Colin's posts

Hal smiled a little when Hollie said she'd find Jordan, and mentioned how they were practically family.

"Thank you." he said. "I appreciate it." he told her.

"And yes, the fact that she managed to escape directly is confusing and concerning." he then admitted. "She's not unwelcome, but my barriers should have prevented that from happening, especially given the extenuating circumstances." he reasoned.

"I don't blame her for what happened. I don't even KNOW what happened, admittedly." he then said.

"But I fear for her health and safety." he continued.

"As I said, Nathan has stated that 'she is hurt', and Hazel appears to be... well, she shows no signs of physical injury or trauma, but is in a state similar to when we first met her." he went on. "So I must consider the possibility that he's referring to Jordan. And the longer she remains away from people, the worse her condition may get."

Again, Hal sighed. Heavily.

He then proceeded to tell her the story. Jordan showing up to see Bast, something happening... something massive... and how Hazel was now unresponsive, like how she had been previously, how both Bast and Zeke were still unconscious, having suffered damage to their bodies, but Bast more so.

And how Nate seemed to be in the middle of a massive mental breakdown.

"All we got out of him is that he saw things beyond the realm... whatever that might mean." he told her.

"And that 'she is injured'." he continued.

"I fear that means Jordan, but I have no idea where she is, as she managed to teleport directly out of Sebastien's office. Which is worrisome, in and of itself."

Some time after the incident, Hollie and Hal were sitting at a café local to Hollie, and they were enjoying a light lunch, and some coffee.

Or trying to, anyway.

Hollie could see that Hal was a little distracted and stressed, and when she asked him what was wrong, he merely sighed and looked at her.

"Well..." he said.

"I'm worried." he told her.

"And... it's hard to say why, specifically." he continued. "Something very strange happened recently... and it's brought 4 of my employees to states of near-helplessness." he went on.

"It's frightening me, but I won't bother you with it if you already have your own problems to stress about."

"Got it." Nate responded.

With that, he quickly headed out, making his was to Sebastien's office, knocking on the door as he entered.

However, as soon as he did, he didn't even get a word out, as he saw everyone's life forces before him, but in a way he'd never seen before.

To look at Bast, he caught a glimpse of Hell... with Zeke, he saw a peek of Heaven. Hazel was showing him chaos manifest, which his mind struggled to comprehend. And Jordan... when he looked at Jordan, the only way he could describe it would be that he saw sheer power, unbridled and unrestrained.

His pupils shrank and dilated rapidly, before he merely let out a scream of sheer mental torture... and then collapsed to his hands and knees.

Nate was silent for a moment, before nodding.

"Got it." he said.

"Want me to go there ahead of the team and scope it out?" he asked.

"Do some recon and call you with any info on what the team may need to bring?" he asked further.

"Because I can book it there right now if you feel it best." he told her, mentally preparing himself for anything.

Nate looked over towards her when she said what she did, and nodded.

"Got it." he responded, setting the box in his hands down, and marking off what was left in it. He then made his way over towards her, pausing for a moment to think as he did so.

"Wonder what's happened..." he mumbled.

"Must be serious if you're getting a team together." he commented further.

"There anything I need to prepare for?" he asked.

"Anything I need to specifically bring, or anything?" he asked further.

It seemed that Zeke was almost in an 'automatic mode'. His necromantic human self was targeting Jordan for... no real reason. Other than the fact that she was dead. So it.. was a thing that was happening.

As his mana clawed into her soul, he saw just what he was doing.

And he knew he had to stop it... somehow.

The answer came to him when he realised he had limited control of his body. He knew what he had to do. And he'd hoped that it would end all right.

So he gathered all of his energy... all of his muscles... and used of his arms to punch himself right in the temple. Hard.

Hard enough that he collapsed to the floor, unconscious and still... causing his mana to recede from Jordan.

However, that left her alone in a room... with a dazed, injured and unresponsive half-demon, an unconscious half-angel, and a woman that appeared to be little more than a shallow puppet of her former self, with no reaction to anything that had just happened.

Zeke's sword shook and quivered for a moment, before the archangel nephilim managed to sheath it, which quieted it down some.

"Holy crap!" he said.

"I... I..." he stammered, looking at Sebastien.

The half-demon was sitting on the floor, his hands burned from Hazel's mana, his mind in a daze from her defensive measures, his body smoking slightly from the expulsion of celestial mana... he was not doing good.

At all.

But he seemed to be alive, and his condition wasn't getting worse.

"The bloody hell HAPPENED!?" Zeke asked Jordan.

Before Bast could answer properly, the mana that was in Zeke's sword started to become a little more volatile.

"What the-!?" Zeke started to exclaim, before the celestial mana seemed to flash out in a blinding burst. It caused Sebastien to go flying back, slamming against the wall, and it forcibly and violently flushed his mana out of Hazel.

That being said, it wasn't good for her to have such sudden changes, good OR bad, and he knew that.

"Crap, crap, crap!" he cursed, trying to keep control of his blade.

"The hell's happening with my weapon!?' he exclaimed.

Bast didn't respond, as it seemed like the combination of Zeke's outburst, and Hazel's mana forcibly blowing him back, causing him to become quite dazed... and possibly sustain a concussion of sorts.

Bast was silent as he saw and felt this.

"Oh..." he muttered.

"Oh crap, this... this wasn't..." he started to say, before a sword was thrust at him, and it nearly sliced his face, had he not managed to dodge it in time. Still cut his cheek, though.

"STAY AWAY FROM-" Zeke started to command, before he froze in place.

"Sebastien!?" he exclaimed.

"What the hell are you doing to Hazel!?"

Bast was thrown back a bit from the force of it, and shook his head slightly when he saw that his hands were burned from the electricity.

"Damn it." he cursed.

"All right, time for drastic measures." he growled.

He then stepped closer again, and stepped so that he was right in front of her.

And he turned on his charm. He gently placed his hands on the sides of her face, and did what he could to 'seduce' her. He knew she couldn't 'see', so he needed to try and pulse is mana into her.

He needed her to essentially be at his 'command', even if temporarily.

It was drastic, but it seemed like this called for drastic measures.

"Jordan!" Bast exclaimed, as he stepped up closer towards Hazel.

"Jordan, stay back." he told the vampire. "Her mana seems to be extremely volatile right now." he warned.

He then got even closer towards Hazel, and sighed.

"Hazel, remember what we've talked about." he told her.

"Remember to keep your mind positive." he said further, gently taking her by her 'cursed' hand.

The mana was strong.

Strong enough to cause Bast to almost fall to his knees.

"Shit..." he cursed.

"This... damn it, this mana is... oppressive..." he said further, his tone strained.

"Hazel... what... what's happening?" he then asked Hazel, noticing that the dark side of her was beginning to 'invade' her other half... and rapidly, at that. It looked like something almost out of a horror movie.

"Do we need to... get help...?" he asked further, barely managing to remain on his feet.

Bast shook his head.

"No, no, it's fine." he said.

"Hazel was just saying she had to go, anyway." he told her.

"Unless there's anything else you wish to talk about?" he then asked Hazel.

In the back of his mind, he was still wondering about what she had said... and what she could have possibly meant by it.

It was just Jordan.