From the Depths
The Characters
Dawn: {Played by Dream_dancer14, font color Deepsky Blue.}
Spike: (Played by Dream_dancer14, font color Tan. }
Bastian: (Played by Lemyri, font color Red. }
Gabrielle: {Played by Amazonwarrior7, font color Deep Pink. }
Ingrid: {Played by Celestial_forces, font color Purple. }
Que: {Played by Amazonwarrior7, font color silver. }
The files that the students of Mutant High retrieved from the local radio station did not go unnoticed by Dawn, in fact, her only regret was that she missed the adventure. The past few days had been rough, and it couldn’t be prevented.. But she was coming along, much like she had done the last time.. Spending almost all day with the file folder in hand, Dawn had managed to decode a number of pages, though the majority still remained unreadable.
An annoyed sigh escaped her lips as she kicked her feet up onto her desk, “Why would such a ‘normal’ radio station have encrypted files…” Scratching away on a notepad, she deciphered a few words at a time, sipping regularly at the fresh cup of coffee.
A harsh rapping at the open door tore Dawn’s attention away from the pages, “So love,” Spike smirked, thumbing the lit end of his cigarette against the wooden door frame, “You going to read them pages all night long, or do we get to go play?”
Dropping the papers carelessly back to her desk, Dawn gave a slight smile accompanied with a nod, “We get to play…”
Grumbling softly to herself, Dawn pushed herself up from the ground, plucking a few spare blades of grass from her teeth. “You know,” She huffed, leaning against the steps, “Next time, a simple ‘watch out’ will do..” Her words received a small shrug from Spike, and that was all she really needed.. “Anyway,” Dawn continued, turning to face all the others willing to listen, “I’ve been reading through those files you all retrieved the other day.. Well.. Trying to read those files.. It’s coded some how..”
Offering his two cents, Spike took a shallow draw from his cigarette, “Bloody git got ‘water’ and ‘cave’ out of all them pages..”
Scoffing lightly, Dawn ignored the remark, “I deciphered underwater cavern, and being the river is close to the local radio station, I figured we should go ahead and start there.. Everyone up for it?”
"Better than standing around and doing nothing all night," Ingrid replied hastily, trying her best, even though it was to no avail, to show interest. Sure, being at the manor was... boring at times, but stuff like this sure made up for it. Boring, maybe, because she refused to talk to anybody...
Gabrielle’s attention was immediately caught at the mention of what had been contained in the files. Setting down the water hose reluctantly, she wiped her hands on a dry patch of clothing as she made her way over towards Dawn and the others, completely forgetting about everything else. Gabrielle took a muddy seat along the ground, using the base of a tree for support. Biting her lip in thought, she titled her head ever so slightly at those gathered.
“A cavern? Well, what do they want there?” Gabrielle asked, more to herself than to anyone, for she wasn’t really expecting an answer. After all, the reason Dawn had brought up the cavern was for them to investigate, right? “Perhaps they are hiding something…”
“Ya got my vote,” Spike nodded, agreeing with Ingrid, “Though I admit the manor kinda grows on ya after a while.. But doing nothing is enough to drive a man mad..”
“Tell me about it..” Dawn sighed, though she wasn’t sure any of her friends would hear. After a brief moment of mental calculations, Dawn nodded briskly, “Anyway, we’ll take that boat Spike was talking about last time.. Check out a few things..” She bit her bottom lips at the words, last time they went to ‘check on things’ tragedy struck.. “Everyone has got to be extra careful..”
“So it’s set..” Spike smirked, “Already time to bring out the bathing suits..”
"Be... right back," Ingrid said, quickly rushing inside, returning several minutes later, after probably rooting around for something in the bomb site that was her room, with a three millimetre neopreen wetsuit. She said nothing, and the icy cold glare given to them made a point not to comment.
Luckily, Gabrielle was already dressed for the occasion. Having planned on spending the majority of the evening attempting to rid the school of a horrible stench (aka Que), the blonde’s attire consisted of a wet suit, and a pair of goggles. The yellow, rubber gloves that also accompanied the ensemble had long since been tossed carelessly into a pile of bushes.
