Cyanic

Deras needed to take a clue from Araha's book. The best way to minimize casualties was to eliminate the threat, if that was impossible, evacuate. "How many ships can you call in simultaneously? Specifically ships with as much firepower as possible?" @Dr. Jacques Rodriguez For now, he wanted to do more experiments. He jumped and let himself shift into the static world. Once there, he found that he was still moving, the momentum not stopping. He brought himself back into the regular world and saw that the momentum still carried through. He landed and noted that for later. For now, he summoned his shardblade just to be ready.

Deras saw and heard the crack in the air as the phoenix —it was a phoenix— slammed into the barrier, destroying much of itself in the process. It was still trying to break through but the barrier was holding. He gritted his teeth. Fire wasn't much to him, especially with his armor on, but he didn't want to take the chance fighting this creature. He wanted to see if he could bring things with him as he shifted worlds, so he touched one of the corpses nearby, then shifted to the black-sky world, then to the world of stasis, and the corpse came along. He went back down to the regular world and the corpse followed. He looked around and it seemed that he wasn't gone for long if at all. That static world seemed to have properties of a singular place and no time at all. He might be able to use that.

@xinoehp512 Kera accepted the pain as it overtook her body. It made her reel back, breaking the grip, but at least the man seemed to be healed already. She screamed in pain, falling to the ground, she let her stormlight remain then through gritted teeth, cast both Heal and her prepared Lesser Restoration on herself. It eased it a bit, and she got up it was still painful, but not as much.

He nodded at the man who responded to him then looked to the other man, and the shield around the whole city. "The shield will hold," he began "it's one of those shields that are exceedingly hard to break," he told the man who just addressed him, "the firebird will be unable to break it, at least in one blow." @Dr. Jacques Rodriguez He looked to the other man again, "I suppose that you oversaw the one responsible's death? Were there any witnesses if not? There are many times when people you think are dead aren't." @I think I am here. His questions were cut short as the other other man who'd just been in battle jumped at the one he was asking. In blinding speed, he grappled the man and threw him to the ground. @Badadah

Deras had been wandering about in the Alleyverse for a while now, having collected and practiced with one of the still-operational vindicators from the Waystop. As he neared some mountains he heard a screech in the distance which made him perk up. In the far, distant sky, he saw a firey bird creature that was descending downward toward some place. His eyes widened behind his faceless faceplate and he dove down into the cockpit to stop the vindicator. It had scratches and marks that would indicate it wasn't Chaos anymore, and he jumped back out. Charging toward where the beast was diving to. People might be in danger. He arrived not a second later, his armor exponentially enhancing his augmented muscles if he wished it and he arrived at what looked like a city. Keen, fast eyes examined it and as he ran forward, he saw that the city was shielded, possibly shielded enough to stop the beast, then he looked through the shields. Death everywhere. What had happened here? He stopped outside the barrier. If he arrived here earlier, he could've stopped all this death. All of it. And he could've arrived earlier. Deras gritted his teeth, slamming a fist into the barrier, activating his own aons. The strike created a shockwave but barrier didn't budge. He saw movement inside, some people were still alive and he wanted to help them. He looked for another way. A way in. He rounded the city about once or twice in a second but saw no openings. He needed to get in. Needed. He strained, maybe something from his past could help him, that strange time he was sent here to the future. What had he done back then that allowed him to do that? A way in. He focused. A way in. He started shimmering then he disappeared. finding himself in a place with a sea of beads a black sky and a sun. He dropped down immediately into the beads and started sinking. He willed himself back to the material world and found himself there, still outside the barrier. He tried it again, seeing if that strange world also had a barrier. There was no barrier but there was a storm of energy. He didn't want to take the chance and shifted even farther. He found himself in the eternally static plane of reality, the one that he had seen before being brought into the future. It was almost too much, but he focused in, looking toward the place where he was just at and he could see almost everything there, the fire-bird diving downward, two figures in a battle, crowds of people either running or wandering aimlessly. They would die if he wasn't there. And he would not allow that. He willed himself out of the world and found himself falling a few meters from where the two figures were fighting. He activated his aons again and his cloak of fog and he landed. As he landed he took off his helmet briefly, looked toward the battling two and sucked in as much air as was possible, letting lose a forceful "Stop," he shouted before putting his helmet back on. The moment people would look to him, he'd tell them what he saw, speaking in complete sentences. "There is a bird made of fire on its way here. We must make sure the survivors make it," he said then looked around at the dead, some of them headless, "is the one responsible for this neutralized?" he pointed toward the several corpses. @I think I am here. @Badadah

