Predictably, Victoria tried to convince Hunter to use his telepathy on the other teams. Neither she nor David seemed to understand where Hunter was coming from; their powers could be easily controlled, they couldn't accidentally lobotomize someone with a rogue thought. All they cared about was winning this game, not how Hunter felt. Well, he could still be a team player without screwing with anyone's mind, he would show them that.
"I'm not-" Hunter was about to refuse again, but Tory cut him off, her voice raised in excitement as she took off after the red beam of light piercing the canopy of trees.
If he remembered correctly, Bulltrue had the red football sized 'flag', which meant Libra had already gotten their hands on it. Hunter chased after Tory, following as closely as he could considering the better shape she was in. He was a few seconds behind her so he didn't see when she tackled Desiree to the ground, but he got there in time for Victoria to dash past him, heading back to the neutral zone, egg-shaped flag in hand.
"Cover my back!" She shouted back to Hunter and David.
Cover her... Great. Let's hope this chick doesn't have some crazy, fire bending powers, or super strength. Hunter thought, turning to face the girl as she picked herself up off the ground.
"Damn," Desiree muttered, glaring at the retreating form of Tory. "That little..."
Her voice trailed off as she focused on the two guys in front of her, sizing them up. She was familiar with David and his abilities, but the other one, the blonde, she knew nothing about, aside from being the new Blackjack member. Still, she was confident that her power would work on him, just as she knew it would on David, incapacitating both and allowing her to pursue Tory.
"Okay, boys. Let's play." A playful grin spread across her face. "Or, better yet, you can play with her," she said, pointing behind them.
Hunter spun around to see an older girl with wavy, brunette hair behind them. He recognized her as Tara something-or-other, the leader of Team 69, and a friend of Kyle's. Before Hunter had a chance to react, Tara was raising her arms in the air, and the ground beneath Hunter and David's feet shook, raising up and encasing them in a prison of Earth. Desiree trotted around to face them, her lips twisted in a smirk as she waved goodbye, and ran after Tory and the flag, leaving Tara to guard the two of them.
This didn't seem right to Hunter. Didn't feel right to him. And there was something about all of this that reminded him of the few times he used his ability to mentally project illusions before the incident. Despite being encased in solid rock, he didn't feel trapped. In fact, he didn't feel any differently than before. And then there was Tara, who just stood there silently, arms folded across her chest, unmoving. Sure, her eyes darted back and forth between them, but the girl wasn't blinking... or breathing.
Hunter closed his eyes and focused, picturing in his mind the earth prison crumbling away. He flexed his arms, moving them away from his body which shouldn't have been possible given the rock supposedly surrounding him. He opened his eyes and looked down; he was free, no longer trapped by Tara's ability. In reality, he never had been. Tara and the rock were all an illusion that Desiree had created to keep him and David out of the game, and it would have worked if not for Hunter. Clearly she didn't know that he, too, could cast illusions.
Hunter repeated the technique, this time faster without closing his eyes as he now had a better idea of what he was doing, and the illusion of Tara, too, disappeared. He had hoped that by completely dispelling the illusion for himself, it would do the same for David. David, though, was still convinced he was sealed in rock. He was thrashing around, twisting his body back and forth, apparently in an attempt to free himself from the illusory prison. It seemed Desiree's ability affected each person individually, even when used on multiple people at once. Hunter reached out to shake David, trying to snap him out of it.
"C'mon, David. It's all fake, it's not real. Listen to my voice. Tara isn't real. These rocks aren't real."
He continued to struggle against nothing, Hunter's words unable to get through to him.
Shit, he thought, glancing off towards where Tory and Desiree had run off to, the red beam of light, curiously, not as far away as he had thought it would be. Maybe she caught up to Tory already...
Hunter had to get to Victoria before Desiree could take the flag back, but he also couldn't just leave David here. He didn't know how long the illusion would last for, but if it were anything like his own, David would be stuck here for quite some time. He knew what he would have to do to free David.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He ran his hands over his hair and grabbed at the back of his head in frustration. I can't do this. I can't-
His thoughts were cut off, once again, by Tory's distant shout. "Hunter! David! Get your asses here as soon as possible, or I will kick them back to the states!"
