The Jerks - Christophe and Lorelei
LOCATION: Underground cavern – B1
…swish…
Lorelei snapped beside her as they waded through the water. She heard…felt something, around them.
…swish swish…swish…
“Christophe…I think there’s something in the water…” she said, not hearing a response other than sloshing water. That was growing louder and faster. She looked to see him practically sprinting through the water to the edge of the cavern. “Chris, what are you doing!” she called out, holding up her gauntlet and firing it. The claws grabbed Christophe by the scruff of his shirt, yanking him back. But he got up, pulling hard and away from Lorelei, slowly pulling her along.
“You don’t understand, they’re so pretty, the lights…I just need…to get to them, they’re so…many, and beautiful…” he said, grunting as he pulled her along.
What, lights? I thought he saw the cache, what’s he talking about…?” she thought, before a look of realization grew on her face.
[i]Swish, SWISH!!
A piercing screech echoed through the cavern as a figure shot through the water at Lorelei. It knocked into her, as she felt sharp spikes cutting into her arms. She gasped as she fell over, surprised that it moved so quickly, even when she could feel the soundwaves in the water. But she knew it was around now, as she quickly stood up, spitting out the cavern water that flooded her when she fell, and crouched low. She had to keep her grapple on Christophe or whatever this was would catch him to, so she quickly moved after him to keep on balance. She held her hand in the water, feeling for any large movements when-
“Oof!” her foot was yanked from beneath her, as she fell in the water once more. Whatever it was, it wasn’t alone. Lorelei caught a glimpse of a spike tentacle darting away, but not much else, the things surrounding them had a way of disturbing the water and making it difficult for her to hear the soundwaves clearly.
”It’s over here…you’re so close, just a little bit farther…
Lorelei looked to Christophe, after hearing an odd voice. It sounded strange, like someone was trying to imitate speech, without really knowing what to say. She gasped, as right in front of Christophe was a figure, with the head and body of a woman. But instead of arms, tentacles on either side. But Christophe’s gaze was drawn below the water, Lorelei guessed that’s where the lights were coming from on the creature. She didn’t have time to thank her luck that she was blind, and unaffected, as he feet were yanked once more, but they weren’t released as she as pulled. She struggled, groaning, looking back to see the creature approach the now motionless Christophe, it’s tentacles slowly draping themselves all over him while he stood, happy and dumb.
Almost there, you can make it.. came a warbled voice around Lorelei, as she felt two figures drawing closer to her. They were smiling, so eerily, as their waving tentacles flexed, their spikes jutting out momentarily, before slowly wriggling towards Lorelei.
“Dammit,” she said, trying to pull her feet away, before glaring back at them. “Sorry, gals, I’ve got a headache,” she said, before smacking the water with her hand. There was huge boom echoing through the cavern, amplified by the water as well, while the Sirens grabbed their heads and shrieked in pain. Lorelei pulled her legs free, activating her gauntlet’s grapple and pulling herself through the air towards Christophe. He still stood there, but was twitching from the pain, while the creature before him writhed in agony. He gasped as Lorelei knocked him into the water, unhooking her gauntlet from him and grabbing the Siren’s head. “Sorry, love, he’s with me,” she said, as her metal arm hummed and vibrated. The Siren shrieked even louder, echoing all through the cavern, before going limp. Lorelei let go, as the Siren’s head fell below the water, blood dripping from its orifices. Before the other two could react, Lorelei grabbed Christophe around the waist and shot her grapple to a nearby rock mount, darting away just as the two Sirens dove into the water.
“Oof!” the two hit the rock and rolled. It hurt, but less than being stuck in the water. She groaned, looking up to see Christophe’s face staring to the side, wistfully in the water. “Chris, Chris! Are you with us?!” she screamed, slapping his face. It still held the same dumb look, half glazed, but then opened slightly. Lorelei looked to the side, to see the two Sirens far in the water again, fins drifting in the water. Judging from his newfound vigor, as Christophe tried muscling her away to go in the water again, she figured they were making the same lights which attracted him in the first place. She sighed, saying, “Sorry, Boss, this is gonna hurt,” before grabbing his head with her gauntlet. She took a breath, wincing as it began to hum and vibrate once more, though not as intense as when she took out the other Siren.
”AAAUUUGGGHHH!!” Christophe screamed, while his body shook with spasms. Lorelei quickly took the gauntlet away, as Christophe’s head fell to the side. She knelt down, head to his chest. He was breathing, but knocked out. She looked back to the Sirens, who had paused in the water. She heard a hissing sound, as the pair darted back underneath the surface, disappearing from view. Lorelei pulled Christophe up onto the mound in the center, groaning before she stood up above him. She readied her weapon, head darting around her, trying to watch for their next attack. She had to keep them off while Christophe was out, but the situation wasn’t the best for her.
