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a91nicole
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#26
Old 01-18-2015, 07:22 AM

Though typically one to listen quite intently to whatever suggestions or orders were given to her, Tehra found Labyrinth's words going largely in one ear and out the other. It wasn't that she was against his suggestions, so much that she was finding it very difficult to force her vitals back down. And with good reason.

Though this place looked much different from where she'd been for those two years, there was something a little too familiar. She couldn't place it, but it was as if something in her gut was telling her to keep an eye out for the beautiful raven-haired monster that had kept her captive for so long. He was dead- she'd killed him.

There were many reasons her body was having the gut reaction about Devan that it was- after all, his coven had been the only vampires she'd ever met, logically her subconscious would assume his coven was here too. The viciousness of the attack, it reminded her of his cruelty. In the research she'd conducted over the years after her captivity, she'd learned that most vampires were a bit more elegantin their murders, but these people creatures were not. And most of all, it was the scent that had so much sway over her. Scent was the sense most strongly linked to memory, and the thick smell of blood in the air rudely brought the long abandoned memories to the forefront of her mind.

Labyrinth spoke again. There was movement ahead. "Movement ahead. Noted. I will what I can to protect you, but you need to be ready to fight. Vampires are blindingly fast, and incredibly intelligent. He's luring us somewhere- it's a very common technique of theirs. They lure people into traps and do as they will with them. Sometimes that just means killing them, sometimes it means things quite a lot more sinister. Be prepared." How much detail should she tell him? What did he need to know to protect himself? Likely more than she had shared so far. And so, as they walked, she continued to speak.

"If you get your sight back, be wary- they're quite beautiful. Try to avoid making eye contact if you can. They have an ability called Compel, it's a form of mind control. I doubt it will affect you much, and it does not affect me- but if you hear a voice in your head that isn't your own or me talking to you, it is the vampire trying to suggest things to you. Don't let them in." It was all battle strategy, and if she focused on that element of it, she could almost get her heart rate back to normal, she could almost erase the visions of Devan thinking he'd compelled her into doing thing, horrible things- but never succeeding.

"I understand that it may be strange for you to hear these things. I'm not sure if the agency told you how I arrived to them- it was covered in blood, in a nightgown. And why? Because I had escaped a vampire's home and driven straight there to join the SFA. That's why I know these things, I spent two years of my life living them." Tehra cut her words off abruptly- largely because it was too difficult to keep talking. Perhaps one day she would tell him the rest, but not now. Besides, Tehra could see the large room opening up before them, and in the center? The generator.

"Visual confirmation of the generator. Do you see any movement near it?"

Esmme
See you later, Cole. "How do you...
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#27
Old 01-19-2015, 01:51 PM

Labyrinth tilted his head slightly. Labyrinth will be able to defend himself, Agent Tehra. There was a pause. Information logged. The area ahead is likely an ambush.

The male listened to Tehra's explanation of the vampires, noting her use of the word "compel." It made sense, as vampiric charm was spread throughout the knowledge base he held on such creatures. Their enhanced beauty and compulsion abilities were definitely something to be wary of, but Labyrinth figured the chances of him being effected were low. Then again, he'd been surprised repeatedly that day.

Labyrinth blinked, noting the flicker of movement ahead of them as they continued on. Tehra began to share how she arrived at the agency. Two years of her life had been spent with monsters - situations like these weren't surprising to her, then. The criminal blinked when Tehra cut herself off suddenly, unable to speak. The trauma of the moment must have been too much for her. The agent's vitals were certainly proof that she was compromised.

"Visual confirmation of the generator. Do you see any movement near it?"

Labyrinth paused as though searching for movement, and just as the soft sound of the earpiece alerted Tehra that he was about to speak, a voice echoed through the room. It was difficult to tell where it came from.

"Light glinting off of metal. Approaching slowly. The smell of death, frightening. What happened here? Everything so brutal. It looks like his work."

The voice was soft, slightly accented - then Labyrinth's gaze shot to the darkest shadows near the generator itself. There was something there - it was a male's voice, and though the criminal couldn't see what was there, Tehra could see the individual quite well. It was a young man, staring at them with unblinking eyes. He was most certainly a vampire - one could tell from the front of his clothing that he'd been feeding.

"Movement. Always ahead, why never seen? Lights. Turn the lights on, and everything will be safe."

The words were strange, almost like thoughts. Strangely, they sounded like they were the thoughts of either Tehra or Labyrinth instead of a vampire plotting their demise.

No signs of life. Creature marked as undead. Labyrinth kept his gaze on the still creature, trying to reboot his sight once again.

