Samsara (Closed) (M)

[Gawfy]

As Charles asked this of gabe He was already instructing McMurray to take his clothes off again. Way ahead of your Charles, I did Tell Sharon id help her. Gabe Took his current clothes off and put the Noble clothes on in a flash.  He ran his fingers through His hair again. Frankly i dont know what the situation is inside, things could be hunky dory again in there,but just wait for me again and ill be back in a flash, though if you get shot at or anything leave. We can find our own way back.
Gabe said as he dashed back into the mill.

[Valtxr]

  Niraya was the right neighborhood to change clothes in the middle of the street. None of the passersby gave more than mildest bit of attention to the odd sight.
  Charles breathed a sigh of relief. Nodded after Gabe spoke.
  "Thanks, Gabriel. Get them out of there, and I'll owe you one. Big time. I'll be out of sight, but keeping an eye on the front doors of the mill." Then to McMurray. "Let's go."
  And he moved swiftly down the street and into an alley.

  Rains smiled when Aven spoke of the price she had to pay. "In this life, and in the next."
  She made no attempt to stop him. Let him touch her. Kept her arms stretched out to either side.
  Sharon's eyes widened. Her mouth dropped. And she yelled, "No, no, no! Don't!"
  The pain wracked Rains' body, a white-hot bolt of lightning coursing through her muscles. Only human, she couldn't withstand it for more than a second. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head, and her body went limp like a ragdoll. She dropped straight down, her skull bouncing slightly off of the floor with a sickening, dull thud. She never even heard Aven say the final piece about the runes.
  Sharon screamed in abject horror once more, scurrying in a frenzied panic across the bed until she haphazardly fell from it. She pushed herself into the back left corner of the room, pressing herself hard against the wooden trunk and the wall. "GABRIEL! JORGE! HELP ME! PLEASE!"
  Sharon felt the trunk behind her. Eyes fearfully on Aven, she searched for the latch with a trembling hand. Got it open with some difficulty. Stole a fast look inside.
  A knife. A gun. Anything. Anything to die with some dignity. Take her own life, die on her own terms, untainted by magic. Anything to keep that monster from reaching Siro with that blackness.
  But there was nothing of the sort. Sacks of money. Some small bottles of perfume and other liquids, unsuitable to be broken and wielded as a sharp weapon. Underwear. Other random items. There was only one thing, as futile as it would be.
  Sharon slammed the trunk shut and whirled her head back around. She gripped a small nail file in her right hand, pointed it at Aven threateningly. Sheer desperation and terror had driven away everything else in her mind, and she was reduced to this. A small heap on the floor, wielding a pathetic weapon.
  Tears streamed down her face. Her nostrils flared with each rapid breath, her chest heaving up and down. Clear mucus ran down her nose, over her lips. Her brow narrowed with the fear, the anger, and the sorrow of her situation. Her teeth clenched. Her lips pursed. Her face, her entire body, taut with terror.
  "D-Don't touch me!" Spit flew out her mouth as she talked. "Don't touch me, you fucking monster!"
  This was the end. She knew it.


(((Nothing new yet for Jorge and Sergio. Still outside the door/black wall)))

[Wycliff]

Aven reached down to check Rains' pulse, finding it slow, but steady. However, his eyes widened at the sight of Sharon scrambling to find a weapon, something to fight him with. A cold hand gripped his heart as she spoke, an insecurity he thought long past resurfacing. Yes... he was a monster... perhaps Hakon was able to see beyond the darkness of his mortal husk, but it didn't change that fact. The idea pierced deep into his thoughts, taking over for a moment as a tear emerged from his left eye, rolling down his cheek as the dark particles in his eyes and around his body receded, leaving him appearing as a normal human once more.
He quickly wiped the tear away: it was no time for self pity. His visage returned to the gentle spirit it harbored.  "Yes, you're right... I am a monster, but not the one you think I am." He sits down on the bed, glancing at the dark matter wall he'd erected. "It's not usually my style to lie, but I did it to sever Cass's ties to this terrible fate. She is perfectly fine, save an injured leg I had to treat, courtesy of that pistol of yours." He gazed back at Sharon. "And Rains' isn't dead either: though, the runes I marked her with will make it so should she ever kill again. Regardless of how it may seem, I am not evil, Sharon, even if I am a monster." He rises to his feet, shadow tendrils lifting Rains onto the bed and setting her down in a natural position.  He glances back to her. "My previous judgement still stands: so long as you keep my secret, I will keep yours. If you want to make it back to Siro in one piece, I suggest you trust me on that."