@xinoehp512 Kera somehow understood what the man asked wordlessly, she hesitated, her grip on him loosened, but she found resolve from somewhere. She used her free hand ready to cast Lesser Restoration on herself before she looked back at the man's eyes with a tense, toothy smile and nodded. There was about five or six casts of Heal left and her stormlight had almost ran out. She reserved this in case she needed this for herself, and braced for whatever was to come, praying to whatever god had granted her these powers.

@xinoehp512 Kera strained, sweating as she continued putting her all into the healing. Her mana was near depletion and her stormlight was getting there. She gritted her teeth and did the Somatic components for Cure Wounds one more time with her last remaining highest level spell slot, saying the words and letting the divine power flow into her then into the man. The burst of golden light erupted from her and into him, combining with the green of the Acolyte Heal and the wispy white of the stormlight. She could feel that she was close and she wasn't about to let this go! If this didn't work, then she'd start using the rest of her seven slots for seven more castings of Cure Wounds. They were less powerful than this current one but still more powerful than the Acolyte Heal.

@xinoehp512 Kera could feel her stormlight start to dwindle as well as her mana, but the man was grabbing hold and she could still feel the power being pushed through, but she wasn't done yet. Her mana was already depleting, about half of it gone, but not her stormlight, and not her spell slots. With another inhale, she drained all the stormlight in her spheres and pushed all of it into the man in the form of Progression. What mana she had left was dedicated to pushing the green light of Heal onto the man, and she cast another spell: Lesser Restoration. She let go of the man and with her free hand did the action-based components as she spoke the verbal components: "The light of divinity purge you of disease." She spoke, keeping eye contact on him.

@xinoehp512 Kera wasn't sure if even Heal was affecting him, and he didn't seem to be speaking still, either he just couldn't speak or the pain itself was too great. She stepped back, avoiding the man's grasping, She looked to the other man who'd just held one of the pained man's hands, "I don't know," she told him, slight concern in her eyes, "I suspect it's more than just physical pain." @Karnatheon Then she got an idea. She spoke to her spren, "Cerr, I'm about to do something we've never done before. Do you have any advice?" "Nou adviss. Dun't deei" Cerr replied in his weird accent. "Right. Alright!" Kera rubbed her hands together, "ready, Cerr?" her spren didn't answer. "I'll take that as a yes!" She lightly gritted her teeth and smiled, beginning to do the somatic component of her strongest healing spell. Once that was done, she sharply inhaled half of the stormlight in her pouch with her, and tapped into her mana. She grabbed one of the man's grasping hands, the remaining free one, and let both sources surge. She let the stormlight burst into him in the form of Progression as well as directly channeling the green light of healing into the man, making him glow a bright green. She inhaled again, but didn't take in stormlight as she continued her surge of healing. Then she called upon the power of her god, speaking words for her verbal component "wounds that have found yourselves on this man feel the light of divinity and close!" She yelled out, casting Cure Wounds on as high of a level as she could. If this didn't work, then she still had a few other things she could try.

