"Oh gosh! Oh gosh!" Ariel danced in place, her panicked muzzle illuminated by the glare of Rainbow's Element of Loyalty. "Big Show!" She bucked and kicked at the door. "Logan! Can you hear us?!"
"That room's filled with a poisonous fume," Rainbow stammered. She panted as she shone her light on the sealed edges of the doorframe. "The mana console shorting out must have triggered something in the wiring."
"Rainbow, darling, all of the doors on the other side are sealed!" Rarity exclaimed. "He truly is trapped in there!"
"H-he's still alive, though," Fluttershy exclaimed. "The gas hasn't gotten to him yet."
"But he is a mite bit panicky," Applejack added.
"There's got to be a way to get him out!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Think..." Rainbow gnashed her teeth, looking at the walls of the corridor, the doorframe, the walls again. "I just have to think..."
"Big Show! Wait up!" Pinkie Pie hollered, sticking her head through the doorframe. "Rainbow is thinking! We're gonna get you out of there!"
"He can't hear you, Pinkie!" Twilight growled.
"Well, it's the thought that counts!"
"Not unless your thoughts can outrun the poison trying to get into his lungs!"
Clankkk! Wildcard pressed the edge of Bard's staff to the bottom right corner of the door. Hissing under his beak, he strained and struggled to pry the thing open. Ariel frantically clutched a length of the metal bar and tried to assist the Desperado.
"Hmmmmm... uhmmmmm..." Rainbow's eyes twitched. "Rarity!"
"Gah!" The fashionista flinched in mid-air. "What?!"
"The ventilation system!" Rainbow gestured with a hoof. "Does it connect to that room?"
"Why... yes! At least three chutes' worth—"
"Okay. Okay! Idea time!" Rainbow sputtered.
"Talk to us, Rainbow!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Just a sec!" Rainbow twirled to face Wildcard and yanked the staff away. "Cut it out! That's not going to help!"
Wildcard merely gawked at Rainbow, goggles rattling.
"Wildcard, go after that changeling."
"What?!?" Ariel's voice cracked.
Rainbow ignored her. "I want you to fly up there and cut the shape-shifter off before it can reach Flynn, Kepler or—even worse—an exit." She punched the wall for emphasis. "We cannot let that thing get strong enough to fly back to its nest or this whole journey's flushed straight down Tchern's toilet!"
"But... but..." Ariel squirmed visibly. "What about Big Show—?"
"We're gonna help him out!" Rainbow kicked off the ground, spread her wings, and glided down the stairs of the descending corridor. "Follow me, girl! Wildcard—you've got your orders!"
Ariel and Wildcard exchanged glances.
"But... but..." Ariel spun and flew after the prismatic mare. "Rainbow—!"
"No butts!" Rainbow spat back. "Unless you intend to move it! Now follow me! Wildcard—!"
Swoooosh! The griffin was already ascending the stairwell in the opposite direction of the two ponies.
"Kaff! Koff! Grnnngh..."
Eyes tearing...
Teeth gnashing...
Logan fumbled his way towards the end of the chamber opposite of the source of the spreading fumes. Lights flickered overhead as he grabbed a metal shelf in his meaty fetlock and yanked the hulking thing over.
"Grnnnnnghhh!"
Th-Thud!
Boxes of equipment and tools scattered loudly across the floor.
Logan leaned over and rummaged through the mess of random materials. He had to squint to see through the surmounting green smoke.
"Grffff... unnngh..." He hissed and wheezed. "Goddess help me... kaff-kaff... get me through this and I'll never fart again..."
At last, he found something close to what he was looking for. At the bottom of a rusted container was a length of rags.
He yanked them off the floor, sliced them smaller with the edge of his axe, then fitted what was left over his muzzle. Tying the fabric behind his head, he fabricated a makeshift mask. Then—with slow and controlled breaths—he marched further away from the spreading fumes and approached a door.
Schiiiing!
He lifted his axe up high, held his breath, and—
CLANG!
Struck the door.
CLANG!
Again.
CL-CLAKKK!
And again.
Sparks flew and hot slivers of flint littered the floor.
The door refused to budge.
As the smoke around him grew denser and more pungent, Logan persisted in punishing the seal to his way out.
CLANG! THWACK! WHAM!
Ariel flapped her wings with greater and greater intensity to catch up with Rainbow Dash. Together, the two zipped in and around bulkheads and barreled down stairwells.
At last, they entered the largest room Ariel had seen in Darkreach.
"Whoah..." Ariel's eyes darted around. "Where are we?"
"The lowest room in Darkreach!" Rainbow exclaimed above the hum of twirling fans. "And the source of Darkreach's ventilation system!"
Ariel gasped. "Are you thinking we might be able to blow the poison out of the room he's in?"
"Yeah. Or suck. Whichever gives the gods of fate their jollies first." Rainbow hovered in place, staring at the widespread industrial mess. "Rarity! Can you sense the where the central power core of the ventilation system is?"
"Uhhhh..." Rarity gestured wildly at the grime and grease, barking: "Do any of these look like ballgowns to you?!"
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Twilight!" She spun to face the ghostly mare in question. "Help me out here!"
