World Tree MUSH

    Anyone who has elected to respond to the offer of a very generous amount of compensation for retrieving a large blue diamond off of a small island would have been directed to report to a tiny island called Walker's Cay in the Skovos Isles.
    It is just as one might have expected--lush and green with pristine white-sand beaches around much of its perimeter. The interior is densely foliated, and like any tropical paradise it's quite hot and humid. 
    On the southside beach though, it looks like some kind of convoy has gathered. Trucks, a helicopter, a lot of crates and excavating equipment, boats, along with several groups of armed men patrolling the area. This kind of tech doesn't line up with the locals, so it's definitely off-worlders. Do the locals even know this place exists? But with the amount of compensation offered, it seems like a fair assumption this 'benefactor' has a lot of bank, and the amount of equipment and people present certainly lines up with having a lot of bank. So it looks like this was where the new contractors were meant to meet up with said benefactor.

    Another off-worlder that seems anachronistic with the locals is a white-robed woman, perched atop one of the trucks, looking like some kind of gargoyle as she waits for someone to notice her. When did she get there? Why is she just hanging out on the truck? Who knows.

    The Assassin's companion perches on one shoulder, tapping away on a holographic keyboard, and grimacing as the game she's playing shows a 'game over'. "She beat me again." pouts the shinki, earning a soft grunt from the human.

 
 A new world perhaps, but one that still followed familiar rules. Commander Shaserra, better known as Shas'O Shadowsun, found herself in an unfamiliar galaxy, cut away from her mighty Tau Empire. She was fortunate that she still had her crisis suit with her, but eventually she would run low on resources and she still needed energy for her suit, food, water- and money. 
 
 While selling herself off as a mercenary was perhaps demeaning for a Tau Commander, Shadowsun defenitly needed a place to start. She needed more than money, she needed connections, information, the high and low of this great tree and its many vines, and this job seemed like the perfect opportunity to accomplish all those things. She'd get paid, and she might make a few allies along the way, and all to just retrieve some fancy crystal, this couldn't possibly go wrong! 
 
 Descending from the skies a pair of thruster engines announced the arrival of white colored power armor with an interesting blocky design. Shadowsun landed softly on the ground and began approaching the people near the convoy of primitive looking vehicles- they looked like Gue'la, humans, well, at least she knew of them. 
 
 She raised her hand in greetings and pulled the visor off her helmet revealing a blue skinned face with vague fish like features and long fiery, red hair. "Greetings! I am here for the retrieval mission." 

    The truth is, Princess Anna Primrose of the kingdom of Rosalia is not reeeeeeaaaaally hurting for money. But she needs to keep moving. And picking up jobs here and there as she moves is a good way for the runaway adventurer princess to keep herself BUSY while she is on the run.
    So, on hearing that there was a job with some pretty good pay behind it... She figured she could at least check it out.
    So the princess in commoner's clothes arrives on the beach, blinking at the sight of all the armed men, the trucks, and even a helicopter.
    She knows what they ARE, it's just the sheer volume of the gathering makes her furrow her brow, as she approaches, her old woodcutter's axe slung over her shoulders.
    "This... Is the place right?"

    Amidst the offworlders visiting this mysterious island, is... what looks like a fairly standard teen, one would wonder if he is lost somehow, despite holding a phone and following some directions he had likely either received, or copied!. What makes this particular person stand out, is who... or what is joining him. Right now, he is being flanked by one large, and very strange creature, the closest comparison might be, a feline?... some kind of tiger? It is awfully round... and most tigers don't have lighting bolts painted on their chest/underbelly. Regardless, the duo wander around the beach, looking around, when they spot Anna, and simply decide to approach!.

    "Oh shi--!"
    Upon seeing the outsiders, the patrols tense up and level their AK-47s at the various members of the strange group, but before they can fire a single round, a man comes running out of one of the truck, waving his arms.
    "Hey, hey! Stand down, stand down! These are friendlies, don't worry!" he calls out. He gets some odd looks, but they seem relieved, overall, lowering their weapons. Especially with how Shadowsun looked. Anyway, the man is kind of short at least for a human of his gender and age, with oval-shaped glasses and dark, balding hair. He's dressed as if ready for some kind of jungle expedition, which is probably expected for a place like this. He quickly approaches the group, addressing them as a whole.
    "Hello, hello! Sorry about that." he says apologetically as he motions at his apparently very large armed escort. "My men sometimes get a little jumpy. I'm Dr. Kenneth Faulkner. Archaeologist, geologist, gem enthusiast--whatever you'd prefer." Ken sticks a hand out for anyone who'd oblige to take it for a handshake. "You must be new contractors."
    So, a scientist and a jewel nerd, is he? What's he doing with a whole army working for him?

