[RP] Soul Eater: New Earth

[Lunartic]

Jessie stood at the back of the small, chatty crowd, her arms crossed and foot tapping, looking back over her shoulder every few seconds and checking her phone even more frequently. It felt like hours when her sister finally arrived. ”It’s about time you showed up. Didn’t you get my text? . . . You were sleeping, weren’t you?”

”How can you tell? Aside from me almost being late.”

”Your hair is kinda puffed up, especially on this side,” she said, running a hand over the left side of her head. Alex mirrored the action on her right side. ”You don’t normally sleep on that side. Are you alright?”

”Mostly. Better, but my shoulder hurts.” Instinctively, she put a hand on her left shoulder and rolled it back a bit. ”It wasn’t until after that class earlier when it started hurting. I don’t know why, I’ve done crazier stunts than that.”

Jessie shrugged.

”You don’t look so good yourself.” She tugged on Jessie’s sleeve. ”You don’t normally wear your sweatshirt like this.”

Sigh “I know. I just . . . I have a bad feeling about this. Like, I really, really don’t want to go in there.”

Alex put an arm around her. ”Look, we’ll be fine. I promise.”

It was as she said that when the door opened and a voice invited - no, more like summoned them inside. And the two sisters, side by shivering side, followed the nervous group of students into the chamber before them.

[Desbear]

Hason

As we stood, I began to think back a bit to the day prior to this moment, trying to... Sort my thoughts, to say. 'Today's been... Interesting, hasn't it? It started out with us collecting our Kishin egg, and nearly peaked at lunch... Since, it's been a bit sketchy hasn't it? Even during lunch, the air was tense, as we both had multiple questions to ask, but were unable to gain the courage to ask them...  I remember we had made jokes about maintenance probably being like kittens and rainbows compared to some of the things that we had seen in town... So why am I tense now?'

So here we are now. Standing behind Steven, just sort of... Waiting. Beginning to think about now, rather than earlier. 'It seems that all of those that Mortecai gave Maintenance actually showed up... Including Steven, which is a bit of a surprise to be honest. Even now, he seems to be swaying from side to side, with a bit of a stupid grin on his face, as if trying to hide the fact that he was uneasy about this... To be honest, I thought he was overreacting, but I can't blame him. The entire thing is quite unnerving.' As a few of the others discussed what was going on, the door began to open, an eerie voice saying to come in, and so, we did... Though, it would have been nice had I not have to grab Steven's wrist and pull him in.

Steven

Steven stood near the front of the crowd, as he had arrived earlier than some, however... He had began to wish he hadn't. As he stood there, waiting, and watching as others arrived... He couldn't help but feel this sense of dread, this sense that made him want to leave, to run... But also something made him curious. It felt off, he couldn't place it, but this wasn't normal for him. He was almost always tense, nervous, and somewhat afraid of what was going on. But this felt off, even for him. This felt... Stronger, and while it could have been just his nerves and fear getting the best of him, he didn't believe it to be so.

This was why he was curious. He had even began to forget, and ignore what had happened earlier in the day... As other's arrived, he noticed the feeling began to feel stronger. He felt fear begin to creep further into his being, and he even began to shift where he stood, yet he did something he usually did not; He stayed. Truth to be told, he couldn't move even if he wanted to, his legs refused to move. Even when the doors opened, and they were called in, his partner had to grab him, and pull him along... Earlier the feeling had made him curious, yet now... He just wanted away.

[Tickles]

A man floating in front of the children, wrapped in a tattered cloak that flowed around him. There was no wind to speak of. The machinery and vials lined the lab, a few tables merely said "experiment" with varying numbers, some crossed out with a red X.

So, you all angered Mortecai? That man has a serious problem. Makes sense though, seeing as he used to be a boomerang. I helped him becoem the hammer he is, and I may or may not have touched the brain.

The Stranger floated across the room, looking at each student. He looked at Warren and Silene.

You there, explosive stranger. Your soul quakes with raw energy. You want to watch the world burn don't you? You and I share that, although I have a much cleaner way to go about it and you must be his weapon. My, what a beautiful soul you have. So vibrant, and fiery. A perfect match. The short fuse and the hot flame.

He looked at Hason and Steven.

Something is off about you. You too share a need to destroy. But you're afraid aren't you? Why are you so afraid of your potential? Is it because it's naturally terrifying? No, that's not it. It's because you're afraid of who you truly are. And the chakram. Don't be nervous lad. You can be at ease with me. Your souls are in perfect sync with each other. At least, for now.

