Max spares Horizon and Caio a brief nod of acknowledgement before turning back to the monsters. Seeing the blob beginning to congeal, she rushes over to it. "Oh, no, you don't!" she shouts, digging her claws into the nasty goop and draining away its inherent vitality.
The scarred man sees the goop shlurping together. "What the hell is this?"
"Aww, looks like there was a rider on the spell!" Alan says.
"Don't tell me it was a mistake supercharging these things!"
Alan pulls out another device, shaking his head. "No, it was still the right call! Because otherwise, the amalgamation would be powered by the students' essence!"
The woman in the business suit with demonic wings glances over at Max. "Hello, Violet. I'd step back, if I were you." Max pounds at the slurry and tries to drain it of its power, but as the long-haired alien newcomer had said, it wasn't powered by positive memories. Still, the stuff recoils from her touch, giving the heroes a chance to regroup and get ready!
"Oh, this is pretty bad!" Horizon hovers close to the roof as he switches to aerial support, blasting away at the parts of the ooze trying to reach out for his teammates! He focus his defense on Max in particular, seeing as she's the closest to the action. "I am really sorry for doubting you, Diva! Shouldn't have been so paranoid!"
Noticing the blob forming, Caio realises that it was not the time for him to pull his punches. He discards the makeshift metallic club and shifts into his wolf form... completely forgetting that his costume involved a rather tight lace-up leather pants. His pants are torn apart, leaving Caio completely naked, even if in wolf form.
Cursing, but realising that the monster was of far greater importance than his dignity, he charges the monster, trying to destroy it as soon as possible.
Max gives the winged woman a glare. "Do I know you?" she wonders aloud. But she yields as instructed, getting ready for a big fight. She glances at Shin with narrowed eyes. "Please, make the right calls this time!"
|
Indarius focuses himself on finding a proper way to unravel the sigils allowing the passage of the demonic beings, noting the strange sludge creature forming he shouted over.
"Keep at those things at bay I'll handle sealing the path. We can't just burn it all or we'll risk another hellscar." He flips through his book on rituals to destroy demonic gate sigils.
The speaker systems kick on, and a guitar and tambourine can be heard. Then the lyrics…
” Whoa, thought it was a nightmare
Lord it was so true
They told me don't go walking slow
The devil's on the loose”
Then the glass breaks to the outside window, and Steel Guardian appears, floats upright as it targets some of the demon things, and begins blasting lasers!
”Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Whoa, don't look back to see”
They swoop down and grab a lump and heave it into the wall as it spins back up into the air.
” Thought I heard a rumblin'
Calling to my name
Two hundred million guns are loaded
Satan cries, "Take aim"”
Again, another volley of lasers picks away at the various demons as the song continues:
” Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Whoa, don't look back to see
Over on the mountain, thunder magic spoke
Let the people know my wisdom
Fill the land with smoke”
They then land beside Diva in a traditional hero landing before standing and asking ”Friends of yours?” as the cannon on their shoulder continues targeting and firing.
Max breaks out into a huge grin as SG enters in dramatic fashion! "It's no friend of mine!" she replies.
Seeing everybody looking to her, her heart swells. "Alright, then. Shock and awe! Hit it with everything you've got, and don't give it a chance to catch its breath!" She leaps into battle!
Steel Guardian roars in and finishes off the last of the small ur-daemons, but it feeds the amount of concealing goo. Meanwhile, Shin keeps the goop from engulfing Max, as the stuff seems drawn to her.
The amalgamation splatters and crawls up the wall, spreading and anchoring like some sort of black, slimy cocoon.
"What now?" Scar asks.
"It's chaos. There's no way of knowing. But now's our chance to seal off the cracks." Xeno says.
The woman looks at Max out of the corner of her eye. "I called you Violet. What do you think?"
Not wanting to let whatever was inside pupate, the Devil Diva calls for everyone to attack the fleshy sack, which quivers and squelches under the assault. Whatever large form it was building towards collapses and deflates.