 
 "Eh!!?" Shadowsun's reaction was immediate. While she wasn't completely sure what kind of weapons these Gue'la had, she was certain that they were guns of some kind. As soon as they had their rifles up, she returned the gesture and leveled her own plasma chainguns at the human warriors. Was this some kind of ambush!? She should have known not to trust Gue'la!! 
 
 Things could have gotten very messy if not for the intervention of one short human who ran in waving his arms- supposedly the leader of this operation. It was only after the soldiers lowered their weapons that Shadowsun lowered her cannons and placed them on her back. She was kind of annoyed at the greetings, but she decided to shake it off and resume formalities. 
 
 "Hello Doctor, I am Shas'O Shadowsun. It is good to meet you." She extended her hand to shake the other man's hand and return the greeting, she was well informed with Gue'la customs and knew that this was proper etiquette. She didn't question why the man had a large force of warriors, humans were very warlike in her universe after all and Shadowsun would have been surprised if they -weren't- heavily armed. She glanced around to her apparent companions, not having had the opportunity to introduce herself due to that initial scare, but she was certain she'd get the chance to get to know everyone at some point. 

    A lot happens. Mostly people arriving, but Shadowsun sure does make an entrance. When WEAPONS get levelled their way, the teen blonde hoists her axe, eyes hardening. It looks almost hilarious. Some teen girl in a modified school uniform, holding an old timey woodcutting axe standing against men with fully automatic assault rifles... But when that Fight of Flight reflex kicks in, Anna looks one hundred percent ready to fight.
    Until the men all stand down.
    Anna doesn't look particularly relieved when the guns are taken off of her, but she does let go of the breath she was holding.
    "You sure did bring an army to such a peaceful seeming place."
    She will question what the Tau won't.
    "Anna." That's her introduction; short, curt, and simple. She's not going to give her full name 'cause she doesn't want anyone figuring out she's a certain runway princess.

    "Show time." states Piera, hopping off her perch, leaving Aquila hovering in place for a moment, before she lets her jetpack power down a bit. The Shinki floats down to land on the Assassin's shoulder once more as the human stands from landing. She keeps her hands hidden, and her face obscured by the hood of her robes. She knows... noone here, though each is given an appraising look in turn, Shadowsun the most intense as she's the most 'out there' of the group.

    She directs her gaze to the 'Good Doctor', appraising him but saying nothing apart from. "We should get moving before the sun starts to set." despite it being mid day.

    Aquila gives her partner a look, then closes the holoscreen and clicks her visor into place, the pair ready for a day of trudging through sweltering jungle.

    The weird creature besides Luke is the one to react first, tensing up, fur slightly on end from the armored figure landing on the ground, followed by the boy. The teen seems mostly impressed by the display, even whistling a bit, mumbling about how 'cool' it must be. It's only when this 'professor' addresses him that his attention turns away from Shadowsun, now nodding and waving to the friendly, and certainly not intimidating person, he glances at the armed escort for a bit, while his pokemon splays both ears and slowly walks between the boy and the armed group. "So, what is... so special about this thing?" he asks, while reaching to pet the stressed beast. "I mean... you seem to have quite a group to help you already."

    "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Shadowsun." Ken says amicably, shaking the alien's hand, then nodding to the rest of whoever bothers to introduce themselves. "Anna. Nice axe you've got there, I'm sure it'll come in handy!"
    At Piera's hurry to get down to business, the doctor nods. "Yes, yes of course, but there are just a few logistical things we need to get out of the way before you take off, to help guarantee your success. And, of course, a chance for any of you to ask any questions you might have..." 
    Speaking of which...Luke asks a very good question. If he already has an army of people working for him, why does he need other people to do this job for him? "Eheh--right, right. Good question kid, good question! This isn't just any diamond--it's a blue diamond, one of the rarest types in existence! And from what I can tell, quite large. Possibly even larger than fist-size. It was looted from royalty by a group of this world's pirates a looong time ago. They used to hide out on this island. According to my extensive research, the gem is hidden in a crypt where many of the crew were buried. My people have tried plenty of times to get down there, but uh..." he trails off a bit, glancing around a little bit nervously. He probably shouldn't mention how many men he's already lost. "Suffice it to say it is quite dangerous--the pirates didn't want just anyone accessing their payloads." 
    "Anyway." Faulkner goes over to a crate and opens it, pulling out a very old looking booklet. "Here, you'll need this." he says, offering it to whoever would volunteer to be the steward. "There's a map, and other information vital to getting down there."

