[Honesty it probably speaks volumes as to just how distracted he is that it actually takes him a bit to realize Pidge has answered. Which is why the first few moments of the call are, well...]
[That. Lots of that. Thankfully it didn't take him too long to register she'd picked up. And while the fact he's wearing a mask to filter out the Mist and keep him sane might explain why his voice sounds a little... well, different, it sure doesn't explain why it sounds like he's calling from a blast quarry and what is that horrible screeching sound?!.
Whatever it is, it's loud enough the distortion's enough to turn the call a little choppy until it dies down.]
CAN..ALK...EITH..D LANCE AREN..AN...ERING...ND I REALLY NEED A RIDE
[Pidge actually winces when she answers, alarmed by the panic in Peter's voice and the awful noises she can hear in the background. What in hell is that?! What's going on?]
Pete-- Pete, what're you doing?? What's all that noise?!
[He doesn't seem to be hearing her over all that, so for another moment she just tries to get through with-] I can barely hear you, what-- What's happening-
What're you talking about?? A ride?? Where are you?!?
[He really doesn't know the answer to "where," at least not with any sort of accuracy. He's been trying his level best to avoid becoming this thing's lunch for the past several minutes, so the best he can do is just turn on his network device's GPS beacon and hope for the best.
A SHIP! ANY SHIP! FASTER IS DEFINITELY-
[And there's all that lovely noise again, followed by that same ear-splitting shrieking noise that tends to just vibrate inside the head of anyone who hears it. And then silence, save for a very out of breath Pete trying to catch his breath. He knows he's not exactly safe, but he'll take whatever reprieve he can get.]
Pidge there is SOMETHING out here- airship's gone, I'm on some big... island just floati-
[And after it sounds like one hell of a wind is picking up, she'll at least get a brief video. Not of Pete, but well...much as he'd like the help, he's not about to ask his fellow nerd to fly into danger completely unprepared.
Not much can be seen of whatever landmass he's stranded on, save for some absolutely massive ravines cutting into the landscape. All spaced fairly evenly apart from one another, and definitely not naturally occuring, given just how much debris and toppled trees have fallen in. Or just laid strewn about the area outside.
But what is front and center of that brief video is the black mist at the edges of whatever atmosphere the island supported. Some of it swirling in one huge mass that seemed to be getting much larger and much closer.]
And it is very angry!
[And apparently, not just a cloud of black mist. Not only was it getting closer, but it seemed to be...well, growing. Not just in size, but it looked like it was changing shape at will. First growing a pair of arms, stretching out until the creature's claws and hands weren't even in frame anymore. Then the head. Then a pair of glowing eyes, before a gaping maw opened up and that horrible screeching noise followed.
Which meant Pete was definitely switching back to audio only because now was the time to run]
[Pidge is totally disoriented right now. What is Peter even doing right now? Still, it doesn't change the fact that it definitely sounds like her friend needs some serious help so she's hurriedly making her way to the shuttles. Normally she would be calling some of her team for backup here, but it sounded like Pete said he couldn't reach anyone else. Which left her. Strictly speaking Pidge is still a great choice to call for help, but she feels so... naked without the Green lion around.
That must be another part of what's been bothering her since she came back to the Fleet.]
Okay, I've locked onto your GPS signal- [She'd thank him for turning that on, but she'll save that for later.] -and I'm heading over to you HOLY CROW WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!
[As soon as she sees his video feed turn on, Pidge picks up the pace. Where previously she'd been sort of speed walking to the shuttle bay now she's full on sprinting over there. She'll just have to hop into one of the shuttles that she modified with a booster and hope that it makes up for the fact that it's not the kind of machine she's used to flying.]
Jeez- Okay just- Don't die until I get there! Keep talking to me, that'll let me know if I'm on the right track!
[Pidge he will buy you all the coffee for working your tech guru magic to find that. Once he has money again. And also assuming he doesn't get them both killed.]
DEFINITELY the planoNONONO
[Aaaand it's garbled audio all over again. Which, admittedly, is definitely better than static in this situation, since it means he's still alive. Probably. And it doesn't seem to sound any less windy once the audio clears up again, broken up just in time for confirmation that Pete is definitely still alive.
And still very bad at not making the bad choices.]
-AAAUGH! MOTHER...HUBBARD! What are you even made of?!
[He's also already forgotten it's still an open line, but hey. At least he's still watching his language. Aunt May and Uncle Ben did not raise a pottymouth.
But there's a faint clicking sound just before another skull-rattling screech, this one much louder than the rest. At least whatever he's doing seems to be something it really doesn't like- although, whether that's the reason it's trying to kill him or the reason it hasn't managed to kill him yet is probably debatable.
Either way, it very nearly kills the audio quality for good, and it only seems to come back to normal after...well it sounds like Pete's doing the Very Scientific Thing and just whacking his comm device with his hand over and over, while he enjoys another momentary respite on Monster Island.]
Ha... s'it working? Is it- oh, good. So uh...if you run into that thing on your way here...well, it really doesn't like bright lights. So, you know. Headlights are good. Searchlights. Whatever. Shine 'em anywhere.
