Nyx How Nyx held on to the dagger after the spiders threw her into the shop window, she didn't know. Maybe it had something to do with her death grip on it. Or something. She groaned, holding a hand to her forehead. A piece of shattered glass had left a huge cut near her temple. Hey, at least it's not on my eyebrow. Blood plus eyeballs equals problems. Nyx took a moment to examine herself. There was a chunk of glass embedded in her left calf, but that was about it. Grunting, she pulled it out, and stood up. The spiders are still there, she thought, eyeing the group warily. The spiders were slowly inching closer to her, making escape impossible, at least out the open window. She glanced back, behind the giant dress. Should she stay and fight them here, or escape out the back and sneak up on them from behind? Well, the Old Kingdom decided I was going to be a sexy, boobless ninja, so I'll be a sexy, boobless ninja, Nyx thought. She picked up the mannequin with the giant, poofy-as-fuck wedding dress with a grunt and hurled it at the window. If anything, it would hinder their ability to climb into the shop with their big-ass legs and big-ass asses and shit. Could they even get in? The spiders were fucking giant, and the window she was very rudely thrown through was... smaller. Oh well. Nyx turned, and ran to the counter, where the little shopkeeper was staring at her leg, wide eyed. "You have a roof?" she asked, slamming a hand down on the counter. The short, portly man jumped. Nyx rolled her eyes. "I'll protect you from the scary giant-fucking-spiders, just get me out of the shop." "Alright!" the man yelped, shuffling out from behind the counter. "Follow me!" he glanced nervously at the broken window, where multiple giant, hairy legs were already peeking out behind the dress, and ran into the back room. Nyx ran after him. "Get out, run down the street, and don't go east or south, because that's where the spiders are," Nyx said. The shopkeeper nodded, and disappeared into the distance. Nyx groaned and rubbed her leg. Blood was seeping out of the wound and dripping to the dusty road below. "I can still fight," she whispered to herself, brandishing the dagger. "Absolutely. And if all goes wrong, I'll electrocute the shit out of them." With that, she jogged around the wedding shop, circling around the spiders, and whistled sharply. All five of the spiders scuttled around to face her, clicking their mandibles. Nyx shuddered. Of all the things she expected to encounter in the Old Kingdom, it wasn't spiders the size of a minivan. She glanced behind her, making sure that if she was backed up, it wouldn't be into a corner. "Come at me, bro!" Nyx called, gesturing towards herself. "Bros. Yeah. There are five of you." Nyx shook her head. "That's not important." A spider hissed, (spiders hiss?) and ran toward her in what could only be described as a gallop (spiders gallop?). Nyx tightened her grip on the jewel-encrusted dagger in her right hand, and set her left hand sparking. When the huge arachnid was maybe five meters away, she shot her hand out, sending bolts of electricity straight into the creature's face. It skidded to a stop in front of her, twitched, and rolled onto its back. Nyx stabbed it through the skull, or at least where its skull would be if it had a skeleton. Well, if it wasn't dead then, it sure is now, Nyx thought. She looked up. The other spiders hissed in what she could only guess was rage, and charged at her. Fuck. Nyx turned and ran as fast as she could, leaving the dead spider behind. She threw a lightning bolt over her shoulder, hoping it hit one of the spiders. She ran as hard as she could, but her legs were tiring, and her left leg was throbbing more and more with each step she took. Eventually, she tripped, and skidded against the road. Ow, she thought. Weakly, she reached out, trying to grab the dagger. She had dropped it this time. But the spiders were inching closer, and closer. Poison was dripping from one's mandibles. Nyx pushed herself to her feet, and backed against a wall. Shit. The spiders were surrounding her, and she couldn't shoot them all at once. She raised both hands, and willed a ball of electricity to spark up in front of each. But that left two spiders that could kill her. Fuck you, pride, she thought bitterly. She should've taken Samara with her, despite their little spat earlier. They worked well as a team. And Nora could handle herself. Now she was going to have to be buried, with a tombstone saying "In loving Memory of Nyx Asano: Directly Killed by Giant Spider (indirectly killed by arrogance, but whatever)". The spiders were still getting closer. Nyx narrowed her eyes, and fired. Two out of four spiders down. But the other two were still getting closer, and there was nowhere for her to go. Nyx closed her eyes, charged up, and fired again. But it was too late.
Joe Joe was frozen after Drake and Samara vanished. The oracle had just sent them, quite possibly, to their deaths. And here they were, with no way to help them. Terror and helplessness were quickly turning to incomprehensible rage at this spoiled, thoughtless monster of a person, how could she play with lives like this- Then the two of them came crashing back into the room. They looked rough, but they were both still alive. Much yelling ensued, and Joe instinctively shut down. Don't draw attention. Wait until they're finished with you, then get- ...No, wait. This wasn't home. It wasn't his father doing the yelling. They didn't have to feel afraid here. Then: Spiders. Naturally. Samara, Nyx, and Miss Wintersmith dashed out to fight while Trisana asked the question they all probably should've thought of already. The answer was obvious, if not immediately helpful. Joe took note as Alex's face fell. You're not at home. Your dad's not here. It's okay to be a little brave. "Hey," they caught Alex's eye, "I'm sorry. That- really sucks." They turned to Vetala. They needed to get outside and help the others, but they hesitated. Something made them suspicious as to whether the Oracle would still be here when they got back. They already knew what to ask. "Who will die, that I can prevent? Will Sulla be safe until the Darkness is gone?" And, for Alex...maybe a more indirect question would work better here. "What must Alex do, or who can help him, to find his parents? They waited just long enough to catch the answers before diving outside. Invisibility: Check. Small knife: Laughable, but still enough to do some damage. Better than nothing. Their skills set them up for one job very well: Quick surprise attacks. They weren't strong enough to take anybody down, but they could sure as hell sow some confusion. Miss Wintersmith and Samara were down one road, facing down five spiders that were WAY too big. Nyx was headed the opposite direction, all alone. That scared them. When Miss Wintersmith got hit with the webbing, and Joe was suddenly glad they could be in two places at once. They summoned their clone and sent it with instructions to cut Miss Wintersmith free, then start chopping legs. The limbs were thin enough even for Joe's little knife to cut through. Joe themselves, though, ran after Nyx. They'd lost her. She was nowhere to be seen, and Joe's heart pounded. Just because you can't see her doesn't mean anything happened. Can't afford to panic now. Then a terrified villager came dashing out from behind a dress shop with a broken window. From within, or perhaps behind, hissed the calls of angry spiders. Bingo. They charged through the shop, phasing right through the walls rather than bother looking for doors. No Nyx, but blood. The image of Will in the hallway flashed in Joe's memort- Stop it! At last they passed through the rear wall, and there was Nyx facing off against four monstrous arachnids. She looked hurt. Oh no you f*cking don't. Joe ran towards her, heart pounding. One slash, a little wild, sliced two of the oddly gummy legs belonging to the nearest spider. Its balance upset, it stumbled, and Joe took the chance to dive underneath it. They stabbed upward as they slid, dragging a long cut in it abdomen. It collapsed behind them. Still too many steps from Nyx, who had...killed two more of them, apparently. But the remaining one was big, and angry, and dripping poison. The skin(?) on its body was hard and slightly shiny, almost like armor. And it was lunging at Nyx, just as she was releasing another blast of lightning. Joe dove. Grabbing hold of Nyx as they fell, they phased both of them through the wall she'd had her back to. They landed in someone's storeroom, a small, poorly lit chamber filled with barrels, crates, and smells of dubious origin. Nyx flew a few feet further in, but Joe stopped short: Their phase had ended with one leg stuck in the wall behind them. They would need to calm down and wait a moment before they could try phasing it out again. "Are you okay!?" That came out a little frantic. At the moment of their lunge, Joe hadn't been able to see what had happened. Had Nyx been caught by the spider's fangs? Had it been hit by her lightning? ...And how thick was this wall? Joe wondered if their foot was just hanging out there, waiting to be bitten off by a giant spider- STOP THINKING THAT WHY ARE YOU THINKING THAT.
