Theus was sobbing weakly and clutching his sides, pale and terrified. "P-Please… I— c— c-can't go back there…!" His voice was hoarse from screaming, and he was wobbling dangerously. He couldn't keep going like this much longer, but he was still trying his best to run away as fast as he could, which was, albeit, not very fast. "They… t-they killed most of the other kids when they were done with their experiments… I-I don't wanna die…"
Caelum, although he didn't normally condone such violence, had a stony look on his face as Septima thrust her spear into the experimenter's hand. These people deserved to hurt for what they'd done to these kids. He nodded stiffly and adjusted the restraints so that they would hold even if he wasn't holding onto them. Once the experimenter was knocked out, restrained properly, and discarded in a corner of the room, he ran off to assist Aurelius with fighting the second person. He drew the shadows into the center of the room and used them as a thin sort of whip to catch the second experimenter off guard. He noticed Felix coming in, and Aurelius looked dangerous at the moment, so he kept his distance to avoid taking any damage.
Felix was surrounded by small sparks, just enough to light his way as he joined the fray.
As Caelum's whip came from one direction, he sent a bolt of fire from the other, trying to trip them up.
"Sorry I'm late," he murmured.
Their opponent shot more ice in their direction, but Felix melted it in a fiery inferno before the shards could hit anyone.
Septima pushed ahead, trying to see if there were any more children she could release before they got caught up in the crossfire. She saw another kid on a table like the first, but this one was unconscious. She hoped they were just unconscious. As she approached, she saw movement in front of her. Without a second thought, she lunged ahead, spear angled forwards. Once Septima was sure it was an enemy, she struck. She wasn't going to hold back to spare anyone beyond this. After all, keeping anyone alive would be enough information to figure out what happened here. She stepped up, thrusting her weapon towards the other person. They stopped and tried to dodge or block, or anything, but they couldn't react fast enough and she made a fluid strike into their side. To follow up, Septima kicked them over and struck again, this time in one of the legs. She ignored the horrible wails and begging to stop. Aurelius skirted around the others, trying to keep away so he didn't hurt anyone. But if an enemy so happened to run into them, it would hurt. He was still limping, and could feel a tearing pain start to set into the skin on his hands and arms. His powers were starting to hurt him too.
Theus broke into more of a run, hoping that his adrenaline could carry him through. He saw light at the end of the tunnels and just made his way towards it as fast as he could, eventually managing to crawl out of the hole and cry out loudly for help before he just collapsed onto the ground.
"Aurelius, move! You'll get yourself more injured!" Caelum yelled as he wrapped his shadow whip around the second experimenter's legs to keep them down on the ground. "Look for more kids, or make sure the other one got out. He looked like he was in pretty bad shape." He continued restraining the person as Septima kicked them, making sure that they couldn't move at all. "We'll have to get these bastards to the police and get any of the other victims out. I'm worried we're going to find a lot of bodies, so we need to be prepared for the worst…"
Azel heard a child crying out from the direction of the ghoul nest and his brow furrowed. "Did you guys hear that?" He asked the other two, who nodded. "I'm going to go check it out. Keep an eye out, alright?" He headed off through the trees and found Theus passed out on the ground. "Ah, shit…!" He looked around before carefully picking up the kid and hurrying back and setting him down in the grass. Elio tore a few straps of cloth off of his shirt and handed them to Azel to tie around Theus' wounds, and Ren just watched worriedly from where he sat.
"I'm fine," Aurelius replied, though the hitch in his voice said otherwise.
He was terrified by the sight of these children of course, but also by the power that welled up inside him. As many times as it happened, it never got easier to push down the bad emotions and the fear fueling these dangerous outbursts of magic.
Aurelius figured he should continue separating himself from the group as much as possible, but the others already didn't seem keen on that. Still, he pushed forwards through the lab. No one was there. That must have been all of them. Not a lot of people behind this, but enough to wreak havoc.
