[ His body hurts, muscles straining and tired, but that doesn't matter. He's dealt with worse, and at least adrenalin is still keeping him going. He looks her over and, yeah, she looks, if not better, then more present. Like that shocked her back into the moment, which is good for him, because Lysithea is a good partner for something like this. She can hold her own, she can fight by his side, or, behind him, backing him up with magic. ]
Next step, we get the hell out of here. Okay?
[ But he doesn't move away, not yet. If she needs more time, well... he doesn't know how much they have, but at least it's quiet for now. ]
[Lysithea nods, taking one more breath before she stands upright. Her face is pale and drawn - though this is not a far departure from her usual appearance. At the very least, there is a note of resolution that had not been there previously.]
...I know where we are.
[Somehow, in their escape, they had returned to a familiar area. Lysithea looks ahead.]
There's a large chamber around a few more bends.
It has many people trapped. I was in the middle of pulling them out when those people...
[She trails off and her eyes flicker to the side. Obviously something had happened.]
I had to run. If we have a chance, there might still be... people who need us.
[ Which he really should have thought of. Flynn and him saw plenty of people, earlier. Tried to help them, too, but the same thing happened. The zealots fought them, chased them. Maybe the two of them stand a chance, but he isn't so sure.
But who would he be if he didn't try? It's better to die trying to help people than live knowing he could have done more. He nods to her and starts off in the direction she indicated. ]
Any of them conscious? Saw a few, earlier, who weren't. It's gonna be hard to drag a bunch of unconscious people out.
[This is a very unclear answer. Lysithea hesitates briefly -- ]
When I saw them, they were all connected to this... tubing. They were being used as fuel, I surmise. If we disconnect them, I should be able to revive them. Some of them.
[Again, this was provided that any of them were still alive. Lysithea leads them around a corner towards a closed door.]
If we're caught again...
Don't rush the enemy again, alright? Don't put yourself in a foolhardy situation.
[ Told off again. Well, she isn't really wrong. There isn't a reason to put himself in so much danger, especially if it then makes her have to take risks like whatever she did to make everything grey ]
Okay, okay. No rushing them. But I am gonna watch your back.
[ Since there are still only two of them, and he's more okay with putting himself in danger than anyone else ]
Alright, so we unhook them, you wake them up, then we find the exit.
[ Easy peasy! They've got this! Good thing there are no zealots on the way to this room. Smooth sailing. Almost like it's too easy.
When they get there, Yuri feels sick, seeing everyone strung up like that, tubes connected to their wrists, ankles, and stomaches. ]
This is fucked up.
[ It's said on a breath, and it doesn't stop him from getting to work because they can't leave people like this. ]
[Lysithea responds with a short shake of her head as they enter the chamber. And just as she remembers... before them lie the victims of these depraved creatures. Her breath catches in her throat as she feels a familiar heaviness settle over her senses.
...She must not falter again.]
...Quickly.
We must pull them free.
[She is fumbling with the first set of restraints already. There's no telling how much time they have - how quickly the zealots will discover them. Then, too, she ignores the nagging voice in the back of her mind that whispers, 'How are you to escape?'
[ Yuri unchains one person, then another, easing them to the ground. They aren't conscious, not enough to say anything or help. One person mumbles something indistinct, but Yuri can't pause. He doesn't have a plan either. Flynn would say to stop, think about it, make a plan, then act, but there's no time, to time to think. They just need to do what they can, help these people as best as they can.
There's so much blood, in the air, on the people, in the bags and buckets around the room. He's breathing it in, he can't not, there's no way around it. Blood pollution, it's called, he remembers vaguely, but he can't think about it too hard.
If Lysithea spares a glance at him, she'll see his skin fading, blue-ish and odd, his eyes bloodshot, fingers elongating. He doesn't notice, either, too focused.
They're left alone, for now, at least. The zealots must not have to check on this room just yet.
Yuri's got five of them down, then six, his fingers starting to go numb, they're so cold, and now there's blue blood on the people, too, blue blood slowly seeping from his nails as he works. The blood in the air is affecting him more and more, the corruption sinking into his lungs, his single-minded focus not really helping, seeing the horror in front of him, these people, who are no different than him, unconscious, hurting, being used for their blood. It's like Ragou all over again, people with power using those without for their own gain, against their will, using them, killing them, for-- for what? For their own pleasure? For power? He doesn't know, he doesn't want to know, but the horror sinks into him, too, the horror that this is happening, here, in Trench, that it's been happening, that he didn't know, didn't do anything about it.
