With the teleportation done and an initial bout of vertigo, Alicia did her best to ignore Gerald's uncharacteristic outburst, the Jack-nid leaping down like a bizarre billy goat, the group's Marine and Necron taking the shortest route via hurling themselves off the cliff, and the Fury picking up the Fire Warrior to give the fish a ride down, as the sounds of fighting and a loud-mouthed Eldar giving her the hint about which direction she'd be going in. That left the fake Dark Eldar with the only real option of slogging it down the stairs, given that to try climbing without any safety lines while her body was still feeling sore from having the armour hooked into it's tender flesh was not a bright idea, nor would that idea be good for her life expectancy. Something the only human of the group also seemed to agree with, given he was also heading down the stairs like any sane, sensible person would do. So Seranos headed down the stairs as fast as she dared to move, rifle clammily grasped in her hands while she just hoped that she wouldn't be too late compared to everyone that took the more direct and dangerous methods of descending to the Phoenix Lord's aid, while also praying that said Lord's arrogance didn't get him killed by provoking his enemy before his back-up could arrive.
@Maleth William had kept a firm grip on his boltgun as he made his way down the stairs keeping it level with his chest ready to fire at the slightest movement in front of him, he was still proceeding cautiously down the stairs not knowing what to expect. The presence of the Dark Eldar was reassuring at least because it meant for now he wouldn't be on his own in extremely unfamiliar territory, the heightened senses and reflexes the Xenos had would be invaluable against whatever the hell it was the group was up against. If anything went wrong her presence would at least provide a chance of getting out of it alive Nevertheless though he would still feel better to voice his concerns while he could. 'Keep your eyes open I distinctly remember this mission mentioned insect people in its briefing? If we come across any in these corridors we will need to shoot first ask questions later, we will be on their home turf so watch for hidden alcoves and pitfalls where you could be ambushed.' While keeping as straight a face as he could in order to avoid revealing the feeling of butterflies in his stomach he kept his vision forward towards the continuing stairs downwards. It was taking a lot of willpower to keep pressing forward despite his concerns but thankfully his nerve had not failed him yet.
~~ Shortcutters ~~ @MetalDog4 & @TuskatheDaemonKilla The Tau indeed had to cling on the Fury as the weight was even more unusual than flight itself. Reflexes and everything might help, but by the end of the day, the wannabe-daemon was untrained. Without real airflow like in the wide open, the Fury struggled against the gravity and the Tau grabbing out of reflex on one of the wing muscles. This resulted both crashing down on a small elevated platform, just roughly seven feet above Iryllith. It was an actually nice vintage point. Even with both individuals now covered in dirt. Both were not bruised be it hard daemon scales or firewarrior armor. @BuriasDempsey & @Keidivh The Astartes had to use his Chainswords to slow himself down at the last bit, but they took no damage at all. Terran Engineering. However, the Adrenaline loaded Hormagaunt was faster than the Astartes thanks of his extreme talons and claws which allowed him practically to run vertically down. In fact he was the first down and to have a good view on Iryllith and his enemies. @Valonox The Necron basically tumbled down instead of sliding, because he hit a rock in-between and bounced off the cliff wall. He 'landed' by landing face-flat in the ground. There was no pain, but the limbs were unresponsive for a moment. It was quite some damage, but nothing a Necron could not survive. Still, would there had been a waiting enemy, he could have lost a limb, or life. @AllAbove: Rcio and Robert from their vantage point could see the insectoid monsters approach on Iryllith. They were basically Mantises just in a deep azure-blue with purple highlights rather than a typical green. The rock walls were a boring brown and so offered no camouflage factor at all. There were two dozen approaching the Phoenix Lord's position, running in full sprint. Only a hundred feet were separating the attackers and the defender. Nonetheless, he did quite well on just his own. A shot fired of his Prism Rifle, the bright blue light flashing only for a moment. Then three Mantis fell to the ground, instantly dead as the beam went right through the chest. The upcoming insectoids behind them trampled right over their dead comrades, hacking them apart with their sharp, lance-like legs. They screeched while clacking their scythes in the air, while moving with their four legs in almost unison, their march of death causing quite an intense echo throughout the caverns. Despite being mercilessly outnumbered, Iryllith simply took aim again and charging his rifle, he was dedicated to kill them all. ~~ Stairwell Runners ~~ @GobMaw_HellSmasha | @Maleth | @Donairian An Ork, a Comorrite and an Inquisitor Acolyte run down the winding staircase. They were made out of rock and seemed naturally created instead of carved out by a sentient being. The Ork with his massive feet even almost slipped and fell, luckily a certain Dark Eldar was nearby to hold him by his shoulder and prevent him from potentially breaking his neck. They were still hurrying downward, with the Acolyte on the tip. Reminders & Overview: @GobMaw_HellSmasha - Gerald Malon - Green - Emblem??? - Mostly Ork - Char Sheet | Ork Big-Boy @TuskatheDaemonKilla - Rico Rhiner - Red with brass trim - Emblem - Mostly Daemon - Char Sheet | Fury Daemon @MetalDog4 - Robert Yates - Blue - Emblem - Mostly Tau - Char Sheet | Tau Firewarrior @BuriasDempsey - Jack Martin - Light Grey - Emblem - Mostly Nids - Char Sheet | Tyranid Super Hormagaunt @Maleth - Alicia Seranos - Eggplant Purple - Emblem - Mostly Dark Eldar - Char Sheet | Dark Eldar Kaballite Warrior @Donairian - William Saxon - Black with Silver trims - Emblem - Mostly IG / Inquisition - Char Sheet | Inquisitor Acolyte @Valonox - George S. Penrod - Maroon upper Body, Black lower body - Emblem - Mostly Astartes / Chaos - Char Sheet | Necron Warrior @Keidivh - Tyler Gottzmann - Teal - Emblem - Mostly IG & Astartes - Char Sheet | Space Marine Assault Astartes, 2 Chainswords [no bolt pistol]
George rose to face the enemy. To see whom it was. If it was Eldar he was gonna scare them to death other races he had no idea what he would do with. George stood and raised his Gauss Rifle to the enemy in the Necron Synth voice he said. "Who dares disturb my slumber."
