Secret of the Medallions

[Bassios]

Curled up inside his own mind, Reyix had left his body where it had fallen. The sounds of explosions and gunfire rattled his senses too much, and he had been forced to retreat. Inside his mind, Reyix sobbed. The death-visions of dying soldiers and Medallion Wielders had leached through his shoddily erected mental blockades.

Reyix waited for what felt like hours before trying to wake up, only to find that he was face down on a cold concrete floor with a lump on the back of his head that felt bigger than his fist.

"Ugh... what the hell happened to me?" Groaning, Reyix rolled onto his back and tried to sit up.

Opening his eyes gingerly, Reyix attempted to take stock of where he was. As far as he could tell, he was in a detention cell, possibly 3 meters wide by 6 long, and almost completely dark. A small shaft of light entered the room from a grill on the eastern wall, illuminating where Reyix lay and no more. The door was presumably at the other end of the cell, the wall behind Reyix looked solid.

Carefully sitting up, Reyix closed his eyes and opened his mind to see if he was alone in his prison. The cell was devoid of any other life, meaning Reyix had chance to dust himself off mentally and physically before anything else happened.

I suppose I should let those guys know I’m okay. I think I can talk the same way they can...

Reyix concentrated hard, trying to remember how the mental energy felt when he had been near their conversations. It took about 5 minutes, but he managed to get close to the right “frequency”.

Uh, I don’t know if anyone’s listening out for me, but I’m alive. I’m in some kind of prison cell... I could do with a hand if anyone’s free to help.  

[Erverain]

Marcellus "heard" the slightly fuzzy message that Reyix sent.
Okay, so he's still alive. Karloseth, Tokk, Pale Boy: Creepy is in a holding area on the... Marcellus concentrated a bit. East side of the compound. I suggest you hurry the hell up.
Being dragged along by Tori was perhaps not the most pleasant thing, and the addition of Rain to the group only made running more difficult. What's worse, she didn't seem to be even paying attention to where she was running. Of course, neither was the other, but he didn't seem to be any worse for it.
Hey, Tori. You seem distracted more than the situation warrants. What's up?  

[Roland Karloseth]

Karloseth frowned, because he was able to receive the message Marcellus sent. "Hrm. It WAS Marcellus then. And on the EAST side!? ********! we're on the wrong side!" He yelled, and took off through the corridors.  

[invisible-weirdo]

Trailing close behind the others, Lilith held a small flame in her palm, occasionally forcing it to flare up for a split second. She used the intense light from the flare in an attempt to slow down the Shadows following them. This tactic worked to cause them to freeze for a split second, though they proved to be insanely adaptable; with each flare she used, the Shadows' recovery time seemed to shorten. Grunting in frustration, Lilith extinguished the flame and kept her gaze forward, focusing on escape.  

[Kerrigan_dragon]

Tori had been concentrating on the thing inside her head, trying to find out what it was an what it was doing, rather than where she was going. At Marcellus' word, she snapped out of it, and looked around. She changed their path slightly so they were heading more towards their destination. Um. Well. I'm not sure. Just... thinking, I guess. She wasn't really sure why she didn't just tell Marcellus about the shadow, but she got the feeling that would be a bad thing. Though maybe that was a feeling coming from the shadow in her head... her mind threatened to start spinning once more, but she resisted it, telling herself to concentrate on the situation at hand. Sorry. I'm a little spacey. Waking up to an attack from shadows is... different.  

[Red Glacier]

he wanted to say something but he didn't want to risk an awkward situation. he continued going alongside Tori being guided

the female figure came back to him "Maybe you should stop and rest a bit. you're safe i your sleep"

her words were tempting but its not like he could just stop and rest seeing as they were being chased. He felt he was going to vomit and his body was becoming cold. He wanted the figures to go away but they seemed to be everywhere he was. he sees a few figures running in and out of the trees near them and they laughed at him, taunting him and he breathed harder.  

