[center]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/s9KN50c.png[/img]
[img]http://i68.tinypic.com/33p7a8k.png[/img] [img]http://i67.tinypic.com/2njvpci.png[/img]
[h3][img]http://orig02.deviantart.net/2a82/f/2016/082/e/6/e6773423e455f22e8b9f678a909eed57-d9w4gf5.png[/img] [color=662d91]Kusari Bloodworth[/color] | [img]http://orig02.deviantart.net/2a82/f/2016/082/e/6/e6773423e455f22e8b9f678a909eed57-d9w4gf5.png[/img] [color=ff57ff]Siena Santana[/color][/h3]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/J3BLklR.png?1[/img]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/CXKLnmg.png[/img]
[img]http://i65.tinypic.com/28hztyw.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/Fb1UXSA.png[/img] [img]http://i65.tinypic.com/21o8tg4.png[/img] [img]http://i66.tinypic.com/dyqee0.png[/img]
[h3][img]http://orig09.deviantart.net/bc5d/f/2016/013/5/3/53299d5a5f5a50190e9cfd9372f34a8c-d9nvwwp.png[/img] [color=cyan]Sander Lorraine[/color] | [img]http://orig09.deviantart.net/bc5d/f/2016/013/5/3/53299d5a5f5a50190e9cfd9372f34a8c-d9nvwwp.png[/img] [color=9e0039]Angelique Lachance[/color] | [img]http://orig02.deviantart.net/2a82/f/2016/082/e/6/e6773423e455f22e8b9f678a909eed57-d9w4gf5.png[/img] [color=33ec06]Marcus Howell[/color] | [img]http://orig02.deviantart.net/2a82/f/2016/082/e/6/e6773423e455f22e8b9f678a909eed57-d9w4gf5.png[/img] [color=0095FF]Grant Rotem[/color][/h3]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img]
[hr]𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟟, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕌𝕊𝔸ℝ𝕀𝕃ℕ 𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕥   / /   𝔾𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 ℤ𝕖𝕣𝕠   / /  𝟙𝟞𝟜𝟡[hr]
[sub]Collab with [@Baklava] [@RedDusk] [@Piercing Light] [@Dragonmancer] [@Riffus Maximus] [@Deathmyster] [@Chasers115] [@PapiTan][/sub][/center]

Out. 

[color=a2d9ce][i]Man... I suck.[/i][/color]

As the fabric of Sander's pants loosened around her face, it became much easier to breath and therefore stop encouraging her shadow. Some blood loss, several blows to the head, and severe claustrophobia had created the perfect storm it seemed. Callan pulled the denim off of her still throbbing face and blinked up at Grant. Meanwhile Sander was still on top of her with his face in his hands, but she'd deal with him later. 

She ran her tongue along the front of her teeth before shooting Grant an exasperated grin. Her right eye was slightly swollen and bruised. Her head was still swimming, but she managed to speak. "[color=a2d9ce]GG,[/color]" she chuckled weakly before averting her eyes. Things still felt pretty awkward around Grant-- ever more so now that he'd just quite literally wiped the floor with her. Maybe now they were even? She hesitantly tapped her right cheek with her fingers and hissed, chuckling again. Definitely the most intense flag football game she'd ever been in. 

Grant had taken a slight step back, away from Callan, just in case. He had his hands right back in his pockets and his trusty chains right behind him as he looked down at Callan as she recovered, pulling the jeans away from her face. She looked like she could be much better. Sander really didn't pull any punches. At least he's stopped beating her already. He looked back down at her as her eyes blinked open to focus on him. Somehow, he had come on top as the victor of this fight with the help of Sander. He was a bit taken aback from Callan's words to him, much different than her words of anger from before, as well as the grin she flashed. He was silent for a few moments before he spoke up.
[color=0095FF]"Yeah. Good game. It was a close one."[/color] He'd reply to her with a small nod. [color=0095FF]"You going to be alright?"[/color] He'd ask, since she did take quite the beating. But he could guess that she was alright. She was one who was 'strong,' after all.