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[Gawfy]

Gabe strolled in as casually as he could as he rejoined the others in the hall. There was a black Wall in front of the bedroom. "treadway" and the others where figuring out away to open the door, or wall for a better term when he showed up. Another man and a mage quickly appeared before the group. Gabe grabbed Jorge in the middle of the group and motioned him to come to the back while the mage moved up. He then Whispered into Jorge's ear  I got our guy to the carriage, we need to nab Sharon and get the hell out.

[Valtxr]

  Jorge followed Gabe's lead and stood apart from the group in the hall. Leaned in to hear his whispered words.
  He nodded. Well, at least something went right. He then pointed at the black wall, easing right back into playing his part, "Our girl's in there, boss, but we don't know how to break through this fuckin' magic thing."
  "Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" Sergio said to the gunmen. "Mage! Get over here. Move your ass!"
  The mage strolled up casually to the scene, despite Sergio. He was far too confident in his relative irreplaceability to be bothered much. The mage took one look at the black wall.
  And whistled. "You got me, Serg. No idea what the hell that is."
  "The fuck you mean 'you don't know'? You're a mage, that's magic, figure it the fuck out! The boss is in there! Think!"
  The mage cleared his throat. "Have you tried going around the side?"
  Sergio grew even more irate. "This fuckin' guy. What do you mean, 'go around the side'?"
  The mage shrugged. "Rains' room is next to the barracks. Maybe that barrier is only blocking the door. You know, this side. Blow open a hole in the wall of the barracks and you're in."
  Sergio threw his hands up in the air. "Listen. Asshole. We need. Way. That won't. Kill her!"
  "Well, that's all I got. Sorry."
  "Fuck!" Sergio spun around in a frustrated circle. Clamped a hand to his face. Growled in anger. "Fine. Do it. Get what you need and do it."
  The mage nodded. Turned around. Started sauntering back toward the drug refinement center.

  Sharon listened to Aven lie. Watched him don that familiar mask on his hideous face. The ruse. The fake persona. His disguise. It was how he stalked his victims. Had to be. It was how he tried to get her yesterday. Had to be. Maybe there once was an Aven, a real Aven, but now there only this...thing. This creature. This shadow hunting her. Magic had stolen his humanity, and now evil lurked under his name and form. Sharon knew it to be true. Mages were pure evil. Every last one.
  And he lied. And lied and lied. Tried to convince her otherwise. Tried to get her on his side. No doubt to wring some usefulness out of her, a pawn for his twisted ends, before her usefulness ran out.
  Sharon's eyes snapped immediately to the shadow tendrils that lifted Rains up and set her down. Her breathing quickened again as she watched. The wooden trunk rattled as her body shook.
  Then he threatened her.
  And said the one thing that could've pushed Sharon even further over the edge.
  Her heart stopped dead in her chest. A sharp chill rushed down her spine. Her mouth dropped wide open, and only a strained half-whimper escaped. Her eyes trailed away in that moment. Her stomach wrenched tight in her gut, and she felt bile burn her throat.
  How could he have known?
  Sharon's eyes settled on the bloody hatchet resting on the floor.
  And she made a mad scramble for it, now that Aven was closer to the bed than the door. She all but threw herself on it, grabbing it. She thrust herself up to her feet. Whirled around. Her momentum kept her going, slamming her back into the wall next to the door and the black barrier. A faint ghost of sweat stained the wall.
  She pointed the hatchet at Aven. It quivered in the air to the terrified rhythm of her arm. Her knees nearly buckled.
  Her throat felt as if it were choking itself. Made it hard for her to speak. "No. You're true evil. I will never trust you. But—"
  The hatchet almost fell from her hand. Her legs finally gave away, and she slid down the wall into an unsteady crouch, trying desperately to keep the hatchet pointed at Aven. She slapped her free hand over her mouth, clenched her eyes shut. Her body hitched violently. Hitched again as she contained her sobs behind her palm.
  She opened her eyes and dropped her free hand from her mouth. Said in a broken voice, "But I will kill you... I swear to whatever gods are listening... I will find some way to kill you if you ever go near Siro... I swear... I..."
  The blade of the bloodied hatchet trembled. It would save no one.