"Threat, no threat? A boy, but one of them." His voice changed, becoming less monotone and more curious. "One of them. Why am I one of them?" This time he lifted his red eyes to Tehra, as though asking the question.

Last edited by Esmme; 01-20-2015 at 01:20 AM..

a91nicole
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#28
Old 01-19-2015, 11:12 PM

The area above is likely an ambush. Oh, well that was comforting. What a wonderful way to ease her vital signs. Though, in all fairness, she'd rather know that now than find out later. Tehra was largely a being that lived without fear, but now, in this place, fear seemed to be all she really knew. It was maddening- the agent was supposed to be the best, she was chosen for this because of how stable she was. Looking at her vitals now, it was clear that she was far from it.

Of course, how could the agency had known about her Achilles heel? According to their records vampires didn't exist, and the history Tehra had given them of her own life had claimed she was held captive by a serial killer- not a vampire and his coven. They would have marked her as insane if she'd tried to tell them about the vampires then. No one believed in vampires until they met one.

The earpiece let out its familiar click in her ear, but it was not Labyrinth's voice that immediately followed. It a voice from within the room they were in- and it was decidedly not in the earpiece. Immediately the one hand that wasn't guiding Labyrinth moved to her gun, ready to draw it should the need arise.

It looks like his work. The voice was unfamiliar, but the sentiments reminded her distinctively of what Labyrinth would say- or really, what she herself might say in the same situation. The words were probably regarding the strange unblinking bloodied vampire before them, but Tehra could only think of a different him in the current situation. Even seven years later, the sheer ferocity and violence of the attack brought to mind what she'd seen Devan do to vampires that displeased him or the occasional food sources that weren't her or Kate.

The agent shook it off. Devan was a ghost, and this place had enough undead already without her bringing his memory to life. Eyes moved to the vampire in front of them. He did not leap towards them, and judging from the movement that was still in the corridor ahead of them, this creature was not the same one that had been luring them around this entire time.

Most of the vampire's words were eerie echoes of the thoughts going through her own mind- something his words served to both comfort and disturb her at the same time. How was that even possible? His madness was disconcerting, but it also meant he was distracted, she could easily kill him should the need arise. Although- were her bullets silver? Perhaps not, but if she filled him with enough of them, the agent could incapacitate him long enough to cut his head off. Vampires could die that way too.

Eyes darted around the room briefly, searching for anything made of wood- it seemed there were some broken chairs and pieces of furniture in the space. Perhaps, just perhaps, she could fashion a makeshift stake from one of them. And then the vampire spoke directly to her, interrupting the plotting going on in her mind. For some reason, Tehra felt the need to answer his question- perhaps he could be talked into behaving himself and she wouldn't have to fight him.

"You are one of them because they made you one of them." the agent said softly, gently "You can learn to control it, to live among humans and not hurt them should you desire to." As Tehra spoke, she was moving very slowly towards the generator- perhaps she could talk the vampire down while getting the lights turned on.

"Can you tell me your name? Or what happened here?" Again, her voice was calm- passionate emotions would raise her blood pressure, making her more appealing to the vampire if he was still hungry. Which she hoped he wasn't- the agent would much prefer to get information from him and not kill him.

Esmme
See you later, Cole. "How do you...
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#29
Old 01-20-2015, 02:10 AM

The moment the voice echoed throughout the room, a low pulse of blue energy came from Labyrinth. It was low, and hardly noticeable, but it was there. The criminal was on high alert, and obviously expected some kind of confrontation. Gray eyes locked on the hardly moving creature nearby, and as Tehra stepped forward Labyrinth moved with her slowly. He kept himself between his partner and this ... creature.

"Danger. Fangs that pierce, wounds deep. Panic and smell, tearing pain." The voice continued as though rambling in madness. The strange thing was ... it could easily have been Tehra's thoughts he was echoing. Then again, perhaps he was recalling his own transformation. "Quiet, no noise. Stifled screams and tears that won't fall."

Labyrinth pulsed with Purium once again. The blond youth slowly let his gaze focus on Tehra once again. He didn't seem worried that the two of them were getting closer. He didn't seem to carry much emotion, really. Curiosity, yes, though it wasn't an intense feeling. This vampire stood in front of the switch they needed to trigger.

There are two tasks that need to be completed simultaneously to restore power to the facility. Labyrinth didn't glance to Tehra, but blinked as he regained partial sight. A quiet confirmation of this was relayed to Tehra as they moved closer to the odd youth. They needed to flip the switch and hit the starter if they were to charge the system fully. That wouldn't have been difficult if they hadn't had a vampire standing in front of them.

