Forieri di Tarocchi - Harbingers of Tarot

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Jackson looked at his new equipment with a skeptical look on his face as the car drove away. It wasn't the technology however that he was unsure of, but rather himself. He had felt a second presence inside of him for awhile now, and even with time it wasn't going away. And his own new powers were somewhat simple by comparison to the weird things he'd seen from his friends...well, it was straightforward. The thought of the others gave Jackson another worried thought. He hadn't seen them in days...who even knew what kind of stuff they had had to go through while he was wandering the stranger's desert? Recruiting them to Trinity would be hard enough...but until he got the right dots on his map, he couldn't even tell if they were around.


Jackson started walking along, paying close attention to the compass and info on his hollow-tracker. The familiar feelings of a corrupted forest returned, and he growled into the night. He wasn't going to fall for any stupid tricks this time. Not if he could help it. All he had were his fists this time...no keys, no allies that he knew of. This time however, Jackson had strength. He didn't know if it was going to be enough to take down the hollow....but he'd be dammed if he let that stop him. Stalking through the forest, Jackson kept one eye on the horizon and another down on his tracker.


This time, the hollow was going down.
 
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"So much for being an example of an ideal host. When the time arises, you can't even find him in his own abode."

The worried Len threw additional haste in her step. The sounds of angry shoes echoed throughout the halls of the buried establishment. Fearful eyes watched as she stormed from room to room, chamber to chamber for the base's leader, Dominic. The search had come to an anti-climatic end once a fellow resident of the area directed Len to Dominic's personal chamber.

"He said he was signing off just after our training."

"Are you sure? He's sleeping at this hour?"

Len's question only brought a confused shrug from her teenage guide. She waved off the young host and stood before his slice of the base, giving herself a small amount of time to rid herself of the frustration she held trying to find him. Without further delay, she traversed into his personal realm. Inside, the air was heavy with negative emotion. Trails of incense covered a dusted portrait. Hesitantly, Len grabbed the picture and dusted it off with her other hand.

Of course it was those two. A couple of toothless youngsters bearing their smiles for the camera.

It was almost enough for Len to forget the fact that Dominic was laying motionless under his blanket. A slight hum escaped her as she replaced the picture back on the dust-marked surface and refocused on him. True, he was asleep physically, but Len knew better than that. She took two paces back and bit hard onto her thumb to draw out blood.

Inhale. Exhale.

These simple actions helped govern Dominic's mind. His topless body made contact with even the slightest of changes in the pseudo wind and his mind recorded it. His surroundings were covered in darkness, but felt vast and endless at the same time. Above him looked like space itself. Countless stars dotted across the ceiling. Some exploding, others forming. The flooring he sat cross-legged on was more like a black puddle that reflected the stars above him.

"The Eclipse Room again?"

Len emerged several feet behind him, disrupting his entire flow of consciousness. Even from where she stood, she could witness the numerous black lines that coated his body and afflicted his health as a host. It was like a sickness with no cure, or at least that's what he told her.

"This isn't going to help you find them, Dom."

"Why come here?" He addressed her, even with his back turned.

"It's a matter of urgency. A hollow may rampaging about."

"Can't anyone deal with it?"

"You're part of the strike squad, Dominic. I shouldn't have to keep telling you that. You are who we're supposed to go to in situations like these. Besides, this is no ordinary hollow. It's in Rhode Island and it's already taken over a dozen lives."

Dominic slightly turned his head back. The connection between the two and the realm had been severed, pulling them out of the Eclipse Room and back to the physical world.

Len's eyes shot open to the view of the room's ceiling. It was then that she lifted herself up from the floor she fell unconscious on when the charm was cast. Dominic's once motionless body came to life and he dragged himself out of bed. A trail of dark smoke rushed to materialize a wolf mask upon his face.

"Over a dozen, huh?"

Len hummed 'yeah' in return.

Dominic rose to his feet and extended his arm outward. At once, smoke began to cover his body and form a crimson T-shirt.

"Alert Damian. We're going to deal with this quickly before it really gets out of hand and more hollows converge."

"I've already sent someone to do that."

"If you're already sending people to do that, why tell me this yourself?"

Len stood up and brushed herself off. "Because I'm here to tell you that I'm coming along."

"What? Why?"

"It's been too long since I had a serious fight."

Dominic scoffed as he made his way past Len. However, he received a swift strike to the back of the head as he passed her. Len mimicked his scoff and stowed her steel pole.

"Don't let my age fool you. I can still kick your ass, just like I did in the past."

"Yeah yeah, whatever."
 
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While Iphigenia accepted her candidacy, it was not without some reservations. With Justice excusing himself to deal with his subordinate and her apparent fellow comrades-in-arms, she had some time to contemplate the turn of events of the past few days. She certainly was curious what he had meant by her own Arcana and a few other things. Iphie intended to ask him upon his return, but Justice had new plans in mind, spinning another set of mirrors for them to step through.

On the other side was a familiar sight, not unfamiliar to the cursed forest near that of Trinity Institute. Glancing about at her surroundings, she listened carefully to Justice's own advice for Kaede and Lilian and then to Kent and the twins' as well. Even though the situation and state of things were still far from things that she could fully understand, she was adamant in making the mission a success. When it came for her turn to be addressed by the white-haired tarocchi, she did the same, nodding as she glanced at the archaic materials at her feet. Kneeling down to scoop the papers and writing instrument from the ground, she tucked the papers under an arm before standing up.

"I'm to observe and advise, then?"

Iphie knew she could do the former very well, but she was no military officer like so many of her ancestors. While she could deal with things individually, she hadn't the faintest on small unit tactics, let alone ones with seemingly magical powers. At least they had backup in the form of somebody who actually knew what he was doing.
 
Kent felt annoyed that his efforts of concentration had been disturbed, but at the same time, glad not to be waiting for a fruit months off from being borne. Then came further elation. Justice restored both Kaede and his bonds with their tarocchi; no longer did her feel the sinking depression from the forcefully severed link. Taking the card of Temperance from the man, Kent listened as he began to further explain the circumstances of the power granted to them.