He looked at Alexandra and Jessica

You two are very peculiar indeed. It's pretty rare for a human to be born into a demon weapon family. And for you to resonate with your sister is even more rare. Such raw potential. Too bad you're wasting it. There is so much more to you two than you realize, so much more you could offer.

The stranger commented on the others. The air felt cold as he spoke, something in his voice seemed to warn them, and invite them.

Such potential, such life. A shame you have to go to "it"

The floor crumbled beneath all of them. They fell for what seemed like thousands of feet. Upon landing, all they could see was a burning landscape. Molten magma flowed in rivers. The sky was as black as the abyss. The only thing within the area was a large structure. A tower made of flesh and bone.

You see children, I have been working on a special experiment. I will be the first to study a full kishin. And your souls will be the final pieces to awaken it. One of you in particular is the final ingredient. Now let's see

He grabbed a hold of Jessie, feeling up and down her arm.

You will due nicely.

He used his soul distortion and forced her into weapon form. The arrow he had in her quiver flowed with an electrical current. A volley of lighting bolts was shot at each of the students.

THOR'S WRATH!

[The-Blades-slave]

"Shit!"
"Aaah!"

Warren recovered from the shock of the floor collapsing first, twisting himself around to face Silene. The harsh air rushed against him, but he managed to find. "Silene, transform!" The wind drown his voice out, but the motion from his hand was clear enough.

"Got it!"

The explosive meister hit the ground hard, the force of it bringing him to one knee, and he gripped his weapon tightly. Through her wavelength Warren could feel Silene's apprehension, and looking around, he didn't blame here. The place was blisteringly hot, the only source of light the rivers of magma that flowed all around them, and a structure of flesh and bone extended to unseen heights in the black sky. He shivered slightly. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen."

Silene frowned inside her soul room. "It's not me I'm scared for, you lazy bum! Be careful, that guy... It was like he could see our very being." No sooner had she spoke the cloak appeared in front of them, grabbing the Demon Bow from earlier, Jessie, and somehow forcing her into a weapon.

"Wha... Damn it! Hold on Silene, this is gonna get rough!"

"Warre-"

Warren cut her off, flowing his wavelength through her and slamming the butt of the scythe into the ground. The moment it made contact the base exploded, sending them arcing into the air and over the electricity, his foot extended in a kick. "Drop the girl!"

[Lunartic]

Alex was shocked. Stunned. Her normally floating gaze was cold and unwavering. Jessie could see the words forming on her unmoving lips: human born into a demon weapon family. It wasn’t possible, surely . . . but nobody knows who her real parents are. Does he know? Would he ever tell them?

Jessie was ready to blare out question after question when she was flying, falling, faster and faster down and down. She landed flat on her back, winded but not dead, and gratefully took Alex’s outstretched hand as she came back to her feet.

”Are you okay?” she asked, brushing dirt off her sister.

”Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” She looked up and down Alex while straightening out her shirt. ”You seem to have fared better.”

Alex smiled and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She opened her mouth to say something but all that came out was a scream mirrored by her sister as she was pulled back by the hooded figure.

His touch was a strange sensation, a burning cold that made Jessie want to curl up in a ball and pray she didn’t exist but all she could do was stand there and watch him examine her, grope her like a precious little doll, a new plaything for him to do as he pleased. She wanted to do something, anything, but all she could do was scream. And his face, she knew his face wasn’t there, only darkness, but she could see the face of a man she swore on her life she would never come close to again. Yet here he was.

Alex saw him too. He saw the man who she would have killed to protect her sister, and here he was thinking he could touch her let alone be near her. ”Leave her alone!” cried the normally quiet Alexandra. ”You get the fuck away from her you backstabbing piece of shit!” She charged forward at them, but the others held her back. ”I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill you! Get your god damn hands off of my sister!” Her throat was hoarse and tears were streaming down her cheeks but there was nothing she could do but stand by and watch.

And she watched her beloved sister Jessica perform the most painful transformation she’s ever done.

It was impossible for her to move. Jessie’s scream was nothing Alex had ever heard. It lingered in her mind, blocked out all senses, brought her world to a standstill. There was nothing left for her but pain.

