͔̜̹̙͟͜.͏͔̟̠͇̥̜̝̬̟ ͍͎̫͍̩̞͚̳̀͘v̷̡̩̙̺͙͍o̖̟̞̝̥̟̘ì̤͓̩d̸̮̬̟̭͎͖͉.̡̫̳͜͡.͓.͏̛͍̺͙̖̘͚͔ i̧̮̜̥̗̳ͫ͗̓̚͜͞ ̧̗̖͔͈̂̾̆̓̉͂ͮͣ̆̄ͣ͗ͨ́̽̚͢͞f̋ͨ͂͂̾͑͐̂̓̐ͯ̈́̅ͭ̿̅̚͏̴̝͖̬̰͔̤͚͉̭̠͜͜͝eͬ̔̅̄ͫ̆ͬ͒̃̒̚͠͏͙̪̙̝͘ĕ͕̬͈̖͓̟̙̹̳͖̻̥̤͉̭̙̮̰̄̃ͥ͜ͅl̶̩̺͙̫͚͈͎̫͍͕͎̈ͦ͌̊ͪͭ̌̕͘ ̽̅͐̑͛̀̓̎̃ͫͮ҉͘҉̛̣̯̪̗̠̭̻͇̫͢s̋̿͑͊ͮ̂͏̡̡̼͔̯̫̯͖͔͔͉̹̲̬̣͙͘õ̏̌͆̓̍̾́͏̸̢̙͖̯̦̰͙̣̜̗ͅ ̵̏ͭͨ̐ͭ̍̏̿͂ͩ͆̒̇͛͢͠҉̠̮̣͙͎̣̹̺̣̦̩̝̥͉̤͍͡c̖͖̤̱̖̗̻̤͍̉̅ͪ̆̓̓̿ͬ́́͋̀́̚̚͘ȯ̶̡̢̟͕̼̤͕̩̺̠͓̩̲͎͎͇̘̜̇̆̎̾̊͐͆͌ͩ̈ͭ͂̄̚͟͢l͒̔̔͌ͤͧ͜҉̻̘̰̮̦̟̰̫̩̻͙͓̜̮̲̲͇̦d͋̀̏̏ͮ͂ͥ͌͌̚̕҉̨̛̟̲̬̞̥̤̫̺͕̘̥ͅ..."

The creatures body began to twist and contort violently as more of the thick black liquid poured out ou it. Its synthetic voice screaming, pitch shooting high and low randomly. At the apex of it's self mutilation, a large Bowie Knife sailed through the air and embedded itself into the creature's head down to the hilt, and poking out the other side. A few stray sparks fizzed from it the wound before it fall into a crumpled heap on the floor, silently laying in it's own fluid.

Slowly an with out a word, HABIT calmly walked through the group and grasped his knife from the fallen machine, wrenching the creature's head off with a violent tug before inspection it closely. YA DON'T SEE THESE THINGS IN ASPECT STRONG HOLDS VERY OFTEN...WEIRD... WONDER HOW IT GOT HERE. HEH, MORE SURPRISING YET IS THAT IT DIDN'T START TARING OUT YOUR JUGULARS, EVERYONE HERE IS ORGANIC YEAH? NO ROBOT BITS? THESE LITTLE BASTARDS HATE FLESHIES. BEST TO GET EM BEFORE THEY CAN CALL FOR HELP. TCH, DO YOU SERVE THE VOID... NOW THAT'S COMEDY RIGHT THERE HEH

HABIT would wait a moment longer before pulling the head of the creature off his knife and tossing it to the group and walking down the stairs at the far end of the roomCOME ON, THE ASPECT IS A WAITING!

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it is imperative that in your next post you include a randomizer. One out of ten success chance don't put in an explanation or a reasos. Don't question this! just do it.

