[center][color=778899][img]https://i.imgur.com/bA9v35A.png[/img][/color][/center] [center][@AtomicNut][/center] [hr] Wolf heard... something behind them. He craned his neck, trying to see past Cel, but... saw nothing. Just the sea of ooze. [i]Just[/i] the sea. Finally it clicked. [color=778899]"W-wait! Go back!"[/color] But Cel wasn't stopping fast enough for his liking. Screw it, he was changing him mind already. He squirmed his way free of Cel's grasp and began to fall into the ooze, but before he hit it, a psychic bubble formed and imploded, blasting a small landing zone. In his tired state, it wasn't exactly a happy landing, but he made it. Almost immediately, the ooze tried to rush back in on him, almost seeming angry. Another bubble formed around him, but it alone did not slow the ooze. Suddenly something else burst into existence. Writhing, black vines covered in thorns encircled Wolf. The roots were wrapped around his waist, but the vines themselves almost seemed to have no beginning or end. They crawled and twisted, the thorns slicing through any ooze that tried to slide past. No matter what, a thorn always seemed to appear where it was needed to keep it at bay. Wolf began to walk back the way they'd come, commanding three, long vines to extend out before him, rooting through the accursed muk. He caught a glimpse of Alyona making her retreat away from the ooze, but there was no sign of Kiwi. However, he could see one place the ooze seemed more... turbulent. Finally the vines found something there. The ooze did not want to let go, but the writhing thorns kept it at bay as the vines fished out their prize. Kiwi, her many legs dangling limply. The ooze all around him grew more agitated, surging against his twisted defenses. He felt some of it leak through and drip onto his arm and hissed in pain, brushing it away back into the mess of thorns. To think Kiwi had been submerged it [i]that[/i]. Even just the brief touch against his hand had burned. Finally hew drew Kiwi all the way into his nest of thorns, though none of the thorns ever seemed to reach her. During it all, shapes began to form from the ooze, its aggression only increasing the longer he stood amidst it. In response, the vines retracted and wound tightly around him and Kiwi. In the dim light within the vines, he could see how badly she'd been hurt. He felt the throbbing in his head worsen. Whether from anger or the extended use of his powers, he did not know, but he grit his teeth. [color=778899]"Enough of this..."[/color] he hissed. The vines unwound, all at once, like a dozen whips. The masses of ooze were shredded and dust fell as the vines left deep gouges in the surrounding walls. It hadn't stopped the ooze, but it had created a wide berth around him for the moment. [color=778899]"Hey!"[/color] He called to Celestine, though he'd never actually gotten their name himself . [color=778899]"Your friend ran off alone. We should go after her."[/color] With the vines parted somewhat, Celestine would be able to see that Wolf's eyes had become bloodshot with a red trickle coming from his nose as he continued to manifest his ability. He paid it no mind, though. If it hurt, then it hurt, but this had progressed beyond too far. Celestine had said there was someone behind this, and Wolf intended to find them.