Viktoriya's Story

Valoel could feel the danger as they entered the subway, it was very dimly lit, and even then most of it was shrouded in darkness. The faint smell of blood was in the air no doubt from a patrol that was recently killed. "I can feel it...no doubt they are ready for us. Soldiers cover our advance, we shall proceed with caution." She ordered the soldiers who saluted in response before getting into position.

Valoel was careful, keeping low and advancing forward. She very much knew there were traps probably set up all over the place. Explosives ready to be shot, an ambush, anything. However that was the least of her concern...there was pillars in their way however many was cleared away. It was rather open with a handful of cover. It smelled like a trap.

At the base camp for Errant, they were using old security cameras now fully restored and functional. "Aye Rook. 'Ight on schedule I might add. Time to send the order..." Rook's Corporal laughed as Rook himself watched the cameras. "Remember, get that woman alive. If not just kill her. It be better to have ourselves a hostage, a very important one at that...young and foolish..." Rook grinned as he scratched his beard.

For the KAP soldiers, the leader of the group received his order. "Lets put on a show lads...this is gonna be good..." The voice chuckled as the 'soldiers' aimed their weapons not past Valoel or Viktoryia, but at them...

Suddenly spotlight flashed from the other side of the area along with a few dozen soldiers with weapons aimed at them. "Got you bastards!" and from behind them the men spoke up. "We got you hook line and sinker you KAP dogs!"

"Damn! They disguised themselves! Viktoryia to me now!" She shouted channeling a massive amount of magic and projected a magical barrier to cover both sides just as the gunfire from both sides erupted sending bullets in their direction. "Clever bastards...The barrier wont last forever, we need to hurry and---" "Fire the cannon!" A voice shouted over the gunfire as suddenly a massive ball of iron hit her barrier causing it to fracture at a much higher rate. They had cannons?! They would not last long.

Using her communicator, she fumbled with it as her life was on the line and managed to get it to work. "This is KAP Knight Valoel! I need immediate assistance in the subway!" She shouted into her earpiece.

Rook and the men in the command center all laughed as their plan was proceeding nicely. "Yarharhar! That was great indeed! Look forward to your new badge in the morning Corporal! Get the next thing ready. They are going to get their reinforcments soon and I want them all dead when they do..."

Alexei leapt back from Victor, raising one arm to protect his face and reflexively placing the other hand on his pistol. It would seem that Victor wasn't as badly injured as he thought. Or maybe he was just that determined. He remembered himself and let go of his gun, afraid to further irritate the knight. Until he collapsed back to the ground, he remained tightened up like a spring.
He was listening to Zeke when Victor began to growl. Alexei put his hands up in a non-threatening way, understanding the growl well enough. A strange mix of relief and fear when he saw the glow of magic. "I understand," he replied to Zeke. "Plenty of people don't trust butchers like me." He smiled, evoking the less than kind nickname for his profession in an attempt at self-deprecating humor. "But as long as everyone turns out alright, it doesn't matter who does it." He hefted his kit back onto both shoulders. "Well, I'm sure I'm needed elsewhere. If everything's all set…" He gave Zeke a once over visually. He was concerned about that shoulder, but he seemed well enough to continue on. Besides, Zeke wasn't stupid. Morons didn't survive the fall of Lehechalesh. If he needed help, he'd ask. "...Then I'll be on my way." He gave a salute and went back down the fire escape.

Alexei dropped the last foot or so to the ground and shook out his limbs as he began the trek toward the subway. His chest was aching and it was slightly hard to breathe, especially deeply. All of that jumping around on the fire escape had agitated it.
A few times, he paused to inspect a soldier on the ground, but every time except for one, there was nothing he could do. He was tying a tourniquet just above the ruined majority of a knight's leg when the sounds of gunfire echoed from the subway. Not a long after, a crackling voice came over his headset. Immediately on alert, the medic adjusted the frequency in time to catch the second half of Valoel's call for assistance.
Alexei changed the frequency on his headset and listed out the coordinates of his patient to the evacuation team and confirmed that the others knew Of the plight of Valoel's company. He waited until they were in sight, giving him as much assistance as he could on the ground, then he started off again with the company of another medic. They weren't going to let Valoel's company die.
They crept into the subway, staying out of sight. The echoing sound of battle becoming louder. Alexei's face was stony as he drew his weapon and his staff. He at least intended to rescue the wounded.