[Pidge is moving so damn fast now. Hopping into the nearest modified shuttle. Scrambling into the pilot seat and getting the systems going. She doesn't have a Pilot augment, but between having worked with the shuttles for so long, knowledge from the flight manuals at the Garrison, and experience with the lions, she can at least figure out how to get going and move.]
Talk to me, man, what's it doing?? You're still on the island, right? [All the while she's listening to Pete freaking out. In one way, it's keeping her adrenaline going, which she kind of needs. In another way, it's letting her keep tabs on her friend's status. Also necessary.
Seriously Peter, what kind of nerdy scrawny kid are you?? Why on Earth is dodging a giant smoke monster a thing that you're doing??]
Bright lights. Got it. [Pidge glances over the panel of instruments for anything that might indicate a headlights function, but her focus is primarily on flying this damn shuttle. It's so unfamiliar, but she refuses to let that get in the way of finding and helping her friend.]
What did you do?? Why the hell are you even over there with that thing?! Are you insane?!
Uh... most of the time, yeah, still on the island. Neighborhood's disappearin' pretty fast though, so. Anywhere I can land, really. Sometimes it's uh... sometimes it's on whatever that thing is.
[You know, just touching down on the giant murder mist trying to eat you, as you do. As all humans do. If it sounds weird it's absolutely because she's clearly just spent too much time out in space, not because he's an idiot philanthropist who leaps before looking. In this case, very literally.
And part of him is still under the illusion he can explain this away somehow, all he needs is time. So. Pidge may have to resort to beating a real answer out of him once things are a little less hectic, because he's just going to be cagey for now.]
Hey, it's not like I went looking for this thing! I joined an airship crew, they said they were on a research expedition. You know, explore uncharted areas of the Mist, study old ruins! Safe stuff!
[Or, well, safe-ish.]
Getting attacked by...GIANT SMOKE MONSTERS wasn't part of the pitch!
[Speaking of which, it is really quiet. Well, not super quiet or anything, but right about now he should be hearing that thing coming back for another round. Or at least see it, or get that friendly tingle in the back of his head telling him he's about to die. Which is super concerning right now, because he's not about to believe he finally ran the thing off.]
Bro I don't know where you are, but I don't know where that thing is anymore. Head on a swivel time, it can be anywhere out there.
[Maybe it's taking time to think up a new approach. Maybe it did leave. Or maybe it found something new to chase in the mist nearby. Maybe Pidge was closer than he thought, and the shuttle got its attention. He had absolutely no way of knowing and that was terrifying because there wasn't a single thing he could do about it either way.]
[Pidge mutters the curse under breath. It's amazing that this guy can be so smart and so dumb at the same time.
She heads over as fast as she can, shaking her head to herself and reaching to flip on the brightest headlights. If Peter's lost track of its location, then her best bet is to use the bright lights as a deterrent. If that actually works, anyway. If it does the opposite thing, well...
A distraction would let Pete get out of there safely too, right?]
Okay, I think I'm getting close-- [She has to glance quickly at her comm device to check the location of his GPS signal to be sure.] What about the rest of the crew you were with?? How are you the only one trying to narrowly avoid getting killed by that thing?!
[Yeah there was...really no easy way to explain that one away. He will fully admit that in hindsight it was kind of super dumb and he probably should have thought further ahead, but this was an impulsive thing with no time for strategy. That's his story and he's sticking to it.]
I sort of... jumped overboard? We definitely weren't gonna outrun it. I was gonna give them some time to get away- it really didn't like that.
[He didn't have an extraction plan or a Plan B in place, sue him. But only if you save him first, then you can absolutely sue him.
Though she may want to put off being mad at him, because there's another obnoxiously loud screech, and it is not coming from over the network and Pidge may want to be a leaf on the wind right about now because those headlights are pointed in the exact wrong direction]
[Pidge has to let out a mildly annoyed huff at that, rolling her eyes. Boys. Go figure. Why are most of the boys in her life the "look before they leap" type? Is it really so hard to use the head on your shoulders first?]
Well at least that means I'm only looking to save your sorry a--
[She cuts herself when she hears that screeching sound. Because that sounded really close, even more soul-wrenching than it had sounded over the comms. Pidge's eyes go wide, leaning forward in her seat so that she can look out the windshield, searching for the monstrous source.]
Uh-oh. [Pidge glances toward the headlight switch on the control panel - yep, that's the ON position - and then turns her attention back outside.] Hey, how positive are you that this thing is deterred by bright lights?
[Okay he does not like how this rescue is going right now, mostly because while he appreciates the breather, he does feel a little useless right now. And he knows what that sound means.]
It's not, they just hurt it- and YOU NEED TO MOVE, NOW!
[He may not be able to see where that thing is out there, let alone Pidge, but he hasn't heard Pidge freaking out about it like he did the first time he saw it, so...
Call it spider-intuition that he was pretty sure she hadn't seen it yet but it was absolutely already moving in on the shuttle.
