Colin's posts

The man narrowed his eyes, closing the door behind him.

"I see." he said.

"Have they found out who?" he asked.

"Because I'd like to have a discussion with them." he told her.

"...yes, a discussion." he repeated.

"See if they can explain themselves properly." he went on.

"Justify their actions." he continued, his voice more than a little darker now.

He shook his head quickly, and stepped out of the way.

"Please, please, come in." he said.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked.

"Tea or something else?" he offered further.

"Also, some biscuits were just made if you'd like some of those as well." he added.

"You look as though you've recovered amazingly well, though." he then added.

Thankfully, the one she was looking for was, indeed, there.

The door opened about 10 seconds later, and the man standing there looked stunned.

"...ah..." he stammered.

"Oh..." he said, almost choking on his words.

He then stepped forward and resisted the urge to throw himself at her in a hug.

"Well. You're looking well." he commented.

"...relatively speaking, anyway."

"Then feel free to head to your home." Hal told her.

"Take as much time as you need." he said.

"Excellent work, Agent Culverton." he finished.

"Dismissed." he then said.

'Well, that's ONE piece of good news...' he thought.

'Now I can stop worrying about one less thing.' he thought further with a small sigh, sitting back down in his chair.

He sighed in response.

"Good." he said.

"I'll call that a rousing success." he said further.

"Now. Given that the global situation is calming down, I will be loosening lockdown, and eventually ending it." he told her.

"Do you want to leave now?" he asked.

"If so, I will grant you some time off to recuperate from this, even though you mentioned it would not take long." he continued.

"Essentially, what do you want to do from here?" he asked further.

"...." Hal was silent, before sighing.

"I see." he said.

"Still. Good work." he told her. "The goal of the mission was to rescue Rebecca and bring her to safety, and you did." he went on.

"The fact that he escaped is unfortunate, but he cannot hide forever." he reasoned.

"So. Excellent work." he said further.

"...though it IS worrisome that he was able to slip away from you." he then admitted.

"He's not one to be underestimated, that's for sure."

Levi looked over towards her.

"Yeah." he replied.

"I am." he said.

"...wait..." he then muttered.

"Where's that guy?" he asked.

"You didn't do TOO much to him, did you?" he asked further.

"......" Levi was silent, laying on his back and staring at the sky now.

The mana surrounding him was all but gone, but there was still an undertone of it to him.

It wasn't as alarming as before, though.

"Yeah." he said.

"Much." he told her.

"Sorry." he apologised.

"Looks like you ended up having to save ME in the end." he added with a small smile.

Liam was breathing heavily now... almost to the point of panting.

Just when it looked like he was ready to fully succumb... something happened.

There was a surge of mana from his mind that... almost shocked her own mind. It was like all her neurons fired off random signals at once, and caused a massive surge of pain through her head.

And it seemed to grant Liam a moment of clarity.

"It's a good thing I always have a fail-safe in case something like this happens." he said.

"Granted, we're both going to have a migraine for the next day or so." he muttered.

"But this isn't the last you've seen of me!" he declared, before rushing around, eventually finding the door, and leaving.

Liam was trying his best to resist her.

"Nggh..." he growled.

"Back, you... you devil!" he demanded.

"Stay away from me!" he went on.

Though, as he spoke, Roxie could hear his will weakening.

"Why...? Why did you interrupt?" he asked.

"That girl is nobody. Why do you care!?"

Levi looked around slightly, and seeing that they were outside, Rebecca could immediately tell it was starting to help. She'd learned that THEY preyed on a mind that wasn't stimulated. A mind that couldn't focus on anything BUT them.

But now? Levi had so much to see and hear.

"...B-Becca..." he said.

"Keep... tal...king..." he told her.

Meanwhile, inside, Liam couldn't see anything because of the lights, but he knew he had to get out of there. As such, he started to slowly crawl towards where he thought the door might be... but he wasn't sure.

Liam screamed out as he felt the effect of the mana, and Levi continued to growl and make incomprehensible sounds.

But it sounded like he was getting better... and then worse... and then better again.

"...outside..." he managed to say.

"Outside... please..." he continued.

"Stimulus..." he went on.

It was clear that this blackness was not helping. He needed to be outside the room. He needed to see people. To see the world. He needed to focus on his reality, to push back the invaders.

The mana in Levi, and the mana surrounding him, started to pulse out... almost violently. So much so, it temporarily overrode what Roxie was doing, and allowed Liam to snap out of her influence.

"Wh-what the!?" he exclaimed.

"What is happening in there!?" he asked.

"This... this power... this presence..." he continued, now getting scared.

"Is... is this was Rebecca can tap into...?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Levi started muttering in that unknown language, but it was clear by his strained voice that he was trying to remain in control.

Liam was silent and started to look like he was considering her offer seriously.

Levi, meanwhile, fell to his hands and knees.

"Ngh..." he grunted.

"Nnngh... ergh... grar..." he growled and snarled, before hunching down on the floor.

"All his fault..." he said quietly and darkly.

"Meddling in this he has NO understanding of..." he went on.

"Pathetic insect..."