forum “You don’t know what they did to me. To us.” (a continuation of an abruptly deleted thread)

Started September 23, 2020 by @Tired-but-passionate

tune

When the rebels reached room #007, it was dark. So very dark, it almost looked abandoned. But then the sounds of a struggle reached their ears, and there was no denying that it was more than a darkened room.
When the rebels caught sight of Noel, they parted to make a way for her. It was a small crowd, about two dozen people. August hadn’t sent the video to everyone, of course. It wouldn’t help to send everyone in a panic.
Noel stood in front of the door, with Trent and some of the stronger rebels behind her. Alister stood with Malcolm near the back, deciding to only jump in the fight if it was necessary.
“Arden! Is that your name?” Noel shouted into the dark. “Stop this, now! It doesn’t help anyone, including you. Brightly? What’s your status?”
There was some grunting before a reply came. “Charlie and Malachi are both injured, and Charlie is unconscious. I’m mostly fine, I’m gonna really need you right about now-“
Noel stepped into the room.

"You really think i want to be doing this?! I- GH! WHY CANT YOU GUYS JUST LET ME FINISH OFF MY TARGET?! JUST DIE LIKE THE MAGGOTS YOU ARE!"
She grunted agressivly out at Noel as she entered, she moved to Stab hard where she heard Augusts voice, the blade turning into chains of darkness to lock her in place.
She glared down Noel, her eyes still glowing black almost like a wispy black trail at the sides of her eyes.
She moved towards Noel staring her down within the pitch darkness.
As soon as Noel would make a move then Kali would, she stood there waiting.

August managed to avoid getting stabbed, but the blade struck near enough that the chains still wrapped tightly around her. She grunted in surprise, her limbs snapping together as she stumbled to the floor.
"Brightly!" Noel's muscles tensed. "If you can't tell, Arden, we're not very good at dying."
Malachi was quiet, not daring to speak in case he drew Kali's attention. Now he started feeling truly worried, scared, even. He didn't want Noel or anyone else to get involved, he didn't want anyone else to get hurt. But there was nothing he could do. He was injured, and couldn't make a noise. August couldn't move, and Charlie was injured and probably still unconcious. Malachi winced in pain.
Noel stared into Kali's darkened eyes and spread out her four arms. It was only then that she realized how short the other girl was, but she already knew not to let that fool her. She could just make out the girl's figure in the darkness, and her small frame made her nimble and dextrous. Combined, she easily held the advantage when it came to dodging attacks.
But the air was at Noel's command. She sensed the atoms swirling around them, and willed them to move as one. There was a gentle gray light as Noel inhaled and exhaled, and the wind she'd conjured whipped her braid around. She let the wind focus to a single point, then let it loose, sending a burst of air to pin Kali to the wall.

"Yeah no kidding I'm so tired of waiting for you guys to just give up and die already!" She yelled back at Noel, her voice wasn't exactly sounding like her own, like what Malachi was used too at the very least.
She grunted when she felt the wind in the riom kick up and push her back into the wall, and she clenched her fist, having a hand come up from underneath her and pull her down, make her stumble and fall down maybe try and pin her down, if the pull down was sucsessful.

Noel actually laughed, sending glowing gray puffs of her breath to wrap around her jaw. “Then stop waiting and kill me already!”
Interesting how she didn’t dodge the attack. It was difficult to see through the dark, but Noel brought the wind to pin her to the ground. She waited for a second to see if Kali would recover or if she would be firmly immobilized.

She kept making the room get darker and darker, so that she could easily meld into it, and we'll, she made the wall behind her pure shadow and dissolved into the wall, before reappearing next to Noel and having shadow blade to try and slash at her extending the blade as much as she could to try and get to Noel.

