"Thanks. How are you holding up?" Hawke asked as he took the offered up weapon.
Ivy had half a mind to reply with a snarky or sarcastic comment but seeing Hawke quickly becoming drained and overwhelmed replaced all other thought. She took a step toward him, briefly reaching out her hand only to quickly retract it back against her chest. "You'll be ok... We'll be ok," she corrected.
The guards were moving like they were suspended in water, lethargic as if in slow motion. But suddenly like the flip of a switch they were free of Vlad's hold. A feint call for Hawke could be heard above the chaos beckoning him away. She glanced in the direction to only catch a glimpse of a frantic brother and Vlad, covered in blood. Ivy froze where she stood, taking in the sight as it drew breath from her. Vlad was one of the most powerful and strong among them, yet there he sat bleeding out. Was this her fault? So many times she had tried to escape, falling short but instilling that sliver of a thought... That escape could be possible.
Vlad's head fell back against the wall as he closed his eyes. His free hand raised to cover his mouth as he coughed, the taste of iron filling his mouth. He clenched his jaw, opening his eyes to see blood painted along his palm. "It's me, you'll be alright, just - sit down, here," his brother babbled. Vlad didn't argue as Hawke helped him move to the ground so that he was sitting. A smart idea. Vlad quickly felt his head grow dizzy. It became harder for him to open his eyes after closing them, having to blink multiple times before his brother's face could come into focus. He winced as Hawke's hands added more pressure to his wound. "Where's Hanne!"
Even when he was dying, Vlad couldn't help but smile. His bloodied hand grabbed a hold of his brother's shoulder, giving him a reassuring pat. "You worry too much, brother. You'll give yourself wrinkles." He coughed, turning his head away in time to spray blood upon the wall beside him.
"Oh my god. It's all my fault. I'm sorry. I'm so so so sorry." Specter's hands ran back through his unkempt mane as he paced back and forth before him. Distraught and distracted, Specter didn't notice the guard that approached him from behind. A wire cable from a tool similar to those used to catch stray dogs flew over his head and tightened around his neck. A force tugged upon the device, pulling him to the ground and dragging him backwards. Before he could try to phase out of it, an electric current surged through the wire, the shock causing him to convulse uncontrollably.
Novak was busy helping Hanne, and Hawke was more that busy helping his brother, which left Ivy as the only one who could act. She ran, jumping over one guard who laid unconscious on the ground. Then she skidded to the ground when faced with another that stood between herself and Specter. When she hit the ground she slid between his legs, slamming her fist into his crotch as she passed underneath. Ivy quickly hopped back up to her feet and sprinted down the hall after Specter. She went to grab at the wires around his throat but froze. They were so tight on his skin, she would be unable to remove it without touching his skin. The guard protected himself from her by yanking Specter up to his feet, keeping him as a buffer between the two of them.
She couldn't tell Specter to stand still because it would only egg on the guard more, he's just jerk him around or raise the voltage. Ivy gave Specter a look and in that moment he understood. He held as still as he could manage against the electrocution and jerks of the guard. Ivy closed the distance between them, standing less that a foot before Specter. Her hands reached around him grabbing the pole of the tool. She gritted her teeth trying to steady it as she focused as much of her energy as possible into absorbing the electricity like she did with the walls in their rooms. Specter's cheek grazed her arm and he winced. But just after, she was able to break the current long enough for him to phase free.
"I'm sorry," Ivy gasped, looking toward him with concern.
Specter went over to the guard, pushing him halfway through the floor then released his grasp. The man's eyes showed recognition of what was about to happen just before he materialized and the floor sliced him in two. Spec turned back toward Ivy, raising a hand to brush the burn mark on his cheek. "I'm ok... Thank you."
