"Jade," Tori hissed cautiously as her eyes adjusted in the dim light. This room was unlike the others'; it was without the luxuries provided to Trina or even Etum. Two necromancers sat suspended a few feet off the ground, by their own means or by a Brotherhood enchantment Tori wasn't sure. They were enclosed within a crystal prison, though it didn't appear to be necessary. Both men were still, their eyes closed and their hands resting on their crossed legs. A meditative trance or passive resistance? Regardless neither flinched nor acknowledged their sudden presence in any way.
Tori felt immediately uneasy. As an empath, her powers were constantly probing those around her. Even when she suppressed her abilities they were always sensing, sensitive to the soft whispers of emotions from those nearby. A constant dull roar had accompanied her existence for the past century. This was not the first time she'd met individuals capable of stifling their emotions—Jade was a master of it—but no camouflage was ever perfect.
Until now.
The necromancers before her might as well have been part of cold stone foundation. If she had closed her eyes she wouldn't have been able to sense them whatsoever. They were unreadable.
Jade appeared to have sensed it as well; Tori felt a brief spike of confusion pulse from the girl ahead of her.
"Hey, fuckers," Jade barked, snapping her fingers in their direction. Tori shifted uneasily as the pale girl stepped closer to the barrier, toeing the line with the tip of her boot. She was met with silence, which only encouraged her rampage. "Hey!" She crossed her arms and paced impatiently in front of them. "They're human?" She glanced back at Tori.
"We thought so, but I've never known any mortals able to block out any empath," Tori explained with a slight nod.
Jade huffed and returned her attention to the men before her. "They haven't been using the right tactics. Feel like giving me some help?" She extended her hand, palm up, towards Tori and wagged her fingers. She wanted to use their signature move: the sudden and simultaneous waves of positive and negative emotions. It easily overwhelmed humans and sent them into frenzy.
"Jade," Tori began softly. "Your powers don't work down here… remember?" She reminded carefully. She watched Jade blink as realization dawned on her. Down here she was, essentially, mortal.
"Can you still channel?"
Tori frowned. As an empath she could act as a conduit and project others' emotions with hers, but she'd never done so with Jade. She didn't like the aspect of mashing Lucia and Shade together; it made her nervous to consider sharing a mind with two very ancient, very powerful, and very opposing spirits. She considered declining, considered pleading with Jade to just abandon this venture and return to their room. One glance into those piercing blue eyes told her that those requests would fall on deaf ears.
"You won't let us leave if we don't, will you?" Tori sighed in defeat. She took the hybrid's hand in her own and stepped forward, squeezing it for reassurance. "I don't think it's going to work," she frowned, mentally shielding herself as she felt Jade open the floodgates. She was nearly unprepared for such a sudden release; the dark hybrid wasn't playing around. After a beat, Tori joined in, blasting the two mortals in front of her with a powerful wave of conflicting emotions.
Much as she suspected, though she was oblivious as to why, neither man flinched. She felt Jade ramping up her empathy and followed suit, concentrating firmly until she felt a thin film of sweat form on her forehead. She exhaled heavily and shifted her gaze to her girlfriend to find she was struggling as well. Her brows were furrowed and nostrils flared angrily; she was throwing everything she had at the humans to no avail. "Jade," Tori breathed, squeezing the pale girl's hand to break her concentration.
"What are they? Humans can't do this," She snarled in frustration, dropping Tori's hand. In one fluid motion she stepped forward, crossing the magical barrier and grabbing one of them tightly by the shoulders.
"Jade!" Tori reached forward and grabbed her by the back of her shirt. "You can't—"
"Your efforts are pathetic."
Both girls froze. Jade released the man in her grip as if he'd electrocuted her and allowed Tori to drag her back across the barrier. "Who said that?" Jade demanded. Neither man had moved, and the voice that reverberated through the room didn't sound human.
"We are coming. You will not stop us." The voice insured, louder this time. The men opened their eyes to reveal inky black pools. There was no sign of humanity in them. And neither had opened their mouths yet.
"What the fuck?" Jade demanded.
"Humanity's reign is over." The men unfolded their legs to stand on their on two feet. They stepped towards the barrier and it crackled in protest at their approach. Tori tightened her grip on the back of Jade's shirt anxiously. This was big. Very big.
The captives placed their hands against the invisible wall of energy; green electricity snapped and sizzled against their palms. "We are coming." The voice repeated. The men opened their mouth and began chanting in a language Tori couldn't identify.
"They were doing this when we found them," she muttered, pulling Jade backwards towards the door. "We need to leave. We need to get Aria."
"We're just getting somewhere with them!" Jade protested adamantly, yanking her shirt away. "Who's coming? Tell me!" She demanded over the chanting.
They ignored her and continued their recitation. The crackling intensified as they pressed harder against the barrier when, suddenly, a blaze of light filled the room. The crystals exploded and shot shrapnel through the air, freeing them. Unimpeded, they stepped forward towards the hybrids, who quickly backed towards the exit.
"Can we go now?" Tori pleaded as she pawed at the latch behind her.
"Go. Go!" Jade agreed as Tori threw the door open. The dark hybrid danced out from their reach and back into the hallway seconds before Tori slammed the heavy door shut behind her, turning the lock. They could hear pounding on the other side. Jade leaned against the opposite wall and ran her hands through her hair to try and calm herself. "What the fuck was that about?"