Which it absolutely was- limited as it was, that instrument panel should be screaming all kinds of alarms the second it starts to solidify. Though, even without that warning, well...not a lot of other explanations for seeing giant, pointy teeth bigger than the actual shuttle start to appear outside the window. Two long, long lines of them, with one above and one below. And they're moving closer together.
Boosters might be a good idea, before the shuttle finds its way any further down the thing's throat. Because Pete was clearly not exaggerating when he said whatever this thing was, it was huge. Like, swallow-the-actual-fleet-ships-whole kind of huge.]
WHAT?!? [And that has her immediately switching the lights off again, just in time to see the entire instrument panel start to go haywire.] You said it doesn't like light, not that it hurts it and probably pisses it off more!!
[WELL WHATEVER. It's really too late for her to just go pointing fingers in Peter's face because... What she had previously assumed was just thick mist and fog looks like it's solidifying around her. And soon enough she's starting to make out the shape of teeth.
Which then prompts her to yank on the controls, pulling the shuttle back out of its current doomed course and into a direction that's hopefully less likely to get her killed. The sharp movement sends her comm device to the floor, skittering across the cockpit as she gets the whole thing turned around.
Lucky Pete gets to hear the way the device scrapes across the floor along with the monster's screeching and the sound of Pidge straining with the controls.] C'mon c'mon c'mon tuuuurrrnnnn...!!
[And then he might hear the way she slams a fist down onto the control panel, activating the boost she'd attached to the shuttle and sending her careening in the one direction that hasn't turned into a solid wall of inside mouth. She's even screaming the entire way. With any luck she'll just barely avoid becoming this thing's food. And all she can really think about is the fact that this would be so much easier if she were piloting Green.]
PETE IF WE GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!
If you get us out of here alive I will absolutely put your name on the list! Third, second in line, tops!
[Ahead of the crazy Russian furry but behind the man in the giant rhinoceros costume........you know what, first in line. First in line so he doesn't have to explain any of this.
But yeah, he's definitely shouting back now, if only because 1) he's not sure she can hear him, and 2) He can't even hear him because oh my god Pidge are you flying an actual chalkboard what is that noise?!]
JUST SHOOT IN IN THE FACE WITH THE LIGHTS! IT HATES THAT! HOW ELSE D'YOU THINK I KEPT FROM BEING MONSTER CHOW?!
[The shuttle barely manages to escape, one giant gnashing monster tooth just scraping at the very back of the shuttle on the way out. And then Pidge is rapidly flicking switches on the instrument panel, doing everything she can to divert as much power as possible to the engines to get some extra speed. She needs to put some distance between her and the huge, scary monster mouth.
She can't hear Peter quite as well on her comm anymore, not with how far back its flown from where it used to be perched on the other seat, but the way he yells lets her make out enough. And its distance from her certainly doesn't stop her from yelling back.]
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? If I flash a bright light into its eyes when I'm still at arm's reach of that thing, it's gonna be even more likely to attack me!! You shining lights at it has probably just made it wanna kill you more!!
[He'll backseat pilot all he wants thank you very much. And at least Pidge's narrow escape did come as a surprise, which let her build up quite a bit more distance between the shuttle and whatever that thing was. But it is fast when it chooses to be, and it vanishes into the mist to renew the chase- unfortunately, vanishing from any instruments in the process.
Until it took on a solid form again, the only way to track it would be visually- she'd need to keep an eye out for any giant, swirling black mass moving unnaturally fast, or toward the shuttle rather than with the rest of this system's obnoxious excuse for cloud cover.]
Look, I'D do it, but you're on your own 'til you get here!
I FLEW IN WITH LIGHTS ON AND IT STILL CAME AFTER ME, WISE GUY!! EXPLAIN THAT!!
[Dammit Pete, shut up while Pidge leans forward again, looking outside of the shuttle cautiously once the instrument panel stops going haywire. She's well aware now that just because the shuttle can't detect it doesn't mean it isn't still out there. Especially since it had literally formed around her from the mist just moments ago.]
I can't see it. It's dispersed or something, I'm gonna have to make a beeline for you.
[Only now does Pidge notice that her comm has fallen from the seat and, very quickly so as not to leave even more of a window for the monster to reappear, she moves to grab it up off the floor and bring it back to the pilot seat with her.]
Quiznak what I wouldn't give to have Green's cloaking on this thing... [With one hand on the controls she checks the comm again, looking for where Peter's signal is coming from.]
Uh- Went a little off-course here, but still close. You'd better be ready for a really fast extraction, man. I'm circling back. [And ready to have to escape by the skin of her teeth again.]
I DID! THE LIGHTS HURT IT, I NEVER SAID THEY WERE...GIANT MONSTER REPELLENT!
[Despite the arguing, he is definitely very concerned for his friend out there. Pidge asked for a speedy extraction, and that is exactly what Pidge will get. Just...well there were going to be some ground rules.]
...so, fast I can do. That's not gonna be a problem. But I'm gonna need you to promise you're not gonna freak out. And no fancy flying until after I'm onboard, alright?
