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Wash swung out in a wide arc with his shield and felt it connect with something.

"Can y'all still hear me?!" He called, somewhat alarmed. He saw vague shapes moving in the smoke, but it was difficult to ascertain if they belonged to friend or foe.

He felt something connect with his arm, and he grimaced, pulling away. "We gotta form up so we can watch each others' backs - if either o' you got a phone on you now might be a good time t'send an SOS!"

Wash would have done it himself, but. Well. He still hadn't quite mastered the damn keypad.

BOSS HP: 95/100

Wash
HP: 34/50
DMG: 3
CHG: 1/3, 0/3

The island seemed quiet when Jordan stepped through the portal, summoning Ferros as soon as his feet hit the ground. The tech on duty had known where he was going as soon as he asked, and had made a comment about creepy dolls, which made Jordan a little nervous, particularly combined with the tweet he'd responded to. But it wasn't a phobia or anything. He'd just always thought that dolls were creepy.

A moment later, as the portal hummed closed, the odd, slightly acrid scent in the air registered, and he frowned. Where had he smelled that before? In Russia, on the mission - the one where Harrison had collapsed, he remembered, and his stomach tightened briefly with remembered unease. Harrison's collapse hadn't actually had anything to do with the strange gas that had come wreathing up out of the earth, but the memory was still unpleasant.

This smelled the same as that had, and Jordan could feel the slight haze descending on his perception as he moved warily forward, looking and listening for any clues about where the hunter who'd called for help might be. "Anybody there?" he called into the mist that had begun to gather, obscuring the trees and the little inanimate shapes that hung from them. s**t, that is really creepy.

I think they're real, Ferros said helpfully. They're not moving yet.

You're so reassuring. Jordan picked a path that kept him out of the thickest of the trees so that he would have room to fight. He'd strapped the barrier daggers to his belt, but he and Ferros preferred not to have to use them, if they could avoid it. Less effective, and less satisfying.

A gurgling, groaning sound rose slowly behind him, and he turned, keeping himself from lashing out immediately at the indistinct figure that was approaching him, in case it was on his side. But as it got closer, he saw that it was indistinct, hazy, a walking shadow much like the ones he'd seen lurking here and there in his life before.

He angled Ferros back, waited for the figure to get in range, and brought the hammer sweeping around. Ferros hit the figure and tore through it, meeting minor resistance on the way. The figure smoked apart, dissipating like a dream.

HP: 52/60
Dmg: 6
Charge: 1/3

Boss HP: 89/100

Was that his name? Jordan turned his head, trying to pinpoint the direction from which he thought he'd heard a voice. "Heidi?" he called, and moved slowly towards the sound.

An arrow came hissing through the mist, thunking solidly into a treetrunk, and Jordan jumped aside reflexively. When no further shots came, he stepped closer to take a look it it. It was a glowing white shaft with rudimentary flights, only superficially resembling a real arrow; as he cautiously touched it, it dissipated under his fingers.

Fear, Ferros said succinctly.

Could be what they're fighting, but I think it'd be attacking again if it was trying to shoot at me. Probably a weapon. Jordan turned towards the direction the arrow had come from, moving more confidently now. "Heidi?" he called again.

There was a figure in the mist. Jordan kept Ferros at the ready as he sidled towards it. Darting motion in his peripheral vision made him turn quickly, but there was nothing there. The figure was still there when he turned back towards it. That was a good sign. As he got closer, he could make out the white coat and red scarf and the blue, runed bow the figure was leaning on; he relaxed fractionally. Probably the person he'd come looking for. "Heidi?' he asked cautiously. "I'm Jordan."

Behind him, the mist began to gather itself silently together, growing shadowy arms and spindly fingers.

Behind you - Jordan spun, bringing Ferros around in a powerful arc. The claws that shot forward to rake at his arms and hands recoiled in a tangle and then vanished as Ferros slammed into the body of the mist-thing, almost exploding it.

He remained on alert, looking for any further threats; when none immediately launched out of the fog to attack him, he turned back to Heidi, taking a quick look at her coat. Basic trainees weren't cleared for external missions solo, so there must be somebody else with her. "You must have gotten separated from the others," he said. "Where did you see them last? Do you know if anyone's injured?"

Steaaaam, Ferros hissed in his head. Flame. The sense of him seethed with excited heat, not yet fully charged but filled with energy.

HP: 46/60
Dmg: 16
Charge: 2/3

Boss HP: 73/100

"All right. Stay close to me. This mist is dangerous. It's a hallucinogenic of some type; I've run into it once before. It's making us see things, but we can hit back. Once we hurt it enough it'll clear out, but until then, I'd rather you stay where I can see you so I know where you are. I don't want to mistake you for a shadow." Jordan looked around, trying to get his bearings in the swimming haze. "Do you have any idea where you saw them last?"

"They were behind me when it happened...I saw Tuck..over there." Heidi stayed close to Jordan's side and pointed. "Or was it over there.." Oh no..

"I.....uh.."

Crap.