Suddenly, slimy tentacles lash out from the pulsing mass!
"Yeah Perce, we're fine. Doing the fey thing I told you about. It's still Halloween over there, right?"
Max grits her teeth as she fends off the naughty tentacles! She spares a glance at the winged woman. "Grr... We'll talk later! Fight now!"
Shin lets his guard down when it is unable to keep up with the cocoon, and is unprepared for a lashing tentacle that grabs him and drags him closer!
"Oh this is really, really bad!" He yells, struggling even as it squeezes and feels like its going to crush his ribs! "A little help!"
Caio struggles with the tentacles, and thanks to Max's help he menages to keep them at bay!
Max lashes out with her tail to free Caio!
Tentacles swarm towards Steel Guardian! A couple manage to take hold, which they manage to slash free of thanks to some sort of energy blade that appears on their forearm! Then the cannon on their shoulder begins targeting approaching tentacles as fast as it can, keeping it wholly occupied as Steel Guardian does their best to defend themself from the ones that slip by!
”A little busy, over here!” they call out!
|
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Despite his efforts being consumed in reading his tome for a way to safely get rid of the sigils that allowed the Ur to come here in the first place, Indarius's attention snaps with ruthless efficiency towards defending himself from the consuming tendrils. With a flick of the wrist and raise of his staff the seeking pseudopods fond themselves encased in sheaths of ice as the room near him threatens to freeze over for a moment.
S̸̰̍̎ṗ̸̡̹̂̔a̵̘̖̫̍͗̀a̶̜̜͍͐̀̔n̸͕̔̾͠ ̸̡̙͒̿͝Ḯ̵̡̡̯i̵̼̰̲͒̈́z̴̧͍̮̚ is all that flows from his lips as he curls the fingers of one hand and an icy cage surrounds Shin as he is pulled towards the mass, giving him a protective cocoon from which to mull over his options.
Finally he points to Steel Guardian and twirls his staff in a circle before sharply pulling it skyward splaying out his free hand in another incantation.
I̸̬̹̓̓i̴̱͛z̴̺̝̮̹̈́̊̏ ̴̗̓͝Q̷͖̥͇̘̫̑̔͂á̴̞̜̇̈́̓ḧ̶͎͈̩̺͌̍ ̴̼̅̑̄̑̏T̷̝̗̪͕̈́u̴̡̗̔̿͜z̷̫͙̱͔̀͠ causing razor sharp blades of permafrost to coat the metal knight giving their armor an extra bite against the encroaching tendrils.
The heroes of Halcyon Prep work together as a team in stunningly effective fashion. They defend each other, help each other out, and have each other's backs! Indarius is the standout, with his magic powers defending Shin and keeping the tentacles at bay, even though he strains himself from the effort.
The trio of adults also acquit themselves well, fighting the morass with the efficiency and skill of a team that's been doing things like this for a long time.
After several minutes of freezing, slashing, or blasting the tentacles, the daemonic substance finally loses its sustaining essence and begins to fade away.
"Good job," Scar says, appearing truly impressed with the team's efforts.
"Right; I was afraid we'd have to be racing around the halls, trying to rip down the summoning sigils while fighting it," Xeno says. "Speaking of, who wants to help me collect them? I want to find out who provided this to a school."
The winged woman turns to Caio. "Seems like it's stable here. You want to go check on puppy girl?"
Max breathes a sigh of relief as the threat is swiftly neutralized. "Great teamwork, guys. Everyone okay?" she asks. Her eyes linger on Shin, who seems to have taken the worst of things. "This danger is over, but there's something else going on tonight. I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's transformation related, and I think Ne'veah may be involved somehow. Her costume was becoming way too realistic...
"Percy, go help gather the sigils and see what you can learn. Caio..." She glances down, blushes, and quickly looks away. "Uh, put some pants on, then go see to Skyler. Horizon, SG, make sure the other students are okay. Everybody regroup here when you're done."
