=>[MINI-META] The Decaying North Outgrowth

[Hivestuck]

As Sarcel fought, the knife thrashed, twisting and thrusting in every direction to cause maximum damage. In a powerful burst of energy the knife shot forward to bury itself in Sarcel, and the red grip around the handle disappeared.

And reappeared around the switchblade resting in the center of the floor.

Kursha’s communicator crackled. “Disrupting the block now. Spirit can’t be placated. Should take minutes. Can you escape?”

The switchblade flicked open and pursued the greenblood. One, two, deep slashes to the back of his legs, and a gouge that ran from one side of his back to the other as Schrad’s spirit moved towards the huddled children.  

[zeflamigo]

Kursha's orders somehow penetrated Odette's thoughts. Perhaps it was the sense of need, the fact that he was actually asking for her help. Despite her feelings, she actually moved to help him. She, however, was not nearly fast enough. Kursha and Sarcel had been attacked brutally. Both of the other adults, stabbed. Now, she was going for the children.

"DON'T TOUCH THEM!" Odette summoned a gale forceful enough to knock over another troll, directing it towards the switchblade. The force didn't relent after a short burst, Odette trying her best to at the very least keep the switchblade on the other side of the room.

"Please..." Odette begged, her head starting to ring from the psionic push. "We are only trying to help you..."  

[Yamashii]

He should have been used to blood. Volkei worked with it every night as he prepped meat in his kitchen for the small crowd of customers that visited his cozy restaurant. But seeing it ooze out of Psykgi and splatter out of Sarcel, followed by Kursha was different than a little mess on his cutting board. He clenched his eyes shut as a gust of wind whipped around the room to blast the knife into submission. Odette, Psykgi, Nahori... strong lowbloods fighting to save his life. He wiped at his eyes and steeled his nerve. He couldn’t fight to save them but there were still other things he could do to protect them.

"Yes, captain! No more weapons!" The small boy scrambled into action, dragging Demari with him. He grabbed at any loose metal he could find, abandoned forks or debris, and began shoving it into the broken down cupboards. Anything Schrad could grab hold of would be turned into a weapon somehow. They just had to make sure there wasn’t anything left to grab!

"Mari, oof, let’s toss the chairs!" Anything too big to hide, he pushed to crash through the holes to the catacombs.  

[Doutei]

Blood splattered across the floor, up the walls, and on a white sequined dress. Trembling as she clutched onto Kursha’s gun, Demari watched in horror as everything got worse all at once. The knife sticking out of Sarce burned into her memory while Kursha’s legs burst with green. They were the military elite. If they weren’t safe then none of them were.

Silver flickered in her vision.

“R-right!” Demari choked out as Volkei’s voice caught her ear. She nodded as she dashed alongside him to start throwing the loose debris into the catacombs below. Careful to stay in what safe pockets of space she could, Demari tried to watch Odette’s efforts and time her movements with them.

“We won’t let you hurt anyone anymore!” Demari cried as her swarm burst into motion around the room, knocking chairs into the catacombs as Volkei had requested. Desperately Demari wanted to run to the wounded and drag them from the room but she knew it wasn’t safe yet. This was the only way they could help them for now.  

[Micillia]

Static Charge

Static was about to volunteer to be Nahori's partner when things got a away from him. He was ashamed to admit it, but the blueblood had froze. Then the stabbing had begun. "Lieutenant!" Static called out when the knife buried itself into the blueblood. He jumped forward, using his body as a shield in case the stabbing continued. "Nahori, help me move the Lieutenant, we need to get her to the medical van!"

Melancholies

saedusk

 

[T-Kai]

Loupsus had positioned himself in front of and around his cub as soon as the stabbing had begun, despite Aconan's ferocious (at least in her mind) growling and her intention to run and help, either by distracting the ghost or tending to the injured, or both.

And then Sarcel got hurt, and then Kursha in quick succession, and Aconan saw red.

"Loupsus."

It was her 'bad dog' voice, and her lusus flicked his ears unhappily. He knew that voice, that meant his cub was going to do something he didn't like.

"Either you help me fetch the injured, or I'll go on my own."

Like hell was he letting his cub go on her own.