Nyx had taken down all the spiders, including the two she had fired at before Joe had phased them through the wall. The spiders were big and strong, but they had no protection against electricity. That was when there was a loud click-clacking sound from nearby, a sound that could only be made by a large pair of mandibles clicking together repeatedly. There was a brief moment of silence and then the roof of the storeroom that Nyx and Joe were in was torn off. A huge spider peered down into the room with eight ink-black eyes. This one was bigger than the others, with legs as thick as trees and a massive body. It made the same clacking sound as earlier, rapidly clicking its mandibles together, and then surged forward to gobble up Nyx and Joe. Back at the bar, Alex nodded mutely to Joe when he tried to console him. He was lost in sadness, barely aware of the outside world. "Who will die, that I can prevent? Will Sulla be safe until the Darkness is gone? What must Alex do, or who can help him, to find his parents?" The Oracle smiled tiredly at Joe. "You can prevent many deaths," she said, silver eyes flashing. "You and your friends can possibly save the world. I can see all the way up to when Vetala's army clashes with the army of goodness, but then my vision goes black. Sulla will survive, I don't see her death in the future at all. As for Alex..." Her eyes turned black and Dionne squeezed them shut. "Darkness won't let me see," she panted. "I can't believe it. Nothing should be able to take away my divine gift. The Darkness is getting too strong." With Samara, Nora was still struggling with the webs that glued her to the ground. She finally thought of using magic and slowly froze the webs until they were frozen solid. "Somebody break the webs off me!" she cried out as the five remaining spiders crept closer.
Nyx Nyx had been absolutely sure that the spider was going to bite her arm off. She thought she was a goner. So when she cracked open an eye to find herself in what looked like a storage room, all limbs intact, she was incredibly surprised. She stared at the dark walls around her, and gaped. What? Did she just fall through a wall? What?? "Are you okay!?" Joe yelled at her, obviously panicked. Their eyes were wide and wild, and their foot was still stuck in the wall behind them. Nyx let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Oh- Oh my god, I'm alive. I'm alive! She nodded frantically, and let out a breathless laugh. I'm not dead! "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Nyx said, too happy to say anything else. She grinned and picked herself up, sitting cross-legged on the dirty floor. She ran a hand through her hair. "Jesus, Joe, you're brave as fuck," she said. "Oh my god, I can't believe I'm alive." She looked at the younger teen, and realized their foot was still stuck. "Oh, can you get out?" she asked, the thrill of the last few minutes kicking her brain into overdrive. "Shit!" she yelled, standing up. Her leg buckled beneath her, sending her tumbling back to the floor. "Ah, dammit. Joe, Nora and Samara are still fighting the other spiders! I don't know if they're dead, or almost dead, or even slightly dead, or what, but we have to help them! Can you heal me?"
Drake The fight broke off with the spiders. He teleported outside, looking around to see if anyone needed his help. Obviously, Nyx managed, but Nora wasn't doing so well. She was covered with webbing, with five spiders creeping towards her. And what more a huge spider, about the size of a building, tore the roof where Nyx and Joe were, going for the kill. He thought about trying his trick with the alpha again, but that was one creature, not five. Also, the idea of being high enough to see the earth's curbe made him feel weak at the knee. Time to use his other talent. He teleported out to the street, near an abandoned cart. Taking it with him, he teleported near Nora. "Vita ex Machina," he whispered. With a small purr, life those hybrid cars, the wagon began moving. Guided by Drake's will, it drove over the now frozen webbings, allowing them to break. Then it picked up speed, and raced forward to impact with these annoying spiders.