(well*)

Well, that was a mistake. Don't wait for her to make the room darker, Noel told herself, watching as Kali faded from sight. She held her body in a defensive position, spreading her legs and keeping one pair of arms close to her face and the other pair close to her torso.
A shift in the air. Noel quickly dodged Kali's attack, leaping above her head with the help of her abilities. Seeing an opportunity, she then landed on top of the small girl, pinning her down with all four of her arms, one grabbing hold of her sword-hand.
"Someone hold down her legs!" she shouted. (you can have Trent help?) Once someone came to help, she began to drag Kali into the light, away from the darkness of the room.

Malachi couldn't help but gasp. Watching them, he could almost forget about the pain. Had his second in command actually beaten the puppet that Kali was?

Alister stood on his tiptoes to try to see through the crowd, then looked back at Malcolm with wide, uncertain eyes. He had heard his sister's shout, was she actually able to beat Arden on her own?

(well*)

Well, that was a mistake. Don't wait for her to make the room darker, Noel told herself, watching as Kali faded from sight. She held her body in a defensive position, spreading her legs and keeping one pair of arms close to her face and the other pair close to her torso.
A shift in the air. Noel quickly dodged Kali's attack, leaping above her head with the help of her abilities. Seeing an opportunity, she then landed on top of the small girl, pinning her down with all four of her arms, one grabbing hold of her sword-hand.
"Someone hold down her legs!" she shouted. (you can have Trent help?) Once someone came to help, she began to drag Kali into the light, away from the darkness of the room.

Malachi couldn't help but gasp. Watching them, he could almost forget about the pain. Had his second in command actually beaten the puppet that Kali was?

Alister stood on his tiptoes to try to see through the crowd, then looked back at Malcolm with wide, uncertain eyes. He had heard his sister's shout, was she actually able to beat Arden on her own?

Trent rushed into the room brushing past Alister and pushing Kalis legs down against the floor, noticing blood poling around the arm area, kali was desperately clawing at the ground as noel began to slowly drag her out of the room, a blood trail dragging underneath her arm. it was twisted in a not normal way, the white of a bone poking out. it made trent falter slightly and in that moment kali clenched her fist, her eyes glowing black. a shadow hand grabbed onto trent and pulled him back, the shadows warped into a sort of rope, starting to tighten around his neck.
"Get off of me, Or i will kill your dog." she growled snapping at noel.
Trent writhed underneath the grasp of the rope, he pulled away long enough to say somthing before it covered his mouth.
"NOEL DON'T! DONT LET HER GO-"

Noel wasn’t sure why she didn’t notice it earlier, but seeing the blood and bone made her freeze. Had she done that? She wasn’t that strong, was she?
Her head snapped behind her and she began shaking badly. Seeing the blood and bone, Trent’s desperation… it brought up the memories from before the rebellion, the ones that she had shoved into a small, unnoticeable corner in her brain.
She couldn’t let anyone else get hurt, let alone die.
Without a word, she let Kali go.

Malachi lurched forward when he saw Trent being strangled by the shadows, but he stumbled to the ground, pain spiking in his side and leg. Had his wounds been bleeding all this time, despite his efforts to stop it? It was difficult to see, he couldn’t tell. His hands were were too wet with blood already.
Would Kali continue to come after him? Or would she hurt someone else? Malachi was as frozen as Noel was.