[He just gets a really loud "RRRRRRRRRRGH" in response to that first comment. Because he totally only said that it didn't like the lights and to Pidge that didn't imply that light would hurt it and-- Nevermind. She's not going to argue that anymore until they're both safely not anywhere near it anymore.
Of course now he has to go and start talking about things that she's not entirely sure she understands.]
What're you talking about??? I don't care how you do it as long as it means we're out of here as quickly as possible, okay? Just tell me how you want me to get you onboard!
[Those have got to be the weirdest pick up instructions she's ever heard in her life, and she works with Lance on a daily basis.
But fine, there's no time to argue it because she's closing in on his signal. She flips some switches on the instrument panel that'll unlock the door, slowing the shuttle down as it swoops in lower to the ground.]
Okay whatever, I'm almost there. This really better be as fast as you think it is, or we're both dead.
Would you REALLY prefer landing with that thing around?!
[And frankly, once she breaks through the mist that surrounds the island, well...that would have been difficult to swing anyway. There's way more of those claw marks than just the ones he showed in that brief video clip, and entire sections of the island are just gone- at least their giant, misty friend had eaten its fill of something today. And where the ground wasn't torn up or just missing outright, more often than not it was covered in the shattered remains of an untold number of trees, either still rooted in the ground but snapped in half several meters up, or completely fragmented and ready for the saw mill.
Also, some lunatic in a bright red-and blue outfit that'd clearly seen better days, and a facemask missing at least one of its eye lenses. Pulling himself back in a giant slingshot of some kind. At least until he's sent flying through the air, right for the shuttle.]
DON'TFREAKOUTIT'SMEJUSTKEEPFLYINGTHISISFI-
[Aaaand just a fraction of a second before he goes soaring right over the cockpit, he even managed to splatter the upper edge of it with a pair of weblines. Of course, a fraction of a second after that, Newton's Laws of Motion decided to stubbornly and dramatically proclaim they were still relevant even on a planet this ridiculous, and there's a loud bang from the shuttle roof and a pained grunting from over the comm.
Which at least meant Pete was still alive, and would probably also wish to be spared the indignity of being registered as a bird strike in the flight log.]
...THAT...ow...yeah, that worked a lot better with the tanker...
[Don't mind him just. Lying there for a bit. He kind of needed to catch his breath, but at least he was technically onboard? He was definitely on the shuttle, so, it was probably alright for Pidge to make a hasty retreat now.
Advisable even, since that wonderful screeching noise had started up again! Probably because now, the giant nightmare beast didn't have to trouble itself in choosing between two targets!]
[Pidge's experience as a Paladin of Voltron has prepared her for a lot of different things. Surprise attacks, almost daily brushes with death, encounters with alien species of every kind... Generally she's ready for anything and it's pretty hard to surprise her at this point.
Seeing Peter in a worn out, weird-looking red and blue costume of some sort is... Well, it's enough to make her do a hard double-take.]
What in the--
[She has to actually shake her head to snap out of it. No time to linger on that now. Extract her oddly-clad friend from immediate danger and ask questions once they're safe. Pidge focuses on getting the shuttle low enough for him to reach (a quick mental calculation tells her whereabouts she should get to it, assuming certain laws of physics still apply), and then holding it level and at a steady speed to make it work.
She'll worry about what to do if they somehow miss each other when it happens. Hopefully her reflexes have been honed enough by now that she'll be able to react in time.
Fortunately she ends up not having to-- or something. Though she initially has a moment of panic when he doesn't hit the side of the shuttle the way she'd expected him to, the loud BANG from the roof and the pained groan of the comm tells her things have worked out. She lets out a little sigh of relief.]
Great. Now get in here before--
[And that's when she hears the screeching. Her face falls.]
Oh, quiznak.
[She's back to revving the shuttle up to hit full speed.] Either get in NOW or hang on tight!! This is about to get rough!
[That's about all the warning she gives. The shuttle quickly starts picking up speed as it makes for its escape, swooping upward to clear the misty area. The side door of the shuttle is still unlocked so Pete can climb in if he can. Ideally he'd be inside before she has to hit the boosters.]
[He doesn't need to be told twice. Or at all, really- that screeching's been a harbinger of horrible, horrible things for the past half hour or so. He's already scrambling- as best he can, anyway- over the shuttle's hull to reach the hatch, and breathes a sigh of relief when he discovers Pidge had made sure it was unlocked like he'd asked. And for better or worse, he looked behind the shuttle right just before closing the hatch, and did not like what he saw.
That thing has formed up behind them already, swimming through the mists after them and closing the distance between it and the tiny shuttle with far more speed than anything that size should be capable of. It had also learned from it's previous attempt at just swallowing the whole thing whole, and decided a new approach was called for. Now, it stretched out one of those impossibly elongated arms to try and swat the tiny ship from the sky, rather than trying to swallow it outright. And since it had to solidify in order to do so, Pidge's instruments would probably start screaming for attention again, but there was also another warning system aboard the ship now.]
Pidge, get this thing moving! That thing's not waving at us!
[For her part, Pidge was actually waiting to slam on the boosters until after Peter had gotten the door shut behind him. So when he goes and starts yelling at her, her immediate response is--] SHUT UP AND HANG ON.