“Heck, I am ready to go.” Gabrielle declared, rising from her spot along the wet ground. “When do we leave?” She glanced over towards Spike, before turning back to Dawn. “Wait a minute, can Vampires go in water? Don’t they melt or something?”
“Melt, no,” Dawn snapped ahead of Spike’s snide comment, grinning broadly at her minor victory, “But Spike here doesn’t look like much of a water person.. I bet they’re like cats.. You know, all prissy and stuff..” Words dying away, Dawn rubbed her temple painfully, “Alright.. Lemme alone.. I’m tired..”
“Well, if you guys don’t want me to go, I’ll be more than happy to skip out of the watery details,” Spike mused, hopping down a step or two before nodding in the general direction of the river, “But I’d like to see you gals ask for permission to use the man’s boat..”
“Posh.” Gabrielle replied, waving Spike off. “No demon is match against the Psychic Prowess and her comrades.” One finger at a time, she began cracking her knuckles, a force of habit she had yet to break. “Besides. Why must we ask anyway? I’m not used to that.” Gab continued, shrugging her shoulders and whirling back towards Dawn. “I like the “Shoot now, shoot later, steal the boat, then ask questions” routine. it’s more fun and it saves time.”
"Yeah... right..." Ingrid sort of half-laughed at Gab's nonsensical comment, which sounded not only like the girl needed a pretty white straight jacket with polka dots, but hadn't had enough, or too much, if there was such a thing, caffeine.
“As always,” Dawn laughed softly, edging away from her position against the steps, “We have the same idea in mind..”
+At the river front+
“This is it?” Dawn questioned, only to have a small nod as her reply, “But it’s so.. Un-demony.. In fact, it’s rather quaint..”
“Why, thank you,” A gruff, yet oddly gentle, voice echoed up from behind the boat that was poised at the water’s edge. Even from his position behind the boat, the crew would still be able to pick up on his immense size, for the demon had most of the qualities of a bear! In fact.. All those pictures of BigFoot? May be a connection.. “Spike!” He called, opening his arms widely as if he expected a hug from the man as he neared the group, “Long time no see! You brought company!”
"Yeah, about that.." Spike grumbled, shrugging off the -warm- welcome, "We need a boat, preferably yours.. Can we borrow it?"
Blinking several times, as if to clear her mind from the not so demon-like location, Ingrid folded her arms and tapped her right foot, as if it would help to speed things alone. Or rather annoy somebody. Either way, a glance was shot at both Gabrielle and Dawn, waiting for an instruction, something to do, whatever.
Gabrielle too, could make a connection between the so called “demon” and the sasquatch. Very much like a bear. A teddy bear, almost. At least to Gabrielle. Though this one would probably be one that should be left un-cuddled. After all, surely there was a reason Spike kept referring to this man as a demon… Though he had yet to prove himself worthy of that title.
“Aw, Prickle has friends. How cute!” Gab remarked, clasping her hands together and feigning a sentimental sigh. The sight was far from endearing, but it did make Spike seem less.. Evil. Even if it was just for a moment.
"The boat? No problem!" He roared, a sound that would otherwise be frightening if the bear features of the man's face weren't portraying such a grin, "Go ahead, free of charge for my old buddy and his crew!"
"His crew?" Dawn grumbled, obviously miffed at the statement, but chose not to argue, for the man was being oh so generous..
"Yeah.. Thanks.." Spike mumbled, turning to face the girls, "Old college roomate.. We'll leave it at that.." Without waiting for a reply, he turned swiftly to the boat, "Well.. I'm not drivin' the thing.."
The crisp waters broke violently against the hull of the speedboat the crew had acquired with much ease as they blew through the river, hugging the bank when they didn’t drop enough speed for the sudden curves. With a little coaxing, Dawn convinced Spike to steer the contraption as she went over the ground plans with the rest her friends in the boat. The skeletal basis was simple; the students would search the cavern, taking careful attention to any sort of abnormality.