Suddenly, Yuri wavers, halfway through unhooking an IV from someone's arm, and stares at what he's doing. He doesn't remember showing up here, doesn't remember what's happening, where he is, the corruption making him lose track of himself, his purpose here.
He looks around, seeing all of the bodies, propped against the walls, laying on tables, unmoving, sees another person, on the other side of the room. ]
Flynn--?
[ No, not Flynn. That isn't Flynn. White hair, he doesn't remember. He drops the IV and takes a staggering step back ]
[Lysithea is not as swift with her hands as Yuri nor as capable of removing them from their restraints. In physical matters, she is at a distinct disadvantage - but perhaps, in this case, it is a blessing that she has only released two victims when Yuri cries out. Her exposure to the blood is less prolonged, and though her mind races with panic and fear and horror, she has been in this room before - and as she had previously, she finds herself protecting her sanity subconsciously by disconnecting from her mind altogether.
Once more, she feels as if she is watching herself from a great distance, working as methodically and quickly as she can to save these people. It is when she is dragging her second released victim to the far wall that she hears Yuri and disengages her mental autopilot.
She registers a few things immediately: first, that Yuri has saved quite a few more, and second, that he appears to be in a bad way.]
Yuri --
[She approaches.]
What's wrong? What's happened?
((If I recall your intent was to have Yuri continue in the tower while his partner for this part also left him, right? If that's the case I'll have the Moon Presence come by and pick up Lysithea and the victims soon if that sounds good to you!))
[ Does he know her? He does, doesn't he? His mind flicks through his friends, trying to place her, and comes up short.
She feels more familiar than the rest of his place, which is full of horrors and unconscious people and he has a thought that he should be afraid, but he isn't. He isn't afraid, he's just angry. Angry that he's here, angry that these people have been hurt, angry that he's confused. ]
What happened to them?
[ She's helping them, though. She's helping them, and that has to mean something, but it doesn't stop the suspicion in his eyes.
He doesn't get time to get an answer, though, when the door to this strange, awful room opens, a group of people in robes stepping through, and letting out shouts as soon as they seen Yuri, the girl, and the people unhooked from these contraptions. Yuri whips around to face them, shifting so he's again between them and the girl, like muscle memory even if his mind doesn't remember right now, the memory lost for the time being.
He senses danger, and an ally, and he's far more likely to side with the person trying to save people than to hurt them. He growls under his breath, holding up his fists, those claws pressing into his palms ]
Try me.
(( That's perfect! Yes, leave him here for the rest of his terrible time at the tower with the zealots))
[There is a moment's confusion when Yuri responds like a caged dog, turning to stare with suspicious eyes and restrained fury in his demeanor. It feels as if he might start snarling. Lysithea takes a half step back - about to respond to his out-of-place question when the doors burst open.]
They're here!
[The people removed from the tubes are still unconscious. They can't leave now. She throws up a hand -- ]
Don't move!
[................Nothing happens. Truly, she had not believed that anything would, having very little idea of how she had accomplished the feat in the first place and feeling that if it happened again, she would simply topple over unconscious. Still, she can at least cast a spell. With the blood thick in the air, her native magic has at least returned to its full strength.
A pillar of light once more encircles the zealots.]
Yuri, if we can drive them out - we might be able to seal the door somehow. At least temporarily -- !
[ She's trying to do something, something that doesn't seem to be working, but, hell, at least she's doing it. Yuri only has his fists, and he can't feel much mana in the air here, but he steps forward, watching the zealots, his eyes flicking between them.
Drive them out. Yeah. He can do that.
He waits just a moment, trying to fake them out, then leaps forward to throw a kick at one of them, then a punch at another. He feels-- something. Strong. Fierce. Like the blood in the air is making him more powerful, like it's offering him something he needs to make it out of this, something he needs to survive.
He does his best to push them back, to take them on, but there are more zealots than there are of Yuri and Lysithea, and they don't seem too worried about his attempts to fight them with his hands and feet. One draws up magic around herself, distorting the air around Yuri and grasping his wrist with an unseen. He lets out a yell, trying to pull himself away, but it's like his arm is trapped in iron ]
I can't-- Get out of here! Get out!
