The World Asunder

[Hoboturtle]

"Understood, take care of the lady. I'll head out and assist the captain" Lambert nodded. Taking a racer stance, the Masked Knight shot forward like a bullet. As he sped through the streets, time seemed to slow down and he heard the echoed screams of the panicked people of the slums. He could hear them all. There were so many of them and he wouldn't be able to reach them all.

He could feel sweat on his brow and his hands clamp up. Damn it, getting to their squad leader was the best course of action. It was the smartest move. He couldn't waste time going from shadow to shadow. However the destruction, what he could see of it in the corner of his eyes. Bodies which littered the muddy waters of the concrete walls, causing them to mix in with blood.

When he got to the captain he could figure out the best way to go. Less time, less bodies. Everything would go fine once he got to the Soot District.

Smoke district, Ash district, Mud district, he was going too slow. He had to get there quickly. There were too many bodies. Too much blood, not enough help. The APF was too thinned out. He could only see a few members for every splinters. Where the hell were the knights? Protecting the fat cats of the higher regions no doubt, leaving us meeker folks to fend for ourselves.

Gas district, Dirt district, Water district.

 

[Lennox]

Kai ran up to the crowd of people gathering around the gate to Upper and Middle Avalon and began pushing his way through to the front. Once there however, he saw two Kingdom Guard agents holding the people back with their shields, expanded into five-foot radius force-fields.

“What’s going on here?” asked Kai

“Lower Avalon’s been quarantined for the safety of the city,” replied the officer. “Orders from the Palace. Please stay back.”

“Safety of the -- safety of what city! Middle Avalon? Upper Avalon? Damn well ain’t for this city!”

Shouts of agreement surrounded Kai. He looked back at the crowd, and several of them seemed to expect him to continue speaking.

“Oh! Uh, and no surprise that is! These guys come down from their magic castle saying they’re here for our benefit! Only reason anyone at the Palace of Wings ever cared about us in the Lower Rings is so they can rob us!”

More cheers of agreement.

“Sir, we’re going to have to ask you to--"

“And ain’t that what it is? Robbery! How do they make their fortunes without us running their factories! How do they live in luxury without us working the docks! They can’t so much as feed themselves without taking the food out of our mouths!”

One of the Kingdom Guard agents grabbed Kai by the shoulder.

“Sir, we’re going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Leave? What, to go get et by monsters? You’d have all of us do that, wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you!”

The crowd jeered at the officers. One of the Guards grabbed Kai from behind, holding his arms behind him. The other took out a communicator.

“We’re gonna need backup at the Derren’s Alley Gate. We got quarantine breakers as well as--"

Just then the man was struck on the head with a rock, thrown from the crowd. He drew his rifle and pointed it at the crowd, met with screams of fear. Two more rocks struck the Guard and he fired into the crowd in response. A throng of splinters was closing in, and rather than flee and disperse the crowd surged at the Guard, overpowering him and grabbing his rifle. He popped his force field again and was pushed back against the gate into a corner by the mob, who began kicking at and stomping the shield, crushing the man under it. The other officer dropped Kai and took up his own gun, but was shot in the arm by someone in the crowd before being grabbed. Kai leapt up onto the gate.

“It’s thievery, and now it’s murder! And I’ll tell you what else it is! It’s bullshіt! The means of production belong to the workers! The right to rule can come only from the consent of the ruled! This status quo is maintained only by violent oppression! Take back what’s ours!”

The splinters were closing in on their side of the gate, and it wouldn’t be long before the Kingdom Guard arrived at the other side. The people in the back of the crowd seemed ready to turn and fight, and many were armed with guns and familiars, but the rest were watching Kai.

“Starting with this gate! Men. Women. Children. I’m Kai Fishwash, and I’m no captain or king. I’m just a guy. I’m a common man like all of us. But as a common man I implore you in the name of all that is natural and just...”

Kai watched the splinters come closer. He looked up at the gate, then back at the crowd. In his elevated position on the gate, no one could see the glint of panic in his eyes.

“Tear it down!”

