[center][u]D O W N W A R D[/u]
[@Caits][@Vicier][s][Atrophy][/s]
[i]Days since Departure:[/i] 9   --   [i]Time:[/i] Early Afternoon
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The cube! Edward nearly smacked himself in the head. Of course! How could he have forgotten? "Luna, you genius, you beautiful soul!" He cackled as he fumbled for the cube. It came easily to his hands, as if wanting to be used, as if calling to him. It glowed as he held it up to the closed doors, brighter and brighter. Beams of light erupted from the cube and traveled across the surface above him, and the metal above his head vanished with a sizzle.

A hole the size of a human opened above them. "Yes!" Edward crowed, stomping the stone below him with triumph. He leapt up through the hole, rolling sideways onto the floor above. The vast plate which had blocked them in was now the floor, stretching out across the tower like a pale grey ocean. The stairs continued unbroken around the outside edge of the room, ending only a few stories above them at one last door.

He set off at a sprint, trusting the others to keep pace with him as they went. They'd stayed with him so far, so he knew they'd be okay. Up and up he ran, first lightly, then gasping, and then limping, as his lungs and muscles began protesting in unison. "This is not what I wanted to be doing today!" he growled, forcing himself to make one step after another up the stairs.

At the top, his foot gave out, and he fell to his knees briefly. "Come on Ed, don't be a quitter now," he breathed. "Plummet, I'm out of shape."

[i]THREE MINUTES UNTIL IRREVERSIBILITYLY OF GRAVILYFT, PHASE ONE.[/I]

That gave him the energy he needed. He shouted as he forced his tired legs under him, tripping forward step by step to reach the door. The cube glowed bright, and the door opened. How convenient, as he forced himself inside.

And stopped.

[img]http://www.environmentartist.com/images/jeffparrott_scifi_room_01.jpg[/img]

He wanted to stop, to stare. He should have, and in the past, he would have. But the reporter inside him who valued answers over all else had been silenced, at least temporarily, by the thing he'd never expected, by the strange new feeling: heroism? The desire to save the world?

"WHERE DO I GO TO TURN OFF THE THING?" He shouted. It was like nothing he'd ever seen, and he had no idea where to even begin going.

[i]LANGUAGE NOT RECOGNIZED. HELP ROUTINE ACTIVATED. LIST OF OPTIONS: A. CALL CUSTOMER SUPPORT. B. MANUAL OVERRIIII -- È̔-̧ÈRR̐̋͛ͬ̊͂Ǫͭ̅Rͧ̑͟, CODEKEY[SUP]TM[/SUP] MUST BE PLACED IN RECEIVER ON CONSOLE. PLEASE INSERT CODEKEY[SUP]TM[/SUP], THEN FLIP ALL OVERRIIDE SWITCHES TOOO-OO THE O͏̝̝F͏̣̱͖͉͔F̱͕̗̳̦͚͘ͅ ̭P̢O͖S̠̭̩̕Į͍̰̤̯͍T͉̯̬͍̥̭̪͡I̼̳͕͈O̦̤N͍̰̜̳̱͖ͅ TO CONTINUE.[/I]

As if by the grace of God itself, a crevice on the wall lit up with flashing red and green lights. Edward glanced at the space for a second before his body lurched into action, running in a wildly unflattering way to the crevice, where he all but slammed the cube in place. It disappeared into the wall, covered once again by smooth, white material.

Switches popped out of the wall, all twisting to an upright position. [i]TWO MINUTES UNTIL IRREVERSIBILITYLY OF GRAVILYFT, PHASE ONE.[/I] He screeched in an almost inhuman fashion as he slammed all the switches down. The rumbling stopped. Had it worked? They didn't seem to be moving any longer. "I think it worked!" He shouted to the others. He hoped they could hear him. "It worked!"

Then they began to fall.