Notre Dame Des Ombres

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

Date: 2008 October 25

South of France:

The village of Lurs had stood atop a long, stony plateau ever since its foundation in the early tenth century, and now it stood empty of people and mostly in ruins. Its church still stood, but the tiles missing from the roof and the broken windows clearly indicated the state it was in. Some houses were busy collapsing, while others still stood, empty and silent. A single, narrow cracked asphalt road crept along the side of the plateau to where the village was, going through it and down again, into a valley beyond. Tourists sometimes stopped in the ghost village to walk amidst its buildings and see the eerily great number of small, stone shrines built in the village and in the forested plateau around it. A large stone and metal crucifix stood in the centre of the village’s main square, its stone stained and eaten by time.

At one end of the village, the Northern end, was a tall and massive protrusion of rock. A stone ramp was visible leading up to it, and one could clearly see the remains of a great edifice: the castle of Lurs. According to most recently published tourist guides, the castle had stood till the 18th century before it was abandoned and fell into ruin. However, the castle had actually remained standing till early 1944, the year when it mysterious burned to the ground one cold night of Samain. Few people today knew that, and this little historical inaccuracy was usually considered as a simple and unimportant mistake, and even fewer people knew of the undersides of Lurs. The empty village had a dark past, and Ludmila was perfectly aware of that. In 1941, a year after the fall of France, researchers from the infamous Ahnenerbe, visited Lurs to see if the village had anything of interest to it.

Interestingly enough, the Nazis had, a few months later, expelled the village’s inhabitants and closed the place off. The Nazis’ behaviour was strange enough to worry the Allies, who, in 1944, sent some British paratroopers to the valley below the plateau. The paratroopers had then, with the help of a local resistance group, sneaked into the village. Towards half midnight, gunfire and shouts had been heard, followed by an explosion. The castle then caught fire, and was burned to the ground before the flames could be put out. After the war, the French and Americans made a thorough search of the area, but found nothing more than indications of dubious dabbling with the occult arts. The village was re-opened, but nobody returned to it save for one woman, Isabelle Pontier, a descendant of the family who once ruled the village from its castle.

Ludmila flicked her cigarette onto the gravelly ground and crushed it with her boot. She was wearing her usual grey pants and shirt with a black leather trench coat, matching gloves and a pair of combat boots, and her hair was tied up, as always, into a bun held in place by the same old ivory white comb she wore on a daily basis. Without it, she’d be in a very sticky situation since the are was very dry, even at this time of the year. She’d be dead within an hour from lack of contact with water. There was also a cold, but not too violent wind blowing from the North and wuthering between the empty houses. A stray cat and two kittens scuttled by, obviously descendants of the village’s original cats. Another gust of wind came whistling through the village, and Ludmila rubbed her cheek slightly. Her skin felt, as always, lukewarm, and she could not feel the biting cold the wind carried with it. She and the BPRD agents present here, were all standing in a small parking space (made by tourists over the years) just before the entrance of the village. They had a clear view on the street leading to the village square, and they could also see a large château at the Southern end of the village, its back against the rocky face of said plateau. Lights could clearly be seen in its windows, and smoke was coming out of one of its chimneys.

“Monsieur Anthony Rézo”, said Ludmila in almost flawless French, addressing the other agents who were with her. She then added, in English: “Wealthy share-holder at Arcelor-Mittal steel, made enough money to retire at age 40, and then bought one of the buildings at Lurs. Lives there with his family, although his family is currently away in Paris for a few weeks. So…Monsieur Rézo is the only witness we have, with old Madame Pontier. Rézo reported strange noises at night, apparitions and lights…so either he’s going loopy from staying alone in the middle of nowhere, or something is actually going on here. I hope you don't mind the wind, Abe, it dries people out easily. And Rose...I hope you don't mind being lost in the middle of nowhere."

Ludmila paused, considering what she had read about Lurs. She was surprised that the place had not garnered more interest, since the Nazis never got busy somewhere without good reason. On top of that, she’d seen pictures taken in secret by a British spy during the war that clearly showed the armoured figures of several special SS units, as well as several high-ranking Nazi officials, including Himmler. The place seemed to reek of untold stories, a ticking time bomb whose secrets only waited for those who wished to make use of them.

"Now, there are three places we can start looking at. The old castle's ruins, Mr Rézo's château, or the village church. The château and the church have been the place of some spectral apparitions and other strange happenings. So spooks, or ruins?"

