Blade's heart raced; everything was a blur, yet it was in slow motion. The sunlight intensified unnaturally. Her ears buzzed with static, the pounding was so strong in her eardrums that it made her sick. Her bracelet flickered weirdly. Sweat, a clammy coat she wore. Her chest sneered shut. It just had to work. 'This just has to!' She was about to flip the dagger to the other side so she'd be able to place it at Mercury's throat. Her hand trembled. A far-off choir of a million voices that screamed for her to stop. If it was fear or exhaustion she couldn't honestly tell anymore. Everything was so surreal like a fever dream. Suddenly a gleaming light burned in her eyes, stung, and froze her for a second in motion. What a nightmare this was. It was that high ping that snapped her back to reality, her hand got ripped away by an impact force, that dagger torn from her grasp, and the blue energy blade shattered. Blade's eyes couldn't even follow up. Abruptly a white blur right next to her. A blunt thrust to her sternum flung her off Mercury straight into the air as if she were some bouncing ball. Blade activated her Shadion. 'Shit, they're back!' That was the last thing she needed. Blade could feel so much magic built up all around her. She broke her tumble. The world, a giant smudge. Wings humming like crazy. Promptly she felt burrowing grasps on her shoulders and got pounded into the sand again. The attack knocked the air right out of her lungs. Someone's legs pressed down on her thighs. "I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU EVEN TOUCH THEM!" Blade roared. She had thought Mercury's grasp had been tight. Now she couldn't get an inch. Her wings thrummed like crazy for not. Tears crept into her eyes as she ground her teeth so much it hurt. "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" A command and yet begging to have mercy. No answer. Suddenly she got shot through with Dark Magic. Drenched. It wasn't an attack. It didn't pierce her like a weapon or attack spell, something pointy yet gentle right at her spine.
Karim tensely stared at Blade as his staff touched her back and flooded the girl with Dark Magic his ethereal tendrils on his wrists and forehead waved with his pulsating magic. 'Not good. By the Dragon, who'd?... There were no reports of any PSI users going rampage.' No one said a word. Everyone knew their job. He knew all too well such sights. It was rare to find, but when encountered one couldn't mistake it for anything else. The Black Magic Hunter Division went into full damage control mode. Karim's dark teal paws grabbed his staff tighter. They weren't in the clear by any means. Not the Kids. Not them. There was no sign of the PSI user. 'Please, Fane…hurry it up.'
The students had knocked each other out all over the place. One Division Hunter who stood in the middle of the battlefield called in with the additional requested backup forces to give an update. They needed PSI users on site right now and those hadn't been included priorly.
By now, everyone in earshot of the children had swapped to sign language. Anything that was said could trigger unwanted responses as they couldn't establish if there were commands left behind or not. So, at least three people stayed with one student. They moved the kids to get as much distance between them without widening the radius beyond the frozen sand from which steam began to slowly rise as the sun broke through again. After all, they had also dispelled the storm before they had breached the dome.
Karim was on high alert. They were short on people as the risk level had risen so drastically now that it wasn't just a simple attack of some thugs, but a PSI attack. A battle was hard enough to back up if there was no information. An infight… even worse. Nonetheless, seven of the twenty-eight Division Hunters had to take the lookout and mount actual defences. They couldn't even check the manor for additional victims or people in need. The possibility of being picked off was too great. 'We were in under two minutes… Who is strong enough to cause so much damage to…?' Karim shook his head his white-tipped ears flipped annoyed as his dark-teal back fur bristled. The Kids were strong, however not trained for PSI attacks. It was too rare to expect. It took so long to truly master countermeasures so it had never been a priority. Plus, even then, one just had to run into a stronger PSI user.
Karim watched as Sienna was unearthed from the freezing sand. She had been moved just up ahead of Blade. An utterly exhausted Pixi atop of her. 'Is that the Pixi they reported? She…' A short smile stole itself on Karim's lips. Pixies truly were the saviours of Fairies. 'May the Dragon bless that one.' Both were in bad shape from what Karim could tell at first glance. Still, he breathed through, 'Not good, but nothing that can't be fixed with a good healer.'
His gaze wandered. Kitty and Nebula were at the edges of the sand both left and right of Blade. 'Looks like they were trying a formation attack…. Maybe a pincer…' The two seemed simply knocked out and weak in magic.