Septima stepped away from the person she'd just fought to undo the restraints on the unconscious child. Thank god they were just unconscious. She let her weapon clatter to the ground and picked the child up to haul them to safety beyond the doorway they'd come in through.
Felix jogged after Aurelius as soon as he was able.
"No one else is here," Aurelius said weakly, "We should… we should see if we can find any more kids."
"You need to stop."
After a few moments of staring at Felix, the aura surrounding Aurelius mostly died down. He was running out of energy to hold it up.
"Stop what?"
"Stop pushing. You look really rough. No more fighting. We can take care of the kids. Promise.
Caelum brought the second experimenter over with the first one and restrained them both together. Once he was sure that they were secure, he followed the others through to look for more people. "I'm pretty sure we got rid of everything in the tunnels on the way, so assuming that kid didn't pass out, he should have been able to get out." He sighed and went up to a door that cold air was coming out of. He hesitated, having a pretty gruesome guess of what it was, and he was really hoping he was wrong. He slowly opened the door and gagged a bit, his suspicions confirmed as he looked around. "N-No one go through this door…" He said weakly as he closed it again.
Theus stirred after a few minutes, slowly waking up and looking around. He noticed Azel above him and cried out in fear, quickly scooting away and pressing himself up against a tree. Elio tried to soothe him quietly, keeping his distance so as to not scare the child further. "Hey, hey… kid, it's alright. You're not in there anymore, okay? We're here to help you. You're gonna be just fine, yeah?" Elio murmured, his hands held up in front of his chest. Theus hiccuped and rubbed at his tears, trembling violently with fear.
"P-Please… don't… d-don't hurt me…" He whispered. Azel's expression softened.
"Kid, we're not gonna hurt you, promise. Just relax, we're gonna give you some time to calm down and process before we try and ask you any questions or anything."
Septima paced a bit, listening to Caelum, but eventually she hauled the second kid they'd found back in so they could help.
"What'd they do to her?" she murmured under her breath.
The little girl was a werewolf, most likely, and she was in a half-transformed state, something Septima had never seen before.
Meanwhile, Aurelius and Felix were trying to meet back up with the group. Both of them were dragging. Aurelius was still limping pretty badly, and bleeding a good bit still from the wound. His hands and arms were a little damaged from his own magic, but he was still upright, though he was starting to become really dizzy and weak. Felix was a lot Iess obvious, but he was breathing heavily and starting to feel overheated.
"Well… Someone should probably get the police called," Felix said, "Assuming we can get reception down here. If not, we'll just go on up."
"I'm sure these tests have been pretty horrible, and hard on their bodies. Once they've recovered a bit, we can ask them questions." Caelum sighed, glancing back over to the door with a slight shudder. "We should get moving. That room, it… it's a freezer, of sorts. Seems to be where they put their experiments when they're done with them." He said softly, still feeling a bit queasy. He headed towards the exit, grabbing the two experimenters on the way to drag to the surface.
Theus was still keeping his distance from Azel and the others, clearly uneasy and distrustful of the unfamiliar people. They respected his boundaries and didn't try to touch him or anything, but still stayed in a close vicinity to make sure he wouldn't try to run away. "You're gonna be just fine, kid. The rest of our group should be up soon, and then we can call the police to arrest the bad people who were hurting you, okay?" Azel gave him a reassuring smile, and he tentatively nodded.
Septima kept close to Caelum as she carried the child out.
"Can you guys take the other experimenter?" she called over her shoulder.
"Sure thing," Felix replied, grabbing the third by the collar and dragging them through the earth.
Aurelius furrowed his brow at Felix.
"Hey, you shouldn't be-"
"Shut up," Felix snapped, "I'll take care of it when I get home."
"At least loosen it a little," Aurelius whispered.
Felix frowned. "Maybe if there weren't other people around."
When they finally reached the surface, Septima rested the child she was carrying against a tree trunk. Meanwhile, Felix just dropped his grip on the experimenter, with little care as to whether he hurt them or not.
Aurelius took a few more steps forward and found his head spinning. He stumbled a bit and hit the ground, still conscious, but clearly out of it.
