Connections of an Otherwordly Nature
JP with Jaxx, Redsword, Trustno1 and Cindy
“Not bad, Alyssa. I always liked a girl who could fight.”
The shadows coalesced, forming a figure—tall, defiant, with dark hair framing a pale face. Though her form was indistinct, her presence was overwhelming. The voice was unmistakable: Prue Halliwell.
“I don’t have long,” Prue said, stepping closer, her expression equal parts tough and sorrowful. “You opened the door with that knife, and now I’m here. There’s something you need to know.”
Alyssa tried to speak, but her voice was swallowed by the void. Prue raised a hand, silencing the unspoken words.
“Don’t waste your breath. Just listen.”
The void shifted again, and Alyssa was bombarded with visions—terrifying and incomprehensible. She saw a sky filled with monstrous shapes, their grotesque forms blotting out the stars. The ground was littered with bodies, human and inhuman, while great, heaving tides of shadow swallowed the earth. Yet amidst the chaos, faint lights flickered—small, but unyielding.
“Stand tall, Alyssa. Fear is for the weak.”
Alyssa spun in the void, her heart pounding. The voice was unmistakable—sharp, assertive, and tinged with a rebellious edge. Prue Halliwell. But how?
“They sent me back, just for a little while,” Prue's voice continued. “Your blade… it’s a bridge. I don’t have long, so listen closely.”
Shadows shifted, coalescing into half-formed shapes. Alyssa saw fleeting visions: a city under siege, monstrous forms clawing at the heavens, and the silhouette of a woman standing against the darkness, unyielding. And then, faint and distant, figures emerged—towering beings with impossible forms.
“The Elders,” Prue said, her tone hushed but firm. “Not the ones I knew. Different… ancient. They carry light, even in the void. One is a demon with eyes of fire and a grin that mocks the abyss. Another… silver-skinned, lost but not without purpose, clutching a bear that holds more than it seems. The third—a hunter, his heart beats for the wild. And the last… a star-wreathed sentinel, his gaze unyielding, his purpose clear.”
“The Elders,” Prue said, her tone softening. “They’re not like the ones I used to know. They’re older, stranger… but they’re not your enemy. They’ve fought in shadows for longer than you can imagine. They were the spark that lit the dreams of men who made their own myths. And now they’re watching you. Watching us.”
Prue continued. You have to trust that even in all this madness, there’s still light. There’s still… hope.”
Prue’s expression softened, but her voice remained firm, tinged with a defiant edge. “They’ll test you, Alyssa. Test all of you. Don’t fail. The world’s not ready to go yet, even if it looks like it is.”
The void began to tremble, the shadows pulling Prue back into their depths. Her figure started to blur, but she leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“One last thing—those Elders? They have their own ways of fighting. You’ll see it soon enough. Just remember, they’re not here to save you. They’re here to make sure you can save yourselves.”
“Tell my sisters…” Prue hesitated, her voice catching. “Tell them I’m still here, watching. And I won’t let anything take them from me. Not again.”
The darkness collapsed inward, and Alyssa was yanked back into reality with a gasp. The vision snapped away as Alyssa gasped, collapsing to her knees in the hallway. She knelt on the hallway floor, her body trembling as the visions faded. The blade lay before her, its light dimming, but her mind was still seared with the memory of Prue’s voice and the cryptic warning of The Elders. The light from the blade dimmed, and the body of the Elite Zombie crumbled into ash. Her companions rushed to her side. "Alyssa, what happened?" asked Sartre. (edited)
Somewhere in the distance, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed, heavy and deliberate, promising that the nightmare was far from over.
"You alright?" Sartre reached to take her hand.
"No, but I'll talk about it later." Alyssa tried to shake the feelings she was currently having, there could be no crumbling, not right now. "I need my knife back and then... run."
Roger, the man whom the group had met earlier said, "The doors seem to be locked from the inside, though there is a bar just down the next flight of stairs, I think we can go in there and lock ourselves in and discuss things, formulate a plan."
Sartre grabbed Alyssa's knife before the team ran down another flight of stairs towards the bar.
Meanwhile Agent Powers and Ekaterina took evasive action and supported Sung with cover fire from their shotguns.
Alyssa took back her knife, and started down the stairs, but not before calling out to the others who were still in the hallway. "Lay cover and then get downstairs. Don't worry about killing them, not right now, anyway."