Vlad was fading out of consciousness quickly. He could feel himself slumping further down the wall while the world around him felt fuzzy like a think fog, dense and heavy. He heard a soft voice, not his brothers, more feminine but just as frantic through the thick haze. "Okay, okay, um, here..." Pressure was removed from his wound, but only to make room for new hands. At first it was tolerable until... something started to happen. The pain nearly caused him to sit up right, his eyes snapping open as he let out a loud groan. "Sorry."
Hanne hadn't been able to do much other than stop the bleeding, which was better than nothing, before a guard's foot found her head. Vlad fumbled to try and catch her in his weakened state, being sure her head didn't hit the ground. "Hawke!?" he croaked after his brother as he nearly attacked the guard with primal rage. At first Hawke stunned the guard, then he was on him, punching the man over and over until the blood on his fists was a mix of his own and the man beneath him.
"Stop it! Hawke, stop it!" Novak screamed as they watched, taking care of another guard before joining them. "There's no time for this, we need to go!"
Ivy and Specter rejoined the group as silence filled the corridor. There was a temporary absence of guards, but it wouldn't last long. Hawke was always the one who kept them together, made them all get along... They all looked to him for leadership, if they'd admit it or not, but he was blinded by his own rage and fear for his brother's life. Seeing him so upset and angry made Ivy's spirit sink, "Hawke?" But her words fell on deaf ears as. She looked toward the group with no other choice, "You need to take them and get out of here," she said toward Novak and Specter.
Specter's facial expression was transparent, showing his concern and disagreement with the idea. He didn't want to split up again. But Vlad needed to be healed... Somewhere safe where guards wouldn't be attacking every moment. And that wasn't here. He sighed disapprovingly, but nodded his head in acceptance.
Vlad struggled beneath Hanne, trying to stand or make his presence known but couldn't do more than point his index finger at Ivy. "I'm not leaving my brother."
Ivy didn't have the time for niceties or to coddle Vlad so that he was ok with their separation. He wasn't strong enough to stop her, but he was welcome to try. "You no have no say in the matter."
"You have maybe 30 seconds before more guards get here... I can see them coming," Specter said toward Ivy who nodded her head in acknowledgement. "I can see the outside... trees, darkness... rain, I think," he said, turning to face Novak. "We can get them off the grounds, hidden in the woods. That'll give her time to heal Vlad while we come back for Ivy and Hawke."
Specter didn't really wait for her response. They didn't have the time for that. He made his way over to Hanne and carefully started to lift her from Vlad's lap. "I can carry her if you can help him," he nodded his head toward Vlad. Once he had the blonde secured in his arms, her head resting against his shoulder, Spec motioned his head toward Novak to show he was ready.
Once the others had gone, Ivy looked back to Hawke... still relentlessly beating the guard beneath him who was, without a doubt, long dead. "Hawke? Hawke!" With no other choice, Ivy hooked her arms under his, grabbing a hold of his torso, making sure her skin didn't touch his. In a swift movement, she pried him off of the guard and pulled him backwards until they were sitting several feet away from the mangled corpse. Ivy didn't release him, still holding Hawke to her chest with her legs on either side of him. "Hey, hey! You'll break your hands," she spoke gently and calmly to him.
Ivy sat there for a moment letting him calm down and catch his breath. "Vlad'll be fine, I promise. Novak and Specter will get him and Hanne out of here... And she'll take good care of him." She slowly loosened her hold on him, leaning forward slightly so she could look into Hawke's eyes over his shoulder. "But I'm going to need your help if we're going to survive until they can comeback for us."
They were running out of time. Ivy could only hope that he was on the same page as her. She scooted back from Hawke and moved to her feet. She quickly searched a nearby guard, stealing the gloves from his pockets and put them on. "We have to be a distraction... They need to think we're all still inside so they don't go offsite looking for your brother." Ivy then extended her gloved hand toward Hawke, offering to help him to his feet.