[i]Focus.[/i]
 
Sander forced himself to. He tried, really, he did. But the thickness of his tongue too prominent, the beats of his heart too frantic, and the scorching heat in his veins impossible to ignore. He lowered his arms, digging the fingers into his palms instead, hoping for something else to focus on. No such luck. Then he caught sight of aquamarine hair still beneath him. Realization set in after a few owlish blinks, prompting Sander to get off her, quickly climbing to his feet. He was supposed to help her up. He wanted to. But he didn’t. Instead, the blood mage just walked off, standing a few steps away from both Callan and Grant, eyes on anywhere but the crater he created. 
 
“[color=cyan]Is that enough?[/color]”- He grunted, looking down at his cuff. His words came out shaky and garbled, like he had something in his throat-“[color=cyan]Can I stop now?[/color]”  

Prefaced by a beep, Fredric's voice answered,  [color=f7976a]"Game isn't over yet, champ. 8 minutes to go."[/color] Beep.

Callan shifted her eyes back to Grant. She couldn't get much of a read on the guy, but... his words were nice at least. When he didn't answer right away, she thought he might be mad at her from before. After a moment of cogs turning she answered, "[color=a2d9ce]Yeah....[/color]" She looked back to Sander, who still hadn't moved. 

"[color=a2d9ce]Uh...,[/color]" she wasn't really sure what to say to grab his attention. She might've blushed, but there was already so much going on with her face that she couldn't notice if she did. Her eyes fell on the black X at Sander's throat. Even as he seemed to snap back to the present, recognizing that he was still on top of her, she got the feeling he was looking right through her. She said nothing as he got up and walked away without a word, standing off to the side and not facing either of them. 

Sitting up and staring after him, she pondered over their fight. She called it a fight, but it wasn't supposed to've been. She felt the bite marks on her neck, which were still steadily bleeding. All over her new hoodie, no doubt, but that was barely at the forefront of her mind-- petty things that were easier to worry about. She clapped her hand over the bite and applied pressure, still staring at Sander's back. Is this what it meant to be an aberration? Was his 'stigma' bothering him?

Sander made a frustrated noise in his throat, racking fingers through his hair while scanning the field. Then suddenly, the world lunged forward and sank.

He was back in his dreams again, despite being wide awake just moments before. Something pulled him into his own mind, and that same thing was keeping him there. He couldn’t leave. Then again, he didn’t want to. 
 
He was staring at the ocean again. However, the riptide had awoken. The untamed current roared, its sprawling body twisted and churned around him. It circled him, fleet-footed and slick, primal in its predatory dance. Then it closed in for the kill, the tainted water swallowing him whole. 
 
And he let it.  
 
Sander blinked and found himself back at the field again, still just another chip in Zhang’s grand gamble. Once again, the Change came to him. 

Grant stepped to the side a bit as Sander got off of Callan, seeming to still struggle with himself. As is what he should probably expect from an aberration. Hopefully he got himself together. As the voice from the cuff said, this game is not over. Speaking of. He turned his eyes back to Callan who sat on the floor, a hand clapped to her neck.

[color=0095FF]"Callan."[/color] He'd say to get her attention from Sander. He stepped up to her, holding a hand down toward her, offering to help her up. [color=0095FF]"The game's still happening. Best get somewhere safe, away from the crossfire."[/color] He'd advise her as he offered her his hand. Best to get her away from the field before going off to help the rest of his teammates. Assuming any of them are having any trouble.

"[color=a2d9ce]Oh, uh, yeah...[/color]" Callan looked surprised as she accepted Grant's hand. She attempted another smile out of sheer relief-- she'd half expected Grant to rub his victory in her face. That or not say much at all-- not unlike Sander. All things considered, Grant seemed pretty cool. "[color=a2d9ce]Thanks,[/color]" she said as he helped pull her to her feet. Her smile faded, though it was only because her cheek had been screaming in protest. 

Making her way towards the side of the plaza, Callan looked down at the pants in her hand. Shit, she should really return these-- probably now. She didn't really want to hang on to this sort of item any longer than she had to. Looking at Sander, he seemed unhappy as he combed his fingers through his hair and glanced over the plaza. She'd heard Fredric's voice through the boy's cuff. If she had to guess, he seemed anxious for the game to be over. Was that why he'd been so aggressive? No... not just aggressive-- [i]violent.[/i] He could've grabbed her flags off numerous times, but instead.... Her hand gravitated to where her cheek met her eye socket, reigniting the stinging pain as she tested it once again. [color=a2d9ce][i]Ow....[/i][/color]

In any case, his lack of pants didn't seem to be what was bothering him and she really wanted to sit down. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a little heated over what he'd done-- [i]crazy vampire.[/i] But what did she expect? As Callan made her way towards a bench that was miraculously still standing, she looked across the plaza to take tabs on her own teammates. What she saw was anything but pretty. 

