Roth dropped the bag into the compartment carefully, before closing the trapdoor and turning the key. He didn't want the money and the Bible. He'd obtained it by practicing his failed art. People had offered to pay but he was a colossal failure. How many more had he let down. Sighing as he pulled the rug over the trapdoor, he glared up at the stained glass window in silence. In a few minutes time he'd be gone, ready to start a new life.

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned."

Roth turned his head. A man was sat on the pews looking over. He wore a long brown hooded cowl with his face covered. Roth turned away and shrugged.

"We all have. And it's not father anymore. I'm done here. If you wait, father Jonas will be replacing me in the morning."

The seated man smiled and pulled down the hood. Beneath it was a the face of a red haired man with a red beard. His eyes were hypnotic and left Roth feeling uneasy as the man grinned.

"Well I didn't come here to see father Jonas. I came here to see father Roth. Looks like I just caught you."

Roth shrugged his shoulders.

"I just got stripped of my holy authority. I'm an ex-priest now. There's nothing I can help you with."

The figure continued to grin in an unsettling manner.

"It's not your run of the mill church business I'm after." He sat forward as Roth looked on perplexed.

"I have a problem that most theologians refuse to help with, despite their vast capability. You on the other hand, I believe to be different. I've done my homework. My problem is a rogue demon. I need it to be exterminated before it causes a problem."

Roth turned away.

"I'm not doing that anymore. I'm no good at it. It's caused more trouble than it's worth."

The figure frowned slightly.

"My research is very thorough though, and it conclusively suggests that you're the finest man for the job. This is no ordinary demon. I have it relatively under control at the moment, don't get me wrong. I'm just worried that it might start getting out of control."

He smiled a sickening smile once more.

"At which point, it'd be very nice to have you on hand to deal with it thoroughly. In fact, believe as you will but my research suggests that if this demon escapes from it's prison, everybody could be in a tremendous amount of danger."

Roth blinked. This was clearly a madman but he commanded a great deal of presence. He felt very unsettled.

"Who are you?" He queried directly.

The figure stood up and extended a hand which Roth shook.

"My nom de plume is Curtis Page. I'm a scholar of the occult and I'm a big fan of what you do. Though in professional circles I'm happy to use my real name, Willis."

Roth felt awkward as he shook. There was something not right about this man.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Willis. But I can't help you here today. I am an unsuccessful practictioner and it is time to stop this sinful practice in the name of the Lord. The study and the concepts interest me, but I'm worthless at the actions. If you'll excuse me, I must be leaving."

Willis stepped aside as Roth walked towards the door.

"There's somebody you really should meet. His name is Dr. Patterson, I spoke to him just yesterday. A very interested man in the nature of occult goings on. I feel like the two of you would get on quite a storm."

Roth nodded. "Maybe some other time."

As he reached for the door handle Willis spoke up.

"You do have the ability Roth, just not the power. What you lack is the raw surging power. Mere honeyed words can't banish the forces of evil. There are powers outside this realm that you don't understand the true nature of. And I can help you. Your ability, coupled with the true power that you lack would make you a reckless demon slayer. You could live your dreams."

Roth turned around sternly.

"There are no powers but those of the almighty and the evil forces that seek to corrupt this world. Mortal men such as ourselves will never have true power."

Willis grinned.

"I'm not a mortal man."

Roth turned to dash for the door as the air turned dark and the eyes of Willis began to glow a sickly white colour before turning to darkness. His entire body lifted off the ground, levitating through some dark energy. Roth let out a yelp of terror as he stumbled against the sheer force of the surging air. And without losing sight of the former priest, the figure of Willis exploded with blue energy.

Bolts of lightning surged through the air and surrounded Roth's recumbent form as he screamed out into the night. He felt raw lightning surge through every vein and vessel in his body. What should have rightly charred him didn't feel warm, it felt cold and unpleasant. Finally the energy ebbed out, Willis returned to normal and lay crouched on the floor, breathing very deeply. Roth crawled forth as his body crackled with more raw lightning.

He screamed as the air turned dark again and lightning surged around him, through the air and shook the foundations of the building. The power was growing and a storm was forming. He felt every minute of it sap a little more of his life away and he felt as if he was going to explode.

"Focus!" Willis shouted as he crouched beneath the storm. "I am no longer doing it. You are. And you need to focus. You can control it. It's yours to command. The power with your technique will remove any demon. But you must....focus....and force it in."

Roth concentrated with every essence of his being and finally the storm ebbed out. He lay on the floor, crumpled and shaking. Occasionally a surge of electricity ran down his spine and he yelped out in pain. Through blood red eyes he looked up at the now standing man. The world was hazy.

"What did...what did you do...to me..."