Caelum kept dragging the other two experimenters behind him, looking drained and close to passing out as well. He'd been using his powers quite a bit, and he'd been exerting himself too. "Hopefully the others are okay… I don't see that boy, so our group may have already picked him up. I'm hoping that's the case, anyway…" He sighed softly and adjusted his grip on the people he'd restrained.
Azel looked up when he heard noises again, his ears swiveling. "I think they must have resurfaced… Elio, Ren, keep an eye on him." He gestured to Theo and got to his feet, shifting into a fox so that he could run back over to the hole more quickly. "Christ…" He muttered after shifting back. "What the hell happened to you guys?" He asked. "And who are these people?"
"Probably," Septima agreed, "There was a pretty clear path to the outside. He should be fine."
She bit down on her lip when she saw Aurelius collapse. It took everything she had to not fret over him. It always just frustrated him rather than helping.
"Felix, you've got bandages, don't you?" she asked, trying to keep a straight face.
"I do," he replied, pulling a roll from one of his pockets and tossing it over.
Septima sat down next to Aurelius and offered the bandages. His hands were injured too, marked by his own powers. He could barely hold the bandages and softly asked Septima if she could help. She was more than happy to start wrapping his leg for him.
When Azel approached, Felix explained what he could, sounding a little out of breath himself.
"They were doing experiments on some kids down there. These guys," he said, motioning at the three experimenters they managed to bring up, "So we got in a fight, as you do."
"Needless to say, that fight could've gone better," Aurelius added, wincing pretty hard as Septima tended to his wounds, "But I think that one's on me. Either way, we're all fine, aren't we? And we saved who we could."
Caelum staggered a bit and knelt down on the ground, breathing heavily. His face was pale and his hair was disheveled, and he was noticeably swaying a bit. He kept his hold on the experimenters, however, wanting to make sure that he didn't release them. If he passed out, the shadow restraints wouldn't hold them anymore. "We need to get these guys to the police…" He said softly.
Azel swallowed nervously, looking between all the people. He didn't really know what he could do to help, honestly. "Well, I… uh… I'm glad you guys were able to make it out. Um… I heard a kid over here but the nest and came over and found him passed out, so… he's back with the group now. We tried to wrap his injuries with some cloth, but it's not a great fix. He also woke up and he's pretty scared, so he's keeping his distance from us, but we're keeping an eye on him anyway. I don't think he'll run away, he just doesn't trust us to touch him yet."
Septima pulled out her cell phone and stood aside to dial the number once she did what she could for Aurelius' wounds.
"On it. Hold on a little longer, guys."
Felix gave a nod.
"I don't think they have any fight left in them," he said, "You can probably let go of them, Caelum. If anyone tries anything, I can take care of it."
Aurelius tucked his head down between his knees as more dizziness passed over him. He hadn't even lost enough blood to be feeling like this, right?
"Hope they can make it here fast. It doesn't look like we're holding up very well," he whimpered.
(I think I'm gonna make the werewolf in the werewolf/vampire couple an investigator for the police team. The vampire is definitely something along the lines of healer/doctor, and I'll add him later, but the werewolf would work now.)
(Alrighty!)
"Alright…" Caelum hesitated before letting go of the experimenters, although he kept their restraints on them. He leaned up against a tree trunk and ran his fingers through his hair, trying his best to catch his breath. Azel looked between all the people, still a bit uneasy.
"Um… should we try to get everyone over to where the others are?" He asked. "It'll be easier for the police to reach us there since that's where the path we made leads to directly, y'know? But if it's too difficult to get there, we can just stay here for now…"
Septima hung up the phone and nodded towards Azel.
"Yeah, That's probably the best idea. Think you could help? Maybe get this other kid, and we'll take care of the baddies?" she suggested, "I'll take one, or even both of the ones you're dealing with, Caelum. Still pretty fresh myself. Aurelius, you just focus on getting yourself back there. I can come back to help you if you need."