Snow. Karim held his breath, 'So weak in her essence…' He wanted to rush off to help but the Division Hunter Fairy was already on it with her Fairy dust and Light Magic. The woman slowly but surely restored colour to Snow's pale face. It wasn't surprising that her magic levels were critical, given the way their breaths condensed into little clouds in the frigid air, joining the steam rising from the thawing sand, 'She let loose. Palladium was right… if that girl stops holding back…'
Karim's thought got interrupted as he stared at Mercury. His armour was smeared with blood. 'Not good, so my nose didn't…' Karim had hoped he'd been wrong. He had shot Blade's dagger to pieces in time, yet already had smelled some. He watched as Mercury fell unconscious unable to further weather the pain. The guards had dragged him away from Blade. He was a bit off to the left but still in sight of Blade. It was cramped as much as they liked to they couldn't expand the perimeter, even if it posed risks to keep them close. The Division Hunters were checking Mercury's back for where the blood came from and the shoulder was revealed. A clean shot into the joint area. 'Nothing vital…' Karim knew that just as anyone else here and truly breathed through. Mercury was worse off than Seth next to Snow. Nonetheless, it was nothing, a common flesh wound that be healed in a few moments.
The tension hung in the air despite the relieved realisations that the students more or less had gotten out unscathed. The Hunters conjured more spells since they had finished their initial checkups. One spell ring, Fairy dust or pure infusion to counter any possible Black Magic for the kids to cleanse them. One shield around each student to block sound. Similar to that hassle of a dome they had shattered just moments ago. On top, they placed additional runes tailored so the kids couldn't see each other. They had to eliminate as many senses or rather triggers for possible commands. One of the favourite PSI attack commands was after all kill-your-team.
'Gotta try with Blade. We need information,' Karim gave the smallest nod to the Fairy and two Paladins who were helping him with Blade. The Paladins were holding her down, while the Fairy held the sound barrier stable and halted to add the runes for just a few seconds longer. The Paladins gave the girl in their grip the tiniest wiggle room.
'Damn it! I gotta protect them all. Move!' Blade hissed inwardly and finally found an inch. She ripped her head around, chin up, to gaze across the sandbank."MERCURY!" Blade's voice rang out as he vanished from her sight from one second to the other. Gone just like the rest of her teammates. She didn't even realise whose Order robes she was staring at."YOU!" She flared up her Dark Magic to attack, to rip free, as pointless as it would be… 'What?' Blade was so dazzled that she broke away from that dooming hold that had been unrelenting before. She stumbled as her feet had a hard time listening to her and she tried her best to coordinate through her overwhelming exhaustion. Nonetheless, she dashed forward. She had to get to Mercury. 'It wasn't teleportation. Illusion!' With her next step Blade crashed into something, an invisible wall. Her nails scratched along a shield. It was a strong one flawless easily countered whatever she shot through it in reflex. Her Body complained heavily as it was low on magic even her Dark Magic. "WHO ARE YOU!?" Like a roaring dragon, she turned around and manifested a dart next to her. They took the least magic out of her yet she had to gag anyway.
One water bullet. In the blink of an eye, Karim shot that materialising weapon to pieces and watched her flinch. The two Paladins to his left and right were ready to subdue her again. A nod from the Fairy outside who held the shield spells stable. "…" Karim wanted to say something. He truly did, but anything could trigger a PSI command even what they were doing already and her aggression wasn't a good sign.
Blade dive-rolled to the side however no other attack followed, which for the first time gave her reason to question what was real or an illusion. She stared briefly before she muttered her realisation, "Predator… Karim…" Blade didn't believe her eyes. She noticed her bracelet was blinking again. It was reconnected to Red Fountain and they read her vitals. 'No… impossible… we lost contact. How would they be here so fast?' She searched for inaccuracies, this had to be an illusion anything could prove her theory. 'The sky is back!? When?' The big wide blue fanned out above her, the storm gone like it had never happened. She frowned and grimaced. There was just so much going on in her head. Her eyes fixed on those two towering Division Hunters in toe with the Werfox, the only people she could see right now, everyone else was gone. It was so intimidating, not to know what was real, what to trust. They didn't even need to do anything. Everything felt haunted to her. Blade's head was racing, were her eyes betraying her or not? "Say something!" She demanded. 'If they are… why are they standing around like that?! They didn't teleport the others away.' She tried to make sense of it all. "SIENNA," her mind skipped in a heartbeat. Eyes searching. She had tried to juggle so much. Now she was losing her grip on things. Yet. Nothing. There was just a far stretched-out sandbank and the manor buildings around.
Karim breathed through and relaxed his posture. 'Come on, Blade, you can make the connection. It's not that hard. Fight it.' It was still hard to tell what was going on with her. He couldn't rush this. There were signs that she was herself and yet trusting people after a PSI attack was challenging even for an experienced warrior.
