[center] [h1]Eye of the Storm[/h1] [img]https://i.imgur.com/jw3F1O9.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/XZCyPaz.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/FWMorlL.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/rF32h3E.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/qpk2y0k.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/AlsQXwo.png[/img] [h2][color=B0C4DE]Brent[/color] | [color 33ec06]Marcus[/color] | [color 00a99d]Ernie[/color] [color=ff57ff]Siena[/color] | [color=8A3DFF]Emma[/color] | [color lightcoral]Lily[/color][/h2] [sub]A Collab by [@ERode][@Papitan][@Kyrisse][@banjoanjo][@Chasers115][@Diggerton][/sub] [/center] [hider=𝕆𝕔𝕥. 𝟟, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕕 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / 𝕃𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 / / ~𝟘𝟝𝟛𝟘]Worser and worser. Horror and dread slackened the Aberration's jaw as he caught sight of the mobile forest, their incomprehensible numbers rendered into mere shadows as the dust storm broiled towards the lighthouse. Visibility had been bad before, with the steaming wall and storm and darkness and whatnot, but now? [color 00a99d][i]Too many angles. Too many openings.[/i][/color] What if the lighthouse was already surrounded? How many of them were out there? It didn't matter. They needed to get away, all of them. As long as they were away it was fine. The disadvantages were overwhelming and they needed to leave [i]now[/i] but that wasn't possible with their strongest three too wounded to move. As Ernie forcibly lowered Siena, Lily and Brent back into the tunnels with the rope, he shouted into the communicator, unable to keep the panic from sharpening his tone. [color 00a99d]"Fucking [i]Christ[/i], Emma, hurry!"[/color] Emma was racing behind Marcus down the steps, Determination still at the top but doubtlessly not far behind. Ernie was yelling at her through the communicator, but as she rounded the last set of stairs she caught sight of him hovering by the trapdoor, [color=8A3DFF]”We’re here, what the hell’s going on?!”[/color] she yelled, the panic in his voice raising her own. Marcus was very careful not to let his own panic add to the quickly growing mix. The fact that he wasn't immediately using his stasis as the dark monster ripped through his friends meant things were better than he'd expected, and the watered down puddle of blood that was quickly forming around the torso of a man he didn't know most likely meant one of the Amigos was down. It was a start at least, but irrelevant if they weren't prepared for the next. Brent tumbled down into the tunnel, starbursts of pain reminding that his upper half was functional at least. What he had seen in 'broad daylight' was enough to alarm him, as even the small victory of three members of Unit B being able to take down the shadow beast with a combined assault didn't mean all that much compared to the accelerated ferocity of the sandstorm or the unending hoard of tree monsters. Wrenching the night vision goggles off his helmet, the arbiter blinked at how dim the tunnels looked, before offering it towards Lily. [color=B0C4DE]"Put these on,"[/color] he said, a silver jolt causing it to disassemble, reassemble, twist and screech. If his strange intuition was correct, it could now see through objects, filtering them out at the wearer's mental command. [color=B0C4DE]"You'll be able to see through all the dirt if you will it. Guide your chains to where Hazel is, Lily. Tell us when you've made the connection."[/color] He wanted to say more, so much more, but Brent took in a deep breath instead, looking down the long, long path back to the estate. Keep it simple. Keep it clear. Fuck, it would suck if the goggles brought down now. [color=B0C4DE]"Emma, we're going to heal Hazel and the others from here to avoid being seen. Siena, prep the pain-jammer."[/color] "[color=ff57ff]Ernie still has my phone.[/color]" Concise. Clear. It was the best that Siena could do in the wake of everything. Fear and fury twisted into each other, an intimate dance that Siena didn't want to be familiar with. Didn't want to think would become a regular thing because she'd tried so hard not to let it. [i]'[color=ff57ff]Just like before, Siena.[/color]'[/i] Hold everything down until the words came out right. Wrong? No, right. That was the correct turn of phrase. Faint pulses of pain trickled through the mental wall, no longer blinding, but still present. Not enough to ground her. "[color=ff57ff]Lost my other source at the estate.[/color]" Along with a plethora of others. Grey eyes trailed from the self-induced slice in her bad arm to the crimson ink that still stained the skin, an easy distraction from the chaotic buzzing in the back of her head, spilling into each crevice like the boiling sea. [i]Hot, cold, hurt, pain, heat. There it was. That was the word. Heat.