Colin's posts

"Right." he responded, just as Jake stepped through the doors, and paused when he saw her bleeding.

"...holy shit." he muttered.

"The HELL happened to YOU?" he asked her, before looking at the new person suspiciously.

"I am in possession of something that is actively hurting her right now, and I can't stop it." the man responded.

"...you need some of those mana blockers, Izzy?" Jake then asked the one that had been at the guard station.

"...something dangerous." he responded.

"You... should seek medical attention." he told her.

"You're bleeding." he said.

On my way she then received from Jake.

Nearby, be there in 30 seconds. the next message said.

The man reacted quickly, seeing the zipper was now opened slightly.

He closed it, and made sure it was closed more tightly than before.

"I'm so sorry." he apologised.

"I didn't realise you had those capabilities." he told her.

He was silent for a moment, before sighing.

"...wait..." he mumbled.

"Is... what I have HURTING you?" he asked.

"How?" he asked her.

"It shouldn't be directly hurting you..." he said, as the backpack lightly fell to the desk, jostling the zipper.

"Figured." he responded.

"One of the many afflictions in this world." he said.

"I'm here to try and stop it." he told her.

He then slung the backpack he had on in front of him, the contents jostling some.

"I just can." he responded.

"Perks of what I am." he told her.

"You have bigger problems." he then said.

"I need to talk to an adult that works here." he told her.

"I know. But I did." he responded.

"I'm fine." he told her.

"Been through worse." he said further.

"You're young." he then commented.

"Very well." Hal responded.

"I'll remember that." he told her.

"For now... just try your best. Do what you feel is right." he reiterated.

With that, the call was ended, and Hazel found herself in a very difficult decision. She needed to do something, but she wasn't sure WHAT. All she knew is she needed to do it soon. Very soon.

She had been pondering her decision for close to a half-hour, when... at that moment, an individual approached the Unit, looking at it, up and down. He then looked forward, not paying attention to the one that was at the security desk, and raised his hand... as though he was ready to reach out and touch something.

The building? No, it seemed like he could see the mana barrier around it.

"Hazel." Hal said, his tone soft.

"Follow your heart." he told her. "This is a situation where overthinking can lead to disaster." he said. "If nothing else, go with your gut. Go with what you FEEL is right, not what you THINK is right." he continued.

"I'll redouble my efforts to find something that can help, while out here." he assured her.

"Just... try and remain as calm as possible, and do what your instincts feel is right." he said.

"I trust you." he then said. "I trust you, and have faith in you." he went on.

"You've come a long way since first coming to The Unit. And I know it's not fair to have you in such a position, so quickly. I know. But I trust you to do what you feel is right." he assured the woman.

"I leave that decision to you." Hal responded.

"You know the severity of the situation far better and more intimately than I do." he told her.

"So. I officially declare YOU to have authority while agent King is unfit for duty, at your own discretion." he went on.

"...Hazel, just do whatever you can." he then said, his tone softer.

"If you feel you can stop people from dying, then do it."

At that point, she heard muted cursing for about 10 seconds, before she then heard him clear his throat.

"I see." he said.

"Lovely." he growled sarcastically.

"Meaning we need to work FAST." he told her.

"Others cannot come back from Ouroboros like Lunet can." he went on.

"But we don't even know WHAT to do."

"I'm aware." Hal responded.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Has something more happened?" he asked her further.

"The medical bay should be under quarantine, has something happened in regards to THAT?" he then asked even further.

All the while, he was getting... quite anxious.

It seemed something big had happened, and he wanted to know WHAT.

"...which proves that this is completely unnatural." Hal responded.

"Not that nobody isn't already thinking that, but this pretty much confirms it." he said.

"If Ty's down for the count, does that mean YOU'RE taking up command?" he then asked her.

"Effectively." Hazel replied, before telling him of the arrangement Ty and her had made before she made him sleep.

"I see." Hal said.

"Do you want me to come back here and retake control?" he asked.

"Or do you think you'll be able to handle this?"

"Cattle herds worldwide are being decimated." Hal said.

"Depression and anxiety are running rampant, with cases cropping up everywhere, it's... the world's in a bad state." he told her.

"And I don't know if I will be." he then said.

"I'm not... really susceptible to most diseases, though I HAVE been taking extreme precautions to make sure I don't catch Ouroboros." he assured her. "And I haven't been feeling much different... though some of my old tendencies want to rear their heads again." he admitted, referring to the cruel trickster nature of a djinn.

"But I'm holding up." he said.

"What about you?" he asked. "You, personally." he clarified.