The river had taken another turn, now bringing the boat and all its passengers a good distance from the road. Aquatical foliage provided enough cover to hide the boat from anyone who happened to live on a nearby bank, though it wouldn’t be a problem for a mental check by Dawn proved there to be no other living person around.
“Well, this is our stop,” Spike nodded, obviously pleased with himself and his assistance in the matter of getting the students to their destination, “I’m not much for the water,” He snarled, cocking his head to the side as he watched the rippling effect of the boat on the water, “I’ll stay up here, unless you poor gals really need a bloody man to take care of you..”
Though she was about to reply to Spike’s snide remark of the night, Dawn’s attention was violently snatched away from those on the boat to an area somewhat blocked from sight by a bend in the river, “Someone’s coming!” She hissed, shushing any whispers within their boat, “Not anyone bad.. I don’t think…”
“Well, what the bloody are we to do about it?” Spike grumbled, standing tip-toes to see if he could catch a glimpse of any sight of the intruders Dawn was talking about, “We don’t look like your average crew of fishers..”
"Then I guess you're staying on the boat, then," Ingrid said, looking to her reflection in the water. It wasn't a still reflection, and she could hardly see it for the dark, but it was still there. Scratching the back of her head, and strapping on a scuba mask, Ingrid prepared herself to go into the water, hoping her wet suit-ish attire would be more comfortable and of better use down there.
Beyond the crystalline depths of clear water was a small cavern, hidden from any observer by what seemed to be strategically placed underwater shrubbery. After several moments of searching, Dawn finally noted the entrance to the cave and turned to swim back to the surface to call on the rest of the crew. While they prepared for the underwater extravaganza, she figured she’d go ahead and find exactly where they were headed.
Not wanting to waste any of the air tanks that were stored on the boat on the surface, Dawn had simply held her breath for the short time she was underwater and was now feeling the pressure within her chest gain in intensity. A few bubbles of air escaped from her slightly parted lips as she neared the surface. Just as her outstretched hand was about to break through the glassy barrier, a sudden burst of thought invaded her mind. A warning..
Slender fingers wrapped tightly around Dawn’s neck, choking the remainder of oxygen from her lungs. An eruption of bubbles clouded her vision as she flailed her arms back, trying to break free of her attacker’s grip.
“Been down there a long time, that girl..” Spike mumbled, tipping the edge of his boot over the edge of the boat as he looked into the waters where Dawn had first exited the boat. The almost silent sound of air bubbles breaking the surface on the opposite side of the boat caused him to turn quickly, expecting to see the girl, but only the end of the bubble symphony. “Oh hell.. Already trouble..”
The edges of her sight had already slightly fogged from lack of air, but with a burst of will from who knows where, Dawn finally clasped to the train of thought from the unknown person behind her. Mentally prying the fingers from her neck, Dawn concentrated only on getting away from, not hurting, the person so she could get to the surface. A violent brush of fins slashed at her leg as whoever tried to drown her returned to the depths of the water.
With fierce determination, Dawn broke through the surface of the water, sputtering up all that she had swallowed before filling her lungs with the glorious air. Her sudden return had been such a surprise it caused Spike, who was poised on the edge of the boat ready to jump, to fall into the waters alongside her. With a little shrug, Dawn clamored into the boat, lying in a heap on the floor as she watched Spike splash around a bit before returning to the boat as well.
“Have-I-mentioned..” He breathed heavily, shaking violently as to remove all traces of water from his body, “How much I HATE the water?” After catching his breath, Spike nodded to the fingerprints that still adorned Dawn’s neck, “Mind explaining those?”
Feeling the attention turn to her, Dawn accepted Spike’s outstretched hand and pulled herself up before rubbing her neck gently, “Something is definitely down there,” She sighed, coughing slightly before looking back to the water, “I thought it was a person, but I’m not so sure anymore..” Small cuts in the shape of fins adorned the backs of her legs, it didn’t really bother her, but it was rather confusing, “Whatever it was, it doesn’t want us down there…”
“Guess that’s our open invitation then, isn’t it love?”