The man continued to speak with Viktor, it slightly confused him seeing that he had almost injured him with one of his outbursts. He could feel the last of the scrapes and nicks in his flesh tighten and knot themselves neatly back into the shape it was supposed to be, or atleast something close. The demons shuddered with happiness, continually reminding Viktor how important it was to help and listen. He certainly was, but not at them. The magic still quietly flowing around him helped and as Zeke finished his sentence Viktor suddenly swung up, it looked inhuman, he barely used his hands suddenly rising to his feet and staring out over the city.

It took him a second as he was seemingly losing himself while watching the carnage, he then tilted his head staring without a blink at Zeke. He stretched out his hand, pointing towards the subway. His voice, just like earlier desperately scratched it way through his helmet, it was frail and broken. "Join others, need us, quick." He stated, seemingly facing out again as he stared, this time at Zeke. He then dove, without any kind of warning off the roof, landing with a loud crash on the road underneath, shattering some of the pavement in the process. He looked at the disappearing back of the medic, still feeling slightly bad about how he had acted. But he didn't have time to feel bad. The voices was furiously shouting at him for speaking earlier, swarming through his head like an army of angry wasps.

There was no straight way to the subway, pieces of rubble and a few walls would block the way, but that also works excellently. One can say whatever they want about the remaining intelligence that Viktor has, but he is still learning, still capable of adapting. One of the things he had learned, was that there was ways to calm and satisfy the inhabitants of his head. Through violence.

Viktor started simply beating his way through obstacles, punching past boulders, ruins and entire walls, it was quite speedy way of travel seeing that Viktor was pickin up more and more speed. It was only a question until he got heated up again, and by that time he should have reached his targets.

With Victor and Alexei set en route for the rest of the squad, Zeke too takes off towards the subway entrance. It was a mess, rubble and bodies, some of them mangled by Viktoriya. He opts to not look upon it all too long. It was morbid, unexpected, much of his training, his conditioning, it was all to fight monsters, not men. And yet here they are, fighting a war with former comrades. A loud sound, echoing yells, and gunfire helps to distract him from his mulling thoughts, prompting him to take off into the subway. He did not yell out, that would be folly, if enemies had ambushed them, to take them by surprise was a far more preferable option.

Reaching the scene, he freezes the moisture accumulated upon the ground to send himself into a sweeping dive into the nearest enemy soldier, striking him in the base of the legs and then cracking a blow across his jaw, before retreating behind the barrier made by Valoel.

"Let me guess, trap," Zeke asks somewhat facetiously, shaken by cannon fire hitting Val's barrier. "Hell! Are they firing cannons!? In an underground passage?! That is really... strategically flawed."

Reacting immediately to the orders she was given, Viktoriya retreats behind the barrier as well, ears ringing from the boom of cannon fire. It was a trap, it was too obvious not to be one, this is their domain, and in fear of causing a collapse she opts not to using anything sonic while down here. With a moment of thought, she instead glances around before her and catches one of the used, still rather hot cannonballs, and picks it up. With a feat of sheer muscle, she flings it in the direction of the cannon, whistling as it flies towards its destination, perhaps at least taking down some gunmen in the process.

"Yes, they are firing a cannon down in the subway...chances are they will take us out no matter what it takes." Valoel spoke over the gunfire from both directions. "The enemy have decided to disguise themselves as some of our men. If the enemy somehow survives this day then make sure you make sure if they are our men." She added as Viktoryia threw a cannonball at the enemy.

On the other side of the field, the cannonball smashed into a makeshift barricade before bouncing off and impacting one of the gunman sending him flying. "Keep shooting! The barrier wont hold for long!" A man called out as they prepared another cannonball.

Meanwhile for Rook watching from the safety of the command center, he chuckled as he spoke in his communicator. "Send it in...We got a bunch of their elites right where we want them..." He chuckled to himself as he put a pipe in his mouth and smoked from it.

"Right sir! We are sending it out on the way. Estimated time two minutes sir! All hands are ready and all supplies are stocked. See you on the camera sir!" A voice replied as Rook chuckled. "This is going to be fun..."