[ He yells it to Lysithea, hoping she can find some way. He can't protect her, even as he tries, even as fire surged up his arm, trying to burn away whatever it is, but he can't. Flames and ice and flickers of electricity spark out of his body as he struggles against the bond, the zealots closing in on him. ]
[This was her fault. She had insisted that they free these people, thinking that her powers had bought them enough time. How foolish - to squander the second chance they had been given when they had already been in this position once before.
But still...
If there is any hope of helping these people... It might have been hubris to think that she could do so, but she cannot bring herself to feel regret. At least... if they are going to be captured - killed - drained of blood it will be because she tried to help and not because she got lost in a stupid maze.
Not much consolation.
Lysithea cannot cast enough spells to stave them off. She can concuss one with Abraxas, prevent too many from surging through the door with Dark Spikes, but she is one spellcaster and they are many. Flames erupt around her and interrupt her spellcasting, and she is forced backwards as her clothing burns. The flames follow.]
Goddess!
[She is backed against the two unconscious victims she had saved now, and she stumbles over one of their sprawled limbs, sliding to the floor. Something unseen presses against her chest -- her breath is forced out of her lungs as she finds herself incapable of screaming, even pleading.
Lysithea claws at her throat, and as she does so, something beneath her faintly stirs.
A hand moves.
They are alive.]
They can still be saved... Goddess, help us... Help us!
[And even as she slowly chokes, in the next moment, she thinks she sees something impossible -- the face of the Goddess over her... She blinks, and she sees nothing more.
Behind Yuri, there is a sound of rustling cloth as one after another, Lysithea and each of the freed victims in turn vanishes from the room.]
[ This fight doesn't feel like the others. He's fought the zealots more than once, now, with Flynn, then Lysithea, but it always felt like they stood a chance. They could get out of this. This time? He doesn't feel that same hope. He's not afraid, exactly, but there's a realism that sets in on him that he's not going to make it out of this. He can just do everything he can to help Lysithea get out of here.
He struggles and fights as well as he can with one arm pinned, letting out a yell as he hurls a fistful of flames at a zealot, catching her in the face. He kicks another until he's grabbed, pulled back by them, his eyes searching desperately for her. She has to be okay. He can't let another person die because he couldn't do anything about it.
But there she is, hurting, dying, and he can't help her. He lets out an anguished cry, desperate to do something, anything, flames building on his skin, burning away his clothes, burning the zealot holding him, and he surges forward out of her grip, stumbling toward Lysithea--
As she's pulled away. Her, and all of the Sleepers they'd freed, gone in a soft light, like Flynn had been taken.
Gone. Leaving Yuri there. He stumbles, and drops to his knees, because she's okay, the rest of them are okay. He only gives himself a moment to be grateful that they're (hopefully, hopefully they are, they weren't taken somewhere else, somewhere worse) safe, before he whips around to face the zealots again. If he's going to go down, he's going to go down fighting. ]
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no subject
[ His body hurts, muscles straining and tired, but that doesn't matter. He's dealt with worse, and at least adrenalin is still keeping him going. He looks her over and, yeah, she looks, if not better, then more present. Like that shocked her back into the moment, which is good for him, because Lysithea is a good partner for something like this. She can hold her own, she can fight by his side, or, behind him, backing him up with magic. ]
Next step, we get the hell out of here. Okay?
[ But he doesn't move away, not yet. If she needs more time, well... he doesn't know how much they have, but at least it's quiet for now. ]
no subject
...I know where we are.
[Somehow, in their escape, they had returned to a familiar area. Lysithea looks ahead.]
There's a large chamber around a few more bends.
It has many people trapped. I was in the middle of pulling them out when those people...
[She trails off and her eyes flicker to the side. Obviously something had happened.]
I had to run. If we have a chance, there might still be... people who need us.
[If they weren't all dead.]
no subject
[ Which he really should have thought of. Flynn and him saw plenty of people, earlier. Tried to help them, too, but the same thing happened. The zealots fought them, chased them. Maybe the two of them stand a chance, but he isn't so sure.