 

[Johaggis]

What a grisly scene. This house used to be a home. Two splinter bodies lay strew across the floor, one with bullet holes, and another with burns all over what used to be its face. That didn't bother Weidr. It was the five human bodies and the dwarf's. Mangled and slashed apart. Most had tried to flee, and only one of the humans fought. Two men, a woman, two children, and the dwarf. It wasn't the first time Weidr had seen the result of a splinter massacre. However, he could only imagine it was like this throughout Lower Avalon. The thought made him shudder. Stepping over the body in the hall, he made his way to a window to get a better look at the splinter outside. It seemed to have developed eyes all around its head. OH--

Weidr leapt to the side as the splinter fired a shot, taking out the window and its frame. Thankfully, the house wasn't quite on the ground, so that the beast couldn't enter from there. Ok, so I can't sneak up on it. At least, not without a distraction. It was only a matter of time until it figured out how to enter the house. Weidr noticed the emergency call communicator by the door. He ran to it and activated it. The signal was static. No help there. The splinters probably tore out the system in their rampage. Wait, Kai could just create a distraction. He took out his own communicator and attempted to call Kai The signal was static. Wait, how? There must be some kind of interference. This whole thing is wrong. Splinters in the wrong place, an unprecedented incursion, a storm blocking signals.

A blast through the window reminded Weidr of his situation. Dashing up the stairs, he looked around for something that could create a distraction. Chair. Table. Light. Candle. Bottle of booze. Mirror. Table. Candle. Chair. Mirror. Light. Light. Mirror. Mirror. Light. All he needed was a window of glass, and a window of opportunity. Moving as quietly as he could, he removed the mirror from the wall and brought it down the stairs. Carefully placing it at the bottom, he pointed it to reflect toward the creature and the ceiling above. Moving back upstairs, he cut a small hole in the roof over the mirror. He brought the light to the hole and readied an arrow.

One. Two. Three.

Weidr flipped the lamp on and dashed to the window. The creature screamed and he felt the shot blast through the first floor. Gotta make this count. Pulling back hard, he aimed the arrow at the head and let fly. It blasted through the creature's head, taking most of it off with the bolt. The creature staggered, wavered, and fell. That's three.

Weidr looked out of the now-shattered window toward the city. Most of it was in smoking ruins, though there was a large mass of people and splinters near the gate, which seemed to be mostly intact. Then he saw it. Off in the distance, an enormous splinter. At least fifteen meters tall, beyond even the class A's he'd seen before. A giant insectoid creature, with six huge legs and an upper body rising up in front of those, with two giant claws. It looked to be fixated on something on the ground, though the buildings were crumbling around it.

This is much bigger than I could have imagined. This can't be a random splinter incursion. This is an attack on lower Avalon.

Just then, he noticed a woman wielding two sword-like familiars running toward the Class B splinter's body. She bent down to inspect the body. "Hey, you!" he shouted out. "What are you doing here? Are you out of your mind?" He quickly notched a normal arrow and aimed it at her.

 

[GigaRidley]

Ansa looked up at the man who currently had her in his sights. She raised her sword up and pointed it at him.
"I'm with the Avalon Protection Force! What are YOU doing here?! All civilians should be headed out of Lower Avalon at the Derren's Alley or Watchrow Gate, or taken to an APF Safehouse!"
-MEANWHILE-
Aeolus strolled down the pristine marble road that led to Gestahd, the innermost ring of upper Avalon. In the distance, the Palace of Wings towered overhead. A group of Kingdom Guard ran past him, shouting into their walkie-talkies.
"Respond! Respond! Damn it, the Lower Avalon signal is still down! Backup is needed at Derren's Alley Gate, there's severe resistance!"
Aeolus grinned as the Kingdom Guards passed him by.
"Not bad, kid."
He whipped out his phone and dialed a number.
"Pumice? Whatever you did to the Lower Avalon communications network worked like a charm. These fυckers don't know what hit 'em."

 

[Lennox]

When the mob emerged at Haven Park in Upper Avalon, Kai leapt up onto the elevated base of a statue of King Sargon II, who had built the Palace of Wings after the ascension. Sargon was holding a sword in his back hand, and in his other hand he held aloft a scroll that read “THE LAWS OF AVALON.”

“We’re gonna have to hold this position if we wanna be safe from those splinters,” yelled Kai.

“You,” Kai pointed to the nine foot tall thryth whose immense strength had finally torn down the Derren's Alley Gate, “What’s your name?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. You fought bravely back there.”

“Harkaras.”

“Kai Fishwash, good to meet you. Can you take charge of defending the causeway to Lower Avalon? We need to keep those splinters back.”