Aurelius grimaced a bit as he tried to stand, but he managed. It definitely hurt a lot more now that the adrenaline had worn off. The blood rushed from his head and he nearly passed out, but again, just managed, pushing along forwards to the others.
"Felix…" he croaked, "Do you have any more potions with you? Just once we get back to the others, that is."
Felix started dragging his guy again, and he shook his head. "I have a healing potion, but you probably need something to build your blood back up as well. You're really pale. Like really pale."
Aurelius gave a halfhearted smile. "It's not that bad, I promise."
Felix was completely unconvinced.
"Yeah, I should be able to take the kid…" Azel carefully took the child into his arms and adjusted his grip to make sure they were secure. Caelum shook his head a bit and forced himself to his feet, resuming his hold on one of the experimenters. "I'm alright… you can take one if you want, but I don't need you to take both. We should get back quickly so we're there when the police arrive." He started dragging them through the trees, still breathing heavily. Azel followed after him, his ears twitching a bit.
Theus cried out in fear and cowered against a tree after Ren sneezed and froze the ground around him. He really didn't seem to have much control over his powers. Elio snickered a bit, but still turned to Theus to make sure he was alright. "The others should be back soon, kiddos. We're gonna be fine."
Septima easily dragged one of the culprits from behind Caelum and lead the way to the place where everyone else waited.
"Alrighty, looks like our work here is more or less done. Police are called and on their way, we've gotten the culprits. It may not be all of them, but it was everyone who was down there at the moment."
Felix let the experimenter he was dragging down again and took a few careful strides towards Theus.
"Hey, we've taken care of them," he said with a sad smile over his face, "You're safe now."
In the back of the group, Aurelius was limping. He became increasingly out of breath and dizzy, and his face had gone almost a papery white. He laid face-up in the dirt, panting and struggling to stay fully awake.
Azel carefully set down the unconscious child in his arms and sat back down on the ground himself with a soft sigh. Caelum put the experimenter he was dragging up against a tree and sat down as well, looking a bit pale and dizzy. He figured that it would get better once he didn't have to restrain the experimenters anymore and the police arrived.
Theus looked up at Felix warily, fidgeting nervously with his sleeves. "B-But…" He began, coughing weakly and taking a few seconds to regain himself before continuing. "I… w-where are we gonna go…?" He asked quietly, his voice raspy and a bit hoarse from disuse. "They didn't want me…"
"Who didn't want you…?" Felix started, "But never mind that. Either the police will help you find a place to stay and protect you, or- or… hell, I'll take you in if I have to! No one deserves what you've been through."
Felix got down to his knees, still panting pretty hard.
"We're finding a safe place for you, no matter what."
Septima paced a bit as they waited for the police. Eventually a couple of sirens drew closer, and Septima jogged out so she could bring them to where the group was.
Among the police was a certain individual not in uniform. He looked a good bit older than he actually was. Glasses, exhausted, one or two small streaks of gray hair. He had a bag slung over his shoulder.
(He's cool!)
"My parents…" Theus replied softly, looking down at the ground as his eye stung with tears. "We were really poor, and they thought I was cursed because of my power and my horns, s-so they… they sold me to the bad people…" He fidgeted with his hands and looked away, clearly nervous and uncomfortable. "They won't want me back…"
Caelum heard the police and started dragging the experimenters out into the open more, making sure that his restraints were still going to hold them. He was hoping that the police could restrain them with handcuffs or whatever else so that he could stop using his powers. He was clearly exhausted, and he didn't look very steady. Elio looked concerned about him, but there wasn't much he could do to help his friend in this state. Ren looked around the ice around him, not seeming to really be paying much attention to the police or anything else.
(Probably so. He's one of my favorite OCs tbh, but he's incredibly tragic. But this version of him is going to be very much after a lot of his most intense struggles, so uhhh, he will probably assume a dad role tbh. Love him so much ;-; )
Felix's brow furrowed as he listened to Theus talk.
"I'm very sorry to hear that. We won't send you back there, I can promise that," he said softly, "We'll figure out what to do, and you'll be okay. I'll make sure of it."