~~~
Naomi and Pascale
LOCATION: C4
Naomi clutched Jonah tightly as they’d bound up and down. She tightly held her eyes shut, saying, “Jonah, I don’t think you’ll catch up to him like this!”
Jonah swung once more, the three flying up in the air in an arc, basically jumping across the terrain. He made sure to keep Pascale from being jerked around too much, his arms were big enough to keep her steady. But carrying two people was getting tiring. “Can’t help it, this is the only way we can go!” he said, through the rushing air of their leap.
“That’s the point!” Naomi said, patting his shoulder. “We don’t have to go, you’ll go faster without us!” she said, peeking through her eyelids.
Jonah landed, swinging his hammer while he stood. He twirled, as his face was set in thought. “…Your friend’s still knocked out, and it’ll be awhile before Tibbers comes back…” he said, looking up to her on his back.
Naomi patted her bicep, saying, “We’ll be fine, I’m a tough cookie. Besides, Ace is definitely going to need help, we just might be in trouble.” But Naomi was more scared than she was letting on, she just knew this was the best choice to make.
Jonah sighed, his hammer slowly coming to a rest while he was setting her down. He looked back to the giant scar the Unicorn trampled in the ground, gripping his red and blue hammers tightly. “It’s gonna be a long game of catch-up, you be careful,” he said, as his muscles tensed. Fibers and veins started pulsating, as his skin took on a silver sheen. He trembled, as clouds of hot steam started wafting off his body, and he dashed forward. Moving incredibly fast, he quickly spun his hammers at maximum speed and threw them forward, lifting off in the air like a bullet after the Unicorn.
Naomi grinned as he left, then her face fell when he was gone. She looked at Pascale on the ground, still unconscious, and scooted close to her. “Okay, o-o-o-okay…” she said, leaning over. She opened Pascale’s eyelid, seeing she was still out cold. “Guess her body’s having a hard time recovering from that earlier onslaught…” Naomi said, closing her eyes. She placed her hands in her thinking position again, as she tried recalling more info that would help. “Her Aura’s having a hard time recuperating…Aura is the manifestation of our souls, our bodies and weapons channel our Aura to aid in danger. It keeps us safe, it keeps us going, it is the balance of light and dark in ourselves. If you find balance, you find strength,” she said, remembering a passage from an assigned book when they were first learning about Aura in school.
“In simplest terms, Aura can be used as a forcefield, to increase the strength of our blows, to sense our surroundings, and to heal ourselves. Defense, Offense, Awareness, and Healing…healing…” she said, shaking her head slightly like she was looking for different information. “Healing…Aura has been known to heal a person, but only surface wounds. It can keep a person fighting and in combat for a short time, and can keep someone stable on the verge of death, but barring some specific Semblances, Aura cannot instantly mend broken bones or deep wounds. It can speed up the healing process, but it’s main use is to keep a person alive long enough for proper medical attention…” Naomi said, opening her eyes. “Right, got it, so she needs time, I guess…” she said, looking around her. They were on the edge of the forest, near the mountain, and exposed. “…I don’t think we have much more time here,” Naomi said, looking at her hands.
“…I wonder…” she said, rubbing them together. She knew that another person could help activate a person’s Aura with their own, like priming an engine. It was impossible to instantly transfer Aura between people, every person’s Aura was different and not completely compatible with someone else’s, but maybe she could jump start Pascale’s Aura with her own? It was already activated, but maybe a little push would at least get her conscious. She cracked her knuckles, shaking them loose, and held them above Pascale. She closed her eyes, breathing slowly while concentrating on her Aura. From Naomi, a small pulse of Aura radiated out. That was how they were taught to sense their surroundings, as they would feel their Aura hit another source or, in the case of Grimm, the absence of Aura. She focused the pulses down, through her hands, so they were centered on Pascale. In her chest, by her heart, Naomi could sense Pascale’s Aura Core. It was orange, and bright, although it was obviously dimmer from the stress it was being put under. Those Baby Hydras and the trees in the forest did a number on her.
Naomi concentraded, holding her hands above Pascale’s Aura Core. From her hands, focused pulses of lavender Aura slowly pushed out, swirling around Pascale’s Aura Core before dissipating. Each pulse made the orange ball glow brighter, though you couldn’t see it unless you were sensing for it. Naomi concentrating, keeping each pulse steady and regular, hoping to see the effects. She knew this wasn’t a normal way to help a person’s Aura, the only reason she thought she could do it was that she had a huge reserve of Aura compared to the regular person. Her using it like this might mean that Tibbers would take even longer to reform, but she had to look out for her partner now. Her pulses faltered slightly when she remembered the cache in her pack, the silver case that held what they wre looking for. She shook the thought away, again focusing on trying to push along Pascale’s Aura, and get the Hunter awake once more.