With their tutoring in the workings of the tarocchi world finished, Justice had set them out on a new task. Or rather, seemed to give them official clearance to engage the hollow that had gotten them in their dubious circumstances in the first place. Their mode of transportation to the hollow's location was rather seamless, and a lot less painful than when Kent had been brought forth to the Empress by Judgement. The forest -- a favorite environment of the creature, Kent mused -- was covered in a shroud of inky, redirecting darkness much like the one outside Trinity had been.

Justice then explained their course of action, explaining each of their roles in the coming hunt. While Kaede's instruction had been clear, given its repetitious nature from their previous encounter, but Kent's were for a function he had been unaware of. While he wasn't sure exactly how he would be able to sense the hollow amongst this bustling metropolis for simple life, he was sure as hell going to try it out; without Temperance's assistance, to see if he could do it, first.

Kent took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he tried to focus on all the life around them, letting his mind envelope the surrounding area. He felt for the trees, the grass at their feet, the shrubs, the insects... All of it. Then, he felt something. It was very faint, and was giving him a minor headache, but he could have sworn he felt the hollow. "That way," he said with his finger pointing in the accompanying direction.
 
Kaede watched as Justice reprimanded his assistant. The way he addressed her was curious, calling her an Arcana rather than by name or a title. Was she a successor to him? That didn't look promising for the next set of poor kids caught up in this world. She hesitated as he put his hand on her chest, but was calmed by the reappearance of Lillian's card which she took when offered. If the bond always existed what had been that emptiness when the card was destroyed? She followed him back to the stump, and when the mirrors appeared she stepped through with the rest of the sect.

~***~

Another forest. Kaede frowned. But it was expected, the hollow's powers thrived in such a place. After listening to Justice's instructions she looked down at Lillian's card in her hand. She was tempted to summon the Tarocchi merely to talk to her. But a battlefield wasn't the best place to get to know someone. She thought about all she knew of Lillian, their appearance, how they spoke, and kept it in mind.

Closing her hand around the card she thought back to that first time when she had used her dance to control the smoke. It seemed like the best place to start. She raised her arm up like she would with a ribbon and concentrated. The non-existent weight of something so thin, the way it swayed lightly under any breeze, how the smoke tumbled down from her hand as it was unfurled. She moved her hand back and forth, imagining how the ribbon would drift from side to side, following after a delay. How the smoke would drift through the air, holding an impossible form.

She opened her eyes to see a trail of smoke drifting downwards from her hand, swaying lightly from her own motion. As Kent pointed the way she began walking towards it, twirling the smoke in front of her, holdings it form in her mind as she destroyed the hollow's illusion. She had enough concentration to spare to ask their mentor a question, "Why do your cards show the tarot of death Justice?"
 
"Precisely, watch and observe.
This is your Sect; your leadership determines the survival and success of you all."

After providing Kaede and Kent with instruction on their power, Justice returned his attention back towards Iphie to whom he wished to continue his council with. After settling himself in a cross-legged position on the ground, he reached for the parchment and ink out of Iphie's hands before writing several lines of text in a uniform numbered list. It was once he became satisfied with his work that the parchment was handed back to Iphie after which time was given for her comprehension of the contents that it now contained.

  1. Under no circumstance should an agent of the Tarocchi willingly threaten the balance of our Society or the Societies we govern.
  2. The gifts of the Tarocchi are not for human awareness. Subtle discretion is necessary for the actions of any agent that stems from our Society.
  3. Unless extreme circumstances warrant immediate action; agents of the Tarocchi are not permitted activity of their own accord.
  4. Candidates of the Court are bound to report the truth and only the truth under all circumstances.
  5. Unless a Candidate of the Court is in direct violation of the aforementioned laws; Mediums of a Sect are not permitted behavior outside of their Candidate's discretion.
"There are more laws which govern our society; however, these stand paramount above all others. Consider them to be similar to the...Constitution, I believe you humans call it?
With my division in charge of the investigation, I am confident any past infractions will be permanently expunged from everyone's record. All of you represent a turn of events we were not prepared to encounter.
The Empress is strict in her governing of our society, yet she is not unfair. If anything, today's success shall be the stepping stone in introducing you to your life. I am confident all of you will be satisfied once given the time to acclimate.
In the mean time, take the time to observe...."

Justice was interrupted by the sudden outburst of Kent's declaration; furthermore, smoke began to billow in the area which surrounded Kaede's body. With their success, a satisfied smile encompassed Justice's expression as he began clapping his hands in cheerful congratulations. Nonetheless, with Kaede soon leading the way in the direction identified by Kent, Justice quickly rose to his feet and beckoned for Iphie to follow as he positioned himself alongside of Kaede. Not only was he there for her protection, but it was also an optimal location for the conversation that she brought to the table in light of her inquiries.