@xinoehp512 @I think I am here. Kera stepped back, observing his reactions changing, but not necessarily for the better... she looked to the other man who first spoke to her, acknowledging his statements. Then she looked away, hiding a smirk. Usually, when people had any sort of discomfort or physical injuries, she could just use Progression and the wounds would heal themselves and their pain would be gone, but this... this was different... This... she thought, THIS is a challenge. The thought of something actually posing a challenge to her healing was... somehow exhilarating. She wanted to help this man, to ease his pain, but besides that, the thought of surmounting a challenge called to a part of her mind that hadn't been called in a long time, or maybe at all. She turned back to the man in pain. "can you speak? Is there anything specific bothering you?" she asked the man who still seemed to be in pain, as she asked, she outstretched her hand and tapped into her pool of 'mana.' letting the magical energy flow through her then out her hand. A green glow started to light around the man as faint orbs of green started floating from the ground. She cast Heal, which wasn't as strong as her strongest healing spell, but it was still fairly powerful.

"Right. Alright!" She said with a small excited smile at the clerk and turned to the man who was yelling and the man in pain, she wasn't sure what the problem was and she was sure casting a spell to detect diseases wouldn't really help here, she didn't want to start using her wound healing spell since she disliked using spell slots if she could help it. The best bets might be either her other heal or using stormlight. For now she settled with stormlight. She breathed in the light, "what seems to be the problem?" she asked as she touched the groaning man's arm, letting the surge of Progression do the rest. @I think I am here. @xinoehp512

One of the Winged walked to Araha and told her that she'd be the one to take Araha, "alright, take me back up, and follow my friend if that's alright," the Winged did so and they followed Damaya and her Winged who had quite a lead but was still visible in the distance.

Kera was currently free since there were no battles being fought in the arena currently. She visited the local hospital which was apparently destroyed in the nuclear purge in the past. Either way, they might need more doctors. She entered through the door, looking around for the reception desk. "Excuse me," she began, "are you in need of more help? I'm... very good at healing,"

@Silva Araha looked to where Pry was looking, then back at the other woman. "Alright, I'll tell her. I hope your own life gets figured out too," Araha told her with a smile as she started making her way, "and I hope we can meet again in the future," she concluded with a wave and a smile.

@Silva Araha nodded, then approached Pry, putting a hand on her shoulder since the Winged hadn't taken her flying yet. "I understand, you need to see your family so take as long as you need, you're not obligated to be here," she smiled at the younger woman, though maybe not the best idea to come with them on a two week ship coming to this place, "I'm not sure if there are faster ways to get back to the mainland though, I can't help you there, sorry."

Once they landed, Araha had observed Damaya wasn't with them and look off in the distance where she saw her being flown away, following Riathor who she didn't see leave. "Can uhh, one of you take me to follow her? We're kind of a team," she gestured to Damaya and said to the Winged, not any particular one. She then looked to Pry @Silva, "I'm not sure if you wanna come with us, might be a good idea to stick together, but you can stay here too," @AxeliustheGrizzled

@Sorana Araha nodded, "sure, I'll come with," she looked at the device on her wrist made of different sorts of connectors, wires, and speheres. The stormlight cycler was one of the things she worked on throughout the nights on the seas. She could probably just fly by herself, or at least float, but this was probably safer. She walked to one of the Winged and waved, "hello, I'm Araha," she said with a smile, "I guess you're taking me up?" She observed to see if the Winged had any human features that she could consider attractive, then shrugged for now. @AxeliustheGrizzled