Once he was up, Ivy didn't release her hold of his hand, scared that she might lose track of him in the maze of corridors. She started down whichever direction they were facing, turning down different hallways sporadically. Ivy didn't have a destination or a direct plan other than confusing the guards. On one occasion or another she'd intentionally turn them down one hall that had guards so they could physically see the two of them. And every pathway they chose, Ivy was sure to destroy the surveillance cameras in their wake.
They had doubled down the same corridors numerous times in a confusing game of cat and mouse when Ivy turned a corner back into the hallway littered with the numerous bodies from the fight. She carefully hopped and jumped over them, leading Hawke back to the supply closet they all piled into earlier. The paths they took lead the guards in every direction on the floor, confusing them as to which way they went. This made it easy for them to take a moment to catch their breath in the utility closet, and maybe they'd be lucky enough to go unnoticed until Novak and Specter returned.
Ivy carefully propped something against the door and listened to make sure no guards followed them down the hall. When she was greeted by only silence, she let out a sigh of relief before looking back up to Hawke. "We're in the clear for now." Her eyes looked him over, studying him to make sure he wasn't wounded, but also to see how he was holding up. Ivy felt drained and charged all at once. The adrenalin had given her fight while, strangely, the electrocutions seemed to almost... charge her. She never experienced that before, but she also never had Hanne there to rapidly heal her. Ivy imagined it was similar to what a drug high felt like from the books Specter read to them. She could feel her crash tiptoeing closer and closer. But she was more worried about Hawke.
It was evident all over Hawke's face that he was worried about his brother, but beyond that... She could only imagine what all these minds and thoughts were doing to him. "Hey," Ivy whispered toward him. "Do me a favor? Close your eyes." She gave him a reassuring smile and waited until he did as she asked. Ivy placed her gloved hands gently upon his cheeks in a gentle, reassuring gesture. She honestly had no idea if she was doing any of this right. The past hour had been more physical contact than she had gotten in her entire life. But, she hoped it helped calm him... if at least a little. "I can only imagine how hard this is... on your mind. Just focus on my thoughts... It is just us right now. Let your mind rest and recover while it can."
Ivy had half a mind to reply with a snarky or sarcastic comment but seeing Hawke quickly becoming drained and overwhelmed replaced all other thought. She took a step toward him, briefly reaching out her hand only to quickly retract it back against her chest. "You'll be ok... We'll be ok," she corrected.
The guards were moving like they were suspended in water, lethargic as if in slow motion. But suddenly like the flip of a switch they were free of Vlad's hold. A feint call for Hawke could be heard above the chaos beckoning him away. She glanced in the direction to only catch a glimpse of a frantic brother and Vlad, covered in blood. Ivy froze where she stood, taking in the sight as it drew breath from her. Vlad was one of the most powerful and strong among them, yet there he sat bleeding out. Was this her fault? So many times she had tried to escape, falling short but instilling that sliver of a thought... That escape could be possible.
Vlad's head fell back against the wall as he closed his eyes. His free hand raised to cover his mouth as he coughed, the taste of iron filling his mouth. He clenched his jaw, opening his eyes to see blood painted along his palm. "It's me, you'll be alright, just - sit down, here," his brother babbled. Vlad didn't argue as Hawke helped him move to the ground so that he was sitting. A smart idea. Vlad quickly felt his head grow dizzy. It became harder for him to open his eyes after closing them, having to blink multiple times before his brother's face could come into focus. He winced as Hawke's hands added more pressure to his wound. "Where's Hanne!"
Even when he was dying, Vlad couldn't help but smile. His bloodied hand grabbed a hold of his brother's shoulder, giving him a reassuring pat. "You worry too much, brother. You'll give yourself wrinkles." He coughed, turning his head away in time to spray blood upon the wall beside him.
"Oh my god. It's all my fault. I'm sorry. I'm so so so sorry." Specter's hands ran back through his unkempt mane as he paced back and forth before him. Distraught and distracted, Specter didn't notice the guard that approached him from behind. A wire cable from a tool similar to those used to catch stray dogs flew over his head and tightened around his neck. A force tugged upon the device, pulling him to the ground and dragging him backwards. Before he could try to phase out of it, an electric current surged through the wire, the shock causing him to convulse uncontrollably.