[Wycliff]

Aven slowly became angry as Sharon spewed her nonsense. How could she treat him this way, after everything he'd done to help her? The frustration exploded outward in a violent outrage. "How could you be so STUPID?! Are you truly lacking so many brain cells that you cannot comprehend that I've been helping you from the beginning, or are you just blind?" He threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "The whole reason I'm involved in this god-forsaken mess is because I wouldn't just take the easy way and arrest you! I saw a woman who needed help, trying to protect the one dear to her, and took it upon myself to lend you the ear the world would never give you!"
He paced back and forth, gesturing to the axe in her hand. "And what did you do? You spat in my face, refused the only out you'd ever get from the life of crime you lead now! You think Siro likes knowing you bring home blood money? Well? You think that Siro won't be dragged into this business after you're gone?" He held his temples with his fingers, massaging them, before locking his angry eyes with hers once more. "That's not how ANY of this works! She'll become the next pawn in Mr. Winter's company, as will any child you or she has. That's how these syndicates function. Once you belong to them, everything you have belongs to them: family, friends, future!"
He leans against the Dark Matter wall, exasperated. "You sit there on your high horse, acting as if I'm evil incarnate, when I'm the one who had to save Cass from you, should you have so conveniently forgotten how you shot a small girl in cold blood." His brow is furrowed in rage at this point, his voice a near bellow. "Magic does not make a person evil, Sharon: all humans have the capacity for evil, just a single stroke of that tool you hold in your hand can end a life just as easily as these shadows! Don't place yourself above me because you are a normal human: it is humans that commit evil deeds, not magic." He bends down, picking up the other hatchet, staring intently at it, finally calming down. "Believe what you want, Sharon, but what I said before is nothing but the truth: when those men flood in here, and see Rains unconscious with you still awake, you don't have a chance in hell of escaping here alive." He glances back her way. "It's not a threat, it's not an ultimatum: I'm telling you that if you want to get out of here in one piece, and see Siro again, you're going to need to trust me. If you insist on me being the incarnation of evil, I can take the easy way out and meld into the shadows of the room, escaping with no issue. I'm not doing this for me, you stupid, ignorant woman: I'm offering my help so that you DON'T. FUCKING. DIE. HERE."


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[Gawfy]

(((gabe is playing it by the ear here, So its back to you Valtxr)))

[Valtxr]

  "Where is that fucking mage?" Sergio said, glancing down at both ends of the hallway.
  Jorge glanced at Gabe, a hint of worry in his face. Then over to Sergio. "Hey, mate, you sure this explosion isn't going to kill 'em?"
  Sergio put his hands to his hips. "We have no choice, my friend. We have to do something. Whoever is in there is doing Ansgar-knows-what with them. The boss and your girl need us! At least this way, we have a chance to act!" He eyed the gunmen lined up in front of the door. "Keep those guns up! No telling when this thing'll drop."
  The mage came around one of the corners of the hall just then. He carried an open wooden crate in his hands. A handful of Crystal Vane, Ignis Root, and gunpowder were inside, all three components separated from one another.