"All of your are the epitome of Death which represents drastic change. None of us could have expected your arrival in the manner that it occurred.
What does this mean for our future?...I cannot say. Perhaps, the cards hint that a visit with Death is in order for this Sect.
Nonetheless, that is for another time. Let us stay focused and prepared.
Kent, you are the main offensive for this Sect. Continue to feel the forest and be ready for any change. The greatest advice that I can give you is to remember the lessons that Temperance have taught.
Under no circumstance should you take life to the point of creating death. Balance is the key is using your power successfully."

~~~~

Just as the Sect began its move, every other party followed in suit. In the case of Jackson, the youth continued his trek from the opposite side of the forest; ever so slowly nearing the point of arrival where a clash was likely to occur. Most importantly, however, was the mutated Ethan, who during this time, had been planning his first move. Initially, focusing on Jackson was an appealing option out of benefit; a seemingly helpless human stuck within the bounds of the mist; one destined to join the army of the dead which clumsily stumbled in and around the local trees and brush. Nonetheless, things quickly changed once the Sect was detected within the bounds of his domain...Things felt familiar. Without hesitation, Ethan burst into his true hollow form allowing him to wave the lantern in a sweeping motion across the area. Immediately, the dead abandoned their awkward individuality and began moving as a cohesive unit in the direction from which the Sect was approaching. In the case of the humans and the deer, their approach was bound to be detected by Kent's power; however, subtle in the sky were the set of undead falcons who began their dive long before any other unit was close to arriving.

Claws and beaks were focused, not on attempting to kill, but rather as a minor distraction for the remainder of the army which broke into a surprising sprint and began quickly closing in on the location of the Sect. During this, Ethan, still in hollow-form, began drifting along the far outskirts of the Sect's position; his heavily distorted voice speaking in a low rasp that echoed throughout forest and masked his exact location within the ever growing shadows from the rapidly approaching evening.

"You fools came after all!"

Low laughter erupted from the hollow.

"Didn't I tell you the next time we met was when I would consume your lives?
Do you think of yourselves as heroes?
Here to save the dozens who have gone missing from the local town?
Well let me tell you a little secret...
The pleas of the adults; they got boring after a while.
The children though...The screams...The horrified faces as I ripped their guts in front of their eyes...This is what power is..."

Ecstasy was the only way to describe the tone of voice which defined the latter half of hollow's words. Nonetheless, his depravity was entirely short lived as maniac laughter soon replaced any sense of humanity that might have been scarcely left in the creature that once was Ethan.
 
"I see."

Holding her hands out at Justice's gesture, Iphigenia followed his movement towards the ground. Unlike the cleaner grassy clearing in the courtyard of the realm of the tarocchi where they had held their initial conversation, Iphigenia avoided sitting directly on the ground as Justice did, instead carefully nearing alongside the white-haired tarocchi to avoid dirtying her freshly and painstakingly laundered clothing. Because her jacket had taken the majority of the misfortunate splatter earlier in the week, most of her other garments were actually not too difficult to clean.

She silently watched Justice's careful calligraphy, somewhat impressed by his ability to write on the parchment without a useful flat surface. After the ink had dried, the freshly drafted document was handed back to her, prompting a quick read followed by a closer reading from the purple-haired girl. From her short experience in the court of the Empress, she'd already deduced the majority of the rules; the remaining were common sense for a court that seemed as strict as the one the Empress maintained. Nonetheless, Iphie found the second rule mildly troublesome; were she to return to England, there was a possibility it would be difficult to keep everything out of the helpful hands of her personal assistant at home without arousing unwelcome suspicion. But that would be a problem to solve at a later time.

"If you're speaking of the American Constitution, that only applies to the people of this land. In that regard, you and I are foreigners," commented Iphigenia in half-jest. "Thank you. I suppose it wouldn't be too much trouble if you could furnish me with the remaining code of laws at a later date?" Nodding at the rest of Justice's words, she continued. "That's right… At that time all of us were clueless and completely uniformed. I don't any of us could ever have conceived of such events happening. That's good to know."

As they were speaking, her fellow comrades-in-arms had starting trying to exercise her abilities. As the new leader of the two and the tarocchi that aided them, she too was enthused to see their success. Standing up alongside with her new mentor, she carefully followed Kaede as the correct direction to their foe was identified by Kent. Kaede had also raised a curious question that was finally answered by Justice. His response was more than vague, however, and after some mildly worried thoughts, returned her attention to the matter at hand: hunting the hollow that had so ruined her day earlier in the week.

Iphigenia was warier of police intervention this time. Unlike the clusterfuck of their prior encounter, she sought to create a trial of evidence exonerating themselves should they ever face persecution again. After pulling out the identifying SIM card in her cell phone, she turned the phone on again, setting the device to record audio from her pocket. If it ended up picking up the sensitive talk that Justice's short codex had detailed, she would likely have to cut it out, but that was a minor hassle considering the trouble it could potentially save herself.

It was not long before trouble reared its ugly head. With Kent's abilities, the group had a healthy warning of the approaching undead horde, but Iphie's actions were vindicated by the low, gravelly voice that soon permeated through the darkened forest. His words were clearly meant to incite. They were distasteful, yes, but did little to faze Iphigenia, who showed little reaction to his graphic descriptions. Ignoring his words, she looked over at Kent and Kaede. "Don't let it get under your skin." She frowned in mild irritation at the depraved laughter of the fiend, but the cackling now only seemed to fuel her desire to end the unseemly hollow.

"The hunt is on."
 
The walk through the forest was...eerie, to say the least. The soft crunching of twigs combined with the tense atmosphere had him on edge, either that or the hollow DNA had heightened his senses. He couldn't really be sure. All he knew is he felt relaxed yet on guard as he stepped through the dark woods. One hand on the tracking device, which withouth e would surely be lost, and the other in a clenched fist. Jackson was never one of the types to plan...he knew Iphie was smarter than him. She was his partner and all, but when it came to actually knowing things, he was getting carried along like loose weight.


The thought of Iphie lead Jackson's mind to wander. How were the others? He couldn't be sure. He'd lost track of time in the hellish landscape that was the desert domain of the strange-fighter. Jackson made a mental note: He still needed to know the strange arabic man's name...and see if he was open to take students. Getting his ass thoroughly beat was certainly the experience after almost starving to death in the empty dunes, but even Jackson had to admit the man had techniques. Jackson's own fighting style was rough...effective enough on the streets, but fighting hollows and other trained combatants was showing maybe he wasn't nearly as prepared as he wanted to be. Recruiting the others would also be difficult...since he had been gone for a minimum of a couple days, maybe even more, there was no telling what the tarrochi had told them. He doubted they had to go through with something similar to his torturous hell...but it might not have been a walk in the park either....


Jackson shook his head, returning his thoughts to the tracker below. What he saw caused him to doubletake. He'd been almost completely turned around, and was heading in the completely wrong direction. Cursing, Jackson reoriented himself. The hollow's domain was treacherous...that much was for sure. He'd have to remain focused to get to the damn thing...which was kind of a pain, but it was just another goal to be surmounted. Jackson grinned at the thought of the coming battle, he was going to kick it's ass until it begged for mercy. Nobody fucked with his head, and more importantly...nobody messed with Lana, not while Jackson still drew breath.

The tracker's second surprise was one of relief for the haggred half-hollow. The hollow was engaged with some others...and although Jackson couldn't know for sure who it was, he had a damn good idea of who it could be. It was either the zodiacs...or it were his friends. Jackson hoped for the latter. With what limited information he knew about the zodiacs from Magnus, they sounded like they'd be a pain in the ass to deal with.


