An Englishman in Castle Aincrad

Floor 19 - Boss - The Disturbia Experiment

The lift that the group had found in the pantry could best be described as ''snug''. So snug in fact, that they'd decided to split into two groups as the lift categorically wouldn't hold nine people. Jet had decided to lead his group down first, whilst Kirito's group followed a few minutes later.

Even with just five of them in the lift car, it was still a tight squeeze as they descended into the unknown. A sense of unease hung over the group for the thirty seconds it took to reach the terminus of the shaft, and that didn't ease up as they left the lift. The room they found themselves in certainly didn't fit the medieval setting of Aincrad, that much Jet could state with certainty, and it looked far more like it belonged in an episode of a Sci-Fi drama than their current situation.

''This... is not what I was expecting.'' Phillia thought aloud, as she looked around the room. He found himself agreeing with her assessment of the room, as they walked around the proximity of the lift shaft. A number of steel cabinets around the area, all neatly organised and filled with brown folders. Detailed diagrams of the anatomy of almost everything in Aincrad so far, test results of something, drawings of unknown prototypes, the cabinets were a complete treasure trove for anyone gathering information!

Phillia attempted to look over his shoulder, before settling for looking over his arms instead. ''Huh, shame Argo isn't here... we'd never get her away from this!'' Despite his relatively poor mood, he found himself snorting at the joke. She'd nailed one of the most basic tenets of humour, in his eyes - basing it in reality. Had their info broker friend been there, any mission they might have had would've been sidetracked by Argo trawling through the files...

Their digging through the cabinets was interrupted as the rest of the group rejoined them, and they made a note of the files to grab on the way back - mostly ones relating to enemies they had already faced, but a few looked very unfamiliar, so could be a way of giving them the edge going forward. If nothing else, the files on current enemies could be a great use in assisting lower level players on how to grind as safely as possible.

Heading deeper into the room, the darkened void soon gave way to a surprisingly well lit facility. Almost too well lit, as the activation of the lights were almost enough to blind them. They'd decided to split into two groups - Kirito's group would look through the side of the room nearest to the lift, whilst his group took the far side of the room Looking deeper, the room they'd found themselves in was some kind of laboratory, a fact that probably shouldn't have surprised anyone given the files they'd seen earlier. What did concern them, however, was the test tubes full of sand, and the numerous vents located in the roof, over what appeared to be a chamber on the other side of the room.

Perhaps they were once part of a ventilation system, long since lost to time and disrepair, but something about that didn't sit right with Jet. The design of the vents looked awkward, almost as if they were designed to allow something in, rather than take it out. Add into that that the vents looked far larger than you'd need normally, almost to the size of an average person, if he had to guess...

His contemplation over the aesthetic design of a ventilation system aside, the quiet was soon broken by gasps of horror from Koharu and Rain, who'd gone to take a closer look at the chamber. Koharu looked almost completely shaken to her core, swaying like a leaf caught in an updraft, only barely staying on her feet, as she struggled to get even a single word out, whilst Rain clutched her hands over her face, and tried to look away, equally shaken by the sight in front of her. Seeing what the girls could see, Jet didn't blame them one bit. Two small bodies, a number of their features recessed, with sand pouring from whatever orifices were visible. Their flesh had gone almost grey, with a sickening sheen over it. The feeling of sickness in his stomach became even worse when an awful realisation struck him...