Loupsus bounded (with Aconan clinging to him) towards Sarcel, who Aconan had prioritised - The redblood was lowerblooded, and Kursha was moving. Another blueblood was already there, and Aconan slid down the side, approaching - no time for formality, though.

"Put the lieutenant on Loupsus - he's big enough to carry her, and he'll move her out faster."

Loupsus lay down so they could bundle Sarcel on, but he was whining low in his throat, unhappy with the whole situation.

saedusk

Micillia

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

tw for trauma!

Sarcel knew she would get hurt--how would she not? As she struggled with the knife it nicked her all over, slashing into her arms and grazing her shoulder. In a few places it got dangerously close to her neck, but it didn't really matter. Sarcel wasn't really thinking about those things. Her mind was intent with the image of Psykgi bleeding, of everyone else potentially bleeding. Her blood on the ground didn't matter at all. She loved her planet and her people and she would gladly die for them.

But this was also more than that, because here she was facing off with a troll who she thought held those same values, facing off with someone who in the end had made her strong despite all of Schrad's attempts to do the very opposite. She hadn't noticed the fact that her cropped shirt was now lined with holes, or that she was covered in shallow stab wounds, or that her hands were covered in gashes from where her fingers slipped. She was just so focused, trying so hard to find words to say. This was her moment for closure.

She found herself staring down the blade of the knife, like one would stare down the barrel of a gun before being served sweet, poetic justice. Just as she thought she was overpowering the spirit, the knife surged forward.

Sarcel staggered. Her vision was dark and blue-hued, the pain floating in her head like a dull haze. Somewhere she had the urge to scream, but found herself resisting it through sheer shock and rage. Instead she saw the switchblade go up, dig into Vidari, and then turn towards the children.

As Sarcel turned to watch, the knife stuck out of the left part of her face with an ominious silhouette, embedded deep where her eye should be. The emotion in her still present eye an indistinguishable mix of indignation and confusion. Rather than go down and succumb to her wounds, she felt herself swelling up like a fire that was just stoked.

"Well, Shishi," Sarcel's voice cracked with effort, "Of all the things you were, I didn't realize you were a god damn COWARD." Attacking everyone she could get her hands on indiscriminately, lowbloods alike; there wasn't even any motive to her attacks now, she was just slashing for the sake of bloodshed. "Fight me you craven b***h." She struggled against both Static and Aconan's intentions with a surprising amount of animosity. If Schrad could start a warpath, so could Sarce.

Never mind the fact that it was borderline impossible to fight an intangible ghost with a switch blade.

 

[saedusk]

"Are you... okay?" Nahori asked Psykgi, supporting her as Odette moved away to assist Kursha. It felt like a rare moment of calm, like sitting at the eye of the storm, but it wouldn't last. Moments like this never did. Not that it was surprising—they were in the middle of a fight, after all.

Everything snapped back to intense focus because Nahori could hear Sarcel shouting, she could hear Kursha barking orders, and she could hear Static calling for her help like it was all one big, sudden burst of sound. Then Lieutenant Cincil turned her head just right and Nahori could see the silhouette of the knife. Everything went still, then everything fell to the pit of the orangeblood's stomach like a sharp, heavy rock.

"L-Lieutenant!" she shouted, sounding hurt and disturbed all at once. Sarcel was lashing out at the ghost and Nahori almost couldn't believe this was the same normally cool-headed blueblood she knew. "N-No," it was hard to control her stutter, "L-Listen to them! To S-Static and... and Aconon! It's dangerous!" She didn't want to see Sarcel rush in and get hurt even worse. She didn't want to watch things fall apart like this.

Nahori didn't want to leave Psykgi's side, but she felt compelled to go, to help, to do something. She moved towards Static and Aconon.  

[Micillia]

Static Charge

Sarcle wasn't easy to get a hold of. She was focused on her fight with the intangible ghost, she was bleeding all over, and she was quite, quite strong. In the struggle to drag the lieutenant away, Static had moved and given the knife an opening. And oh boy did the knife take that opening. Static felt the same as he did when he received his own scars, when the space tower had fallen, taking him with it. Shock at where the knife had hit turned to dread as Sarcle's blood ran from her face, far faster than before. Nahori's small yet desperate voice called out. The knife wasn't stopping tho, and it was going for the others.