~~~~

A couple minutes later, Jackson gazed upon the developing battlefield in front of him. The hollow had sent his army forth, and the bulk of his forces were engaging some group of people further away than Jackson could easily make out. He didn't know who it was...but at the same time, Jackson didn't' care. Stalking through the bushes, Jackson got as close as he dared before silently jumping into the sky, blocking the sun's light behind the hollow before meteor spiking it down into the ground. Adrenaline poured into Jackson's hollow-soaked veins, and with a wild grin on his face, he let out a howling battle cry and continued his assault.

"THIS IS FOR EVERYTHING YOU PUT ME THROUGH YOU UNDEAD PIECE OF SHIT!"
 
While most of Kent's focus was directed to sourcing the hollow's presence, he was by no means incapable of listening to Justice and Iphie's conversation. Already he could see how he had broken some rules, though the reasoning behind the aforementioned three left him more than a bit baffled; was facing a creature capable of raising the dead and misguiding life towards it not considered an extreme enough circumstance? Did Tarocchi law require their lives to be in mortal peril for it to become necessary?

Furthermore -- vague implications of Death, not withstanding -- it was given to Kent to be the main offensive force in the party. Given what little Kent knew of Temperance's power, he could deduce that he had an overt control over plant life, so long as he was willing to take in order to use; much to the detriment of their foe, given his insofar usual haunts.

It also seemed that his extracurricular as a boy was also going to be of some help. Through the godawful experience that was the Scouts, he had been introduced to plethora of plant and animal life; about he only thing he had taken an interest in from the program. Even after quitting, he took it upon himself to learn more of flora and fauna -- properties, appearance, location -- all of it, or at least, what he was capable of taking in. Looking back, this power would have come in handy for Moon's assignment, were the court to allow it...

When they came upon the hollow's location, Kent had brought out Temperance. With the face of the enemy in front of them, and it being capable of killing any normal human, it seemed unwise to be practicing individual power. With the pair at his side, and the hollow already on the full offensive, Kent began thinking up something he could use. "Above," he said just as much to inform everyone else as to further his own thought; Yang and Yin's company strengthening his meager detection abilities. He needed something to block both the threat in front of them, and from the sky... so, a tree? That was when he thought of it, and tried funneling the life around him into a singular form of life: a cashew tree. Placing the seed in front of them and between the encroaching horde, he willed the tree to grow; its branches extending horizontally until their weight until they took roots of their own. He would try to continue the process until a sizable canopy and maze of branches halted any immediate threat.
 
In the typical style of every question answered by one of the Tarocchi Justice's words brought up a whole host of new questions in return for the few they somewhat answered. He had a whole division under his command. His cards reacted to the people around them providing a type of inaccurate clairvoyance. Why did he alone seem to use these versatile cards when no other Tarocchi did, only mediums. She hated this feeling of constantly being in the dark about so much, but didn't expect it to change much anytime soon.

The first half of the Hollow's taunting words could be ignored. But the second half was far harder, and at the last line she clenched her hands into fists. The smoke wavered and threatened to lose its shape as anger swept into her mind. It solidified again as her mind focused, she wanted to fight this thing. But unless her smoke did more to the mist than simply break its illusion she wasn't sure how she could help. The pattern on Lillian's card, still in her hand, tempted her touch.

At Kent's words she looked up, seeing the flock that was diving down towards them. "Shit." Kent looked like he was doing something with Temperance but she didn't know if it would be in time. She flicked her hand upwards and began twirling it around, pushing more energy into the smoke. A thick cloud appeared above the group, enough to block or at least distort the sight of those below, making it harder for the diving birds to attack them until they broke through. She hoped it would buy them the time Kent needed to complete his own work.

Her thumb moved to the card she was holding and quickly traced the pattern upon it to summon Lillian. "Unless the smoke on its own does more than I know I need a colour to use." she quickly said.
 
The sudden overgrowth of branches and roots came as a viable tactic in warding away the undead; however, the rate of growth was much slower than what was needed for the charging horde. That being said, the upward burst of the tree's origin provided ample defense against the falcons who soon found themselves awkwardly stuck within the intricate shape of the vine-like branches. In terms of the units on the ground, groans and grunts provided a small window of warning for the Sect, yet given their occupancy or lack of firepower, it was Justice who took the lead in greeting the few undead who first arrived at the scene.

"I will buy time for you.
Iphie, formulate a plan based on what you know.
I estimate about thirty undead; though we need to prioritize the source of this army over all else."

Justice seemed entirely nonchalant towards the small group of enemies who were hellbent on murdering all in their sight. As they approached a radius of several feet away, a peculiar calm seemed to descend across the immediate area. For a split second, it was almost as if time had come to a stop before several dull thuds brought reality back to its normal. In the air, numerous white feathers surrounded Justice's body in addition to the blood and gore which defined the cleanly sliced halves of the undead humans and deer. A smile encompassed his expression as he performed an almost comical beckon towards the oncoming army who was becoming increasingly more hindered by the ever growing canopy. It was also during this time that Lillian appeared at Kaede's side with a familiar set of colored marbles in their hand.

"Forgive me, Cheire. I intended for further instruction prior to this event.
You understand my power with slight variance to its true strength.
My illusions are the strongest, not because of their potency, but because of the reality that they can become.
The colors are nothing more than the manifestation of your control."

With their statements, the marbles were gently forced into a grasp in Kaede's hand where colored smoke began to lightly billow from the cracks between her fingers. As this occurred, the same hand was extended forward while Lillian used their own free hand as a means of blindfolding Kaede's eyes. After settling their head against their Medium's shoulder, Lillian began to softly whisper in an almost hypnotizing tone of voice.

"Feel the elements within your hands.
The burning heat of the fire...The chilled water swirling within...The rough edges of stone and earth.
Do not fear the sensations...The smoke is on your side...It will not harm you.
You know how these elements act. The roaring cackle of fire's bites...the flowing beauty of nature's tears...the violent ruptures that form our lands.
Manifest the smoke...Will it into shape...Will it into power.
Devenez l'Elementaliste de fumee et de miroirs."