  Sharon flinched hard when Aven started his outburst. Dropped the bloodied hatchet. Struggled to pick it back up again as Aven talked. Finally her fingers wrapped around the handle. Secured it. And she picked it up again as Aven paced.
  She didn't hear a word he said. Her mind too far gone, clouded with terror, desperation, and overpowering sorrow. Beyond any form of reason. Images of her life flashed through her mind's eye: Her father. Her mother. Her father failing at his mercantile craft. Losing all the money. The drinking. The beatings. Her mother leaving them. A new life in Reajh. Her father's "new merchant job". His new wife. Siro being born. His new wife, Siro's mother, murdered. Her father leaving, just as Sharon's mother had. Her and Siro. Just them now. Begging. And begging. And begging.
  The rising from the shadow. The monster Aven. The black particles. His eyes. The runes. Rains falling. The tendrils.
  The nightmare seared into her mind.
  And now here.
  Sharon backed away from Aven once he picked up the other hatchet. Back into the corner with the wooden trunk. Still not listening. A cornered animal, deaf and afraid.
  Aven finished with a final shout, wordless to Sharon's panicked ears. All tone. All anger. All menace.
  Her breathing approached hyperventilation. Her entire body drenched in sweat. Her vision started to blur. The images of life, playing once more in her mind, faded in obscurity. The world became vague to her eyes. Insecure. Intangible. Blood pounded in her ears and in her skull, blocking out all else. A primal fear the likes of which she had never known crushed her chest, digging its dark claws deep into her frenzied heart. And her final reserves of resolve began to fail.
  Her eyes started rolling up into her head. The lids closing, her head tilting back on her shoulders, her mouth going slack—
  But her body shook with a violent start, fighting one last time to stay conscious.
  And still she was in this room.
  She managed to meekly raise the bloodied hatchet again. Point it at him.

[Wycliff]

Aven Could see in her glossed over eyes of fear that she wasn't even registering his words. His patience wore out, and he flicked a wrist, a tendril rising silently from behind Sharon and striking the base of her neck with enough force to knock her unconscious. It's the last courtesy he'd pay to the ungrateful woman.
As she crumpled to the floor, he pried the axe from her hand, placing it along with its twin next to Rains clothes. He then melded into the shadow of the bed, and lowered the wall. With that, there should be no suspecting of Sharon having done any foul play. Regardless, he was through helping her.


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[Gawfy]

Gabe Saw the wall go down as the mage was getting the explosives ready. Everyone rushed into the room at once to find Rains and Sharon on the bed. Gabe could see everyone was looking confused, to give them the window they needed Gabe Bellowed out. What are you waiting for?! Spread out and find that mage! He figured he would use his false sense of authority to his advantage. Tredway Get Sharon back to the Carriage!

[Valtxr]

  Siro had an accident. Fell. Scraped her knee on a small rock in the grassy commons behind Nana's house.
  Niko had immediately dropped the leather ball they were throwing back and forth. Called into the house for Merissa. She came rushing out, and both of them hurried over to her. They carefully helped Siro back to her feet, helped her inside the house. Merissa set Siro down on one of the three seats by the fireplace. Rolled up Siro's pant leg. It was a big scrape, red and pink skin dotted with little pinpricks of blood, but still just a scrape. Merissa smiled, blew on the scrape some, and told Siro that she'd be alright. That it would heal all on its own soon enough.
  Now, an hour later, Siro was alone in Niko's room. She sat in a chair, her books on Niko's bed next to her. She could hear Niko and Merissa talking out in the living room. Birds chirped outside, the peaceful sound of the afternoon coming into the room through the open window.
  Siro rolled up her pant leg. Looked at the scrape. Looked around the room, a bit of nervousness creeping under her skin. She might get in trouble...
  She stood up, walked to the bedroom door, quietly shut it, and went back to the chair and sat.
  Siro licked her bottom lip. Thinking if she should try or if she shouldn't. She glanced around the room again. Histories of Adela was the book on top of the others. Sanctuary.
  Back down to her scraped knee.
  She carefully held her hands over the scrape.
  Concentrated.
  And concentrated.
  A faint light from the tips of her fingers...