"Stop the knife!" Static called. He was very close to it, being next to Sarcle the entire time, and the blueblood lunged to curl around the knife with his own body. The ghost was strong. The blueblood knew if he tried to grab a hold of it, the ghost would over power him. So, knowing he could not stop the knife by pulling it, Static tried to stop it by wrapping his arms around the blade.  

[Doutei]

As the storm of blood and rage rampaged the room, Demari glanced back at the summoning items. Would moving them disrupt the seance? She wasn't sure of the answer but it was worth a try. Dashing over to grab some of the items, she hoped she wasn't doing anything bad. Instead, Demari tripped and fell to the floor by the circle. As she did, the vandalized photo caught her eye again. It was hard to see the young girl Sarce had been while listening to her yell with such pain and anger.

"How can you do this?" The young blueblood asked the ghost, reaching to collect the eyepatch as well. It was a somber thought but perhaps Sarce might want it after this. Demari only knew a little of their relationship but she understood that Schrad had been important to the blueblood. Which was why this had to hurt so much worse for her than the rest of them. It was horrifying to see what Schrad had done to her now and Demari fought the urge to throw up. As Static, Aconan, and Nahori all tried to encourage Sarce to leave, Demari glanced towards Kursha to see how he was recovering from the attack. She found herself caught on where to go and what to do next.

"Can you walk?" She called to him, scared of his answer.  

[Hivestuck]

Glamis' voice crackled over Kursha's communicator. "The disruption process has started- things are going to get worse before they get better, so get out of there pronto. I'm detecting a huge psionic surge under the hive, which could either act as an amplifier in Schrad's favor or create destructive interference and help dampen her efforts to chase you. Using your own psionics is advised. Hurry. Glamis out." He sounded tense, as though his process was requiring all of his concentration and power.

Meanwhile, the switchblade whipped around under Static, carving out a corkscrew as it passed up his torso.

As though proving a point, the red hand returned-- this time without releasing the switchblade. The knife embedded in Sarcel ripped itself free, and slashed a wide streak.  

[Green Minuet]

Captain Kursha Vidari

God <********> damn it. This whole thing could have been resolved in matter of seconds were she still alive. Just one bullet between her eyes, and that would be the end of it. The redblood however was already dead, and she refused to show herself. That kind of cowardice he should have known to expect from a renegade assassin.

Kursha dropped to his knees, barely feeling the sting of the blade as it slashed across his calves. The knife in his back however was another story. He did not even hear himself scream. As his mind went blank, blinded with pain, he keeled over. The world around him ceased to exist except for vicious, unrelenting agony. Beside him the radio buzzed with noise. The sound of fear and rage swelled in the background. Time passed in a blur.

At some point he managed to push himself off the floor. He heard Glamis' voice cut through again, words distorted and choppy from the interference. “Roger. Over.” The words sounded distant to his own spongeclots, as though echoing through the end of a long tunnel. He tried to rise to his feet, but found his legs nonresponsive. With as much strength as he could muster, he pulled himself up onto the remains of a countertop.

“Team!” he barked. “We're making a retreat. Cover each other's backs, but do not engage. Move out now! Lieutenant, that's an order!” Leaning against the side of the counter, Kursha caught Demari looking his way. She had asked him a question. He grimaced but did not reply or budge.

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Doutei

Sorry to quote everyone, but this one was pretty important!

Yamashii

Micillia

saedusk

Melancholies

TanuJyle

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

The longer the group stayed in the room, the more trolls succumbed to violence at the hands of Schrad. Odette couldn't stand it. The military leaders were standing around trying to fight thin air and somehow it struck a nerve in the typically passive troll. Younger, weaker trolls were getting hurt because of their lack of leadership. It was disgusting. She needed to stand tall and fix this, and work fast. They needed an escape, but still they had no idea where they were running.

Thankfully, the room was a creaking pile of debris waiting to be destroyed. With a good give of wind, Odette blasted out the floor in two places— one near the children and Vidari, and one near Sarcel and Static. "To the catacombs, run! Try to stick together!" She ordered. Although her voice didn't carry with the same strength as the captain's, it was an earnest command. Her serious gaze indicated that if she was not listened to, she would force her hand even further.

