Astral
JP with Jaxx, Redsword, Trustno1 and Cindy
"Alyssa, did you just talk that thing down?" asked Sartre.
To her own surprise, the hacker nodded. "I guess I did." Alyssa walked back to Peter and took his hand, but first unwrapped the tootsie pop, placing the wrapper in her pocket and the pop in her mouth. "I guess we keep going." Alyssa said.
Robert Elias emerged from the darkness, his face twisted in rage. His eyes glinted with a wild fervor, and in his hand, he clutched an artifact—a black diamond the size of a fist. It seemed to drink the light around it, radiating an unnatural cold that made the air feel heavy. The diamond’s surface was smooth, yet it seemed to writhe with an inner darkness, as if a storm churned within its depths.
Without a word, Elias turned and fled, his footsteps echoing like a drumbeat in the silence. Sartre and Alyssa exchanged a glance before chasing after him, their boots pounding against the blood-slicked floor. The air grew heavier, as they descended further into the hellish depths of the basement.
The walls began to change. The once solid stone appeared to blister and melt, its surface rippling as if alive. Jagged symbols etched into the walls glowed faintly, pulsating like diseased veins. The ground beneath their feet grew uneven, cracked and scorched as though the very foundation had been scorched by some unholy fire. The air was thick with the acrid stench of sulfur, mingled with a coppery tang that turned their stomachs.
They passed signs pointing toward the boiler room, their rusted letters barely legible under layers of grime and blood. Each sign seemed to whisper faint warnings, their metallic surfaces marred by deep claw marks. The temperature dropped as they moved deeper, their breath fogging in the dim light, despite the faint orange glow emanating from the direction of the boiler room.
Ahead, Elias darted into the shadows, his silhouette illuminated briefly by the faint, flickering light. The black diamond in his hand pulsed, each beat sending waves of darkness rippling through the corridor. It seemed to warp reality itself, the walls bending and twisting in its wake.
And then they saw it.
The corridor opened into a massive chamber, its walls writhing with an organic malevolence. In the center stood the Astral Scion, its towering form shimmering with an ethereal glow that seemed to mock the darkness surrounding it. Its semi-translucent body revealed a network of glowing constellations beneath its pale, silver skin, a cosmic map etched into its very being. The single cyclopean eye on its face swirled with kaleidoscopic colors, shifting and changing as it locked onto the team.
Six elongated arms extended outward, their claw-like fingers trailing faint streams of starlight. The creature’s movements were slow and deliberate, its presence filling the chamber with an overwhelming hum that resonated deep in the bones, a sound that was both beautiful and agonizing.
Elias stood before it, the black diamond raised high as if offering it to the creature. The Scion's eye focused on him, and the hum deepened, vibrating with an intensity that made the walls tremble. Sartre and Alyssa froze, their breaths caught in their throats as the creature turned its gaze to them, its kaleidoscopic eye shifting to a menacing shade of crimson.
The Astral Scion roared—a soundless explosion of light and energy that sent shockwaves through the chamber. The walls rippled, and the floor cracked beneath their feet as the cosmic being moved with a terrifying grace, its claws slicing through the air and leaving trails of light in their wake.
Sung is still standing by Alyssa. "Impressive, Alyssa. See there is more to you than meets the eye, young lady," compliments Sung. Watching Robert Elias come into view, Sung knew this was not improving. When Sartre and Alyssa ran off after Robert, Sung sighed. "Oh, Come on, you damn kids. Always rushing off to get battered. If you run too fast you will just die tired," shouted Sung, his voice filling with frustration. He ran after them, keeping up with little trouble.
Arriving in the room and seeing the Astral Scion, he blinked a few times, trying to keep himself in control and calm focus. He could feel this room's dark sorcery try to move through him each time a wave of darkness passed him. His sword was bright with light that dissipated the darkness as it passed by the blade. Gold fiery mist rose from the blade, the ancient runes defining the darkness around it. The sword's presence was known in the room. Sung watched carefully the Astral Scion and Elias. He was Not sure if he should intervene or if he could do anything.
"Shit, damn it anyways," he mumbled. In an instant, he moved, mist rising from where he stood. He was next to Elias in an instant. The sound of his blade cutting the air as Sung made a skillful strike for Elias's arm holding the diamond.
Agent Powers stuck close to Alyssa as her bodyguard and ready to engage if needed. Ekaterina was close behind Agent Powers as back up.
Alyssa stood with the knife in her hand, ready but not attacking just yet. "Anyone who can shoot it." She didn't know how many more visions she could take and clearly using the knife gave her visions.
Elias disappeared. If the team were to fight anything it would have to be this creature. "Alyssa, find some cover and hide." said Sartre "Sung, fight that thing with your sword.” Sartre pulled out his mp5. "Everyone try some suppressive fire."
Alyssa moved quickly to the side and ducked down. She really had to get herself more fire power, as her little pistol was pretty useless in this kind of situation.
This, the actual fighting, wasn't something the hacker had ever thought she would be doing when she first joined the IIumanti. The original job was sitting behind a computer screen. Then in a van - then back behind a desk - then back in a van. While she had been trained, like agents are, no one, usually, expected the hackers to be in the field in this capacity. So, her training had been perhaps lighter than some. Somehow, though, here she was - Prue had said Alyssa couldn't find her true strength sitting behind a computer screen. Alyssa knew that that kind of work was important as much as field work, but there was something else there for the hacker. It hadn't always been there, but she could feel it now - a change, a shift - and while computer stuff would always be her first love, she now knew there was another side to her but one that still needed to be explored more before the woman could figure it all out.