  The wall dropped, and Obrov, along with the other three gunmen, stormed the bedroom. The bedroom was small, and lacked any real hiding spot. So there was only Rains lying peacefully—if topless—on the bed, and Sharon splayed out on the floor against the wooden trunk and the wall. Both were unconscious. The room dead quiet.
  "Where the fuck...?" Sergio said as he stepped in and glanced around the bedroom.
  Gabe bellowed out a sensible order.
  And the mage from the hallway called back. "I'm right here. Hold your horses..."
  Sergio yelled back to the mage, "Not you, asshole!" He turned around and ordered to the seven sword-wielding enforcers still in the hall. "You heard Stormblood! Find that piece of shit! Go! Go!"
  And as the swordsmen all split up and rushed—limped, in Gorman's case—to check the other rooms of the Pit, Jorge followed Gabe's lead. He squeezed past Sergio, rushed over to Sharon, and said, "You got it, boss!"
  Sergio said, "Come! Bring her! We have doctor's office! We will summon doctor. He will help her!"
  "And we got a carriage! We're gettin' the hell outta here, mate." Jorge knelt down, slid an arm under her knees and his other arm under her neck, and picked her up.
  "Suit yourself, my friend. Take care, and watch for that mage!" Sergio swept his hand at the gunmen. "Out of the way!" He quickly crouched and picked up Rains' chestwrap as the gunmen cleared out of the bedroom. "Obrov! Help me get the boss to the doctor's office."
  Jorge hurried out of the room with Sharon. Obrov maneuvered as best he could to hold Rains under her arms, while Sergio held her boots. Sergio said, "Ready? One. Two."
  They lifted Rains from the bed. Sergio led the way, walking backward while looking over his shoulder, through the doorway and all the way down the square hallway to the doctor's office.

  "Wake your ass up!" Jorge shouted as soon as he exited the front doors of the mill.
  The driver of the carriage started. Glanced around frantically. Wiped a bit of drool from his chin.
  "Get the door! Get the door!"
  The driver hopped down from his seat and got it open. Jorge carefully, and with some difficulty, angled Sharon's body into the carriage, laying her out across all three seats of one side of the carriage's interior.
  Fuckin' hell...what the hell happened behind that black wall? What did Sharon get herself into?

[Gawfy]

Gabe followed Jorge out to the carriage amidst all the chaos around them, I dont know what the deal is but we gotta get! Gabe said as he Climbed in after them. Gabe waved his arms around hoping where ever Charles was he could see they where ready to leave.

[Wycliff]

Aven melded into Rain's shadow as it crossed the threshold of the bed, and tagged along as they went to find a doctor. He had to make sure she knew killing people pups literally end her own life, or he might as well have killed her himself, judging by those bloody axes she carried.


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[Valtxr]

  Sergio kicked open the ajar door to the doctor's office. Light from the hallway spilled into the dark room, its own lantern unlit. Sergio bumped into the counter as he hurriedly entered the room. Knocked a few vials of liquid from it. One of the vials shattered as it hit the floor, the others rolling away. Obrov's boot crunched on the broken glass.
  "Set her down. Easy. Easy," Sergio said.
  They laid her carefully down on the single bed in the office. The office only had the counter by the door, a couple cabinets, a table, and the bed—a barebones operation. Dirty and bloody rags sat in a bowl on the counter.
  Sergio had to grab a lantern from the hallway and replace the one inside the office to get a decent amount of light in the room. Once he was done, he said to Obrov, "Go! Go and fetch doctor! He's probably at that shitty bakery down the street. You know the one!" Just as Obrov turned to go, Sergio added. "Oh! Your pistol, my friend. I will keep watch here."
  Obrov cocked his head. Unsure at first. Conceded. Tossed him the pistol. "Good luck."
  Sergio caught it. "Hurry! Go!"
  And Obrov ran out the door.
  Sergio shoved the pistol between his belt and his back. Kept his shirt from covering it. He sighed. Fat lot of good it and his dagger would do, though. Maybe the mage was gone, judging by the boys' continued search and the lack of screams, but what if the mage did come back?
  He didn't think about it much. Instead, he gave the chestwrap a quick snap in the air, straightening out the cloth. He then turned back around to Rains and started to put it back on her, moving her body around as needed. He tightened it once done. Secure. Rolled her over onto her left side to see her back. Tied a quick knot. Tested it. Secure. Good. She was decent again.
  Her right hand moved. Her fingers touched his wrist.
  "Boss?"
  He laid her back down flat on the bed. Yes, her eyes were open. Looking up at him with a faint eagerness.
  "Sergio..." she said, her voice groggy from regaining consciousness. She nudged her head toward the entrance. "Close the door."
  "Yes, boss." He quickly went to the door and closed it. Came back to the bedside.
  Rains grabbed his right hand with hers. Clasped her left on it as well. Squeezed hard. Her nails dug into his skin. Drew blood.
  And she grinned. Said in her quiet voice, "Monarch rises from the Abyss."
  All his breath fled his lungs. Sergio said, "Is it...is it time, boss?"