Kali struggled to get up with just one arm, she bit down hard on her lip to hold back from making any grunts or groans in pain.
She quickly warped away, and Trent was dropped to the floor coughing violently.
"Aaugh!" He grunted pushing himself up from the floor and punching the floor.
"dang it! We almost had her!"
Meanwhile Kali had panicked and voided a bit aways, where Evan was, very worried. She didn't know even was there, she poked the bone poking out of her skin and she whimpered in pain.
"…are you okay..?" Evan asked softly, noticing how painful that looked.
Kali jumped slightly, blade at the ready as she glared him down, her eyes normal now.
"Stay away from me!" She growled at him.
He put his hands up in defense, "I swear…I don't mean any harm to you, I'm injured myself see?" He lifted up his shirt to show her his bandages. "Im not gonna call anyone to come down here either. It's just you and me."
She looked around in a panic notion, but trying to keep calm and ready to attack if needed.
"Why do you as badly want to help me hm? Why do you care so much for a person that could kill you?" She slowly got closer to Evan with the blade.
"Because your hurt, and…were family, and family care for each other, even if you have no idea who I am.."
He offers a small soft smile.
"no, no there's no way were family, I have no family. No one, no one but the lab.." she winced slightly, reminded of the pain in her arms but also a slight prick in her brain.
Evan patted the seat next to him, "Come on, come sit down. Let me take a look at that arm, it looks pretty nasty."
Kali hesitated, slowly but surely going to sit next to him but keep the blade close to his throat. "You will patch me up and show me the way out, and tell no one." She growled at him too which he just smiled.
"Of course, now, let me see please." She moved to show her broken arm, with the bone sticking out, he moved forward to push the bone back into her arm and she cried out in pain. Her blade pressed against his throat,
"Aaagh! Be careful!" She hissed at him, he stopped, "I can't do good work with the bone sticking out, or the blade pressed against my throat." He spoke calmly, she moves to slightly. He continued to clean her cut, and then bandage it up.
"there, all better." He even moved forward to give it a little smooch.
Kali winced more, whimpering in pain as she held her head.
Not- not now not now not now-
It was another vision.
A little black haired girl and white haired boy walking together, suddenly the little boy tripped, scrapping his knee on the ground when he fell. The little girl bent down and kissed his knee, "there, all better"
She collapsed to the floor.

Noel quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t hurt Trent, nor anyone else. Noel moved over to his side, placing her hand gently on his neck to relieve it of the affects of the strangulation. Her fingers glowed gray for a few moments, then it faded and she took her hand away.
“Trent, you idiot,” she sighed. “She could’ve very well killed you. I had no choice.”
She went out of the room and directed the other rebels to split up and search for Kali. She had seen too much at this point, the rebels wouldn’t let her leave. Noel then went back in the room. Almost as soon as Kali had left, the darkness in the room faded, along with the shadow chains that bound August. They both rushed to Malachi’s side.

Well, Malachi had basically ruined his socks forever. They were stained crimson; perhaps he just hadn’t been very good at attempting to staunch the bleeding in the dark. But he didn’t really care. Something roared in his veins, but he couldn’t decide if it was sorrow or rage.
He pulled Noel and August into a group hug as Malcolm also made his way into the room. “I’m fine,” he said, but his side still throbbed.
“No, you’re not,” Noel immediately objected.
“We should’ve protected you more,” August murmured. “You were her target.”
“Excuse me,” Malcolm said before Malachi could reply. He made him lay on his back, then placed his hands over his wounds. A golden glow lit up his palms, and the pain lessened a little.
“That should stop the bleeding,” he said. Malcolm broke out his first aid kit and began cleaning and bandaging the wounds. As he did so, August moved over to where Charlie was, who was slowly coming to.
“Charlie?” August called tentatively. The other woman groaned and opened her eyes.
“What happened…?” She asked softly.
“Later,” August said. “Let’s get you to the infirmary. Storm, can you help?”
Noel glanced over hand nodded. She commanded the air to lift Charlie up, then looked to see Malachi leaning on Malcom with bandages on his leg and side.
“Let’s all go to the infirmary,” Malcolm suggested. “All of you need rest, at the very least.”
Noel begrudgingly agreed and guided Charlie out of the room, the others following behind. She motioned for Alister to come beside her, and he did so, side-hugging her briefly.
“Are you alright?” He asked.
“Tired.”
He nodded with understanding. “What happened to the Arden girl?”
“Kali.” Malachi spoke before Noel could reply. “Her name is Kali.”
Noel furrowed her brow at him, but she turned back to her brother. “She escaped.”
“Ah.”
They walked in silence.