After a quick word of thanks to him, Callan was off to a safe place. That was that. Grant rolled his neck with a long sigh... he couldn't wait for all this to just be over already. He took a step and turned toward Sander. Or... what he thought would be Sander. What he turned to was a limitless ocean. Beyond limit. This feeling... This feeling of infinity felt familiar... As if he felt it before... But how was it possible to grasp the ungraspable?

There it was. A droplet that could only be a fraction of what was in front of him. The endless, infinite ocean stretching into beyond. It seemed so far away. The droplet meant for him. How was he supposed to reach it? He raised his hand... and reached... and he grasped it. Despite how far it was, it was now in his hand. Infinity filled him until...

Sander was in front of him now. Grant had his arm outstretched, a fist at the end. He stumbled back a bit, looking around... confused. Disoriented. But with that feeling, another. The feeling as if he could reach farther... Farther than he could have before. He could only guess what this feeling meant. He'll figure it out later. He had a game to survive.


Kusari took only a few seconds to look past her current opponent and see what was happening to the rest of her team. Callan and Chris had been defeated. She honestly wasn't expecting Callan to lose, perhaps she'd underestimated how strong Sander was. She should have helped her take him down. As for Chris, all she'd heard from his direction was screaming from Angel, apparently he'd lost. 

 [color=662d91]"Well... shit."[/color] She grumbled to herself, her tentacle scratching the top of her head. She stopped as she realized she was doing it. It was honestly pretty gross how accustomed she was to it already.  

 So she was horribly outnumbered now and had to carefully weigh her options. Fighting out in the open field was a bad idea, she could easily be surrounded on all sides. To her left was an area with trees in it, it could provide some cover, but there was a better option. Turning on her heel Kusari dashed towards Angel. Flinging her tentacle forward she wrapped it around the girl, making sure to bind her arms and cover her mouth. Angel was then lifted off the ground as Kusari took off for a nearby building. [color=662d91]"Sorry, but I can't afford to play fair here."[/color]

Angélique was shaken from her thoughts as she felt something creeping up onto her arms, fastening them together tightly before that alien appendage crept up to her mouth. Her eyes widened in terror as she believed a monster akin to the spaghetti monster she had fought a few days earlier had began lifting up angel from her spot.

Her head turned to the source of the voice that had called to her? She was taken aback to see it wasn't a creature that had taken hold of her, but rather a familiar face, Kusari from the opposing team.

[color=f7976a][i]She is underestimating you. Looking down on you. She thinks you are a simple pathetic damsel easy to capture.[/i][/color]

Angel shot out a glare towards Kusari as she began running with her as prisoner. Such a smug prick. Did she really think she would let herself be taken hostage that easily? She will show that albino freak, just how wrong she was to look down on her.

Angel screamed underneath the tentacle covering her mouth, her voice muffled. However, as she let out the breath off her throat, the sheer force of her voice blew the tentacle away from her mouth, as if a powerful hand swatted the appendage away from the shades-wearing Aberration. With the tentacle no longer muffling her voice, her scream echoed down full power towards the girl who had dared taken Angel as prisoner. This time, her voice seemed to echo farther than before.

[i]'[color=ff57ff]Alright...I think I figured out this tracking sense. It's pretty useful...[/color]' Taking the moment of peace, Siena sent her gaze around the area, the more familiar with her temporarily gained power, the narrower she could make the area that Christmas was in...but how was she supposed to get under...

[i]'[color=ff57ff]Ew. Ewewew, eeeewwwwww...[/color]'[/i]

Disgust was evident, even as Siena noted the suspiciously open manhole in the distance. No. Oh no. Ew. [i]Ew[/i]. Still...Kusari was right when she said that if they wanted to win... With a sigh, Siena returned her attention just in time to see Kusari break Angel away from the safe zone. Perfect. Tightening her grip on Lily's hand just enough to warn her, Siena braced herself...then made her "jump" in a puff of smoke. 