[Because then she really is diverting everything the shuttle has to its engines, activating the booster on the fuel line to really get some distance between them and the creepy giant monster that wants them dead. With any luck the burst of speed will last long enough to make it happen.
Though knowing their luck... It's more of a gamble than Pidge is honestly comfortable with.]
Keep an eye on that thing! If it suddenly gets faster or disperses to get ahead of us, I really need to know!
[Of course, once those engines start giving it their all, there's a horrible mechanical groaning that fills the cabin before the hatch shears right off the hull, bouncing off the side of the shuttle before vanishing into the creature behind them.
Pete very nearly followed after it, but managed to grab hold of the frame as he tumbled out, and flung himself back inside where it was (mostly???) safe, clinging onto the opposite wall for dear life.]
HANGING! Definitely hanging!
[Assuming they live through this, he's going to have to make it a point to figure out how someone even smaller than he is has a lead foot that massive. But only once there's no risk of being thrown out of the shuttle, especially now that the door's- oh, right.]
So, also worth knowing-
[He does have to pause for a moment as the shuttle hits another nasty patch of turbulence- if only because Pidge's gamble paid off, and that bit of shuddering was entirely due to the massive hand swiping through the air just behind the engines.
The extra speed seems to be keeping them safe for now, but that all likely depends on just how long Pidge can keep it up.]
-that helmet come with a mask? 'Cause that's gonna be important soon. Real soon.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[audio]
-CKUP,PICKUP,PICKUP,PICKUP,PICKUP,PICKUP,PI- PIDGE!
[That. Lots of that. Thankfully it didn't take him too long to register she'd picked up. And while the fact he's wearing a mask to filter out the Mist and keep him sane might explain why his voice sounds a little... well, different, it sure doesn't explain why it sounds like he's calling from a blast quarry and what is that horrible screeching sound?!.
Whatever it is, it's loud enough the distortion's enough to turn the call a little choppy until it dies down.]
CAN..ALK...EITH..D LANCE AREN..AN...ERING...ND I REALLY NEED A RIDE
no subject
Pete-- Pete, what're you doing?? What's all that noise?!
[He doesn't seem to be hearing her over all that, so for another moment she just tries to get through with-] I can barely hear you, what-- What's happening-
What're you talking about?? A ride?? Where are you?!?
no subject
A SHIP! ANY SHIP! FASTER IS DEFINITELY-
[And there's all that lovely noise again, followed by that same ear-splitting shrieking noise that tends to just vibrate inside the head of anyone who hears it. And then silence, save for a very out of breath Pete trying to catch his breath. He knows he's not exactly safe, but he'll take whatever reprieve he can get.]
Pidge there is SOMETHING out here- airship's gone, I'm on some big... island just floati-
[And after it sounds like one hell of a wind is picking up, she'll at least get a brief video. Not of Pete, but well...much as he'd like the help, he's not about to ask his fellow nerd to fly into danger completely unprepared.
Not much can be seen of whatever landmass he's stranded on, save for some absolutely massive ravines cutting into the landscape. All spaced fairly evenly apart from one another, and definitely not naturally occuring, given just how much debris and toppled trees have fallen in. Or just laid strewn about the area outside.
But what is front and center of that brief video is the black mist at the edges of whatever atmosphere the island supported. Some of it swirling in one huge mass that seemed to be getting much larger and much closer.]
And it is very angry!
[And apparently, not just a cloud of black mist. Not only was it getting closer, but it seemed to be...well, growing. Not just in size, but it looked like it was changing shape at will. First growing a pair of arms, stretching out until the creature's claws and hands weren't even in frame anymore. Then the head. Then a pair of glowing eyes, before a gaping maw opened up and that horrible screeching noise followed.
Which meant Pete was definitely switching back to audio only because now was the time to run]
VERY, VERY ANGRY!
no subject
That must be another part of what's been bothering her since she came back to the Fleet.]
Okay, I've locked onto your GPS signal- [She'd thank him for turning that on, but she'll save that for later.] -and I'm heading over to you HOLY CROW WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!
[As soon as she sees his video feed turn on, Pidge picks up the pace. Where previously she'd been sort of speed walking to the shuttle bay now she's full on sprinting over there. She'll just have to hop into one of the shuttles that she modified with a booster and hope that it makes up for the fact that it's not the kind of machine she's used to flying.]
Jeez- Okay just- Don't die until I get there! Keep talking to me, that'll let me know if I'm on the right track!
no subject
DEFINITELY the planoNONONO
[Aaaand it's garbled audio all over again. Which, admittedly, is definitely better than static in this situation, since it means he's still alive. Probably. And it doesn't seem to sound any less windy once the audio clears up again, broken up just in time for confirmation that Pete is definitely still alive.
And still very bad at not making the bad choices.]
-AAAUGH! MOTHER...HUBBARD! What are you even made of?!
[He's also already forgotten it's still an open line, but hey. At least he's still watching his language. Aunt May and Uncle Ben did not raise a pottymouth.