  Jorge climbed in after Gabe and shut the carriage door. Banging on it twice to let the driver know to get going.
  As the carriage did a full turn around to head back the way they had come, Jorge glanced at Gabe. And all the worry drained out of his face instantly. He threw his head back, laughing. Said, "Holy shit, mate, I can't believe we fuckin' did it! Fuck knows what that black shit was, but we fuckin' made it! Oh, man, what a rush, am I right?"
  The carriage stopped. The door opened. Charles all but shoved McMurray inside, and McMurray sat on the same row of seats as Jorge and Gabe. Charles started to come inside, but stopped when he saw an unconscious Sharon laying across the seats of the other row.
  "Give me a hand, Jorge. Give me a... yeah, there you go."
  Charles and Jorge maneuvered Sharon up into a seated position directly across from Gabe. Her head hung down. The red bangs of her hair shielding a portion of her face. Then Charles climbed in, sat next to Sharon to keep her supported, and McMurray shut the door.
  The carriage started moving again.
  Charles only needed to take one look at Sharon. Her dress, coated with and sticky with sweat. Her face, an absolute mess of tears, mucus, and spit. He got the general idea quickly. Then he looked to Gabe and Jorge and asked, "Ansgar's might... What the fuck happened down there?"

[Wycliff]

Aven lurked in the shadows, listening as Rains uttered the phrase as though it were honey on her tongue. He'd find out here and now whether she'd told him the truth, and as soon as that was confirmed, he'd inform her of the... condition, she'd been given. A rueful thought played across his mind as he considered the possibility that she truly was bound by some divine force of fate to relive her life: should she activate the seal, and be consumed by dark matter, whether she survived or not, that tether to the divine would be forever broken. It was ironic, really, that he'd not only punished her by corrupting her goal of killing Mr. Deegan by adding the cost of her life to do so, but on top of that, were he wrong about her faith, it would STILL turn to prove his own point that she would not resurrect.


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[Gawfy]

Gabe shrugged at the question. Absolutely no fuckin idea, You are gonna have to ask Sharon about what went on in there. Gabe sunk into the seat he was sitting in. That was Fucking crazy in there, I hope to god that is the last time we have to do that.

[Valtxr]

  Rains let go of Sergio's hand. She grit her teeth and slowly sat up, using only her abdominal muscles. Her shoulders slouched, her back bent, her head tilted, she took in a deep breath. Let it out as she straightened her posture.
  And she laughed softly. Answered Sergio's question, "Yes. It is time."
  Sergio's eyes trailed away as he thought about the implications. This was a big risk. He always knew it was a big risk, ever since Rains told him her story and her intent some five years ago, not long after he was assigned to serve under her. She may be Mr. Deegan's lieutenant, his prized Butcher, but there were many other underbosses that ran the other parts of his criminal operations. Many other men who had no loyalty to Rains—some who would love to see her dead, take her spot as lieutenant. Even if Rains succeeded and actually managed to cut off the head of the snake, its body was still covered in fangs.
  A dangerous ploy from the start. Maybe even a suicidal one. For Rains and all the men who might support her.
  So Sergio had to ask, "What happened in your room, boss?"
  "Fate. As it always is." Rains stared down at her right hand. Balled it into a fist. Released it gently. "The letter was found. Its message you have heard. The willing brothers and sisters of Anatta will see this through. Die, if fate demands it. A sacrifice, made in honor of a fellow sister. One the future fallen were born to make, and one they will be joyous to see realized in their final moment."
  Sergio bristled. The support of Rains' cult contacts was certainly good news. Surely some of them could bring the magical expertise needed. But still, he felt uneasy. Knowing that the coup was actually going to happen was much different than thinking it would eventually happen. "Will it be enough? I...I could only convince a small number of the men, boss. Many of them seemed resistant to the idea of Mr. Deegan's downfall."
  "Sergio."
  "Yes, boss?"
  "A question for you."
  "Yes, boss."
  Rains turned her head. Looked him straight in the eyes for a long moment. Then glanced down to the palm of her right hand. "Were you in this skin, having lived the life this body has led, would you follow this path to its end?"
  "Well, if I were you, boss, I guess I'd have to say that I had no choice in the matter."
  Rains grinned. "Then it is said: 'Rejoice, for your feet fall upon familiar footsteps, and all is well and right in the world'."