"U-uhm..." Kuzi was at a lost for words for a moment as the strange creature he'd been talking to seemed to start streaming a strange liquid from its mouth before it began to freak out entirely. W-was it something he said? The pink fluff wasted no time to get back to his paws and take a couple nervous steps backwards as the creature started screaming seemingly in pain, jumping quite noticeably when a sudden large knife to the things head caused the scene in front of him to cease. W-what was all that about? What was this void thing it kept talking about? It definitely seemed to freak out more when he pointed out HABIT and, then why was HABIT so quick to react to get the thing out of the way...?


With a worried look on his face, Kuzi's ears would fold down to the sides of his head as he watched HABIT disappear down the stairs that they'd been searching for. He hadn't been able to find much confidence saying anything to that weirdo from the beginning but especially now the small creature was far too confused and scared about what just happened to think of anything to say before he was gone. Was all that his fault? Hnn... After a few deep breaths in attempt to console himself, Kuzi would turn round to the others. "I, uhm... G-guess that means we won? E-eheh... I-I have a super bad feeling about all this all of a sudden... Like, I didn't feel great about it when we first got here, then felt even worse about it when HABIT first turned up. But now I feel really bad about this... I just, I... Uhm..." The small creature would pause for a moment, staring at the strange corpse that now sat in the room with them that was still leaking more of that black sludge. He'd naturally take a step or two towards it to try and see it better before quickly shaking his head and stepping back again. "H-heh, call it instincts or whatever you like... B-but I'm getting really bad vibes from that stuff... I, uh... Would recommend not to go near it if I were you..." With that, the Dreedle would take a large circled path around the corpse to make sure not to go anywhere near it as he reached the other side of the room and took a quick peak down the staircase. Waiting for everyone else to reach him before even considering going down there.

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The demon would listen to the chatter all about, his grin remaining in place as his attention turned briefly to Nagami. The child said he was alright, but one had to wonder how much of that was true. “The air is probably going to get even worse the further we go down. Try to swim little rabbit, but don’t drown,” the demon would say, his voice seeming to be caring in its own twisted way though how those words were taken by the boy the creature would have to see.

Regardless of that, the creature’s attention would drift away from the boy and go back to HABIT as the guy response to his inquiry. What the man said was interesting, but unfortunately cut off as the enemy made itself known. And what a fascinating creature they had found. It was not fleshy like the others, but actually a machina! How fascinating and delicious looking! Not to eat, but study and figure out how it worked. The demon really did want to interact with it, but it looked like Little Bit interacted with it first. Hanging back, the demon would listen to the exchange between fluff and machine. It spoke of something called the Void and questioned if the little one was the carrier of such a thing.

Carrier of the Void? And what was this? The demon would purr quietly as its grin faded as the machine reacted first fearfully to the mention of HABiT and then began to spazz out until it was finally destroyed by HABIT who had interfered just as the creature was saying and doing things that were interesting. Flicking his tail, the demon’s eyes would narrow a bit as he heard the words HABIT said before the guy simply walked off down the stairs, telling them the Aspect was waiting.

Being still, the demon would watch the little one reactions to it all before closing his eyes as he shifted from his spot with a sigh. He would move towards the oozing mess being careful to stay out of range of it as he looked down at it for a moment contemplating things. He wanted a sample of this thing and honestly wanted to take it home with him. Tear it apart to see what he could learn, but….

“Hmmm. We need bags, gloves, and other proper equipment. This sample could hold valuable data, but alas we must leave it for now. Yes. For now….” the demon would say out loud though mostly to itself as it blinked one eye and then the other at the mess before moving pass it. He would reach Little Bit’s side and pause for a small frame of time as he looked down at the smaller creature. “Perhaps this is a nightmare only beginning, but we have to walk forward. Always forward,” the demon would say though what on earth he meant by that was a mystery and one that didn’t look like it would be answered as he headed down the stairs after HABIT.

Once down stairs, he would look for HABIT and provided that he hadn’t walked into his doom he would attempt to speak with the guy.

“HABIT...how long have you been coming to the Under? And how much do you know about those creatures and the Void?” the demon would ask staying cautious of any danger that may be around, highly aware that for it was alone down here.

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