A few officers followed Septima out to the group, including the one not in uniform. Almost certainly an investigator. The other officers went to handcuff all the culprits and take them to the squad cars while the investigator only drew closer to the group.
"I told them there was something up here…" he murmured to himself, taking out a pen and paper to take note of anything he might need to know.
Once he glanced around a bit, he stood in the center of the group and cleared his throat.
"Good morning," he sighed, "I'm Officer Darkstrider, but you guys can call me Cyrus. I would like to talk to all of you before you leave here, if you're able. Trying to thoroughly investigate what's happened here. You get the idea. There's an ambulance on the way for those of you who need it."
Septima motioned at the little werewolf girl who still laid unconscious against the tree.
"I believe she's the only one who needs that kind of attention, but she's still breathing fine and her heartbeat's fine. I don't mean to speak for anyone else, but I think the rest of us would be up to it."
Cyrus' gaze went over to the girl, and he saw immediately that she was a werewolf like him. He scowled a bit. It was unnatural to transform outside the full moon, and even more unnatural to force a halfway transformation. Someone had definitely done something horrible to her. Once past the initial shock, he went back to the matter at hand.
"Anyway, I want you guys to explain everything you can about what happened here. My team will investigate those tunnels, but it would really help to know what you saw."
(Yesss Caelum is for sure a mom/dad friend lol)
Theus fidgeted uncomfortably, moving a little closer to Felix when the police came through the trees. Although he hadn't known him for long, he trusted Felix a bit more than some of the others, in addition to Aurelius, Caelum, and Septima. They were the ones who had saved him, after all. He listened closely to the conversation, toying with his sleeves and looking down at his own injuries, which thankfully weren't life threatening.
Caelum managed to keep himself on his feet, still looking exhausted, but feeling pretty relieved to not have to restrain the experimenters anymore. He started describing what he'd seen to the police, including the freezer with discarded experiments inside, which made him bit queasy to think about. Ren got to his feet as well and came over to tell him the limited information Pick had given him before he came to investigate. After a while of watching, Theus finally got to his feet and shuffled over to Cyrus, hugging himself tightly.
"U-Um…" He began, clearing his throat nervously. "If… if it's helpful, I-I can try to give you some information, sir…" He said softly. Caelum looked over at him, concerned.
"Are you sure, kid? It won't be too hard for you to talk about immediately? You don't need to push yourself." He said in a gentle voice. Theus shrugged.
"I… um… I think I'll be okay…? I wanna help, especially if it means that the bad people won't hurt anybody anymore…"
(Now he and Cyrus can have a little one on one if you want aha)
(Ooh, maybe? Let's see how they get along first? Also I'm moving this weekend, so I'm trying not to pick up any more rps yet haha)
Cyrus frantically scribbled down notes, occasionally reaching to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. He tried his best not to react too intensely to the descriptions, even through his facial expressions alone. It was gruesome work this time, but he had to to face it without letting his emotions get the best of him.
After some of the others had spoken, but before Theus, Aurelius gave his side of the story- the information he'd gathered prior to grabbing the job, the weird land collapses, the details about the sigils on the door. He still was laying down, afraid if he tried to get up, he'd pass out. Cyrus was a little hesitant to let him speak at first, since he really didn't seem so good, but Aurelius insisted.
When Theus approached, Cyrus' eyes widened a little bit. He hadn't really expected the kid to readily come forth to speak about his experience. Cyrus knew that he must be really intimidating, as big as he was, so he knelt down closer to Theus and nodded.
"That's right. If you can share what you know, we'll make sure they never hurt anyone again," he said, a somber look set deep behind his eyes, "But if it's too much to talk about right now, or if you need to stop, you can always talk about it later, or write it down for someone. I know you've been through a lot, kid, and we're here to help. But thank you very much for talking. I only hope it helps us fix what we can."
Felix stood a little behind Theus, and tapped his shoulder, giving him a gentle smile. "We're here for you. Say what you can, but there's no shame in tapping out if you have to."
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