Bride of quiet, Bride of all unquiet things...Come the infantry, Come the archers Of hell

[secondcity_npc]

Characters: Anyone not in an endgame group and wants to kick asses and take names
Time: Panic O'Clock
Location: Union Station
Content: Phages. Outsiders. Screaming civilians
Format: Prose/Action/ WHATEVER
Warnings: Fear. Violence. Action. Shit hitting the fan.

Comments

[be_enthralled]

Still trying to shake off the feeling that she had come down with a sudden and powerful fever, Elaine slipped through the not-quite-calm crowds seeking an exit to the city. Other than the El, Union Station, for many, seemed the way to go. The streets were choked with honking cars and taxis and buses, and Elaine could only pray the complete bedlam wouldn't erupt if Morgana's nastier spells landed anywhere near them. It was already bad enough with storm clouds that would not break, and an overwhelming sense of magic in the air that not even the most stalwart disbeliever would ignore.

She was headed away from the Union Station and east towards the Bean - it was nearly a twenty minute walk on a calm day. Today, of all days, going against the flow of the crowd...well, hopefully the Bean would actually still be there once she arrived. She was nearly halfway across the bridge connecting the two blocks that housed the Union Station and the Willis Tower respectively when she heard a scream...and almost got shoved into the river itself when

[godofcologne]

There had been warning, at least. A little bit of it when the buildings started collapsing in the prison that was emptied Chicago, enough for Thomas to arm himself. The falcata, the Desert Eagle, and the saber wouldn't have been able to do anything against the world coming to pieces, but they had been comfortable weights, at least

[be_enthralled]

When the crowds saw the lightning erupt from her hands, it hadn't taken them long to label her as dangerous as well and suddenly she found it much easier to make her way through the panicking throngs.

It was only as she turned to make her way east again that she caught sight of two familiar faces just a few dozen feet away. She wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or relieved upon catching sight of Thomas, and settled for a short nod of her head.

[godofcologne]

Of course, that same willingness for the crowd to get away from Elaine meant it was much harder to push past them to get to her. Thomas could feel Justine following, her presence a familiar weight on his Hunger's awareness. "We've got to stop meeting like this, sweetheart," he said, unsheathing the saber with his still free hand as they neared. He nodded at Justine with a tight smile. "I need to get her out of here."

He could already feel Justine glaring at his back for that one.

[be_enthralled]

One pale eyebrow raised at Thomas's comment when the two had finally pushed their way past the crowd.

"Of all the gin joints," she replied with a shrug. Glancing over at Justine and noticing the look she gave Thomas, she didn't bother trying to hide the slight smile that slipped onto her face. "Train's out of the question and the El is bound to be crowded."

[godofcologne]

His frown deepened at Elaine's slight smile, and Thomas reached for the well of strength within, the darkness that rode shotgun in his head. He didn't particularly care if Justine didn't want to leave, nor did he care if Elaine thought it was funny. More than anything, he needed her safe. And the way things were going, he needed to know that she was safe and away from him.

There was another scream, this time from somewhere to his back, and Thomas turned to face a phage. At least, he hoped it was a phage, because if it wasn't, they would have to add 'alien attack' to the list of things going wrong.

He swung the falcata in a fluid, sweeping arc, trying to remember how Ripley managed to kill the sucker as he did so, and called over his shoulder. "Well, I'm open to suggestions!"

[thefeelingsburn]

Unfortunately for Thomas, Justine cared about whether or not she wanted to leave. As far as she was concerned, staying with him would be good for both of them. He could protect her--she knew he would, with everything--and she could watch his back, just as he asked.

Justine rolled her eyes at Thomas' deepening frown. She wasn't about to go anywhere. Then again, it didn't seem like any of them were. Whatever ideas she may have had about their escape were pretty well cut off by the arrival of some nasty looking aliens, and she set straight into making sure none of them got too close to Thomas while he fought off the others.

