[IC] The Two Sides

[xiaomiau]

Liwei shrugged. "As long as the walls aren't closing in. This isn't the setup for a horror movie, huh?" He grinned as he followed her. The facility was a bit of a maze in places, with a myriad of nooks and crannies he had never noticed on his runs between rooms. He trusted the woman to guide him.

[Fionraella]

Liwei shrugged. "As long as the walls aren't closing in. This isn't the setup for a horror movie, huh?" He grinned as he followed her. The facility was a bit of a maze in places, with a myriad of nooks and crannies he had never noticed on his runs between rooms. He trusted the woman to guide him.

@xiaomiau

The woman laughs. "No, at least I hope not." She pauses, pondering the idea for a minute before carrying on. "Okay. The place i'm taking us to is super echo-y. So you have to keep your voice low, or preferably off. We can't tip anyone off that we're watching them, got it?" She glances at him, before stopping at a metal grate. She pulls it up and motions him inside.

[xiaomiau]

Liwei nods softly before ducking to enter the super secret listening area. He gave the woman an uneasy glance, though he wasn't sure why he was growing so uncertain. Was it fear of being reprimanded? Fear of what was happening in the experiments? He wasn't sure, but he wasn't intent on showing that hesitation. He continued with her plan without a complaint.

[Fionraella]

Liwei nods softly before ducking to enter the super secret listening area. He gave the woman an uneasy glance, though he wasn't sure why he was growing so uncertain. Was it fear of being reprimanded? Fear of what was happening in the experiments? He wasn't sure, but he wasn't intent on showing that hesitation. He continued with her plan without a complaint.

@xiaomiau

The woman follows him, looking around. "Take the first left." She whispers, following him silently. "And then no talking, they're below us, go to a grate in the ground and stop, don't step on it." She says quietly, before watching him walk further into the VENT.

[wallaberry]

Kianna lay in her cot, staring aimlessly up at the roof of her tent. She didn't want to get up just yet but knew she needed to go do something. She rubs her eyes quietly and sits up. "Might as well," She grumbles and places her feet on the ground. Kianna moves towards the exit to her tent and walks into the main camp.

[xiaomiau]

Liwei's tan fingers grazed the smooth, metallic wall of the industrial-sized vent. The pads of his left digits scraped stray weld scours, left irresponsibly unsanded as the construction of the facility moved forward. As his hand dragged along the encasement, he felt subtle ridges and grooves like the surface of some flat rock, solid and even at first glance but quickly settling to the startling appearance of nooks and crevices in the face of the shape. Liwei regarded this with little confidence as his glistening gaze migrated to the shape of the shaft - evidently about six feet in height and three in width. The shaft was barely lit but by the distant glow of the aforementioned grate, illuminating a small area before it receded into rough and fiercely welded shadows.

[Hawksnest565]

Brianna was a scientist of impeccable precision. She wouldn't say that she was the top in her area of biology however - just one of the smartest willingly to go into the underground business area. It was dirty work, both in a legal and literal sense. Some nights she could still feel the way the hearts of some of the previous captives had stopped beating beneath her hands as they gave up after one too many cruel punishments had been brought upon their curious bodies. Thankfully the goodness of new scientific discovery managed to hide her nightmares in the bright of day. There was a new subject today and she was fascinated to dig under the bones. There was supposed to be two - unfortunately, one had been compromised. She didn't know how the boss would take it. She waits patiently for her co-worker to bring the subject.

[wallaberry]

Arthur glances over to Brianna with anxiety in his gaze. He wasn't prepared for the next bout of experiments, but boy did he need the money. He grasps his clipboard so tight that his knuckles were turning white. After a moment he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself of all his troubles. They had a job to do, and with that came his pay. His dark gaze rested on the lines of text that summarized their next task; the new subjects, the goal... he nodded in attempt to reassure himself.

[Fionraella]

The woman gulps, smelling the scent of hospital-grade antiseptic up ahead. She feels a bit of bile raising in her throat at the memories of past hospital visits and ER visits of her past. Shaking her head, she focuses on keeping her footsteps as silent as possible, stepping carefully on the slightly warped metal under their feet, trying not to make it creak. She spots the light upahead and inches past Lewei wanting a better viewing point. She slides to her stomach and peers over the edge of the grate, looking down into the room. She could make out two scientists. Neither of whom she knew, but the girl...seemed creepy.

[Hawksnest565]

"Are you ready, Arthur?" Brianna gestures towards the grey sheet which hid the body of the female subject. Although she was uncaring to the subjects, her fellow scientist was another matter. The best work environment needed to encourage all employees to do their best, especially in such a morally compromising situation. "Did you read the information in advance? Granted, there was little. Those buffoonish hunters didn't even manage to sight the subject in shifted form. Let's hope they didn't grab a random camper. That is how the previous hunters managed to lose their job, you know. Who knows where they are now."

