Colin's posts

"...it's delightfully genius. And so subtle." Azari went on.

"By the time anyone knows what's happening... it'll be too late. It will have spread out so far, identifying and isolating it will be nigh-impossible." he continued.

"Quarantining will be useless. It's... perfect." he said further.

"...guess that little grub's fuckup had some useful consequences, after all." he then commented, before pausing. "Or, rather, you managed to turn that little worm's mistake into something that can be seen as positive, in some way." he clarified.

"Lemons into lemonade, and all that trite jazz." he mumbled.

"Speaking of such, there anything I can get for you, madam?" he then asked her.

"....wow." Azari muttered, making his way to the desk and looking over the notes.

He skimmed through them, poured over them, and even closely studied a few parts, but he tried his best to be quick about it, getting a more detailed summation of what was happening to Vanessa.

"Huh." he said.

"This... this is really something." he commented.

"It's... brilliant. Like a virus that mimics the victim's DNA, so it won't be attacked as a foreign body." he went on.

"Your control... your reach... it will spread on its own."

"....." Azari was quiet for a moment, thankful, indeed, that Vanessa liked him.

It had just saved his skin, apparently.

"Your sister?" he asked.

"Ah, Ashley." he recalled, having remembered Vanessa speaking about her in the past.

"And you ran into her?" he asked further, before shaking his head.

"Infected." he then said, using the term that SHE had used. "I admit, that sounds... delightfully cunning."

The one that the footsteps had belonged to was Azari, and he knocked lightly, sticking his head in.

"Madam?" he addressed her.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"I know it's been a bit since... the incident, but you were gone longer than expected." he continued.

"Is everything all right? Relatively speaking?" he asked further.

Ash just sighed deeply.

"I don't know, either." he said.

"I just..." he muttered, shaking his head once more.

"This is frustrating beyond belief, and I wonder what we've done to deserve this torment." he continued, before pausing for a moment and looking towards Emelie once more.

"Er... hypothetically, that is." he clarified.

"That was more just a generic grievance over the situation, than a legit question." he told her, pausing yet again.

"...right, Lindsay's fancy way of speaking is creeping into MY vernacular now." he commented, before stopping once more. "AND his fancy words, too." he muttered, shaking his head.

"Well, I was gonna, yeah." Ryker replied.

"Dragon girl?" Aly asked.

"Eke'll tell you." Ryker said, before stepping outside and making his way to the roof.

"Right." he muttered.

"Time to see if she's still here." he said, reaching the roof and looking around.

Ash just pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Ngh." he grunted.

"Right." he said.

"Just... right. Understood." he said further.

"......" he was then silent for a moment, before sighing.

"Damn it." he cursed.

"If Vanessa were to disappear right now, the world would be better off."

"........" Ash was silent, before sighing.

"All right, I see what you're getting at." he told her.

"Busywork, mostly. As I know you have staff on hand for those." he went on.

"...you know, your threat of putting me to work isn't going to stop me from spending all my free time here, right?" he asked.

"I won't put my life on hold, but free time is free time." he reasoned.

"And I intend to spend it here, waiting for her to wake up." he went on, conviction in his tone.

"I assume at least THAT'S acceptable?"

Aly just smiled and returned the kiss.

"I"m glad that helped." she said.

"Just relax for the next half-hour or so." she then told him.

"You'll be tip-top shape in no time." she smiled brightly.

"No intense activities or anything."

"How can I just continue on with life, knowing THIS?" Ash asked in response.

"It... this is heavy shit. Vanessa is making things miserable for us still, and has now found a new way to do it." he continued.

"Now Ashley is unconscious." he said quietly.

"Just... this is infuriating, and stressful." he growled, before pausing.

"....uh... but I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir at this point." he then added.

"And you'll put me to work here? How?" he then added.

"......." Ash was silent once more.

"Ah, right." he said.

"Right, Chronos." he muttered.

"Don't think ANYONE can get ahold of him." he mumbled further.

"Welp, guess my future plans are on hold." he then said.

"And replaced with 'waiting here until Ashley wakes up'..." he finished.

"I..." he stammered.

"I.... hm." he mumbled.

"Well, that's good that she's stable." he said.

"And... the only one you can ask? And they're unreachable?" he asked.

"Who?" he asked her, before pausing.

"Wait..." he said.

"Are you referring to Ana, or someone else...?" he then inquired.

Ash looked angry... but it was being subdued by the sheer fear he felt deep inside him.

Emelie was angry. Genuinely angry. And she had just sworn.

He had to admit, it was a very frightening thing to behold.

"Ah..." he stammered.

"I... well... thank you." he said.

"I mean, that's... that's all I ask right now, considering the circumstances." he went on.

"But... but I mean, she's not going to DIE, right?" he asked.

"From what you've been able to determine so far, anyway?"

Ash froze.

"Wh... what...?" he stammered.

"No... no, that... that can't be..." he said.

"No, it... it just can't." he went on.

"Please tell me you're not serious." he almost pleaded, before colour drained from his face.

"....V... Vanessa..." he said in a hushed tone.

"SHE did this...?"