'Can't be them, right?' A quick check on her bracelet. 'Three minutes?... Would they… how could they possibly…teleportation?' That made sense. 'But that guy said the others… so they have a team… So, am I seeing the truth or not?! Fuck.' Blade bit her lip squinting her eyes. She had to be careful. Alone. This was hopeless she'd never win against three people or how many more there were. "Mercury!? GET UP!" He was her only hope. The others for sure had been out cold. 'Fuck. I stabbed him! Stupid me!' Her throat sneered shut. So much regret. All of them were fucked. She knew it. They knew it. Blade changed her stance. She'd not give up. She'd fight till the end. 'Maybe with a bit more time the reinforce…ments….What if they are- but if I'm wrong…Shit!' That creeping feeling of uneasiness overtook her and turned into fear. Blade made a rapid turn and punched into that shield as her fist crackled in her lingering Dark Magic. Ineffective. Her eyes jumped across the sand behind the shield. "Release me this instant! OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!" An intimidating voice with a useless threat. That shield hadn't even buckled for a split second.
Karim sighed. She was going feral, as so many did when the grasp of reality slipped through their fingers. 'If we only could talk… she's not getting it…If we only had a PSI user here, we could tell her to meditate…She knows that procedure…but without a fallback safety…' The Division Hunters Fairy's eyes, who held the shield up, went wide in surprise and awe. Irritted Karim looked over his shoulder. A purple and white streak across the sky far off yet already in descends towards them like a meteor. Far behind followed by more white sprinkles. 'Cavallari arrived, huh. Top speed today. Is that?...No way.' His sharp Werfox eyes could see it clearly.
Blade watched as Karim turned his head away and stared at the sky. Her eyes followed his direction nevertheless she could see nothing, no one. She ground her teeth. 'If they are allies they won't hurt me. No time to hold back and fall for some shitty mind game and give up.' She huffed. The last time she had met PSI users was at the reward ceremony. She had given them an opening into her mind by talking with them. Interacting. 'Not doing this mistake twice.' The steam of the melting ice was like an ominous fog at her feet. Her muscles tensed. 'Let's hope I don't punch air….' She gulped and hit the ground running. Adrenaline shot through her veins.
Wordlessly one of the Paladins stepped into her path and blocked her way to Karim. He was neither laughing nor grinning. As feeble as her attempt was he was dead serious. 'Great. Did we trigger something…? Or is she just so confused? Hmmm.'
Blade swung her fist and got blocked, went into an uppercut, and missed as the Paladin sidestepped. She grunted annoyed. She was just so exhausted. 'Damn it, I can't even.' She wanted to use another punch but the Paladin vanished. Next thing she knew her legs flew up above her head. She'd been swiped from her feet. A harsh landing that knocked the air out of her lungs. Blade was just about to swing herself back up as that dome above her shattered and she saw: Sharp white fangs. A grin full of confidence and annoyance. Dark purple tribal hair. Knee-high boots. Pale skin. White Jade Tattoos. And wings made from magic, transparent, in the form of a dragon. And… someone else with her swung over the Vampire's shoulders. She knew the man from somewhere. Certainly not someone who belonged on a battlefield.
"Catch!" Fane flung Concillour Eaden into the other Paladin's arms who had his hands free, before she forced Blade back to the ground as she broke her landing and pinned the girl by her chest. "Gesh, Karim, you're normally not that indecisive," Fane glanced at him with a bit of surprise. "They're tough not made out of sugar."
Blade promptly seized Fane's wrist in reflex, "YOU-"
"Get a grip, Blade. If we'd be the enemy you'd already be dead. You have no valuable information. And you ran into this mess unprepared. You're no target of interest to anyone on Eraklyon," Fane gave her a warning stare that shut the girl up. Worried Fane looked around to the other students, not that she showed her true emotions to anyone, 'Shit. Too slow. Damn it.'
"You shouldn't talk at all. You know the protocol," Karim admonished Fane a bit. His white tail flicked shortly in disapproval. At least Blade stopped her aggressions.
Eaden finally didn't feel so dizzy anymore. The Eraklyon Councillor pinched his nose bridge. 'I wrote the protocol. Well, overhauled it. So, don't you underestimate me, Pr- I mean, Predator.' He already linked everyone up so the Division Hunters could talk with each other instead of relying on sign language. His piercing glare switched to Blade and he straight walked towards her. 'Keep watch. I'll deal with the mind hacks.' He ordered everyone around. 'AND NO CHIT-CHAT.'
As the man stepped up to Blade and his hand lowered towards her face, it dawned on Blade that they truly were the real ones. There was no way in Magix, that any PSI user could imagine that squabble. "Wait you're the-" The Councillor simply kneeled down and his hand engulfed her face.