Then, she turned her attention back to Schrad. Gusts of wind gathered from various corners of the room, picking up pieces of furniture and wood, hurling them at the weaponry.  

[Melancholies]

Maybe it was the sensation of the knife being ripped out of her face, or maybe it was Nahori rushing over to try talking some sense into her, but a culmination of all the events and Kursha's direct order had her snapping back to the present. The room was in chaos, her body was screaming in agony, her limbs felt numb as she realizing how much blue blood was spattered across her body. Vidari was leaning over, the children had scattered, Static had been stabbed now--Psykgi's status was still largely unknown.

There would be a time a few nights from now where she would undoubtedly hole herself away in her hive to allow the shame to burn her alive. As it stood now, she found herself standing blankly, a vice grip latching around her emotions as she regained some semblance of clarity. All of her thoughts immediately compartmentalized neatly away in her brain, some memories shoved back into her subconscious, important tasks coming back to the front. She realized now that she was fighting a losing battle. Hell, she had been fighting a battle that never existed in the first place.

Because Schrad was dead. There was nothing left to fight here anymore; Schrad had lost, and yet in the end Schrad would be the one with the last laugh. Sarcel should have had her closure the second Puchen fired that bullet.

In the end, the entire experience had been one borne of selfish catharsis. Her entire motivation up until this point had been obsessive, self-serving, completely thoughtless. Had her entire will to rise in the ranks been from genuinely wanting to better her planet? For camaraderie? Or was it out of a subconscious, selfish spite that she could do better than the redblood lieutenant had? There'd be a time to think later.

"C-Caviap," She focused in on Nahori as she returned mentally back to her body, her voice soft and wavering uncharacteristically as she ground herself, "I... we need to move out before anymore damage occurs. You're right, you're right--" She assessed the situation again, her teeth set in a grimace as blood ran down her mangled face. Suddenly things were clicking into place.

"s**t," She spat. Like a switch, she was back into soldier mode, "Who hasn't been hit yet? Aconan, how much weight can your lusus carry? Caviap, get Charge now, assess how well he can move on his own." The weight of everything was hitting her, the pain, the--"We're going to put him on Loupsus' back if he can't walk. I'm--"

Suddenly the strong gusts of wind blew holds in the floor. Into the catacombs? It would be stupid to try and argue given the situation. Odette was willing to serve as a distraction, and that was good enough.

"I'm grabbing Mentha. Aconan, help Caviap secure the injured when I get back." To the children Volkei and Demari, she rose her voice over the sound of the turbulence, bloody hands cupped around her mouth, "Still with us? You both need to be brave! Have your lusii help the Captain into the catacombs and we'll meet you down there!" as she finished her sentence, a cough rattled through her body, wet sounding. Time was ticking, every second was counting.

Shifting invisible to avoid any further injury, she used what remained of her strength to retrieve the wounded redblood before forcing a regroup with Nahori and the others.

 

[T-Kai]

Aconan had managed to avoid being hit yet, but the young greenblood was far from okay. There was blood everywhere. Generally, that didn't bother her. But then, generally there wasn't a crazy ghost with knives and it wasn't her two military heroes covered in blood. Captain Vidari was curled over and bleeding severely from the legs. Sarcel was struggling against them trying to help her - and she didn't want to think about her injuries because they looked horrific but - this was terrible!

And then the knife in Sarcel was ripped free and Aconan almost threw up a little at the sickening sound, acid pooling at the back of her throat. She ripped a chunk free of her shirt quickly, pressing it to Sarcel's wound to hopefully stem the bleeding - only to recoil clutching her own arm as the wide slash sliced her open. She cried out, a wiggler's cry of pain, and Loupsus snarled, snapping his teeth at the ghost.

And then the older trolls seemed to kick themselves into gear and started barking orders, and Aconan had never been so grateful in her life. Still clutching her arm, she nodded to her hero, hoping that Sarcel would ignore the tears pouring down her face.

"About two adult trolls worth!"

Aconan looked to Caviap, face full of terror, but also determination.

"Let's help Charge!!"

Loupsus grabbed his cub by the scruff of her jacket, and motioned for Nahori to grab onto him, obviously planning to bound them both across the room to fetch the other troll.