[/i] Fury and fear twisted again, and Siena tried, to no avail, to separate her heart--[i]still hers? It didn't feel right[/i]--and her head. The fingers of her good arm found comfort in picking at the injury, another fresh coating of discomfort and vermilion accompanying the action. Another swell of both hurt and pain to dampen the heat. Hers. Not hers. She didn't know anymore. "[color=ff57ff]...might be able to manage it without the phone, but I'd rather be sure.[/color]" The phone dropped by Siena's feet that instant, unceremoniously. [color 00a99d]"Just get a tulpa down there with them. We've got a lot of people who need healing,"[/color] Ernie's gaze remained on the swirling sandstorm outside. [color 00a99d]"Then we're leaving."[/color] "[color 33ec06]How bad is it?[/color]" Marcus whispered, leaning in close to Ernie. He'd only managed to see a little bit from his perch atop the lighthouse, and he was painfully aware of how much worse the situation could get in the short time in took for him to run down the stairs. The rational part of his mind desperately feared the answer he'd get; Ernie's stern tone and quick barking of orders was pretty much all he needed. [color 00a99d]"We're probably surrounded by nightmare trees but at least Cal still has her arms."[/color] [color=B0C4DE]"Siena, Emma,"[/color] Brent called sharply, [color=B0C4DE]"Tell me when you're ready."[/color] The clatter had barely reached Siena's ears before she was moving, snatching the phone from the ground like a lifeline, droplets of blood coming off her fingers and onto the battle scarred screen like small rubies. Relief came as a violent, crashing wave to calm the panic that had threatened her, only to remind her then that the heat was still there. A careful breath, a sudden focus on the screen and the words to pull herself away. Not hers. Not [i]her[/i]. A few taps brought up a familiar page, a familiar setting, and the process started again as Vale's name placed itself once more onto her neck. All at once, it was too much. Everywhere, further than her eyes could see, further than she could have reached with his ability to weave agony into the nerves, it struck her. Pain. Everywhere. Before her, above her, around her, too much. [i]Too much[/i]! Jagged gashes, rent flesh, [i]broken people[/i]. Taking the pain away blindly would have been a stupid move, said the cool logic that Victor brought with him. She would never be able to distinguish between friend and foe if she couldn't see. That had been what she'd craved from Victor, hadn't it? The distinct division between what made one human and what made them [s]more[/s] less. She hid as much as she could with a carefully measured, if uneven, breath. "[color=ff57ff]I'm ready.[/color]" The words were clipped, she could tell. Her eyes fell to Lily, a muted sense of concern and pity digging at the gap left behind. One that would at least slow the fire, came the selfish thought. "[color=ff57ff]Not all at once.[/color]" Emma gritted her teeth. She couldn’t. She [i]can’t[/i]. She had to. They were all as good as dead without Lily’s healing… but Determination wouldn’t like this, she knew. He had said so in no uncertain terms: She had to stop using the Tulpas as sacrifices. But could she just watch her friends die? Worry about the lives of her Tulpas while real peop- No, no, that wasn’t fair. She couldn’t not think of Determination as a person, not after the week they’d spent at Zhang’s manor, and she also had to accept the very real possibility that her other Tulpas were just the same as him. It was such a [i]fucked[/i] situation. A zero-sum game between Tulpas and people, or so it seemed if Ernie was correct about how dire their situation is. She wanted to tell herself it was a dilemma, but it only took a few seconds to make the decision. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Brent no. She had to get tougher. She had to get harder. She’d decided that, and it was time to follow through. No one dies, no matter what. [color=8A3DFF][i]Not again.[/i][/color] [color=8A3DFF]”Ready.”[/color] she said, no uncertainness in her voice. It was Devotion, she decided. The Tulpa appeared by Siena, Brent, and Lily, [color=8A3DFF]”You guys need healing first, right?”[/color] Not Determination. Probably felt bad about it, huh? WIth the pieces in place, all Brent could do was wait, his hand over the goggles as Lily looked about, her mouth slightly ajar with surprise and then amusement. What the hell was she doing, undressing everyone with her mind? A tinge of annoyance emerged, his 'blindness' irritating when so much was going on, but soon, those black threads shot out, one racing through the dirt wall of the tunnel while another linked to the unspeaking tulpa that Emma had manifested. Sucking in a breath, Brent made eye contact with Siena, nodding once. [color=B0C4DE]"Cuff transmit,"[/color] he spoke, [color=B0C4DE]"Lawrence, cover Hazel's body with your own. Lily's going for a heal, so make sure it's not obvious. Once it's mostly