Hide-out [mission/ Anniken]

All Sovereign could do was nod. He was worried if he opened his mouth to speak his voice would just crack again, and he'd burst into tears. All his clones were sobbing, his head full of screams and whispers. It was like the evil had made its way into his mind, terrorising his other selves in a prison they couldn't escape. He felt awful, almost like he could collapse any minute. But the screaming and crying was better than focusing on the dread breathing down his neck.

The run felt like forever, they just headed down a continuous tunnel that never seemed to end. "C- Can you sense it yet?" He asked, referring to the effigy. 

Either the effigy that formed the wisps could help combat it, or one of the sisters with their light manipulating weapon. It was the best shot they had, to combat the evil with the element of divine light. It was quite a simple plan, but that kind of stuff always seemed to work. Right? 

Anniken Godfrey

Justice seemed more sharper, more aware of her surroundings. Perhaps it was the fact she was more focused on locating the light that allowed her to ignore the looking evil for even just a second. It was enough for the two to speed up, and soon, they would literally see a faint flicker of light in the distance. For the first time in what seemed like forever, there was light. They could see.

"O- Over there." Sovereign panted, exhausted mentally and physically as he suddenly felt a new burst of life in him. He would run faster behind Justice, but slow slightly when he realised what it was.

"It's them." He stated, yet there was still uncertainty in his voice. A woman was perched in the centre of a large open space in the cave, kneeling down in prayer before some kind of strange artefact floating in front of her. She was dressed in black, with dark gold pieces of armour across her arms. Laying on the ground next to her was a broken gold mask and an even golder gun.

What he assumed was the effigy, Sovereign began to see it clearer as he took a few steps further. It was oddly shaped, with white metal curving out like wings, in the centre was a human face, surrounded by gold plating in a decorative manner. Small wisps of light also hovered around them both, the same wisps that had attacked Shale Town. It had to be one of the sisters.

"Hel-"

He was interupted abruptly when the woman in black and gold quickly leapt for her weapon, grabbing it with incredible reflexes and firing a bolt of pure light. Sovereign raised his arm up in the air to block it, but he felt the heat of it fly between him and Anniken. Whatever it was behind him hissed, the light clearly repelling the evil aura as the sensation of dread melted away. It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Who are you?!" She barked, standing up and aiming it at them still, "What are you- A- Anniken?"

Anniken Godfrey

"Of all people? It had to be you." Zinnia scowled, a wisp floating past her face and lighting up her features more. She was quite young, maybe a bit older than Sovereign. Her skin was pale, her eyes shimmered like the sun and hazel hair hung down just below her shoulders.

"Terrorising?" She tightened the grip on her gun, aiming it right between Anniken's eyes. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

At that moment, the effigy behind her shook slightly, letting out a metallic groan that was a mixture of machine and human. Zinnia's face dropped, she looked back with worry, "D- Don't worry. It's okay. Shhh, it's- it's okay..."

Sovereign took a step back, glancing behind his shoulder for a second just to check there was no darkness there. Thankfully it had gone, but there were still threats all around him. The way she spoke to the effigy just then... Like she knew it.

The gunslinger then turned back around, her gun lowering down in defeat. She looked broken, like her heart had been shattered into a million pieces. When Sovereign looked closer, he could see her eyes were slightly red, like she had been crying.

"Zinnia? You took the effigy from Samuelsonite, didn't you?" He asked, trying to sound sympathetic to her.

"Don't call her that!" She spat, her voice quivering, "That's my fucking sister! Look what they did to her."

She then looked up to Anniken, "Remember Dahlia? Look what those monsters at the town did. Turning her into one of their protective 'wards'."

She then burst into tears, holding her face in her hands. The effigy- Dahlia, let out a soft hum, as if to comfort her sister. Was she still alive somehow? Still aware of everything around her? Sovereign tapped his chin, could that be what the townspeople classed as 'broken'? Perhaps they were unable to fully remove the soul from the effigy, therefore making it sentient still.

"I just wanted her back. They killed her, they must have. I wanted to bring her back, but I've had nowhere to go. She accidentally attacked the town after someone tried to steal her. I've had nowhere safe to go, I thought I could hang low in the mines for a bit but..." Zinnia raised a finger slightly, pointing at the tunnel behind them, "That thing won't let me out. It wants Dahlia, I've been guarding her from it for days."

Sovereign couldn't help but feel sorry for her, how broken and exhausted she must be. But it left so many more questions, and things that he needed to know the truth about.

Anniken Godfrey

Sovereign watched how fierce Anniken was when she spoke, seeing her hands tighten into a fist and her eye practically burning with rage. They were emotionally involved in this, and Sovereign was not, which might end up being a good thing. "They killed her? You saw this happen?" He asked softly, but Zinnia just shot him a filthy look.

"Doesn't matter if I saw it happen or not. They don't get to mutilate and reconstruct a dead person like that." She wiped the tears from her face, leaning down and picking her mask up before putting it back on. Sovereign wasn't sure if it was for protection, or simply to hide her emotion. But Zinnia was still right, nobody should have their bodies desecrated in such a way.