It burned so badly. Blade's hand was on fire. Automatically she focused on it. Blade's hand was burning yet she was underwater. The spear, her spear, glimmered just above the water line. Stuck in her palm. Blade wanted to puke from the pain. Her panic, her insecurity, her doubts, were a heavy weight that dragged her into the deep. With heavy pushes Blade aimed for the surface, gasped for air. Another wave broke down over her and pressed her into that pitch-black water straight away. She coughed and blinked. She was back in the endless black. The crimson floor above was like tinted glass that blocked her way. Try as she may all that fear pulled her into the deep. The only thing that stopped her from drowning completely was the spear that caused that excruciating pain. Air ran out. Then she felt something tug at her boot. A grasp, a hand that spoke of destruction. Blade grunted in pain and pushed herself harder. She barely broke through the water's surface again. Her free hand clawed into the crimson floor. The white horizon line that split sky from earth was a welcomed sight. "Shit, how long have I been under!?" She coughed up more of that brackish water. And felt another pull from the deep. The ground she was clinging to was crumbling. The cracks had spread further than the last time she had been here. "FUCK!" Her heart jumped a beat. "Let go!" She screeched. She fell into utter panic. She didn't even know why. Or rather, it didn't feel unwarranted which made it even worse. All in her. Life itself screamed to run from that grasp.
"Burn away fire of hate, be chained," Eaden's voice rang out and a chain came flying from the endless crimson floor and smashed that spear to pieces as his silhouette came to focus. His tone was steady, controlled and unphased by her plight. "Burn away fire of fear, be chained!" Another chain shot out from him and wrapped around Blade in no time before she got pulled into the darkness of the waters. He tensed that chain. "Burn away fire of despair, be chained!" Massive chains came crashing down from the sky and circled the hole where Blade had plunged through the ground and a magic circle formed around it the cracks in the ground began to glow from the outside in. "Begone, terror of mind!" Eaden shot his Dark Magic along the tensed chain and yanked Blade out of the water right to his feet.
Blade was shaking violently. She felt so sick. Barely could hold herself up. "Tha-thanks…" She couldn't put her finger on it. Sure this could be another trick in a trick in a trick. But somehow all those thoughts were blown away. The world was so much clearer. All that fear was gone. Not only that. She knew that spell, what it could do. It was more than that though. The fear that had filled her mind hadn't been hers, unnatural and yet a force of nature.
"Mmmmh," Eaden looked to the sky and ignored the thanks. "You got to learn to keep cool, young Lady." His eyes followed every strand of that webbed fissure. To his satisfaction, it was already closing off and healed without his help. His gaze wandered back to the hole in the ground. The crimson colour was a dire sign. One he knew. Dreaded. His eyes halted on Blade, piercing. Searching.
"I didn't do that!" Blade complained straight away. "It was… it…." Black Smoke rebuilt the scene on top of the crimson floor but washed out before it really established.
Eaden turned to the girl, "… As much as I like to explain mind battles to you," his voice was full of irony and haste. "Use that pretty brain of yours and focus on your attackers. This won't do." He pointed at the dispersing smoke. "Fane doesn't have all day. Neither do I." His tone was harsh but not unkind, more matter-of-fact. They had no time to waste and being snatched from his office window in the palace by the Speed Queen didn't improve his mood whatsoever. "So focus," Eaden pulled Blade to her feet.
Blade shook her head. She couldn't help it she gestured at that crimson floor. "What? No. Tell me what happened!? Normally it's black. And what is benea-"
"Phoenix. You drown; you're gone. Now, stop asking a hundred questions," Eaden breathed out loud. Of course, there was no way around this chit-chat. "And no, you're not corrupted. Yes, everyone has the Phoenix in their mind space. It's just how it manifests. How we grasp it. Evil sleeps in all of us. Its lure is like a Siren's call promising anything from power to desires. Or it's plunging you into despair. Congratulations on the latter. Now. PLEASE. Concentrate, Ms Ashfallow."
"The Phoenix? THE…" Blade sight fixed on the ground tranced she gazed at the crimson ground. Away from the gaping hole the floor was just solid nothing would suggest anything living in those depths. This time it had been so different than on Phere-Moan. Her eyes slowly but surely began to fall shut as she stood there.