Willis grinned. "I transferred a little of my power to you, so that you may complete the task I gave you successfully. We have no time. The world is really in danger. It was a necessity I'm afraid."

Roth stood upright, shaking. Every now and again a surge of lightning pinged from his form and ran along the floor. He breathed deeply.

"You must take care with this power. If you use too much of it without channeling it properly into something susceptible to it, it'll begin to drain you of your energy. A little too much will probably kill you. Demons are susceptible though. They are like lightning rods to the electricity your body possesses. When you perform your rites, they will be annihilated. It will hurt you, but all for the greater good. Sadly if you try to use the power with no demons present, it will only end up hurting yourself."

Roth glared.

"I will not help you. You are darkness incarnate."

He began to chant as his body surged with lightning. Willis snarled as his body glowed, shaking as the words echoed through his head and using all of his power to ward off everything Roth was throwing at him.

"Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde! Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde! Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde!"

Pulling out a gun with his hand shaking, Willis fired. A dart flew into the neck of Roth who collapsed with a gurgle on the floor. Lightning still coursed through his form.

"Not today. Today you come to face your destiny." Willis grinned as Roth's vision turned to black.

Roth wandered in between the buildings as the dark air crept around him. He walked into the cinema as the others looked on. Rob stood glaring, shaking his head.

"This is nonsense."

As he spoke, the air shifted. Spinning his head around he glared at Kristoff who was still crouched in the same position. Everybody else was stood around. The air shifted again as a blast of energy flitted through the atmosphere and smashed into the ground.

Diving out of the way, he took cover behind the bank. Rito was sat down there glaring up in dismay.

"THIS IS NOT BITO!" He demanded to the heavens as more blasts filled the air. Rob picked himself up and ran towards the cinema. Ari and Vespis were waiting there.

"Where are the others?" He asked, taking shelter from the debris. Natalie was sat in the doorway, looking up silently. As they looked on, Helios dashed over with Kristoff dragging along behind him. He flung Kristoff to the floor angrily.

"Not leaving this bastard behind to do that thing he does again. If the old man wants to kill him, so be it. Let's take him down and kill him."

Jeff and Bryce rushed over, tailed by Dutchiee. Everybody seemed to be accounted for. Rito appeared in the doorway and ran past as the group looked outside.

A number of dark figures were stood around glaring right at them. Their eyes glowed red in the night. The darkness seemed to emanate from their forms. Rob blinked a few times in case it was just an illusion of the night, hesitated, and ran into the cinema. The others followed suit.

As they did one of the figures raised a hand and blasted forth some kind of dark energy. It zoomed over the heads of the group as they ran towards the screen. Roth was stood in the doorway and motioned to another door at the back.

They stepped into a room overlooking the screen with the reel still in place. Behind it was another door, descending into darkness. There was heat emanating from it. Roth pointed.

"Down there." He said before turning and dashing down the stairs.

The group milled forward and looked down. They began a descent into the heat and dark below. The farther down they went, the hotter it got and the darkness was lit by a haunting red glow. Vespis turned his head as a shadowy figure once more raised an arm, sending a bolt of energy over their heads, smashing into a stony wall.

It was flanked by more figures who continued the assault. Ari crouched for cover and turned around.

"Where the hell is Roth?" He yelled. Kristoff blinked as a bolt of energy blasted through him and smashed into the staircase below. There was a crumbling sound as the stair cracked and finally gave way.

Beneath it was a deep red shaft, seemingly endless. Steam licked up from below. Kristoff fell backwards into the abyss with a smile.

The others backed against the wall as a flurry of bolts shot forth. One by one they smashed into the staircase. Natalie screamed as a bolt missed her and sent the stairs beneath her feet caving into the pit. She fell as the others looked on.

"Natalie!" Rob screamed as a bolt sent him scuttling into the wall.

Dutchiee was clutching onto the staircase as his grip slipped and he went tumbling down. Another bolt rained forth and there was an almighty crumble. The eyes of the falling group looked upwards into the red eyes of the onlooking shades as they became distant. The world turned to darkness.

Through blurred vision, Natalie looked upwards. Were they still alive? How far had they fallen. The heat was unbearable. They were in a room of sorts. Pushing herself upright a little she looked up at the face of Roth. He reached down and helped her up.

"What happened?" She asked, taking in the surroundings.

They were in a medium sized room. There was a desk with a chair overlooking a computer terminal next to a keyboard. On the wall somebody had written in blood. It said "Memores in cecidit".

To the North, South and West were heavyset metal doors with some kind of opening panel next to them. Overhead a strange tunnel passed across the roof. It moved in from the East and jutted up through the North wall. It was very dismal and unbearably hot. The floor was covered in dried blood.

Roth sat at the desk and looked at the flashing screen in deep thought. Scattered around the room were the others. Ari, Rob, Helios, Vespis, Rito, Bryce, Jeff and Dutchiee. Kristoff was here too, sat against the wall, looking up into space.

