[center] [h1]Rescue Mission[/h1] [img]https://i.imgur.com/tTVHMCk.jpg[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/qdJ8I7l.jpg[/img] [img]http://i67.tinypic.com/2njvpci.png[/img] [h2][color=B0C4DE]Brent[/color] | [color=red]Chris[/color] | [color=ff57ff]Siena[/color][/h2] [img]http://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img] [hr][color=silver]𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕚𝕤𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕕, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / 𝕋𝕠𝕨𝕟 / / ~𝟙𝟠𝟘𝟘[/color][hr] [sub]Collab with [@ERode] [@PapiTan] [@DragonMancer][/sub][/center] As experienced--well, she supposed that she could call it experience--as Siena was in teleportation, it hadn't stopped her from getting dangerously close to some of the protruding pikes of asphalt. Hadn't stopped her body from reappearing so close to a few that a fraction of an inch might have resulted in serious injury--but that fact wasn't so startling. The brunette released her opponent's hair as soon as she'd reappeared, the lack of momentum keeping her from landing into a worse situation than before. Or at least, that would have been the case if she'd only managed to [i]kill[/i] her opponent. A sense of absolute, mind numbing [i]danger[/i] flooded every aspect of Siena's instincts when a scream tore through the air, followed by a sea of asphalt spires that rose, lifted--[i]too dangerous[/i]. She didn't have to process the momentum before she tried, [i]tried[/i] to escape in a cloud of sulfur. Tried, but did not succeed when the impulsive fight-or-flight response couldn't comprehend that she should have waited to see the end of the spires. When her body reappeared, she hadn't quite cleared the canopy of the forest. Her orientation shifted in her attempt to cover herself, asphalt points digging deep into the flesh of her right shoulder, another into her right calf, her flesh trying, but failing, to materialize where the spires had been. Oh god. She was moving further up. Too fast...! She felt herself rip away from the asphalt with such clarity that she [i]wished[/i] she'd gone into shock. Heat, cold, numb, searing, hot, pain. [i]It hurt.[/i] Agony demolished every threshold, pushed far past her wavering limits. [i]Too much.[/i] It was far beyond what she'd given to herself for grounding. To give herself something to--[i]hurt, it hurt![/i] Blinded by pain, her body gave into instinct again, a choked scream ripping from her throat, its crescendo only broken off by the telltale sound of Nightcrawler's teleportation as instinct overrode logic again, tried to keep her from falling into the spikes. [i]She couldn't breathe. It hurt so much.[/i] Siena felt herself reappearing more than she saw the surroundings, felt that she was still carrying the momentum of hurtling through the air. Couldn't see, too much pain. Hurt. Was she still screaming? The thought received confirmation as she heard her own voice crack, the volume receding as it broke from its sudden use. Pain. Couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Where was the phone? Victor could fix-- [i]IT HURT.[/i] Chris had no time to avoid the sudden appearance of concrete spikes rising from the roiling earth. His natural armor did not falter however, rather the platinum-esq scales caused the rising structures to shatter. Siena's screams however gave him his full attention. With the end of her teleportation she was sent traveling up and upon an angle above, and without another thought, the dragon arbiter took off into the air. He moved as fast as his body could allow in the air. Seeing someone he considered somewhat close to, even if only for a few weeks, this way had delivered a real sense of weight to reality. The same depression he felt with the death of his allies on the first mission, the same guilt he felt watching everyone he knew around him die...his own friends, right infront of him. From the abyssal sorrow rose a burning desire to ensure no more of that happen. Upon closing the distance, Chris spread out his left wing. This created drag to his flight, however he arced the ends of his wing up as he tilted to the side; which caught Siena over the elongated skin membrane as if it were a blanket. Kusari had pulled Marcus and Emma out. Sander was floating high above the spikes. Callan's durability should have kept her alive. Lawrence was sandwiched between two. Siena... Good, Chris had stopped her from falling out of the anti-gravity zone and onto a spike. The dragon was, thankfully, finally getting shit done, and while a part of Brent wanted to transmit to Zoe an order to just kill the grav bitch and for Chris to roast the spike bitch, both their powers were keeping everyone 'safe'. At least, like this, Lawrence wasn't floating up any higher. [color=B0C4DE]"Transmit,"[/color] Brent commanded, the cuff beeping in response, [color=B0C4DE]"Chris, what's Siena's condition?"[/color] ... [color=B0C4DE]"Nevermind. I'll be firing my Sticky Hand into the field. Can you nudge her onto it? From there, I can pull her out and you can reposition yourself below her to catch her when she falls."