Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

The staircase is clear, but unfortunately, a guard's reaction time at the bottom of the stairwell isn't bad, and she ends up ramming into a tower shield.

"What the hell...?" They mutter, peeking around their shield.
Their armor seems to be extremely heavy and partially mechanized, an axe with what resembles a jet engine on one end attached to their other wrist... and pointed directly at Katie.
"Uhm... shit, this isn't in protocol. Uh..." They utter, confused.

 

"Ugh...s-sorry." Katie says, injured.

 

"Will you be?"

"Hm. Well, thanks for telling me."
I nod.

 

"W-well, first thing's first..."
They lower their axe.
"Is your friend okay, or do you both need a trip to med wing?"

"...I don't know."

"Yeah, no problem. Figured you know more about the blade than I, maybe you can make something out of it."

 

"I-I think Katie shielded most of the damage for me." Angela says nervously.

 

"Alright... yeah, sorry about that. I, uh... wasn't sure what else to do in that situation." The guard admits, lowering a hand to Katie's forehead.

"Now, just to be clear, this won't hurt, miss Katie. You broke a few bones, and getting to med will hurt like hell if I don't do this."

 

Crystal frowns, thinks, then smiles.
"Yeah. You'll be fine."

"All I know about the blade is that it cuts things really well. I can ask the shadow about it, though."

 

"I hope."

"That doesn't count for much, considering what it is. Let me know if you find something out with it."

 

"You'll be fine."
Crystal repeats.

"I could probably find him now and ask him, considering you lot seem fine here."

 

Xlentia nods, curling up around Crystal again.

"He seemed fairly busy, be it with adventuring or... his girlfriend, to be less specific."

 

"I-I did?" Katie asks, turning white.

 

Crystal just stays there.

"He usually is. Some people might know where he is, though."

 

"Shh, don't move, this IS in the books..."
Katie's knocked out with a punch, Angela watching the guard carefully form a stone carrier around her to keep her body still as they lift the lithified Katie onto their shield.
"Miss, she'll be fine. I suggest you stay with her... she broke her left arm, right leg, and a couple ribs." They tell Angela.

"You know... sometimes I wonder if we really have messed up somewhere along."

"Let me know if you find anything, then."

 

"How so?"

"Will do."
I say, then walk off back to the portal.

 

"Y-You punched h-her!" Angela says, scared.

 

"Do you want her to be in pain for the fifteen minute walk it is to the surgeon, or are you going to relax with the fact I knocked her out so she won't feel anything?"

"Just, the Hive Master gets so many on his side voluntarily... have the gods really went wrong?"

Nobody's in the portal room, though there seems to be quite a commotion near the lab.

 

"Well he's mind controlled a lot of gods, right? I don't really think it'd be strange to feel helpless in this situation. Especially if you can't run anywhere at all. It's either serve him, or suffer a horrible fate. It's a tough decision to make, but many people wouldn't like to die."
Crystal explains.

I walk towards the lab, checking it out.

 

Angela just seems petrified, unsure what to do, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

 

"True..."

Seems Xlentia's forces suffered some heavy losses.

"You want to be carried too? Not unconscious, of course." They ask, flipping up their mask to reveal a woman's gently smiling face.

 

"Or some of them are just lunatics."

I hastily make my way over to Xlentia's chambers and look in.