done, drag her back into the lighthouse. Right abo-"[/color] And that was when the injury was transferring, the iron stench of blood striking his senses like a sledgehammer, Lily's expression contorting viciously as a foreign pain invaded her body. She keeled over, thick, crimson ichor seeping through her clothes, and just as quickly, Devotion was [i]eviscerated[/i] by the transfer. Amethyst eyes flickered from one to the other. The arbiter shouldn't have to say anymore from here, right? They should be [i]used[/i] to this unpleasant method of healing by now. As the process began, Siena let her focus linger on the events, took her mind far away from the distant feeling of...what was it? Lingering just beneath the surface of the heat, hiding itself as though it didn't want to be acknowledged again. The brunette didn't have time to try and identify it, instead sensing the sharp feeling of pain, not on her. Around her. Near her again. [i]How would they react if she told them how it translated with Victor's name?[/i] Though there was a subtle desire to keep it anchored, the brunette knew what she was there for. The agony was silenced, pulled away with speed far greater when she wasn't carefully plucking apart the different strands of [i]pain[/i] and [i]sensation[/i]. She silenced both, and when the flash of agony appeared again on the shadowy creature before her-- ...it felt pain? For a moment, Siena's brow furrowed, her gaze flicking from the creature to its summoner. Her senses weren't lying to her, but it felt oddly out of place. Taking a quiet breath, the girl muted the pain from the creature too, her hands once more finding solace in picking at her own injury. "[color=ff57ff]Be careful, Lily. The injuries you take won't feel like anything from this point, but they're still going to be there.[/color]" [color 00a99d]"Callan next,"[/color] Ernie ordered, [color 00a99d]"This one's pretty bad."[/color] As he spoke, he looked back to the communicator. Too many dots still outside. With an impatient click of his tongue, he hit the 'All Channels' option. [color 00a99d]"Pull back. We're retreating back to the tunnels."[/color] "[color 33ec06]How many of us are still out there?[/color]" Marcus asked, his eyes scanning through the sandstorm for Callan's telltale beacon of aquamarine. [color 00a99d]"Six."[/color] A pause as he caught sight of Chris' icon roaming around, too fast to be human. [color 00a99d]"Seven,"[/color] Ernie raised the phone to his mouth again, [color 00a99d]"Chris, get out of the storm. If you can't turn back human, just retreat in any direction but the mansion. There are probably still Amigos there."[/color] "[color 33ec06]Do we have a plan? Because we're about to end up in the world's worst kind of sandwich.[/color]" Marcus said, trying in vain to hide the cold fear that snuck through his voice. For all he knew, these were his last moments; he was finding it hard to remain composed given the situation. Ernie blinked, clearly caught off guard by the question. Had they ever had a plan in the first place? [color 00a99d]"We run."[/color] Always running. He'd never stopped. [color 00a99d]"The maids should know about the tunnel's other exits. Get everyone in here, block off everything behind so no one follows. Best case scenario, there's another safehouse on the island where we can hide out until the Amigos leave."[/color] "[color 33ec06]Short and simple. I like it.[/color]" Marcus said, eyes darting back outside. Truthfully, he [i]hated[/i] that plan; if only because of how many times he'd done it already. But there was nothing else that could be done - they were basically outgunned at every available turn. All they could do was run away and regroup, as shitty as it was. [color=B0C4DE]"Got a cart over there to push those that are KO'd,"[/color] Brent spoke up as Lily continued to transfer, this time lacerations emerging on her body. Painless, she picked at her wounds while the arbiter looked away. [color=B0C4DE]"Who else are we missing?"[/color] Emma chewed on her lip, thinking over the plan. Another Devotion appeared in the last one’s place. [color=8A3DFF]”We should hurry up. The longer we wait the worse it’ll get.”[/color] [color 00a99d]"Zoe, Kusari,"[/color] Ernie recounted as he ushered Sophia, Christmas and Grant towards the tunnels, [color 00a99d]"Allison, Chris, Lawrence and our big three. Hurrying is a very good idea."