@Silva Araha stood up when the small row boat neared the pier. She jumped off the skiff and landed onto the pier itself without any trouble. It would've been exciting to explore, see what sorts of things this side of the world held, but she couldn't be completely excited because of Damaya. It's been two weeks since the house and she still seemed distant, unable to be enthusiastic, or things like that. Araha thought that if Damaya was freed from her past she'd slowly get better, more excited about life in general and such, but she supposed it was more complicated than that. Sometimes Araha had very brief, very small intrusive thoughts, selfish thoughts: What if she'd never met Damaya? She'd probably be just as happy as she was before coming to the Waystop. Now Damaya's disenthusiasm, even after dealing with the bad people in her lives, just somewhat left Araha tired. She probably didn't even actually laugh or smile sincerely during their two weeks of travel. Araha hated these thoughts because she knew she loved her friend, she was happy that they managed to deal with her past, and she understood that it could take time to recover. The thoughts were easily pushed down into the depths anyway. To be fair, there were some times when Damaya smiled sincerely, mostly it was when she was looking out to the sea, maybe remembering fond memories. Araha probably approached her once or twice during those times and they talked about some happier memories. Probably. Besides talking with Damaya during their two weeks on the sea though, she also tinkered with a few of the fabrials and the like that she had on her and that she could find. She remembered that Deras still had the paired reed-bracer for her reed-glove, but she didn't really write him, maybe it was nervousness, or maybe she just kept procrastinating until she really couldn't do it anymore, or maybe it was just that she didn't want to be distracted or something. She'd also practiced her chameleon ring during that time and she became immensely better, being able to completely turn herself invisible relative to its surroundings. As long as there weren't any sudden shifts in light or the background itself, she would be completely unseen. Other than that, she'd also mastered a few commands from the gift that Master Soren left her. Mostly simple ones though, like 'hold things' and 'protect me,' but she did get the command to strengthen her trousers which act as legs, which costed quite a lot of breaths. She never ran out of colour though because of the chameleon ring. She wondered if there were other ways to bend the rules of Investiture too. The thought excited her. She probably talked to Pry @Silva somewhere during the two week journey too, probably important things, or unimportant things. It didn't really happen yet, but it could be rectified later. She noticed a lot more inconsistencies during those two weeks, like whatever she did during them was malleable almost, like whatever she did could change along with her memories of what she did. That was interesting, and she would research exactly what the sparks these inconsistencies were. For now though, it was time to enjoy the scenery and explore whatever could be explored. She stretched herself, cracking her knuckles, neck, fingers, basically anything she could crack to relieve tension and pulled her hood up to shield her head and neck from the sun beating down on them. ...she had no idea how to really explore, so she just resolved to stay by Damaya's side, "what ya doin'?" Araha asked with a small smile as she walked over to her friend. @Sorana

Araha walked up beside Damaya, her cloak on but hood down. The events back at the household were still there yet somewhat distant, like a dream. Afterward, they made a quick detour by Araha's home village on the way here and Araha was happy that Damaya had met Master Soren, it seemed to have helped both of them really. Soren also gave Araha a parting gift, and Araha needed to learn exactly how to use it, or even if she wanted to use it in the first place. She looked on toward the sea, she'd only really seen illustrations of it and never what it actually looked like and it was beautiful. She looked to her friend with a smile, "how does it feel to be close to the sea again?" @Sorana