As expected, the situation in the subway was terrible. The sound of gun and cannon fire was deafening as it echoed off the walls. What on earth were these people thinking? If the subway collapsed, they would all be buried alive. Rook wasn't an idiot, so why was he allowing this? Alexei and the other medic surveyed the situation from a hiding place behind a bit of rubble. Under that kind of firepower, Valoel's shields wouldn't last for long.
He glanced at the other medic. They intended to make a dash on the count of three, but bolted sooner because of Zeke skidding past them. Better to all slip past the barrier at once. Alexei put up a shield as they ran and the other medic shot at the enemies, providing some cover.
"Hello, Sir, Ma'am," Alexei said, not bothering with a salute and instead setting up two more shields to supplement Valoels'. Viktorya caught his attention as she threw the cannonball. Even if the Kaybdenite experiments were unethical, no one could say they weren't effective. Alexei glanced up at the tunnel ceiling. "I don't suppose that your shields would protect us from a cave in?" At least if they weren't crushed, then Viktorya might be able to dig them out.

Aurel had withdrawn from her position in the dark to seek cover behind Valoel's shields. An additional plan was needed before they were all suffocated in the rubble but she was drawing a blank– before she joined the knights her first instinct would have been to run away and either call the mission a failure or catch up with her target at a later point. Right now, of course, she was probably meant to be considering civilian life or at least have enough pride in her mission to stick with it, but the temptation to withdraw was growing stronger. However, she was at the mercy of Valoel's orders for now. She smiled as Viktoriya flung a cannonball at the enemies– the creature was certainly adapt at finding improvised weaponry in the field, even if it was a little crude.

Then Alexei spoke, and Aurel realised there was yet another factor she hadn't considered.

"I'd suggest withdrawing, or advancing," she said. "If we remain here for much longer we'll be trapped, and that wouldn't do us any good."

It was frustrating, caught in a ranged fight with her melee skills. Possibly she could find a safer passage to sneak unseen behind enemy lines– but their choice of weapon was so destructive she'd be worried about taking damage on accident even if she'd been able to remain out of sight. Still, it couldn't be helped– she'd wait for the order from her superiors before she made a move.

Victor continued the quite foolish, yet impressive act of throwing mad fists against the concrete blocking his way. He wasn't even sure if he was heading towards the subway anymore, just blindly taking out his anger into the nearby rubble. Well that thought might be wrong, it wasn't his anger. He had no idea about the others, he supposed most of them were dying down there already, he could give up on his slow digging straight through one of the buildings, but that would most likely be both a hit against his pride and sanity.

Upon reaching a particularly large wall he promptly smashes his fist through it, forcing it downwards, he started repeatedly punching it down into the ground, even though he could already step over it his rage was getting the better of him. He was steadily growing more and more heated, it was only a question about time before he threw himself at something. And as if god himself, if he was now still alive granted his wish. A large portion of the pavement around Victor suddenly cracked with a worryingly loud boom. A moment passed as the dust settles before he entire portion he was standing on suddenly caved in, landing atop one of Alexei's shield, crushing it mercilessly.

Victor managed to remain standing atop diagonal piece of road, having suddenly been brought to the group, even if his entry had been rather haphazard. His eyes were glowing intently, almost leaving a faint glimmer as he breathes heavily. He stared intently towards Viktoriya who had finished her throw, and along with that the gentle magical barrier put up by Valoel, he was still outside it and looked as if he was ready to lunge at it in an attempt to tear it apart by hand. Yes, anyone looking at him could see just how close he was to try and jump his comrades. Luckily it had only been cold, dead stone which he had worked himself through, nothing too much, so he switched his gaze towards the thunderous cannon. Most of the soldiers was still reeling from his sudden entrance but a large portion was preparing to mow him down.

Victor braced for a moment, bending his knees slightly before he suddenly leapt of the ramp. Releasing a loud screech, there was no humanity left in that noise, it sounded properly like those beasts who emerge out of the rifts and tear KAP soldier apart. Unfortunately Errant's men were well trained, specifically those who had been assigned to the ambush, the cannon was already directed his way, undoubtedly the soldiers had in some way been informed of him. Another cannonball was shot and crashed straight into Victor mid-flight, causing an ugly grinding noise of metal against metal. Viktor's leap was turned into a crazed spin as the ball didn't force him back with it, rather being bounced off him. With not nearly the same ferocity Victor crashed head first in the cannon, tipping it in the process and seemingly being contempt with stayin there.

Zeke did not think of it at first, what he had thought a strategic flaw was in fact what length the enemy was willing to go through to achieve victory, no matter the sacrifice. Three options now presented themselves to him, none of them the most desirable: to either deliberately cause the tunnel to collapse and pray the shields hold, to retreat out and accept this mission as a failure, or to charge forward and pray for a miracle. Regardless of his training, his veteran status, he felt the pressure, compounded by the fact that these were men, not the monsters he had spent much of his life preparing for.