With her suggestions given, she turns to the winged woman. "We should talk. Alone."
|
|
Indarius finds the tentacles to be very disturbing and it awakens a sort of dread in his bones that he can't quite place the reason behind. A shudder runs through his body as the whole thing is rather quickly wrapped up though. His lungs burn with imbibed aether and he looked for a good way to shunt the excess off spotting Max's gaze dropping and then quickly returning skyward towards Caio he let's the last tendrils of aether out towards him and weaves it around him quickly into a rugged suit much like the one that he wore back in Knighthall.
"There... that should last till the end of the night at least... after that I dunno aether likes to unweave and return where it should naturally be. I'll help here, but uh... might be good for all of you to go check on the football field while we wrap up here."
Horizon looks at Max, still hurting from being squeezed. "Percy got most of the students to safety. But Grace and the team were running off on their own last that I saw," He says. "I'll find where they are. Ne'veah would be with them too," He adds before flying off.
Steel Guardian watches Horizon fly away before turning towards Diva and shrugging. ”I suppose…I’ll take the other side of the campus?” before lifting off as well. They pass by Indarius briefly before saying ”Thanks for the assist.”
Caio shifts back when the monster is done with and nods to the demon woman. "I will..." But then Max mentions something about transformations, he turns to her and walks towards her, feeling an unwanted breeze on his balls just about the same time Max looks at them. He covers himself with his hand.
"Sorry about that, but you said weird transformations?" There is obvious hope in his voice. "Skyler was turning herself into a werewolf while we..." The mere thought of Skyler and what they were doing causes a reaction on Caio, but thanks to Percy it was instantly covered by his magical pants.
"Indarius, I'm owing you a big one." He says rushing for the door. "Let me know if you discover something about these transformations... If I'm not the one extending my curse to Skyler, it would be great!"
The cleanup is hurried, but not rushed. With Alan's help, Indarius is able to take down the tainted decorations, which allows the cracks to seal.
The students are given the go-ahead to return to the dance, and after a little while, show the resilience of teens living in Halcyon City by resuming the party.
The woman returns briefly to assist with some of the cleanup, whispers briefly with Scar and Xeno, then finds Max and takes her aside.
"Lola Rosser," she says, offering her hand. "What's a nice demon like you doing in a high school like this?"
Horizon finds the volleyball team in the rear courtyard of the school, having followed one of the numerous school evacuation routes.
If he had been thinking a little more clearly, he probably would have tried to disguise himself a little more with his power obfuscating his face. But he was just worried about both Grace, and what Max had said about Ne'veah, landing right in front of them all and looking for them, doing a head count. "The dance hall is clear, we're sorry for the disruption to your dance," He tells them. "Is everyone okay?"
He specifically checks to see if Ne'veah is here or if she's somehow slipped away unnoticed.
Max offers Rosser her hand. "Max. It's a long story... But you may already know some of it, since you called me Violet. Who are you? What do you know of Violet and her sisters?"
After Rosser has answered, Max says, "We appreciate your help with those daemons. There will be more troubles if you are able to stick around. If not, I could use some help myself later with my...situation. If you are able and willing."
Horizon notices that Ne'veah isn't with the other teammates. But they all seem fine, if still a bit shaken.
============
Lola shakes Max's hand. "Nice to meet you, Max. Your 'sisters' sought me out shortly after I became this way. Tried to recruit me into their little games. Talked about you quite a bit. They thought I might've been you at first.
"Anyway, we're going back to base to figure out who did this. As for you... What situation?"
"My sisters are fully corrupted succubi. I'm still fighting for my soul, and maybe to find a way back to the human I used to be," Max says. She will go into the full story of the idol, her transformation, and everything she's learned so far.
"Has anyone seen a girl dressed in a cat suit?" He asks the team. He floats up above them to scan around the area. He needs to try and find her as soon as he could!
Maybe...it was a long shot. He knew that his power could pull in other types of energy beyond the known particles and waves. Magic had to produce some kind of energy, and if that was true then he should be able to detect and draw it in. He extended his senses to feel what his power was drawing in, looking for that aberration and where it was coming from.
