TATTOO YOUR SOUL
They ran, slipping this and way and that through the long, lonely corridors of Solomon's hidden laboratories, down the while, empty halls and through the building. Robin led the way, as if the witch knew exactly where she was going. Kristo's fingers curled around the tsukamaki of his katana, fingering the menuki of twin, flying cranes, as if asking for protection from the birds as he ran just behind the Craft user.
Nycole followed in fear, but stumbled.
Brett whirled around, grabbing her by the wrist sharply, as he had done so very often before when she looked faint. "Nycole, be careful."
The girl almost fell to the ground, staggering into the wall, throwing out an arm to support herself. She blinked, feeling the tremendous energy swell around them, rising, building with a horrific tidal wave. This was pure grief and anguish, suffering of the most perfect and exquisitely horrible kind. Nycole had to struggle to recover from the wave once it hit her and past, radiating out from somewhere deep within that secret place beneath the Vatican.
"Amon…"
Sakaki was at her side in a heartbeat, finding his Orbo necklace and placing it around her neck, securing it tightly behind her head. For a moment, the green liquid glowed brightly, bubbling out before subsiding and stilling. Sakaki let out a sigh of relief, smoothing the empath's hair back.
"What was it?" Robin breathed.
Nycole closed her eyes. "You don't want to know."
"Stop there!"
A strange voice.
They'd been paying so much attention to Nycole that they hadn't noticed a routine security patrol come down the corridor, drawing pistols full of Orbo and witch-killing bullets. The witches turned, flaring out with everything they had. Flames streaked through the air from Brett. A wave of energy rode behind them, fueled by Geoff. Even Sakaki instinctively reacted, pouring out his energy, no longer checked by the Orbo necklace. Kristo just watched as they knocked the guards back and into a wall soundly. The patrol sank to the ground,
Kristo sniffed. "Haven't you people heard about subtly?"
"It doesn't matter," Brett pointed out. "They already know we're here."
xxxx
An alarm went off.
Amon ignored it from where he lay, collapsed on the floor, still allowing the energy to seep from him, pouring out and into the world around him.
He didn't even move when water cascaded down in sheets from the fire sprinklers.
"Kathain…"
xxxx
The lights flashed out.
The witches jumped, terrified as they were plunged into darkness. Only Kristo didn't flinch, welcoming the dark and the well of his powers as the abyss yawned and billowed out around him. Brett let energy sheer from his mind, burning a thin trail of flames up his right arm, illuminating the hall with a pale, orange light.
"Stay focused," Brett instructed.
Kristo gripped the hilt of his katana lightly, loosening his grip and readying for battle. He only spun around to see as red lights faded into existence, lighting the hall. Obviously emergency lighting was coming on for some odd reason.
"I'd say they know we're here," Geoff tried to make light of the situation.
Nycole sighed. "This can't get any worse."
Even as she uttered the words, emergency sprinklers kicked to life, and water rained down upon them in heavy, harsh droplets. The sensors must have gone off from Brett's flames, which smoldered and died. A puff of smoke rose from Brett's arm as the water killed his fire. The elemental frowned. In air that saturated, his skills were utterly useless, as were Robin's.
Brett swore, loudly.
Even Nycole was out of commission, or, at least, she was so long as she continued to bear the Orbo necklace.
"We're are SO boned," Geoff shook his head.
"No we're not," Kristo snarled. " We keep moving. We find Kathain. We find Amon, and we get the fucking hell out of here."
Raven nodded, warming up the runes within him. "Right."
xxxx
There was music.
Such pretty music.
It seemed to waft and float over him, dance around him. It sounded so pleasant, so comforting and delightful. So perfect.
There were voices over him, shouting harshly, barking orders.
The rain didn't fall upon him. Amon found it weird. He could feel the water pooling around him, but it didn't plop upon his skin. It was as if there was a hole in the rain its self. The former hunter didn't know what to make of it.
But, then again, he didn't know what to make of anything at that point.
"What the hell is he?"
Amon could have died laughing at that question.
"It doesn't matter. Shoot him."
Loud sounds banged around him, pounding and slamming in Amon's ears. It was giving him a headache. A bad one. A migraine was coming on, looming like a dark storm cloud.
Amon murmured the order. "Stop."
And they did.
xxxx
An explosion rocked the complex beneath the Vatican.
Robin almost fell but landed against Kristo's back. The shadow walker grew dark and distant, amassing the depths of the black around him in a heavy, rich pocket around him. The witches hurled themselves against a wall, preparing for a sea of guards to come rushing towards them, heavily armed and ready for battle.
"What the hell was that?" Bear shouted.
Brett shook his head. "Don't know. Doesn't matter."
Kristo ignored it. "Let's just use it to our advantage."
xxxx
Something hurt.
It burnt and sang agony in his… what was the word for it? Arm… no, it didn't feel like that body part. Back? No, not quite either. Things weren't clear anymore, not even physical sensation.
"Damn it."
Amon gritted his teeth, trying to rise.
Instead, a sea of liquid flame rolled from him. Energy? No. Fire… maybe. The former hunter couldn't tell anymore. His mind seemed to slip and fall away, leaving him and becoming a less cohesive and coherent part of the universe. Amon was loosing himself, and his own mind.
"Stop it, stop it, stop it."
xxxx
"Amon!"
Nycole cried out the word, tripping again and falling into Sakaki. Her head hurt and swam, despite the Orbo tied around her neck. It no longer stemmed the flow of rage and sorrow pouring from deep within the facility. The Orbo had finally become useless against whoever was down in the darkness.
Meaning only one thing.
"We have to find Amon," Nycole breathed.
Sakaki nodded, pulling her arm over his neck and shouldering her weight. They ran on, down into the dark of the Solomon facility. Down, and down they ran. Surprisingly, no guards came down the halls they chose. Apparently, there was something bigger, something worse happening in that wet and raining maze.
Suddenly, a swarm of guards rushed past, ignoring the witches.
Robin gasped.
There was a door open, swinging back and forth at the end of the hall. It banged loudly and harshly with every swing. White flame trailed out of the door and into the hall, despite the water falling from the sprinklers.
"This is… Craft…" Robin whispered.
Geoff studied it for a moment. "Spirit fire."
They ran down the hall, water splashing with every step.
Nycole and Robin reached the door first, with shrill screams. "Amon!"
Kristo held up his katana fiercely as they rushed up to join the girls, freezing in place at the entryway. There, in the middle of a pool of his own blood, lay Amon. Water fell around him, sending shivers through Amon's weak body. He, in his own right, was bloodied and beaten, battered and broken. Amon was a terrible, sad sight to behold, and, yet, Robin could not bring herself to approach him.
"Amon…." The teenager whispered.
Nycole rushed to his side, throwing the Orbo necklace from off her neck. It skittered across the floor as the empath made her way to Amon, sliding on the tile floor and crouching at his side. She touched his shoulder tenderly, drawing the pain and suffering off of his body and into her, halving the torment. Nycole almost fell over, but gritted her teeth and fought against it.
"Amon, are you there?" Nycole asked softly.
His eyes cracked open. "Hurts…"
The empath nodded slowly. "I know it does."
Amon seemed so lost and confused. "My…"
Nycole supplied the word. "Wings."
xxxx
Enjoy.