Samara Conjuring her armor at the last possible moment, Samara narrowly avoided the cart that had been thrown at her. Well, avoided wasn’t quite the right word. She tried to duck under it, but ended up deflecting it instead, as the cart glanced off of her shoulder and spun off to the side, shattering into a pile of splinters and splattered fruits and vegetables. “Ow,” she muttered, down on one knee. A hit like that would’ve ended anyone else’s day but, for her, t’was just a flesh wound. If she wasn’t already battered from her bout with Vetala, she probably wouldn’t have felt it at all. “Somebody break the webs off me!" A voice called out and Samara spotted Nora, covered in frozen webs. She had been so distracted, she hadn’t even seen Nora get webbed… or the five spiders closing in on them both. Get your head in the game, Samara thought, giving herself a mental pep talk as she stood up and took a step toward her teacher, but the spiders cut off her path. If things were this bad here, she didn’t even want to imagine what Nyx was up against. I should’ve gone with her. Nora can… umm… handle herself? Samara thought. Stupid idea. That might have been a wise move thirty seconds ago, but not now. She quickly shook that thought from her head. Now was not the time to rethink the past. She would see Nyx again --alive, of course-- but first she had to pick apart these damned spiders. “Link!” Samara said, locking in her focusing spell as spikes began to grow from her armor. She launched herself at the nearest spider like a guided missile, latched onto its face and began repeatedly punching its head, right between that swarm of beady black eyes, until it staggered and wobbled as if drunk. Apparently, it’s possible to give a spider a concussion. She was so enraged, she didn’t even realize two of its friends were covering her in webbing. Because of the armor, Samara couldn’t even feel it, until her movements began to slow to a crawl. She felt like she was moving in pudding. “Try harder,” she said as her armor exploded, releasing her from the webbing. She dropped from the concussed spider and re-summoned a fresh set of armor as she launched herself at another, grabbing it by the legs and pummeling its joints until it keeled over on its back. She was about to plunge her fist into its soft underbelly and rip out its heart when a pair of mandibles locked around her ankle and dragged her off. “Just die already!” Samara screamed as she grabbed the spider’s jaws and ripped them open, freeing herself with a kick to its face. She rolled away, narrowly avoiding multiple hairy legs stabbing at her. In a moment of clarity, Samara realized she was fighting only four spiders. One was beaten to the point it could barely stand. The other had numerous broken legs. And two more were doing just fine. Not for long, she thought, vengefully. But there should be five. Where was… “Shit.” Samara wheeled around and the fifth had branched off and was heading toward Nora and Drake. Wait, Drake? When did he… oh, right, he can teleport. He used his power to move a large wagon, using it to sever the frozen webs holding Miss Wintersmith, before redirecting it toward the cluster of spiders surrounding Samara. I see, she thought as it picked up speed. She had to make it count. Focusing all of her energy, Samara established a link with all five of the spiders, even the one that had gotten away, and pulled as hard as she could, as if she were the center of a black hole and they were all being sucked in. Oh, great, I’m suck in the middle of a ball of writhing, hairy, giant spiders while an overloaded wagon comes barreling toward us, she thought. Take one for the team, Sam. Take it. And she did. The sound was an odd mix of ‘crunch’ and ‘splat,’ followed by the sound of breaking glass as her crystal armor shattered and she was thrown from the deathball. Samara slammed into the wall of a nearby building and slumped down, about a dozen meters away from the gory mess that had once been five spiders, now reduced to a puddle of spindly legs, (some still twitching,) patches of hair, and squished eyeballs. The wagon was upended on impact and threw its contents all over the street. Bricks, of course. Congratulations, you got hit by a truckload of bricks and lived. “I think we got ‘em all,” Samara said, mostly to herself. Somewhere on the other end of town, a roof exploded and an even-more-gigantic spider rose from the rubble. She sighed and dragged herself to her feet. Everything hurt, but at least she could move. As long as she had that, she would continue to fight. "That better not be east..." Samara studied the sky for a moment, while she limped toward this new threat. Yup, east. "Dammit, Nyx," she muttered, glaring at the giant arachnid in the distance. "You had one job to do. One job!"
Trisana Trisana was at a loss. She wanted to stay and comfort Alex, but Drake had just left (without even saying goodbye...what a jerk!) and there was a lot of commotion going on outside. Could she really stay inside and let all of her classmates, and Nora, fight the spiders on their own? What if one of them got serious injured, or worse? But spiders were so ICKY!!! Why couldn't she just support them from inside? Maybe she could make up a cheer or something? Shake some pompoms? Sis boom bah? "Oh, crap!" Trisana cussed when she realized what she would have to do. "Alex, I'm sorry about your parents, but Merryville is getting attacked by giant fricking spiders, so we need to deal with that right now. I swear I'll do everything in my power to help you, but we can't just stay in here while our friends risk their lives." Without waiting to see if he would follow, Trisana ran out of the bar with the Silver Staff held high. Then she skidded to a halt and watched as Samara brutally pummeled a group of spiders all on her own. "You go, girl!" Trisana cried, jumping up and down. That was when the biggest spider of all made itself known. She watched in sheer terror as it ripped off the roof of a building and peered down inside, probably sizing up some humans that it was about to eat. Move, Trisana! Move, move, move! Against all of her better instincts, Trisana ran toward the humongous spider at full tilt. "Hey, Daddy Long Legs!" she screamed. "Over here!" Then she loosed a bolt of concentrated light at the spider's head, hoping to take out one of it's gross eyes.
The moment Nora was freed from the webs, she jumped to her feet with surprisingly agility for someone her age. "Thanks, Drake," she said with a genuine smile. "I hope you know I'm proud of you, of all of you really. You guys have really risen to the occasion." She turned to help Samara with the spiders, but then she paused and watched in awe as the crystal-armored teenager pummeled the spiders, with a little help from Drake's animated cart and Joe's shadow clone. "Wow," Nora breathed. "You didn't even need my hel..." She trailed off as the huge new spider arrived and started tearing the roof off a building. "Oh, hell." Nora started running immediately and a chilling wind lifted her. She soared like an avenging angel and snowflakes fell in her wake. Trisana's lightbeam exploded one of the Daddy Long Legs' eyes (as she called him). The giant spider squealed and angrily clicked its mandibles together, then it surged toward Trisana, shaking the earth with its enormous weight. It snatched up Trisana with lightning-speed and threw her straight into the air. "Food," Daddy Long Legs gargled menacingly. It leaned back and opened its mouth wide, long strings of venom dripping from its fangs, ready to gobble up a tasty morsel. "Not on my watch!" Alex came bursting out of the bar at full speed, his black cloak flapping wildly. He jumped and flew straight up, up, up and caught Trisana before she was eaten. Then he swerved and flew back towards Samara, Nora, and Drake. But halfway there, Daddy Long Legs launched itself with incredible strength and swiped them out of the sky with its front leg, sending them spiraling downward. Alex cried out and tried to keep flying, but he couldn't stop their descent and they headed straight for the ground. At the last moment, Nora stopped soaring in mid-air and conjured a mound of snow that cushioned their fall. While she was distracted, Daddy Long Legs hit her from behind and she landed on top of Alex and Trisana. "Everything hurts," Nora groaned weakly. Daddy Long Legs surged forward to go in for the kill, but it was intercepted by Dionne, who walked calmly out of the bar and stood in the middle of the road, tall and poised. The giant spider shot webs at her, but Dionne's eyes flashed silver and she dove to the side, rolled into a standing position, and threw a pair of black spikes at the spider that were hidden in her sleeves. The spikes exploded two more of Daddy Long Legs' eyes and it squealed with rage. "That's for hurting innocent people!" Dionne yelled. The spider clacked its mandibles angrily, ripped the sign off of the bar, and threw it at the Oracle. Dionne's eyes flashed silver again and she executed a perfect back flip. The sign flew harmlessly under her feet and crashed into the building behind her. "And this is for making me roll in the dirt and mess up my robe!" Dionne screamed. She flicked her wrists again and shot two more spikes at the spider, but this time the spider was ready: it ducked to avoid the spikes, then swiped out at the Oracle. Dionne's silver eyes glowed, but she wasn't quick enough to dodge the attack this time. She was hit full-on in the middle and sent crashing into a pile of barrels in front of a grocery store. A long shard of wood stabbed straight through her chest and she gasped, her entire body shivering. "I...I wasn't fast enough," she mumbled. "This is it for me." She coughed blood and stared up into the sky with a crooked grin and tears running down her beautiful face. "I'm...coming...home...Gods."