Despite his efforts though, he couldn't really differentiate or figure out what that aberrant energy could be. It was frustrating to be so incompetent on all of this magic happening around him!
"My sisters are fully corrupted succubi. I'm still fighting for my soul, and maybe to find a way back to the human I used to be," Max says. She will go into the full story of the idol, her transformation, and everything she's learned so far.
Lola Rosser listens quietly. "That's a lot. Sounds like you've got a lot more demon in you than I do. Problem is, there's no getting rid of it, that I've found. I've got to go, since there's this werewolf girl I need to take care of. Plus there's this whole mess. Do you think you're hanging on? Or do you think you'll start wanting to end humanity in the next day or so?"
"I think I can manage that. Maybe even three days, if I'm lucky," Max says with a smirk. "Go do what you need to do. You know where to find me. Oh, and you might want to look into Reverend Reibold. Somehow I know he had something to do with what happened here tonight. "
Once Lola departs, Max activates her comm. "Horizon, SG, report. What's going on out there? Did you find Ne'veah?"
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Working with the others to tear down the decorations and looks at the newcomers, "Thanks for the assist, but I think it's time we get everything set back up so they can come back to their party." He went about moving everything back and then made himself sparse.
Hearing Max over comms he summoned Fuzzbat to his side while standing at the front of the school and sent him off to look for any traces of Ne'veah, though he silently feared it wouldn't be enough on his part the short but lively little battle against demonic super goop had left him quite drained. He even patted down his own body to make sure none of those Ur-demons had attached themselves to him in the resultant chaos.
Indarius and Max eventually meet up with Horizon, who is talking with Ne'veah. Under brighter lights and upon closer inspection, it's clear that she's been altered somehow. She has a covering of soft black fur, a catlike tail, and pointed ears and canine teeth. Her eyes are catlike, but they don't have vertically-slitted pupils, so they're more like a larger species of feline.
She doesn't seem especially bothered by her changes.
"...So, yeah. I've been talking with Ne'veah about her changes," Horizon tells them when they arrive. "Sorry, should have picked up when you called but I've just been confirming the situation with Ne'veah. She doesn't know why she's changed, and it seems to have happened starting right after she was pulled out of school a couple weeks ago," He tells his teammates.
"Honestly, I think she's telling the truth. But I still would like it if you could tell if she's under the influence of any magic. There doesn't seem to be a point of contact with her that she might have been altered by the Mongrels, but I wouldn't even know how they could have gotten a hold of the material needed for that to begin with..."
Max grimaces. "What have you learned, Horizon?"
If he hasn't been able to find out much information, she gives herself into her dark visions to learn more...
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Indarius rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright I can see, but... I don't know if it'll come to much. It may just be some latent stress induced powers. Please Ne'veah stand still and let me know if anything feels weird. That is if you're okay with me dping this in the first place?"
He pulled his book free, setting his staff to one side where it stood on it's own. Flipping through several pages as he tried to determine which spell might be best he curled his lips.
K̵̛̰o̸̦̕r̵̖̎a̸̹͝a̶̻̋v̵̿͜ ̵̡̾V̸̨͐o̸̤̽n̵̲̓u̷͈̿ṉ̷͗ ̴̡́T̸̰͒a̸̜͝h̸̡̄r̷̙̊ó̶̙v̸̱́i̷̟̔n̶͚͂
There were several runes that seemed to surround Ne'veah as Indarius attempts to trace back the source of her sudden transformation.
The magic runes spin around as Ne'veah looks warily at them. "Seriously. Maybe I'm just a meta?"
The spell ends after giving Indarius no information on what caused her change. Whatever it is, magic didn't cause it.
Max's eyes glow when she dips into dark hidden secrets.
Max sees the girls' locker room. Ne'veah is looking exhausted, sitting on one of the benches. Her chest is rising and falling hard.
"Tough practice, huh?" Sophie says to her. She's covered in a sheen of sweat, but looks like she could get back out in the gym and keep going for hours more.