With a sigh, he begins to turn to Valoel, mind ready to accept that a retreat was better than a total loss that will likely cost them their lives when all of a sudden something crashes down before them, shaking Zeke and causing Viktoriya's ears to stand straight.

"The hell," Zeke exclaims, with a face a combination of shock and confusion, soon recognizing the rampaging form as that of Victor, who with no regard to his own well being charges straight into the cannon, taking a glancing blow to the side as he does so. At first he thought to check if he was okay, but knew by now that the man was not the type to be killed so easily. He looks around, noticing focus has been taken directly on Victor by the enemy. "Not quite an angel, that Victor, but a miracle worker all the same."

Charging forward through the mayhem wrought by Victor, he draws his right arm and brings it against the barricade and rapidly freezes it making the metal brittle in the process, then with the other arm rapidly heats it with intent to cause it to rupture towards those soldiers behind it as well as creating cover in the form of steam.

In reaction to these actions, Viktoriya too charges forward, out from behind the barrier, and rams against the cannon, less for the intent to free Victor, and more the intent to turn its weight and size against the enemy to only intensify the hysteria and break through.

As talk of withdraw and retreat was being tossed around, Valoel was prepared to give the order to retreat. They were pinned down, and were minutes away from being killed. They had to withdraw for now to think of a new plan and---

Before she finished her train of thought a section of the roof collapsed sending dust and debree flying causing her to cough and think that the ceiling was about to collapse killing them all. However, Victor was there from the dust who then leapt at the enemy after unleashing a bestial screech and was hit by a cannon and crashed into said cannon.

Great...she just lost a recruit she thought. But in any case the enemy was more surprised and confused at this event giving them enough time to counterattack before they realized they were still there. "Everyone get in there before they regroup!" Valoel commanded as she removed her barrier, coughing a very small bit of blood into her hand as she did. Cannonballs did a bit more on her than she thought.

Getting to the makeshift barricade she channeled a ball of energy and lobbed it at the enemy which exploded from behind sending one guy flying. "Damn! Get yourselves together! Shoot them! Shoot them!" One man yelled as he tried to regroup his forces which failed.

Rook furrowed his brows as he watched his front line getting overrun. "Damn...those were some good men. But we won't let their deaths be in vain..." Rook growled as his communicator buzzed to life again. "On our way sir, one minute till we make it to the front...or we will be meeting them if they get through...This is our ace sir. We won't let you down." The voice spoke. "Good, because you are all we have now...We best make this count soldier or else we are going to have to hold the line ourselves..." Rook replied. He was going all in with this maneuver.

Thinking that he heard something strange, Alexei glanced at the roof just before Victor crashed through. For a moment, before he registered what exactly happened, he thought that he was about to meet his maker. He still wasn't entirely relieved when he realized that it was Victor, but it wasn't the worst thing that could've happened. At least their enemies were as surprised as they were. He left that shield broken and instead absorbed the energy from it. Exhaustion was starting to make itself more evident. His eyebrows raised slightly when Valoel ordered the push, but he wasn't the commander, so he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he and the other medic seized the one soldier too injured to help themself and that had a chance of surviving. Together, they pulled them behind a new shield.
Alexei drew his pistol and fired at the rebels, his lip twitching. It wasn't the first time he'd seen people die, but he certainly didn't like being the definite cause. He swallowed hard, pushing the discomfort down. A bullet grazed his arm and ripped his uniform. Alexei glanced back and ducked behind the shield. He didn't stop trying to help, though, but he just took potshots when he had a chance. Hopefully, the push would be successful.

There was not quite a silence before the storm, yet a quiet in the group settled as people seemed to consider whether a retreat would be necessary. Aurel was ready for anything– she thought– at least ready to escape the rising dust trying to make its way into her chest with each breath, or advance on their enemies should the commander demand it.

She was not ready for Victor to come crashing down on Alexei's shield alongside a good portion of the roof, and yelped as she jumped away from some of the rubble. She thought to say something but Victor was already moving towards the cannon, so that all she managed to say was more a bark of surprised laughter as Zeke and Viktoryia charged forward. She looked to Valoel, quite certain what her next words would be but wanting to make sure, and then the barrier was gone and the battle officially renewed.

Tired, choking on dust and rubble, Aurel summoned the last of her strength to aid with the push. Her elongated limbs acquired an eerie balanced as she launched forward, dodging a flying bullet, supporting herself on the ground for a moment as she redirected her route, then jumped. For the short while she was in the air, she picked three enemies scrambling to get a good aim before she landed. One raised his gun just too late, as her leg descended and kicked it out of his hands.