It was at this point in time that the tree reached its entire glory in addition to the conclusion of Lillian's teaching. As such, Justice finished any immediate undead before stepping away from the front lines of the battle. After a small bow in the direction of the Sect, Justice gave a quick wink before vanishing from sight with his final statement.

"The rest is yours."

~~~

A roar of pain exploded from the hollow who lightly staggered from the blow he took. Nonetheless, it was without hesitation that he whipped his lantern causing a wave of dense mist to slam into Jackson and lightly knock him back. In terms of pain, the mist was nothing more than a small force; however, the true power was the illusion which once again forced itself into Jackson's human mind. This time, nothing seemed out of the ordinary apart from a sudden disappearance of the hollow at hand. Nonetheless, while his body seemed invisible, his voice remained fully functioning as raspy laughter echoed throughout the area.

"Your merely human!
What do you plan to accomplish without power?
That punch...it fucking hurt...but let us see how you fare against what you can't see."

From a perspective that was not Jackson's, things seemed dire for the human who was caught in the grasp of a couple undead. Parts of his body were torn by the mouths of rabid humans while the hollow was preparing a slash that would gut his stomach and chest. That being said, none of this was experienced by the youth in question. There was no pain from the injuries he was rapidly accumulating...There was no sense of danger from the potentially imminent death...There was only a peculiar sensation that welled from deep within his body and soul. It started slow, but rapidly, the sensation began to evolve into the form of a presence that seemed to occupy a low state within his body. In time, what felt that words began to appear in his head. They were not any language recognizable by Jackson's experience; however, for some reason, anything that was "said" seemed to make perfect sense dispute the illogicality of the situation.

"You...can't...win...
Human....weak...die...you...will
You...I...one...
Accept...me...strength...for...you..."
 
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Jackson's supposed fate would have undoubtedly been sealed by the hands of the hollowed Ethan and his flesh-hungry spawn. In the suspected last few seconds of Jackson's life, a heel sunk itself into the rotted face of a singular undead while another foot knocked back the surrounding zombies using the first as a temporary foothold. With the undead at least several feet away from the gnawed Jackson, Ethan's blade had been completely halted by that of a steel staff.

Standing over Jackson was a battle-ready Len wearing padded armor over a Yakuza styled suit. After staring the possible reasoning for their last meeting in the face, she glanced down at the hypnotized Jackson who was most likely under a spell. It was her only guess as to why he suddenly idled in the presence of a powerful enemy.

Speaking of powerful enemy, Len could feel that she was losing the weapon clash in pure strength alone. Realizing this, several slots opened along the length of the steel pole, and out came numerous grenade-like projectiles that detonated on contact with Ethan and created a large cloud of smoke. Using that smoke as cover, Len grabbed Jackson and retreated back towards a safe distance away from the Hollow. There, she laid his back against the base of a tree and smacked the side of his face a few times.

"Wake up, Jackson. It's not real. Jackson!"

Dominic casually approached the two donning his mask and body-concealing cloak. With one quick look in the direction of Ethan, he spoke.

"A hollow capable of controlling the dead?.."

"It uses illusions too, somehow."

"That's cheap."

The man took several steps out into the open in the direction of the Hollow.

"Get that kid back on his feet, I'll deal with this thing."

Smoke began to peel off from Dominic's cloak in both directions, smoothly guided along the air with his abilities as a Host. The smoke grew and contorted in such a way that it resembled that of two dire wolves. Their flaming teal eyes trailed back like demonic spawn and their teeth freely grew and shrunk in size. From there, Dominic awaited the Hollow's next move.
 
[BCOLOR=transparent]The last thing Jackson had been expecting was more illusions. When he had wandered into the forest and wasn't attacked by images of Lana, the thuggish teen was under the impression that Trinity's operation had given him immunity to the illusions again. That mistake was one Jackson would never make again…[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]That is, you know, if he lived through this. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Jackson glanced down at his tracker, the hollow was still on it, so he knew he was still around, but the massive hordes were never on it to begin with...there was no way to dodge whatever reinforcements the hollow would be sending his way. Escaping wasn't much of an option either, being blind to his foes made dodging attacks all but impossible...aside from incredible luck Jackson knew he didn't have given his past few days of hell.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]This was why when the hollow within him began to speak, he didn't immediately push it back down. Maybe it was his only way out...maybe he was screwed no matter what he did, but he had to know some things before he let it take control. "And what happens huh? When you take over...will you just go and kill everyone too? Your a hollow...how do i know you're not like Ethan?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Weak...I...am...slumber...long...time…[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Together...live....we...must…"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]For a split second, a rush of power enveloped Jackson's body; a different sensation that left him in utter pain as the injuries of his body became visible and apparent for that short period of time. Nonetheless, everything seemed to fade as quickly as it came while the presence felt weaker...distant...almost non-existent.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Jackson simply cursed, calling out in pain at first and then at frustration. He couldn't do anything...he was weak. He knew it. He couldn't beat the strange man in the desert, and without Trinity's operation Jackson would be nothing more than a rambling husk desperate to help his sister...or even one of the doomed undead he now knew were surrounding him. No matter how hard Jackson tried...it seemed that he was doomed, so Jackson did the only thing he could think of then...and grabbed the only strand he saw left for survival.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Alright...Fine. I'll work with you." Jackson paused, having a hard time to find the right words. "We'll kick this thing's ass, survive this ordeal. But...promise me something. Swear to me you'll never hurt my friends….or my sister."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Jackson's voice hardened, there was no malice, no hate or anger. Like Magus before him, Jackson was simply stating the truth.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Because if you do, there will be hell to pay."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]A sense of laughter began to well from deep within himself; however, the humor was short-lived given a burning sensation that began to overtake the entirety of his body. Soon after, the surrounding environment began to return to normal as it now displayed the other two; one engaging the hollow and the other hovering over himself with a worried expression on her face. Nonetheless, worry quickly turned to confusion as light steam began to rise from the wounds on his body. Rapidly, any injury was regenerating to a healthy state, yet even more striking was the glowing red lines that streaked along the distance of his arms.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Jackson looked around with a surprised expression on his face. He wasn't expecting the CIA lady, although he was quite suspicious she wasn't working for the government after all. After his body finished steam-healing back to normal, or rather once it was done restoring him Jackson slowly stood up, a calm look on his face. "I am really starting to hate that thing." He said with a low growl, before glancing back to Len. He wasn't quite sure how he got here, but given his wounds as well as his change in location, he figured she played a part in saving his life.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Thanks for the help." He said while nodding to Len. "Now I have a score to settle with this asshole...more than one at this point, and his stupid tricks aren't going to work anymore either. I have a job to do."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Jackson looked down at his tracker, confirming that one of the strangers was in fact beyond human. He didn't know if he was secret mediums, or the zodiac that Magus had told him about...But Jackson still had a job to do. He was suprised that the government lady was human, in different circumstances, Jackson might've even stopped to wonder if there was a way for humans to fight against these monsters. But looking down at the tracker had revealed a second secret to Jackson. His own dot's colour was now a violet rather than a blue. [/BCOLOR]


