[center][h2]Healer Team: Halvost
- Salvagers -[/h2][h3][color=palevioletred]『ℤ𝕠𝕖』 [/color] [color=8493ca]『ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕤』[/color] [color=00a99d]『𝔼𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕥』 [/color][/h3][/center]
[center] [img]http://i.imgur.com/28qjKqU.png[/img] [img]http://i63.tinypic.com/2h84geb.jpg[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/FJt85Te.png[/img] [/center]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img][/center][hr][center][color=silver]𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕎𝕚𝕤𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕕, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕   / /   𝕋𝕠𝕨𝕟   / /  ~𝟙𝟟𝟝𝟘[/color][/center][hr][center][sub]Collab with [@Lasrever] [@A Filthy Yet Glamorous Slug With Nubs] and [@banjoanjo][/sub][/center]

[color B0C4DE]"Callan, they'll be to your right. Four subnaturals now."[/color]

[color 9e0039]“Team Halvost, this is Angel. Are you guys well enough to provide healing? I... require medical aid.”[/color]

On one side of town, four subnaturals against Marcus and Cal, with an injured Lawrence and pinned Savannah in the mix. On the other, Angel and Offensive Support who had just finished the bulk of their battle. A dying comrade versus certain safety from strength in numbers. Plus, there was a potential runaway Zoe he had to keep an eye on now. This was seriously the worst.

Like he'd done numerous times during this mission, Ernie frowned at the map. Distant booming and an erratically moving dot heralded the imminent arrival of a collector. Brent's shots had rendered the sniper's location a beacon for trouble. There were too many danger zones around them. And he still didn't know how to respond to Angel's request, which priority to chase. More information was needed. The radio was raised to his mouth, switched to Brent's channel first.

[color=00a99d]"Brent. What happened with Lawrence? Is it bad? Life-threatening?"[/color]

[color B0C4DE]"Lots of blood around the chest area. Don't know if he's been shot or stabbed by a spike. Don't..."[/color]

A pause.

[color B0C4DE]"Never mind."[/color]

[color=00a99d]"Oh. Thanks anyway."[/color]

Fuck. That threw a spanner in the works. And they still needed to respond to Angel. Ernie looked to Zoe silently, hoping for a good suggestion from a teammate.

Zoe looked at Ernie with a frown. Brent's words only confirmed what she already knew, that she wanted to be out there helping. The faster they ended the fight, the more chance they'd have to save him. They couldn't afford to risk Christmas, she knew that, but...

[color=palevioletred]"Listen, Ernie. I'll take responsibility for everything we've fucked up out here. The torture, the running, letting them find Evac-- You don't have to deal with it. All I'm asking is that we don't sit by and let this happen."[/color]

She had to think this through, had to offer an incentive. No way was she getting out of there without convincing him, after all. Part of her had been tempted to just attack him and run, screw the consequences, but she couldn't risk that. There was every chance she wouldn't stop herself once she got started. Locking eyes with her teammate, Zoe kept her voice level as she spoke.

[color=palevioletred]"If you're worried about Christmas, we leave him nearby. Ask Brent to watch his back, then get offensive support to bring him along once they get here. They've got a lot more firepower than us."[/color]

[color=00a99d]"Responsibility? What are you even--"[/color]

He flinched as a crash, louder than the last one, rang through the air. That dot was getting close. If they were making a decision, they needed to make it fast.

[color=00a99d]"A spotted sniper is close to dead meat. We can't leave Christmas with Brent. But I can take him to Offense myself, bring backup. If you can get to Evac and get Cal or anyone to bring Lawrence to us..."[/color]

The sensible part of his thoughts scolded him, told him that he was letting Zoe go through with exactly what he was trying to prevent earlier. The other irrational, stress-driven voice in him roared. Any action was better than waiting around. They'd be safer when surrounded by the Offensive Support group too.

But it would mean sending Zoe out alone.

He'd already made one bad decision in this mission. Was this going to be another one? How many people needed to die before he'd learn?

Ernie grabbed the jacket, removing the remaining parts of wishalloy from the pockets and offering them to Zoe. Transparent consolation for someone potentially running to their death, if she was desperate enough to take this course of action.

Zoe gave Ernie an odd look. Nothing she'd said really struck her as strange. It made sense to her that someone would have to deal with what happened to Evac, and their decisions had probably caused this in the first place. Not to mention the moral issues with their actions. Was she looking at things the wrong way? Dismissing her concerns for now, she looked at the alloy for a second before shaking her head.

[color=palevioletred]"Skin contact powers, remember? I'll be fine."[/color] Maybe. Honestly, she couldn't guarantee it was true, but as long as she got the chance to leave then she could do something. Besides, these were human opponents. Frustrating as it was to admit, killing people was what her power excelled at.

[color=palevioletred]"Get moving. I'll tell Angel what's happening on my way down there."[/color]

The dark-haired Aberration frowned at Zoe's refusal but chose to overlook it. There wasn't time for bickering.

[color=00a99d]"Watch out for the big guys. And tell Angel to take care of the one near her,"[/color] he said simply, before turning and gesturing for Christmas to follow him east.

The healer followed without protest, turning back to look at Zoe for a second before falling into step behind Ernie. Enemy subnaturals, as if it wasn't enough that they were fighting giant machines. He wanted to sit down and breathe somewhere, but not a single place looked safe around Wisford, let alone with subnaturals targeting them. And why were they fighting? He had always halfway assumed there was a basic binary there--that subnaturals and regular people at least recognized their own "sides." But the thought remanded itself quickly when he remembered people didn't necessarily treat one another well, let alone people with magical powers.

He was just being stupid, like always, and hoping ignorance would trump reality.

His hands tried to fix the messy bandages around his throat, looking for distraction, and it worked partially as he kept his eyes on the heels of Ernie's shoes. 

There was a thought he was desperately trying not to entertain, because the lurking realization that magic [i]did[/i] trump reality brought with it too many dangerous hopes. Best not to dwell on powers that he didn't have...even if Dreamcatcher apparently had them in abundance.

Zoe nodded before heading out of the building, breaking into a jog as she pulled the radio from her belt. [color=palevioletred]"Angel, Ernie and Christmas are headed your way, so I'll need you to take care of that collector near you guys. They're gonna be sticking with offensive support for now."[/color] She spoke quickly, trying to stay focused on her surroundings. For all her confidence, it was slightly unnerving not having anyone to watch her back.