[Desbear]

Hason

Something about the room we entered was off. The man was even floating, and his cloak was... Odd, to say the least. I noticed multiple machines, and there were vials in a line. However, the most intriguing part of all of this, had to be the tables that only said 'Experiment 003 004'. As he began to speak, I felt my blood run cold, however... I don't think I could have predicted what came next. When he spoke... When he spoke to me, I felt myself begin to tense up... 'Does he know? No... He can't. He can't know. He can't know. He can't know...'

As he moved on, I began to just... Stand there, staring off into a seemingly vast nothingness. When the floor began to crumble underneath me, it reflected how I felt, and I thought it to be my head. as if the world was crumbling underneath me. I wanted to believe he didn't know. I wanted to believe I was still safe... But that was a feeling I wouldn't feel again, for quite some time. I was no longer safe the moment I stepped into this room... When we hit the ground however, something made it self very apparent; I had more pressing matters to worry about. 'I... Need to calm down. I need to focus. I need... To live.'

As I began to look around, I didn't even notice that my legs hadn't sustained any damage from the fall; I just moved on, my legs unharmed. Steven had landed a few feet away, farther than when we had been standing there. I noticed his eye's began to change very quickly, as if fear had overtaken him, and he had realized something. He quickly ran towards me, sprinting even before jumping, and turning into weapon form midair. I reached out my arm, and grabbed Steven's hilt out of the air, watching as one of the other's was forced into a weapon form... 'He just... Forced her into weapon form... I didn't even know that was possible...'

When he drew an arrow, I notice one more thing... Earlier, I must have turned off, or even forgotten to activate my Soul Protection, but I could... Feel it.  The electricity, everywhere as he fired... I could sense each individual shot, and feel  their movements... I could feel that overwhelming sense of dread as the shots hurtled towards me... I was going to stand still, I was going to hide, but... A voice rang out, and reminded me of something. "Hason! One of the other's isn't moving. We can't let her get shot here. He reminded me... Reminded me that I wasn't the only one who would be shot by these bolts. That I wasn't the only one who had to live through this. I moved in front of the girl, the one who's partner had just been taken from her... And I did something I didn't even know possible. I began to swing the chain and chakram in front of me and the girl, a translucent shield in the image of a chakram blocking the electric shots. 'I... How did I... You know what, let's not question it... Let's just play defense for now.'

Steven

The Weapon felt uneasy, and it only worsened as the other said not to fear... However, what might have been eating at him further, was what he said about Hason... What did he mean by that? What was he saying she was? She was a Meister, wasn't she? She was his partner... So what was he talking about when he said that she was 'scared of her potential'...? He would have thought on it longer, had the ground not opened up under them, swallowing them...

Upon landing, he noticed the heat almost immediately, and the landscape wasn't a sight that instilled him with confidence.. He only felt more, and more uneasy by every second, and the fact that Hason was visibly bothered by what he had said, wasn't helping... However, when the cloaked figure spoke again, he thought that he knew why he was uneasy... This guy really was shady, and the notion that they were going to become Kishin food wasn't too helpful.

When the figure took hold of one of the weapons, and forced her into a transformation, he felt fear begin to spark up to new levels... However, he also felt anger. He didn't care for the feeling of Transforming in the first place, so he could only imagine what a forced change would feel like... So he did something. He ran. He ran towards Hason, and transformed, allowing himself to be caught out of the air by Hason... He could feel it. She was tense, scared. He could tell that something was getting to her, but to be honest, he didn't care about that for now. Instead, he had noticed that the girl, the one who's partner had been taken from her, was just... Standing there, even as the figure let out a bolt at her, she just stood there. And they had to help. He did something he normally wouldn't do, but he thought needed; He told Hason what to do. "Hason! One of the other's isn't moving. We can't let her get shot here.

To his surprise, Hason moved. She had placed herself in between the bolts, and the girl... And then she did something that also surprised him. She began to swing him, faster, and faster, until a translucent shield in the shape of a chakram appeared, and he felt as each shot slammed into the shield, being blocked... And more importantly, keeping both of them safe.

[Tickles]

The other students tried running, but the bolts hit the ground, launching them close to the magma rivers. Cowards, all of them. The stranger, having grown bored, simply threw the bow aside. The girl returned to her natural form upon hitting the ground.

What's wrong friend? Don't like my technique?