"Confusion, disturbed and comforted. Kill it? Silver shines, but do these ones shine? How many to count before it dies?" The male's red eyes darted over Labyrinth, but focused on Tehra once again. "Splintered, broken. Used for stabbing and wounding. It would work, but will I use them? Perhaps it listens."

Labyrinth tensed as his sight regained another layer of use. Now he was in front of Tehra completely, not allowing her to step forward. The vampire still hadn't moved.

Red eyes stared back at Tehra for many moments before slow words followed her response and question. "Is it possible?" The question didn't quite fit into any of the categories she'd mentioned save one: could he learn to control his vampire instincts? "To be one of them is to hunt, to end ... to feed." He was suddenly distracted by his thoughts, and skipped trains of thought. "Name? Young, so much potential, full of pain." The youth spiraled into another flurry of disconnected thoughts. "So small, won't survive long. Yet, when given power..." He frowned slightly, then reached up to touch the tags that hung around his neck. "Cole."

Cole. Accessing file. Labyrinth took less than a few seconds to give her the information, his mental voice carrying (if possible) less emotion than Cole's. Agent Eidolon - in reference to a shade, apparition, or idea - wields the ability to manipulate the memories of others. He often moves unnoticed, and will carry on conversations with individuals without them ever recalling them. He is overlooked, though seems to always be in the same room. Cole was found in a neighboring town, convicted of multiple serial murders. Note: Eidolon is sociopathic, and doesn't operate on the same frequency as many of the other criminals. He is driven by something other than revenge, though the reason has not been noted. Various accounts of conflict are listed.

Before Labyrinth could continue, the youth looked to him strangely. "You pull thoughts that are not your own. Lost thoughts. Thoughts untouched. That is not who I am."

Labyrinth's gaze was just as emotionless as usual ... but Tehra could have sworn she felt some shift in his demeanor. Perhaps it was just the tenseness of the situation. There was silence, but it was obvious that Labyrinth was "talking" with the boy.

"Yes, I can hear you. Like ... you're speaking, but not wanting anyone to hear." Cole's eyes lowered as he seemed to dig deeper into whatever he was talking about. "Strange feelings. Information on the walls, glittering in the dark. A creature, been years since contact. It breathes. It moves well. Destruction of another home, sent to learn."

Labyrinth's Purium pulsed again, and Cole blinked back to reality. "You come to learn?" He looked back to Tehra. Apparently, he was going to skip right over what had happened to the fallen agency.

a91nicole
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#30
Old 01-20-2015, 03:33 AM

The memories that were flashing across Tehra's mind matched the words the vampire was saying far too much for her comfort. It was as if he was in there, the more he spoke- the more Labyrinth commented as well- the more she realized the he very well might have been. Certain words struck her more deeply than others, cutting back the years of layers of protection and defense that she'd built up.

"Quiet, no noise. Stifled screams and tears that won't fall."

Gods, the boy couldn't have been more right about that one. How many times had Devan's hands moved to cover her lips? How often had she wanted to cry but held the tears back, as they'd give away her position? The screams had always made him worse, she'd had to learn how to swallow them.

Labyrinth moved between them, informing her that his sight had begun to come back. Thank god for that, at least now one of them wasn't blind. Two steps to turn the lights on- but would the vampire allow it? The lights would not hurt him, they would cause him no harm, perhaps he would allow them to do so.

She was unsure- he was clearly half-mad, and madmen were always a risk. He could be harmless one moment and a vicious killer the next. The vampire continued to speak, relaying to her in strange fragments the thoughts she'd had about killing it. Lovely, now it knew it might have been in danger. Survival instincts could kick in.

Cautious eyes moved to Labyrinth, asking him silently if he believed they could make the move, could turn the lights on. He wanted to protect her, he was making that quite clear- the vampire may have been in front of the switch, but the starter was a few feet off. Perhaps she could go for that and he could go after the switch?

The vampire spoke again, this time a true question- not babbling of her own thoughts. "Yes it is possible. There are ways, you don't have to kill." He could find a willing source, or perhaps subsist on a diet of animals instead of human. "You never have to kill if you don't want to." The agent hoped her words were getting through- but the vampire seemed to want to change the subject. At least now they had a name.

Her attention was focused almost completely on Labyrinth as he relayed the information about the vampire to her. Cole. "Memories, so you work in memories then." It was subtle, but Labyrinth would detect the slight tremor in her tone- there was something she didn't want to become public knowledge, something she didn't want Cole to bring to the surface. And of course, now that she'd thought of what she didn't want, he'd probably say it out loud.

It was then that she noticed Cole's attention seemed to be on Labyrinth. Oh thank god, perhaps he had stopped rifling through her memories. The huntress took this as a chance to ever so slowly move closer to the starter- if Labyrinth could get to the switch while talking to him, perhaps they could turn the lights on.