“I'll do it.”

“You’re a real hero, Harkaras. And you, uh...” Kai pointed at a human woman armed with a chain gun, taken from one of the Guardsmen they had overtaken on the causeway.

“Reia Lars.”

“Reia, can you take charge of securing the perimeter? We’re lucky this park has high walls, but we need them to keep the Kingdom Guard out. I think the tops might be set up so they can be electrified. Dunno. But the lance familiars we picked up from those Guardsmen on the way here can be--”

“--converted into anti-airship artillery with a seither coil, I know. I’m on top of it, kid.”

“Great, that is just great, thanks.”

Harkaras and Reia began organizing people to help them with their respective tasks. Kai looked up at the bronze Sargon who was posing dramatically beside him.

“How you doing?”

Getting no response, Kai jumped down from the statue.

“Who’s wounded? I know some first aid for until we can find us a doctor.”

 

[Hoboturtle]

"Where is she?" Lambert roared through gritted teeth. All of damn lower Avalon might fall apart at this rate, probably taking the whole kingdom with it. He had to find the captain. The Soot district was close. He remembered this location, it wasn't far from where their spot was, the border of water and soot.

A cloud of dust for a split second formed a cloud over the wrecked buildings of the Avalon slums, breaking the concentration of the masked vigilante. The earth below his feet shook and the sound of crumbling buildings could be heard from the distance. This couldn't have been good. Reaching his right hand out, he grabbed onto a metal pole which bent like paper in his hand, but did help him stop his advance just a little as he dug his feet into on the concrete "What in the world?"

He had to get a better view of whatever the hell that was. Flexing his legs, he jetted up onto a nearby building. His arms crossed as he glance at the horizon. His eyes sharpened and his heart almost stopped. This was too much. This was way too much damage. This threat was larger than what he could of foretold. Not the now better view of the overall damage that was being dealt to his home, but of the monstrosity that sat in the middle of it all. A splinter of that size was unheard of. It could bet that the thing could measure up to a dragon almost.

Where ever the leader of the Avalon Protection Force was, would sadly had to wait. He couldn't put this one off. He had to stop this before it cause more harm. Taking a deep breath in and than out, he looked before him, the buildings that were still intact and jumped forward, taking the best path to the monster.

 

[Neosquid]

A small silver haired boy sat staring at the blank wall in front of him. Using the swivel chair he was sitting in, he pushed himself to a nearby desk and grabbed an opened can of soda from it. Just as he brought the can to his lips, he received a call on his cell phone, which was lying on the same desk. He sighed slightly while picking it up.

"Pumice? Whatever you did to the Lower Avalon communications network worked like a charm. These fυckers don't know what hit 'em." said a familiar voice

"Eh? What communications netwo--" the silver haired boy paused a moment before realizing his error, and quickly attempted to correct himself. "O-oh! Correct, sir! That communications network. Gotta say, 'ppreciate you making note of my efforts!"

The silver haired boy - Aestus Clayborne, better known as "Pumice" - had a tendency to lose focus on a matter at hand. He was well aware of Aeolus' plan, but he was temporary preoccupied with other thoughts.

"By the way, Aeolus, I'm still waitin' down here in Lower Avalon if you require my services." said Pumice. Actually, I was wondering about somethin' in particular....uh, since I know I can be honest with you. I'm kind of f*cking bored at the moment. So, I was wondering if I could kinda check on how things are going with your little Splinter invasion. According to my sources, we've deployed one of my personal favorites, huh? I want to see that close up, and naturally I'll report back to you on any bugs with our plan. I know the enemy's encountering quite a few in theirs!

 

[Johaggis]

"Civilian?" Weidr shouted. "I'm not exactly what you'd call a civilian. Come in this house, it's safer to talk here. Oh, and if you don't mind, please bring me that arrow next to the splinter. The crystal and iron one covered in blood. Thanks." With that, Weidr walked downstairs.

Upper Avalon
Bored. This was the thought that plagued Gale as of late. The splinters had become too normal. Too regular. Weidr brought back a sample every once in awhile, but they all appeared to be more of the same. She'd analyzed the ones she got her hands on to death. But even those were less frequent. Most police forces simply killed the creatures and disposed of the bodies. It'd been AGES since a good class C had come into her lab. There were supposed to be more splinters in lower Avalon, but even the slums had dried up their reserves of incursions. Weidr had gone off to hunt another splinter somewhere in Avalon, and it was supposed to be worthwhile. Maybe she'd see if he could keep the corpse and help her get it to her lab.