Sovereign hadn't noticed it before hand, but when he looked at the corner of the cave, just past the boundary of light and to the wall that the shadows still clung to. He could make something out, a figure, a person. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, then gently elbowed Anniken before nodding in its direction.

There was definitely a person there, standing in the darkness in all black with its head hung low. He had a terrible feeling about it, the same as before, but it was different somehow. It did nothing. It just stood there quietly, its body physical yet not.

Zinnia eventually noticed the two looking in the corner, and turned around herself to see it. She instantly gasped and shouted at the others, "Don't look at it! Ignore it!" She screamed desperately, extending a hand out before running away from it with Dahlia close behind.

But it was too late, Sovereign was already locked on. When it lifted its head up, it was the same demonic face as before. The skin on its mouth peeled back to show its teeth, and its eyes large and beady. In a split second, its entire body exploded into a black mass, crawling up the walls of the cave.

Dahlia shot at it with her gun, but the ray of light had grown weaker somehow. Like it was running low on charge, not even the wisps from the idol seemed to keep it at bay. Once again, they had to run, though this time their minds were not so crushed by its aura.

Anniken Godfrey

The group quickly began running, the effigy of Dahlia seemed to also follow quite quickly, hovering very close to her sister Zinnia. Sovereign noticed how she moved a bit slower than normal, likely due to not having eaten or rested properly in at least two days.

"No sunlight for my gun to charge." she cursed, her voice sounding slightly metallic beneath the mask, "Dahlia can but- But I don't think its as simple as that. She's in there, but she's not."

Sovereign glanced round to see the large white construct, the curved metal held together in segments as arms made of gold would occasionally move, reaching out to Zinnia to push her forwards when she slowed down. It may not be Dahlia in there completely, but the effigy still had a love for her sister, knowing that it needed to protect her somehow. 

The darkness roared behind them, charging after the group like a stampede of wildebeest. It was like a flood, black magic pouring through the tunnel as it clawed and reached out to them, only held back by the weak light that the wisps gave off. But it wouldn't be enough, it would soon swamp them entirely. 

"We need it- Dahlia to make more of those wisps, or we're fucked!" Sovereign shouted, trying to make himself heard over the roars and screams of the malicious intent that nipped at their heels. They were running out of time, he could feel his body growing heavy and his mind becoming tainted, the other Sovereign's beginning to panic as the shadows lapped at his feet. They felt hot, but also cold, but it was painful either way. 

Anniken Godfrey

Sovereign was not expecting that, not at all. Her powers were limitless, Anniken, or Justice, had a whole range of spells at their disposal which was useful in pretty much all situations. He watched as she stood her ground against the evil, her eyes radiant from this divine power as it encapsulated the group like a bubble. 

Although the regular effect of this spell may have been for different purposes, the sheer light and magic was enough to shield them all. The four of them safe within this small zone, as black magic pounded against it and hissed when it got too close. It would reel back, yet not completely. It was persistent, lingering around them like a nasty odour. 

"It's working." Sovereign stated with a shaky voice. 

"Yes, but for how long." Zinnia replied, looking up at Dahlia who seemed to moan restlessly. 

Somehow, the darkness had appeared from every angle. It wasn't just behind them, it was above, in front, to their sides. They were utterly surrounded, and it seemed to have a constricting hold on Anniken, in a way that if she tried to move, it would be as if it was pushing back at her light. Two conflicting forces, unable to defeat the other entirely but possessing enough strength to hinder each one. 

"How long until it goes?" Sovereign choked, stepping back close to Anniken who was the only reason they were alive right now. 

Zinnia scowled, her hands trembling, "It doesn't."

Anniken Godfrey

"Zinnia, you need to get her to create some light." Sovereign would bark, getting stressed and aggravated by the situation. He had an idea for what to do if a simple request to the effigy wouldn't work, but he would wait a little longer.

"Dahlia, please! I know you're in there, please we need your help!" Zinnia's voice cracked as she reached up to the idol and held its golden hands, looking at her deceased sister's face. The eyes were closed, and she looked like she was sleeping. All she got in response was a divine hum, as if she was singing to her.

"Fuck this." Sovereign spat, grabbing his mace from his belt and shoving Zinnia out of the way. It instantly made the effigy perk up slightly, right before Sovereign smashed Dahlia's metallic face with his mace. It reeled back, making a series of mechanical screeches and cries, before its body began to glow golden.

Lights swarmed from it, but its aim was instead to harm Sovereign. They prepared to attack, morphing into spears of dazzling gold. Zinnia quickly jumped up between the two, holding her hands up. "No! Don't fight!"

Sovereign knew that would probably happen, but he'd rather suffer some nasty scars then be devoured by the darkness. The darkness that was no more wary of the mass of wisps beginning to form in the area.

Anniken Godfrey