Marcus's fear quickly turned to some sort of irritation as he saw Kusari dash off towards one of his other teammates. "[color 33ec06]What!? All that show and you're just gonna run off!?[/color]" he shouted, almost in frustration. He grabbed the extra limb that lay on the ground, shaking the velcro flag from it by wedging it between his arm and his body. He took off running in the same direction she did, but with her improved speed and his utter unwillingness to ever do any sort of cardio ever, there was no way he was going to catch up to her.

[color 33ec06][i]Not even worth the effort.[/i][/color]

[color 33ec06][i]Should have been finished off.[/i][/color]

Marcus's mind was in full operation, despite his slightly dizzy state and the blood that was starting to clot in his nose. Every step he took towards Kusari and Angel only made his arm throb more as it shuddered. [i]Step, pain, step, pain[/i], like some perverse drumbeat. The pain seemed to reverberate at the same beat as his own heart, and the same frequency at which the stars seemed to pour into him.

Wait. Stars?

[hr]
[i]He was back in that starless scene, except this time he found himself upside down, dangling loosely like a strip of paper. The stars were gone, but he could still feel the heat inside him. The same heat that was currently dripping up his face and onto the twisted metal. He knew that there was pain, but he didn't actually feel anything; he knew that his bones were shattered and his skin was shredded, but it didn't hurt. There were voices; a million tiny whispers all around him. Some of the voices he recognized, but the faces wouldn't reveal themselves. Even though there were many of them, they seemed to be part of one big whisper. A question, barely out of tune. Or was it a shout; some sort of exclamation that was just soft enough to be lost? A statement, perhaps - drowned beneath the deafening silence? Something seemed to talk, though all he could hear was the sound of gentle curiosity.

The world sprang back into action. A flurry of movement, a cacophony of sound, and an explosion of pain.[/i]
[hr]

[i]Pain, step, pain, step.[/i]

The world shifted back into focus, and Marcus realized with a start that he wasn't making any ground. He might've been able to shout a warning to Angel if he wasn't so dazed, but the tentacle girl had already grabbed her by the time he opened his mouth. Out of his perihperial, he saw Sander and Grant making their ways towards Kusari. Two fighters and him. There really wasn't much he could do, especially if they managed to free Angel and had three fighters. If anything, he'd just get in the way. So, it was time for him to let them battle it out, while he stayed in the background.

"[color 33ec06]Sander! Which way is-[/color]" Marcus started, stopping suddenly to process a tidbit of information. 

[i]Where were his pants?[/i]

Never mind that. There'd be plenty of time for that question later. "[color 33ec06]Which way is Christmas?[/color]" he shouted, slowing to a jog.

Sander watched Kusari at first, arms around himself as he dug his fingers into the flesh. He wanted to help. Risky, at this stage, but he had to. The blood rage could not be denied. He was already readying himself for that mad dash toward his roommate, before a voice called to him. He half-turned, eyes widened at Marcus’ bloody form. The scarred boy reminded him of dinner. Of homecooked meals and green garnish. And it scared him. 
 
Wordlessly, he turned his head, focusing on the scent of coffee instead. After narrowing down the scent to a single direction, he gestured with one outstretched hand, then moved forward quickly, giving Marcus a wide berth.  


Marcus looked off in the direction that Sander pointed him, immediately turning and going that direction instead of heading towards the explosions of sound that were coming from Kusari and Angel. He gave a quick salute, which would probably be unnoticed by Sander, and moved towards the buildings that dotted the outside.

He focused on the feeling that had been sitting in his gut; a warm feeling that felt ever so slightly out of place. He'd had another hallucination, and he certainly felt...fuller almost. Like there was a power bursting at the seams that wanted to explode out of him. Now was not the best time, however; Siena was out there somewhere, and he had absolutely no idea what names she'd taken. He needed to be ready if she popped out - he couldn't waste his time experimenting with dreams.

As he got closer to the buildings, he noticed something. A lone manhole, its cover apparently long gone. He wandered up to the edge, peering down cautiously. Surely they wouldn't have put the poor kid down in a stinking hole, would they? They had to have some shred of human decency at least, right?

[color=f7976a]"I spy two wrists with flags still on them, Mr. Howell. Thought you knew how to play this game?"[/color]

[i]Oh goddammit[/i].