    Piera steps up quickly to take the map and associated items, taking a look, before they vanish somewhere on her person. "Understood. Dangerous ruins, possible traps." she seems to know the type of thing... weird.

    Aquila lifts off, and after a quick scan of the map before it's put away, begins heading toward the location, pinging Shadowsun's suit with a handshake request to share sensor data.

 
 Shadowsun gave a nod to Dr. Faulkner and stepped back so he could introduce himself with the rest of her apparent companions. As the Tau finally got to look around and see who else would be coming along with her for this mission, she couldn't help but notice that she was drawing some stares, and that her companions were all.. very short Gue'la. 
 
 Wait a minute. Fish like eyes squinted a little at Anna, Piera and Luke.. are these a bunch of Gue'la kids?? 
 
 "Hm.." Shadowsun tried to process the fact that she looked to be the only adult in the explorer group until Anna brought up a very good point that she neglected to mention. Alright, good, it looked like this wasn't a joke and these children actually at least appeared to be capable warriors and adventurers, maybe this universe just played by different rules, it would make sense. 
 
 "What kind of resistance do you think we'll meet at the crypt, Doctor? You mentioned traps, but anything else? Guardians of some kind perhaps?" 
 
 Shadowsun took the booklet after Aquila scanned it and the Tau looked up to the Shinki. "Hm? Yes, of course, a good idea. Access granted." She made connection with Aquila to begin sharing data. Shadowsun was all about the Teamwork! 

Luke loks curiously at the doctor, quite a vague answer, except how dangerous it might be. "Oh, I'm Luke, and this is Dynamo." he offers, realizing he never introduced himself, nor his pokemon. He is glad to see Piera take the map, and admits he feels a bit like a movie character, entering ruins for treasure!. Meanwhile, the electric pokemon seems to be quite Fixated on the alien, not being hostile to it, but... let's say cautious. If anyone had the ability to sense electric fields or such energy concentrations might notice the big cat is holding quite a bit, and even now, seems to emit little sparks now and then. "I need to get a better pokenav, it's so hard to get new maps on this thing." he mumbles, poking at his device. He just moves closer to the group, and waves to Shadowsun.. At least he hears another good question.

    "Handy against what though?" Anna mutters as she slings the tool and improvised weapon over her shoulders again as she follows over to the crate.
    "So how many men have you already lost to traps?" She asks bluntly.
    The girl is apparently feeling tetchy today. "And is there anything else in the crypt we should worry about other than traps?"

    The booklet contains a bunch of journal entries that are mostly rubbed off, ripped, or otherwise degraded, but the parts that are legible seem to be a series of icons. It's not clear what they mean at the moment. There is also a map, as Faulkner had promised. The beach where they currently are is marked, and a path through the jungle has been drawn toward the center, where a red X marks the spot where the crypt is. There are a few landmarks noted along the way as well.
    "Ah, good to meet you Luke. And Dynamo, too." Faulkner says with a smile as Luke finally introduces himself. As multiple people ask about other threats besides traps, he shakes his head. "These people are long gone or dead, and I don't think any of the wildlife would be capable of entering the crypt other than insects and other vermin types. I don't expect anything will be guarding it specifically. Of course, I've never been down there myself...but those who have haven't given me any reason to think there'd be anything other than that."
    The doc arches a brow at Anna. Well she's certainly the blunt sort. "Er...well, maybe a few dozen?" he shrugs and quickly moves on from the subject. "But you all seem to be very capable sorts!" A glance toward Shadowsun. Especially that one. "Anyway, you'd best head out before you lose the one with the map. My men will escort you as far as the entrance, and will stand guard in case there's any...opposition. Best of luck!" And with that, he heads off.
    As Piera has already gotten a head start, the map would guide her straight into the thickly foliated jungle. Branches and leaves of trees, vines, and underbrush constantly licking at her clothing.

 
 Ironically, Dr. Faulkner confessing to the group thanks to Anna's pressing that he had already lost a few -DOZEN OF HIS MEN- to traps would raise all kinds of red flags. However, for Shadowsun, this made a whole lot of sense, the Gue'la of the Imperium were all about throwing waves of their soldiers into the maws of the enemy in attempt to overwhelm them, this disregard for life made too much sense for Shadowsun to question it. "Hm, very well." She said as she took in a deep breath to steady herself. A warrior was always prepared, but it would be folly to lower her guard, more so because she was so very unfamiliar with the terrain. 
 
 "Right you are, Doctor. It would appear the hooded one is quite eager to start the mission. Let us go then, my friends." She began following Piera whilst also turning to nod towards Luke and his feline companion. What an interesting duo, this would be interesting indeed. 
 