~~~
The Jerks – Ashton and Jonah
LOCATION: B2 – Boulin Montain Range, moving South
Bruised, battered, and bloody, Ashton gritted his teeth as he pulled closer, now halfway along his rope. The creature was now far more vicious than before, apparently toying with Ashton was getting more annoying than enjoyable, as the turns were getting much sharper. He reared, turned just as Ashton smashed through another tree, and doubled back. Ashton arced in front of the creature, circling around while the beast made a 360 and swung Ashon to the same tree he'd just crashed through.
Ashont's eyes shot open as he saw the trunk was now snapped, and sharp. It would definitely pierce right through him, like a pincushion. He tried pulling to clear it, but it was too late for him to change anything, he was heading right for it. He closed his eyes tight and prepared for the impact.
*SMASH*
He opened his eyes, as a familiar blue hammer spun through the air, having destroyed what was left of the tree. Still spinning, he barely caught a glance of a familiar face catching the hammer, from further behind their path of destruction. Ashton managed a weak smile, before gritting his teeth as the creature resumed dragging him.
He felt himself being pulled faster, bouncing off the ground like a ball on a bumpy road. He spotted the edge of the forest, as the creatures path seemed to go around it, in between his face gouging the ground. He was moving so much faster, though, he couldn't see much else besides the cloud of destruction the Unicorn left it its wake. He just steadily pulled and pulled, getting slowly closer and closer to the beast. He spat out the bits of dirt and rock that the Unicorn's feet were kicking into his mouth.
He held fast, waiting for the right chance, the right moment to move. They ran over the crest of a hill, and just as the Unicorn started his descent, Ashton flew into the air. He yanked hard, pulling himself right onto the Unicorn. The sound it made was a cross between a hiss, a roar, and crunching metal, it's horn practically red and smoking. For three seconds, Ashton was riding on its back, a grin set on his bloody and battered face.
On the forth second, the Unicorn bucked. It was like getting hit from behind by a car, Ashton couldn't even hold onto the lasso loop before he bounced in the air. It was like everything was movie so slowly, he could see his drops of blood floating as he flipped, the wafts of smoke drifting from the base of the Unicorn's horn, the white point at the center of its burning red eyes. He saw it rear back and start jumping up, its horn aiming right for his chest.
*THUNK*
Ashton had the wind knocked out of him as everything went back to a normal speed, and for a moment he thought it had kicked him. He looked down as he saw a red hammer pushing him away from the beast, and the next second he was rolling on the ground. He coughed and spat, feeling a few cracked ribs, but pushing through the pain and standing up. He winced, looking down and seeing a bloody slash on his calf, and a torn lasso on the ground. The Unicorn must have barely scratched his leg when Jonah's hammer hit his chest, but it left a large wound, and it easily cut through his laser lasso.
Ashton glared with a weak smile as the Unicorn breathed hot plumes of smoke from its nostrils. It pawed at the ground, putting its head low. it was angry, and not in the mood for more games. Ashton looked behind him, he was at the edge of the Ravine, it was so dark down there he couldn't even see the bottom. He looked back at the Unicorn preparing to charge, and simply smirked, gesturing with his fingers and saying, "Come on..."
Two blurs shot from behind, red and blue, curving to hit the Unicorn's head and legs. They knocked it aside, unbalancing it but not pushing it over, as a figure charged from behind. "Dive!!" Jonah shouted, jumping towards Ashton just as the Unicorn looked to the two of them. Jonah tacked Ashton, who leapt backwards just as another blur shot from the Unicorn's horn, both students could feel the heat wave as it barely missed them and cut huge slashes into the rockface across the ravine.
Both fell into the darkness, as Jonah's hammers flew down after them. He grabbed for them as he his arm wrapped around Ashton's torso, as their jets burst on to slow their fall. But it wasn't slow enough, they both hit the ground hard, as a sickening cracked echoed through the rock walls.
Jonah wheezed, just lying there while catching his breath. "Ace...Ace, you moron...are you alright?" he asked, wiping his chin.
"Ah...ah...yeah, pard'ner, just...ah, just a broken leg. That Unicorn did a number on me, I tell you what," Ashton said, grunting as he sat up. There was an orange light at the bottom, very faint, but enough to see a bit. He chuckled as he saw his leg bent at an odd angle, giving a small yelp as he tried resetting it. "Augh...Ergh Hrgk!" he grunted, gripping his leg and gently aligning the bone. He reached for a dead branch that had fallen with them, using some of his lasso and wrapping his leg.