Light assaulted her eyes for less than a fraction of a second as she let Lily's hand go, and then pushed herself for another sulphur-smoke filled adventure, this time aiming as far as she could previously see down the manhole. No time to waste, no time at all.

With the bleeding boy out of tackling distance, Sander felt himself relax. Marginally. He needed to finish this as soon as possible. He wanted to, so he could finally go to a place where he couldn’t hurt anybody. He wanted out of this twisted game. And there was only one way. 
 
His resolve wavered as he took a step forward. And another. Then another, quickly after. Soon, he was sprinting.
 
[i]He wanted to end this fight.[/i]
 
The scent of soft drink filled his nostrils. Sweet and alluring. An indulgence. 
 
[i]He wanted.[/i] 
 
His dash came to a stop when he a few paces in front of Kusari, his lanky form blocking the way to wherever she was heading. 

By the time Grant snapped out of his daze, it seemed as if Sander had just darted off to- Oh. Some kind of monstrosity that currently had Angel, his other teammate, hostage. Joy. With his chains at the ready, Grant headed toward the action once more, to help out his teammates. From what he had just seen from Sander and Callan's tussle, he could assume that Sander wouldn't be useful in the objective, but in the combat portion, very useful. So with him doing whatever he was doing, Grant planned to snatch the flags from a distance, as he did with Callan, before.

Kusari flinched in pain as her tentacle's grip on Angel's mouth was flung off by one of her magic screams. It seemed she had a misunderstanding about how Angel's magic worked, and now she was suffering for it. Her sprint halted completely as her body shook to it's core.
[color=662d91]I have to... huh?[/color]

She was suddenly somewhere else, she was in that strange room under the sea once more. In the center of the room a young girl no older than fifteen sat. The girl's back was facing her, though she could still see that the girl was drawing on a canvas, she was using an awful lot of red.

[color=662d91]Wait, no... This is... no. No. NO! WHY ARE YOU SHOWING ME THIS!? PLEASE STOP![/color] Kusari wanted to scream, but the moment she opened her mouth blue paint filled her throat and poured from her mouth. That's right, she knew why this place looked so familiar now. It was her bedroom as a child. The realization was like a corrective lens, the water around her quickly morphed, forming blue painted walls and blue tiled flooring. Kusari fell to the floor, tears streaming down her face, her nose running and her eyes swollen and puffy.

Her mother walked into the room, walking past her and towards her younger self. "Kusari? The limo is here, we have to go. Kusari?" The young girl didn't answer, prompting her mother to walk closer to her. "Kusari!?" Her mother screamed as she saw just what the girl was doing. Her arms were cut open, as blood flowed from her wounds she was using it to smear the painting in front of her. It was a picture of her and her father, or at least it used to be. Her mother shook her child, trying to get her attention. The girl stopped defiling the painting and turned her head towards her mother. Her red eyes were glazed over, empty. 

[color=662d91][b]"Would dad... Have liked this?"[/b][/color]

Kusari came back to reality, and her mood had dipped lower than the Mariana trench. She didn't know what these dreams were, but she wasn't looking forward to more of them. Meanwhile Angel was still screaming, it hurt, yet somehow it just seemed annoying now. Even still she couldn't do anything to stop the effect of the scream. Her body stopped responding to her will, and before she fell to the ground she dropped Angel. 

Angel fell back on her feet as her power unleashed managed to knock Kusari down on the ground, leaving the girl spasming from having her hearing overloaded by high-pitched sonic waves. Resolute and bursting with confidence, the black-haired X-marked took a few steps toward the stunned girl, scanning quickly what flags remained on her body. It would seem that only her ankle flags were left, one tied to her raptor leg and the other around her human leg's ankle.  Swiftly, she'd bend down on her knees and snatch the flags around both ankles, dropping them immediately after.

She sighed in relief, glad that this was finally over with. Only the troublesome Siena remained, and finding Christmas before her friend would.

[color=9e0039]"You're not the only one willing to play dirty..." [/color]

Angel rose from her crouched position, looking around for what was happening around her while she had been taken away by the white-haired freakshow. Grant and Sander seemed to have been on the standby, flanking both sides, while Marcus was nowhere to be found. However, the sight of Lilianna inside Team Two's safe area rang an alarm in her head.