"Rainbow, I..." Twilight grimaced. "I-I've never seen Darkstinian tech before... much less ancient Cylindrimanian tech! I wouldn't even know where to begin—"
"Yeah you do!" Rainbow floated closer to her. "You're our resident egghead! So hatch up something! I know you can come up with something! You've got... like... brain smarts!"
"Seems to be the best strategy we've got, sugarcube," Applejack said, also floating closer.
Twilight took a deep, deep breath. "... .... ...okay. Help me look for a singular spot where all of the ventilation pipes funnel to."
"I can do that!" Rarity said, her horn glowing.
"Meanwhile, I'll sense where the leylines are most densely interconnected..."
"Rainbow...?" Ariel mewled.
"Just hold up, girl!" Rainbow exclaimed. "The girls are doing their work!"
"I-I'm not sure Logan can hold up," Ariel said.
Rainbow bit her lip. Above her, the lights flickered...
Come on Rainbow, don't lose another pal this early on.
Well, some people can hold their breath for ludicrously long periods of time, but Logan doesn't strike me as a champion breath holder who can pull off doing so for fifteen to twenty minutes.
Hmm, I can't remember, but are wet clothes better than dry for protection against fumes or smoke? Like could Logan piss on those rags to buy himself more time?
Hey Twilight, just calm yourself and think it through logically. Technology, even ancient magic-technology, still operates on all the same rules and principles you're familiar with, and people don't build installations with systems that don't operate on practicality and logic. Analyze what you can see, and work out what makes the most sense from a logical perspective, as if you were the one designing this set up.
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actually, the best makeshift gas mask is a rag you've pissed on, the ammonia in the urine acts as a filter.
..I think anyway.
That's my contribution for the day!
-Through the path long forgotten, into the darkness long begotten. Ofolrodi.
Possibly save Logan yay!
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That's an old World War II myth.
Or I'm wrong
Which there is a high chance of.
I hope Logan doesn't die. I mean he could but it seems kinda early in the book....
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Ah yes, the famous Bear Grylls Method.
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I thought the Bear Grylls method was eating a handful of grubs with a piss chaser.
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Using a wet cloth as a makeshift gas mask should work to some degree against the most used and most deadly chemical weapon of World War l, Phosgene. Phosgene reacts with water in your lungs to form Hydrochloric Acid and Carbon Dioxide, using the wet cloth would cause a large part of the Phosgene to react with the water in cloth instead. I'm not sure if it would be effective at against mustard gas or nerve agents.
Okay, my question is does Applejack now understand Rainbow's sexual orientation and how will she approach the topic?
😮
Twilight better hurry it the heck up! I really hope Logan pulls though this one it would suck for him to die like this. We all know this book is going to be darker than the others so it is very possible for him to die this early.
Wonder if there is anything resembling a gasmask or some other survival gear in storage in Darkreach
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I love how we analysis everything in this series though the lens of story construction.
I do detest puzzles with a time limit.
Logan should be glad hes playing more like Link and not Wario.
:OBrien:30 Seconds Left:OBrien:
It's scary to see how one gas propelled changeling tail can flood a room with toxic fumes. When one single dark side changeling can do that, I don't want to imagine the potential of the hive army.
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To me, this feels like a fake-out death. There's too much setup, and all the chance that he can be saved. The main narrative reason his life is in danger is so that Rainbow can't chase the Changeling.
At least that's what I think is going on. Skirts could be waiting for us to be all relieved that Big Show's not dead, and then kill off someone right after. This might as well be Walking Dead, ain't nobody safe.
Note that she didn't send the fastest in their team after the changeling, but on the rescue mission. Rainbow's recent acclimation to being in command has not at all messed up her priorities, not weakened how much she cares for her friends. I believe this just goes to show that once again.
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8316307 I'd imagine it would, if not for chemical reasons then simply by increasing the fabric's density and making it filter on a finer level by having additional particles getting stuck in the water droplets stuck in the tissue , no?
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All of that depends on what the gas is based on. Like Higgs said, phosgene is neutralized by forcing it to go through water.
If it was particulates (like anthrax spores), then a cloth filter would work, and making the filter wet would "stick" more particles to it. If it was X chemical, then this or that filtering method would or would not work. Without knowing what the gas is, we don't know what would or would not be effective.
If we assume that the poison gas is anything similar to existing defenses in the animal kingdom, then my best guess would be skunk spray. It's a sulfur-based liquid that evaporates easily. An activated charcoal filter in a gas mask would be a little protection.
*shrug*
And now let's save the merger of Wolverine and Josho.
It would seem the last battle has finally gotten her used to being a leader. Well, that and keeping her pet murder chicken alive.
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She has to know she's hiding something. Its obvious even without lie detection. What comes of that is anybody's guess, but it is still the 1st law of Skirts that Rainbow Dash may not be happy in a relationship.
Hang in there Big Show.
No. I refuse.
Butts.
At least Logan knows what to do in these tight nit situations. If he hadn't made that mask, it would have been over right then and there.
Oh man, that thing is gonna wreak havoc on Seraphimus's head. All it has to do is transform into her daughter and BAM! Crazy catbird 2.0
Come on guys, you can get this under control!