The stranger let out an arm from his cloak. It was halfway rotted, but the bone that shone threw shined like iron. He moved too fast for the flying meister, punching him in the gut with a right hook. He then grabbed Silene, still in weapon form, and tuned her to his soul. He placed the blade at Warren's throat.

I always wanted to try this experiment. How much can a soul break when a weapon is used on its meister? You're the very first to recieve it. Be glad you're helping the pursuit of science.

The Stranger Raised Silene up in the air. Her blade was surrounded by a massive amount of soul energy, and it elevated to large proportions.

Prepare for the ultimate attack. SHINIGAMI DESTROYER

One of the other students finally sacked up, and revealed himself to be a sniper rifle. He shot at the strangers hand. Though it didn't hurt him, it interrupted him enough to stop the attack. He let his arms to his side, still holding Silene in a death grip.

Please refrain from interfering with the experiment. Perhaps an arm will due.

The stranger slashed at Warren's right arm.

[The-Blades-slave]

The stranger threw aside the bow and pulled back his sleeve to reveal a rotted, decomposing arm with solid, protruding bone. Warren's brief sense of satisfaction quickly turned to horror and he attempted to turn away, but he was far too slow. The blow smashed into his solar plexus with enough force to send him hurtling back towards the ground, Silene falling from his grasp.

"Warren!"

He hit the ground hard, struggling for air and clutching his stomach. "S-Silene..." Warren struggled to sit up, then collapsed in a coughing fit, hacking up blood into his hand.

The sight of her meister in pain, his wavelength screaming in protest as he tried to push himself farther than he could go, combined with the unfamiliar, menacing presence terrified her. Helpless, she screamed out in protest as the blade of her scythe-form was leveled with Waren's throat, wavelength fluctuating wildly in panic. Every fiber of her being screamed that this was wrong, but she couldn't do anything to stop it. She was going to kill her best friend.

"Prepare for the ultimate attack. SHINIGAMI DESTROYER!"

"I-I'm... I'M SORRY WARREN!"

She didn't hear his voice when he responded, she felt it in her soul. "It's alright... I don't blame you." He smiled in the face of defeat and she felt a little piece of her slowly slowly dying as her blade arced down.

Then, like the chime of a church bell, a shot rang out. It hit the stranger, stopping him in his tracks, and for a brief moment hoped dawned within her. It was immediately squashed.

"Please refrain from interfering with the experiment. Perhaps an arm will due."

The scythe blade whistled through the air, cutting clean through Warren's arm. It rolled several feet away, hand still clenched into a white-knuckled fist. Warren didn't react for an instance, staring at the stump that was now his right arm and the bloody scythe-blade above him in confusion. A second later, a blood-curdling scream rang out in the chamber, but after a moment he realized it wasn't him.

Silene was screaming, weapon-form shaking violently. "No, no, no, no! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Warren stared up at her and, using his remaining hand as leverage, hauled himself to his feet. Blood spewed from his once-arm like river, leaving a trail as he stumbled toward the stranger, struggling to keep his balance. Once he reached them, he smiled. "Don't... Don't sweat it Silene. I have two arms, but only one of you." Weakly, he wrapped his good hand around the bar of the scythe and tried to pull her free.

[Lunartic]

He tossed her. He fucking tossed her aside like a used rag, washed up and old and beyond its life.

"Jessica!!" Alex ran over to her sister, lying limp on the ground. ”Oh my god Jessica are you alright?” She turned her sister over so she was turned upright. ”Oh my fucking god please alright.”

Jessie moaned.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. ”Oh thank god you’re alive.”

She coughed, then said, barely audible, ”H-how bad is it.”

”You’re not bleeding. How do you feel?”

Jessie swallowed and closed her eyes. ”Like fucking shit. I feel like every part of me was . . . was . . ." She broke out into tears.

Alex wrapped her arms around Jessie, comforting her, whispering soft, kind words into her ear, promising her that everything will be alright.

Alex hoped she sounded convincing, because she wasn’t proving that to herself.

[Desbear]

Hason

As the figure threw the bow aside, I let the chakram fall, and with it the shield... I'd figure out how I did that later. I sorta have to live to be able to figure it out. As I began to look up at the figure, I watched as the being took the Meister's scythe, and swung her into him, chopping off his arm... As you would expect, this caused several emotions. However, the greatest of all, had to be a combination of anger and despair, fear nearly having been crushed by those two. Reason would have told me to run. Reason would have told me not to fight back, to stay on the defensive. However, reason was overruled by one thing, one force, that influenced by actions more than the other... Steven. His voice cracked out from the weapon form, seething with rage. "Hason... This is gonna sound like a really shitty idea... And it could go very badly... But, I need you to do something... Fight him.  Throw me. Attack him. Do. Something... Anything."