[BCOLOR=transparent]Looking up at the hollow, Jackson felt stronger, more powerful. Eager to fight.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Let's kick this thing's ass."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Letting out a second, much more fearsome roar, Jackson darted forth once more. He wasn't sure what his bargain had gotten him besides regeneration and a neat new red liens and violet dot on the tracker, but he wasn't going to waste it. Jackson went for a simple but effective punch after jumping into the sky. A meteor smash again…[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]But this time, with power.[/BCOLOR]
 
From her position in what was quickly appearing to be a back-line, it was becoming obvious that they were getting closer to their target. In the distance, unseemly noises and guttural sounds could be heard; the undead presence of the zombies that had so troubled the group earlier were making themselves known. Kent it seemed had predicted and pre-empted them with the powers he had; concentrating on his surroundings, he had begun to form an arboreal maze ahead of them, intending to create some sort of barrier between them. It was obvious to all though, by the slow pace of the growth, that it was unlikely for his creation to be completed in time.

Justice had foreseen the possibility and stepped forward as the thought crossed Iphigenia's mind. She nodded at him as he did so; numbers of thirty or so was daunting, but with the right course of action and pertinent use of everybody's abilities, it seemed that the situation could be dealt with. Iphie knew that it was imperative for the group to search for and destroy the hollow, but the immediate threat still had to be dealt with. She briefly entertained the notion of splitting the group, but with everybody still acclimating to their abilities and with her own unfamiliarity of the personalities and the full extent of their abilities, the purple-haired girl thought it better to stay together, even if loosely.

With Kent's botanical shield in place and with Justice having made swift work of the immediate threats, their own position was somewhat tenable in Iphie's eyes. To immediately push forward would be a waste of Kent's defenses, so she determined that they should bunker down for the second wave of the undead assault before pressing on. "There are more coming. Let's take a position behind the defenses we have and take them out." She looked at Kent, and then Kaede before continuing. "I'm still unfamiliar with your abilities in practice, so do what seems best to neutralize those zombies." Iphie paused again. "After that, we need to haul ass and find the hollow. When that comes, Kent should take the front and the twins should guard our rear."
 
It was as he had thought; Kent's plan for growth was taking much too long for it to be effective in immediate danger. While the horde made its approach, the medium kept funneling life into his project, and Justice, thankfully, kept a good half of them at bay while process continued. By the time it was done, Justice had already gone and Kaede had been seemingly been given further instruction in the use of her power from Lillian.

With their defenses set, Iphie had begun with her assigned task of coordinating their efforts. While the plan in and of itself wasn't bad, Kent found himself disagreeing with a frontal assault. Though, before anything could be said, Kent could feel the hollow's minions climbing a branch in front of them. Without even thinking, he willed a thorn off the side the side of one his growths, bisecting one of the risen human body. Since he could no longer feel any of them in their direct vicinity, he began to speak.

"We should back. Back into the mist. Now. The hollow. It couldn't sense us coming. Even with its mist around us. I can still attack these so long as they think we're here. I can sense their coming. Same as I can sense the hollow. Though I'm getting tired..."
 
Kaede could see Justice employing his own power up ahead to protect them, and chose to trust the Tarocchi's skill in the matter, as well as Kent's own magic. It gave her time to focus on her own, as Lillian answered the summons and gifted the girl with a new set of marbles. She took them when offered, letting the mundane ribbon she had been holding dissipate. In its place each marble produced its own gas which slipped out of her fist as she wrapped it around them.

As the Tarocchi covered Kaede's eyes she closed them, blocking any light that slipped through the teacher's fingers. Lillian's following words seemed to dance in the girl's ears as she concentrated on the voice. The world outside dulled a little, sounds receding and her skin numbing. She felt each of the elements birthed in her mind, one by one. Sweat beading on her neck as the bonfire roared towards the sky. Cool liquid encircling her body and her limbs floating freely on the surface. Hard rock beneath her feet, cutting into the flesh where its edge and points were jagged.

Each of the three warred for dominance. Fire, taking a rare chance to feed off her anger and shine like a beacon. Water seemed to settle into her limbs, ready to follow her lead in her every movement as a dancer. And earth settled far below, something solid, a connection that felt natural and comforting. They were hers to control ad they battled for release, she had no reason to fear the winner, no reason to fear them lashing back at her.

She opened her eyes and saw a tangled mess of tree branches and roots ahead, blocking the undead from reaching the trio. It was not perfect and the corpses made a slow progress through the maze. Iphie was taking control, giving orders as a leader would, outlining their plan of attack. It was solid, but she wasn't sure how much she could contribute here. She felt fire fall from grace in her mind, if it was intense enough to hurt the zombies it would do far worse to the forest around them, endangering the group, otherwise it would do nothing.

She rotated the marbles in her hand until blue was at the forefront. The gas rolled off her hand and seemed to pour to the ground where it began to pool, before it flowed over to the maze of wood. It rolled up the branches, travelling along their length until it reached a nearby zombie approaching. Gathering in density Kaede infused it with the flow in her mind, willing the thought into reality through the smoke. Like a pipe that had broken the gas burst from the branch into the undead's chest. She'd seen what Kent had done to the previous zombie and aimed the blast to knock this one onto a nearby branch where the man could repeat the process. She hoped her illusion had enough realism to produce the force required. It wasn't as elegant of a use of the illusion as she would have liked, but against undead enemies she didn't think there was much room for elegance.

She turned to Kent, confusion written plain on her face, "What do you mean? It knows we're here, how else would it have sent its zombies to attack this spot? It called out to us. Tauntingly." She squeezed the hand that didn't hold the marbles closed in it into a tight fist as her anger sparked up again. "We need to get to the hollow before it can escape again."
 
The clash of metal sent a forceful echo throughout the nearby area. Nonetheless, little surprise was expressed by the hollow who instead took the newcomers as a potential challenge. At first, a feral snarl rose from the enemy in match of the wolves which manifested themselves onto the battlefield; however, such aggression was quickly dissipated as a fearsome roar followed by a solid crack sent another set of echos ringing through the forest. Jackson's fist collided with the hollow's jaw causing a unique phenomena to rapidly occur. For a split second, it was almost as if the hollow was punched out of Ethan's body as his form returned to a somewhat humanoid state, yet the effects were temporary as the hollow form soon returned and expressed another guttural roar.

There was a quick twirl of the machete as the hollow prepared his combative stance; however, rather than take the initiative of attacking the somewhat defenseless Jackson, the hollow seemed to hesitate as he gazed upon the crowd before him. All damage he had dealt to Jackson was mysteriously healed in addition to the fact that the second punch was leaps and bounds stronger than the first. Furthermore, a mere human had blocked his full powered strike, and that didn't even account for the other who obviously displayed some form of power. For the first time, a sense of fear expressed itself in the eyes behind the mask; a development that left the hollow fleeing from the immediate battle rather than re-engaging against the once considered challenge. With the ever growing agony of anxiety and fear, the hollow began to fall deeper into its true nature; a primitive state that remained solely focused on obtaining the easiest source of power in the area....the beginner Mediums.

Rapidly floating in and about the trees, it was in a matter of seconds that the hollow arrived at the manifested cashew tree where countless undead were impaled upon numerous thorns sprouting from the branches. In his state of madness, the hollow roared another screech as it began hacking the young branches with the force of the machete in its hands.

"Die! Die! Die!
All of you are weak!
You all deserve to die!"

At this point in time, the hollow's words were much less than human; however, they lasted only for a few seconds before the subtle crack of a bullet zoomed between the branches and soon pierced directly into the hollow's chest. For a moment, the hollow remained standing as if nothing had happened, but soon, a painful scream exploded into the area as a black aura began to envelop its body. The mysterious display lasted for several seconds until everything ceased, and Ethan's human body fell the ground, breathless and unconscious.