  "Gabe's right, boss," Jorge said. "Sharon and Rains were trapped inside of Rains' bedroom. Some kind of magic wall. We couldn't get through the fucker."
  Charles' eyes widened some at the mention of magic. Was there no place on Earth safe from it? Was there no place on Earth where the mundane people of the world were not at the mercy of the capricious whims of mages? Connlaoth was supposed to be that place, but, as the days went on and the civil war reduced Her strength, that promise seemed to be called more and more into question. What good were master-crafted swords and the finest Connlaothian firearms against a maniac who could incinerate entire troop columns with the wave of a hand, raise an army of the dead, survive any wound, and so on?
  "You think Sharon's okay? Did the mage...?"
  Jorge had an idea where Charles was going with his trailing thought. And he simply shrugged. "Don't know, and can't say for sure. Probably need another mage to detect a non-obvious curse or enchantment or whatever. And that sure isn't me, boss."
  Charles still had a hard time understanding. "Well...that wall thing happened, and...what? They were fine? That doesn't make any sense."
  "Beats me, boss. The wall just came down on its own and we—"
  Sharon's body shook with a heavy start, her arm banging against the glass window of the carriage. McMurray nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden noise.
  Sharon glanced around frantically, her eyes wide with fear, her breathing changing from calm and steady to panicked and frenzied within the span of seconds.
  But her flailing and wild movements stopped when she realized she wasn't in the room anymore. Her eyes settled on the man sitting directly across from her: Gabriel. A familiar face. A friendly face.
  She threw herself onto him as if he were a beacon of light holding back an all-consuming darkness. Wrapped her arms around him tightly. She burst into a new round of tears. Buried her face into his suit.
  "I thought...I thought I was going to die in there..."

[Gawfy]

Gabe nearly jumped out of his skin as well, while everyone else was talking gabe was alone in his thoughts. Until Sharon wrapped herself around him as he Jumped to life. Her crying into his suit reminded him of when he was a kid,His brother had done the same thing as he lamented being born with no family into a hellhole of a Orphanage. Gabe did nothing at the time, He just let Ed Cry on him until he was out of tears. Gabe Wrapped his left arm around to her back while he petted her head with his right hand. Gabe didn't say anything, he would just let her cry on his chest until she got tired or he had to get up.

[Wycliff]

So Rains had been telling the truth. I suppose she wouldn't have gained anything by lying, that much was certain. Once again, Aven rose up from the shadows before them, his silvery hair ruffling as it formed from the darkness. "I'm afraid you won't be much help to such a cause now, Rains." He gestures to the pitch black circle of skin over her heart, surrounded by runes. "Should you kill even a single person, those runes will disappear, and dark matter will consume you."
Aven stood as though he owned the place, and Rains could sense something she was not able to before: a swirling miasma of something emanating from Aven and his shadow, as though alive. "This is your Stigma now, your punishment for the evil you've done."


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[Valtxr]