[ABE SAPIEN]

Abraham monitored the area, taking in the surroundings. When on the field it was important to make note of where you have all ready been, else retracing steps several times in an unobservant loop was a likely fate. While it was true they had not entered any of the possible destinations at this time, Abraham often subconsciously made a mental note of a starting point. There was a lot of history to be had about this area, particularly since it had been home to the Nazi's for some time. Having done his homework, he was all ready well briefed and was particularly interested in further investigating the ruins.

Due to its eerie essence, the village had become somewhat of a tourist attraction. Ever curious about the ghost town, Abe considered the possibility of running across a corpse of a lost tourist or two, depending on the amplitude of this haunt. The village itself appeared run-down and eerie. “Well, this looks inviting.” Abraham remarked, slightly sarcastic. While his thought had been on a rare note, Abraham was still curious as to what kind of information could be gathered upon a closer glance.

Having thought out the location, and his land-walking capabilities, Abe had clad himself in more appropriate gear for this mission. Clad in a wind breaker to prevent drying out quickly in the bitter wind, he wore a coat over to stay warm as well. Along with the new additions to his field uniform, he wore his usual utility belt, breathing apparatus, and his goggles. In his hand he carried one of the many journals the professor had kept, though certain passages of the chosen accompaniment Abe believed would prove useful.

“Anthony Rézo. Have we interrogated him as to where the said apparition was spotted?” He inquired, before answering: “Oh, the wind isn't so bad. I'll manage. I've seen worse.” Abraham kept a level head while working on the field, complaining would not do. Complaining brought down the morale of the entire team, so it was best to keep the answer simple.

He paused awaiting Rose's answer as he contemplated how there were good days, bad days, and then really bad days. A little disappointed, Abe Sapien had dreamed of visiting France. It had been among his favorite topics of study for many years. He simply did not believe his first visit would be a field vacation.

He considered the three starting destinations that Ludmila had suggested: the castle ruins, the château, or the church. Spooks or Ruins. “If you ask my opinion, I advise starting on the outside and working our way in. It would be best to do a thorough job.” He answered. While he was a more celebrated senior agent of the BPRD he often followed the word of the younger agents to present them with on-field learning opportunity. “What do you think, Agent Neghana? Where should we start?”

[roseneghana]

Satisfied that the mics and comm system was working, since technology and equipment was her respincibility while she was in the field, she nodded to the others and checked her various pockets for her items in a last minute check. It just wouldn't do to go out, forget something and have to come back durring the middle of an investigation, for thats usually the time the age old bastard of Law making Murphy comes around and throws the proverbial wrench into the works.

"Okay Ludmila, please lead on. You know your way around better than me and Abe, though I'm sure Abe is closer in that particular race than I am."

While outside the field of work, Rose was carefree and relativly lax in her particular rules, it was the opposite while she was out in the field. Finally satisfied with her self pat down and having found nothing out of it's customary place, she motioned towards Agent Ilyukhin.

Her standard loadout included clips, lock picking tools, various other equipment such as PH testing strips, material analizers and scientific equipment like that. While she wasn't a scientist by trade, she did have a mind suited towards the technical aspects of various things, and enjoyed exploring on a whole.

"Hey Abe, does the journal say anything particular about beasties we may find here, or is it the typical fauna we'd find in this part of the world?"

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

"Affirmative", said Ludmila, after activating her mic. She wasn't too familiar with all the fancy new gadgets they had, but she approved nonetheless. Technology was but the development of the humble stone tool crafted by the first humans, and was born of necessity. "Now for the weapon check", she added, taking the APS Stechkin she carried around and checking the magazine. The gun was in pristine condition since she cared for it like the apple of eye, and it was fully loaded. After putting it back in the leather holster she had on her belt, she turned towards the castle's remains, which stood atop their jagged rock perch.

"Ruins it is, then", she said, turning towards the rock and its ruined castle. Only two structures were still standing: a small look-out tower, which looked surprisingly intact, and parts of the dungeon. The stone ramp leading up to the rock was guarded by a rusty metal gate with a small faded red sign on them that said "défense d'entrer" (entry is forbidden). Next to the gates was yet another stone shrine with a statue of the Virgin Mary. Ludmila winced slightly as she looked at it. Religious figures and icons always had a detrimental effect on her, and this place was chock full of them. Why so many crosses and saints and shrines?

"Have any of you noticed the abundance of religious imagery?", she said in an almost scholarly manner. And now that she looked at the place more closely, she could see more crosses in the house's stonework, and a shrine at every street corner with a Catholic saint in it. To the Rusalka, they all stood out like sores in her eyes. Ludmila turned back to the gate, which was held shut by a rust-eaten chain and padlock. She shook the chain slightly, and was somewhat taken aback when the padlock snapped. Without further ado, she pushed the gates open, causing them to creak in rusty protest.