 "Alright, everyone, link up. It'll make navigation easier. Link up your radios to my frequency in case we get separated." Shadowsun said getting into combat mode, her visor coming down to obscure her face and head again. 
 
 Shadowsun.. might.. be overestimating the technology of her companions a bit here. She started trying to make connection handshakes with Luke and Anna, just sort of... assuming.. they had devices that could be linked up to her suit and Aquila's commlinks. 

    Piera continues to press forward. Aquila providing a waypoint sequence for Shadowsun to follow. The others just need to follow the big robot... alien, thing.

    Any vegetation that gets in the way, from regrowth after the last group went through is dealt with by flashes of her sword. It's not built for this work, but it's a sharp length of metal, and should handle any minor vine growth and light wood tangle.

    The Assassin says nothing, Aquila has all the comm gear, and she responds with a simple. "You may want to temper your expectations."

    Anna is blunt because she's in a bad mood.
    But that's her secret.
    The girl is always in a Bad Mood.
    Nevertheless, she keeps a lid on it for the sake of dealing with others, and with Piera already moving on ahead, the blonde princess moves to follow.
    "Right, only a few dozen. Let's go." She asides to Shadowsun and Luke before pausing at a nearby truck. Something in it catches her eye.
    The girl runs her hand over the blade of the tool left haphazardly aside, fingers caressing down to the engine and grip before she simply picks it up.
    "... Nice chainsaw." She says, slinging her axe into her backpack.
    "I'm taking it." She decides as she turns to move with the group.
    Before her phone goes off. She pulls it from her skirt pocket and furrows her brow before looking at the Tau.
    "... Did... Did you just text me?"

    The boy seems happy to follow the others to the appropiate coordinates, and if the heat was getting to him, he was not showing it, perhaps he was simply used to standing near sources of intense warmth. Luke has his trusty Pokenav, quite a new one too, one of the perks of being in friendly terms with Sylph Co. It certainly can handle a voice group and maps. "Thank you." he replies to the alien via the device, once the connection is settled. "I was wondering how I was going to get a copy of that map.". Dynamo seems to work quite well as a bug zapper, literally, anything that flies too close to the big cat seems to suddenly fall down with a faint 'zap' noise. "So, what is the plan?, my pokemon are pretty good at doing hard work, and i want to think I am not that terrible, but we are not... treasure hunters."

    The trip through the jungle isn't too difficult, if a bit uncomfortable with the dense vegetation, heat, humidity, and bugs. But Dynamo makes the bug problem a bit less annoying. And since this path has already been tread in the past, it's not actually as bad as it could be. As promised, about a dozen of Faulkner's men bring up the rear and guard the flanks, escorting them through the forest until they reach their destination.
    Upon arriving at the marked area on the map, there is a clearing with a large circular opening in the ground. This is probably why there was a chainsaw back at the beach, they must have used it to clear the trees from the area. Anyway, inside the opening, there is a narrow, spiraling staircase around the edge that leads into the murky darkness below. The soldiers stop at the entrance and establish a perimeter--as Faulkner had said, they seem to be intent on standing guard until the deed is done.

    Piera pauses at the entrance, looking at Aquila to give a silent command. The Shinki summons a huge(For a shinki) device, and... click. Shines a floodlamp into the murk... she even crows, "THE POWER OF THE SUN!" before the light beam lances into the dark... though she returns to the semi-stoic persona a moment later.

    Anyone who asks, or gives her a funny look earn a shrug and "I like watching videos online... there's one guy who shouts it every time he finds a powerful flashlight in a game." The Assassin seems a bit hesitant to tread into the crypt, but if noone else takes point, she will.

 
 "Hm? What do you mean?" Asked Shadowsun as Piera told her to temper her expectations. 
 
 Then Anna quizzically asked her if she had just texted her. "Err... yes?" The Tau blinked under her helmet a little in confusion as to what Anna actually meant by that. Oh, so that's what Piera was talking about. These Gue'la had such low tech! It was almost unreal! Still, Shadowsun would make due. Piera and Luke accepted her connection request and Shadowsun neatly placed her party's icons on her visor so she could know where they were at all times, unless they somehow lost transmission. 
 
 Piera/Aquila confirmed 
 Luke and Co. confirmed. 
 
 And she'd have Anna in her radar as soon as she got confirmation. It looked like she was busy arming herself though, what was it with Gue'la and their chainswords? It was some kind of obsession! 
 
 "Not a problem." Shadowsun said to Luke as he thanked her for sharing those files. "As for the plan of attack; it's impossible to tell right now without scouting the area first. I suspect we'll have to go in and then adapt to the situation." 
 