[color=9e0039][i]"Holy fuck, she already found her?"[/i][/color]

[color=9e0039]"Guys! No time to fuck around! They got Lily! Go find Christmas!"[/color]

Sander barely moved throughout the whole ordeal, his crimson eyes locked onto the white-haired girl the whole time. However, the situation escalated, and eventually, Angel came out on top. He felt relief, as well as a tingle of disappointment in the pit of his stomach. Like he was missing out on something. His jaws tightened as he clamped down on that feeling, focusing ahead. 
 
That wasn’t a very good idea either. Angel emerged from the fight bruised and bloody, and he couldn’t help but stare. The sweet scent of wine invaded his senses, forcing him to shut his ability down. There was nothing left but the tangy smell of blood and sweat and rust. That wasn’t any better. 
 
He moved a few steps backward, having deemed Kusari no longer a threat. Wrapping his arms around himself once more, he turned to scan the field, desperately searching for a reason to sprint off again. Then Angel yelled at them. He blinked, turning back to face her, before shaking his head, his voice surprisingly quiet –“[color=cyan]Now is not a good time, Angel.[/color]” 
 
“[color=cyan]Stay put.[/color]”- He warned, eyeing her battered form. 
 
 Angel raised an eyebrow when Sander seemed to refuse to move, or didn't seem to aknowledge her statement. Was he losing it? He did mentionned before the start of the game that his powers were unstable. Perhaps he meant losing self-control? That somehow reminded her of those times she would get into a screaming mood, letting out all of her vented frustration until she felt either satisfied or her throat couldn't produce anything anymore.
 
 [color=9e0039]"C'mon Sander! You can do it! Don't let yourself be consumed after all you have done so far! We need you focused!"[/color]
 
Despite his warning, Angel had moved a few slow paces towards him. 

Sander simply looked alarmed as the sharp scent of wine drew closer. He hastily moved a few steps backward, fear twisting his features –“[color=cyan]I don’t think…I can’t…[/color]”- He floundered with his words, before settling for the same thing he spoke just seconds before –“[color=cyan]This is not a good time.[/color]”
 
Despite that, he turned to look at the direction he had pointed Marcus toward. Angel was right. He had come this far. There was just one thing left to finish the game. One last thing. But it involved Christmas. Not Callan. Not Kusari. Sander was afraid. Yet, her words echoed. 
 
[i][color=f7976a]"Ah, yes, because trying in isolation has worked so well for you before."[/color][/i]
 
He knew he had to do this. He wanted to. So he turned and ran, following the scent before the blood high subsided enough for him to regret. 

Angel sighed in relief as Sander finally seemed to listen to reason and ran off towards the open manhole. So that’s where Christmas had been hidden after all. Seeing everyone rushing in there, this truly was the last ditch effort for each team. The outcome would be decided by whoever could manage to take hold of the boy and run away with him. 
 
After the blood-drinking Mage left his teammate’s side, Angel scanned the area one more time. Definitively, they’d need to bring Christmas to her team’s safe zone if she wanted to win, since Lilianna had already been found and brought to Team Two’s safe zone. Seeing the blond-haired girl, Angel felt like she should go to her and ask how exactly did she managed to bring her so quickly and unnoticed.
 
The adrenaline wearing off from no longer being threatened to be snatched away or fighting someone who would’ve wanted to grab her flags, pain resurfaced into Angel’s shoulders and sides. Truly, she had it rough today. To think it was only a game to begin with. She wasn’t even injured that badly the first time she was sent into actual battle against real monsters. 
 
Halfway between from where she had dropped Kusari and Team Two’s safe zone, Angel stopped. The pain was unbearable as she walked, feeling her shoulders flare up with every step. Her legs felt wobbly, and her sight started to blur once more. 
 
[color=9e0039][i]I need a breather. One or two minutes to relax can’t hurt, right?[/i][/color]
 
To alleviate her shaking legs, the raven-haired screaming Mage got down on her knees, then took a sitting posture. Realizing that sitting put even more strain on her bruised sides, she then laid down, the bare skin of her back felt autumn’s chill onto the concrete surface.
 
Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea after all. As she rested her head on the ground, she felt like dozing off to dreamland, or wherever her consciousness would take her from the amount of blood she had lost. 