[Erverain]

Marcellus noticed the pause.
You aren't telling me everything, but I'll leave it at that for now. This is no time to just... wait, did you hear that?
Over the sounds of their rapid departure, Marcellus could almost hear... something. Casting his eyes around and spreading his awareness, Marcellus noticed that something... else was keeping pace with them. Something not right. And it seemed to be focusing around Rain.
Hey, you hear that Rain? I could almost swear it sounds like... Marcellus's face darkened a bit. He remembered that type of laughter. Never mind. Just ignore it for now. Focus on what's ahead of you to the exclusion of all else. There is nothing other than moving forward.
Noticing the flares of light from Lilith, Marcellus had an idea. focusing slightly as he ran, Marcellus began to move the particles of the air in increasing speeds in an orbit around the group. Soon, the friction of the irregularly moving particles started to spark and glow, and a ring of luminescence surrounded them. Dragging the others to a stop, he waited. Soon, they were once surrounded. The shadows lingered on the very edge of the light.
When I give the signal, follow me.
After calculating the positions of the shadows, Marcellus made his move. The ring of almost solid light shattered, flying around them like arrows loosed from the bow. The surrounding foliage, dry from lack of rain over the past week, ignited almost instantly. Waving the others forward, Marcellus dove through the falling debris and inflamed shrubbery to the outside of the now larger circle, which now contained their pursuers.
And with that, they should be out of our hair for a little while. Or at least until the trees burn out. So, let's book it while we can.  

[xDarkPisces]

Tokk rounded the corner of the east wing hallway, huffing slightly from the jog. He wiped a bit of dirt-sweat from his brow and stared to the end of the hallway. It seemed longer than it should've been; much longer indeed. That's when he noticed them: the shadows. The walls were glossy, oily black from the creeping presence of the shadow spirits. The floor was clear, as if inviting them forward. Tokk looked to Karloseth. "Look, dude... we have to make this quick. I'm pretty sure he's in that room down there, wouldn't you say?" He pointed to the end of the corridor where the coat of shadow was thickest. "Figures..." He scoffed, kicking the ground idly. The shadows didn't stir, simply continued to flow about like great two-dimensional slugs.  

[Roland Karloseth]

"Go figure," Karloseth said. "Lemme try something..." His hands glowed with the power from the gloves. He pulled at the energy, eventually forming a sheet with an curved edge, similar in looks to a snowplow. He then sent it hurling through the shadows, to no avail. They just flowed back like water. Karloseth growled. "Hrm..." He then made a platform to stand on, which he made hover over the shadows. "Now, how to get through this wall..."  

[xDarkPisces]

Tokk smiled wryly and shook his head. "You leave that to me." He crouched, stepping one foot back, then he lunged forward stomping forward and thrusting his hands against the metal plating of the wall. He breathed out heavily, calling all of his energy forward to his hands and arms, releasing the all the chakra he could at once. Then he grunted loudly, closing his fists, grabbing two handfuls of the metal, which made a horrid metal-on-metal sound as it tore free from itself. Then he pulled down with all his might, ripping the two-inch-thick steel downward, scattering the now stirring sea of black shadows. The metal groaned and creaked in protest as the entire top half separated from the bottom, obliterating the door frame.

Tokk let the chunk of steel fall to the floor with a crash, dusting off his hands and chuckling. "Heh... Didn't know I had it in me. There's your wall, man. Now grab the lug and lets remove ourselves from this hell hole," he said, nervously eying the shadows as they began to congregate toward him. A strange thought rant through his head. "Um... I don't think these things can SEE us so much as... feel us... but either way we need to get the hell out!"  

[Roland Karloseth]

"Alright." Karloseth looked inside and saw Reyix, staring at him with wide eyes. "Lets go!" he snatched Reyix onto his platform and went into the hallway. "You guys get out of here. I'll meet up with you soon, there's something I want to grab really quick, provided these goons haven't found them yet." Karloseth was off in a flash, not giving any time for protest.

Karloseth burst through the door to what was his room, and was glad to see it intact. He went to the closet and rummaged through the bottom a bit, finally finding what he was after: The jet boots Joan had made for him. He strapped them on, getting the feel for them. "I'm sorry for breaking my promise, but I need them. Though you may not trust your abilities, I do," He muttered. He grabbed the glove adapter, so he could remotely operate the boots from his gloves. He hoped the prototype would work properly as he activated them. looking down, he was hovering a couple inches from the ground. "Perfect. lets get out of here," He said, and flew down the hallway with a big increase in speed. To anyone observing, it would appear that he was skating in midair.  

[Red Glacier]

yeah. I hear it. I really don't want to though he kept running.

"I..........I want to stop soon" he said weakly and sadly from all his fear. His medallion glowed and the sky began spitting golf ball sized hail around them but far enough it wouldn't hit them. the golf balls rained down hard on the shadows and soldiers that may be near by. Rain was doing this subconsciously not aware that it was him doing it. It was just a reaction to his fear.  