 "Above all else, just follow my lead and we shall be fine." Shadowsun really liked being in command apparently. 
 
 As they arrived to the entrance, the Tau stared at the Shinki as she pulled out a floodlamp and gave her a disapproving shake of her head. "That's nice, but keep the shouting to a minimum from now on, we don't know what dangers lurk within and we don't want to let them know we're coming." She turned on her own flashlights of her crisis suit, pulled out her -enormous- twin plasma cannons, and advanced inside the crypt right behind Piera, happy to let the assassin take point if she really wanted to. 

    To her credit, Anna does not complain about the trek in the heat or about the bugs, or how the brambles cut and scrape her arms and legs.
    She can't complain. She has a chainsaw now.
    This is like the best freaking day of her life.
    So when the party arrives at the entrance to the crypt she pauses. "Hold on."
    Unslinging her backpack she pulls out some very important adventuring gear.
    You see, humans do not have darkvision like Dwarves or Elves. Anna pulls out a torch. ... A high powered flashlight, that she clips to her breast pocket.
    "Okay I'm ready." She says. But what does she say in regards to Aquila's antics?
    "... Cute."
    What? Shinki are cute.
    Anna... Looks about ready to take point when Shadowsun does.
    "Fair enough." She says, confirming the little prompt on her phone. She should hopefully show up on the Shas'O's HUD now.
    But if the Tau is taking the lead, Anna pulls something else from her backpack-- a series of rods that she starts to quickly assemble into... A sturdy ten-foot pole.
    She hands this to Shadowsun.
    "Here, use this."

    Luke takes advantage of the situation and sends Shadowsun some basic information on his pokemon team, since the alien seems to consider himself the team leader, how useful that might be is debatable, but at least the leader might know more of what he can do!. The boy and his big cat end up glancing at the stairs, "This is cool... like a movie." he mumbles, leaning onto the big cat. "What's that for?" he asks Anna.

 
 "Eh? What??" Shadowsun sounded flustered as she put one of her plasma cannons on her back again so she had a free hand to accept the ten-foot pole that Anna handed her. 
 
 A good question, Luke, but more importantly "....what am I supposed to do with this stick?" 

    Let there be light indeed. The flashlights are quite effective, piercing the blackness and revealing that the staircase winds down a few stories into a very narrow passage that looks...suspiciously empty and devoid of apparent threats or traps. The walls, floor, and ceiling are of white stone tiles each of which seem to have some kind of symbol on them.
    Anyone who looked at the booklet Faulkner gave them would remember that there were similar symbols in there.

    "That." Anna replies to Luke and Shadowsun, "Is a ten-foot pole." She says the obvious, before making a hand-gesture.
    "You tap the floors and walls with it to set off traps from a safe distance away." She explains while heading down the stairs into the darkness.
    "For rooms just like this." She says looking at all the symbols all over the place.
    She didn't read the book. That's someone else's job.

    "Hold..." states Piera firmly, coming to a dead stop just before the first tiles in this hallway. "This smells of a trap.. a puzzle lock of some kind with a deadly price for failure." She states, then pulls her hood down, and tucks an errant lock of hair behind her ear as it slips out. Anyone who looks at her eyes would see them appear to shimmer gold for a brief moment, trying to find a pattern. She did look at the symbols in the book, so perhaps theres some corralation between those, and the tiles.

 
 A proper leader had to know how to multitask, so Shadowsun began scanning the files that Luke sent her whilst she was still trying to ponder what to do with the long stick that Anna had given her. Hm, yes, very good, all of Luke's Pokemon would come in handy as she read through their abilities, but there would be a moment for each one to shine more than likely. Right now, she was still trying to figure out how to navigate the tunnel and still hold on to her stick. The Tau also read through the files that Aquila gave her which contained Dr. Faulkner's notes about the crypt, though thankfully Piera was already on it trying to see if there were any traps nearby. 
 
 "I see...." Shadowsun sounded less than thrilled at the idea of triggering a trap by simply poking it with a long stick- such incredibly primitive tech- and yet, the idea had some merit, it wasn't like Shadowsun had brought along any of her stealth units so maybe poking it with a stick will have to do the trick. 
 
 As Piera got to scan the area, Shadowsun tapped a few buttons in her forearm and turned invisible, except for the ten-foot pole she was holding, just to make certain that it would be more difficult to notice her in particular if any hidden guardian was nearby. 
 
 While this could prove problematic for her companions, she had thankfully linked up with all of them, so Luke, Anna and Piera would know where Shadowsun was standing despite being invisible. 
 For now, she just kind of waited to see if Piera told her to poke any particular tile.. this was kind of embarrassing now that she thought about it.