Maybe not. I don't think he likes me pestering him about splinters. Gale stared at the drink in front of her. If there's nothing about which to think, it can only mean it's time for a drink. Her mother taught her that expression, before she had been diagnosed with an alcohol problem. Now here Gale was, drinking as well. The thought made her giggle. She glanced around. Just a bunch of boring aristocrats. Upper Avalon might be even more boring than Lower Avalon. At least you could always count on someone being angry, fighting, or rioting down there. Up here, everyone was content to just sit around and pass the time with games of Kollak. And they were all terrible. These fatasses invented it, and yet people like her perfected it. She giggled again.

"Well hello there, young lady." a man said, walking up to her. She just noticed she had been looking in his direction when she giggled. "And what are you doing here, this fine afternoon?" He was tall, well-built, with a kind of blocky face. He was dressed in the attire of the high merchants of Upper Avalon. Probably spent most of his time trying to swindle the nearest passerby and pretending to fit in with the wealthy up here. Gross.

"Drinking," she answered.

"Ah, yes, of course." The man smiled, as if she had been making some kind of witty jest. "Has anyone ever told you that you have the most amazing eyes?"

"I think my mom did once, right before some splinters destroyed our village."

"Oh, I'm... sorry to hear that." The man was visibly uncomfortable. "Do you come from Lower Avalon, then?"

Gale had already lost interest and started staring off toward the door of the bar. She saw some guards running past, shouting on their communicators. "Oh, uh, sorry, gotta go!" she told the man, as she threw a few coins onto the counter and bolted out of the bar. She turned to see a number of guards running her way, shouting at her to move. She sidestepped as they came charging past. Something exciting. She giggled.

 

[GigaRidley]

Ansa looked down at the bloodied arrow. As she reached down and picked it up, it unmistakably pulsed with seithr.
An arrow Familiar? And of exceedingly fine craft. Who is this man?
Ansa hurried inside the house to meet with the man.
-MEANWHILE-
Aeolus absentmindedly fiddled with a kunai as he spoke with Pumice.
"Why the hell not? Actually, the Splinter you're talking about should be guarding the Rift Gate, where I summoned them. It should be fine on its own, but some backup would help. Keep the Rift Gate open as long as you can-- sealing it will suck the damn beasts back inside, and the longer it's open, the more chaos we can stir up in this shithole."

 

[Neosquid]

Pumice nodded, finishing off the rest of his soda before crushing the can and tossing it on the ground.

"Got it, sir. I may not be the toughest guy around, but I have some tricks up my sleeve which should prove useful. Heh. I'll be back with you shortly." said Pumice, who grabbed a previously prepared supply bag. The supply bag contained a few small seithr refill canisters, among other things. Using the swivel chair once again, he pushed himself to the window, which he opened. A pair of green-colored bat-like wings, which were made of seithr, sprouted from his back - courtesy of his own Familiar, of course. He flew outside and closed the window behind him.

Pumice was flying over a large chasm. Indeed, the building he had chosen for his temporary base of operations was on the very edge of Lower Avalon. He had done a good job of completely barricading the front of the building, leaving the back window as the only way in to or out of the building. He didn't really care whether or not there was ground under him. After all, he had wings. Sure, they couldn't last forever without a seithr recharge, but he found that they always lasted long enough to get the job done.

Pumice reached into his bag and pulled out what looked like a somewhat large pistol. In reality, it was not a pistol at all, but a miniature grenade launcher, which Pumice had put together himself. While it lacked a bit in firepower compared to larger variants, the tiny explosives shot which the weapon shot were still quite potent. Pumice would have had issues carrying a larger gun anyway, for obvious physical reasons.

Pumice flew off in search of the rift gate, flying very quickly as to not be easily noticed by the grounded civilians. He knew it was in the Soot District, but he could have found it just as quickly without that information, considering the nearby presence of a titanic insectoid Splinter, which was at least 50 feet in height.

"Oh. My. God." whispered an ecstatic Pumice to himself, proceeding to get a camera out of his bag. He took a few pictures of the beast, and put the camera away for the time being. "This baby makes all the other Splinters look like pussies. This is so cool!"