Tori, frazzled, shrugged her shoulders as she tried to process. Before she could form a response, Aria and Andre barreled around the corner. Aria had flour smeared across her brow and Andre brandished a spatula; they'd clearly been in the middle of preparing dinner.
"You heard the voice?" The elder demanded breathlessly as she turned her attention to the hammering at the door.
"You heard the voice?" Tori countered. The kitchen was on the other side of the Vault, and she wouldn't have thought sounds of the disturbance would have drifted that far.
"It was up here, man." Andre tapped his temple with his free hand.
Telepathy would explain why neither man had opened their mouths. But it still didn't answer the pressing question. "Who's coming?" Tori asked, brows furrowed as she stared at the door.
Aria ignored her. "What's going on in there?" She reached for the latch when Jade grabbed her arm.
"Don't. They broke the barrier," Jade advised, pulling her clear of the door just in case they managed to destroy the heavy, ancient lock.
"You were in there?" Aria's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What did you do?"
"Nothing you shouldn't have done in the first place. At least I moved this party along," Jade replied defensively, crossing her arms.
"You let her in there?" Aria turned her tirade to Tori. "We don't know anything about them, Tori. You put both of yourselves at risk to satisfy her tantrum?"
"Tori doesn't let me do anything, Sparky," Jade retorted. "It's not like she didn't try to talk me out of it."
"Then why don't you listen?" Aria snapped. "This is an unprecedented situation," she gestured towards the door. "They're clearly possessed by something we can't identify and you freed them—"
"They freed themselves!" Jade's pale eyes shimmered angrily as she stepped towards Aria, daring her to speak again.
"Only after your interference!" Aria closed the distance between them and glared down at the older hybrid.
"I wouldn't have interfered if you didn't lock me down here with them!"
"Guys, guys!" Tori wedged herself between Aria and Jade, forcing them back to their proverbial corners. "Is this really the issue we should be focusing on at this moment?" She kept her hand on Aria's forearm and carefully secreted endorphins in her direction; she needed to dissolve this conflict. Hopefully calming Aria would be enough for the time being; she couldn't risk this trick on Jade. She knew the other empath would sense her efforts and resist. "Someone's coming," she reminded them.
"We need to secure this door. Andre, go. Get the enchanters on this." She nodded down the hallway and Andre handed her the spatula before turning on his heel and retreating towards the Vault's exit. "I hope this holds." She squared her jaw and stared at the door. The banging was beginning to subside, as if the captives inside were beginning to tire.
"They didn't seem to have any problem shattering your force field. I don't see why this would stop them," Jade commented.
She had a point, Tori realized. The door was heavy, yes, and locked. But it was only a physical barrier, not a magickal one. "Maybe they don't want out," she guessed.
"Sounds like they do," Jade countered.
"No… I think if they wanted out they would be. We wouldn't have gotten them here at all if they didn't want to be," the Latina frowned. "We used the same enchantments in New Mexico. Why wait until now to break our spells if they didn't want to be here in the first place?" She reasoned. "What… what if whoever's coming wanted them to be here? What if they're just messing with us right now?"
Both women stared at her, processing her words.
"What are you keeping down here that they might want?" Jade asked suspiciously.
Aria stared at her, through her, Tori realized, as she thought. "We need to secure the Vault. Not just this door. All of them. We can't risk them getting out and releasing the prisoners."
"That didn't answer my question, Aria," Jade pressed as the elder started down the corridor.
"I don't know, Jade," Aria huffed. "I don't know who's coming. I don't know what they could want. The Vault is huge. You know this. We have prisoners. We have spell books. We have magickal…shit. A lot of it. Talismans. Cursed objects. Enchanted objects. Weapons. Powerful prisoners like Eris." She glanced at Tori. "We can't know yet, so we need to lock it all up now."
"Why don't you just do everyone a favor and kill them?" Jade scowled. "They're clearly possessed. If they aren't going to cooperate just nip the whole problem in the bud and save us all the inevitable trouble?"
"Jade," Tori chastised. She knew the older hybrid was frustrated and taking it out on those available but, at the end of the day, they were still mortals. Victims of whatever they'd been possessed by.
"Look! The longer you let this unfold the more likely I'm going to become deeply involved. I'm not a Guardian anymore, guys. Rogue. Right here." She planted her feet and gestured to herself. "The last time I got wrapped up in one of your missions it nearly cost me my soul, or did you both forget already?" Her gaze bored a hole through Tori's head and the empath winced. Jade didn't need her powers to shake her, not when she was this angry.
"We hear you, Jade, Rogue! But right now you don't have a choice!" Aria snapped. Tori sighed; all her good vibes had dissipated. "You're here. You're one of the few of us hearing the voices. Whether you like it or not you're a Guardian right now until we figure this out, and then you can go."
"I've heard that one before," Jade rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"Bitch and moan all you want, West. As long as you're with Tori there's always a risk of this happening. So I guess which really matters more to you: her, or your detestation of us?" Aria's outburst left them both speechless. "So do me a favor and think about that and just shut up so I can think. Sound good?"
Jade's jaw dropped as the elder stormed past. For the first time in recent memory it would appear someone had shocked the brash hybrid into silence. Tori reached for her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly, herself unsure what to say to ease the tension.
"Victoria!" Aria barked from down the corridor.
"I… I'm part of this, Jade. I'm sorry." She dropped her head and stepped past her after Aria, leaving her girlfriend fuming in the hallway.