    The boy was trying to steal a peek on the book as well, not that he knew much about this but... perhaps he can figure something?. He looks around a few times, trying to make sense of the pages, and the signs on the room, while Dynamo sniffs around, and wanders closer to Shadowsun. When the 'leader' finally moves into action, Luke seems to watch in fascination at the floating pole, "That's pretty cool.". Dynamo's eyes seem to flicker as the Tau goes invisible, as if trying to track or look somehow, tilting its head, but seems unable to.

    As Piera or anyone else who'd bother looks at the passage and what's written in the notebook, there is indeed a correlation. There are 2 pages with these symbols on them, each a series of six in a different order. One is arranged in a vertical pattern and the other is arranged horizontally. 
    In this particular hallway, the tiles and symbols are all in a single straight line in front of her, leading to a door at the end. Some of the symbols match the ones on both booklet pages, and both are arranged in such a way that they are certainly 'jumpable'. As in, any capable human could step on the right symbols without touching the 'wrong' ones by leaping across them. The question is which one is meant for this room.

    "Press that one... lets see if anything happens." states Piera, indicating the first symbol in one of the sequences from the book. Might as well use the pole to test if the tiles are pressure pads or not!

 
 "Hmm.. this one?" Shadowsun appeared to be in the same wavelength as Piera. She was reading the book's text in her visor as well, but because it didn't specify in what corridor where the symbols, there was no telling if this was trapped. Honestly, Shadowsun would have preferred to take the safe approach and jump it anyway, but she had a big pole and she might as well use it. The Tau went and prodded at the tile that Piera was pointing with the pole that Anna gave her. 10 feet away, that should be pretty safe to not get hit by any traps... right? 

    When Shadowsun pokes the tile with the pole provided by Anna earlier, the tile does indeed appear to be a pressure plate, as it depresses slightly, groaning a bit as it moves a little lower than the rest of them. However, nothing else seems to happen. No traps are sprung, no monsters, or even strange noises.

    Piera nods a little... she then leaps over onto the tile, then jukes to the next one in the sequence of vertical symbols, assuming each one is a sequential path to follow. Aquila simply flies over in the wake of the assassin, and they both clear the way for the others to follow suite.

 
 Well, so far so good. Shadowsun pressed the tile, firm and hard, until it seemed to go as deep as it would go. It was strange that the tile was some kind of pressure plate, but at the same time it didn't trigger anything. Still, she decided to trust her scout on this and she folded the ten-foot pole back again and began following Piera, stepping on the tiles that the assassin deemed safe. 

    Anna looks smug.
    "Never leave home without a ten foot pole." The princess says, flashing a cheeky grin, following the path that Piera and Shadowsun blaze.

The boy decides that perhaps, just to be safe, since he was not very athletic (at least compared to most here), he should get some help with the jumps and agility, and slowly clambers onto the poor Dynamo. The feline seems well used to the weight, and carries the teen carefully down the stairs, and begins the process of following the rest, sitting on each tile until told which one to jump to next, with Luke taking photos on his pokenav for future reference. "That was very smart." he praises Anna, making a note about such tools in the future.

"I have to admit it. The long pointy stick works." Shadowsun agreed to the smug looking Anna. There was something to be said about Gue'la ingenuity, maybe they were not as brutish as she thought. 

    Each tile depresses in the same fashion as the first one, as the group hops from symbol to symbol following Piera's lead. So long as each member makes their way across one at a time, nothing bad happens. Another thing the group may have noted is that there aren't any bones or human body remains to be seen, so this either wasn't the trouble spot or the dead bodies had somehow been cleared out already by something or someone.
    At any rate, once Piera reaches the other side, the door slides up and open, revealing a large, dusty area filled with cobwebs and caskets. This must be the crypt, and there must be hundreds of coffins in here, many stacked along the walls while some, larger more fancy ones are featured in the center of various sections of the crypt. But that probably isn't what would catch one's eye first...
    There is a ton of gold, jewelry, art, and other valuables in here. But in one of the central sectors, sitting on a bronze pedestal on top of one of the larger graves, is a glittering blue gem slightly larger than a human fist. Owing to the amount of other jewels that are in here, one might have questioned whether it was the diamond Faulkner is looking for or not, but the amount of dead bodies, both fresh and old, around it likely dismisses such doubts.

 
 Excellently executed, but she'd expect nothing less from a group lead by her! And yes, Shadowsun still was under the impression that she was leading this team. 
 
 Reaching the crypt proper proved to be very interesting, what with the bodies, fresh and old, and all the discarded gold. If Shadowsun had any amount of greed at all she would be diving for the treasure right now, but she was a disciplined soldier and recognized a trap when she saw it. 
 