[/color] Twisting his body to face the general direction of the duo, Brent fired another glob into the field, the glob crossing a five meter distance before falling under the effects of the subnatural's magic, bobbing up and down. She'd expected to hit something hard, something that might send the last vestiges of her consciousness beyond her grasp...but it wasn't what happened. She hit something that had the faintest give beneath her weight--not soft, but not a solid wall. Siena couldn't even appreciate it before the pain overwhelmed her again, drawing a strained breath from between her lips. Phone. She wanted her phone. Her reader. Anything to take her mind off th--[i]god, was all that blood hers?[/i] The brunette opened her eyes to see the streaks that had followed her on impact. Her cuff beeped to life. She latched onto the voice with frantic desperation. Anything to distract from the pain. [i]It hurt.[/i] Her body hurt, her head was spinning. Sticky hand? She was supposed to use [i]what[/i]? [i]'[color=ff57ff]Christ, it hurt.[/color]'[/i] Where the hell was her phone? The manuever was tricky, but Chris agreed with Brent's rescue plan. Seeing the substance Brent created, the dragon guided Siena with his wing towards the sticky hand with each time the gravity threw Siena up away from the wing. Not only did he have to be careful not to harm her, but also ensure that he keeps himself alift in flight. Without any other obstacle however, he managed to drop her off upon the glob. [color=B0C4DE]"Alright,"[/color] Brent continued, [color=B0C4DE]"Fly under now."[/color] With a connection made, all he had to do now was pull Siena out. Her injuries looked fairly bad, but they had a healer nearby, and unlike Lawrence, she wasn't impaled through the chest. [color=B0C4DE]"I'll descend with her once she's close to me. Can you go get Lawrence next, Chris? We mig-"[/color] Don't be a bitch. [color=B0C4DE]"We can definitely save him as well."[/color] With Siena in Brent's hands, Chris moved to get Lawrence. His eyes squinted the pain as he approached the other arbiter. With him wedged between two pillars of asphault, Chris struck his claw to the side cracking one of the concrete spikes over. He proceeded to grab Lawrence with his claw in hopes he could grab him before the gravity could send him astray, as well as being careful not to worsen his injuries in his large claw. After taking Lawrence he flew back towards Brent and Siena, Exhaustion had began to set over him. She was lighter than she looked, which was pretty bad when Brent had already expected Siena to be light. Holding the multi-powered arbiter close, he slowly unreeled the wire further, descending into the forest of spikes. Using his feet, the brunette kicked himself away from any protruding ones, glad at the very least that the creation of more spikes had ceased. He could feel the warmth of her blood dripping over the wishalloy membrane. The pain from his own hand was making itself known, now that adrenaline had receded. But he could still bear with it. Unlike many others, his reserves were still not fully drained. His feet touched the ground, and he looked up once more, at Chris transposed against the blue sky. Oh. Huh. [color=B0C4DE]"Yeah, Chris,"[/color] Brent said, [color=B0C4DE]"If you have Lawrence secured, uh..."[/color] Pretty awkward. [color=B0C4DE]"Head for the APC or to Lily, whomever you can find more easily. He needs attention immediately."[/color] His magic faded from the climbing gear, lengths of rope suddenly tumbling down and becoming entangled with the spiked growths. Detaching it from his harness, Brent left it there as he soldiered on through the concrete forest, opting to cradle Siena against his chest. A fireman carry would have been easier on his arms, but this low in the field of spikes, it would have taken too much space. And regardless... [color=B0C4DE]"Damn, you're way too light,"[/color] Brent laughed, trying for a joke, [color=B0C4DE]"80% air instead of water?"[/color] Considering the situation, Siena was...was... ... [i]Surprised[/i]. The word came back in a flash of clarity, as if breaking through a dark shroud. Her head swam with something between nausea and confusion as she felt herself descending. It was significantly less painful than her initial landing, the girl had to admit that. Another pulse of pain, this one duller than before, accompanied a brief chill. Too much blood...? Wouldn't be surprising, she hadn't tried to stem it. Stop it. But still she managed a strained, wispy laugh. She could barely hear it herself, but the girl couldn't pinpoint whether that was because it was soft or because the blood was still pulsing in her ears. "[color=ff57ff]Don't g--ow...give 'way my secrets.[/color]" [i]It hurt.[/i] But this was something to take the edge off. [i]'[color=ff57ff]Remind you of something?[/color]'[/i] [hr] And what she saw was the sea again...different this time than before. It was around her, above her, just as it had always been. But it was not the storm she had come to know. It continued to drip, trickle, but it didn't push her head under in a moment of desperation. It didn't try to force her into submission with the expanse it held. With that infinite knowledge that taunted her. Instead, something distant. Something like...heat? No, it was warmth. Something gentle and unfamiliar. ...or perhaps entirely too familiar. It seeped over her. Gentle. Understanding. Ah...just a fraction of a moment too late, wasn't it...?