The ramp's flagstones were pocked with sizeable clumps of grass. Nobody had been up there in ages apparently, except maybe for the occasional bunch of bold tourists. The ramp ended in a small stone arch, the remains of the castle's entrance. The thing looked unstable and close to collapse, but Ludmila was able to to make out an inscription on it.

"Que Dieu et ses Saints nous guardent et nous préservent du Malin et ses Tentations. May God and his Saints guard us and preserve us from Evil and its Temptations", she read. Above the inscription was, interestingly enough, the Vatican's seal.

"Do we have anything regarding the Vatican's involvement here?", she asked.

[ABE SAPIEN]

Quite used to the procedure, Abe activated his mic as well and confirmed any suspicion his comrades might have had “I hear you.” Was all he said. Should they not hear him they would, under normal circumstances, point it out to him. While Ludmila checked her weapon, Abe seized the opportunity to check his own. His Colt M1911 Automatic seemed ready for action, although Abraham tried to stick to hand to hand combat in most situations. Better to not waste the 4 clips of 7 charges on things that could be handled in another manner.

Due to being an Icthyo Sapien, Abe was blessed with underwater breathing, although this particular gift didn't look to be useful on this mission so far, and safety in high pressure, and intense cold. Flak vest in place, Abraham glazed over the surroundings once more. The ruins seemed to be home to a watch tower, and parts of a dungeon, both in which Abraham knew that the other two in the team had noted. After all, part of what they were trained was how to effectively be observant.

Ignoring the forbidden entry sign, Abe glided through the now-open mouth of the rusty gate; taking note of the crucifixes, crosses, saints, statues, and shrines in view. The first thing that came to mind, in this case, also came to mouth. “It seems they were trying to deter something. Demons being the highest probability. It was common belief, as you are both well aware, that such icons of religion would scare away the demons of the underworld.” He said as if it was an everyday matter. “There is a mountain of maybes, it could be vampires, barghests, ghosts, banshees... The list goes ever on.” He stated. While all the haunts were possible, for reasons unknown, Abraham was more drawn by the thought of a Barghest. “A barghest,” he clarified, “Is an apparition of a malevolent hell hound which is capable of inflicting direct harm.” He shrugged. “While it may or may not be relevant to the mission, if there is something here, it could be even worse than that. Best to be prepared.” He stated loading his Colt M1911 Automatic.

Surprised by the presence of the Vatican seal, Abraham responded a bit dumbfounded. “Well...” Abraham started. “The Vatican were neutral during the Second World War, and they maintained an environment so that churches could operate as freely as possible. They had quarreled with both Hitler and Mussolini on race, and when the blood began to spill...” Abraham opened the journal and began glancing over the text for keywords that might be of assistance. “The Vatican was an extremely well informed organization by means of its own diplomatic channels, some in which remained secret.” Abraham looked up, could this be one of the bases we were not informed about? Meeting Roses' eyes for a moment before turning his attention back to Ludmila he stated plainly “I believe this might be a Vatican Garrison.”

[roseneghana]

Satisfied that the mics and comm system was working, since technology and equipment was her respincibility while she was in the field, she nodded to the others and checked her various pockets for her items in a last minute check. It just wouldn't do to go out, forget something and have to come back durring the middle of an investigation, for thats usually the time the age old bastard of Law making Murphy comes around and throws the proverbial wrench into the works.

"Okay Ludmila, please lead on. You know your way around better than me and Abe, though I'm sure Abe is closer in that particular race than I am."

While outside the field of work, Rose was carefree and relativly lax in her particular rules, it was the opposite while she was out in the field. Finally satisfied with her self pat down and having found nothing out of it's customary place, she motioned towards Agent Ilyukhin.

Her standard loadout included clips, lock picking tools, various other equipment such as PH testing strips, material analizers and scientific equipment like that. While she wasn't a scientist by trade, she did have a mind suited towards the technical aspects of various things, and enjoyed exploring on a whole.

"Hey Abe, does the journal say anything particular about beasties we may find here, or is it the typical fauna we'd find in this part of the world?

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

"A Vatican outpost? Possible. Although the Vatican lost a lot of its influence in France after 1789, it influence was even further reduced with the separation of Church and State in 1905. Although the Vatican's seal seems to be a clear indicator of the Pope's presence here."