At the sound of Spike’s rather disgruntled comment about his dislike for water, Gabrielle whirled around from her perch over the rail on the opposite side of the boat. The trip, it would seem, was not settling well for the blonde, the lack of color in her face was evidence to that fact. She muttered something in compliance, but was hardly coherent enough for anyone to decipher. With a hand placed over her stomach, she grabbed the railing, and pulled herself along the length of the boat.
Staggering over towards Spike and Dawn, Gabrielle’s eyes widened at the sight of finger marks around her friend’s neck, “What the?” She muttered, glancing from the water back to Dawn, trying to figure out what had taken place below the surface. “You alright? I sure hope you nailed whoever did that…” Truth was, Gab would have no problem doing so if her friend hadn’t - though that was probably unlikely…
Glancing back to the seemingly peaceful water, Dawn shook her head slowly, “Didn’t get a chance,” She admitted, unconsciously bringing her hand to her neck once again, “It took everything to get away and get back to the surface..” She gave a small half smile of assurance to her friend, “You look worse than I do right now.. You sure you want to jump in?”
“Bah, I’ll be great once we get -off- of the boat.” Gabrielle replied with a wave of her hand, keeping her eyes locked on something in the distance to help ward off the motion sickness. “Bad guys I can handle. This, on the other hand…” Her voice faded at the end as she laughed, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly as she began to think. “Think we should all go at once?” Gabrielle shrugged, not knowing exactly what was down there. But, she assumed that if Dawn was barely able to escape from it in time, the others, herself included would not fair as well either alone.
Though his coat was already soaked, Spike let it fall to the wooden floor panels of the boat, signaling he was going along with them, “You two..” He mumbled, then turned to hide a smirk, “Either you’re going to get yourselves killed, or you’re going to get ME killed..”
With a small laugh, Dawn looked over the edge into the waters. Dare she go back in? Why not? This time she was prepared.. Turning around to face her friends, she acted as if she was going to further some instructions, but instead, flashed a broad smile and jumped over the side, “Watch out belowwww!”
[font color=red["We don't really have to jump in -there-, do we?" Came the voice of young Bastian O'Neal. He had walked up behind the three and was peering over the edge of the boat when Dawn jumped in. Frowning slightly, he turned to the remaining few and hunched his shoulders. "I can't really swim anyways..."
“Wait for me!” Came a cry, which was followed by the sound of someone running down the length of the boat. After she had gained enough speed, Gabrielle jumped as high as she could into the air, grabbing her knees and holding them towards her chest as she broke past the surface of the water. Though she was sure that was one of the best cannonballs of all time, there was no one left on the boat to witness her display. Or so she had thought.
Arms folded across his chest, Que glanced around the deck, seeing most of the occupants had already taken the plunge into the water. The curly haired male was far from fond of water, and had a hard time bringing himself to follow suit. “If Whitey could do it. I can do it.” Que said aloud, to himself more than to the only other student aboard the vessel. Plugging his nose before jumping in as well, he couldn’t help but hope it was -warm- water…
Shrugging to himself, seeing as there was nobody left onboard, Bastian leaned over the railing. Even the weird, smelly alien man had gone over. Besides, he could learn to swim now couldn't he? Taking a deep breath, Bastian kicked off his shoes, jacket, and socks. Standing rather unsteadily on the side of the boat, he squeezed his eyes shut, plugged his nose, and leapt/fell into the water below.
Turning to see if the others had followed her lead, Dawn was quite happy to see the turn out, not to mention, she felt a new meaning to the phrase “safety in numbers” come into play. Breathing softly the oxygen from the tank on her back, Dawn mentally brushed back the underwater shrubbery to reveal the mouth of the cave. From their condition, it looked as if someone had already passed through them.