Joe "Jesus, Joe, you're brave as fuck." ...They were? Wait, no, they weren't. Of course not. They were just running around like an idiot and trying to be useful. "Ah, dammit. Joe, Nora and Samara are still fighting the other spiders! I don't know if they're dead, or almost dead, or even slightly dead, or what, but we have to help them! Can you heal me?" Joe nodded, mouth dry. "Just a second-" They closed their eyes and focused on their clone, back with Miss Wintersmith. It looked like it hadn't been in time to free Miss Wintersmith, but with Samara around the pair apparently hadn't needed the help anyway. They sent a new order: Find, evacuate, and protect civilians. Then they allowed their focus to fade. Returning to themselves, they turned back to Nyx. "They're okay. A-And all the spiders look dead. I can, I can heal your leg now." Closing their eyes, they focused on their clone: It hadn't reached Nora in time to cut her free, but it seemed she hadn't needed their help anyway. The world faded away as they placed their hands over the wound in her leg and focused. The bleeding stopped. The glass shards, and any contaminants they carried, were pushed out and fell harmlessly to the sod floor. Skin and blood vessels knit neatly back together. Within moments, all that remained was a small, pale scar; Looks like their healing had an unintended side effect. It figured. Nyx was still bleeding from smaller, less serious wounds, though. Joe was just reaching out to heal those when the roof was ripped right off the storehouse by the largest most terrifying nightmare of a monster Joe had ever seen seen in several hours. Its mandibles were massive and drooling with green liquid, and they were headed right towards them. "Hey, Daddy Long Legs! Over here!" Trisana caught the thing in its quivering eyes with a blast of light. Joe had never been so happy to hear anyone's voice in their entire life. The spider turned away, (oh thank god) and with one hairy leg swept her violently into the air. NO NO F*CK F*CK NO! But Alex was there in time to catch her, though they both took quite a smackdown not a moment later. Joe didn't see them land. How...how bad would it hurt, to fall that hard? They needed to get over there, NOW. Yanking at their leg did nothing to free it. They needed to calm down, this never worked when they were panicked. Forcing a couple of deep breaths, Joe tensed and shoved themselves all the way back through the wall. It wasn't a perfect phase, and chunks of the wall came out with them on the far side. But they were out, and running breathless towards the yells and sounds of combat. They skidded out of an alley just in time to see the Oracle slam into the storefront. Even from this distance, they could feel her life fading. NO- NO NO NO NOT AGAIN NOT AGAIN NOT ONE MORE FUCKING PERSON. Their feet pounded on broken cobblestones. Above them, the monstrous spider lurched in pain and rage. They barely noticed. Their vision had tunneled down to the piece of wood in the Oracle's abdomen. They reached her as the thing above them raised another massive leg. "FUCKING COVER ME!" No idea who was listening. Didn't care. Their hands were on the Oracle's shoulders, phasing her through the debris puncturing her body and filling her with healing light. A slow, arduous maneuver, but it stopped her bleeding out while she was moved. But the real damage had already been done; they weren't a doctor, but they could feel large holes in several organs. They poured their magic into her, willing her to heal. "I can't do this without you!" They had no idea if they were whispering or screaming at her. All their focus was on their magic. "You have to want to beat this! You have to want to survive! So fucking WORK WITH ME!" As long as they were with her, they might be able to keep her from death. If they could just keep their concentration...
"Ahhh, good question, handsome young man," the Oracle said. Handsome? He wasn't used to that. Apart from when his Aunt said it, but that didn't count. Not that she meant anything by it but there was only one person he wanted to be - oh no wait, he'd just killed that. "Your honesty will not cost the war, quite the opposite." He sighed with relief. That meant dishonesty would cost the war, right? "But when you play your hand, you might not be alone. It will fall on you to save one of your friends in the darkest hour..." She paused and her silver eyes turned black for a moment before the light shined through again. "I can't tell which of your friends it will be...the Darkness is blocking me. This has never happened to me before." Wait, what had she meant by his honesty? Maybe his question had been too cryptic. Why might he be alone? Misery returned. He was going to have to make good on his plan. But not now. And now the Darkness was blocking the transmission. Typical. For some reason, he glanced over at Tris. Then he gazed longingly at the bar as he left. More All Hell was breaking loose. It was time to get back in the game, prove he was useful for something even if he deflected all attempts at friendship. He ran after Nyx because she was going solo, and then as if his day couldn't get any worse, he slipped on something gooey (what the fuck?!) and catapulted his face violently into bricks. Yes, of all the things the cart could have been carrying. He thrashed a little, but only succeeded in covering himself with the straw and debris that were scattered on the road. He saw Drake's foot materialise next to his face, then everything went nauseatingly black. Finally, he became aware of his fingers amongst the straw. How long had he been - OW! GOD that hurt. He rose to his knees, and puked. The first thing he saw was Joe screaming at an impaled Dionne. Shit had gone down. He tried to stand, but dizziness floored him. Better lie down for a sec.
Drake When Samara used her power to draw both the spiders and his wagon into her, Drake cheered enthusiastically. That's Samara, back to asskicking like a pro. "Thanks, Drake," she said with a genuine smile. "I hope you know I'm proud of you, of all of you really. You guys have really risen to the occasion." He smiled back in genuine delight. It was a new feeling, happiness at the apreciation of others, and pleasant. Loke he meant something, at the end of the day. Then reality came back, like a train at the end of the tunnel. At first it was Trisana, flung to the air, and Alex flying up to save her, before a strike of "Daddy Long Legs" sent them both tumbling down. He could have saved them, he knew, becoming Trisana's hero and saving them from an unnecessary injury. But just as he was about to teleport, that moment of gut retching fear and momentary hezitation made it too late. Alex saved her, in the end. The second moment was when Dionne was pierced through her stomach. One look at her dying eyes, and all the beer he drank was now a puddle at his feet. Images flashed through his mind. Will, his throat torn off. Red eyed bats, about to tear his throat. The sudden reminder was terrifying. With all their powers, they could still die. Just as painfully and quickly as Dionne. He has accomplished things the past few days, that he had never thought he could, facing armed soldiers, savage werewolves, and he had evaded them all. But all it took was one misstep, one point of time where he wouldn't teleport fast enough. And that would be it. He would be there, just like Dionne, saying his last words. "FUCKING COVER ME!" No idea who was listening. Didn't care. Their hands were on the Oracle's shoulders, phasing her through the debris puncturing her body and filling her with healing light. A slow, arduous maneuver, but it stopped her bleeding out while she was moved. But the real damage had already been done; they weren't a doctor, but they could feel large holes in several organs. They poured their magic into her, willing her to heal. "I can't do this without you!" They had no idea if they were whispering or screaming at her. All their focus was on their magic. "You have to want to beat this! You have to want to survive! So fucking WORK WITH ME!" The shout snapped Drake's mind back into focus. He looked at Joe, his hands on Dionne. Could she still be alive? Could she be saved? And if she could, then maybe so could he. He wemt over to the broken wagon, then teleported, high in the air, and dropped it down on the large spider's head. Once he was sure he got its attention, Drake teleported from rooftop to rooftop, moving around the giant beast, faster than he ever thought he could. He wasn't in one place more than two seconds, all this time screaming at the top of his voice. "Telepoteleportelepotelepotcomeandget me youtelepotelepotelepot you fatunglyteleportcunteleport."