This... Inspired me. It wasn't the best idea. But my mind was so... Overwhelmed with emotions, that I couldn't really think at that moment. My wrist changed positions, and my arm followed suit, whipping the chakram behind me, and then whipping it around my side towards the figure... 'Please... Just... Work.'

Steven

Steven watched as the figure simply... Threw her aside. As he just discarded them as if they weren't useful to him anymore, and then snatched the Scythe from her partner... He felt rage begin to well up inside of him... However, nothing would match the feeling of anger that was created when the figure used the scythe to attack, and even harm her partner... He had to do something. He couldn't run... He couldn't defend... He wouldn't do either if given the choice. They needed to go on the offensive... And he made his stance on this known, a voice of pure anger and rage echoing from his form. "Hason... This is gonna sound like a really shitty idea... And it could go very badly... But, I need you to do something... Fight him.  Throw me. Attack him. Do. Something... Anything." And so she did. She swung him with great force and speed. And the chakram's blades even seemed to begin moving faster and faster as his rage continued to build...  All Steven knew, was that they had to do something. That this had to work.

[Tickles]

And like that, he let the scythe go. Again he was bored. Not the reaction he was expecting.

Guess you're next.

He caught the blade, and stopped the spinning with his fingers. He then pulled the chain as hard as he could.

I know you're quite familiar with this feeling. I think you last dodged a burning fist.

With a final pull, he brought the meister to him, opening his cloak to reveal an expanse of nothingness. A void he would call it. Waiting inside could be anything he imagined, anything he wanted for this meister to experience. She was brought closer and closer until, poof, gone.

So Steven, tell me, does it hurt when I do this?

He used soul distortion on the poor weapon, causing it to tense up and lock his chains. Inside the void, one voice simply said.

"I know you're a filthy witch"

[The-Blades-slave]

Warren pulled his scythe closer to him when the stranger released it, trying to shelter her from the enigmatic man with his own body. "Got...gotcha." The last of his adrenaline ran its course and his knee buckled, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Warren!" Silene shifted back to her regular form, catching him and gently lowering him to the ground, resting his head in her lap. The sight of him, clammy and barely conscious, was enough to make her sick. She tenderly stroked his cheek, afraid if she pressed too hard he would break like a porcelain doll. "You idiot... You stupid, stupid idiot..." Her voice cracked on the last word and she pulled him closer to her chest, crying and praying to whatever God was out there he would be alright. "You can't die, not yet."

Warren weakly raised his hand and brushed away her tears. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." His words weren't very reassuring considering his arm shook when he even lifted it, but he had to try. For his sake, if not hers. If he admitted he was probably going to die down... wherever they were, it was all over.

Part of Silene wanted to hit him for being an idiot,, but a larger part of her was just overwhelmingly happy he wasn't dead yet. She was tired, hurt, terrified and sickened by the thought of what she had done to her best friend, but as long they were both alive things would turn out alright... Reigning in her emotions, she applied what little medical knowledge she knew. "We need to staunch the bleeding, Warren."

"Yeah." His voice was weaker than normal, even to him.

Silene morphed her arm into a scythe blade and sheared through the midriff of her shirt, turning the sweater into a belly shirt. "This is gonna hurt. You ready?" Warren nodded and she began, wrapping the stump of an arm up in a nice, tight bundle with the cloth. Warren grit his teeth in pain, his blood seeping into the shirt-bandage. It was already maroon, so the blood only darkened the red color.

"....Thank-"

The scythe meister was cut off as the girl from earlier, the one who had wielded the chain chakram, whipped past them with a shout. His face paled when she vanished into the darkness of the cloak, anger resonating from his very core. "Silene, help me up."

"You don-"

"Help me up, now." Something about him visibly changed. The color in his skin started to returned, like energy rushing back to him, and Silene felt his wavelength strengthen. She nodded and helped him to his feet, slinging his good arm over her shoulder and supporting his weight, not for the first time shocked at the inhuman endurance her human meister possessed. "Just don't push it, Warren. Please."