Knowing the others would follow, Dawn went on ahead, making sure she didn’t get out of their sight, but she was quite curious as to where the cavern led. On up ahead, a rather large plate shaped boulder emerged from the surface, and from the top of it, would give them a good overview of the cavern. Swimming up to it, Dawn pulled her oxygen mask off and clamored to the top, taking a brief look around as she waited on the others.
Que followed closely behind, unlike some of the others who were also submerged in the liquid of the earth, ((XP)) he had no desire to remain there for long. Que made fast work of following Dawn, and soon emerged, spitting out water as he gasped for air. “It appears, I forgot about those,” He muttered, pointing towards an oxygen tank as he tread about in the water. “I could’ve died…”
Gabrielle was following closely behind at first, but soon found herself horribly distracted by the wide array of aquatic life. Though she knew the group was at the river for a reason, she couldn’t help but take a moment to chase after a few of the more colorful species of fishes…
For that reason, Gabrielle arrived at the odd-shaped rock last, and had a hard time willing herself out of the water. “We need to come here more often,” She decreed, shaking the excess moisture from her hair. “It’s so pretty!” As she spoke, Gab glanced around, seeing their presence had so far gone unnoticed.
Attempting to shake the water from the tangles of hair hanging before his eyes, Bastian spluttered and tried to tread the liquid of the earth, not having much luck. "I-" splutter "can't see!" Splutter splutter. "Can-get out?!" He was beginning to panic as his jeans and shirt began weighing him down and causing him to sink.
“For goodness sake man,” Que muttered, grabbing the youth by the shirt and yanking him upwards and towards the surface of the rock. “There. No need to thank me. I am just wonderful like that, I know.” One would think he made the statement as a jest, but that was not the case. As if Que’s ego wasn’t big enough, he often found himself having to add to it…
It was true, the place was rather beautiful. It just had a pure aura about it.. A place that no human hand had corrupted.. Dawn gave a slight nod, “I agree,” She smiled, also taking a look at the fish that were swimming so carelessly below their feet. Moonlight that the water carried in from the outside danced upon the stone and earth walls, giving off beautiful shades of jade, emerald, and various golden browns. “We just have to---“
“Ow! Bloody fish BIT me!”
“…Have to keep our eyes open for something.. Anything..” Dawn continued, trying not to laugh at Spike, who, by the looks of it, was trying to kick the fish that had nipped at his leg. There were several tunnels that were submerged and then realigned with the surface, many of which they could get lost in.. They just needed a direction, “Any ideas?”[/font[
“Hm, ideas?” Gabrielle asked, being far too entertained with the dynamics within in the group for her own good. Quickly shifting into a more serious gear, she tilted her head in thought as she glanced towards the underwater tunnels. “Why don’t we split up?” She offered, looking back to Dawn. “You, Bastian and I can take one tunnel, Que and Spike can take another. With luck, they might all meet in the same place…” Gabrielle shrugged, “Unless you’d have a problem with that, oh powerful one.”
Once situated and composed once more, Que finally took note of all who had ventured into the cavern. “Oh Captain and the redoubtable Gabrielle,” He stated greeting the girls with a nod of his head, soon moving his glance over towards the vampire who was currently still in the water. “And mirobrain! Growl for me, let me know you still care.”
Now that he had accomplished the task of saving someone’s life, truth was Que felt he had done enough for the day. “ I suppose I could go along with Whitey.” He muttered, eyeing Spike.
“Whitey?! Call me that to my face you bloody martian..man..person…” Scoffing lowly, Spike climbed up onto the rock, “Why am I stuck with that blundering bafoon?!” He demanded, obviously miffed by the fates presiding over their night’s adventure.
The young man’s question about the cavern did not go unanswered in Dawn’s mind as she half listened to Spike’s ramblings. In fact, it made her realize something that she had almost forgotten. They were here on a mission, for there were records of this place in the radio station.. But why? Eyes fluttering closed, Dawn began to slowly do a mental scan of the cavern.. It seemed all tunnels went to the same place.. “Something is here,” she finally voiced, hoping not to extract any worry from her comrades, “But it’s farther out there.. If we take the tunnels, hopefully we’ll meet up before we meet, erm, it..”