[wallaberry]

Arthur jumps a little as Brianna spoke. He had been thinking to hard to himself. Regardless, he shakes his head clear of any doubt and turns to his superior. "Uh... yes. I think so." His voice cracks a bit and he goes to clear his throat. "I wasn't given very much information regarding any of this round. Do you have an idea on how you want to go about this?" He asks this in a hesitant manner, not entirely wanting to know the answer. It could be something terrible.

[Hawksnest565]

"Relax, dear." Brianna cooed slightly to him. It probably came off creepy, but it was meant as calming. Her mother had used to speak to her in a similar tone when she was scared as a child. "We won't start with the... unclean things. We'll tie her up and bring her to consciousness to start with electrotherapy first. I assume you understand that's the only method we've been able to use to force shifting yet? We need to know what animal she is. Then we'll go with a full body examination in both human and animal form. It's observation before experiment." She waits to see his response.

[Fionraella]

The woman frowns at the words the two spoke. Buffoonish??? She thinks, pouting a bit at the insult. Well that's quite rude, who does that scientist chick think she is??? She pales a bit at the thought of losing her job. Who would take these two poor kids back if she got fired? She then frowns, only seeing one blanketed figure below. Wait...what happened to the other one? OH NO! What if he died because we tranq'd him twice?? Her eyes unwillingly well up with tears at the thought. she had liked the boy's spunk and had really hoped to return him home soon...

[wallaberry]

Arthur nods at her words. "I guess that's not too bad." For now, at least... He shakes the worry from his voice so Brianna might take him more seriously. He couldn't mess this up and be fired. He had do to his best and chase any ethics that would prevent him from doing so. He stands up straight and eyes the covered shape of the body. "Shall we begin?" He asks, reading over the chart one more time.

[xiaomiau]

Liwei glanced over at the woman through the soft, white glow of fluorescent lights, reflecting off the sterile tiles below and illuminated her face, now growing red with emotion. Silently, he leaned forwards and set a large hand on her shoulder in a show of emotional solidarity. He gave her an emphatic look. He was of the same opinion that the woman below - looking like a scientist but also looking hardly qualified to touch a human being - was not to be trusted. She looked suspicious.

[Fionraella]

The woman flinches slightly at Liwei's touch, but doesn't bring her gaze away from the figures below. She exhales slowly and turns her gaze to focus on the sheet, hoping beyond hope that it was in fact the boy. The girl would most likely be alive in another room. If the boy was under that sheet, at least she could rest easy for the moment. She then pales. Electrotherapy?? What the actual fuck! She balls her hands into fists, as a flicker of a memory flashes through her brain. She forces it away before she can hear the screams. This can't be right. Boss can't know! He can't be okay with this...torture!

[Hawksnest565]

"Indeed, let's." Brianna pulled back the sheet to reveal the freckled face of a young girl. "What would you say the age as? Mid teens? 14 or 15, but maybe 16 and short for her age?" She pulled back the whole sheet, revealing that the girl was wearing a plain shirt and pants given to her most likely by the lab assistants. "Let's strap her in, and then we'll wake her up. Shifting an unconscious subject has had... Unfortunate results among the earlier experiments. Please speak and note down any extra observations you make."

[wallaberry]

"I'd say 15." Arthur comments, writing it down on the clipboard. "All right," Arthur sets the board down and moves towards the unmoving Misha. He leans forward and gently puts her arms into the restraints, and moves onto her legs. "What if we can't get her to wake up easily?" He asks as he works.

[Hawksnest565]

"That, my dear, is why we have drugs." Brianna walked over to their table of numerous sharp instrument and picked up a syringe filled with a clear liquid. "This is adrenaline," she explained. "This will wake her up quick smart. Not as exciting as a slap on the face, but they pump the subjects with too much tranquiliser for us to wait it out. We just have to be careful with the amount. She has a terribly small body mass. Not the smallest we've had, and the last time we had one smaller I had an assistant who failed to remember the basic effect of adrenaline on the vascular system. Have you ever seen a heart pop?" She chuckled a little before he replied. "Don't worry, it didn't actually do that. But the child certainly didn't make it."

[xiaomiau]

Liwei's face drew into an expression of concern as he craned his head to peer through the holes in the grate. He could see vague forms of the situation below, but the scientists' words were what concerned him the most. He glanced up at ????Leia???? and saw the same emotion of her face. He nudged her and mouthed, "What the fuck?"