Ne'veah shakes her head. "Coach Frick is a monster. How are you still standing?"
Sophie looks around briefly, then sits down beside her. She hands her something. A capsule with something greenish inside. "Clara got these from her bf. All the football team's taking them. There's no T in it or anything, so don't worry."
Ne'veah starts to hold it up to look at it closer, but Sophie grabs her arm and pushes it down. She glances over at Yasmine, who's keeping a lookout. Yasmine gives her a thumbs up.
"So, what is in it?"
Sophie shrugs. "It's just some herbs and junk. Nothing dangerous. But it gives you a boost. It really helps. And we're making it to state again this year. We owe it to Clara, Yasmine, Uma, Grace. They're seniors! This is their last chance!"
Ne'veah gives Sophie a look. "Okay. If there's nothing illegal in it..." She puts the pill in her mouth.
"Nope. Just try it. You'll see."
"The pills. The pills she got from Sophie," Max says, eyes glowing red. "Sophie got them from Clara, who got them from her boyfriend. Yasmine may have taken them. Maybe other players."
Ne'veah shakes her head nervously. "Pills? What pills?"
This is a BIG plot point that's been going on for some time in the background. I'll let you ask another question, since there's no way I can answer that one -- it's too dependent on player actions.
Horizon looks shocked. He turns to look at Ne'veah. "She was right about the weird demon things at the dance, so I can't say she's wrong about this outright...but, if you've been taking pills supplied to you from the team, did you stop taking them right after you were pulled from school?" He asks. "How could that trigger your transformation?"
And how did I never notice?
"There's no use in trying to deny it. I've seen it. We know the truth. Please, come clean. You're not in trouble, we just want to help."
Ne'veah hugs herself, still in a defensive posture. "All right! Fine! I was taking the supplements! We all were! But there's nothing in them! Just herbs and stuff! And I stopped as soon as I was pulled out of school!"
"The pills came from... Dracula?" Max frowns and shakes her head, eyes fading back to yellow. "That's the best I got. Mean anything to you?" she asks Shin.
Horizon steps back as Diva steps forward. He seems to be not happy, though whether it is this news or that she seems to be pushing herself into a leadership position is unclear. He checks his comm device while Diva questions Ne'veah.
"...I need to get to the base right now," He says. "Damn, I should have gotten an chemical analyzer...maybe I can rig something in the med lab to examine one of these pills. If you have any," He asks Ne'veah. "...s%@$."
"All right, everyone," He calls out on comms. "Caio, SG, find every Dracula here. Someone's been dealing drugs to students on campus, passing them off as supplements," He explains. There's a raw anger there in him. "Find, apprehend, bring in for questioning."
Max ensures Ne'veah is safe, then rushes off to search for Draculas... as silly as that sounds. She extends her sin senses, trying to aid in the search.
Max wanders around, spotting various students dressed as vampires, but none of them have the type of sin around them that tells her that they're behind it. However, she does detect numerous students who she's pretty sure have taken the pills -- all of them being athletes in the major sports of the school, football, basketball, volleyball.
There's quite a few of them.
Caio leaves the ball and rushes back to Skyler, hoping that everything is ok with her. He runs back to the glowing cage. He's joined by Ms. Rosser, who used her wings to keep up.
The demonic woman puts herself in between Caio and Skyler, kneeling down to inspect her through the bars. There's a soft whimper.
"She's not back yet. I think we'll have to take her back to our base, get her under Alan's equipment for observation."
"No disrespect, miss, but we have barely met each others. The only way this is happening is if I'm going as well." He says, picking his discarded clothes and tying his red cloak around his waist as a makeshift skirt, just in case Percy's spell ends earlier.
She thinks briefly and nods. "All right. If you're up for a trip to Chicago."
The Corps hang around for only as long as it takes to make sure the cracks are sealed properly and evidence is gathered.
Bill picks up the cage and Alan uses another device to open up a portal. They all step through, inviting Caio to come.