“Or, we could swim together, that way, he could enjoy his five course meal all at once…”
Turning, Bastian looked sharply at Dawn, and then at Spike. "He? It? Something's in here?" His silver eyes flitted around the cavern nervously, suddenly feeling claustrophobic in the vast space. He ran a hand through his hair again and tried to think of this all like his missions as a child. Good guys always beat the bad guys, no matter what. No worries...
“You seem to be forgetting, my fearless acquaintance, “ Que began, quite notably calm, “That if need be I can teleport me and your pasty-self out of danger.” He grinned, glancing back towards Dawn. “But of course, Captain here shall have the final say.”[font]
Gabrielle shook her head as soon as Spike had finished. “We are more than capable of handling ourselves.” She declared, placing her hands on her hips. “We’ve done perfectly well before either one of -you- came around.” Gab eyed both Spike and Que.
Though Dawn wouldn’t admit it, she loved terrorizing Spike.. Then again, maybe she would admit it, given the chance… This was one of those chances.. With a broadening smile, Dawn nodded from Spike to Que, “Sounds good to me.. Breaking up about right here gives us a chance to scope out the perimeter, not to mention, we get a break from you guys..”
A look of betrayal soon turned into that of utter annoyance, “I can’t believe you dolts,” He grumbled, sidling past Que as he pointed to the tunnel on the left, “We’ll take this one.. If you guys get eaten, you’ll be sorry you don’t have Mister Spaceship back there to teleport you out of the monster’s big, slimy belly..”
Smirking, Bastian rolled his eyes. "I'm sure we really can take care of ourselves. No need to worry about us." He said it as much to reassure them as himself. Popping his knuckles simply to keep moving, he shifted his weight from side to side, watching the small group around him. "I'm ready whenever," he said, no trace in his voice anymore to hint at his fear.
Quite honestly, Gabrielle was somewhat relieved to be separated from the more odd members of the group. Not that she didn’t necessarily disliked them… Well, maybe she did. Nonetheless, spliting up allowed her to focus in the task on hand, rather than worrying about whether or not Spike and Que were going to kill each other. Though that thought too, was amusing.
Scrambling to her feet, she watched as Que and Spike headed off into one tunnle, then breathed a sigh of relief before turning back to face Dawn and Bastian. “Which one, Dawn?” Gabrielle asked, spotting a fair number of openings in the vicinity, but knew her friend, with aid of her psychic abilities, would know exactly which one to journey into.
Giving the two guys a moment to get started in their own tunnel, Dawn turned to face Gabby, face set in stone as she tried not to laugh. Once Que and Spike could no longer be spotted, she let her laughter ring out, "Can you believe those two?!” Growing quiet a moment, she took a few steps away from the direction the others had taken, and then gestured to a narrow strip of stone that paved the way alongside a tunnel, “While they’re swimming, we can walk!”
Gabrielle nodded, liking the idea of walking a lot better than she did having to venture into the water once again. It wasn’t too warm for one, and she might be tempted to chase after even more interesting-looking fish rather than concentrating on their mission if given the chance to…
“So what is it that you are sensing?” Gabrielle asked, treading quietly on the earth beneath her feet whilst scanning the tunnel for anything that seemed awry. “Is it large and cuddly, or small and scaly? ’Cause I might be able to coerce the latter.” She remarked, pulling out a packet of Twizzlers from a pocket of her wet suit. “Think it is open to a bribe of sorts?”
In fact, Dawn had suspected something had been strange earlier when she was attacked. Taking extra precautions not to fall off the narrowed path as she ventured on, Dawn gave a weak laugh, “Well… To tell you the truth, I feel lot’s of little things.. But I think they’re good… But they’re scared..” Remembering the recent attack that had occurred in the waters just hours before, Dawn tried to recall anything from the persons mind that she could..