Ludmila walked up towards the doorway, glancing at the seal one last time. Beyond the doorway was just what she expected: overgrown rubble, a few walls still standing, at at one end the watch tower and the old dungeon. A bird perched itself on a small tree that had grown out of the ruins. It watched Ludmila for a while before chirping noisily and fluttering off to the dungeon tower.

"Careful everyone. These walls look unstable", said Ludmila, pointing at the two still standing towers. The Rusalka then went further into the ruined castle, but saw practically nothing of interest save for a few charred metal boxes that bore the symbol of the Ahnenerbe. In the middle of the rubble was a rusted and charred metal cross perched on a stone pedestal. It had obviously been slightly dislodged by falling debris, as it stood slightly askew. Ludmila hissed and averted her eyes. At this distance she could clearly feel the burn that the Christian symbol gave her. If it was being wielded by a man or a woman, she'd be on her knees and unable to move.

"The dungeon looks like it might have something to it", said Ludmila, cautiously approaching the large construction. There was no actual "door", but a large hole at the base of the building. Ludmila cautiously entered, grabbing the small black maglite she carried on such expeditions. She switched it on, and the small LED illuminated the interior of the dungeon with bright white light. The interior was surprisingly well preserved. An old "do not enter" sign was on the cracked paved floor, and Ludmila's torch even illuminated an old Nazi banned hanging from one wall, its fabric eaten away by mould. The dungeon's interior smelled of mould and dust.

Ludmila went deeper into the room, which was a large hall of sorts. Her torch illuminated the rusted remains of a suit of armour, a burned and rotten table, and even what seemed to be an old fashioned radio in one corner as well as some other rusty electronic junk. Ludmila kicked one over with her foot, causing a centipede and several other bugs to scuttle away into the darkness.

As Ludmila turned around, she suddenly felt a soft, but freezing breeze, followed by a drop in temperature. She did not shiver however, since she didn't feel cold in the same way as humans. She looked around her and suddenly felt the chill one always felt when witnessing a spectral apparition. A dark silhouette was visible near an old and rotting tapestry, so Ludmila shone her light on it, revealing the semi-translucent form of a German soldier.

Vorsicht

The German soldier had definitely spoken, but the sound seemed to have come from all around her. Ludmila shivered as she saw even more translucent figures appear. Some wore German uniforms, while others wore British ones. The entire room was filled with ghosts, and Ludmila felt like she was about to choke.

Beware stranger, for dark forces are being awakened.

Ludmila was shivering now. The unnatural cold of death paralysed her muscles, and every breath was ragged and laboured. She took a deep and ragged breath before slowly making her way to the exit. She passed through the ghosts, shivering and stumbling like a blind woman. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity she reached the exit and stumbled outside into the sunlight. Haggard, she managed to regain some of her usual composure before calling out to Rose and Abe.

"Very intense spectral activity in here", she said. "Very, very intense."

[ABE SAPIEN]

Abraham listened intently as Ludmila laid out other applicable information based upon the subject of the Vatican. While it was true that the Vatican had lost much of their voice in France during the late 1780s, early 1790s, the seal before them was still present. “I am merely suggesting that we perhaps do not eliminate the possibility.” Said an intrigued Abe. “The presence of the seal is very interesting.” In truth, it seemed so ornately out of place to Abe, that the idea of running across a Vatican seal had not even crossed his mind prior to their journey. Ludmila had been inside by herself for a short period of time, though she stated there was large spectral activity inside. Carefully entering the ruins, Abe avoided making contact with the walls.

”The dungeon looks like it might have something to it.” Echoed in his mind.

“Allow me.” Abe answered, outstretching a hand and rested it against the dungeon wall. “We might have company.” He announced, cocking his head to the side and making mental notes and associations from the places history. “This place has been tainted by a psychic disturbance, it seems to be abandoned because there is something protecting it.” He reasoned. Removing his hand, Abe followed Ludmila who entered first, her small LED illuminating the dungeon. The place seemed filthy, and outdated, but not as ruined as it appeared from the outside.

Abe walked along the sides of the room, as Ludmila walked deeper, flashlight in his journal as he compared notes to the locale. Ignoring the spiders, and the centipedes, Abraham touched a few stones that looked out of place. A low rumbling echoed through the chamber, as a door appeared behind a suit of armor not too far away from him. “Well, this is interesting.” He announced again. “It seems I have found some form of hidden entrance.” He pointed at the suit with a long webbed finger.