~~~

[Fifteen minutes before; somewhere on the outskirts of the forest]

"Report, corporal."

A man dressed in a camouflage uniform performed a quick salute before speaking towards another man dressed in the standard uniform of the US military.

"Yessir, all plans are proceeding as expected.
Our informant has confirmed that the situation is almost as planned. There has been a slight variance on the field, but it is negligible for the execution.
All we need is the confirmation of your orders, sir."

The higher ranked official gave a small nod in response to the report before rising to his feet with a radio input in his hand. In a matter of seconds, the commander's orders were relayed to multiple camps which had all taken point along the perimeter of the forest outskirts.

"Team Alpha, incapacitate the hollow. A dumb creature like that has no chance against your range...unlike the others.
Once the hollow is confirmed down, engage Team Bravo. I want complete coverage in the formation.
At their mark, re-engage, I want everyone of those sons-a-bitches hauling ass back with us."

....

As soon as Ethan's body made contact with the ground, confirmation of the first mission began spewing into the comms which immediately signaled the advance of Team Bravo. Obviously trained, the soldiers moved with little noise as they quickly formed an ever condensing circle around the general area of the Sect, Jackson, and the hosts. Unlike Team Alpha who were armed with long range rifles, each member of Team Bravo carried a particular spherical device whose purpose became increasingly more obvious as they closed in on their prey. Any instance of supernatural power began to rapidly decline in both control and manifestation.

For Kent, the awareness of the forest began to increasingly narrow; for Jackson, a sudden spell of fatigue began to sap both his strength and energy; for Dominic and Kaede, control and potency of their smoke began to fade; yet in the case of Iphie, a minuscule sense of presence began to emanate from the card in her pocket.

In time, an amplified voice began to speak throughout the forest; their tone of voice being blunt and to the point as their demands were announced for everyone to hear.

"Now, this can go two ways for you sealed sons-a-bitches.
We can take the easy route where you sit your asses on the ground and wait for us to get you.
Or we can do this the hard way, and trust me...you don't want the hard way.
Ten seconds, boys and girls...What's it gonna be?"
 
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Their defenses were working. With the aid of Kent's cashew tree and Kaede's smoke, Iphie's small group was able to keep incoming zombie horde at bay. Between Kent's spear-like outgrowths and the blasting maneuvers that Kaede pulled off, they had cleared the majority of their attackers before they all noticed the more alarming presence of their unholy master and commander. Floating from above was the unfortunately familiar sight of the machete wielding oversized tonberry that had troubled them so. As it began to screech and hack at Kent's creation, Iphigenia made her move, directing her allies to make their stand before the tree was completely destroyed. Before she could utter a useful word, however, a crack and a zip through the air felled their foe in one shot, falling to the ground beneath their feet.

Iphigenia was stunned. A small joy seemed to well up in her; after all, it seemed the hollow was dead, without too much effort on the part of her group, but the fact that it was not hunted down by one of the mediums or tarocchi meant that a third party was afoot. Her immediate reaction was to search for where the shot had originated from. Not finding a source, her second instinct was to duck down, yelling out for her friends to do the same. There was no way to tell if the shot was from a friendly neutral source or from an enemy that might turn the gun on Iphie and the others later.