The crash of a falling cart forced Andreas' attention into gear. He wasn't going to just lie there - he was going to get his two cents in. Getting to his feet was not easy. He looked at the blurry, double image of the giant arachnid waving its limbs in chase of Drake, teleporting from place to place like a flea. He moved forward, and was instantly battling a second wave of vomit. He staggered left and right, ambling on like a paraplegic drunk, hoping that Drake would hold its attention. Finally he was there. He was knocked off his feet by one of its hind legs, and he fell beneath it. In smeared, semiconscious duplicate, the hairy limbs and body danced and rotated above him. He heaved himself up, reached above him, placed a palm against its abdomen... and ground away.
Nyx Joe's healing magic worked a lot better than Nyx thought it would. All that was left of the wound was a faint pink scar. Nyx rubbed her leg. "Thank you," she said, giving Joe a genuine smile. And then, because she had awful luck, everything went back to shit. The last spider (I thought I hit that! Dammit!) tore the fucking roof off of their little hiding spot, and dove in for the kill. But it seemed like she had better luck than she originally thought, because Trisana came flying out of nowhere, screaming some "witty" battle cry that probably came straight from Spiderman. The next few minutes were a blur. Apparently, everyone had come to help battle the giant spiders, while she was busy failing to do the one job she assigned herself. Nyx stood up and shook herself off, testing her leg. It was completely fine. "Huh," she muttered. "Hey, wanna get back to the fight?" Joe didn't look like they even heard her. Their eyes were glassy, faraway. "Joe? Buddy?" The fourteen-year-old tugged their leg from the wall and ran back through to the other side. "Oh, come on!" Nyx yelled. "I need to get back out there, dammit!" Grumbling, she ran out the other door, and made it around the other side just in time to see Dionne get impaled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Andreas collapse and vomit on the floor. Joe ran forward, yelling at the top of their lungs. "FUCKING COVER ME!" they screamed at no one in particular. Nyx stood there in shock for a good ten seconds before racing into action. Drake dropped a wagon on the arachnid's head, to limited success. Damn. Okay, then. Suddenly, Andreas was on his feet again, stumbling back and forth towards the spider. It's okay, she told herself. He's got a plan. She didn't sound very reassuring. Joe needs you more! If you don't go help them, they could overexert themself, and that would be very bad, Nyx. Andreas will be fine. Why do I even care? she thought. He probably hates me. Samara barely mentioned us being together, and he flipped the fuck out. Hesitating, she tore her gaze away from the Hispanic boy, and ran to Joe. "I can't do this without you!" they screamed. "You have to want to beat this! You have to want to survive! So fucking WORK WITH ME!" Nyx paused, took a deep breath, and put her hand on their shoulder. She may hate that stupid Oracle lady, but she didn't want her to die. Was she already dead? Was Joe just wasting their energy? It didn't matter. She couldn't risk it. Nyx closed her eyes, and reached out to the largest source of energy she could find. The spider. "Energize," she whispered, letting her own energy flow into Joe. They needed all they could get. Then, the connection with the spider just cut off. Now, Nyx was just feeding her own energy into the younger kid, and hoping that Joe's healing spell worked. Why didn't I react at all to her death? Is it because I've already seen it so much, in these past few days? Nyx cracked open an eye and looked at Dionne's body. Am I just desensitized to it all? Usually, Andreas is the stoic one-- this time, it's me. God, will they all think I'm crazy? Shut up. Shut up! You can't think about this right now. I wish there were some way to tell whether she's alive or not, she thought. Her eyes widened. Wait! There is! If I can sense living energy to lock onto with my Energize spell, I can tell if Dionne's alive, right? Well, there was no time to waste. Letting her eyes slide closed again, she stretched out with her senses, and-- Nothing. Dionne was gone. She was back with the gods. Nyx broke away from Joe, letting out a sob. Oh, there it was. Emotion. Wait, wasn't emotion bad? Lock it up, Nyx. Pull an Elsa. Conceal, don't feel, don't stab anyone because you're feeling shitty, as a matter of fact, probably just escape. Yeah. Go get drunk. She could do that legally, now, right? "Joe, stop," she commanded, voice shaking. She swallowed, and made sure her tone was strong and smooth before speaking again. "Joe, she's dead. She got stabbed through the chest, there's no healing that! She's probably got a punctured lung, or internal bleeding, she probably just choked on her blood and drowned in it--" Shut up, Nyx. Don't traumatize the kid. They look up to you, don't fuck up that image. Nyx roughly wiped away any lingering tears, and pushed the ugly lump in her throat down, down, back into her stomach. Without saying another word, she walked away, stony-faced. She saw a glint of silver on the road. The dagger. The Great Oracle's dead, she thought. She's not gonna be needing it. With that thought in mind, she scooped it up, and ran back to the Tavern.
