I2 - Servant of the Secret Fire

[Kayla Walsh]

Kayla adjusted her training outfit, which looked more like a modest two-piece swimsuit than the traditional full body versions. As she set foot in the center of the room, she burst into flames, her body becoming a glowing mass of yellow, orange, and red energy in humanoid form. The air around her started shimmering from the heat and a long flaming whip appeared in one of her hands with a cracking noise. She started something that looked like a gymnastic rhythm dance, swirling the whip around her frame.

((Open))

[Narrator]

After a while of practicing there's an audible clunk somewhere int he machinery of the room and the next moment a cityscape shimmers to life around Kayla, followed almost immediately by a humongous tree creature of some sort. The living tree slowly draws back one of it's arms and brings it down on the buildings about a block away from where Kayla is standing but it feels a little too real. As does the piece of concrete debris that clips her arm and draws blood. That shouldn't happen with the safeties on...

[Kayla Walsh]

"Computer, end program," Kayla calls out, moving to take cover from the rain of debris as she looks at her arm, satisfying herself that the injury isn't more serious than the adrenaline will let her feel right now.

[Narrator]

The computer voice crackles to life but instead of the regular voice it just spits out cackling laughter, followed by "The maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes. When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!" and just more laughter until it cuts out.

Meanwhile the hulking tree monsters slowly turns away from the block it leveled and moves roughly towards Kayla. It doesn't seem to be after her specifically at the moment, but it's big enough that it might not matter.

[Kayla Walsh]

"Well, shite," Kayla says, moving again, circling around the creature. As she goes, she begins gathering up the inevitable fires that break out when debris goes flying. This starts to create a swirling cloud of flames around her, which probably makes her stand out more unfortunately.

[Narrator]

So it does. The creature slowly turns towards her and pulls back one of it's arms, aiming to bring it down on the bright cloud of flame.

[Kayla Walsh]

Flames lash out at the raised fist as she starts to weave, trying to be an harder target to hit, though with giant fists, they only have to be close.

[Narrator]

The flames bite into the fist and leave behind black gouges of charred wood. The creature let's out a groaning roar but brings the fist down anyway. It slams into the street a couple yards away from Kayla, making the ground under her feet lift up as the pavement cracks and debris is flung her way.

[Kayla Walsh]

Kayla goes flying forwards, trying to intensify her flames to shield herself from the debris, but fire being fickle under the best of circumstances, she only manages to incinerate some of the debris as the rest pelts her, opening up more cuts and leaving the beginnings of significant bruises. She scrambles to get up, changing tactics and trying to run at, and under, the creature.

[Narrator]

She has to navigate the destroyed road and the fist still wedged in it, which makes it hard to be really fast. She's only just past the fist when it begins to pull itself free, once again distorting the ground and almost sending Kayla sprawling. She manages to stumble her way to safety though and between the creature's legs. To which the creature responds by beginning to turn around. The massive feet beginning to move might be a little bit unnerving to run past.

[Kayla Walsh]

Kayla does what anyone in her situation would do. She panics and tries just to not get squashed by the moving feet. The flames respond to her emotions, flickering and flaring randomly around her, turning the air around her into a minor inferno. "Computer, emergency! Student in danger! Staff required! Do something, you piece of shite!"

[Narrator]

As far as Kayla can tell, the room doesn't do anything while she barely manages to escape past the shifting feet, scorching the thing's crotch in the process, which doesn't seem to bother it all that much.

Outside the room people might notice that emergency lights go on. Strangely enough the door to the room seems to be open and showing part of the scene unfolding inside, even if Kayla can't see the opening from inside the simulation. But stepping in to help might be a possibility.

[Kayla Walsh]

Kayla does her best to stay behind the creature, trying to hide as best as one can when one is a living pillar of flame.

[Shane Marsh]

Shane never thought he'd run towards flashing emergency lights, but after a moment of berating himself in the hall he did just that. He looked inside the simulation and, having no idea how to perform an emergency shutdown, stepped just inside.

"Hey! Exit's this way!"

Probably not smart.

[Narrator]

Considering that the exit disappears behind him, probably not. But he couldn't really have seen that coming. At least his yelling seems to distract the creature from looking for Kayla for a moment as it slowly turns towards Shane with the groan of twisting wood. Spotting another tiny human it raises it's fist and aims to bring it down on Shane, or at least in the general vicinity of Shane which is still too close for comfort, considering how big the thing is.

[Kayla Walsh]

Considering briefly that a fist is flying that way, Kayla decides against trying for the exit at this very moment, choosing instead to unleash some of the flames on the creature's left foot.

[Shane Marsh]

Shane dove out of the way. Spotting, or rather not spotting, the vanished exit, he swore, "Those little fuckers again!"