The meister didn't acknowledge his weapon, limping forward with her aid to stand directly in front of the foremost of them, which happened to be Jessie and Alex. "Hey!" Warren's grin would have made Hason proud, predatory and shark-like, revealing his bloodstained teeth. It made him appear less weary, despite the bandaged arm and clammy skin. "I'm gonna blow you apart!"

Silene involuntarily flinched at the sight of the stranger and the memory of how it had felt to be wielded by him, unable to stop herself, but Warren's arm tightened reassuringly around her neck. She wasn't alone. They could do this. She switched into her scythe form, landing in his good hand, and it felt different. She didn't feel weaker than him, she felt equal. Their soul wavelengths complimented and strengthed each other, giving him the power to throw himself forward in one last explosive attack. "Die!"
 

[Desbear]

Steven

His heart nearly stopped, and he only grew in rage as the blades were caught... It was that feeling again, that feeling of having failed his partner... As his meister was flung into the void, he felt rage continue to build, even as the soul distortion was activated, his anger broke through... He had to do something. He couldn't fail again... He wanted to do something. Anything... But he couldn't. His chains were locked, and he was firmly stuck there... He had failed. He couldn't do anything to stop the one that held him... He was stuck there, and there was nothing he could do about it... And that hit him. A wave of despair began to wash over him as he realized, that all he had done, for his partner, or anyone else... Was fail them.

Hason

When he yanked on the chain, this time... I didn't let go. I couldn't, it was as if my hands were locked in place. I just... Held on, until I was flung into what seemed to be a never ending void, full of darkness and open space. I floated through this void for what seemed like an eternity, before a voice rang out... One that would haunt me forever. It was... His, saying that I was a 'filthy witch'...  I felt a knot tie itself in my stomach, and I felt my eyes begin tear up... A voice cracked out, the person saying it being very obviously teary, possibly even crying as they spoke... It was my voice... "No... No no no... I'm...I'm not..."

I felt my chest begin to feel heavy, and my breathing becoming strained... An image of *him* appeared, as if running away... Running away from... Me... I extended my arm, as if trying to go out for him, as if to... Grab him, and stop him from running away... I spoke, a voice broken by sadness echoing out... "No... Come back...!" And then something I hadn't expected happened... I fired out magic, water, in the shape of a shark's maw, from my hand, towards him...  The bolt quickly caught up with him, biting off his legs... Another voice rang out, once again his, full of anger and hatred... "Ah,  shit! Get away from me, ya' fricken' monster!"

Those words... I felt my...My everything begin to crash down on me... I felt my emotions begin to be thrown around willy nilly, and I just... Fell. My knees gave way, and I fell to the floor, the image disappearing subsequently... However I didn't see it's departure. I just... Sat there. Crying... Thinking... My voice rang out, however the tone was quieter, being hushed and strained, as the words echoed into the vast nothingness..."No...no. I'm not... I don't want to... I'm not a monster... I didn't want.... I didn't do... I'm...Sorry Steven."

[Lunartic]

Whatever the hell Alex said made Jessie feel a lot better about herself. She took a deep breath, steadied her shaking body. Another breath, dried her cold cheeks. One more, pulled herself from Alex, looked her in the eyes, and together they stood. It’s a special feeling when two souls resonate so deep and strong, pounding with every adrenaline-charged heartbeat. And they felt it.

One look at the two standing side by side before them was all it took to bring them forward.  ”We need to get Hason out of there.” Jessie was shocked that she could recall the strange girl’s name. ”If we can get back Steven we might get somewhere.” And again with the names! How was she doing this?

”Get ready Jessie. I want you in my hands the moment he makes a move.” Alex's voice was quiet but strong. This is the voice Jessie was hoping to hear.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jessie watched Silene transform and fall into Warren's hand - holy shit he lost an arm! - and she reacted without hesitation. "That move is now!" she yelled as she transformed.

I meant the cloak thing, Jessie. she whispered while drawing an arrow.

Jessie shrugged - almost ten years and it still amazed Alex that she could see that. Close enough. Now let's go!

[Tickles]

Two attacks coming in form either side left the Stranger with a couple choices. Eat the attack and lose all the work he has gained, or dodge it and lose his two captive. He got out of the way, dropping Steven on the ground. Hason was ejected from the void in a random direction, though she fell on solid ground.

There we go, that's what I've been waiting for. You will make great meals for my creation.

The Stranger disappeared into the shadows to regain some strength. Torturing victims takes a lot of energy.