Phoenix -? [ Jim starts to ask, but he's distracted by the question about the floorboards. ]
Not that I've found. Some guy earlier today was talking about ripping them up and finding a metal foundation under them, but it didn't sound like anything too interesting.
[Yay distraction. Turning the tablet back to himself.]
Oh! You mean the guy who mentioned Kain and Dr. Hotstud. [He makes a face at Dr. Hotstud, but because that guy is another jerk.] There should be tunnels or something leading from house to house. [Jim might hear floorboards creaking bad as Zell prods the damaged floor in the kitchen.] Don't think it'll take much weight.
[He's looking around for something to use.] Are you free the next few minutes? [He misses actually talking to people, so this is the next best thing.]
[What is up with nice people liking the iffy jerks.
Going back to his pack to dig out his screw driver and a pan. Tablet is then placed against his bag so he can strip off his coat. Hammering away at things can be a work out.]
I think the vents are connected to tunnels. With how fast the response seems to be, they might assign a spider to follow a person. [Which sucks big time, but it wouldn't be his first time followed by spider machines.
Shrugging out of his short-sleeved leather jacket and then picking up his tablet and tools.]
Our own personal spider. Great. [ Jim's going to pretend his voice didn't squeak, okay? Okay.
At least it was a distraction from watching Zell take off his coat. ]
-That would make sense, though, to have a couple big tunnels running under the town. Maintenance access, if there are any bigger robots or people around to take care of the mechanism.
It's just another theory, but I like it much better than the idea of them sticking something in our heads, you know? [Pick your nightmare fuel, Jim.
He's going to look over at the kitchen cabinets from his spot as he tries to figure something else.]
Be right back.
[Positioning the tablet so Jim can watch and leaving his tools as he carefully moves to the table to flip it over on it's top and push it over the rotting boards.] Okay, here I go.
[He's going to walk across the table and hope that his weight being distributed evenly over the space will keep it from breaking. So far it seems to be working!]
[ 'Sticking something in their heads' calls to mind Silver's false eye and ear rather than what Zell might be thinking of, so it's a different kind of nightmare fuel.
Still awful, though.
Jim settles in to watch even as he begins to have the slightest twinge of a misgiving. ]
Be careful, you don't want the whole thing collapsing -
I'm fine. [And he's moving further on the table as he talks.] It's a lot more stable than I thou- [Spoke too soon. There was a loud crack almost like distant thunder, and then the whole thing fell taking Zell with it.]
Jim raises his eyebrows skeptically in response to the grin, but it's more of a dare to keep going than a 'stop doing that' kind of look. Guy's an elite mercenary, he probably knows what he's d-
WAIT NO NEVERMIND. Jim flails with the tablet, fighting the instinct to get up and run when he knows perfectly well that he can't get anywhere close to his friend. All he can do is yell into the tablet. ]
Thankfully the table took the brunt of the fall. Jim could probably hear it breaking when it impacted the bottom of the sink hole. Zell is momentarily winded from the landing, which is why Jim hears silence for a few moments longer before Zell starts coughing.]
M' fine! Frickin' hell... [More coughing as he gets back up on his feet. Nothing feels broken, but he knows he's going to feel the bruises from the fall tomorrow] It's pretty big down here! It's almost a room on it's own. [Could be useful for a way to trap monsters if that is ever needed.
Searching along the dirt walls of the hole carefully.] There's nothing down here. [And it looks like it's going to be all kinds of fun getting out.]
[ Jim thought he was dead, and the only two substitutes for Doctor McCoy in this place don't inspire confidence.
He sinks back down onto the floor when he hears Zell's voice and only bangs his head against the wood once as he stares up at the ceiling and thanks somebody that Zell hadn't actually managed to kill himself.
Yet. ]
Can you reach the edge? Or find anything to climb on?
[ It's a stretch. Well, a jump and a stretch. ] There is the table- [ Um. ] It's broken, so I can't use it. I'll have to jump. It's no sweat though! I've climbed a lamp post before.
[ He'll pick the edge closest to the living room. It looked the most sturdy. ] It's weird though. Usually there is metal under these floors. [ It's going to take a couple of tries before he finally gets a hold of the edge and pulls himself out. All of those pull-ups came in handy. ]
[ Jim watches, holding his breath, until he sees Zell's hand grab the edge and his body begin to follow. He lets out a long huff and rubs his face to let a little of the stress out.
In retrospect that was a terrible plan.]
Maybe they were built at different times. Or they're over a deeper part of the mechanism...
[Crawling until he's off the kitchen floor and a lot closer to his tablet. Zell is a little shaky standing up. He was definitely going to feel this tomorrow.]
Yeah, maybe. Or they meant to put a basement in and never got to it. [He's looking over at the hole again as he ponders on going back down there. Maybe after he gets a shovel.] I still have the bathroom floor to try... [And it's in the same state as the kitchen. Goody.]
[ As much as Jim can appreciate an idiotic yet potentially effective course of action when he sees one, he'd rather not watch Zell maybe-die on camera for the second time tonight, thanks. ]
[This is like dealing with Squall pretending not to care only much cuter]
Yes, sir. [He's grinning as he says that.
Not going to do it immediately though. Plopping in front of the tablet.] Did you want to watch to make sure I don't fall in another hole? [Looking past the tablet at something on the wall.] I do have to wonder how Al went through here without falling through.
[ Well duh. Jim huffs at him, taking the question as a joke at his expense now that everything's fine, but the logistics of Al's armor catch his interest. ]
From what his brother was telling me, his armor's lighter than it looks. Some kind of alloy. That or it was in better shape when he passed through.
