Wilson blinked from where he was laying on the floor. How had he ended up here? The last thing he remembered was that he had sacrificed that girl and then...
His thought process was cut off by a bolt of red lightning striking just inches away from his nose. He scrabbled up and away from it and looked up. What he saw terrified him.
(The studio was never meant to contain Creation.)
Wilson could only see half of the being still unfolding from an impossible space. And the half he could see terrified him.
(Was this what Lovecraft had seen, he wondered.)
Four long skinny arms, two of which were picking up the girl. Six glowing wings, growing larger as he looked. Two impossibly blue, inhuman eyes.
(The studio was never meant to contain Creation.)
The being looked at him, and a wave of power rushed out from Her. His Keepers howled as they broke apart under the sheer power of Creation that blasted through the studio.
(The wolf, on the other hand, was perfectly fine aside from being chained.)
Not even Wilson was protected from the power of this being, no, this goddess, as his flesh rippled, threatening to break down into ink. Finally, he turned and fled, leaving the goddess behind with the girl in Her arms.
(The studio was never meant to contain Creation.)
-MToLaCNBatIM-
"Why does this place have a security camera system?" Adrien asked as he followed Dot and 'Alice' into a room with a bunch of screens. "I didn't think they were invented until the eighties."
"The system was installed by the Gent Cooperation to help with security on the Ink Machine and we're getting off track again!" Dot said as she sat in a chair started flipping switches.
"And we are going to revisit that eighties comment," 'Alice' added.
"I think I found the problem," Dot said, pulling up a screen of what was once a nice house, but now was melting into ink. A red orb of energy was slowly growing out of it, red lightning striking out of it.
"What is that?" 'Alice' asked.
"It's Wilson's place," Dot answered. "And it looks like he bit off more than he could chew."
Plagg let out a curse in what was probably a dead language. "It's Tikki," he said. "She's reverted back to her Origine state!"
"Origine state? Like that Pokémon?" Adrien asked.
Behind his back, 'Alice' looked to Dot and mouthed, 'Pokémon?'
"Sort of like that," Plagg answered. "This form you see isn't my true form, only an avatar which through I can interact with the world without breaking it. Literally. In this state, I have more... human emotions. When we kwamis are in our Origine state, we are more like forces of nature, unable to focus on human emotions. In her current state, Tikki is going to focus on the last thought she had before transforming, and fulfill that desire, consequences be damned."
"So how do we stop this?" 'Alice' asked.
"The kid is going to have to travel to the middle of that orb and wake Tikki from her trance," he answered. "As you can't survive being in pure creation energy, your options are kinda limited."
"That still leaves the problem of getting there," Dot said, spinning her chair toward Adrien. "Wilson's place is on the other side of the studio."
"Well, what's the fastest way there? Adrien asked.
"The sewer is a straight shot, but it's overran by Lord Amok and his followers!" Dot replied.
Adrien grinned in response. "Just watch me."
Plagg groaned. "I hate transforming," he groused.
-MToLaCNBatIM-
She had once been an animator. She was sure of that. Her left hand defaulted to a position to grip a pen or pencil!
Now, she was a nameless soldier under the command of Lord Amok. He had commanded that various sections of the sewers be guarded, and she had jumped at the chance to get away from the infighting of his inner court.
She and her... friend?...partner?... whatever, had been briefed on the appearance of the two newest intruders: a cat and one of the angels. The new Lord Amok had wanted them captured to gift to the Wilson who had helped him ascend.
She had a bad feeling about that man. Especially since she had never heard of him before today.
"Hey, did you hear that?" her friend asked.
"Hear what?" she asked, before hearing it herself. A soft screaming, growing increasingly louder. Then a streak of light shot over them, the screaming following it before receding into silence.
"That, I guess," her friend said.
The two of them stood in silence for a while.
"So, when do you think they're coming?"
-MToLaCNBatIM-
Susie (alice) kept screaming. "Can't you slow down?!" she cried.
"Nope!" She could see Chat Noir smirking behind that helmet he was now wearing. "In fact, we should speed up!"
"ARE YOU CRAZY!?"
"No, look down!"
Susie (alice) finally looked down (what a terrible time to rediscover a fear of heights). But what she saw was even more chilling.
The ink was writhing, swelling and contracting. Shades of red were appearing for an instant before being swallowed by the black, but each time it was taking more time.
She swallowed. "Go faster."
Finally, Chat reached a platform and set her back on the ground. They had landed in front of the remains of Wilson's place, which was almost gone. The red energy orb had grown larger since they had left the Archives, and was flexing in a way that made her eye itch.
"This seems safe enough," Chat said. "You can wait here while I go in."
"That's fine by me," Susie (Alice) said, stepping to the side to avoid an electrical strike.
"Su-su-sujects lo-lo-located," a droning voice said. "Must-must-must collect-ect-ect for the Mas-Mas-Master."
Chat and Susie/Alice looked to where the voice came from. A large group of Keepers had appeared and were now approaching, arms moving erratically, sparking with multicolored electricity.
Susie (Alice) took the Tommy gun from her back. "Go!" she cried. "I'll by you some time! Go save your Lady!"
Chat only hesitated for a moment before flying into the red energy.
"Okay, you inky freaks," Susie/Alice said, taking aim. "Time to work out some misplaced aggression."
-MtoLaCNBatIM-
The flight transformation had flickered out a few feet in the energy orb, forcing Chat to land. Guess I'm on foot from here," he said.
Walking through the energy was hard. It gave him the feeling of walking through molasses. It didn't help that he was seeing things.
Things like ever-watching eyes. Humans watching through screens. A wooden doll crying colored tears. An impossible purple being talking to someone. A wolf in a robe holding a hourglass.
Chat nearly faltered at that last one, but a mental jab from Plagg had him moving again. He had to keep moving.
I'm coming, Marinette.
-MToLaCNBatIM-
Susie/Alice sighed as the last of the Keepers dissolved back into ink. Taking them all out had been fairly quick, helped by the fact that they had dissolved after being struck by the red lightning.
Of course, that didn't mean that the lightning wasn't a threat to her. She'd had to dodge at least two of the strikes, not wanting to find out what would happen if she was struck directly.
(Although with each strike that landed near her, her head became clearer and clearer.)
A large thud sounded behind her. "I see you," a too-familiar voice crooned. "A new fly in my endless web."
Susie/Alice turned to see Malice Angel standing menacingly. "Oh, joy," she said flatly. "The crazy one."
"Come," Malice said, flexing her claws. "Let's see if you're worthy to walk with angels."