Novak was busy helping Hanne, and Hawke was more that busy helping his brother, which left Ivy as the only one who could act. She ran, jumping over one guard who laid unconscious on the ground. Then she skidded to the ground when faced with another that stood between herself and Specter. When she hit the ground she slid between his legs, slamming her fist into his crotch as she passed underneath. Ivy quickly hopped back up to her feet and sprinted down the hall after Specter. She went to grab at the wires around his throat but froze. They were so tight on his skin, she would be unable to remove it without touching his skin. The guard protected himself from her by yanking Specter up to his feet, keeping him as a buffer between the two of them.
She couldn't tell Specter to stand still because it would only egg on the guard more, he's just jerk him around or raise the voltage. Ivy gave Specter a look and in that moment he understood. He held as still as he could manage against the electrocution and jerks of the guard. Ivy closed the distance between them, standing less that a foot before Specter. Her hands reached around him grabbing the pole of the tool. She gritted her teeth trying to steady it as she focused as much of her energy as possible into absorbing the electricity like she did with the walls in their rooms. Specter's cheek grazed her arm and he winced. But just after, she was able to break the current long enough for him to phase free.
"I'm sorry," Ivy gasped, looking toward him with concern.
Specter went over to the guard, pushing him halfway through the floor then released his grasp. The man's eyes showed recognition of what was about to happen just before he materialized and the floor sliced him in two. Spec turned back toward Ivy, raising a hand to brush the burn mark on his cheek. "I'm ok... Thank you."
Vlad was fading out of consciousness quickly. He could feel himself slumping further down the wall while the world around him felt fuzzy like a think fog, dense and heavy. He heard a soft voice, not his brothers, more feminine but just as frantic through the thick haze. "Okay, okay, um, here..." Pressure was removed from his wound, but only to make room for new hands. At first it was tolerable until... something started to happen. The pain nearly caused him to sit up right, his eyes snapping open as he let out a loud groan. "Sorry."
Hanne hadn't been able to do much other than stop the bleeding, which was better than nothing, before a guard's foot found her head. Vlad fumbled to try and catch her in his weakened state, being sure her head didn't hit the ground. "Hawke!?" he croaked after his brother as he nearly attacked the guard with primal rage. At first Hawke stunned the guard, then he was on him, punching the man over and over until the blood on his fists was a mix of his own and the man beneath him.
"Stop it! Hawke, stop it!" Novak screamed as they watched, taking care of another guard before joining them. "There's no time for this, we need to go!"
Ivy and Specter rejoined the group as silence filled the corridor. There was a temporary absence of guards, but it wouldn't last long. Hawke was always the one who kept them together, made them all get along... They all looked to him for leadership, if they'd admit it or not, but he was blinded by his own rage and fear for his brother's life. Seeing him so upset and angry made Ivy's spirit sink, "Hawke?" But her words fell on deaf ears as. She looked toward the group with no other choice, "You need to take them and get out of here," she said toward Novak and Specter.
Specter's facial expression was transparent, showing his concern and disagreement with the idea. He didn't want to split up again. But Vlad needed to be healed... Somewhere safe where guards wouldn't be attacking every moment. And that wasn't here. He sighed disapprovingly, but nodded his head in acceptance.
Vlad struggled beneath Hanne, trying to stand or make his presence known but couldn't do more than point his index finger at Ivy. "I'm not leaving my brother."
Ivy didn't have the time for niceties or to coddle Vlad so that he was ok with their separation. He wasn't strong enough to stop her, but he was welcome to try. "You no have no say in the matter."