But there's a faint clicking sound just before another skull-rattling screech, this one much louder than the rest. At least whatever he's doing seems to be something it really doesn't like- although, whether that's the reason it's trying to kill him or the reason it hasn't managed to kill him yet is probably debatable.
Either way, it very nearly kills the audio quality for good, and it only seems to come back to normal after...well it sounds like Pete's doing the Very Scientific Thing and just whacking his comm device with his hand over and over, while he enjoys another momentary respite on Monster Island.]
Ha... s'it working? Is it- oh, good. So uh...if you run into that thing on your way here...well, it really doesn't like bright lights. So, you know. Headlights are good. Searchlights. Whatever. Shine 'em anywhere.
no subject
Talk to me, man, what's it doing?? You're still on the island, right? [All the while she's listening to Pete freaking out. In one way, it's keeping her adrenaline going, which she kind of needs. In another way, it's letting her keep tabs on her friend's status. Also necessary.
Seriously Peter, what kind of nerdy scrawny kid are you?? Why on Earth is dodging a giant smoke monster a thing that you're doing??]
Bright lights. Got it. [Pidge glances over the panel of instruments for anything that might indicate a headlights function, but her focus is primarily on flying this damn shuttle. It's so unfamiliar, but she refuses to let that get in the way of finding and helping her friend.]
What did you do?? Why the hell are you even over there with that thing?! Are you insane?!
no subject
[You know, just touching down on the giant murder mist trying to eat you, as you do. As all humans do. If it sounds weird it's absolutely because she's clearly just spent too much time out in space, not because he's an idiot philanthropist who leaps before looking. In this case, very literally.
And part of him is still under the illusion he can explain this away somehow, all he needs is time. So. Pidge may have to resort to beating a real answer out of him once things are a little less hectic, because he's just going to be cagey for now.]
Hey, it's not like I went looking for this thing! I joined an airship crew, they said they were on a research expedition. You know, explore uncharted areas of the Mist, study old ruins! Safe stuff!
[Or, well, safe-ish.]
Getting attacked by...GIANT SMOKE MONSTERS wasn't part of the pitch!
[Speaking of which, it is really quiet. Well, not super quiet or anything, but right about now he should be hearing that thing coming back for another round. Or at least see it, or get that friendly tingle in the back of his head telling him he's about to die. Which is super concerning right now, because he's not about to believe he finally ran the thing off.]
Bro I don't know where you are, but I don't know where that thing is anymore. Head on a swivel time, it can be anywhere out there.
[Maybe it's taking time to think up a new approach. Maybe it did leave. Or maybe it found something new to chase in the mist nearby. Maybe Pidge was closer than he thought, and the shuttle got its attention. He had absolutely no way of knowing and that was terrifying because there wasn't a single thing he could do about it either way.]
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[Pidge mutters the curse under breath. It's amazing that this guy can be so smart and so dumb at the same time.
She heads over as fast as she can, shaking her head to herself and reaching to flip on the brightest headlights. If Peter's lost track of its location, then her best bet is to use the bright lights as a deterrent. If that actually works, anyway. If it does the opposite thing, well...
A distraction would let Pete get out of there safely too, right?]
Okay, I think I'm getting close-- [She has to glance quickly at her comm device to check the location of his GPS signal to be sure.] What about the rest of the crew you were with?? How are you the only one trying to narrowly avoid getting killed by that thing?!
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[Yeah there was...really no easy way to explain that one away. He will fully admit that in hindsight it was kind of super dumb and he probably should have thought further ahead, but this was an impulsive thing with no time for strategy. That's his story and he's sticking to it.]
I sort of... jumped overboard? We definitely weren't gonna outrun it. I was gonna give them some time to get away- it really didn't like that.
[He didn't have an extraction plan or a Plan B in place, sue him. But only if you save him first, then you can absolutely sue him.
Though she may want to put off being mad at him, because there's another obnoxiously loud screech, and it is not coming from over the network and Pidge may want to be a leaf on the wind right about now because those headlights are pointed in the exact wrong direction]
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Well at least that means I'm only looking to save your sorry a--
[She cuts herself when she hears that screeching sound. Because that sounded really close, even more soul-wrenching than it had sounded over the comms. Pidge's eyes go wide, leaning forward in her seat so that she can look out the windshield, searching for the monstrous source.]
Uh-oh. [Pidge glances toward the headlight switch on the control panel - yep, that's the ON position - and then turns her attention back outside.] Hey, how positive are you that this thing is deterred by bright lights?
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It's not, they just hurt it- and YOU NEED TO MOVE, NOW!
[He may not be able to see where that thing is out there, let alone Pidge, but he hasn't heard Pidge freaking out about it like he did the first time he saw it, so...
Call it spider-intuition that he was pretty sure she hadn't seen it yet but it was absolutely already moving in on the shuttle.
Which it absolutely was- limited as it was, that instrument panel should be screaming all kinds of alarms the second it starts to solidify. Though, even without that warning, well...not a lot of other explanations for seeing giant, pointy teeth bigger than the actual shuttle start to appear outside the window. Two long, long lines of them, with one above and one below. And they're moving closer together.