The other leg landed as Aurel swung in a inhuman manner– more like a doll than a person. The unarmed man received a kick to the face, and Aurel's knuckles hit the ground, her body twisted, then untwisted like an animated glitch until she was standing on her feet again, swords swinging rapidly. The three men fell and she dove for cover.

Feelings was quite mixed for Victor, he had made a large dent in the cannon, most likely with his head. The cannonball which had hit him was even more painful. But the only real feeling was the fact that he was losing consciousness. That, was truly dangerous, he could feel control slip out his fingers as blurry figures flew around him, screams, explosions and a giant, furry beast diving over him.

The beast quite painfully released him, but as again, he layed flat on his back, the light in his eyes slwoly dimming. Strangely enough, even for Victor was the fact that the voices was as quiet as ever, they weren't madly chattering like he imagined they would. He got the feeling of an audience holding their breath as the final climax of the story starts. He felt angry, mostly at himself, he had already told himself several times how this was his chance, a chance where he could prove that he still had control over himself, he didn't want to be as weak as to let that slip away, but as the sounds slowly grew more and more distorted.

The soldiers around him seemed to have different things to focus, otherwise they would be trying to finish him off by now, that would be better, if they did then the voices would need to heal him. Maybe they thought he was killed by the cannon.

Now, his inhabitants refused him healing, they knew that if he was just left a little longer then they would have free reign, just a little longer. If Victor didn't recieve any help then he would undoubtedly fall unconscious.

In the ensuing chaos, pushing their way through the barricades, taking down as many soldiers by whatever means possible, it felt ever slightly like a victory, a feat that wouldn't have been as fruitful if it weren't for Victor's rather haphazard entrance into battle. Whether it was valiance or reckless abandon, or some combination of both, it seems to have worked in their favor. However, Zeke stopped, turning back to see that he had not yet began to heal like before. Something is wrong, the light in his eyes is fading. The sudden fear of losing a comrade takes precedence over advancing, getting down to get a closer look.

"Hey, you ain't allowed to play sacrificial hero, stay with us... damn it to hell, he's not healing," he says before turning to Alexei. "Hey, Alexei, wasn't it? He's hurt really bad this time. I'll take whatever fit he gives in response."

Viktoriya, who was busy charging through now that the ranks were broken suddenly stops, a chill in her spine, her senses on high alert for some reason, not just towards the enemy ahead, but behind as well. Her hair bristles up, snapping her neck back to give a side glance look towards Victor, taking in a sharp breath.

"He's quiet," she mutters, her gruff voice cracking into something akin to a growl. It was the closest she could define the state of Victor at the moment, a state of quiet. She had grown to understand the closest thing to normal for him was now disrupted, and he was now... quiet, yet other than that she could not understand the exact details of it, other than it set the beast on edge.

With the barricades broken through, the remaining soldiers still able to walk began to pull back. "Pull back! Let 'Ol Iron get them! Retreat all units! Head back to the command center!" One man yelled as Rook's men retreated.

WIth the battle won for now, Valoel gave a sigh of relief that they managed to get through. No doubt with some...unusual assistance from above. With the enemy gone, there was time for a bit of rest. "Alexei, tend to Victor to the best of your abilities. I have no doubt we have seen the last of the enemy forces. Let us use this time to recover our strength." She ordered as she leaned against a bullet filled pillar, grabbed a small handkerchief from inside her armor to wipe the blood off her hand.

She honestly never expected a cannon to be used down here, even then it was multiple shots as well. She underestimated their insanity and zeal. "No wonder they had Devil's in their name...they are not afraid of being sent to hell..." She muttered to herself as she allowed the squad to rest for the time being to heal up and gather their wits.

Up until Zeke brought his attention to it, Alexei had made the assumption that Victor would heal himself. A quick glance over from his position revealed that it was not the case. Either he was playing dead, or more likely, he was in serious danger. "I'm on it," he replied to the two officers. He moved over to Victor, hoping that Viktoriya and Aurel could keep thing suppressed enough to keep them relatively safe. He inspected him quickly, the whole time in the back of his mind expecting Victor to break his skull.
"You can press on if you want, Sir," Alexei said to Zeke, selecting a few things from his first aid kit. "It's most likely a bad concussion. Worst comes to worst, something's broken. You called him Victor, right?" He adjusted his kneeling position and turned his attention back to Victor. "Can you hear me?" He said, speaking calmly and clearly. "I understand that this is probably uncomfortable, but I'm going to need to get this helmet off get a good look at your head and neck." As he spoke, Alexei fiddled with the helmet, eventually unclasping it. "In the meantime, if you can, please tell me your name and where you are?"