  "What the—!"
  Rains snapped up her left fist, a hand gesture meaning for Sergio to freeze. He obeyed, his hand stopping on the pistol behind his back. He glanced with no small amount of uncertainty to Aven, to Rains, and back to Aven.
  Rains slowly lowered her left hand once Sergio had stopped moving. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, sitting on the edge now.
  "Ah..." She chuckled, looking Aven up and down. "The unexpected guest. The unlikely courier, as well."
  Sergio's eyes shot wide open. Him? He was the mage? "Boss—!"
  Rains once again made the hand gesture, and Sergio fell silent. She slid off of the bed and onto her feet. A grin slowly spread across her face after Aven warned her about the runes.
  "Then the hour of death is known. And it is welcome."
  Sergio broke his discipline. Had to say something. "No, boss, you'll die! That fucking magic'll—"
  "A thousand such deaths would not deter these hands. And still a thousand more would not," Rains asserted. She took in a sharp breath through her nose. Let it out luxuriously through her mouth. Stared right through Aven. Toward some greater thing just beyond everything in the world. "This path, this fate, has been known for a long time. This Stigma...an insubstantial twist. For these hands will kill Deegan. They will kill him for what he has done, and what he continues to do. And gladly shall this body die, knowing that these hands have done what they were always meant to do."
  Her eyes focused back on Aven. "For these sullied, sinful hands are the one true death Deegan deserves. A poetic justice, at long last made manifest."
  Sergio shook his head, but held his tongue. His face harshly conflicted by Rains' choice.

  Sharon got it all out with time. Calmed down. Regained her composure. She drew back, wiping her face with the end of the purple shawl on her shoulders.
  She got a look at Gabe's suit. The mess she made. Smiled and laughed weakly, "I'm sorry...about that."
  Jorge grinned. "You oughta wipe your ass with it, love. Those threads belong to Earnhardt, remember? So fuck that guy."
  Sharon laughed again, this time with a little more soul.
  Charles patted her gently on the knee. "Are you okay, Sharon?"
  "I..." she cleared her throat. "I don't know. I think so. Where...?"
  "We're in the carriage. Going home," Charles said. "Everything's going to be alright. Job's done now."
  Sharon glanced at everyone in the carriage interior, a note of concern playing on her expression. "What? No... no, we have to go back!"
  Charles blinked. Took a second to process what she said. "Sharon..."
  "No, Charles, listen to me. Listen to me, please," she said. "We don't have to go through with Earnhardt's plan. We don't have to start the street war. Listen, Rains knows exactly where Mr. Deegan—!"
  Charles waved his hand. "No. No. No. Sharon, this isn't going to happen, okay? We are not turning around based on some wild chance—"
  "You weren't there, Charles. You don't what she said and how she said it—"
  Charles scoffed. "Don't you remember what that fucking 'woman' was going to do to you?"
  "You weren't there for that either!"
  Jorge chimed in, "I kinda wish I was."
  Both Charles and Sharon turned to him and yelled, "Shut up!"
  Charles shook his head. Grit his teeth some. Growing angry. "Sharon, Gabriel risked everything to go back in there and get you out. You want that to be for nothing?"
  Sharon's face tightened with determination and defiance. "Charles, we can end this. We won't need some complicated plan. We won't even need McMurray!" Devon bristled uneasily in his seat. Sharon continued, "Let's end this. End Mr. Deegan. Right now. I can talk to Rains. I can do this! You have to trust me!"
  "No!" Charles shouted. "It's too dangerous. You're just going to get yourself killed if you go back."
  "They won't kill anyone if Rains tells them not to! I can convince her! I can do this!"
  "Oh for fuck's sake." Charles looked all around the carriage interior in frustration. His eyes settled on Jorge. "Why don't we ask Jorge?"
  "Yeah," said Jorge. "Why don't we ask Jorge?"
  Sharon let out a big huff of air. "You want to ask him because you know he just wants to get back so he can blow all his money on drinks and gambling."
  Jorge shrugged. "Well...she's not wrong, boss."
  Then both Charles and Sharon looked to the same person at the same time: Gabriel. The de facto tie-breaker. Both of them leaned toward him, making their respective cases.
  "Gabriel," said Charles, "that was a big risk you took. Don't throw it away on a hunch and a long shot."
  "Gabe," said Sharon, "trust me, okay? Rains opened up to me back there. And she knows where Mr. Deegan is! That's the whole point of Earnhardt's convoluted plan!"
  "Gabriel," said Charles, "that mage or whatever made that magic wall could still be in that mill. Hell, still in this god-awful neighborhood. It's. Too. Dangerous. You know that."
  "Gabe, please," said Sharon, "you know I was the only one in there. I know what I'm talking about! Rains wants to kill Deegan even more than we do! She'll listen to me!"
  "Gabriel. Stick to the plan."
  "Gabe. Trust me on this."