"I'll do what I have to do." He says before sending a message to the others through the comms. "Guys, I'll go with these guys to Chicago to help Skyler. Let me know if you need me."
Once the portal is opened, Caio slips through it without thinking twice.
Caio immediately senses he's underground when he appears on the other side of the portal. He senses other things, like a different orientation of the Earth's magnetic poles, that indicate he is several hundred miles from his original location.
The Corps' headquarters -- if this is indeed their hq -- is eclectic. There's sections of exposed earth, but packed as if heavily trod, other areas of stone, and a clean room with modern medical equipment.
They move past a living area with a human skeleton sitting on a couch. It moves, turning around to watch them. "What's with the visitors?" the skeleton asks.
"Side project," Alan says. "Keep the kid entertained while I check out the wolf girl."
"Okay." The skeleton turns to Caio. "Hello. How are you doing? We don't get many visitors, because we don't have a lot of guest rooms. I'm planning on adding another wing."
After he manages to reorient himself from the sudden transportation, Caio looks around the place, paying attention to doors, stairs and elevators just in case he needs to bust them out of here.
Caio doesn't pay much attention to the skeleton at first, since he has seen weird enough things not to be specially impressed, even if he was curious. When Alan asks the skeleton to entertain him, Caio comes closer to the alien and to Skyler. "I'm not taking my eyes from her. I want to trust you will not harm her, but you must understand that I have many reasons not to trust strangers."
"I'll will not keep in your way... I just want to see what you are doing."
Skyler whines and scratches at the cage when Caio gets closer. Alan holds up a hand. "I don't doubt that. But you're not helping her by being close by. You won't understand what I'm doing anyway."
Caio grits his teeth, stepping back. "Fine, but do know this... if you harm harm, you better be quick to do something with me as well. This is not a threat. It is a promise." He says as he sits in front of the skeleton.
"Hello, I'm f&&!ing awesome as I wait to find out if the girl I like is turning into a werewolf because of me." He says to the skeleton.
The skeleton tilts its head. "Ah, the 'old girlfriend is becoming a monster because she's in a relationship with me' routine. Yeah. We keep talking about creating disclosure forms. I think it's a good idea, even though it'll make it tougher to get dates." He puts his hands behind his skull and leans back. "For some people."
"Old thing? Happened to you? Got a date with a girl and it turned into a skeleton as well?" He jokes to cover for his anxiety. "So, tell me more about this Corpse thing of yours..."
The skeleton seems to grin wider at Caio's joke. "We are an underground network of defenders of humanity, even though most of us have lost ours somewhere along the way. In a nutshell. You can call me Bones. My old name was Reggie. Bones is fine. Doesn't bother me at all."
"Hope it is just a nickname, and not your surname as well... Are you an animated skeleton via magic, or someone with an invisible flesh?" Caio's legs goes up and down as he talks.
"Vietnam veteran. Got separated from my platoon, went in the wrong direction, got napalmed. There was some kind of experimental chemical in the mix, and my consciousness survived even though my flesh burned away."
Bones regards Caio. "So, why is your girlfriend becoming a werewolf because of you? Have sex naked under the full moon?"
Caio can't imagine a non-magical experiment that would allow a skeleton to speak without vocal cords, see without eyes, and hear without ear drums, but he wasn't in the mood to point it out.
"Because I'm one for starters." He says, not sure if the skeleton had already picked it up. "None of the girls I had sex or kissed before began to turn into one, and lycanthropy can only be transmitted through my bite, and that only if she was not naturally immune to the curse."
"She was dressed as a wolf on our Halloween Ball, and if I understood it correctly, there was another girl dressed as a cat or panther that my friends were suspecting to also be changing... so it could be some sort of spell." He looks around for a fridge or something like that. "Do you have some water, or soda around here?" For now, he leaves Skyler's power out of his explanation.