Araha sat as Damaya tended to different things that she needed to tend to. Different thoughts were still ringing through her head, but she was calmer now. She just stared at the wall, waiting for Damaya to come back and finding her center again. She breathed in and out. Ran was by her, mimicking sitting on the table in her small woman form. Damaya had said she would go somewhere before she left for that expedition that was apparently happening. She wondered where Damaya heard about the information when she was here all this time. Maybe it was just known information and she was just left in the dark or something like that. This world seemed that way sometimes, inconsistent, she noticed it more clearly now, but she can't completely remember exactly what sorts of inconsistencies were there. Maybe like that one time she asked to borrow Deras' shardblade and she didn't hear the screams of the spren in the blade? Or that one time when she ...died? but didn't? When they were attacked by those balls of tentacles. She shook her head. Fortunately, Deras entered the room, distracting her from her strange thoughts. "How doing?" Deras asked in his usual efficient sentence. "better, thank you," Araha responded. She still had to determine just what she really felt about this intriguing man. "Anti-Chaos Group cleaning out house, talking to servants." He told her. She nodded, "I see," she stared at the Lifeless man, "umm, can I borrow your shardblade?" He also nodded and summoned the blade, flipping it over and pointing the hilt toward Araha. She gingerly placed a finger on the hilt and the screams rang out in her head, she flinched and retracted her hand, panting. That was definitely another inconsistency. Why didn't it happen earlier but it did now? "That's enough, thank you," she told him and he de-summoned the blade, "so it's finally over, huh? Where are you going after this?" "Doubtful. More people need help," Deras replied, "I go where people need help." He told her. That was an admirable trait of his, she blushed slightly, then more as she thought of what she was going to do next. "Deras, can you come closer? And take off your helmet?" she asked him. He stood there for a while then did as she said. She reached up and put her hand on his face, blushing all the while. He was definitely handsome, he was grey right now, but she suspected he had dark Alethi skin when he was still alive. "You're well, Araha?" He asked, "Y-yeah. Just trying to find something out," she replied. She had a crush on him definitely, but a relationship wouldn't work, not because he was Lifeless, but because they both had places they needed to be. Hers was with her best friend, Damaya. Maybe in the future if everything worked out. Storms, she didn't even know if he felt the same way or could feel the same way, but for now she could do this. She pulled Deras closer and put her lips on his. He leaned back momentarily, then surprisingly, he returned the kiss. Araha blushed and broke away, completely red. Her first kiss, and it was in the strangest of situations. It wasn't really much of a kiss since Araha had no experience with that sort. "Sorry..." she said. "As am I," he replied, "unsure what came over. Just triggered feeling, not memory, just feeling," he told her, "but you're amazing woman, might why it triggered feeling," he told her and she chuckled. Was that his attempt at flirting. "Did you find out what you were looking for?" Deras asked in a complete sentence. "I think so," she was at least sure that she liked him. "Glad to help." He nodded,. "So..." Araha begun, not wanting this moment to be just awkward silence, "'til next we meet, Deras?" "We will," he smiled this time, that was a rare sight, "it will be a good meeting." She blushed again, not sure if that was meant as a friendly statement or a flirty one. It was just a crush anyway and that was alright even if they didn't meet again, "I can't tell what you mean sometimes," she told him with a smile and he nodded. "Good to keep ambiguous," he said as he put his helmet back on and walked out, "good bye, Araha. Thank you for the training." He told her, still speaking in complete sentences. She guessed she didn't really need to call in the Anti-Chaos Department, but still it was good to be prepared. She took a small sphere-looking object from her pocket and examined it. She wasn't sure where she got this, or how the information got to her, yet another inconsistency, but she was a bit relieved that she didn't have to use this distraction. She pocketed it again, waiting for Damaya.

Araha had a blank look on her face as Damaya told her that she wasn't angry, she was both confused and still not really sure what was happening, but Damaya's words were comforting nonetheless. She got up as Damaya helped her and lead her to the laundry room to clean up, it felt like a dream, like it wasn't real. She walked with a blank look, like she was on autopilot, Ran followed behind in her woman form, floating. After she was cleaned, she look toward the person that cleaned her, Damaya, her friend, probably her best friend. The sight of her was comforting in itself, and Araha brought up her cleaned hand to Damaya's cheek, feeling if it was real. It was. It was smooth and soft. She lingered for a bit, looking at the cheek, then into Damaya's green eyes. "Damaya..." she whispered as she pulled her friend into an embrace. "Damaya, I'm so sorry," she said weakly, still hugging her. How many times had she almost lost her friend? During the attack when she was knocked out, when she offered herself to free Araha from her captors, when the chaos perpendicularity opened, though she wasn't in direct danger, that was just thanks to Deras, and when she was taken and almost killed if not for the space marine woman that saved her. Araha was so happy and relieved that Damaya was still here and that she was still speaking with her, maybe she was still angry, but that was okay, friends can be angry at friends. She loved her friend, so much, and she didn't want to lose her again. Her embrace tightened as she cried into Damaya's shoulder, "I'm so happy you're still here!" She yelled out, tears obstructing the words. This was the first time she really really cried, just let her emotions go and letting them do whatever the hell they wanted. No depths and no frozen over lake, just tears of relief and happiness. @Sorana