But who would he be if he didn't try? It's better to die trying to help people than live knowing he could have done more. He nods to her and starts off in the direction she indicated. ]
Any of them conscious? Saw a few, earlier, who weren't. It's gonna be hard to drag a bunch of unconscious people out.
no subject
[This is a very unclear answer. Lysithea hesitates briefly -- ]
When I saw them, they were all connected to this... tubing. They were being used as fuel, I surmise. If we disconnect them, I should be able to revive them. Some of them.
[Again, this was provided that any of them were still alive. Lysithea leads them around a corner towards a closed door.]
If we're caught again...
Don't rush the enemy again, alright? Don't put yourself in a foolhardy situation.
no subject
Okay, okay. No rushing them. But I am gonna watch your back.
[ Since there are still only two of them, and he's more okay with putting himself in danger than anyone else ]
Alright, so we unhook them, you wake them up, then we find the exit.
[ Easy peasy! They've got this! Good thing there are no zealots on the way to this room. Smooth sailing. Almost like it's too easy.
When they get there, Yuri feels sick, seeing everyone strung up like that, tubes connected to their wrists, ankles, and stomaches. ]
This is fucked up.
[ It's said on a breath, and it doesn't stop him from getting to work because they can't leave people like this. ]
no subject
[Lysithea responds with a short shake of her head as they enter the chamber. And just as she remembers... before them lie the victims of these depraved creatures. Her breath catches in her throat as she feels a familiar heaviness settle over her senses.
...She must not falter again.]
...Quickly.
We must pull them free.
[She is fumbling with the first set of restraints already. There's no telling how much time they have - how quickly the zealots will discover them. Then, too, she ignores the nagging voice in the back of her mind that whispers, 'How are you to escape?'
She has no plan...]
cw: mild body horror
There's so much blood, in the air, on the people, in the bags and buckets around the room. He's breathing it in, he can't not, there's no way around it. Blood pollution, it's called, he remembers vaguely, but he can't think about it too hard.
If Lysithea spares a glance at him, she'll see his skin fading, blue-ish and odd, his eyes bloodshot, fingers elongating. He doesn't notice, either, too focused.
They're left alone, for now, at least. The zealots must not have to check on this room just yet.
Yuri's got five of them down, then six, his fingers starting to go numb, they're so cold, and now there's blue blood on the people, too, blue blood slowly seeping from his nails as he works. The blood in the air is affecting him more and more, the corruption sinking into his lungs, his single-minded focus not really helping, seeing the horror in front of him, these people, who are no different than him, unconscious, hurting, being used for their blood. It's like Ragou all over again, people with power using those without for their own gain, against their will, using them, killing them, for-- for what? For their own pleasure? For power? He doesn't know, he doesn't want to know, but the horror sinks into him, too, the horror that this is happening, here, in Trench, that it's been happening, that he didn't know, didn't do anything about it.
Suddenly, Yuri wavers, halfway through unhooking an IV from someone's arm, and stares at what he's doing. He doesn't remember showing up here, doesn't remember what's happening, where he is, the corruption making him lose track of himself, his purpose here.
He looks around, seeing all of the bodies, propped against the walls, laying on tables, unmoving, sees another person, on the other side of the room. ]
Flynn--?
[ No, not Flynn. That isn't Flynn. White hair, he doesn't remember. He drops the IV and takes a staggering step back ]
What the hell?
no subject
Once more, she feels as if she is watching herself from a great distance, working as methodically and quickly as she can to save these people. It is when she is dragging her second released victim to the far wall that she hears Yuri and disengages her mental autopilot.
She registers a few things immediately: first, that Yuri has saved quite a few more, and second, that he appears to be in a bad way.]
Yuri --
[She approaches.]
What's wrong? What's happened?
((If I recall your intent was to have Yuri continue in the tower while his partner for this part also left him, right? If that's the case I'll have the Moon Presence come by and pick up Lysithea and the victims soon if that sounds good to you!))
no subject
She feels more familiar than the rest of his place, which is full of horrors and unconscious people and he has a thought that he should be afraid, but he isn't. He isn't afraid, he's just angry. Angry that he's here, angry that these people have been hurt, angry that he's confused. ]
What happened to them?
[ She's helping them, though. She's helping them, and that has to mean something, but it doesn't stop the suspicion in his eyes.