 "Don't touch anything." She told her companions and glanced to Piera specifically. "Do you think you can get the gem? I will cover you." 

    Piera and Aquila share a look, and the shinki dismisses her floodlamp. The Shinki then flits over to the blue diamond on the pedastal, and makes a move to pick it up, her jetpack flaring more intensely as she takes the weight and begins to lift without putting her own weight on the plinth.

>> SUMMARY[Piera Forta] >> Go Go Gadget Shinki!

    The lack of dead bodies (AT FIRST) is... Concerning.
    "Could it be a cube...?" Anna muses under her breath. "No matter how angry I get I probably can't fight a cube." Muttered as they party moves along to...
    A room full of treasure.
    With a big blue gem right in the middle of it.
    And THERE are all the corpses.
    The princess makes a bit of a face.
    It's not the first time she's seen a corpse. But the fact that these men lost their lives over greed doesn't sit too well with her.
    "... Wait..." She mutters as the hair on the back of her neck stands on end.
    Slowly she reaches for the pullcord on her chainsaw almost instinctively. Before she rallies.
    "These men look like they died in a fight... Something is wrong with this room."

    Indeed, if anyone is looking closely, it would appear that these people died in a fight. And not just any fight, a fight against each -other-. The ones that appear to be the men Faulkner lost have 39mm rounds in them, and they definitely look like they were shot by their own guns. But weren't they all working for the same guy?
    As Aquila approaches the jewel, she'd find it glowing with a faint but eerie luminescence. She will quickly find that it is no ordinary jewel, if it's even a diamond at all. Reflected in its multitude of facets are thousands of visions. Some familiar, but most completely alien to her. She can see them...and hear them...all at once. It is incredibly disorienting, enough to drive one mad....and yet it is difficult to pull away for some reason...
    Meanwhile, when the Shinki lifts the gem off of the pedestal, there is another groaning sound and another door opens, leading to a ladder that goes straight back up the surface near where they first came in. Faulkner's security are still up there, and when they hear the noise some of them come over and peer down the hole.
    "Hey, you guys okay? You got the diamond, right? Bring it up here."

    "This thing isn't right." states Aquila, clearly distressed, but partitioning off enough of herself to stop any kind of personality corruption. She blocks all comms save for tight beam, and says. "This is no ordinary gemstone, there's something desperately wrong about it. We shouldn't give it to that guy."

    Piera looks to the ladderway opening up, and the men peering down. "..." Looking to Shadowsun, she says simply. "Shoot them... this artifact must be kept out of inept, or malevolent hands... just like the Pieces of Eden on my world."

 
 At Anna's warning, Shadowsun turned her visor down to scan the bodies. She had sort of dismissed them when at a glance they looked like they had died a long time ago, but Anna was right, judging by the wounds the most recent ones looked as if they had turned on each other. "I think you're on to something, Anna." Said the Tau as she pulled her twin auto-cannons. 
 
 "Confirmed. The diamond is secured. We're coming up." The Tau Commander radio'd back to Faulker's men as she began stepping closer, looking around with weapons at the ready for any sign of trouble...
 
 At least until Piera suggested to shoot Faulker's men. "What??" Treachery!? That's not something an honorable Tau would do.. but Piera has thus far not lead her astray, and if she can see traps, maybe she can also see into the hearts of men.. 
 
 "Blast it.. I'm trusting you in this!" No way but forward, time to make a choice and secure the right allies. Shadowsun's guns whirled to life as she hauled the massive weapons upwards and trained them on Faulker's soldiers. 
 
 "GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!" Eh, in the end, she was just a little too trigger happy anyway. The Tau opened a volley of plasma shots onto the soldiers, more to get them out of the way so they could escape but she would not hesitate to disintegrate them into atoms if they did stood still or tried to return fire. 

    Anna is not liking this. She's not liking this at all. Her palms itch. Her hands tremble. She really wants to rev her shiny new chainsaw.
    Something about this room- about this diamond- just isn't right.
    "... They killed each other." She mutters.
    "Was it over the gem...?"
    It has to be because of the gem, that's the only explanation why her instincts are screaming at her so badly. And what's worse is that the little shinki confirms it.
    Then Piera says to kill the all the guys.
    "... Wait what?" Anna says as she's already scrambling up the ladder out wanting to get away from that horrid gemstone that sets her on edge so badly.
    Anna is a rampaging berserker, an unstoppable force on the battlefield, but the rub is...
    She's still just a girl.
    And she's never killed another human being before.
    "..."
    Hesitation mires the princess' thoughts up until Shadowsun opens fire.
    Yanking the pullcord on her chainsaw once- twice it putters...