It felt kind of like a win, but even Aurel couldn't deny that her muscles were starting to hurt, and her lungs were starting to feel the effects of the oppressive air down in the derelict. She was not looking forward to another push, though she expected there would be one quite soon. Their group was not matched in skill, but they were clearly outnumbered. She wondered if it was possible for them to loose because of exhaustion.

She also had one other worry as the enemies began to draw away, shouting victoriously at each other as their faces disappeared in the dark. "What's an Ol' Iron?" she asked aloud as she turned back to the others.

She'd managed to get hold of one of the retreating soldiers, but felt it was too risky to follow them further– who knew what surprises awaited them further down. Someone willing to fire a cannon in a Subway system was liable to do pretty much anything. Like Valoel had said, whatever these men believed in, they believed in it fiercely enough that they weren't afraid to die to achieve it.

"You said Rook used to be one of us, right?" She turned to Valoel, who was leaning on one of the pillars. "Any idea what he's got in store for us?"

Victor's eyes flashed alight again, there was something strange to them. A bright distortion directly in the middle of the red burning dots. It took Victor just a small moment to organize himself, he knew he had fallen unconscious, he could barely make out Alexei's figure bent over him, it was more of just a blurry haze over his vision. Something felt very wrong.

And it only felt more wrong as the more he came to it, the stronger this wierd sensation felt until it overflowed. "No time to rest huh!? If you won't stop him, we will!" For just a fraction of time the tiny little bugs, scratching their way through the inside of his head broke through. His eyes shone brilliantly. "Victor Garthside, a bloody graveyard" Victor's body suddenly janked up in a sitting position. Those who had heard his voice could definitely notice the difference, there was no crudeness to it. Only a thick monotone and honestly, "beastlike" tone to it.

"I promise, you do not want to see the little secrets we keep!" It was like he was whispering, yet his words could clearly be heard by everyone present. In the same motion he swung both his arms up, attempting to strangle Alexei. Victor himself had yet to properly regain consciousness, yet he desperately tried to, he knew how catastrophic it could be if he didn't.

The level of awareness Victor suddenly demonstrated put Alexei on high alert. The medic put his hands in the air, trying to appear less threatening. "Alright, Mr. Garthside, if you don't want to be touched, I'll leave you be." Apparently, his neck wasn't severely broken, that much was sure. Even if it was, there clearly wasn't anything he could do for the knight. He was moments from backing away a few feet when Victor brought his hands up to strangle him. Though he knew an attempt on his life was not outside the realm of possibilities, Alexei was too exhausted and too close to avoid Victor's grab for him. His hands closed around Alexei's throat. The sudden, intense pressure in his skull and the inability to breathe made it hard to think. Despite himself, panic was setting in. He tried to force Victor off of him, but he wasn't strong enough. "Stop!" Alexei managed, trying desperately to make eye contact with anyone who might help.
Still, through the panic, there was a quiet part of his mind that found this to be an almost an interesting situation. He'd thought about his own death often enough, but he'd never thought that it would be murder. And by another member of KAP! It'd make for quite the obituary, at least.

Taken by surprise once more, Zeke watches blankly as Victor snaps up and begins to talk cryptically, in a voice one can hardly call human. Shaking him from his shock, however, was bearing witness to Victor's hands suddenly wrapped around the throat of none other than the medic, Alexei. In response, he lunges over, clasping between his wrists in an effort to pry him loose, his veins igniting into lines of blue through his skin.

"Who... are you," Zeke says through strained breath as he puts all his strength into trying to keep the medic's throat from being crushed. "Certainly not Victor right now!"

Viktoriya stands, watching intently at Victor's movements, the pupils in her eyes fluctuating, thoughts racing. She had felt unease since she first saw him, heard him, that disharmonious tone that rattled away inside him, far removed from the more steady beat of all other beings, and now it was louder than ever, overtaking everything with its noise, steadily driving the beast mad.

"Skitter and scratch, a skull of roachessss," she shrieks hysterically, her hair on ends like a cornered wildcat as she begins to clasp her hands tightly, baring her teeth. "Konets yego! It wounds the melody, make it stop!"

"Stand down," Zeke yells out, trying to prevent the beast from compounding the issue.