Boosters might be a good idea, before the shuttle finds its way any further down the thing's throat. Because Pete was clearly not exaggerating when he said whatever this thing was, it was huge. Like, swallow-the-actual-fleet-ships-whole kind of huge.]
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[WELL WHATEVER. It's really too late for her to just go pointing fingers in Peter's face because... What she had previously assumed was just thick mist and fog looks like it's solidifying around her. And soon enough she's starting to make out the shape of teeth.
Which then prompts her to yank on the controls, pulling the shuttle back out of its current doomed course and into a direction that's hopefully less likely to get her killed. The sharp movement sends her comm device to the floor, skittering across the cockpit as she gets the whole thing turned around.
Lucky Pete gets to hear the way the device scrapes across the floor along with the monster's screeching and the sound of Pidge straining with the controls.] C'mon c'mon c'mon tuuuurrrnnnn...!!
[And then he might hear the way she slams a fist down onto the control panel, activating the boost she'd attached to the shuttle and sending her careening in the one direction that hasn't turned into a solid wall of inside mouth. She's even screaming the entire way. With any luck she'll just barely avoid becoming this thing's food. And all she can really think about is the fact that this would be so much easier if she were piloting Green.]
PETE IF WE GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!
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That's fair]If you get us out of here alive I will absolutely put your name on the list! Third, second in line, tops!
[Ahead of the crazy Russian furry but behind the man in the giant rhinoceros costume........you know what, first in line. First in line so he doesn't have to explain any of this.
But yeah, he's definitely shouting back now, if only because 1) he's not sure she can hear him, and 2) He can't even hear him because oh my god Pidge are you flying an actual chalkboard what is that noise?!]
JUST SHOOT IN IN THE FACE WITH THE LIGHTS! IT HATES THAT! HOW ELSE D'YOU THINK I KEPT FROM BEING MONSTER CHOW?!
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She can't hear Peter quite as well on her comm anymore, not with how far back its flown from where it used to be perched on the other seat, but the way he yells lets her make out enough. And its distance from her certainly doesn't stop her from yelling back.]
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? If I flash a bright light into its eyes when I'm still at arm's reach of that thing, it's gonna be even more likely to attack me!! You shining lights at it has probably just made it wanna kill you more!!
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[He'll backseat pilot all he wants thank you very much. And at least Pidge's narrow escape did come as a surprise, which let her build up quite a bit more distance between the shuttle and whatever that thing was. But it is fast when it chooses to be, and it vanishes into the mist to renew the chase- unfortunately, vanishing from any instruments in the process.
Until it took on a solid form again, the only way to track it would be visually- she'd need to keep an eye out for any giant, swirling black mass moving unnaturally fast, or toward the shuttle rather than with the rest of this system's obnoxious excuse for cloud cover.]
Look, I'D do it, but you're on your own 'til you get here!
[Speaking of which...]
You DID say you were close, right?
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[Dammit Pete, shut up while Pidge leans forward again, looking outside of the shuttle cautiously once the instrument panel stops going haywire. She's well aware now that just because the shuttle can't detect it doesn't mean it isn't still out there. Especially since it had literally formed around her from the mist just moments ago.]
I can't see it. It's dispersed or something, I'm gonna have to make a beeline for you.
[Only now does Pidge notice that her comm has fallen from the seat and, very quickly so as not to leave even more of a window for the monster to reappear, she moves to grab it up off the floor and bring it back to the pilot seat with her.]
Quiznak what I wouldn't give to have Green's cloaking on this thing... [With one hand on the controls she checks the comm again, looking for where Peter's signal is coming from.]
Uh- Went a little off-course here, but still close. You'd better be ready for a really fast extraction, man. I'm circling back. [And ready to have to escape by the skin of her teeth again.]
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[Despite the arguing, he is definitely very concerned for his friend out there. Pidge asked for a speedy extraction, and that is exactly what Pidge will get. Just...well there were going to be some ground rules.]
...so, fast I can do. That's not gonna be a problem. But I'm gonna need you to promise you're not gonna freak out. And no fancy flying until after I'm onboard, alright?
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Of course now he has to go and start talking about things that she's not entirely sure she understands.]
What're you talking about??? I don't care how you do it as long as it means we're out of here as quickly as possible, okay? Just tell me how you want me to get you onboard!
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[Okay, gonna just scan the area for anything he can use to get up to a ship that's not scraping the paint on the ground.]
Alright! So, thirty feet, no boosters, come in from the Northeast.
[Wait he's missing a step]
OH! And leave the door unlocked. Please.
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[Those have got to be the weirdest pick up instructions she's ever heard in her life, and she works with Lance on a daily basis.
But fine, there's no time to argue it because she's closing in on his signal. She flips some switches on the instrument panel that'll unlock the door, slowing the shuttle down as it swoops in lower to the ground.]
Okay whatever, I'm almost there. This really better be as fast as you think it is, or we're both dead.