You wouldn't think so with the armor. [ Supporting the general idea that Al's built like a brick under there. If Jim hadn't seen Al's brother, he would've never believed he was a teenage human. ]
So you think you can take them both on? Or one at a time?
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Not that I've found. Some guy earlier today was talking about ripping them up and finding a metal foundation under them, but it didn't sound like anything too interesting.
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Oh! You mean the guy who mentioned Kain and Dr. Hotstud. [He makes a face at Dr. Hotstud, but because that guy is another jerk.] There should be tunnels or something leading from house to house. [Jim might hear floorboards creaking bad as Zell prods the damaged floor in the kitchen.] Don't think it'll take much weight.
[He's looking around for something to use.] Are you free the next few minutes? [He misses actually talking to people, so this is the next best thing.]
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[ Jim makes a different kind of face at the name 'Dr. Hotstud;' he likes House well enough to find him amusing. ]
You think they're underground instead of in the vents? I've got to see this.
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Going back to his pack to dig out his screw driver and a pan. Tablet is then placed against his bag so he can strip off his coat. Hammering away at things can be a work out.]
I think the vents are connected to tunnels. With how fast the response seems to be, they might assign a spider to follow a person. [Which sucks big time, but it wouldn't be his first time followed by spider machines.
Shrugging out of his short-sleeved leather jacket and then picking up his tablet and tools.]
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At least it was a distraction from watching Zell take off his coat. ]
-That would make sense, though, to have a couple big tunnels running under the town. Maintenance access, if there are any bigger robots or people around to take care of the mechanism.
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He's going to look over at the kitchen cabinets from his spot as he tries to figure something else.]
Be right back.
[Positioning the tablet so Jim can watch and leaving his tools as he carefully moves to the table to flip it over on it's top and push it over the rotting boards.] Okay, here I go.
[He's going to walk across the table and hope that his weight being distributed evenly over the space will keep it from breaking. So far it seems to be working!]
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Still awful, though.
Jim settles in to watch even as he begins to have the slightest twinge of a misgiving. ]
Be careful, you don't want the whole thing collapsing -
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Looking over to the tablet as he gave a grin.]
I'm fine. [And he's moving further on the table as he talks.] It's a lot more stable than I thou- [Spoke too soon. There was a loud crack almost like distant thunder, and then the whole thing fell taking Zell with it.]
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Jim raises his eyebrows skeptically in response to the grin, but it's more of a dare to keep going than a 'stop doing that' kind of look. Guy's an elite mercenary, he probably knows what he's d-
WAIT NO NEVERMIND. Jim flails with the tablet, fighting the instinct to get up and run when he knows perfectly well that he can't get anywhere close to his friend. All he can do is yell into the tablet. ]
HEY! Hey, c'mon, please tell me you're not -
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Thankfully the table took the brunt of the fall. Jim could probably hear it breaking when it impacted the bottom of the sink hole. Zell is momentarily winded from the landing, which is why Jim hears silence for a few moments longer before Zell starts coughing.]
M' fine! Frickin' hell... [More coughing as he gets back up on his feet. Nothing feels broken, but he knows he's going to feel the bruises from the fall tomorrow] It's pretty big down here! It's almost a room on it's own. [Could be useful for a way to trap monsters if that is ever needed.
Searching along the dirt walls of the hole carefully.] There's nothing down here. [And it looks like it's going to be all kinds of fun getting out.]
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He sinks back down onto the floor when he hears Zell's voice and only bangs his head against the wood once as he stares up at the ceiling and thanks somebody that Zell hadn't actually managed to kill himself.
Yet. ]
Can you reach the edge? Or find anything to climb on?
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[ He'll pick the edge closest to the living room. It looked the most sturdy. ] It's weird though. Usually there is metal under these floors. [ It's going to take a couple of tries before he finally gets a hold of the edge and pulls himself out. All of those pull-ups came in handy. ]
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In retrospect that was a terrible plan.]
Maybe they were built at different times. Or they're over a deeper part of the mechanism...
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Yeah, maybe. Or they meant to put a basement in and never got to it. [He's looking over at the hole again as he ponders on going back down there. Maybe after he gets a shovel.]
I still have the bathroom floor to try... [And it's in the same state as the kitchen. Goody.]
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[ As much as Jim can appreciate an idiotic yet potentially effective course of action when he sees one, he'd rather not watch Zell maybe-die on camera for the second time tonight, thanks. ]
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[Besides, what are the chances of a house having two sinkholes?]
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-Right, yeah. Just... be careful.
[ Is this how his mom feels all the time? ]
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only much cuter]Yes, sir. [He's grinning as he says that.
Not going to do it immediately though. Plopping in front of the tablet.] Did you want to watch to make sure I don't fall in another hole? [Looking past the tablet at something on the wall.] I do have to wonder how Al went through here without falling through.
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Well duh.Jim huffs at him, taking the question as a joke at his expense now that everything's fine, but the logistics of Al's armor catch his interest. ]From what his brother was telling me, his armor's lighter than it looks. Some kind of alloy. That or it was in better shape when he passed through.
Find one of his messages?
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[He's thinking about Al's armor a bit.] Ever see them spar? It's pretty cool. Next time I see them, I'm going to take them on.
[Zell seems pretty excited about that prospect]</small.
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He can jump really high, man. I was surprised. They both are really fast.
[He should have recorded it. It's still amazing how quick they are even with all of that metal between them.]
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So you think you can take them both on? Or one at a time?
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Man, Ed's arm is pretty cool. I want to meet his mechanic. [A pause.] Not here though. That would suck.
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