[roseneghana]

Rose followed the two of them into the underground room, keeping an eye on her footing and upon her tablet that she carried with her as the processor and storage unit for her hud. The hud she had designed for herself and others was based off of a previous iteration of similar tech by another agent, and while hers was more functional, it was also far more expensive, so the others were used more often.

Hers was designed with an Infrared lense, a false color em spectrum reader, as well as a high rez digital camera and a video camera that video taped everything she saw while in the field. The hud itself was a small piece of transparent LCD, slightly illuminated to provide contrast to the background. While it had an array of cameras facing outwards, it also had one inwards, to read her eye movements for the hands free settings. If she looked to where the icons were on the illuminated hud, and blinked, it was the same as placing a curser over it and clicking.

As she followed the pair into the dungeon, she stayed closer to the entrance to get better readings of the area and she too felt the room grow cold. A couple of quick 'eye' selections, she started IR recording as well as false color EM readings for her tablet. She did not see any of the entities that Ludmilla seemed to be seeing, but she did get some unusual sounding voices on her headset, perhaps transmitted, or perhaps recorded dirrectly. It sounded like German almost, but there was a very heavy doppler effect added to her recordings, distorting it heavily.

As Rose looked up to see Ludmilla stumbling towards her, she put her tablet away in a pocket quickly, allowing herself to be available if she stumbled more than she could correct while passing her to the entrance. Once in the sunlight that was still illuminating the hole in the wall, Rose smiled at her words once she had composed herself, and tapped her headset lightly, mearly indicating it.

"I hope I got good readings of them. Abe, you... got anything?"

Rose had just started to ask her other partner on this expidition if he had found anything when he had triggered the hidden passageway in the room. Quickly, Rose turned on her own headset's light, shining it at the suit of armor.

"Okay, now that is cool."

[LUDMILA ILYUKHIN]

Ludmila turned to see what Abe had discovered. A door, behind a suit of armour.

"Wow", she said, approaching the old door. "A secret passage. There's no mention of that in the records..."

She paused slightly before shining her torch into the old doorway. Dust. A thick layer of it, as well as old cobwebs. But what caught her attention though were the old electric lights that dotted the long and dark corridor for several metres. They were standing lights, the kind used to illuminate certain areas with no light. Ludmila examined one of them and found German markings on them. The Nazis must have set them up there, and powered them with a portable generator which was no doubt gone now.

"Follow me", she said, machine-pistol in one hand and torch in the other. "I have a feeling we're onto something here..."

She set off down the corridor, which ended in a spiral staircase after a few metres. There were lights there too, only hooked up on the wall. After some hesitation, Ludmila slowly descended into the darkness. Ludmila also examined the walls as she descended, and noted that after a certain depth, the walls were no longer made of stone blocks, but had been carved right out of the rock.

"We're going pretty deep", she said. "Don't lose sight of each other, and keep your lights on."

After a long descent, Ludmila arrived in a large room. She examined it by the light of her torch and saw that it was a chapel of sorts. Her light exposed the cross at the other end of the room, and she hissed at its sight. Religious imagery again.

"Someone examine the altar, I'll go check the side-areas. There seem to be corri-"

As Ludmila went towards the side of the room, the floor trembled. Before she could jump backwards, the stones that made up the floor where she was standing gave way, collapsing into a gaping black void. Ludmila dropped her light, which went skittering under an old, rotting wooden pew, and was visible for a brief second before falling down into obscurity.

_______________________________

"Sir?"

A tall, hooded figure was standing below the village. He turned to face the man who had addressed him, a short, somewhat Nordic-looking fellow with a leather bomber jacket, jeans and combat boots. On his belt a holstered pistol was clearly visible.

"-Aaah, Arnaud", said the tall figure. His voice hissed slightly as he spoke, like a tired voice-machine. "Tonight is the night."

"-Yes sir. It is."

"-I trust that you are excited?"

"-Yes sir."

"-Gut", said the tall, hooded figure. "Let us proceed to the hidden entrance and begin the ceremony."

_______________________________

A boom. Water. Ludmila opened her eyes and saw only darkness. She had hit a deep underground reservoir of some kind. Drowning didn't bother her, so she felt for the small pouch on her belt. Once she found it, she flipped it open and carefully took a small, waterproof torch out. It was a precaution she always took when out on a mission: always have spare equipment. She flicked the switch, and light came. Her feet suddenly touched the bottom of the reservoir, and old silt around her.

