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[ South Beach ]

"Oh please blondie, I can handle a little-"

FWOOM

Chel flew through the air, landing on sand (thankfully), but it didn't mean it was a comfortable ride. She sat up, rubbing her head a squinting. She shook the sand out of her hair, positively moaning at the idea of having to wash it out now.

"Oookay so," she said, looking at the others. "I was giving you all an example of why you shouldn't touch random s**t. Any questions? No? Okay."

She looked at the gem greedily. "Still there's gotta be something we can do ..."

Wash gave Marcus a sidelong glance and a smile.

"Hey, man." At the comment about horsemen, he couldn't help but grimace and chuckle dryly.

"I don't even know if this was their doin' this time. Ain't the whole," he waved his hand, "Merlin an' Excalibur bit sorta our problem?"

He felt strange - his memory was still peppered by tiny holes, but it didn't feel bad. It almost felt good - he felt cleansed, pure. His thoughts were simple and uncomplicated. No more doubt or endless worry.

Do or die.

[ Security Detail - South ]


"Wait, don't - "

His hesitation at touching the item in question was lost as there was a flash of bright blue and then the girl was suddenly pelted backwards, Gale's arm still slightly outstretched as though reaching towards her.

He lowered it slowly, eyeing the gem. "What about barrier daggers?" he said, with a small shrug and a glance to the dark haired girl - Eva. "We can't pick it up, but maybe we can try and keep it contained - whatever it is - by using barrier daggers."

Gale tugged absently at his scarf. "Not the most ingenious idea, but I'm not sure what else there is to do."

As if to remind him just how effective the barrier daggers were, a twinge of pain flickered across Gale's left hand, the fingers of it twitching convulsively for a brief moment before he settled again.




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[ Security Detail - East ]


Now flanked by a new hunter on one side and Shiloh back on the other, Ian lifted the dagger again, absently twirling it between both of his hands, giving it an almost thoughtful look.

"Nothing is normal around here," he said lightly to the newcomer, giving him a small, slightly vague smile. "I've learned that pretty quickly."

He looked back at Shiloh. "Found anything new out?"

[ South ]

Making a face at Otto, she gave him a nudge and a faintly amused shake of her head before eying the gem again. "Yeah, I don't think we can handle this particular bit on our own." Not if they were all going to get blasted back like Chel just did. At Gale's idea, the girl nodded slowly, lips pulling into a thoughtful frown.

"Yeah...maybe we should do both to be safe? Contain the gem with barrier daggers like Gale said, and then call someone who can actually deal with this thing." The second part was addressed to Chel, and she nodded her head at the other girl's cellphone. The question was who to call who could probably handle this particular issue.She wasn't entirely sure who fit that description, but Eva was sure that they would be able to figure someone out between the four of them. And besides that...

"Who...was that guy, by the way? The one who ran off with my coat?"

Chel gave a shrug. "I dunno the life leads, but with something like that gem, don't you think someone brawnier could take it?"

She was already thinking of a certain nakama.

The sirens were blaring in her ears too loudly. "Guys who am I calling?"

"You sure about that?" Finn was squinting out into the ocean, waiting, watching for another appearance from the tentacle that he had seen before, just hoping that it didn't get any closer. Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of barrier or something to keep things out?

No sooner than the question was out of his mouth, however, the pink haired guy had taken off, something about the western beach and an injury. Finn startled a bit at that, and turned as if to follow. He had been trained in first aid before becoming a hunter, after all, and he was in the moon division. Maybe he should go and help?

But something kept him rooted to the spot, a sense of unease about leaving this particular post. All areas needed to be under guard, he was sure.

The other guys answer was equally as useless, and Finn frowned, giving his head a small shake. Didn't anybody know what the hell was going on? Maybe they were all new too. Plausible, at least.

He remained silent, and having turned back to the ocean, continued to keep watch, wishing he had a pair of----

Oh hello! Now there was somebody who looked like they were in authority here. A little ways away, and scanning the ocean with...some kind of object raised to her eyes anyways. He would just assume binoculars.

Pink haired guy had come back, lost it seemed, and Finn let out a scoff before nudging him and nodding towards the woman who'd arrived shortly before his return.

"Who's that?" If he'd been told on his tour after he'd first woken up, he had forgotten since then.

He also wondered if he should maybe summon Trynt to hand, his unease growing.

"I dunno! Clarice? H?" Otto huffed, pulling out his phone to try and find an available contact in Life. He scrolled through the many messages, his brows furrowed until he found something that made his stomach turn.

...Clarice was dead? Otto blinked, not unfamiliar with losing a decent superior. She had been one of the nicest ones, after all. But what got him worse were the ones that followed.

Otto's face paled.

Mimsy's replies had been the worst of them. His mouth dried so badly it spread to his throat. He felt as though he'd choke. His heart beat faster, so much so it was uncomfortable.

That.. couldn't be true. He could deny this too. Like he denied everything bad that ever happened.

Shaking, he tried to type a reply. Maybe there was a mistake. There had to be a mistake.

Otto's grip fumbled and he dropped his phone.

She wasn't gone. She wasn't gone, nor was she headless. This was stupid. Really stupid. His eyes began to get murky, something distorting his sight. Eva had picked up his phone, he felt it back in his hands.

"Uh.." Otto's voice wavered, his eyes meeting Eva's, uncertainty and pain clear as day. "Th.. they said... on Twitter th-that uh..." It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Not her. Not the strongest, most vibrant woman he'd ever met.

"C-Clarice and Clerise are..." He nearly choked, his eyes blurring with threatening tears. "Dead.." Clerise was beheaded, according to Mimsy. That was.. final. Very final... But he'd never seen it happen. He didn't see it so it could be wrong, right?

Otto tried to look at his phone again, scrolling through messages with shaking fingers. Angrily he replied to some messages, trying to get the truth out, his breathing becoming slightly erratic.