Samara What a day, Samara thought, utterly exhausted. She could hear the sounds of distant battle and even see the spider's head above the rooftops. Damn, it was huge. She caught a glimpse of white --Trisana?-- before a big, hairly limb swatted it out of the sky. Each step she took sent spikes of pain shooting up her legs. Her muscles ached, everything hurt, and yet she still felt like she wasn't getting any closer. They'll all be dead by the time you get there, a little voice in her head told her. You know they can't last without you. "Stop it. You know that's not true," Samara said, to no one at all, alone with the dust and dirt. Of course it is. Just turn back. Go home, back to your fake-parents and theire fake love. "Stop it. They took me in when no one else-" Give up this magical crusader nonsense. There are no more heroes here. "Stop it! I can still save-" You're walking toward a graveyard. You can't save the dead. What will you do, join them? "If I must," Samara said, gritting her teeth. She staggered to the nearest wall and leaned there to catch her breath, doubled over with ehr palms on her knees. "I can do this... I can do this... I can do this..." she whispered while staring down at her feet... all four of them. She wasn't sure when she'd lost her headband, but now her hair was a disheveled mess of black curls, curtaining her face. "C'mon..." Samara said, slapping herself on the cheek as she lifted her head to take stock of her surroundings. These buildings... she was at the tavern. "Dammit," she muttererd. After walking for what felt like hours, she had barely traveled halfway down the street. She really wasn't getting any closer to the fight and doubted she had the strength to take another step. And what would she do if she actually got there without passing out? Make fun of the spider's mother, call it some nasty names or something? Get real. That damned voice in her head was probably her survival instincts kicking in. For the first time in her life, it was speaking louder than her conscience... and her conscience could be really fucking loud sometimes. With a groan, Samara's back hit the wall and she slid down until her butt hit the floor and remained there, waiting for some kind of miracle. more unicorns, maybe. Or just waiting for it all to be over. I'm no good at this, 'admitting defeat' thing. Never had to. Always had a second chance. She had lost before, of course, but she always told herself she'd win next time. Now there would be no next time. You don't get a second shot at saving your friends' lives. Or the world. Go inside. A few drinks might liven you up a bit, put some fire in you. "Please just shut the hell up," Samara muttered, still trying to think of a way to save this, a way to make it all work. And that's when she saw Nyx running toward her. Running away from the fight. There was s brief flash of anger, followed by immediate denial. Nyx was no coward. She never had been. There must be a good reason for this. She must have a plan. Maybe she was looking for Samara. Of course she is. They're useless without you. "Stop that!" Samara hissed under her breath. She stood up straight as Nyx neared her and spoke once the girl was close enough to hear. "That bad, huh?" she said, far too casually. "Must be, if it scared off the only girl with balls bigger than mine." She sighed and cut to the chase. "My body's had it, but I think I've still got some magic left. I've never tried this before but... well... you've never worn armor before. First time for everything, right." She paused and met Nyx's eyes. "I think you know what I'm suggesting."
Trisana "Th...thank you," Trisana groaned to Alex when they crash-landed in a mound of snow. Where did the snow come from? Her question was answer a split second later when Nora landed on top of her and knocked the air out of her lungs. "Ooomph!" She rolled over onto her side, clutching her abdomen, wheezing unattractively as she struggled to catch her breath. "Couldn't you have landed next to us, Nora?" she panted when her lungs started to fill up again. Mustering all her strength, Trisana propped herself up on her hands and knees, then stopped to do some more wheezing. Next step, somehow getting on my feet and continuing to fight that eight-legged monster. Who knew the Old Kingdom was such a work-out? Trisana turned to Alex and was about to make a joke about how people should come to the Old Kingdom if they wanted to get in shape, but she stopped when she saw Dionne come out of the bar and face off with Daddy Long Legs. "This is going to be epic," she breathed, eyes wide with wonder. The spider attacked Dionne, but she used her precognition to guess his moves and dodge them. "You go, Glen Coco...I mean, Dionne!" Trisana cheered, pumping a fist over her head. But she celebrated too soon, because a moment later Dionne was skewered by a wooden shaft and Joe was trying his best to heal her. "The Oracle's dead," Trisana whispered in disbelief. It happened so quickly, right before her very eyes, and yet she couldn't believe it. How could someone so vivacious and powerful be killed so easily? Trisana turned to Nora with a worried expression. Was their beloved teacher the next one to die? "Not on my watch," she muttered, stealing Alex's line from earlier. Wow, I steal a lot of Alex's lines. I should start sending him checks or something. She shook her head. No, Tris! Stop daydreaming! Your life, and the lives of your classmates, are in danger! Keep your head in the game, like Zac Efron said in that Disney musical movie! With a tremendous effort, and a lot of grunting, Trisana heaved herself to her feet, wobbled a bit, and lurched forward with her eyes trained on Daddy Long Legs. Some of the other students were already fighting it. She used this opportunity to summon the Silver Staff again (it had fell out of her hand when she fell out of the sky) and fired another lightbeam directly at the giant spider's gaping maw. Hopefully, she would penetrate the cranium and scramble it's disgusting insect brains, before it killed someone else. Trisana was readying to fire another shot, just in case, when she glanced over to Samara and Nyx, who seemed to be having some sort of heart-to-heart. "I love gossip just as much as the next girl, but is this really the time or place?" Trisana called to them.
The Oracle sighed with short-lived relief as Joe phased her out of the wooden shard and healed over her surface wounds. Her glazed silver eyes focused on him and a tiny smile tugged at her rosebud lips. "You're...s-so...gentle," Dionne mumbled, blood trickling down her chin. "I...didn't...know...m-much...kindness...when...I....w-was...young." She laughed, a short, labored exhalation, nothing like her airy laughter when they were chatting in the VIP room. "B-but...the...Gods...saved...me...b-by...making...me...the...Oracle. S-suddenly...I...w-was...important." She gave a horrible cough and closed her eyes. "And...now...I...return...to...Them." "Energize." Despite Joe's best efforts, the Oracle's life had been slipping away, but when Nyx added her power to the healing, her silver eyes fluttered open and she gasped for air. She wasn't completely healed (her insides were still a wreck), but Joe was acting as life support and keeping her on the earthly plane. "You have to let me go, sweet child," Dionne told Joe, reaching up to caress his face. "Don't be sad for me. I knew I might die when I fought the spider, but I did it anyway. I made my choices. Now you must make your own." Her eyes glowed from within for the very last time. "Your destiny is a great one, Joe Waters. Stay strong and remember to look at all the possibilities." Finally, Joe's energy wore out and Dionne's body slumped as she passed away. "Telepoteleportelepotelepotcomeandget me youtelepotelepotelepot you fatunglyteleportcunteleport." Daddy Long Legs squealed and jabbered angrily as it clambered in circles, trying to catch Drake who had just dropped a broken wagon on it. It stopped spinning after a few revolutions and sprayed webs all over the next rooftop. It's maneuver worked perfectly and Drake teleported directly into the sticky trap. The spider was about to strike when Andreas attacked from below. Daddy Long Legs squealed and catapulted straight into the air, landing a dozen feet away. A huge chuck was missing from its body and green slime dribbled from the disgusting wound. It looked like it was almost spent, but suddenly tendrils of Darkness reached out from the shadows and slithered up into the spider, rapidly healing its injuries. Nora saw what was happening and a deep, hateful scowl fixed on her face. She levitated out of the snow mound and spread her arms wide; her cloak flapped dramatically and a deep blue aura blazed around her in a six-foot radius. Cold winds whipped down the road and flurries of snowflakes covered Merryville in white. "Darkness. Will. Not. Prevail!" Nora screamed, then she pushed out her hands. An enormous lance made of ice materialized in front of her and flew at the spider. Daddy Long Legs could do nothing but squeal pitifully before the ice-lance speared it straight through its body. That done, Nora lowered to the ground and fell on her side, eyelids drooping with exhaustion. The wind died down and the snow settled. Village folk slowly started to emerge from their hiding places, staring at the young sorcerers as if they were gods come to earth. A portly man wearing a single tuft of hair on top of his head pushed his way to the front of the group and declared that he was Mayor Smith and that he would like to formally thank their saviors. He reached into his coat and gave the nearest person, Alex, a bulging pouch of gold coins. Alex mumbled his thanks and passed the pouch to Samara, the most responsible person in their group. Nora also gave her thanks when she found the strength to stand (with the aid of an ice-stick that she conjured up). The villagers recognized her and had mixed reactions: some of them screamed and jumped up and down, while others merely gawked in stunned silence. Nora cut through the hubbub by shouting orders to the mayor. She told him to make sure Dionne's body was transported to the Temple of the Mother Goddess in Temple City. The mayor was happy to oblige. Fifteen minutes later, the sorcerers had left Merryville and taken the Stepping Stone back to its rightful place. There, Nora instructed them to follow her lead and they simply walked up the four steps and jumped off the other side. They each disappeared in mid-air and reappeared in a beautiful, twilit forest in another circle of stones. The tall, widely-spaced trees had smooth, silvery trunks and the air had a dreamy yellow quality to it. "I'm just going to rest a bit," Nora murmured before she sat on the ground (which was mysteriously free of any leaves or sticks) and leaned against a tree for support. She closed her eyes and a single tear ran down the side of her face.