She also felt something crunch under her feet, and when she looked down she was greeted with a nasty sight. Human bones. Hundreds of them. Amidst the bones were also various pieces of ancient equipment and weapons, all very rusty. Somewhat shaken by the bone pit, Ludmila kicked herself upwards and swam vigorously and quickly towards the surface. When she emerged from the water, she rose the torch above water and shone it around her. She was in a huge cavern, a cavity so big that the light from her torch couldn't pierce the obscurity after a few metres. She swam for shore, and once there tried to contact Abraham and Rose.

"Abe? Rose?", she said. "Do you read me? I've fallen into some kind of cave. There's a large pool of water beneath the chapel."

All she got in return was static. Maybe the signal didn't carry through these thick barriers of rock? She didn't know. However, being alone in a dark cavern filled with human bones did not make her relax in the least. She'd lost her Stechkin in the fall, but she carried another gun on her: a Beretta M93 Raffica. She took it out of its holster and looked upwards. She thought she could see light up there. Maybe Rose and Abe were still in the chapel?

"ROSE! ABRAHAM!", she called out. Her voice echoed through the cavern. "I'M DOWN HERE!"

[ABE SAPIEN]

The quiet clicking and beeping was a comfortable sound in an eerie environment, in the opinion of Abe Sapien. He glanced back to check on Agent Neghana who had been utilizing her usual field camera. Documentation of missions seemed to be a popular ritual among junior agents of the B.P.R.D., although Abe was not sure video feed was absolutely necessary. The shuffling sound of stumbling feet caught his attention as he shot another glance over his shoulder to spot Ludmila catching her balance, with a cooperative Rose prepared to catch her should she fall.

"I hope I got good readings of them. Abe, you... got anything? ... ... ... That's cool."

The response came through audibly as the hidden passage had revealed itself. This sudden shift in events had left them all in a momentary state of awe and surprise. “Apologies, Neghana. I hope you didn't miss that for your video log.” He stated genuinely. While he felt that logging missions was unnecessary, seeing a secret passage for the first time was candidate for a bigger deal among the junior agents of the bureau.

”Wow, a secret passage. There's no mention of that in the records...”

In sync, Abe proceeded toward the old door alongside the rusalka. Observing the door with an undeniable interest, his eyes followed the light given off by Agent Ilyukhin's torch. The evidence that the door was long abandoned was noted easily. A thick layer of dust and cobwebs dominated the entry way, though a trained eye would spot the electric lights in the corridor ahead. Glancing to the wise Ludmila, he said nothing as her expression was readable enough to assume she too had seen the lights.

She beckoned them forward, but Abe was unable to release the fear that the place was being guarded. Following the rusalka he outstretched his hand again, re-evaluating the area, this time exercising more caution. It was dark, with a slight draft, and as they descended deeper the staler the air became. Abe made it his personal duty to keep closer to the junior agent, it was no secret that often times they lacked the better judgment not to stray, even with commands. Though Neghana was seemingly more mature than some of the junior agents, she occasionally still proved to be more excitable. The order to not lose sight and leave the lights on seemed like a good idea, and reasonable, however Abe felt the presence of something lurking deeper.

“Agent Ilyukhin, I advise weapons in their ready positions. I do not think we are alone.” The room was luxurious and appeared to be some form of ritualistic chapel. Abe had began to proceed to the altar on command, the floor crumbled beneath their feet. Ilyukhin had fallen into the depths, whilst Abe had shoved Rose backwards as damage control. He listened intently for a sound, a call, or a sign that the other agent was alive. He held up a webbed finger to Neghana her light illuminating his hand in the dark. His radio beeped though it filled with static.

BEEP! ”A - ose... eed e? Cave. Water beneath.. Hiss! Beep! Chapel. He could imagine the panic the other agent might experience, though with her age she would know to keep a cool head. A quiet shout echoed through as he made out the words 'down here'.

Grabbing Neghana's arm, he looked at her seriously. Now was not a good time to lack the ability to show expressions. “Listen to me, Rose.” He stated, putting emphasis on the word listen. “I'll go first. I need you to stay here and find a rope or a chain or some form of construct that might work if there is no exit down there. If everything fails, you need to contact the BPRD and inform them of the situation. Radio's won't pick up words. So if it beeps twice, get out of here. If it beeps once, jump down. Do you understand?”

With that, Abe sat on the ledge, legs hanging over the opening. “Remember what I said. Do not come down unless it is necessary. Or unless you hear us call.” Half expecting the junior agent to disobey, he pushed off from the ledge falling for quite some distance, the air becoming colder and staler still. Light in hand as he landed in the water. “Ludmila?” He called.