Round 63

The ancient subway station's groans grew more insistent as the barrier of ice Jeane had conjured finally buckled under the pressure. Water surged forward with renewed force, swirling around her legs and lapping higher up Silra’s platform. The teal-eyed elf barely reacted, fingers never pausing in their frenetic dance across multiple interfaces. "That's not the worst part," she said without looking up from her screens, voice tight with tension. "The maintenance tunnel I've rerouted us through? It's currently occupied by something big and hostile according to my scans." Jeane’s crimson eyes narrowed dangerously as she waded closer to the platform edge. "Define 'big and hostile,'" she growled, wings half-spread for balance in the churning water. Silra finally glanced up from her displays, teal eyes meeting the succubus woman's intense gaze directly. "Big enough to register on seismic sensors," she replied evenly. "Hostile enough to have already taken out two maintenance drones and a security team." The water rose another inch with a fresh gush from the ruptured pipe system behind them. Halie stood dry but exhausted atop her magical shield, face pale as she processed this new information. "So we're choosing between drowning or fighting whatever that is?" she asked, voice barely concealing her anxiety. Silra’s expression remained unreadable as she returned her attention to the screens. "Or," she pointed out coolly, "we could try to hack into the main systems and trigger a station-wide evacuation before either option becomes irrelevant." Jeane let out a sharp bark of laughter that echoed through the flooded chamber. "And how long will that take?" she demanded. "Because from where I'm standing, our options are limited: we drown here like rats or take our chances in whatever hellhole tunnel you've found." The water sloshed around her thighs now, cold and insistent.