"Hey," Jonah said, getting Ashton's attention. He tossed over Ashton's hat that had flown off earlier, which the cowboy put on with glee. Jonah shook his head, "Ace, buddy, I don't get what you were trying to prove with that," he said with a sigh, grunting as he sat up.
Ashton tied off his splint with a wince, saying, "It's a cowboy thing, you wouldn't understand," as he leaned back. "But, hey, look at it this way, can't get much more dangerous than that, right?" he said with a grin. Jonah looked back, face unmoving, before giving a small grin.
{i]thump...thump...thump...Thump...Thump...THUMP...THUMP[/I]
Both froze as thundering slams echoed through the walls. They grew louder, closer, and Jonah then moved to pick Ashton up on his shoulder, charging behind a rock. Both were quiet, despite Ashton's pain, as they peeked over the edge.
A huge figure, not as tall as a giant, but several stories high came lumbering out. It grunted, and growled, dragging behind a tree trunk that had apparently been used for years as a club. It looked around stupidly, huge dollops of drool splashing by its feet. Jonah looked at Ashton, raising an eyebrow, as Ashton only shrugged in response. They both shook their heads, but kept quiet and hidden...for as long as they could.
Meanwhile, the unicorn simply looked into the crevice the two hunters fell through. It's game with the hunter was enjoyable for a moment, but now he sought to destory him... Later that is. The Unicorn knew what lurked in the darkness below, and it was in no mood to have to fight it. Instead, lifting it's legs up high, the beast stomped with so much force the earth itself began to shake and shift. The entrance the two hunters used to enter the ravine was closed when rocks collapsed, shutting them off from light and escape. After that, the Unicorn simply returned to the forest, looking to get itself a drink.
LOCATION: G2 – Bottom of Helldrop Ravine
~~~
Morella Cinder
LOCATION: G3
Morella continued walking, keeping an eye on the map of the area. North of her was the closest group of Students, one pair of partners and a lone student. Morella disregarded them, pushing on and making her way to the cave entrance. A small mound of rock came into view, on the top of a nearby hill, that looked rather common. But Morella climbed up to it, seeing that the mound was over a very large hole in the ground, difficult to see from the bottom of the hill. She picked up a stone and held it over the hole, which had tilted walls like a sliding tube underground, and dropped it. She heard it clatter and roll for about forty seconds before the small echoes stopped.
“Hmm…” she thought, kneeling at the edge. “…I’ll be fine,” she said, jumping in the air above the hole. Her boots flashed, as blades popped out of the soles, and the power lines in them turned white. Frost and ice formed on the blades while she flipped, creating small ice trails when she landed on the rock. She pushed forward quickly, skating down the rock and into the cave, her blades staying on the rock as she circled the tube
Down she sped, until the floor evened out and flattened. She turned, skidding on her skates and kicking ice in the air, as she looked around. It was very dark, the tilt of the entrance kept the light from hitting the deeper part of the cave, but she had some like from her boots’ power lines. She looked to her W.A.T.C.H., checking the cache’s location. She glanced at some of the settings, seeing a few interesting features. “Hmm, flashlight…” she said, affixing the W.A.T.C.H. to the strap on her pack. It cast a large funnel of light before her, illuminating deeper parts of the cave, while a small hologram of the map floated in front of her. “Handy,” she said, as she started her trek deeper into the cave. The cache was on the same level as her, so she knew it’d be underground, but she didn’t know exactly what would be in these caves.
Flutter, flutter, skitter…
She looked to her side, the light beam illuminating an empty cave. She looked around her, seeing nothing but a large room with several tunnels along the side. She looked to the tunnel she just came from, standing on one leg. Her bladed skate popped out, as she spun and made three slashes in the rock. She shined the light on her handiwork, and arrow making sure she wouldn’t get lost.
She then looked on her hologram map, at the cache position. She zoomed in, seeing that it was shifting slightly, and quickly moved to it. She knew it was in the cavern, but she didn’t see it on the ground. She looked all around, frustrated that she couldn’t find any hole in the ground or any indication of something below her, even though she was right on top of it. …Wait… she paused, head slowly raising. Maybe it’s…on top of me?
“…Uh oh…” she said, a dawning look of realization. She looked up, the light shooting through the darkness of the high cavern and barely showing the movement of a huge number of figures. The group of Vampire Bats hissed at her, all baring their fangs and spreading their wings, coming down on her like a huge tornado of fur teeth.