Bones stands up. "Yeah, in the kitchen. Let me show you around." He takes Caio out of the cramped confines of the living space and into a much larger kitchen. The refrigerator has some bottled water, juice, soda, and blood bags. "That's for Mike. He's a vampire, but one of the good ones," Bones explains.
He then leads Caio around the rest of the underground complex, which has several more general purpose rooms, a "living" area (Bones jokes) where the core Corps members sleep, and a garage with several vehicles. He keeps Caio clear of the lab section.
"I'm not much of a scientist or occultist, but that sounds strange to me," the skeleton offers after Caio explains the situation with Skyler. "But don't worry. If Alan or Lola can't figure it out, no one can."
Caio picks up a can of Coke and follows Bones around as he shows him the place. "I know a bit about magic circles, but all of that is useless unless I know exactly what is going on with her."
Once Bones has finished showing Caio around, something hits him. "Why are you showing me the place, Bones? Why do I feel like I'm in an university tour?"
"Why not? You're all nervous and worried. I thought this would take your mind off of waiting."
Caio sighs, popping his neck. "Thanks for the effort man, but I don't think this is possible."
"Well, then. What would take your mind off it? There's a video game system. You play Infini-cast? Might be a few versions out of date."
"Three pizzas and any video game might help."
The Corps, as it turns out, have a good relationship with a Chicago pizza restaurant and before long a trio of bubbling deep dish pizzas are served up via mini-portal. Bones doesn't eat, so Caio's appetite is truly put to the test by the monster-sized pies. The Infini-cast game system is an antique, but lets Caio get to experience some video game classics.
Several hours pass while Caio distracts himself with food and video games.
He hears a soft clearing of a throat behind him. When he looks around, he sees Skyler looking normal in the doorway. She gives him a little finger wave. Alan and Lola are a short distance behind her.
Caio drops the controller on the couch and rushes for Skyler, embracing her. "I was so worried about you... Are you ok?" He asks to her, but his eyes also dart at Alan and Lola. "Did I..."
She hugs him back, but quickly breaks from the embrace and takes a step back. She glances over her shoulder at Alan, who nods at her.
"I'm okay. Turns out I have a little more going on than just seeing someone's aura."
"EPW," Alan corrects.
Skyler rolls her eyes. "Yeah. Electro--"
"Ecto-Psionic Waveform."
"That. I can see it, because I need to stay clear of other peoples. Or else... I get caught up in it." Skyler lowers her head. "I'm sorry."
"I don't understand... Is there no way around whatever it is?" He asks. "Anything at all!"
"Like another ward on me? Or training... Could you learn to control it? I can wait for you, Skyler..."
"Good," she says sadly. "I need some time. This wasn't how anything was supposed to go. And I just need to be alone for a while."
It is specially painful for Caio to agree with her, since he knew she no friends or family to help her get through all of that. He wanted to be there for her, but that would put her in danger. He hated himself at that moment, but he nodded to her.
Caio then turns to Alan and Lola. "Do you guys have books or whatever that could help me understand this EPW thing?"
Skyler hugs herself as she walks over to a couch and sits down. She doesn't react to Bones, seeming completely nonplussed that he's a "living" skeleton.
Alan shakes his head at Caio's question. "Books? No. It's an Nuvoan concept, that only specialized alien tech can really detect. Which is why it's unusual that a human can perceive it. It's an amalgamation of thoughts, desires, strands of destiny, and other more esoteric concepts. My analysis of her revealed that Skyler can essentially merge into another person's. I'm not sure for what purpose, since almost all unusual powers in humans have a positive use.
[b]"Her merging with yours was most likely unintentional, and your lycanthropy clearly affected her. Though... she didn't talk much about the actual connection. She has a cute blush."
Caio takes in everything that Alan explains, thinking about a way to solve the problem, but finding not for now.
"Do you have any guesses as to how her powers would react if she connected with a normal human? A non-werewolf... would she be able to live with that person normally?" He asks, not knowing if he'll be able to handle the answer... any answer actually. If the problem was he being a werewolf, it was the end for them, but at least she could be happy with someone else.
