[img]http://i.imgur.com/QWnEwYr.jpg[/img]

[h1]Luke Schwarz -- Brewing Storm[/h1]

[b]"Wa...llahi."[/b] he growled in response, trying to reassure the voice of the girl behind him. He could do this. He could take it. He was meant to take this kind of thing, unlike anyone else. He didn't like it, but...

[color=ed1c24][i]I

Have

TO.[/i][/color]

His eyes having long clenched tight from the pain, he now managed to pry one open in time to notice a fuzzy blur of motion directly in front of him. From the darker tones of what he assumed to be skin, it had to be Lauren, right? Was she preparing to take over for him? They had to be close, by now, right? It had felt like an eternity.

[color=f7976a]I can hold out long enough to see this through. You stay right there, Negasi.[/color]

Even though it was probably too imperceptible for any of the others to recognize, he stared the dark blur down through his dry, nearly-shut eyes.

[color=f7976a][i]I have to hold on.

If I give out here...[/i][/color]

He dug deep.

[color=f49ac2]I'll never...[/color]

[b][sub]"I'll never be able to take Ber[/sub]yl to the p— [i]WOOOOOGH![/i]"[/b]

His breathless cry of determination was roughly cut off by a massive impact to his midsection, one that flat-out tore him free of the wires and sent him staggering back groundwards. Was that... Lauren?

[color=fff200][i]I felt footwear.

S-She kicks like April![/i][/color]

He found his voice, raw and dry even as he heard Lauren urge Cian to grab him and go. That only meant one thing had transpired.

He raised a hand to his brow, hearing a slight crackle from one of the pins as he did so.

Amazingly, he managed to laugh.

[b]"Heheh...Mission complete, Ma'am."[/b]