[hr] No. [i]No, it didn't.[/i] Keep talking. As the blood became sticky, her flesh becoming clammy, Brent could feel just how cold she was, how utterly shallow her breaths were. The two holes in her body continually let out more of that crimson tincture, but help was arriving soon, and he pressed on. Christmas could resolve this. If not Christmas, they must have first aid or something stocked up in that APC. It was better to make it out of this spiky forest than it was to waste precious minutes binding up her injuries with strips of clothing. But if only he had carried a first aid kit WITH him! [color=B0C4DE]"Bet you could be swimming in clicks if you set up one of those 'Dieticians Hate Her' ads though,"[/color] Brent said, ducking under a particular low spike. [color=B0C4DE]" 'Get Thin Quick with the Siena Santana Water-Into-Air Diet Plan! Guaranteed to make you a human balloon!' "[/color] Another breath. She focused on anything that didn't remind her that she was bleeding or that her shoulder and leg were aching. Really, she wasn't cut out for combat, was she? Or...maybe she was just cocky. Thought her versatility could get her out of any scrape when in reality she needed too much time to utilize it. Another throb. [i]'[color=ff57ff]Talk back. Talk back, Siena.[/color]'[/i] It took her a few extra breaths to eke the words out. "[color=ff57ff]Wait, don't b-balloons blow up?[/color]" Wanted to fall asleep. She took a breath, tried to keep her eyes open and failed for a moment. A moment that she wanted to stretch into two, maybe a few more so she could just [i]rest[/i]...but she had to keep talking. Respond when spoken to, right? She opened her eyes. Shit. Balloons did blow up. They blew up because sharp things popped them. Sharp things like spikes. Did he step on a landmine? Did he care? If Siena got triggered by something, that was still better than her falling unconscious. It was better if she was awake, right? He wasn't sure what the logic behind that was, but...consciousness was good. [color=B0C4DE]"Shit yeah, they do,"[/color] Brent laughed falsely, [color=B0C4DE]"Siena, you're smarter than me. What's something that's like a balloon, but can't be popped?"[/color] She wanted to go home. Not that stupid little room she shared with two others. Not the dull lessons she pretended to pay attention to. Not Ground Zero, not the town...[i]home[/i]. Out of the question. She just had to keep talking where she was. "[color=ff57ff]Um...[/color]" Slow. Her thoughts were slowing down. Siena didn't like that feeling. Slow enough that picking apart each one was easier than usual. Finding the right words was hard. "[color=ff57ff]Mylar...?[/color]" She didn't buy balloons. Neither did Maya. Neither did...no, Gerwulf did. Once. "[color=ff57ff]Don't you--ow--buy balloons?[/color]" Sluggish. Like her tongue had become thick and heavy in her mouth. How unsightly. Mylar? Brent narrowed his eyes, trying to recall what exactly that was supposed to be. Sounded like a...brand name? A special balloon? Or a material they used to inflate it? He wracked his mind a bit, before realizing that his silence was more dangerous than his inability to recall what 'Mylar' was. [color=B0C4DE]"Correct!"[/color] he beamed with a game host-esque voice, [color=B0C4DE]"And as for balloons, I bought plenty, but it was always the cheap rubber ones from Dollar Stores, you know? Spent so much time inflating those for parties and all that."[/color] [i]But never for his own.[/i] [color=B0C4DE]"Anyways, looks like we're almost out of the woods, Siena!"[/color] He couldn't allow himself to wallow in anything, not when there was shit to do. [color=B0C4DE]"You read a bunch, right? You know if Game of Thrones ever finished? Or did the author die halfway through?"[/color] "[color=ff57ff]Game 'f Thrones...s'that the one wh...ere everyone dies...?[/color]" Or at least plenty of them. More of them than needed, really. "[color=ff57ff]Think he stopped after...um...[/color]" Fuck. Fuck, fuck, she couldn't conjure the number. She took a quiet, soft breath. Seven? Eight? Twenty? The thoughts slipped through her grasp, resulting in a half-present murmur. "[color=ff57ff]F'rgot...[/color]" Christ, a fucking genius, wasn't he? Bring up balloons that pop and stories where loveable characters die by the truckload. Hadn't he gotten better than this? Brent grit his teeth, the spikes thinning out. [color=B0C4DE]"What's your guess?"[/color] Not enough. Something to catch her attention a bit more, cause her to think a bit more. [color=B0C4DE]"Wanna make a bet?"[/color] Cause her to consider the future, however close and far that was. Despite Brent's orders, Chris returned to his side and gentle lowered Lawrence beside him. Since he couldn't see any injuries on him, the dragon arbiter figured he had already been healed. His attention once more looked to Siena, she looked barely conscious. He was still for a moment, unsure of what to do. His role was not a healer, and Brent seems more then capable of keeping her alive until another mage comes to fix her up. Exhausted with his injuries, he stepped some meters away from the group and merely curled up on the ground.