Welcome to Gaia! ::

The trainees find themselves returned not to the backyard tent, but rather inside the Deus Ex main courtyard. The area's been turned into quickly made up triage center, with the facility med staff on hand to determine who needed to be rushed to the infirmary, who couldn't wait, and who could wait a few hours. Bottles of water, stacks of blankets, cots, and lab techs bearing bandages can be seen in every direction. Prior to the appearance of the trainees, the place had been bustling, but also full of silent tension and anticipation. Nobody knew what to expect, but most were concerned that nobody would be appearing at all.

As they begin to appear one by one and looking worse for the wear, Dr. H's voice can be heard over the rabble, "I ******** knew it, Caelius decided to take them all and become some big damned hero and ******** it up." Despite his words, he seemed rather cheerful. Of course,he'd arrived before the Death Hunter with enough time to pin all blame on the other man and have this area set up to greet the poor little trainees who gots themselves hurted by the silly mean diva.

In the background, Clarice is pacing with a clipboard in one hand, bandages in another, and trying not to think about all the lost equipment, specimens, and test data. Or, considering her boss's mood and Caelius's temper, a very possible catfight between superiors. The only thing worse would be if Aria arrived on the scene and it turned into a threeway match with all the helpless goddamn trainees between them.

Cassandra seemed worn when she appeared on the other side of the teleport. But it was home..oh, it was home. She could cry with relief, but part of her just..didn't seem ready to even think about doing that. She wanted to take a nap. She wanted to take a shower... she just.... she didn't want any of this. She unzipped her vest-coat to check how she looked underneath all of it for the first time. Frankly, she'd been rather lucky.

She was relatively unscathed and... well... she was mostly just burnt. Minor bleeding here and there as well, but... mostly burnt. Cass was hesitant to pull of the jacket completely, but she did take up one of the bottles of water, finding a place to sit down with it as she sipped at it. Oh god, it was probably the best thing she'd ever tasted..ever. She could drink water forever with how invigorating it felt in that moment.

Once seated, it took a minute for all her aches and pains to kick in. Her feet hurt, her arms hurt, her eyes hurt.. she felt disgusting too. But she definitely had been in a worse state before, right? She was alive..and safe. A pause and then she shot a glance at Dr. H .... Mostly safe, she corrected. Lord only knew what that man would end up doing to them in the long room. How Clarice managed anything resembling sanity around that man at all was a miracle in and of itself, she had figured. She didn't want to find out.

<>

You'll get a day at best, Cassandra. Nicodemus estimated quietly in turn.

Madison appeared, then nearly toppled over; she wasn't remotely used to traveling in that fashion, here one minute and there the next. Her overtaxed muscles were tight with fatigue, and...

... and they were home. Home. Really, really home...

She bit her lip as she realized what she was thinking. Home wasn't here, not this island, it was with her mother and father and... or it should have been. It had been, up until now. But if she'd found herself back on that suburban street, stained with some monster's ichor and carrying swords... no, no, much better to be here.

She was here so everyone at ho- everyone by her parents' house could be there. Unbothered, untouched. Unravaged.

Madison looked around, not at all sure what to do. Kouki sighed in her mind, the weapon restless and ill at ease, but he said nothing. Finally, she walked over to Jordan, pulling his coat off of her own shoulders and settling it around him. "Thanks, um, for this, earlier," she said, quietly, feeling suddenly awkward. "And for everything else... I'm proud you're, like, our leader."

Jordan didn't quite flinch as Maddie sat down by him, draping his jacket back over his shoulders. After a second, though, he lifted his head and shoved his hair out of his eyes, trying to smile and not quite managing it. "Thanks," he said quietly. "I'm really proud of you."

Clarice was calling for someone to come and explain, in among other things. He stared at her for a few moments. Then he got up, looking back down to Maddie. "I need to rest a while," he said. "I'll catch up with you tomorrow. And everyone else." His hand settled on her shoulder briefly. "Get some sleep, okay?"

Ennéa appeared and stood for a moment, looking dumbly around the courtyard. This wasn't home. Her throat ached and she blinked back tears. It was silly of her, to think she'd be transported to... She hiccuped, and angrily wiped at her eyes. Stupid. So stupid. Part of her just wanted to slump down into a small ball, right where she stood, but that would be a tripping hazard and she'd get yelled at.

Ennéa are you... Baraz started to ask but the words died off and he lapsed into silence. You did good. He finally said.

Ennéa didn't respond.

The silence stretched and the ahriman fidgeted uneasily in her mind. Uh, look, your friends made it back. He said lamely.

That did get a response. Ennéa looked up, finally focusing to see Jordan standing over by Maddie. She ran to them, firmly attaching herself to Jordan's side.

That brief, warm flush was back on Madison's face, but it was invisible under the black smears that were streaked all up and down her front. "T-thanks. I still can't believe I did that," she said, with a laugh half-genuine, half-hollow. Kouki had returned to his unsummoned form, beads gently orbiting her wrist.

And her hand was still clenched tightly around something. She'd nearly forgotten. Her fingers unfolded, twinging with exertion, to reveal a small dark bit of skull. Her prize, such as it was. She wasn't even sure if she wanted it, not entirely, but it had found its way to her and she'd claimed it.

She'd decide what to do with it later.

Ennea appeared, suddenly, and attached herself to Jordan so quickly that Madison smiled for a moment. "Welcome back," she said to the pink-haired Hunter. Who'd saved her, earlier, out there on the battlefield. Otherwise she'd be laid out on a cot here too, or worse...

Clarice had homed in on Candace when the dark-haired trainee had volunteered an explanation, latching on and asking questions. That was a minor relief, actually; since Candace had taken it upon herself to explain, he didn't feel particularly obligated to stick around and make a report. He'd have to do so later anyway, he was sure, and right now he was just taking up space that could be used for somebody who was actually injured.

And then there was a short, pink-haired person attached to his side, clinging tightly and wordlessly. Was she trembling? Jordan couldn't tell. Maybe it was him. His arm hovered uncertainly above her shoulder; half-panicked, he didn't know what to do, couldn't get away, couldn't do anything.

No. This was Ennea. He trusted her, and she trusted him, and she was upset. He turned slightly and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close, his head bowed over one of her shoulders so that his hair fell across his face and obscured his eyes again. He took a deep breath, and his shoulders shook once before he got himself back under partial control. If he didn't know what to say ... well, then, he didn't have to, did he?

Ennéa clung tighter to Jordan when she felt him wrap his arms around her but she reached out and grabbed Maddie's hand, trying to pull the older girl up into the hug too. She was crying freely now but she didn't care. They were all she had, her squad, phoenix squad.

Her small shoulders shook with the force of her sobs. She had seen them nearly die so many times over -- "I-I'm so glad you guys are okay." She choked out.

Nearly forgotten, Baraz awkwardly returned to his unsummoned bracelet form.