[be_enthralled]

Elaine didn't have the chance to reply right away - instead, blue-white lightning lanced from her fingertips and one of the phages ended up with mouthful of electricity right as it prepared to launch itself at a civilian's turned back. It wasn't as many as she thought, and she really wished that people would put a clamp on their fears.

Glancing over her shoulder, she murmured to Thomas so that Justine couldn't hear, "Right now, I think the safest place is with you. Trying to leave the city with a mob mentality like this would be a nightmare."

[godofcologne]

"You mean this isn't already a nightmare?" he shot back with a grunt of effort, swinging the blade at a phage.

The falcata's blade skittered off the phage's chitinous alien hide, and Thomas drew deeper from the well of demon fueled strength as he twisted his body sharply to the side, letting momentum carry him past the phage in alien skin. He hoped that the gun he'd passed on to Justine and Elaine's defenses would be enough, at least until he could get back to Justine's side.

And that was all the time he had to spare for thought as the phage he'd been unable to kill turned back to him, a scythe-like arm raised high above its head. A second flanked him, its form rippling like oil as it closed in, shifting to a decidedly more human form, with pale skin, dark hair, and bright chrome-coloured eyes.

[thefeelingsburn]

While she couldn't hear what was being said, Justine knew the signs of others talking about her well enough. Unfortunately, Elaine was at just the right angle that she couldn't read the other woman's lips. Justine shrugged it off--they would argue about who was going where later--and focused instead on the phages around them.

A well-aimed shot hit flew into the first phage's cheek, and it reeled back as Justine got a look at the second. Confused, she looked back to Thomas... And realization dawned.

Wonderful.

[be_enthralled]

"It's something," Elaine replied offhandedly, flicking her chain from underneath her jacket and swinging it like a whip at a passing phage's neck. The chain wrapped around the creature's neck and magic snapped down its spine with such force that it let out a scream of pain, thrashing wildly and clawing in vain at the chain. Elaine grimaced, keeping her grip as she turned to focus a shield over the fleeing pedestrians. It looked as if the phages in the area were going after the threats first before diving into their hunger - all demonic eyes were now focused on them

[godofcologne]

If there was one thing Thomas Raith was hopeless at, it was introspection. And staring straight into his own eyes, gleaming cold chrome and inhuman, sent a shiver of unadulterated fear down his spine like glacial water. The phage smiled back with a flash of perfect white teeth, pleased, and swung its own blade, a twin to his falcata, down with vicious swiftness, forcing Thomas to twist, to twine around his twin as he parried the blow.

They moved fast and sinuous, mirror images in every way. Thrust. Parry. Dodge. Advance. Repeat. Thomas drew deep on his reserves, his eyes glowing even paler grey, and his phage twin did the same. He could feel the hollow emptiness rise, the Hunger's presence beneath its borrowed strength, and gritted his teeth, trying to find an opening.

It was hard to tell which was vampire and which was phage, dark hair and flashing steel moving in point and counterpoint, until one blade found its mark, slicing deep into the other Thomas' gut with a grunt of effort, and the other fell, boneless and limp.

[thefeelingsburn]

Justine had watched the fight intently, gun at the ready, noting every move, but even she couldn't be sure which was which by the end. They were both Thomas, both were wearing down and falling and she couldn't quite bear the idea of watching him destroy himself so literally.

The blade struck, and Justine screamed, pulling the gun back up and shooting before she had time to think. If she thought about it, she would lose him. He would strike again, and if it was Thomas lying there limp on the ground already, she couldn't help. But then, on the other hand, the other Thomas, no lying there with her bullet in him...

Justine crumpled to the ground, ignoring the ongoing fight around her, the frightened people. She had killed him, she knew she had. Quick, cold. Not a second thought. Quietly, tears she hadn't noticed running down her face, she crawled over and reached for him.

Dead, the only person who had ever managed to fully break into her little world, to help her, and it was her own fault.