[Narrator]

The creature roars as the flame eats into it's foot, catching fire in a couple places while it's fist smashes into the ground, breaking the nearby buildings from the sheer force. Shane dodges out of the way of the worst of it but he's still pelted by debris as he's thrown clear of the impact zone.

[Kayla Walsh]

Kayla charged for where the exit *should* have been, weaving around cracked pavement as she tried to desperately to focus on getting to where she wanted to go.

[Shane Marsh]

Shane collided with a building. Slowly getting back up, he groaned. "That... bloody... hurt," he said, wiping the blood from his already healing cheek where debris cut him.

"Keep it distracted! I have an idea!" he said before running into a tall building.

[Narrator]

The bright, flaming lady does make for an easier to spot target, plus the fire bit it, so the giant creature moves towards Kayla as she tries to circle around it to get to the non-exit. It's begun to move a little faster now that it's being poked by the tiny things.

[Kayla Walsh]

"Sure," Kayla says, flaring fire at it to keep its attention while trying to stay mobile enough to avoid the inevitable retribution.

[Shane Marsh]

He kept moving until he made it to the roof. After a long look at the back of the beast, he cursed and took off his fingerless gloves and his shoes. He extended thorns from his hands and feet and waited for the best opportunity to do something insane...

...jump on its back.

[Narrator]

The giant tree-monster is relatively slow, which works in Kayla's advantage as long as she manages to stay on even terrain. It turns to keep moving after her, it's back passing by the roof Shane is on, giving him a brief window where it might be close enough to jump onto.

[Shane Marsh]

"I am a bloody genius," he said sarcastically before taking the leap.

[Kayla Walsh]

"Whatever you're doing, do it fast!" Kayla yells as she keeps moving, trying to keep the creature focused on her.

[Narrator]

For a moment there's nothing but empty air beneath Shane before he slams into the creature, clambering for a hold in it's craggy bark. Thankfully the barbs on his hands help tremendously, even as the creature lurches forward to follow Kayla. It raises it's hand and sweeps it horizontally through several houses that crumble as debris flies towards Kayla.

[Shane Marsh]

Now's the hard part.

He had no idea if it would work, let alone on a Danger Room construct, but he had no better idea. He attempted to worm roots from his hands into the plant creature, using its own nutrients as fuel and following its anatomical structure to find the core of its being if it had one.

[Kayla Walsh]

The debris sends Kayla flying, tumbling over the ground. She drags herself back to her feet, continuing to move and try to keep the creature's attention.

[Narrator]

The creature's skin is pretty thick and tough, so getting through it takes some work. At least it simultaneously works to anchor him to the creature that is swaying significantly now that it's trying to catch Kayla. Once past the bark it becomes a little easier to follow the natural structures that all seem to lead to the center of the the monster instead of down to where roots would be on a regular tree. Once it notices what's happening it stops it's pursuit of Kayla and slowly but surely moves to throw itself into the side of a tall building in an attempt to squish the tiny, stinging thing on it's back.

[Shane Marsh]

Shane gave his roots thorns and tore at the core structure from the inside. He sure hoped it worked because he was paste if it didn't.

[Kayla Walsh]

Kayla gathered flames around her, intensifying the shield as she prepared to follow-up in case Shane ended up a smear on the building.

[Narrator]

Tearing at whatever's at the center of this thing makes it roar and violently jerk to one side, the wall narrowly missing Shane as it's back instead of it's shoulder slams into the building. The structure provides some resistance, slowing the creature's fall a little as concrete and glass crumbles beneath it. Shane is pelted by chunks of debris as the building comes down around them.

[Kayla Walsh]

Kayla moves closer, getting close enough to the thing's head that she can unload full force, burning off the entirety of her shield into one fierce blast in the vague vicinity of its head. She's a little woozy and her aim isn't particularly good.

[Shane Marsh]

Shane detached and ran to avoid fire and debris, leaving the thorny growth within the monster.

[Narrator]

The creature is pretty susceptible to being set on fire, so even if it isn't aimed particularly well, the wave of fire washing over it still set it ablaze in numerous spots. The fire belches thick smoke as the creature flails in the ruins of the building, but there's little it can do and soon the flames engulf the entirety of the creature. Meanwhile Shane manages to get away from the impending inferno but he's pretty roughed up from taking a tumble through several stories worth of building. He's lucky he didn't break any bones!

[Kayla Walsh]

Kayla pushes the burn as hard as possible, amplifying every fire close to her until the effort causes her to revert to normal flesh and blood. She sags to the ground, watching the creature burn, a stunned look on her face.

[Narrator]

A frustrated noise comes form the room's speakers and the simulation ends. Oddly enough, the now smoldering remains of the tree creature actually remain.

[Kayla Walsh]

Kayla looks around, then back at the burning remains of the creature. "Computer?"

[Narrator]

"Yes?"