Once there was a wall to brace herself against, Dawn grinned broadly, feeling somewhat foolish about the statement that she was about to make, “I’m really thinking that I was attacked by… by a mermaid…”
Gabrielle stopped abruptly, about ready to laugh before noting how serious Dawn was. “Oh, you really mean that.” She grimaced slightly, having a hard time believing a creature such as a mermaid would exist. Then again, within in the last few months, she had met along others a vampire and an alien. It would seem, as things stood, anything was possible.
“Did it have long flowing red hair and a sea-shell top?” Gabrielle teased, “Or a white hair with a trident and a talking crab as a sidekick?”
Skipping over the last few stones that ended their tunnel, Dawn began to observe the opening to which they had emerged as she replied, “Aw, now you’re making me feel bad for killing it!” She feigned a sigh before laughing once again, signaling she hadn’t done any sort of thing, “But seriously..” She began, a bit more thoughtful as she examined smaller cavern, “I know it sounds strange, but I had the hand prints.. and the fin cuts..”
The entire cavern seemed a great deal smaller than that from which they had come. In fact, only two small openings were in view, one was the one they took, and the other was a small pool of water in the corner where she hoped the guys would end up sooner or later. “Something isn’t right,” She mumbled, shaking her head as she looked from side to side, “There is something behind this stone wall,” Dawn said as she smacked the stone lightly, “But no way to get to it…”
“If you say it was a mermaid, then it was a mermaid.” Gabrielle nodded, deciding that they could always find out for sure later. But as it was, Gabrielle was preoccupied by the barrier before them. In her mind, it was simply another thing she could demolish.
“Don’t be silly.” Gabrielle scoffed lightly jogging to the front of the wall, putting her ear up to the surface before returning back to Dawn. “I could bring it down. Take a minute or two. Might be messy. But it -is-possible.”
”Stay on your side of the confounded tunnel!” Came a cry that resonated off of the cavern walls, followed by a minute or two if incoherent rambling that seemed to be getting closer to the girls outside the stone wall. “Damned Vampire, always taking up all the blasted room…”
The smile that hadn’t left Dawn’s face since she first brought up the possibility of mermaids only brightened when she heard Gabrielle’s solution of bursting through the wall, “Oh I know,” She nodded, “Just thought I’d test you..” Though she was about to say more, Dawn’s attention was violently pulled to the voices of Que and Spike.
“Then why don’t you bloody teleport?!” Spike growled, retaliating in the argument that hadn’t ceased since the crew had split up in the first place. Finally, Spike’s platinum blonde locks appeared, signaling they had finally arrived. He looked the girls over quickly, noting they didn’t appear to have swam any to get to their destination, “Oh you two..”
“We’ve gone through this, “ Que sighed, quite thrilled to see a small opening at the end of the long tunnel he had emerged from. Finally room to breathe. “If something… Unfortunate would happen, the odds of you surviving would be a lot better if -I- was with you.”
Ignoring Spike and Que, Gabrielle eyed the wall, almost as if staring it down. Nothing else existed. Just the wall. “Was that a go ahead sign, Dawn?” She asked, rubbing her hands together anxiously. “I haven’t gotten to tear down anything in so long…”
Backing up a few steps, Dawn gave a little nod, mentally preparing herself for whatever was on the other side of that wall. Whatever it was, there was pain.. Arching an eyebrow, she turned to face Que and Spike, who, by the looks of it, wouldn’t be paying attention to any flying pieces of rubble. “Hey, it’s on to the crashing and the crumbling and the fighting now,” She mused, nodding towards Gabrielle, “You guys get ready!”
Without waiting for a reply from their male counterparts, Gabrielle started the process of the removal of the obstacle that stood in their way. Forming an electric sphere in each hand, she clasped her palms together, then slowly began to add distance between them. This appeared to have caused the two separate orbs to fuse into a single, larger one that only seemed to grow the longer Gab held onto it.
About a minute later, the strain such a massive blast Gabrielle was holding was evident, for her entire body began to shake, and she was finally forced to release it. She fell to the ground, watching the bright blue colored sphere flew the short distance to the wall, and upon contact with the stone, destroyed the barrier that had once blocked their path.