[center]
[color=a8a2a2][h1]The Losers Bench[/h1][/color]
[img]http://i67.tinypic.com/2qb8wgw.png[/img] [img]http://i68.tinypic.com/es3ewn.png[/img]
[h3][img]http://orig02.deviantart.net/2a82/f/2016/082/e/6/e6773423e455f22e8b9f678a909eed57-d9w4gf5.png[/img] [color=a2d9ce]Callan Webb[/color] | [img]http://orig02.deviantart.net/2a82/f/2016/082/e/6/e6773423e455f22e8b9f678a909eed57-d9w4gf5.png[/img] [color=red]Christopher Francis[/color] [/h3]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img]
[hr]𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟟, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕌𝕊𝔸ℝ𝕀𝕃ℕ 𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕥   / /   𝔾𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 ℤ𝕖𝕣𝕠   / /  𝟙𝟞𝟜𝟡[hr]
[sub]Collab with [@Baklava] [@RedDusk] [@Dragonmancer] [@Chasers115][/sub][/center]

Chris, fully recovering from the previous incidents and his vision, started to look around for a place to rest. With the clothes back on him he began to walk towards the plaza. His hands were in the pockets of his sweat pants and the hoodie of his heavy jacket hung over his head. He'd sigh as he saw Callan before taking a seat himself, saying nothing, nor looking at anything beyond the ground.

With a dispirited frown, Callan looked between Marcus, Kusari, Angel, and Chris, subconsciously feeling and picking at Sander's ID card through the pocket of his jeans. Something seemed off about the way Marcus moved his arm as he ran, but he was too far away to be sure. She curiously turned her attention to Kusari, who had managed to transform her arms into monster limbs-- but how? What the hell happened between those two? Her attention shifted to Angel, who, on top of everything else, seemed to have successfully picked up all of Chris's flag. 

[color=a2d9ce][i]Great.[/i][/color] She sank down in her seat and crossed her arms as Chris devolved back into a human. Naked again. She looked away, but continued to fume, remembering clearly how he'd shit all over their plan because of a single piece of trash. From the get go, she should've paid more attention to the way Chris was talking about Sander, but still. She didn't expect him to be [i]that[/i] short tempered. Several salty phrases she could say cycled through her head-- why bother telling her he could listen while transforming if he was just going to do his own thing anyway? 

As Chris dressed himself, Callan watched as Kusari darted at Angel, leaving Marcus behind. He shouted something to Sander, who gestured at some point across the plaza from where she sat. Marcus darted off in that direction, still moving in a way that suggested something was wrong with his arm. It was concerning, but, for the sake of competition, what was more concerning right [i]now[/i] was that he was likely heading for one of two people-- Siena or Christmas. Suddenly realizing she hadn't seen Siena at all since the game began, eyes combed through the plaza. Even as she did so, she kept tabs on Kusari, who had since snatched up Angel in her tentacle arm and was sprinting toward the outer edge of the plaza with Sander and Grant trailing behind. Sander, particularly, was closing in fast.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a puff of smoke flicker into existence. Two puffs of smoke in quick succession. And in its wake-- Lily! She gently ran her teeth over the swollen and cracked skin of her busted lip, holding back a smile by distracting herself with the brief waves of pain. That was 32 points right there! Even as she watched Angel scream Kusari into submission and snatch the girls last two flags away, she inhaled deeply and furrowed her brow in thought. It seemed like their opponents had all been pretty preoccupied with everyone other than Siena. She was glad that had allowed her roommate to find the enemy's healer, but they hadn't held them off long enough. There was still a large amount of time left on the clock and it was entirely up to Siena now to either ensure Christmas wasn't found or finish off all the other team's flags. 

"[color=a2d9ce]C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon,[/color]" she muttered under her breath, still trying to find Siena. Oh well... if she couldn't find her, nobody else would likely be able to either. As Chris sat beside her, much of her previous ire had dissipated at the thought of them still managing to win this thing.

Much, but not quite enough.

"[color=a2d9ce]What happened?[/color]" she asked, fully recognizing the sullen look of failure on her teammate's face.

[color=red]"Scream girl kept petrifying my brain."[/color] Chris responded as he tugged his hood on tighter. [color=red]"Humiliating, really. She is rather annoying."[/color] He'd finish with crossing his arms, still staring to the ground and having the afterthought of defeat. [color=red]"Sorry I couldn't keep her off longer."[/color]  It was strange that he felt a new sense of power just after losing the game. He knew his form had improved after he had awaken. He was curious to test it out later. 