[Erverain]

Checking Karloseth's group's condition, Marcellus nodded.
We stop for two minutes. That should be enough to get some air back. Karloseth and the others have acquired Creepy, so they should be booking for the nearest body of water. We, however, are not out of the proverbial and literal woods just yet. So stay sharp people. There could be more that weren't with the other group.
Making sure that they were all there, Marcellus decided to use this opportunity to investigate what was bothering him about Tori. Pinging an unnoticeable thread of consciousness against her mind, Marcellus felt something odd. It was almost like an oily echo, nothing like the previous encounter he had had with her mind. This was troublesome. It was almost as if one of the shadows had decided to take up residency, and it was spreading quickly.
Sneaking his thread of thought through her and its defenses, Marcellus discovered the "brain" of the intruder.
Marcellus mused to himself. Well well well... looks like they are intelligent after all. It's going to take me more than the time we have now to get rid of it, so I suppose I'll just have to lock it up for now.
Springing his consciousness on the shadowy interloper, Marcellus bound it with threads of psychic energy, locking it into Tori's subconscious. It would do for now, but the threads will weaken over time, and within a week it would be loose again and this trick won't work twice.
After the two minutes were up, it was time to start running again.  

[xDarkPisces]

Tokk stayed close behind Karloseth as he "skated" through the long halls of the complex. The classrooms, dojos, storage rooms, and offices that had once seemed so full of energy, always bustling with activity, were now black and silent. His heavy steps echoed above the soft energetic roar of Karloseth's boots, and as the sounds reached his ears, he was able to fully perceive and understand how large the place actually was. In his time there, Tokk had investigated nearly every hall and room in the entire installation, but now, with its staff, students, and various personnel completely vacated, the whole place seemed vacant and hollow, as if it had never been occupied.

His eyes fell on Reyix, who kept pace ahead of him. The man was yet another mysterious character. Tokk had seen him once or twice before, but never for more than a few moments in transition between buildings. Such a quickly growing number of unknown faces set his mind to work uneasily. He decided that, if they lived through all this, some explanation or introduction would be necessary from everyone. He had been far too trusting in the past, and the result had almost taken the lives of his friends. 'Never again,' he said to himself.

He charged ahead, feeling his lungs contract uncomfortably from the run. At the end of the hallway he saw the main double-doors that led to the central courtyard. The courtyard... was Connell still alive? That also was on his shoulders... "Karloseth! Stop for a minute. We need to contact the others and coordinate some sort of double-sided strike! If we can head them off while the others come in from the perimeter, we might have a better chance of escape. Their forces will be separated!" The idea sounded solid to him. Having not meditated in quite some time, however, his mind felt heavy and cluttered. He'd need a bit of mental clean-up after all this.  

[Sentama Lin]

Connell spent his time, as Karloseth and Tokk searched, fighting the shadows that were now surrounding him. He panted heavily and continued coughing blood, spattering a bit with each blast of energy. When he was lucky he grasped at the shadows to absorb its energy, but it always writhed way too fast for him to recover completely.

The shadows, meanwhile, were becoming unruly, chaotic, and combining together into something horrifying. Appendages of all sorts -- arms, legs, tentacles, whatever one can think off -- were melding together into a horrible aberration. Eyes seemed to appear in the grotesque shadowy mass while a giant clawed hand writhed around Connell grasping him tightly.

Connell, however, merely relaxed and closed his eyes, breathing calmly, letting himself focus. His entire body seemed to glow white now, and energy seemed to flow from everything and everyone in the area. Indeed, orbs of gentle white light seemed to dissipate from all living things from the campus and converge into him. The energy he was stealing wouldn't be enough to kill, but it would be enough to possibly slow any intruders and enemies, but might also irritate friendly allies. Still, it was necessary, in his mind, to do this.

More and more time passed, and more and more energy amassed. Six heavenly wings sprouted from his back thanks to his wave of energy, while a cosmic wind seemed to blow from all directions, yet its source was unknown. He opened his eyes to reveal his pupils have disappeared completely, replaced with the purest white anything could see.

"Let go..." Was all he said before he unleashed the store of energy, engulfing the entire campus in a white light. The light seemed refreshing to the living, but to the shadows on the campus it was an inferno. The poor creature that grabbed him shrieked and disintegrated at the sensations of energy so pure. While the living on campus felt refreshed, the light was blinding.

Once everyone's visions could be re-fixed, the shadows were out of sight, disappeared completely, reduced to poor ashes on the ground. In the courtyard, Connell lay quietly, barely breathing, his heart barely pulsing, his wings dissipating, and his entire being shivering.