    Vrr..chk chk... Vrr..chk chk chk... VRRRRRRRRRR!

    Before it comes to life in her hands as her eyes grow bloodshot, one pupil glowing an eerie scarlet as a haze of red overtakes her vision.
    "Don't make me kill you all..." The girl growls at the soldiers, body tense, ready to spring to action if her hand is forced.

>> SUMMARY[Anna Primrose] >> I roll to Intimidate!

    "Belay that, we're coming down to--" The dozen or so men were on their way to meet the group in the crypt when Shadowsun suddenly opened fire on them. "--the hell!!" But they don't have time to say much more, as the far more advanced alien simply guns them down like so much cannon fodder! Blood spurts as they collapse to the floor of the crypt. 

    But that isn't the end of it. 

    It would seem Piera's instincts had been correct yet again. The 'dead' soldiers' bodies twitch and writhe on the ground, their skin darkening and their limbs cracking--they're changing--transforming into monstrous creatures. Demons, by the look of it, their eyes glowing a fiery golden color. So Anna's intimidation tactics are not effective at all, but then again she need not worry about killing another human being any more. They screech, most of them charging at the group while a couple of them rear back and shoot fireballs!

    Piera's sword flashes as she draws it, stepping under the swipe of one of the demons and going to impale it with the saber. Aquila has put the gemstone down, and summoned her laser blasters as the bodies contort into demons. She offers firesupport, firing pulses of coherant light to disrupt the melee strikes of the demons against the one member of the party who is ill suited to melee combat.

 
 Their fault for not getting out of the way. Shadowsun shielded her helmet visor with one of her cannon arms as the Gue'la soldiers were reduced to bloody, charred remains as Gue'la often did when subjected to a torrent of plasma. No turning back now, she definitely killed those men, now she could only hope that Piera hadn't led her astray. 
 
 *Beep beep beep!* Her scanner warned her of movement within the crypt and Shadowsun turned back down to see the dead bodies stirring back to unnatural life. "More contact! GRAH!!" Shadowsun covered herself from the fireballs by blocking with her arm and backpedaling to give herself some room. 
 
 "We need to get out of here! Grab onto me and I can fly you all to safety!" Said the Tau. While she was definitely more vulnerable in melee, she was far from helpless and she switched her cannons to flamethrower mode shooting burning blue fire at the demons that dared to get too close. "EAT PLASMA FIRE!!" 

    Anna's hands tremble. Beneath all her rage, she genuinely hopes these men won't shoot. She hopes they won't give her a reason to actually kill them.
    She is spared when Shadowsun mows them down, and for a moment the girl looks ready to wilt...
    Until the downed men begin to change before her very eyes. And her eyes widen. And then... When she sees that they were not men, but demons...
    Anna Primrose of Rosalia smiles.
    It is not a nice smile.
    It is the cold, cruel, smile of someone full of legitimately murderous intent.
    Anna may not be ready to kill another man, but a demon? She could kill them by the droves and not be bothered in the least.

    Putt putt putt putt putt putt... VRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

    The chainsaw roars to life in the berserker princess' hands as she rushes to meet the oncoming horde head first.
    "Heh... Heh heh heh... DIE...! DIE! DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE, DEMONS! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" She roars, feral glee in her voice.
    Claws rake her body. Fireballs slam into her. She ignores the pain and goes to town.
    And she intends to paint the down red with demon blood.

    With Shadowsun's firepower, Anna's berserker mode, and Piera's blades with Aquila's suppressive fire, the dozen or so soldiers-turned-demons are swiftly dealt with. But it's clear that there were far more guys on the beach and perhaps elsewhere on the island. Were they all possessed? Probably not something anyone wants to hang around to find out, as more footsteps and voices can be heard approaching through the trees and underbrush above. Other nearby patrols must have heard the commotion, or must have been in radio contact when the chaos broke out. Either way, they're coming.

    And then there is also the matter of the gem itself...currently, it lies on its side wherever Aquila happened to set it.

 
 Seeing Anna fight was truly fascinating, and Piera and her companion could probably hide from the second wave of soldiers on their own. However, Shadowsun didn't really feel like taking her chances standing her ground her, nor was she about to let the two girls fend on her own. In the end, she guessed she really was going to have to pull rank, even if being a Commander was meaningless here. 
 
 "Alright, that's enough. Come here you two!!" The Tau ran up to Anna, dragging her away from the melee, then picked up Piera and tucked her under her other arm. With both girls secured and Aquila hopefully hitching a ride, Shadowsun engaged her thrusters and flew out of the crypt taking them to safety-- hopefully someone was holding on to that gem!