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[And frankly, once she breaks through the mist that surrounds the island, well...that would have been difficult to swing anyway. There's way more of those claw marks than just the ones he showed in that brief video clip, and entire sections of the island are just gone- at least their giant, misty friend had eaten its fill of something today. And where the ground wasn't torn up or just missing outright, more often than not it was covered in the shattered remains of an untold number of trees, either still rooted in the ground but snapped in half several meters up, or completely fragmented and ready for the saw mill.
Also, some lunatic in a bright red-and blue outfit that'd clearly seen better days, and a facemask missing at least one of its eye lenses. Pulling himself back in a giant slingshot of some kind. At least until he's sent flying through the air, right for the shuttle.]
DON'TFREAKOUTIT'SMEJUSTKEEPFLYINGTHISISFI-
[Aaaand just a fraction of a second before he goes soaring right over the cockpit, he even managed to splatter the upper edge of it with a pair of weblines. Of course, a fraction of a second after that, Newton's Laws of Motion decided to stubbornly and dramatically proclaim they were still relevant even on a planet this ridiculous, and there's a loud bang from the shuttle roof and a pained grunting from over the comm.
Which at least meant Pete was still alive, and would probably also wish to be spared the indignity of being registered as a bird strike in the flight log.]
...THAT...ow...yeah, that worked a lot better with the tanker...
[Don't mind him just. Lying there for a bit. He kind of needed to catch his breath, but at least he was technically onboard? He was definitely on the shuttle, so, it was probably alright for Pidge to make a hasty retreat now.
Advisable even, since that wonderful screeching noise had started up again! Probably because now, the giant nightmare beast didn't have to trouble itself in choosing between two targets!]
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Seeing Peter in a worn out, weird-looking red and blue costume of some sort is... Well, it's enough to make her do a hard double-take.]
What in the--
[She has to actually shake her head to snap out of it. No time to linger on that now. Extract her oddly-clad friend from immediate danger and ask questions once they're safe. Pidge focuses on getting the shuttle low enough for him to reach (a quick mental calculation tells her whereabouts she should get to it, assuming certain laws of physics still apply), and then holding it level and at a steady speed to make it work.
She'll worry about what to do if they somehow miss each other when it happens. Hopefully her reflexes have been honed enough by now that she'll be able to react in time.
Fortunately she ends up not having to-- or something. Though she initially has a moment of panic when he doesn't hit the side of the shuttle the way she'd expected him to, the loud BANG from the roof and the pained groan of the comm tells her things have worked out. She lets out a little sigh of relief.]
Great. Now get in here before--
[And that's when she hears the screeching. Her face falls.]
Oh, quiznak.
[She's back to revving the shuttle up to hit full speed.] Either get in NOW or hang on tight!! This is about to get rough!
[That's about all the warning she gives. The shuttle quickly starts picking up speed as it makes for its escape, swooping upward to clear the misty area. The side door of the shuttle is still unlocked so Pete can climb in if he can. Ideally he'd be inside before she has to hit the boosters.]
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[He doesn't need to be told twice. Or at all, really- that screeching's been a harbinger of horrible, horrible things for the past half hour or so. He's already scrambling- as best he can, anyway- over the shuttle's hull to reach the hatch, and breathes a sigh of relief when he discovers Pidge had made sure it was unlocked like he'd asked. And for better or worse, he looked behind the shuttle right just before closing the hatch, and did not like what he saw.
That thing has formed up behind them already, swimming through the mists after them and closing the distance between it and the tiny shuttle with far more speed than anything that size should be capable of. It had also learned from it's previous attempt at just swallowing the whole thing whole, and decided a new approach was called for. Now, it stretched out one of those impossibly elongated arms to try and swat the tiny ship from the sky, rather than trying to swallow it outright. And since it had to solidify in order to do so, Pidge's instruments would probably start screaming for attention again, but there was also another warning system aboard the ship now.]
Pidge, get this thing moving! That thing's not waving at us!
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[Because then she really is diverting everything the shuttle has to its engines, activating the booster on the fuel line to really get some distance between them and the creepy giant monster that wants them dead. With any luck the burst of speed will last long enough to make it happen.
Though knowing their luck... It's more of a gamble than Pidge is honestly comfortable with.]
Keep an eye on that thing! If it suddenly gets faster or disperses to get ahead of us, I really need to know!
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Pete very nearly followed after it, but managed to grab hold of the frame as he tumbled out, and flung himself back inside where it was (mostly???) safe, clinging onto the opposite wall for dear life.]
HANGING! Definitely hanging!
[Assuming they live through this, he's going to have to make it a point to figure out how someone even smaller than he is has a lead foot that massive. But only once there's no risk of being thrown out of the shuttle, especially now that the door's- oh, right.]
So, also worth knowing-
[He does have to pause for a moment as the shuttle hits another nasty patch of turbulence- if only because Pidge's gamble paid off, and that bit of shuddering was entirely due to the massive hand swiping through the air just behind the engines.
The extra speed seems to be keeping them safe for now, but that all likely depends on just how long Pidge can keep it up.]
-that helmet come with a mask? 'Cause that's gonna be important soon. Real soon.
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