And then Cole's voice rang out like a gun in the still of midnight A creature, been years since contact. It breathes. It moves well. Destruction of another home, sent to learn."

She was certain her heart had skipped a beat at his words- they couldn't be in reference to what she thought they were, no- it was her own paranoia. She'd put a stake in that vampire's heart and chained him to a bed with silver. He was dead, he had to be dead. Cole was a madman- utterly insane, it wasn't like he could possibly have known if Devan was alive. No. It was her own paranoia.

Cole pulled her out of the spiral, catching her attention. "Yes we've come to learn, come to learn what happened- but what is it you would like to teach us?" the agent asked, careful with her words- she wanted to keep him calm, keep him content- perhaps then she could keep him from becoming violent.

Esmme
See you later, Cole. "How do you...
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#31
Old 01-20-2015, 05:16 AM

"Pain, fear. Trouble whenever you speak, yet staying silent seems-" Cole suddenly halted, his gaze filling with understanding. He said no more from Tehra's thoughts, and merely watched her quietly. Was there a flicker of hatred in his eyes? Pity? Both. "The lights ... they won't hurt me, but they will draw more attention. That is never good." He spoke with clarity for a moment, looking slightly worried about turning the electricity back on. "The more you can see, the more you will see. Not everything is good." Cole paused. "Nothing here is good. Not anymore. All broken - all dark."

Labyrinth glanced around as his sight continued to return. Perhaps he could pick up on some of the destruction ahead of time? He gave up the moment Cole so much as shifted slightly, and the criminal's Purium pulsed in a threatening manner.

"Instincts? No. I don't want to hurt you." The blond slowly looked down to the switch at his elbow. "You will be hurt if you turn the lights on." Then Cole noticed Tehra's response to his question - there was a way to avoid hurting people. His expression shifted to one of confusion, and then curiosity. "But ... how? Trapped here, there is no other way." He seemed guilty for a moment, and Cole looked down to hide his expression. When he looked up again, his gaze met Tehra's.

"Yes. Memories. Thoughts no one else can see, like reading the past through different pairs of eyes." Cole looked ready to go on another side trail about it when he locked onto something in Labyrinth's eyes. "Further inspection, different from the others. Not sure how - confusion, satisfaction with communication methods. Bright eyes, hardly hidden curiosity..." Cole looked from Labyrinth to Tehra, knowing that he'd just picked up on how Labyrinth viewed Tehra herself. "Oh. You're ... different. They changed you." Was he speaking to his fellow criminal, or to Tehra?

Labyrinth nodded once, assuming the words were meant for him, and kept his gaze on Cole ... but he hadn't missed what the boy had said earier. Nor had he missed how Tehra responded, and her vitals flickered dangerously close to panic. There was truth to whatever babbling the boy was saying, and from what Labyrinth was picking up... it was pieces of Tehra's past. None of it sounded good. The trembling to Tehra's voice made Labyrinth's gaze flicker to her, but he said nothing.

Cole spoke suddenly, his voice rising as though in warning or fear. "The lights bring them. The others came, thinking it safe. Central, warm, bright. Doors sealed behind, no other way in." The youth slowly looked burdened, then let his gaze rise to the duct near the ceiling. The grating had been torn free. "No other way in." Obviously, that hadn't been true. And who's memories was he accessing? No one's. He was recalling the thoughts of those he'd been near before they'd been torn to pieces.

When he seemed to snap back to reality, Cole looked to Tehra. "No. I wasn't speaking of ... him." Before he could continue, Tehra spoke again. This time, he sounded almost offended. "I don't want to teach you anything. You came here to learn what happened - to see why everything went dark." Cole's voice was rising. He was agitated. "Calm. Keep it calm. Keep it from-" The youth silenced briefly, then shook his head. "I'm not here to hurt you! I'm here to stop you from getting hurt!"

Labyrinth glanced to Tehra. He could reach the switch if she could reach the starter. They could start the generator immediately. Bringing power to the facility will allow Labyrinth to tap into the security systems. Computer will be rebooting and online within five minutes of the generator's start. It is advised that we continue.

"No," Cole's voice rose again. "No, no, no. You bring them with the lights. Biting, tearing, fear. Panic. Pain, deception, white tile covered in red. Unable to run, unable to speak..." He shifted closer to the switch as though to block Labyrinth's path. "More fear, more pain. You shouldn't turn it on again!"

Agent Eidolon's mental state is in class five - there is no reason to listen. The trauma Agent Eidolon has experienced will only hinder the mission.

Last edited by Esmme; 01-20-2015 at 05:32 AM..

 


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