Pumice flew in closer to get a better view of the Splinter. Oh, and to keep an eye on the Rift Gate. He had almost forgotten about that in his excitement. As he got closer, he could indeed see the Rift Gate, which the giant Splinter was standing near. Pumice couldn't stay airborne forever, he needed to conserve as much seither as possible. He took perch on a nearby building, although he would probably have to move soon, considering the other buildings crumbling nearby. He got a can of soda from his bag and took a sip from it, still holding the miniature grenade launcher in his right hand.

 

[Johaggis]

Lower Avalon
"Close the door behind you" Weidr instructed, as Ansa came up the steps to the house. He took a seat at a nearby table, somehow still intact, and motioned her to do the same. The woman walked in through the door, and Weidr took a minute to observe this stranger. White hair, probably a Fae. Dressed more like a miner than a lady, and built more like a soldier than is typical. If she's lying about being a part of the APF, she's doing it well at least. She kind of resembled a dwarf in some ways, except that she was tall and thin.

"We should avoid detection if we're in here and keep our voices down" Weidr noted quietly. "The name's Weidr, I hunt splinters for a living. You said you're with the APF? What in Jürdel's name is going on here?"

Upper Avalon
Gale looked outward from her perch, trying to get a glimpse of whatever the guards were running towards. It looked like a mass of civilians was making its way up toward Upper Avalon, and none too happily. Nearby, she saw a young man giving orders to a huge thryth and a woman with a chaingun. He didn't look like an officer of any kind. The mass of civilians looked to be from Avalon, but the younger man could be from anywhere. What was going on here? Was the class tension in the city finally coming to a head?

Then she saw the smoking ruins far below. There were masses of purple, glowing splinters running around frantically. Whoa. That's a lot of splinters. Maybe Weidr was down there now and could clear things up. She took out her communicator and tried contacting him, but the signal became static. Weird. I wonder if he left already. She stared at her communicator for a minute, then called her pilot."Hey, Leo, I think I've found something. I'm at the..." She turned behind her to get the name of the bar. She squinted. "The Palace of Wings. No, the bar, not the palace. Anyw- No, I didn't try the wings. But here's- I'LL TRY THEM NEXT TIME, OK? Good. Meet me at the Bazaar Street Airfield in ten minutes."

 

[Bodine]

-Five days ago-

Vince Teslanciere, a young man ahead of his time, had just returned to Avalon, the mighty kingdom of which he was born. After spending time away, he was excited to return to the comforts of his home and get to work in his own workshop, paid for by a powerful friend of his, the King of Avalon.

Vince walked up the vast steps to the royal chamber, where he was to immediately meet with his Majesty to report on his findings and research. Carrying a large wooden box full of gadgets he had recently built, Vin stub led awkwardly while carrying the heavy box, with each step nearly losing his footing or dropping the boxes contents.

Eventually a small bronze orb-like device fell out of the box and began to roll down the steps with a loud clanking sound. "Uh-oh!" He said nervously as he quickly set the box down and began to chase after the device. While he ran after it he lost his footing. He gave out a yell and began to tumble down the stairway, passing the rolling item he was chasing. He crashed at the bottom of the stairs face first. He looked up, his glasses barely hanging on to his face, to see the orb rolling in circles right in front of him.

Two soldiers causally walked over, one bending over and picking up the orb, the other helped Vin up. The soldier handed Vin the orb. "I believe this is yours, sir." He said with a chuckle under his breath. Vin fixed his glasses and dusted himself off, then over-graciously took the orb from the soldier. "Thank you gentlemen." He said with a nod, and then as if to regain his dignity he turned around and marched up the stairs with a confident swagger, almost tripping again to ruin his efforts.

The soldiers looked at each other with smiles and shook their heads. "Do you need any help with that?" One of them asked. Vin picked up his box and turned around, nearly falling again. He put on a half smile and said, "Oh no no no, that won't be necessary my good fellows. I do commemorate you for you attempts at aiding me However, but I must see the King."

Finally he made it to the top of the stairway, where another two soldiers guarded the door. They looked at the man and opened the door. "Right this way, sir." Said one of them. "The King is expecting you."

