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[center] Time: A month after the Incident at Ouroboros
 Location: Innocence, the floating Airship Academy for ARMO’s Chosen[/center]

[center][img]https://imgur.com/eW3DkFq.png[/img][/center]
[i][color=ADD8E6] “I love you…”[/color] With those words, Elsa let go of his hand. 

Her warmth left his fingers as he felt gravity pull him back over the dam’s wall, heading into the still water below. His alchemy helpless to stop gravity’s pull. The Iranian’s eyes widened in both fear and realization at her intentions. All he could do was take the scene in vivid details before it was lost to sight, the scene hyper slowed as if to mock him. Above it all a storm brewed. The dark cloud collected, heavy with rain about to become snow, to release its fury upon the place. 

Elsa’s figure turned to the approaching rogues, their weapons drawn and ready. Her vision crackled with frozen ice across her skin causing her pink color to pale and her hair color to change, becoming pure white. Electrical blue eyes glared at them with an icy cold heart. Slowly her fingers spread wide then extended toward them before the silence shattered into crystal spikes. [/i]

Samad’s eyes jerked open to find himself in a murky, see-through liquid surrounded him. All the month old memories to flood back to him. Ouroboros. The explosion. A feeling of his body being ripped apart. He was in the fish tank recouping from his near death experience now.  

Underneath the mask, his teeth gritted tightly and grounded a bit at the situation he had been assigned to. This shouldn’t have ever happened. His eyes closed as he sharply exhaled through his nose, feeling the tension curl back for the moment. It wouldn’t last. With any luck, they would be reassigned else and far from the Ante Mortem team for a good, long time. A loud hiss echoed through the water causing inside to drain, the bed slowly rotating into an upright position. After all the water drained, the lid popped open allowing him to step out. 

Cautiously, he took an experimental step out onto the solid floor. It held barely. Samad applied weight to his outstretched leg as he followed with another, gradually standing outside of the fish tank. His figure was soaked, dressed in nothing but his boxer briefs, as he tried to collect his focus. His hand carefully pulled off the mask then let it hand behind him. 

His head snapped toward the sounds of Olivia crumbling to her hands and knees. Her balance not yet recovered from the lengthy time in the tank. His was barely there if he was forced to be truthful. Samad only stood upright because of pure will and stubbornness born from his family. Wordless, he took a step toward his collection of clothing then began to dress. Ignoring the others.  

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/eiPi3ur.png[/img][/center]

Cade had a dreamless slumber in the tank. 

Every few weeks, his eyes opened to a blurry vision of the world then fell right back into darkness. Nothing stirred in his head during all that time. No memories, nightmares or independent thoughts etched across his subconscious for the duration. At that moment… he was as close to brain dead as one could get without actually being it. The Innocence staff kept an eye on his vitals through there was no danger signs, his health perfectly acceptable for his state. It was as if he simply closed his mind down while he mended. Or too tired to think. 

The peace was broken when the machine’s loud sounds caught his attention. His eyes flitted open and watched the water drain before the door popped open. The chill of the outside air licked his wet surface drawing up goosebumps. Gingerly, Cade stirred. He attempted to move out. His foot couldn’t support his weight as it crumbled underneath him. He collapsed onto the floor in a weaken heap, unable to fight the pull of gravity while he landed on his side. 

[color=7CCD7C] “Shit,”[/color] he mumbled under his breath. 

Painfully slowly he began to push himself upright, his legs curled underneath. Samad seemed unfazed by Cade’s abrupt fall as he continued to place on his clothes. Afterward, his arm reached out for his cane then snatched up Cade’s clothing. On his walk by, he tossed them over Cade’s slowly rising figure. 

[b][color=DEBA5E] “Get up, Cade. Get dressed, she’s likely waiting for news about your condition,”[/color][/b] Samad said coldly before he started to head out the door. 

At the mention of ‘she,’ Cade smiled slightly. Mostly because she was alive as he began to hasten his pace, clutching his stuff to his waist and giving himself some modesty. It wasn’t easy since he was in nothing but boxers right now.