As the group stirred Roth looked down at them. Dutchiee brushed himself off and stood upright.

"How far did we fall...and where are we exactly?" He queried. Roth stared in silence before speaking.

"It's hard to measure the fall but I knew you'd survive if it happened. There was no danger. As for where we are..." He sighed.

"This was the place I died."

Rob blinked, rubbing his head.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

Roth stood upright and paced the floor.

"Not too long back, I was imprisoned down here. It's a very large underground Labyrinth. A man named Willis captured me and brought me in to complete a task for him. The task was to exorcise a demon who threatened the world."

Roth stared at the perplexed faces.

"However I was unsuccessful. Not only because the demon I was chasing wasn't the one who intended to bring about destruction. The man who captured me, Willis, he was the real danger. Just like Kristoff here, the one who killed me wanted no part of it all...but their hand was pushed by another."

He sat at the desk once more as the group looked around.

"Before you start declaring me as crazy again, lest I remind you that I was right about the shades. They attacked and they're going to follow us down here. It's only a matter of time. Two rooms south of here is a shuttle that we can ride. It will take us to another room which leads to another shuttle. That second shuttle leads to sanctuary."

Helios spoke, somewhat deflatedly.

"So if all this is true, and you really do know what we're doing? And you really did die and are some kind of spirit guide sent to save the world. If all of that ridiculousness is really the case, how is one place going to protect us? What's so special about it?"

Roth stared at the screen.

"This screen can be used to enter in room numbers. I tapped in so many, trying to map this place and hoping to achieve my goals. It was all for nothing."

He turned to face Helios who was still staring.

"It's special because it was built to be special, I suppose. I don't really understand it fully myself. I just know that it is what it is. This whole chamber sits over the Acheron, a river leading into hell itself. I can only presume that whoever built it all needed that protection should anything go wrong."

Rob looked around to gauge the expressions of the others. They were dubious. He stood upright and walked towards the Western door, reaching for the opening panel.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Roth said calmly.

Rob turned back with a snarl. "What would you do?" He demanded.

"I would exercise caution, head South according to my directions and find Sanctuary. There's a monstrous beast that was wandering around these chambers. A feral creature that could tear you limb from limb. It nearly got me once..."

"This is different from when I was here. Things aren't right. There was more on the wall. Not just that message which I wrote. And this room should be full of bodies...including my own."

He glared upwards.

"So I can only trust this path will take us there. I'd rather not move off it. There's no telling what will happen if we do. The computer here is asking for a code. I'm done with numbers. If you want to try something be my guests. The message has changed so there's no telling what will happen if you do."

"I'm going South. Kristoff, once we reach Sanctuary I can help you. You've followed me this far. It's just a little further."

Kristoff crawled to his feet and stumbled towards the Southern exit. Pressing the door release, Roth disappeared. The door slammed shut. Ari walked over to the computer. A message was flashing on the screen.

"Remember the fallen. Enter code so that they may rise."

Objectives:
You may enter numbers into the computer. This must be done in the following format.

##Enter: 1234

You may enter as many digits as you like.

Uhh... do we actually think that entering the numbers is a good idea? I have them saved, all except for Box #2 which didn't get opened, so in theory I can just bruteforce it...

What the hell? This isn't the bakery.......

So someone will come back to life if we enter a certain code?

What was in the box, Jeff?

yeah this is fucked up. maybe we should vote to enter the numbers or not?
i have no numbers,

@rob are the numbers public knowledge, to my memory I cant remember you ever publicly stating the numbers, but I might have forgotten. Either way maybe better to keep it secret for the time being.

@Jeff's Question: If I had to guess, I'd say that what we're about to do is unleash the spirits of the dead Lab 2 players to rise up and combat the shades. [/metagaming]

Dutchiee, we had a list going back in phase four or five. Good point about the secrecy, though.

And, Vespis, the password would be very much appreciated, if you're willing to give it.

Rob @ 4/10/2012 21:39

What was in the box, Jeff?

All I got was cat food :(

Eh, it's not a total loss. We might be able to bluff our way past Cerberus (or whatever else is down here) using that.

Anybody else manage to find anything interesting in their building? I'd especially like to know if anybody can shed any light on the bank safe, if we can possibly crack that thing, we should figure out how. Whatever's in there is probably pretty darn important, if it's hard enough to require a combination.

Vernon, I'm going to give you the wallet. On the off chance that you have the password, you might as well carry the potion.

Sounds good. I will hold it until the ends of time or until I spend it on a potion.

If I get the potion, you can have it, as I have no need for petty potions ;)

Anybody have any objection to typing in the numbers? If not, I'm gonna do it later tonight.