[/color] As he briefly snapped at Sophia and her birdcage, he could see Sander and Cal moving back already. Good. That was a lot of people. As the black threads retracted from the dirt, moving instead to the people present in the tunnel, Brent realized that he could feel his lower half again. From the tips of his toes to his pelvis to the fact that...yeah, he figured that was the case. Bouncing up to his feet and deciding that he was definitely going to have to make Lily donuts again, the arbiter brought his x-ray goggles to his own eyes, an amethyst light radiating from its lenses. The map was useful, but only for tracking allies. Their enemies, however... Filter out the dirt. Filter out the sand. Filter out the rain. Filter out the walls. Filt- Too far still. It was no longer the limitation of the x-ray capabilities of his equipment, but more a matter of range. Clicking his tongue, the arbiter decided not to burn through it and lifted it down. Just silhouettes, uncountable and getting farther away. A breath of...relief? or disappointment? [color=B0C4DE]"Looks like they're booking it too,"[/color] Brent reported, ignoring the dampness in his nether regions. [color=B0C4DE]"Just gotta watch out for the group that attacked the mansion now."[/color] It was too late for Siena to protest by the time she'd realized that the quickly dampening sense of pain included her own. The cut that she'd been picking at absentmindedly had healed, her ankle no longer throbbing, her shoulder no longer tender. She would have said something, should have, but there were too many other things to focus on. Things like people that weren't present, hostiles that weren't accounted for, hostiles that [i]were[/i]. Brent's mention of the group at the estate sent another mixture of fire and ice through Siena's spine, sapping another portion of self-control to keep from turning Vale's abilities against anyone. Fury and fear, something in between. She could still sense [i]pain[/i], but it was distant and fuzzy. Too far away to make out more than a presence, like watching the horizon. "[color=ff57ff]How likely is it that we'll actually get everyone back?[/color]" Despite her best efforts, the words came out flat, quieter than she'd wanted them to. Not enough behind them to cross the border of hollow--or maybe it was because she [i]knew[/i] they were. Siena didn't have time to linger on the thought, her focus redirected to crafting the next words with careful precision. [i]How many are acceptable sacrifices?[/i] No...she couldn't say it like that. Her fingers picked more violently at a wound that wasn't there, pinching skin to no avail. "[color=ff57ff]I don't think everyone out there is prone to listening to reason. I doubt it's wise to wait until they will.[/color]" [color=8A3DFF]”Doesn’t matter. If they don’t want to retreat we’ll make them. We’re outmatched.”[/color] Emma sighed, tousling her hair, [color=8A3DFF]”If we’re getting out there for the injured we should do it now. Before the other group decides to show up.”[/color] Emma said, turning towards the lighthouse door. The form of Determination grew next to her, [color=8A3DFF]”You ready?”[/color] she asked both him and the others. For once, it seemed, the Tulpa didn’t respond, offering only a curt nod. "[color=ff57ff]And how do you propose convincing a dragon to retreat?[/color]" Siena questioned, the concern legitimate despite the not-quite-there intonation. Not that Chris was the only one that applied to--if it came down to it, Siena had her doubts on whether Zoe or Kusari would retreat. There was an emphasis on the former, the latter a concern if only because Siena's experiences with the regenerating Arbiter had been rocky, at best. She might be willing to back down, but memories of their disaster of a rescue attempt refused to let the bookish mage believe it would be an entirely simple task. "[color=ff57ff]Going out there blindly will probably only get you hurt. It won't prevent anyone else from burning.[/color]" Quietly, without hesitation, Siena let her eyes trail back down to her phone, emotion trying to wage war on reason, but crippled by the presence of someone that struggled to feel far too many things. Not quite whole. Not quite there. A pause as she considered the next words. "[color=ff57ff]I don't feel many significant injuries remaining, but there is a constant static of pain on who I assume are our teammates. Going out without a solid location or escape plan will only increase the number of people that will have to be carried back through other means.[/color]" His student was full of all sorts of surprises today. Ernie kept track of the discussion with an anxious ear. He'd been thinking the same thing of course, but it was Siena who managed to voice them. Something he probably wouldn't have had the guts to do. [color 00a99d]"The ones out there know the consequences of staying,"[/color] Ernie started cautiously, thinking of Zoe's words, [color 00a99d]"And that's their choice. They wouldn't want us getting ourselves fucked up from going out there and trying to give them help they never wanted."[/color] Emma gritted her teeth. She wasn’t going to win this argument, maybe Siena could be swayed, maybe, but Ernie? Plus, she had no doubt Brent wouldn’t be interested in batting for her side. She couldn’t do anything by herself, could she? Instead of continuing, Emma stood silently. A sharp [color=8A3DFF]”[i]Fine[/i].”[/color] was what she finally offered. It looked like she wasn’t so courageous after all.[/hider]