Vince stumbled into the Kings chambers and set the box down on a table. The King was standing out in the balcony, looking out into the Kingdom of Avalon. "Mr. Teslanciere, is that you?" Said the King without looking away from the view. "It is, your Majesty," said Vin, looking happy and triumphant. "I have returned."

"How faired your trip to Erigan?" Asked the King, finally turning around to great Vin. Vin tilted his head as he poured himself a glass of water from a pitcher. "Somewhat enlightening, your Majesty." He said. He then quickly put the pitcher down realizing his glass began to overflow. He wiped away som of the water on the table with his sleeve quickly, then pretended it never happened. "The residents there do have quite the understand of the science, that can be assured your Highness." He said.

The King looked at Vin with a slight grin. "But not quite liked you had hoped, I would guess?" Said the King. Vin shook his head. "Their methods and reasons are a bit lack luster, Sire. Given time they may be able to do grand things like I imagine, but as of now it seems they're just... children playing with self tailored toys." The King chuckled. "Only in your eyes Vice, only in your eyes." The King then looked to the box on the table. "So, you've brought something for me?" He asked.

Vin began to rummage through the box. "Certainly so, your Highness." He said. "Most of these will surely help Avalon improve itself and outright overwhelm anyone else in the upcoming race for superior technology." He continued. He pulled out a strange looking device that looked like a metal replica of the solar system, or an atom. "This is a portable air purifier. This can and will get rid of the smog and pollution of seither in the air, without the need of heavy machinery... And this..." He said while pulling out another device, "Is an alarm for when the seither pollution becomes dangerously high for human intake. It reads the amount in the air, and when it reaches red level, it gives off a loud sound to warn people of the danger. Now, Sire, I have many more revolutionary inventions that were too large to carry to the castle, but rest assured some of my findings could change the very way we view the very existence of life itself!" He yelled, excited about his findings.

"This is all fascinating stuff, Teslanciere, it truly is." Said the King. "But how does it all work? How to control such devices with such limited seither?" Then, Vin chuckled and pushed his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose. "Oh come now Sire, you don't think I'd use such means as seither do you?" He then stepped to the balcony. "I believe you were eyeing the two towers I had installed at my workshop on the far side of the kingdom before I entered?" He asked. The King joined Vin out on the balcony and looked at the two tall objects in the distance.

"Yes," said the King, "I was admittedly pondering on their curious appearance and nature. They look unlike any other construct I've ever seen before." Vin then pulled a small device out of his pocket and extended a retractable antenna out of said device. "What is that there you have, Vince?" Asked the King. "I call it a 'remote controller.' It's a revolutionary little device I created that sends a remote signal to activate a far away machine using radio waves, I felt their usefulness extended far beyond talking to someone at a distance. With this I don't have to be at a machine to use it." Said Vin, smiling ear to ear. "Fascinating..." Said the King.

Vin pointed the remote at the towers. "Now feast your eyes, your Highness. For I've mastered a source of power many thought was useless, only a danger in the storms." Vin pressed the button on the remote and a signal was sent to the towers. A loud whirring sound could be heard as parts of the tower began to spin around. Then, starting as a few small sparks, a huge bolt of sustaining lightning connected between the top of the two towers, giving off a loud boom. The whole kingdom glowed a blueish hue as the power surged through the towers.

"Your Highness." Said Teslanciere, "I give you... The power of electricity."

 

[GigaRidley]

Ansa shook her head.
"I'm Ansa. Came to Avalon three years ago to help out the APF with their Splinter problems. As for what's going on here, I'll be damned if I know! It looks like this Splinter concentration is coming from the Soot District-- we've had incursions there, to be sure, but this is beyond anything I've ever seen in the sheer density of the creatures! It doesn't feel like the random attacks we've had in the past. Have you seen anything that would--"
A thunderous quake nearby rattled the building and sent dust and bits of debris raining from the ceiling.
"What in Jürdel's name is that?"

 

[Lennox]

Kai was trying to remove a piece of shrapnel from a man’s leg.

“Are you sure you’re qualified for this?”

“Again, I‘m definitely not.”

“Oh.”

 

[Johaggis]

"There's a splinter of unreasonable size not too far from here" Weidr told her. "I saw it from the second floor. Must be at least 15 meters tall, dwarfing any splinter I've ever seen. More importantly, is your communicator working? The emergency signal is out in this building, and I'm not getting a signal from my personal one either."