Colin's posts

"Ah... I..." Jake stammered, seemingly taken aback by all this.

"You know what? Go on in." he said, buzzing them in.

"Something REALLY big happened, and Chris has suffered A LOT." he told them.

"Chris?" Chris asked. "....so my name is Chris..." he mumbled.

"....wow." Jake muttered.

"Just... take him in." he told Zeke and Aedan.

"Seems like he's a shell of his former self."

"Right." Jake replied, before he looked at the one on Aedan's back.

"...the HELL!?" he exclaimed, his tongue darting out.

"What!? What is it!?" Zeke asked, now on high alert.

"Christopher Jenkins!?" Jake exclaimed further.

"Is that this guy's name?" Zeke asked him. "How do you know him?" he asked further.

"That's Encrae's lapdog!" Jake told them, before pausing.

"...or... was? Maybe? This doesn't look like punishment-type abuse..." he mumbled.

"Encrae?" Chris asked.

"...who's that?"

"Ah... yeah..." Zeke replied, as the man stirred.

"....nnnngh..." he groaned.

"Woah, crap, you're conscious?" Zeke asked.

"I... who... are you? Where am I?" the man asked quietly.

"All that matters is that you're hurt, and you need help. Thankfully, you somehow ended up here, where you CAN get help." Zeke told him, as they started to make their way to the security checkpoint.

"...I..." the man stammered, before his bit his lip.

He then relaxed against Aedan, and started to softly let tears start to fall down his cheeks.

Hal sighed again.

"...let's talk." he said, before checking the text.

Deal with it as you see appropriate. Unless it's an emergency, I'll deal with it after I get some sleep. he sent her.

Meanwhile, outside, Zeke caught up with Aedan, and froze.

"...the hell?" he asked.

"Wait... is this a dark elf?" he asked Aedan.

"No, can't be." he then said. "Wrong skin colour..." he mumbled.

"He definitely does NOT look good, though."

Sharp looked at the phone, as Zeke came into the office.

"What is it, Boss?" he asked.

"Ah, good timing." Hal said.

"Meet Aedan outside. Seems we have an elf visitor around the premises. Wood elf, to be more precise." he added.

"Got it." Zeke replied before leaving.

'Meet Zeke outside. Seems we may have a wood elf visitor here.' Hal then sent Aedan.

With that, he looked at the woman, and sighed.

"I know." he told her.

"Been hard to actually get some good solid sleep as of late, though. Work and stress and such." he reasoned with a shrug. "Them's the breaks when you're the boss."] he added.

"....." Sharp was silent, the bags under his eyes betraying how tired he was.

"Elven mana?" he asked.

"Just outside?" he asked further.

The woman nodded in response.

"Hmmmmmm." Hal mumbled, before pressing a button on his desk, causing a 3D model of the plans of the building to pop up. He checked the mana signatures in the model, before dismissing it, and pressing the button for the PA system.

"Would agents Calamachi and LeBlanc please report to head office now! Agents Calamachi and LeBlanc!" he repeated, before muting the system again.

"I'll have them check it out." he told her.

"Did the elven presence just arrive?" he asked.

"......" Ryker was silent for a moment.

"Eke?" he asked.

"You... okay?" he asked further.

"Also, it wouldn't be too deep or anything." he continued.

"The deepest it would be is... like... maybe past your knees." he assured him further.

"If you'd be uncomfortable with it, we don't have to." he then added.

"Yes, of course." he responded.

"I'll send him... right away." he told her.

"And I'll also notify everyone here that you do NOT wish to be disturbed, and doing so will result in a punishment worse than what you dealt to the grub here." he added, as she left.

He then looked at Chris, and shook his head.

"...enjoy what remains of your shattered life, you pathetic waste." he snarled, before Chris was enveloped by leaves, and disappeared from where he was.

Azari felt an overwhelming sense of pride when he heard Vanessa's admission. And he also felt like he now had to prove himself even more than ever.

She thought THIS highly of him. He needed to show her that it wasn't misplaced.

"Hmmm..." he mumbled.

"What you did is irreversible?" he asked. "No way to get ANYTHING back?" he asked further.

"Indeed." Vanessa responded.

"Well, those meddlers at the Unit have always been trying to interfere with us." Azari then said. "Why not dump him off as a little care package for them?" he suggested.

"Make them think they have just the break they need to find us... only for it to be shown that he's utterly useless to THEM now, as well." he continued. "The ultimate taunt."

Azari approached the two of them, as Vanessa continued to glare at Chris.

When he was close enough, and she made sure Chris was looking, she pressed herself against the wood elf, placed her hands on his cheeks, and pressed her lips to him... passionately.

Azari was shocked by the kiss, but he was NOT complaining. In fact, he could tell she was silently urging him to get into it... which he happily did. He returned the kiss, and the two of them continued to hold the embrace, as tears started to stream down Chris's cheeks.

"....but... I... I underwent the species change for you..." he whispered.

"I... I... loved you..." he then got out, before his eyes clouded over, and he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

Which was when Vanessa broke the kiss.

"...holy hell." Azari said quietly.

"That was... really something." he commented. "And it was delightfully cruel." he added with a smirk.

Ryker just laughed.

"No, she doesn't want to mate with you." he said.

"...I don't THINK so, anyway..." he muttered.

"She just wants you to live out your life as much as you can." he assured him.

"And cool. I was thinking of getting a fish tank, but they're a lot of work to maintain, and I do have a job." he went on.

"Think you might be able to take care of them for me?" he asked. "Maintain the tank and room and such?"

Chris was silent, stunned to the point of being frozen.

'...how...?' he thought. 'How did this happen...?' he asked himself.

Azazri, meanwhile, just nodded.

"Yes, of course." he replied, shooting a glare at Chris, before leaving to finish dealing with Olivia.

Sure enough, after a short amount of time, Vanessa was summoned to where she had left Chris, and when she got there, she found the man in one HELL of a mess. More than she had expected, if she were to be honest.

The man's face was bloodied and bruised, with 2 black eyes and a broken nose. His mouth was bloodied as well, and his entire body was covered in injuries. It was easy to see that he had several dozen breaks and fractures, and his clothes were red now as well.

But he was still alive. He wasn't on the verge of dying right away, but he would if not given the proper medical attention within the next 48 hours or so.

Azari's knuckles were a bit bloodied and broken as well... it was clear he'd been passionate when he dealt the damage.

"IT is still alive, as you requested." he told Vanessa, venom and anger apparent in the first word of the sentence.

"I... I... I don't know." the man stammered.

"I just... I mean... the rune... it just... it shouldn't have..." he stammered and stuttered further.

It was at that point, the wood elf from earlier quickly rushed in.

"What the hell HAPPENED here!?" he exclaimed, before looking at Vanessa... and then looking at Chris.

"...what did you DO to her?" he snarled, darkness in his tone.

"What did you curse her with, you worthless scum!?"

The man had been dazed, but instantly seemed to jolt back to reality when he saw the woman collapse.

"MISTRESS!" he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and racing over towards her.

"Mistress! Are you all right!?" he asked.

"Mistress, please!" he said further, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"...Mistress...?" he asked quietly, his voice trembling now.