Morella’s Boots flashed, as she mentally chided herself for not preparing. I should’ve done a sweep with my Aura to sense the place before walking it! she thought, chalking it up to her eagerness to get started. She skated forward, barely dodging the swarm of Bats while she stomped the ground.
DASH GATE – 1 STEP
The familiar circle of light appeared below Morella, as she shot forward on her skates, zipping across the cavern floor. She didn’t look behind her, she could hear the storm of Grimm chasing her through the cave. Gotta find… a place to prepare… she thought, heading straight for a tunnel on the edge of the cavern. She skated inside, part of the swarm veering off so they wouldn’t crash, while a few Bats still made it inside. She curved and turned, keeping herself from crashing as the tunnel twisted around, and she could hear the few bats following her.
She jumped, as he boots glowed white once more.
ICE GATE – 1 STEP
Frost quickly formed on the blade of her skate, as she kicked forward. A huge slash of ice cut across the tunnel, blocking the Bats from coming that way. They hit the ice wall with a few thuds, and she could hear their shrieks as they clawed at the new obstacle.
“That’s not gonna keep them back for long…” Morella said, turning back around.
KKREEEEEE!!
She was thrown back as a Vampire Bat flew into her from the opposite direction, it must have come through one of the other tunnels. She rolled, before it gripped the ground with its claws. Morella pushed on its wings, trying to shove it off her, when she felt a sharp sting on her shoulder. Then it was cold, very cold, colder than any ice she’d felt.
Her eyes fluttered, as the light on her strap flickered. It took her a second to realize the Bat had bitten her, and was latched on. But it didn’t take her that long to realize it was sucking out her Aura, as her strength was fading. Weakly, she pushed her foot against the beast, digging her blade into its body, and used what her Aura to start her cylinders spinning. Her boots glowed white, then bright red.
FIRE GATE – 1 STEP
The Bat exploded in a ball of fire, as the boot sent of a jet of flame directly into the creature. Morella shielded herself from the flaming gore that fell, barely having the strength to cover her nose from the awful smell. But she kept moving, not wanting to waste the spin of the cylinder, as the boots glowed white once more. She weakly kicked forward.
ICE GATE – 1 STEP
She gave a sigh of relief, as she was walled in on either side from the ice. She pulled herself against the wall, panting and gripping her shoulder. She closed her eyes, as the wounds started to glow blue. They flickered slightly, but the bleeding stopped, before the glow died down. If she’d reacted any slower, the Bat might have sucked out all her Aura, but she still didn’t have much. Confirming her senses with the W.A.T.C.H., she saw she had about a third as much Aura as before. She’d have to rest up quickly, because the walls of ice wouldn’t keep them back forever. Stubbornly, she didn’t even entertain the thought that a partner would’ve helped, as they might’ve made the same mistake Morella did, and then she’d have two people to save.
She pushed all other thoughts out of her head for the moment, though, closing her eyes and trying to recuperate. The incessant cries and scrapes on either side of her didn’t help much, though, as it kept reminding her that she didn’t have much time.
~~~
Oliver Kootz
LOCATION – In a rock…I dunno, maybe A5.
The circus boy wriggled and squirmed. “Geez, I feel like I’ve been in this thing for three weeks…” he said to himself, grunting as he pulled his shoulder forward. He yanked his right arm free, gasping and cheering to himself. “Alright, okay, now…” he said, tugging on his other limbs. Grunting to no avail, even with the added leverage of his other arm, he sighed and groaned. He looked around, not seeing anyone nearby. Hmm…I guess…I guess I can use this, maybe? he thought, tugging off the glove on his right hand with his teeth. It revealed another leather glove, with plastic tubes at his forearm, with the W.A.T.C.H. behind them. The tubes were filled with Dust, and seemed connected to a purple gem behind his knuckles. There was an orange gem on his palm, which he placed against the stone.
“Alrighty, let’s go…” he said, closing his eyes. Hidden by his hair, a purple gem on an earring started to glow softly, as orange light radiated into the stone. It moved like a liquid spreading on a floor, mainly encompassing the area of the rock that he was embedded in. He’d used MACY on the ship, as the chaos hid his action. He didn’t quite understand the weapon himself, and he wasn’t sure if other more “official” Hunters would force him to turn it over for study. It seemed like a fairly old piece of weaponry before he’d appropriated it, the metal the gems were in was rusted and broken, so he thought it was maybe an old magical artifact from some lost…thing. He didn’t think much of it ‘sides that, as so far it hadn’t caused him any harm, and so far no one had found out about it, as he’d put “Misc.” for his weapon description on the application. But for now, he had to focus on absorbing part of the rock he was in so he could escape.