Andreas He didn't feel much emotion at Dionne's teary passing, or Nora's apocalyptic vanquishing of the spider. It wasn't that he didn't have any care for these events, it was just that his entire being was engaged in the titanic struggle not to puke. As the adrenaline subsided, the nausea returned, and more than once he swallowed back down. Slowly, he regained control of his stomach. The dizziness and double vision eased but were not completely gone. He stood, carefully, and inspected the ruins about him, then gave himself a general sense of where his fellow adventurers were. He touched his forehead but was blinded by skull-shattering pain. He might have yelped, he didn't know. Next he tried walking. It was a bizarre experience - not only did the dizziness get in the way, but his feet didn't know where to go. It was as if he'd only read about walking in books. It was a temporary sensation, thankfully, and soon he could walk in a more or less straight line. Enough to tag along on the short hike, at any rate. A number of times he tried to speak, but trying to focus on anything as sophisticated as talking just brought the nausea back. At long last, after downright falling off the Stepping Stone and sprawling on the dirt, he managed to get the word out that he needed. "Joe?"
Joe She was dying. Their magic raced through her, patching every wound, clutching at her fading life. There was just too much damage. She was slipping away and there was nothing they could do. A small smile was one her face. She was trying to speak, whispering and stuttering. She was giving up. Nyx's magic boost hit them like a wrecking ball. Their power exploded out from inside them in a wave. Dionne's life flickered. Yes yes yes that's it that's it you can do it! Stay with me stay with me stay with me! They felt her hand reach up to touch their cheek. "You have to let me go, sweet child," Dionne told Joe, reaching up to caress his face. "I can't," they whispered, tears rolling down their face. "Just stay with me...!" But she just smiled. "Don't be sad for me. I knew I might die when I fought the spider, but I did it anyway. I made my choices. Now you must make your own." Her eyes glowed from within for the very last time. "Your destiny is a great one, Joe Waters. Stay strong and remember to look at all the possibilities." Then she was gone. They fell back on to their ass. Around them, from what seemed like very far away, came yells and cheers and running footsteps. It all mashed together into a dull wall of sound. Their head swam. The world tilted on its axis, and everything went black.
Drake He was trapped. The webbings held him firmly in place, blocking any way of escape. And now a hulking spider was about to devour him. Cold sweat covered his body, and Drake closed his eyes, preparing for the worse. It didn't come. Instead, Nora rose to the air, and with a most frightening desplay of power he had seen, and the spider was gone. Drake just leaned his head back, as the world crashed into a spinning wreck around him. By the time they retreaved the stepping stone and teleported to their next location, he managed to free himself and recover. The entire journey he was apathetic to all that went around him. He noticed that Dionne died after all. Once they reached their destination, Drake simply slumped down to the ground, and stared blankly into space.
Trisana Trisana watched Drake slump to the ground and joined him without a word. She sat down next to him with a sad sigh and laid her head on his shoulder, her long tresses falling over her face like a funeral veil. She was tired, too tired to even open her eyes, but she had something to say, so she shoved her hair out of her face and said it. "Dionne...the Oracle...she didn't deserve to die," Trisana said loud enough for everyone to hear. "Yeah, sure, she used her divine gift for her own personal gain...but when it mattered most, she did the right thing. That's all that matters." She shot Nyx a sharp look, but chose not to speak on the bejeweled dagger that her classmate had stolen. That would just create problems and she didn't want to disturb the peace. "And without her, we also wouldn't know that Vetala is Darkness Incarnate," Trisana added as an afterthought. "Now we know who we have to banish, if that's even what we have to do. Dionne said something like 'this is a time for new heroes and new ideas'. I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds like we have to do things differently than the heroes before us." She glanced shyly in Nora's direction, hoping she hadn't offended their teacher. Then she laid her head back on Drake's shoulder, letting her hair fall over her face again. If only she could lay like this forever.
Alex nodded to everything Trisana said. Tris could be ditzy sometimes, but Alex never doubted that her heart was true. (And who was he to judge someone's eccentricity, with his gothic interests: tombstones, flaming skeletons, pendulums of death, vampires, etc etc.) And speaking of the Oracle's visions, Alex thought about how she couldn't see his parents when he asked about them. His face fell and he felt a deep sadness weighing him down. He was in abject despair. When he spoke his voice was soft, but loud enough for all to hear. "I asked Dionne about my parents," Alex began. "She said the Darkness was blocking her sight. I've always wanted to meet my biological parents, ever since I found out I was adopted. All I know about them is that they live in the Old Kingdom and, for some reason, they sent me to Taggerton as a small child. I have this sappy fantasy of my younger self walking through a beautiful garden and my parents waiting for me in the middle, on a bench in front of a stone fountain. They smiled and I ran to them." He laughed at himself and shook his head. "In reality, they're mostly likely dead. That's why my childhood therapist thought my magic expressed itself in macabre ways, because I'm obsessed with my dead parents." He seemed to realize he was talking more than usual and cleared his throat nervously. "Anyways..." Alex looked up at the sun and saw that it was getting low. Shadows were becoming noticeably darker and longer. Soon, the dreamy yellow sunshine would be gone, and they would be stuck in a dangerous forest...at night...with no shelter. "We should probably get going in a bit," Alex suggested. "Or make a fire."