“Fun stuff, that is…” Gab muttered, picking herself up slowly.
Dodging the greater pieces of flying debris, Dawn kneeled down to offer her help to her friend that had fallen. Her attention hadn’t traveled past the barrier that Gabrielle had broken, until she heard the sharp breath from Spike..
“Bloody hell…”
Stainless steel glimmered like deadly knives in the bits of light that shone dimly from lamps embedded in the stone walls. Adorning a single wall of the hidden room were glass cubicles, each filled with a thickened liquid that had a sickening green tint to it. That wasn’t it though.. It was the people within the tubes.. They were alive, but so wretched looking.
Only three of the chambers had creatures within them, mermaid like people, and from the rest of the room, it looked as if awful tests had been performed on them.. Raising to her feet, Dawn took a shaky step into the room. “The girl who attacked me,” She whispered, “Must have thought I was one of them.. One of those who done –this- to them…”
Thanks to Dawn, Gabrielle was once again back on her feet, and was now able to survey the room that had been revealed to them. She stood, dumbstruck at the horrid sight. Never before had Gabrielle seen anything even remotely similar to what was before her now… “Oh, my god..” Was all she could say, for no words could adequately describe how badly she felt for those in the cubicles.
Though the sight had also caught Que off guard, he was not as surprised as the others. He had witnessed such treatments of species that were considered inferior in the eyes of the dominating races that ruled certain worlds in far off places of the galaxy. It never ceased to disgust him though. Brown eyes scanned the room beyond the remnants of the wall, searching for guards. “How should we go about helping them?” He asked, taking a few steps into the room.
Cast aside on a desk were several documents.. More documents.. With a small nod, Dawn motioned for Spike to retrieve them quickly as she took a few steps closer to examine the prisons that were binding the poor souls. Softly her hand slid across the chilled glass of the nearest chamber as she tried to feel for any sort of trap the tube may hold. Her own hand was met with that of a young woman who was held within the boundaries of the glass. Though Dawn knew she wouldn’t be heard, she sighed, “We have to get them out of here and back into the water…”
With a surprising amount of character on Que’s part, he began to nod. Saying nothing more, he plugged his nose before using his free hand to snap his fingers together in the air. Instantaneously, he teleported into the nearest cubicle, and grasped onto the mermaid-prisoner before again teleporting out of sight.
This process continued for several minutes, for Que took a great deal of care transporting the victims back to the water near the rock where the group had first landed at. When all occupants had been freed, Que returned back to the gathering. Wet and cold, but otherwise none the worse for the wear. “Was that what you had in mind, Captain?”
“Thank you, Que..” Was all she could whisper before her mind was captivated by the passion of the thoughts that flowed so freely from the once captives. Freedom.. Absolute freedom.. The magical beings were reunited with the earth and the waters themselves which returned their lives..
No words were audibly spoken, but their thanks were loud and clear, and surpassed words. Dawn fought back tears as she turned to face the rest of her friends, for she had heard their story in just the short time they had spent with the creatures.. “They were abandoned here a long time ago.. There were some tests, but they weren’t mutants.. That’s what the people were after.. Mutants… And when they found no mutant gene in them, the people just left them there to slowly fade away…”
Gabrielle shook her sad sadly as Dawn finished speaking. The more she heard about what was being done to mutants, or even those creatures thought to be ones - the angrier it made it seemed to make her. “Bastards.” She remarked, folding her arms across her chest as she whirled around towards the others. “We have to get them. Those who are doing this…”
“Bloody got that right,” Spike growled, slamming his fist into one of the chambers, staring the glass just a bit. “We’ll kill ‘em, every last one of ‘em..” Turning to the rest of the group, Spike nodded to the rest of the room, “There rest is bloody empty, just got a few papers here, and that’s it..”
“It’s enough for now,” Dawn sighed, taking a few steps in the direction from which they had come, “It was papers that helped us find this place.. Maybe those hold some secret as well.. We’ll have to look at them all when we get home..”
The end. For now...
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