[color=red]"How'd your fight go after I left?"[/color]

She exhaled slowly through her nose before she replied, "[color=a2d9ce]Would've gone better if you'd stuck to the plan.[/color]" 

It wasn't entirely Chris's fault that she was out-- it wouldn't be fair to say that. But it was true he'd made her job a lot more difficult. Straddling Sander on the ground wasn't how she'd wanted to start the fight, after all. But then again, she also hadn't planned on getting punched in the face and taking a bite to the neck. Idly, she noted that the 'scream girl', Angelique, was a force to be reckoned with if she could 1v1 a dragon in two minutes flat-- or at least mess with him enough to steal his treasure hoard.

[color=red]"Mm, Sorry but that vampire pisses me off. Had the nerve to throw a piece of junk at me."[/color] He scoffed.

"[color=a2d9ce]That's a bad excuse,[/color]" Callan retorted calmly, furrowing her brow. If you pull that shit on the battlefield, people die. She wanted to say that out loud, but stopped herself, remembering that his team had lost someone as well. She wasn't sure how close they'd been, but perhaps it was still too soon to bring it up so casually. 

"[color=a2d9ce]I said leave him to me.[/color]"

He'd sigh. [color=red]"Well lets hope I can control myself better next time."[/color] He said flatly, his tone made it clear he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

[color=a2d9ce][i]Yeah-- let's hope.[/i][/color] She shifted in her seat-- trying hard to force the words back down her throat. [color=a2d9ce]C'mon, Cal. It's not over yet. We can still win. Don't get mad.[/color] With another sigh, her shoulders relaxed. "[color=a2d9ce]I'm sure you'll get the hang of it,[/color]" she reassured him, though her voice was slightly lacking in the genuine enthusiasm department, "[color=a2d9ce]Don't worry about it.[/color]" 

She pulled Sander's ID card out of the pocket of his jeans and listlessly spun it between her thumb and index finger, still looking out at the plaza. 

"[color=a2d9ce]Siena might still carry our sorry asses,[/color]" she mused hopefully.  

[color=red]"I hope so."[/color] He sighed. [color=red]"Again I apologize for my recklessness."[/color]

Surprising. She'd been convinced Chris's weak apology would be the end of it, but... he seemed sincere. Grudges weren't something she enjoyed carrying around anyway.  

"[color=a2d9ce]It's fine. Really--[/color]" she answered. In that moment, she watched Sander make his way towards where Marcus had-- wait, where did he go? A manhole? She sat up on the bench, leaning forward. As Sander hopped into the sewer entrance, Callan frowned. Sander knew he couldn't punch anyone besides her and Kusari the way he did, right? He wasn't going to hurt Siena or Christmas if he found them? Trying to iron out the creased of worry that that had appeared between her eyes, she reasoned that the school wouldn't let that happen. They'd taze him before he could seriously hurt her... and he'd pass out... right? Her concern persisted. Remembering Marcus's arm and how many blows Sander had gotten off before she told him to stop and he miraculously listened, she struggled with the sudden urge to break the rules and follow him. 

As long as she stayed out of the way, she wouldn't be in trouble, would she? Better ask to make sure. Maybe Fredric would answer her like he had Sander.

"[color=a2d9ce]Hey, uh, Fredric? Can I head over to the sewers. I promise I'll stay out of the way, but... I think someone should keep an eye on Sander down there.[/color]"

A pause before a short beep sounded.  [color=f7976a]"Alright, Ms. Webb. Go ahead."[/color]

She slipped Sander's ID card back into his pants pocket and laid them on the bench. Nodding to Chris, Callan got up and sprinted across the plaza after Sander. Standing before the manhole, Callan once again cursed her concern and started descending the ladder. 

[color=a2d9ce][i]Oh, man... that reeks,[/i][/color] she noted, holding her hand up over her nose and mouth. It was too dark to make out anything. Within seconds, her phone was in her hand with the flashlight feature on, shining it around as she walked through the practically tangible sewer stench. She could hear thundering footsteps echoing up against the walls up ahead-- Sander, no doubt. But they sounded like they were getting closer....