Crouching low under the byzantine cashew tree, she looked at the others before mouthing "Do you sense anything?" As she spoke, a faint presence made itself known in her coat pocket. Looking down quizzically for a moment, she soon produced the card of the scepter, the piece of cloth that had troubled her so with inactivity thus far. Despite the unsettling situation that was unfolding around them, she traced the card one last time.

It became… an egg. What replaced the card in Iphie's hands was an oversized, white chicken egg peppered with black dots on its face. Of all the things that the card could have produced, a large egg was the least of her expectations. Her first reaction was to mouth "what the fuck?" before exchanging glances with the two fledgling mediums. Unsure of what to do, she poked at the object with a free hand before surmising that perhaps it could be activated by rubbing it. Running her fingers across it, she looked once at again to Kaede and Kent. "This is beyond me. Any suggestions?"

In the time she spent trying to figure out the conundrum of the egg, the developing situation had grown far worse. Some minutes later, a voice on a loudspeaker pierced through the thicket of the forest, delivering a damning ultimatum. Iphie clicked her tongue; had the police found them again? She'd already had enough with the police force of the US. It wasn't very pleasant, and she certainly wasn't looking forward to meeting them again. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like she had many options besides continuing to fondle the egg or comply with the distasteful orders of the amplified voice.

"Shit. We're probably surrounded. What are our other options?"
 
Jackson's footsteps barely stopped as the hollow panicked and began to flee. He was determined at this point, and even if the zodiacs were here, and from what the tracker was showing, most likely his old friends he'd yet to even talk to were in the area...Jackson's first priority was taking this thing down. It had hurt too many people, done too much damage. It couldn't be allowed to roam for a second longer. Keeping pace thanks to his enhanced strength and speed, Jackson was closest to the hollow when the sniper's shot put it down. Suprised, Jackson came to a halting stop, sending up a spray of rocks and dirt as he did so. He wanted to check what was going on, but since he hadn't known who had fired the shot, Jackson had to work fast.


Fortunately, he had gotten pretty good at operating while being shot at in the last couple days. And in a hell worse than any he had ever known. So quickly and with steady hands, Jackson slapped on the capturing seal onto Ethan. It felt satisfying, having finally gotten the chance to take him down. The bastard had caused everything after all. If it wasn't for the hollow...Jackson wouldn't have been on the run for his life, innocence in question. The others wouldn't be mediums and...Jackson would never have had to walk through god knew how many sand dunes.


After waiting a minute or so for the seal to finish, Jackson grabbed it again and started moving. He had to reach the others, the blue circles on the tracker were all around them, and try as he might Jackson couldn't see them in the forest...which meant the others probably couldn't as well. Fatigue was slipping back into him, and his hollow-buddy wasn't exactly responding, so Jackson didn't know if he was running out of powers or...well, anything really. As he approached the group, he waved his hands in the air, a tired look on his face.

"Guys! hey! Nice to uh...see your alive, but how the hell do we get out of...this?" He motioned to the forest around them, and then paused. "There's a bunch of them. In the forests, look." He held up the tracker for a moment, revealing the colourful array of Blue, Violet, and Orange. "They're blue. There's uh...a lot of them." Jackson let out a sigh. "One dot is friendly, I think. The CIA lady from before is here too, she brought some kind of super." An uncertain look crossed upon his face. He had no idea how the hell he was going to get them out of here...he couldnt' pull out his phone, he didn't have the time. His view fell back down toward the Tracker. "Guys..are we going to fiight them? We're outnumbered so uh...anyone got any clever tricks or escape plans?"
 
The first stage of their plan appeared to be going well in Kaede's eyes. She kept the blue smoke flowing around the vines close to the group. However sounds were coming from up ahead that resembled a battle and she grew worried at their slow process. If someone else was fighting, or more likely dying to, the hollow they should be there to help. "I think we need to advance." she said, "We can handle the remnants as we move." Screeching and hacking interrupted any further words as the hollow burst from the trees up ahead and began attacking Kent's creation. She quickly pulled her smoke back, gathering it in a dense ball in preparation for the group's counterattack.

One that was stopped before it began when the crack of a bullet echoed overheard, causing the girl to jump and duck down. The aura around the hollow shrouded his form and then a body dropped. When it seemed no further bullets were incoming she peeked her head up and looked at where the body had fallen. "Is there ... any life left here Kent?" she asked. It didn't look dangerous anymore. She approached as another figure came running into the area, waving their hands in the air furiously. She took a step back before recognising Jackson, who ran up to the body and slapped some object on it. Cautiously approaching again she saw whatever it may have been was gone, and all that remained was the broken body of their former classmate, bleeding heavily. "Where did you come from Jackson?" she asked in disbelief.

She turned back to her sect to see their reactions and saw Iphie was tracing her card. And it became an egg rather than a sceptre. Kaede's eyes had no answer for Iphie when the girl looked at her.

Words rang out through the forest as men suddenly appeared all around them. The mass of blue smoke she had been holding onto wavered and began to fall apart, dissipating quicker and quicker as they approached. It felt like the flow was being damned in a dozen places, only a trickle managing to make it through. She quickly crossed the distance back to her sect, waving Jackson to follow. Questions about how he was here could come later. She was glad to see Kent was having the same thoughts as her, crafting a nest for the egg. She took a deep breath and searched for that spark. It was difficult but she managed to recall some of her anger, the roaring flame that consumed. Red smoke began to leak out of the marble. She held her hand close to the egg, letting the smoke encircle it and pushed her will into it creating a gentle warmth. A crackling fire in the winter, everyone in the family huddled around for warmth, just as the sect was doing now.

"I hope this works like our other cards." she said. Her own turned to marbles which produced smoke. Kent's she remembered, had created a see that first day which had birthed that dream. Now Iphie's had birthed another tool from which power should come. She noticed her hands were shaking causing the smoke to come out in a weird pattern. They'd already been captured once and escaped as criminals. Now the same situation was playing out, with the exact same hollow. Only worse. She didn't want to be captured again.
 
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