Drake Drake would usually have been flustered with excitement when Trisana rested her head on his shoulder. But the fear and doubt barely noticed him. It took a single golden hair, which somehow found its way into his nostril in the most irritating way, to get his attention. "Dionne...the Oracle...she didn't deserveto die," Trisana said loud enough for everyone to hear. "Yeah, sure, she used her divine gift for her own personal gain...but when it mattered most, she did the right thing. That's all that matters." "I asked Dionne about my parents," Alex began. "She said the Darkness was blocking her sight. I've always wanted to meet my biological parents, ever since I found out I was adopted. All I know about them is that they live in the Old Kingdom and, for some reason, they sent me to Taggerton as a small child. I have this sappy fantasy of my younger self walking through a beautiful garden and my parents waiting for me in the middle, on a bench in front of a stone fountain. They smiled and I ran to them." He laughed at himself and shook his head. "In reality, they're mostly likely dead. That's why my childhood therapist thought my magic expressed itself in macabre ways, because I'm obsessed with my dead parents." He seemed to realize he was talking more than usual and cleared his throat nervously. "Anyways..." Drake found himself putting his arm around Trisana, barely even noticing. There was nothing romantic about that gesture. He simply needed that. "Yeah, she didn't," he said, half to himself. "None of us do. I mean, we're fuc- freaking teenagers! We have the rest of our lives ahead of us. Why are we even here?"
Samara "And without her, we also wouldn't know that Vetala is Darkness Incarnate," Trisana added as an afterthought. Wait, WHAT!? Samara thought, snapping out of the slump she'd been in ever since the spider attack. She didn't hear a word after that. "You mean I was... I could've..." Her low voice trailed off into near silence. "I almost... daaaaamnit." She had been one swing away from saving the world. Then again, this wasn't really a big surprise. She knew Vetala was evil. Was it really surprising to know she was "Darkness Incarnate?" What does that even mean? Evil is evil, right? What's the point in ranking them, as if Vetala gets some big award for being evillest bitch in the world? "Should've chopped her fucking head off when I had the chance," she muttered under her breath, barely audible to anyone not near to her. Nora had already explained how to kill --or not kill-- a vampire, but that didn't stop Samara from wishing she'd done more when she saw Vetala. Samara had been very quiet since the spider fight, where she'd been utterly useless, while the others had really stepped up. Joe, in particular, had given it everything they had and left nothing on the table. Two men from the town had to carry Joe to the stepping stone. Samara supported them and leapt through with them. I could've fought harder, Samara thought, remembering the giant spider above the rooftops. I was exhausted, but I was still conscious, still awake, still breathing. I had more left. Worst of all, I tried to lend my power to someone else. Protecting them was my responsibility, not Nyx's. Now, after using the Stone, she was sitting by a tree, with Joe by her side. While she looked at his sleeping face, one thought became very clear to her: I will not make the same mistake again. The next time I face Vetala, I will bring my all. I will either walk away victorious... or I will not walk away at all. She placed the sack of gold coins from the townspeople onto Joe's lap, suddenly feeling very unworthy of it. Why the hell did Alex hand that to me anyway? she thought. "I'll get a fire started," Samara said, finally getting up. She groaned like an arthritic old lady, a side effect of playing chicken with a cartload of bricks and a bunch of spiders the size of Volkswagens. Even if their healer wasn't taking a nap right now, she wouldn't have it any other way. Moments like these build strength. The pain means it's working. Whatever doesn't kill you... "I'll... go find some kindling..." she said, walking away from the group with a slight limp. "Hope the fairies don't mind..."
Joe and Andreas It was cold and black. Memories and feelings were melting together. The only thing they could make out was Dionne, falling away from them into the darkness. They woke up slowly, the remnants of their nightmares slipping away a bit at a time. The strange forest did nothing to help their disorientation. Where the hell were they? And where the hell did all this money come from? They shoved it into their bag uncomfortably. They could figure out whose it was once their brain had turned on properly. Their nightmares clung to their brain, muddying their thoughts. They'd been in the town of...something. Spiders. Running. And then- Dionne. Dionne had died, and they hadn't managed to save her. Wasn't...wasn't that just a nightmare? Don't be an idiot. They knew better. She had died. She was dead. Because they hadn't been strong enough. When Will- When Will had died, it had been different. There had been nothing they could do. But they had held Dionne's life in their hands, and still... And yet...She had been okay with it. She hadn't blamed them. She wasn't scared. Or are you just pretending it isn't your fault that she's dead? They felt a panic coming on. It was something they didn't have time for. All the feelings were shoved down and buried deep, where Joe didn't have to deal with them. They forced some deep breaths and rubbed their face, willing themselves to wake up properly. There was stuff that needed doing. Probably. Joe looked around at the strange, but beautiful, clearing. Miss Wintersmith was- no, she was just asleep. Samara was limping a little. Even though she had her "tough" face on, that was worrying. Tris and Drake were sitting together and looking...well, like they were actually caring about each other a little. And not just in a "woohoo sexy" way, either. Joe felt strangely satisfied by that. It was okay. They were all still alive. "Joe?" Joe turned to look at Andreas just in time to see him fall to the ground. Oh god, oh no- They raced over to him, staggering a little, and stared blankly for a moment. Then they saw the dark, bloody patch slightly hidden under the hair. Oh sh*t a head injury, oh f*ck that could be bad. They placed a hand gently over the wound and started healing as fast as they could. Andreas' forehead went cold and numb, his nausea eased. It was an unfathomable relief. As Joe focused on the damaged skull, Andreas had the oddest sensation of a dented cola can being pushed out again. His forehead tingled, then itched, then a warmth descended on it. Andreas slumped his shoulders and let his jaw hang open. He was convinced Joe was the nicest person ever. Except for maybe Nora. Joe still held a hand to Andreas' head, however. He could feel something else going on, deeper within his skull. "Thanks Joe that's great." he said, pushing his hand away and sitting up properly. Joe looked very worried. Even for Joe. He gave that look he always gave before speaking up. "N-no, I'm not finished! Your - " "I feel fine, Joe. I'm all fixed." "Maybe -" "I said I'm FINE!" Geeze. It was his head, he had wasn't going to have someone else poking around in it for no reason.
The sun went down and night fell. Samara's fire burned steadily, casting a circle of light in the darkness. Everyone was sleeping when, a few hours later, something approached them. It was hazy, like heat rising from the sidewalk, hard to focus on. When it reached the edge of the group, it leaned down and poked Drake in the side. When he didn't move, it kicked him so hard that he rolled over. "Wha...huh?" Nora woke up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looked around but her eyes skimmed over the hazy blur. "Is someone there?" she asked out loud. There was no reply. Alex, who was sleeping nearby, mumbled in his sleep and curled into a tight ball.