Araha wiped her eyes and watched Damaya head upstairs. She saw Damaya's eyes when she addressed the group, they seemed empty. And the way Damaya looked at her was... different. She shouldn't have done what she just did, it wasn't her own decision to make, she should've left it in Damaya's hands. Even if she couldn't risk her friend's state getting worse, she just robbed Damaya of her right to agency. She walked over to Deras, and whispered, "make sure she's safe," in a quiet, almost monotone voice, though the regret or just general frustration was evident in her voice. "You'll be alright?" Deras asked in an equally low voice. "No, but leave me be for now, okay?" She told Deras with a forced smile and he nodded, walking away and toward the stairs. As he passed the Anti Chaos group that the Skybreakers sent in, he and Derek nodded at each other as Deras climbed up the stairs. The Returned Skybreaker remained in the basement as the other two of the group went up with Deras. Araha found herself a corner, she curled up into herself and let the tears flow again, "I'm sorry..." she whispered, she wasn't sure who she was sorry to, but she was, "I'm so sorry," she repeated, hugging her legs to her chest and burying her face there. She imagined a peaceful resolution where they would rescue Damaya and they'd embrace again and be happy and everything would be alright, but this wasn't that. She'd just killed another person and not even someone actively trying to kill them, she might have just been insane and couldn't do what she said she could, and now Damaya might want nothing to do with Araha. She could feel Ran's arm around her and the occasional "shhh" coming from her sister, but she kept her head down, continuing to cry. She had killed the woman because it was necessary. That was what she thought, but was that really true? She didn't know what to believe anymore, not right now at least, so she just continued to cry.

Damaya had dropped her knife, she looked like she was about to kill the woman, but then hesitated. This whole day would have given anyone quite a bit of physical and emotional exhaustion. This was especially true for Damaya. Araha walked over to her friend and knelt down beside her, embracing her again. "Give your burdens to me, Damaya. You've suffered enough already," she said, still hugging her, but trying to stand up, picking Damaya up with her. She hugged tighter, leading her friend to Pry @Silva. She spoke to the misting in a quiet voice: "Please make sure Damaya doesn't see this," she said, leaving her friend in Pry's care. She walked back to the woman, picking up the dropped knife. She started breathing rapidly. "Ran... I'm about to kill someone again," she spoke quietly, her sister remained large and in her woman form but split from Araha. She held Araha's hands. They were shaking as she gripped the dagger. "Are you killing her out of vengeance? Or anger?" "I... I don't know..." Araha responded, thinking, "that's not the only reason, but I suppose I am." "What is your other reasons, then?" Ran continued to ask in a quiet, tender voice. "I want to take away Damaya's burdens by making her stop existing. I need to kill her so that she can't cause harm to anyone ever again... and I want her to meet her child again. If there is a place where the dead go, her child will be there. I ...don't know if a place like that exists." Ran gripped Araha's hands tighter, or as tight as she could in her semi-corporeal form. "Then that won't break our oath... but that's not really what you're concerned about for the moment, is it, Araha?" "...no," she replied, "Then do what you feel is necessary." Ran put an arm around Araha, and let go after a while, standing back up. Araha turned the woman over, making her face down. A swift strike, something that will not cause pain. You'll meet your child again, and you'll stop tormenting Damaya, she repeated in her head. She positioned the woman so that her head was facing downward and Araha positioned the dagger to the back of her head. Her breathing quickened, and she held her breath. She brought the knife up, then back down as hard as she could into the woman's head. She hyperventilated, slashing the knife through the other parts of the head, wanting to make sure that she killed the woman so that she didn't have to suffer being paralyzed or brain-dead. Araha was breathing faster than she ever head, a hot pain in her chest as she thoroughly killed the woman. Blood and some innards splattered Araha's hands and arms, but it was over, finally over. She stood back up, gagging, but she didn't vomit. She dropped the knife. It clanged on the ground. Tears were forming in her eyes, it was mixed emotions, from the horror of killing someone in that way, to the relief of Damaya's torment finally being over. She closed her eyes and let the tears flow. Just standing with bloody hands. She hoped Damaya didn't see that. She didn't need to see more of that.