"There would be a less extreme reaction, of that I'm certain. But without experimentation, it's impossible to know how exactly she'd react. My two main guesses are that she would be able to exhibit the powers of an empath -- able to understand and feel the emotions of someone else -- though probably to an even greater degree. The other possibility would be that not only would she feel the person's EPW, she'd be able to control it. But only if she keeps her sense of self.
"I've told her this."
"F#&%... this is..." Caio sighs, exhausted. "Thanks for the help anyway. Can you open one of those portals back to Halcyon?"
"Give me a call if you discover something more, please." Caio adds, giving them his contact.
"Will do." Alan takes down Caio's contact info, then pulls out a gadget that looks like a TV remote control with some strands of angel hair pasta hanging off it. He points it at the far wall, where they originally came it. A portal opens.
Skyler had been sitting on the couch, staring straight ahead. When the portal opens, she stands up and walks over towards it. She looks in Caio's direction, not making eye contact, and waits for him to join her before stepping through.
Skyler had been sitting on the couch, staring straight ahead. When the portal opens, she stands up and walks over towards it. She looks in Caio's direction, not making eye contact, and waits for him to join her before stepping through.
Caio takes a deep breath and offers his hand to Skyler before he steps through the portal.
The portal takes them back onto the school grounds of Halcyon Prep. Skyler didn't take Caio's hand; she's still hugging her shoulders and staring at the ground a few feet in front of her.
"Skyler... I know you want to be alone, and I totally get it." He starts, doing his best not to reach for her, respecting her space. " I just... don't want, no, I can't give up on us. Not yet. Not without trying my best to make it work." His chest is heavy and he can feel his heart on his throat, being difficult for him to talk.
"I had a great time with you and not only this night... the whole week we've been together... I don't mind not being able to touch you or even come closer to you for a while if you prefer, just... don't shut me down, please." He tries to look into her eyes. "I really like you. A freaking lot."
Skyler starts walking towards the dorms. She stops abruptly when he tries to look her in her eyes. She meets them. "If you like me so much, can you do something for me?"
"Yes..." He answers, defeat and desperate, imagining she will ask him to leave her.
"Let me be alone for a while. I need--" she falters, looking guilty for a moment, but then with resolve. "That's what I need."
She resumes walking toward the dorms.
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Indarius gives a short sigh, "Well on the bright side that should mean that if you stop taking them then the effects should go away. But this should also be a lesson that you probably shouldn't take any sort of enhancement especially if you aren't given it by a doctor."
He shakes his head at Ne'veah though his eyes are still hidden due to the cowls enchantment, "I hope you've got a good explanation for your parents. Do you happen to have anymore of these pills, I might be able to trace them back to the source?" There was a realization that he probably shouldn't have chastised her only to immediately make a demand, but it was too late as he blurted it out.
"Didn't you hear me?" Ne'veah asks. "I stopped taking them after I was pulled out of school. So that's not what caused it. And no, I don't have any more."
She looks at Indarius and Devil Diva, pleading. "Don't tell anyone about the pills! The team's going to State! They'll need them to beat Halcyon North!"
Caio returns to the ball, his eyes red, betraying that he has cried recently. His face invites no questions thought. "What the crap is happening here? Were not the troubles with the daemons done with?"
Once the others explain the situation, Caio turns to Horizon. "You remember Chiros, from the Mongrels? He is a bat-man... Sounds too much of a coincidence to me."
It takes Percy a bit to find Max, as she's been running around campus, but when he does, she looks more distraught than she had before they split up. Max shakes her head.
"I don't know. I don't think this Dracula character is on campus right now. But it's not just the volleyball team, Percy. There are dozens of other students who have been taking the pills. Athletes, mostly, on all of the school's major teams. We could be looking at an epidemic of transformed students in the next few days or weeks. We have to do something, but... I don't know what that is." Her shoulders slump.
When Caio arrives and mentions Chiros, she perks up. "That's a good a lead as any. Let's try tracking him down. The sooner, the better!"