Damn it! Fuck, okay. Okay. Hunter said to himself, reaching out a hand to grab onto David's shoulder. But if you wind up losing your childhood memories or become impotent or something, this is not my fault.
He closed his eyes, concentrating as he reached out to David again, this time with his mind. The Juno type's mind was different than most, cluttered with old, 'forgotten' memories and skills that were both gone and present all at once. It made it difficult for Hunter to focus as he let himself enter David's mind, projecting his thoughts into David's subconsciousness. Hunter even formed a small visualization of his form into David's mind to better help David understand what was happening.
"David, it's me, Hunter. I'm talking to you telepathically. I don't know if this is working or not, but you need to listen to me. That isn't the real Tara. She isn't holding you. You can move."
Instead of trying to explain to David through 'speech' any further about the illusion, Hunter shared a visual from his own memory. David would 'see' in his mind what Hunter saw when he dispelled the illusion of Tara, watching as she faded away into nothingness.
"Move!" He shouted mentally at his teammate.
David's arms shot out to the side, as if they were smashing through the rock 'encasing' him, and he collapsed to the ground. Hunter broke the telepathic contact with David. He could feel a slight headache coming on from entering David's chaotic mind that deeply, but he shook it off, and glanced down at his fellow Blackjack member. David looked confused, and he was panting as if out of breath. If Hunter had to guess, he would say it was the combined effect of the sudden 'awakening' from the illusion and being mentally unprepared for Hunter's intrusion into his mind.
"Give yourself a second to rest; you need it. I have to go find Tory." Hunter told him, immediately taking off after the red beacon. He could also see, off much further in the distance, the yellow light marking Libra's egg. Luckily, he couldn't see Blackjack's own blue beam of light, which meant it was still safe at their base, for now.
He was proud that he had intentionally allowed himself to enter another's mind, and even more prideful in the fact he had done so without any apparent damage. Still, though, he hadn't been entering a totally strange mind as he had been near enough to David often the past two months during team meetings so as for it to be more familiar than most others. That, and mild telepathic communication and projecting his own thoughts into a mind was much easier and less dangerous than pulling thoughts out or tampering with them. Hunter still wasn't nearly ready enough to make a habit of this, nor was he ready to use his ability in an offensive manner. He didn't think he'd ever be ready or willing to do that.
Hunter caught up to Tory much faster than he had expected, but the why and how were soon evident after he found her. She was lying on her stomach on the ground, holding onto the arm of another student, a boy he recognized from Bulltrue's lineup, who was clawing at the dirt and grass as if he were struggling against some invisible force. Another thing he hadn't expected was that he hadn't found Tory where the column of light had been. That was off ahead of him, moving at a nice pace, and heading straight towards the neutral zone away from him. Desiree must have gotten close enough to Tory while chasing after her that she was able to catch her, too, in an illusion, along with whichever Team 1 member that was, and take off with the flag.
Hunter realized he would need to free her from the illusion, just like with David. He glanced over at Kai, the boy he wasn't familiar with, who was still clawing at the ground, calling out for someone to save him. Hunter didn't even consider dispelling the illusion for him. He had no desire to enter a stranger's mind whatsoever, and the guy was in no real danger. The illusion would wear off in time, and while it was still in effect that just meant one less player in the game.
He crouched down next to Victoria, hesitating briefly before resting his hand on her back, and pushing his presence into her mind. At least this time the mind was clearer, and it was easier for him to concentrate. Repeating the process he had used on David with Tory, Hunter this time accessed her thoughts a little to understand what illusion she was caught in so he could show her it fading away. He did so slower this time, more carefully and methodically than with David, now that he could focus better, so she wouldn't be as affected by the return of reality.
"You okay?" He asked her, his hand still resting on her back as she came back to her proper senses. He had noticed the red beacon had disappeared by the time he had left Tory's mind, and he assumed Libra had scored their first point. Hunter knew Victoria would be upset by this, and he hoped that his attempts at being soothing would ensure she wouldn't freak out. 'Hoped' being the operative word.
