[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/GsesBfZ.png[/img] [h2][color=C24641]Zak[/color][/h2] [img]http://orig12.deviantart.net/821c/f/2015/080/4/5/web_material___rose_line_by_baronpluto-d8miru8.png[/img][/center] A hallow rattle caught the attention of a uniformed guard, lagging behind the rest with his partner to cover the rear. He stopped for a moment, tightening the grip on his rifle as he stared down a dimly lit corridor leading to a staircase. "Did you hear that?" spoke the guard to his comrade. "Hear what?" responded the other, pausing from his march down the hallway to address the comment. "N...nevermind." They pressed on, no doubt with many to come behind them. Dangling in the air just out of line of sight with the doorway was Captain Socket, just barely saved from dropping onto the ground by a well timed grab. Awkwardly suspended from the ceiling, clinging to the ledges of wall paneling and the metal door frame, Zak let out a sigh of relief to see the soldiers pass follow quickly by a grunt of frustration as he tugged the head back up into his grip. [color=C24641]"Are ya out 'o ya mind Doctor Socket? Yer gonna get me caught!"[/color] Suddenly he noticed something in the reflection of Captian Sockets eye lens. [color=C24641]"Oh wait just a tic..."[/color] Straining to turn his head, Zak managed to catch the sight of a slotted vent behind him. It looked like one of those good sized industrial vents you run into xenomorphic entities in. [color=C24641][i]"Pardon me sir but perhaps you could use those to get around?"[/i][/color] Zak smiled, carefully shifting around, narrowly losing his balance, before coming to face the vent. [color=C24641]"That's thinking ahead Socket! Wish I had thought of that meself!" [/color] In moments, the angel was gone, welding the panel that covered the vent back into place with a molten hot finger. Managing a pained grunt under his breath, Zak removed his shoes, pouring out two piles of gravel that had accumulated on his little journey around this place. With that, Zak began discretely scrambling through the network of vents, gently scooting along on his hands and knees careful not to make too much noise. He'd rather be mistaken for a rat than discovered as an intruder. Shuffling along, he managed to spot a few beams of light cutting through the claustrophobic darkness several yards ahead. A small sense of accomplishment filled him as his movements sped up a bit. Finally he managed to get close enough to the illumination to see it was leaking in through another vent cover. Peeking out through the thin slots, Zak found himself looking down at random storage room filled with large metal crates and containers marked with danger and caution signs. [color=C24641]"Nope..."[/color] declared the angel, knocking a few bits of rubble and dust out of the vent grate before moving on. A few minutes later, Zak discovered a similar panel. This one was to some kind of locker room. The floors were tiled and the walls were stained with a few patches of scum. [color=C24641]"Nope..."[/color] The next grate led to the latrines, but Zak already figured as much as he could smell them from a mile away. He didn't even bother looking through the grate as he passed by. [color=C24641]"Gross...and nope..."[/color] Finally, after several more minutes of cleaning the dust off several yards of venting system with his knees, Zak arrived at a grate overlooking a long corridor. Just a few feet from the vent was a guarded door, watched by a pair of ceiling mounted sentry turrets and two uniformed human. [color=C24641]"Gotcha!"[/color] Air flowed through the angels clothes, causing them to billow subtly off his skin. It was nice and somewhat refreshing. Almost relaxing in the way that it quietly hissed through the vents around Zak. He was especially fond of the way they abruptly hummed in the distance...Regret struck him. [color=C24641]"Wha?! Wait!"[/color] A torrent of wind began rushing passed Zak, pushing against him like an angry storm as the ventilation activated. Sweaty from the trek to this spot, the angels fingers slipped off the creases of the vent segments and was whisked away like a leaf lost on the current of stream. [color=C24641]"Nononononono!"[/color] Pleading and grunts echoed through the maze of vents, drowned out by the thunderous whooshing of wind as Zak was pulled helplessly along. [color=C24641]"Well this blows..."[/color] He muttered to himself between groans and whines. He should have expected this, though he can't account for every little detail. He definitely didn't expect to see a set of giant rapidly osculating fan blades spinning at the end of the vent he was currently surfing. A panicked gasp escaped Zak's lungs as he desperately began clawing at the metal walls and surfaces within the vents. Looks like this was the end. Death by air conditioning. Then he saw it. Protruding from the side of an upcoming segment was a service box of some kind. Whatever it was, the angel hoped it was sturdy as he reached out for it. He missed...Fortunately there was another a few feet from the first a couple yards from the whirling death. With a grip like he's never gripped before, Zak snagged his hands on the panel. One problem solved, yet another took its place. Zak was inches from being turned into deli meat and there was no telling when the fan would stop. [color=C24641]"Okay....alright.....easy...."[/color] Coaxed Zak as sweat fluttered from his brow into the massive blades. Slowly, he pried one hand from the box, careful not to release the other, and held his palm toward the massive engine like fan. In a burst of light and flames, Zak shot backwards, ricocheting off the walls of the vent like a pinball before sliding over a loose hatch. Screws popped out from beneath Zak's hands, rattling through the vent as the hatch burst open, swallowing the fiery haired angel whole and sending him cascading down into the dark. There was some falling, also some screaming, a bit of cussing, and finally a loud rattling thud against metal as Zak face planted into the crisscross grate of another vent panel. A feeble pained moan resounded from the vent before it popped open. A dusty heap of an angel fell onto the concrete floor of a steamy room filled with various sized pipes, tanks, and meters. [color=C24641]"That's the last time I take advice from a head...where the bloody hell am I now?"[/color] Making a futile effort at brushing the dust cakes from his knees, Zak stood from the ground and peered around the dark chamber he now found himself in. The temperature was quite high, yet the air was very humid. A deep red hue barely managed to fill the room with dingy light. Bursts of steam systematically ejecting from pipes and canisters thinly veiled the area. It was some sort of boiler room. [color=C24641]"The plumbing? Power transit? Who even needs pipes this big?"[/color] pondered Zak as he limped along, trying to shake some of the soreness from his bones as he walked along, using railing and walls for support. Finally he managed to spot a pale light streaked across the floor amidst the haze and darkness. A door. Zak scrambled forward, collapsing to the ground and pressing his face to the cracks across the bottom of the door. He made it just in time to see a set of approaching boots. [color=C24641]"Shit!"[/color] Exclaimed Zak, quickly standing and looking for a spot to hide. Thinking as quickly as he could, the angel closed himself into a near by supply locker. He picked the middle compartment since he knew the far left and right were always the ones those xenonorphic entities picked first. As quickly as he hid himself, slamming the compartment door behind him, a pile of power tools and led aprons collapsed from a higher shelf. Zak briefly thought back to when times were good, fish didn't exist in heaven, and he wasn't being prodded and squeezed by several pieces of machinery. It's the finer things... [center][img]http://orig12.deviantart.net/821c/f/2015/080/4/5/web_material___rose_line_by_baronpluto-d8miru8.png[/img][/center] [center][sub]--- [@Lmpkio][@KoL][@Banana] ---[/sub][/center]