"You have maybe 30 seconds before more guards get here... I can see them coming," Specter said toward Ivy who nodded her head in acknowledgement. "I can see the outside... trees, darkness... rain, I think," he said, turning to face Novak. "We can get them off the grounds, hidden in the woods. That'll give her time to heal Vlad while we come back for Ivy and Hawke."
Specter didn't really wait for her response. They didn't have the time for that. He made his way over to Hanne and carefully started to lift her from Vlad's lap. "I can carry her if you can help him," he nodded his head toward Vlad. Once he had the blonde secured in his arms, her head resting against his shoulder, Spec motioned his head toward Novak to show he was ready.
Once the others had gone, Ivy looked back to Hawke... still relentlessly beating the guard beneath him who was, without a doubt, long dead. "Hawke? Hawke!" With no other choice, Ivy hooked her arms under his, grabbing a hold of his torso, making sure her skin didn't touch his. In a swift movement, she pried him off of the guard and pulled him backwards until they were sitting several feet away from the mangled corpse. Ivy didn't release him, still holding Hawke to her chest with her legs on either side of him. "Hey, hey! You'll break your hands," she spoke gently and calmly to him.
Ivy sat there for a moment letting him calm down and catch his breath. "Vlad'll be fine, I promise. Novak and Specter will get him and Hanne out of here... And she'll take good care of him." She slowly loosened her hold on him, leaning forward slightly so she could look into Hawke's eyes over his shoulder. "But I'm going to need your help if we're going to survive until they can comeback for us."
They were running out of time. Ivy could only hope that he was on the same page as her. She scooted back from Hawke and moved to her feet. She quickly searched a nearby guard, stealing the gloves from his pockets and put them on. "We have to be a distraction... They need to think we're all still inside so they don't go offsite looking for your brother." Ivy then extended her gloved hand toward Hawke, offering to help him to his feet.
Once he was up, Ivy didn't release her hold of his hand, scared that she might lose track of him in the maze of corridors. She started down whichever direction they were facing, turning down different hallways sporadically. Ivy didn't have a destination or a direct plan other than confusing the guards. On one occasion or another she'd intentionally turn them down one hall that had guards so they could physically see the two of them. And every pathway they chose, Ivy was sure to destroy the surveillance cameras in their wake.
They had doubled down the same corridors numerous times in a confusing game of cat and mouse when Ivy turned a corner back into the hallway littered with the numerous bodies from the fight. She carefully hopped and jumped over them, leading Hawke back to the supply closet they all piled into earlier. The paths they took lead the guards in every direction on the floor, confusing them as to which way they went. This made it easy for them to take a moment to catch their breath in the utility closet, and maybe they'd be lucky enough to go unnoticed until Novak and Specter returned.
Ivy carefully propped something against the door and listened to make sure no guards followed them down the hall. When she was greeted by only silence, she let out a sigh of relief before looking back up to Hawke. "We're in the clear for now." Her eyes looked him over, studying him to make sure he wasn't wounded, but also to see how he was holding up. Ivy felt drained and charged all at once. The adrenalin had given her fight while, strangely, the electrocutions seemed to almost... charge her. She never experienced that before, but she also never had Hanne there to rapidly heal her. Ivy imagined it was similar to what a drug high felt like from the books Specter read to them. She could feel her crash tiptoeing closer and closer. But she was more worried about Hawke.
It was evident all over Hawke's face that he was worried about his brother, but beyond that... She could only imagine what all these minds and thoughts were doing to him. "Hey," Ivy whispered toward him. "Do me a favor? Close your eyes." She gave him a reassuring smile and waited until he did as she asked. Ivy placed her gloved hands gently upon his cheeks in a gentle, reassuring gesture. She honestly had no idea if she was doing any of this right. The past hour had been more physical contact than she had gotten in her entire life. But, she hoped it helped calm him... if at least a little. "I can only imagine how hard this is... on your mind. Just focus on my thoughts... It is just us right now. Let your mind rest and recover while it can."