He doesn't get time to get an answer, though, when the door to this strange, awful room opens, a group of people in robes stepping through, and letting out shouts as soon as they seen Yuri, the girl, and the people unhooked from these contraptions. Yuri whips around to face them, shifting so he's again between them and the girl, like muscle memory even if his mind doesn't remember right now, the memory lost for the time being.
He senses danger, and an ally, and he's far more likely to side with the person trying to save people than to hurt them. He growls under his breath, holding up his fists, those claws pressing into his palms ]
Try me.
(( That's perfect! Yes, leave him here for the rest of his terrible time at the tower with the zealots))
no subject
They're here!
[The people removed from the tubes are still unconscious. They can't leave now. She throws up a hand -- ]
Don't move!
[................Nothing happens. Truly, she had not believed that anything would, having very little idea of how she had accomplished the feat in the first place and feeling that if it happened again, she would simply topple over unconscious. Still, she can at least cast a spell. With the blood thick in the air, her native magic has at least returned to its full strength.
A pillar of light once more encircles the zealots.]
Yuri, if we can drive them out - we might be able to seal the door somehow. At least temporarily -- !
((Great, I'll pull her out next tag!))
no subject
Drive them out. Yeah. He can do that.
He waits just a moment, trying to fake them out, then leaps forward to throw a kick at one of them, then a punch at another. He feels-- something. Strong. Fierce. Like the blood in the air is making him more powerful, like it's offering him something he needs to make it out of this, something he needs to survive.
He does his best to push them back, to take them on, but there are more zealots than there are of Yuri and Lysithea, and they don't seem too worried about his attempts to fight them with his hands and feet. One draws up magic around herself, distorting the air around Yuri and grasping his wrist with an unseen. He lets out a yell, trying to pull himself away, but it's like his arm is trapped in iron ]
I can't-- Get out of here! Get out!
[ He yells it to Lysithea, hoping she can find some way. He can't protect her, even as he tries, even as fire surged up his arm, trying to burn away whatever it is, but he can't. Flames and ice and flickers of electricity spark out of his body as he struggles against the bond, the zealots closing in on him. ]
no subject
[This was her fault. She had insisted that they free these people, thinking that her powers had bought them enough time. How foolish - to squander the second chance they had been given when they had already been in this position once before.
But still...
If there is any hope of helping these people... It might have been hubris to think that she could do so, but she cannot bring herself to feel regret. At least... if they are going to be captured - killed - drained of blood it will be because she tried to help and not because she got lost in a stupid maze.
Not much consolation.
Lysithea cannot cast enough spells to stave them off. She can concuss one with Abraxas, prevent too many from surging through the door with Dark Spikes, but she is one spellcaster and they are many. Flames erupt around her and interrupt her spellcasting, and she is forced backwards as her clothing burns. The flames follow.]
Goddess!
[She is backed against the two unconscious victims she had saved now, and she stumbles over one of their sprawled limbs, sliding to the floor. Something unseen presses against her chest -- her breath is forced out of her lungs as she finds herself incapable of screaming, even pleading.
Lysithea claws at her throat, and as she does so, something beneath her faintly stirs.
A hand moves.
They are alive.]
They can still be saved... Goddess, help us... Help us!
[And even as she slowly chokes, in the next moment, she thinks she sees something impossible -- the face of the Goddess over her... She blinks, and she sees nothing more.
Behind Yuri, there is a sound of rustling cloth as one after another, Lysithea and each of the freed victims in turn vanishes from the room.]
no subject
He struggles and fights as well as he can with one arm pinned, letting out a yell as he hurls a fistful of flames at a zealot, catching her in the face. He kicks another until he's grabbed, pulled back by them, his eyes searching desperately for her. She has to be okay. He can't let another person die because he couldn't do anything about it.
But there she is, hurting, dying, and he can't help her. He lets out an anguished cry, desperate to do something, anything, flames building on his skin, burning away his clothes, burning the zealot holding him, and he surges forward out of her grip, stumbling toward Lysithea--
As she's pulled away. Her, and all of the Sleepers they'd freed, gone in a soft light, like Flynn had been taken.
Gone. Leaving Yuri there. He stumbles, and drops to his knees, because she's okay, the rest of them are okay. He only gives himself a moment to be grateful that they're (hopefully, hopefully they are, they weren't taken somewhere else, somewhere worse) safe, before he whips around to face the zealots again. If he's going to go down, he's going to go down fighting. ]