"Oh, by the Great…," Eaden flared up magic as he ruffly grabbed her shoulders. "HEY. You got to fight this." He scolded her, yet the girl wouldn't move or answer. "Seriously, why do we send children anywhere to do missions…" This was such a bother. The young Fairy had fallen hook, line and sinker for the tricks of the PSI attacker after all. "Decipher, Psyche Grid," he cast as he pressed his fingertips against the forehead and pulled out a fine string. He tossed it into the wide open space and infinitely lines branched out and out and out. Eaden's eyes flew over the tapestry. Shanna's work was easily spotted. Yet it was already a true part of the girl. The spells Shanna had used to help Blade already were one with her. "Mh, astonishing as ever…" Her work had that special afterglow to it. Beautiful like elven craftsmanship. Yet what interested Eaden more were the strings directly at the stem, the start of the string at Blade's forehead. "Mmmmmmmh," He frowned at first puzzled before he spotted what he was searching for. He used his Dark Magic and burned a tiny branch to a crisp. As it got obliterated other branches spread and reconnected differently. "Sloppy. So unlike you bastards. And cowardly as ever. Don't underestimate me." He growled. Finally, Blade's last memories showed through the smoke. Sadly she had seen nothing but a towering shadow. "No face again…" He balled his fist. Luckily, she only had gotten a glimpse of their cruelty. "And for a second I hoped we actually got a face for once… of course they'd obscure themselves." A deep sigh, "Probably better this way. She'd be dead otherwise…" And with another wave of his hand, Edean let the grid disappear again. "Kids got lucky as one can be," he clicked his tongue.
"So? What's the verdict? Where do we go? They'll regret touching my students," Fane growled fangs fletched. She seized Eaden by the collar the second she saw his eyelids open. Her whole body was trembling in anger. "Spit. It. Out."
Karim flashed up his eyes at her, "Fane." One word that snapped her out of it. "My dear Lady, you got to catch some more sleep." He warned her. Karim had her respect and so his words had weight in her eyes. 'Those two are working her to the bone…again….'
"Tch. After this mission…"
Fane let go of Eaden and crossed her arms, pouting slightly and puffing offended. "Now, give me direction already. I didn't bring a team for nothing."
Eaden straightened out his robes, "After this mission? Your lies are obvious even without reading your mind. Do I even want to know how often you said that this week?" He stared her down. "Two weeks?...Three….Food is a supplement, not a substitution." A deep sigh as he rubbed his forehead. "Well, in any case. Where are Grandmaster Votzaak and Master Nerrocean at the moment?" He already went through their options. They had to be careful.
"Emergency missions. Otherwise, Votzaak would have teleported here directly. I had to abandon another platoon myself, we were wrapping things up. Today is a ridiculously busy day. We have stuff to do you know," Faned nagged yet paused, "Why do you…ask…?"
Eaden ground his teeth, "Today of all days? What a coincidence…again." He took a moment. Nothing could be done about it. "Prepare body bags and only send in your experienced Order Members to investigate the manor, who can stomach atrocities. The rest of you get the kids back to White Jade and contact Zaltora. We need border control on every teleporter station and more PSI users to check the other villages in range. No team goes without three PSI users. I'll stay here until we find every single one of the manor's inhabitants."
"You can't be serious," Karim interjected. "Here? Them? In the middle of nowhere?" His fur bristled. A flick went through his ethereal tendrils on his arms. He let magic soar through his body in a natural reaction to Eaden's assessment.
Fane dug her nails into her palms. She wasn't good enough still. She knew that. Surely she could catch up to those revolting assholes. Yet she'd end up tearing her squad to pieces when she'd find them and do battle. She indeed had not gotten enough sleep and that bit her in the butt right now, when it counted most. A deep grumble as her nails drew blood. "You heard the man! There won't be a hunt. Eraklyon is on planet-wide alert! Defence measures only! Inform King Sky." She already waved to her wizards. "Temporary teleportation circle, now. You four, building on the right. You four, the one on the left. You three with me main building. I'm counting on you Councillor." She shot him a look. She hated this so much. Just like Edean did. Still, both knew this was the only course of action they currently had as an option with her not truly having slept for so long.
Karim stepped into her path, "Fane. This ain't your fault." He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly as he took her hand and turned it around. His finger traced the bleeding scratch on her palm and it vanished with a short burst of magic. 'One forgets how young she actually is…' Vampires once over twenty-five aged slower than any other race. She could be five hundred or twenty-five and still look the same. Not even Elves aged that slow and with her battle powers and experience level it often was forgotten. She took every loss to heart. Always tried to help. Always raced towards the next person in trouble. Karim gave Eaden a nod. "Okay, healers… just in case prepare a triage." He wouldn't leave now that she was in such a foul mood. Especially since they weren't sure if they were alone. No one here would survive without him if Fane were to be mind-controlled.