In his more human mind, he couldn't help but admire the colors fo the Mantises. Ones on earth actually came in a myraid of colors and patters, but he doesn't recall one being such a striking shade of blue with purple markings. He wished he could bring one with him but he knew there was no way he could take care of an alien creature he had no real knowledge of without giving proper care. But the instinctual tyranid side was not ignored. Seeing the charging blue mantises trying to get at the Eldar, and the poof of dust that marked where Necron George had landed, Jack gave off an eardrum breaking screech before leaping at the nearest Mantis with scything talons extended while saying "We'reheretohelpnoshoot!" out loud to Iryllith before he would hopefully have a mouth full of mantins in his toothy maw.
@Maleth Gerald's human side was internally battling with his new Orkish side on how to respond. His Orkish side was telling him he didn't need no help from a zoggin panzee-even the spikey ones- and he should punch the pointy eared git in the face. His human side recognized that he may have gotten seriously hurt, or quite possibly tumbled down the staircase if Alicia hadn't helped him, convincing himself that punching someone in the face wasn't the best way to show gratitude. Though even his human side wasn't sure about that sometimes. His Orkish side wanted to punch her in the face anyway. His human side refusing to go through with the thought. This internal struggle of his was displayed outwardly as well, as the arm connected to the shoulder Alicia held onto to help support him started spasming for seemingly no reason. The hand curling into a fist and unfurling itself in rapid succession. The arm raising up and returning back to his side over and over, till he punched his shoulder with his other arm. He looked at Alicia and coughed. "Fanks..." Gerald stated, his human side seemingly winning out. At least up until his face scrunched up into a scowl and he added "...Panzee Git" @Donairian "OI! 'ummie git!" he shouted to the human down in front, "wuld ya 'urry up al'redee! We'z gunna mizz da fight at dis rate." Gerald seemed anxious, or more likely impatient with the pace they were taking. It was getting to the point where he considered just tossing the 'hummie' over the cliff and using him as a shock absorber to break his own fall. The only thing stopping him from doing so being his human side convincing him how bad an idea that was. He was much too squishy to break the fall of an Ork. He's have better luck tieing grots to his feet in this case. Though with the 'ummie and the panzee git both breaking his fall... Gerald reminded himself that Alicia very well saved him from missing the fight entirely by preventing him from breaking his everything. He grumbled to himself but overall accepted such line of thinking. He brought his spirits up by convincing himself of something else. There was always next time.
@GobMaw_HellSmasha William was momentarily distracted from his vigil by Gerald's comment, quickly glancing back at the Ork from where he was standing he suddenly remembered that the Ork was likely much more able to survive a close quarters encounter than he probably was. Stopping in his tracks William gestured Gerald to come forward taking a single hand off of his bolter in order to do so while keeping his attention on the stairs in front of him in case of sudden movement. 'Fine then Greenskin you take point, keep your eyes open and your weapon ready the enemy will come at you fast and will do so at extreme close quarters, make sure you hold them off long enough for me and Alicia to provide fire support, we'll watch your back. If you happen to fall again me and Alicia will meet you at the bottom provided you haven't made some new acquaintances along the way, and by acquaintances I mean man sized bug freaks.'
That had not been a fun experience for him. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he felt like he had been on a horse for hours rather than 30s on a flying demon. "Think I wil take the....stairs...next...holy shit." The sight of the creatures coming at them was horrifying, and he realized they would have no problem getting up here. "Engaging!" He sighted down onto the nearest insect, well away from Jack, and let loose a stream of pulse fire.
Rico picked himself up and shook some of the dirt off of him. "Yeah I think I'm not going to take passengers next time either." He said as he rubbed his head though he felt fine albeit a little shaken from falling from such a great height. Robert's shouting brought his attention towards the insects down on the ground they indeed did look quite alien with the vibrant colors and their unusual size. He was unsure what he should do given his mixture of inexperience in both flying and combat but his body was telling him to do something instead of just watch. "Well here goes nothing." He said to himself as he spread his wings again and took off to the best of his ability by giving long and powerful flaps until he managed to lift himself off the ground. He then leaned forward and started to fly towards the insect horde, in truth he wasn't really sure about what he was going to do but he felt like he should do something and he figured flying towards the alien insects was something.
Tyler came out of his slide in a roll, amazed he had actually managed to pull that off, "Well, it's official now Jack, I am truly a badass." He said haughtily before he realized the hyper active critter was off to Iryllith without skipping a beat. "Geez, I kinda wanna try that now, seems liek hell of a high." Realizing he was in a combat situation again, Tyler charged in alongside the hormogaunt, activating his chainswords in unison as he spun in to combat. "Pheonix Lord, we are here to assist, do not be alarmed." He activated the voice enhancement module on his helmet so the Eldar could hopefully hear him and not rip them apart.
