Heroes of Silvatica City

Caoimhe's heart and lashes fluttered. Oh, what was William doing? He was being so much more forward than usual, and his hands... For some reason it surprised her how soft they were. His fingers were long and slim... "I-if ya like," she murmured, handing over the tea pot to him. "There's no real technique to the pour, at least."

Caoimhe watched him pour it, pretending to be analysing his technique though really she was just trying not to look at him too much. "I, uh, I been thinkin' 'bout tryin' new flavours o' tea," she said. "Green's great 'n all but, there's so many flavours out there. Might be nice to... Expand ma horizons, I don't know." Wow, she was being so boring. William had poured the tea now, so she hastily took a mug and sipped.

"I support that," Caoimhe said, sitting down on her futon. She didn't mind if William sat next to her down here or on her sofa. "It sounds great, actually... I'll join ya," she decided, taking a sip of her tea. Ahh, it was strong, but good. "It sounds like a venture best shared, ya know."

Caoimhe looked straight up at him and smiled. "Then let's," she murmured, before taking a sip of her tea. This candid honesty was unstoppable. "Thank you for bein' here with me. It's really makin' me feel better." She had the urge to put her head on his shoulder but that may have been too much for him, so instead she contented herself with this nearness. It used to upset her how distant he was, but after all that had happened, she had grown a pair and realised it was just him.

Aaliyah had been bottling trauma all her life, so she wasn't about to let her trauma consume her anymore. It had been the worst thing she'd experienced, thus her huge reaction to it, but now she was moving forward. Her Daniel would want that, even if she was soiling his memory by spending all of her time with the original Daniel. It was starting to make her less guilty to think of them as the same person now... Aaliyah had been curious to find out more about her beast side, even though she thought it was the most hideous thing in the universe, but no one seemed to have an explanation. Just as Zeke was bombarded by sensations in his head and ears, Caoimhe's power made her constantly see things other people couldn't, though it didn't hinder her like it did Zeke. Still, he helped her hone her ability and use it defensive and offensively. It was sad to see that she was no longer a pacifist. One day, the four of them were in the park, drinking hot chocolate and just chatting, taking a break from combat practice for now. "Is it just me or is the sky real bright today?" Caoimhe asked, squinting. The sky was, in fact, very dull.

While everyone was feeling somehow off... Knight was not. At all. When Elli came to her with concerns of feeling 'off', Knight was bewildered. "Off how?" she asked. "You aren't sick. It's not that time. What do you mean 'off'?" "This is so weird," Caoimhe grumbled, flexing her fingers. "I feel... Like, real energised. Dunno about y'all." Tenpo and William seemed to both have a radar for certain dreadful things, because she was clinging to Zeke now and looking around wildly. Squishy was looking up at the sky curiously. "Apparently I came from a hive mind," it said. "I don't recall my birth, but I remember the feeling of a horde of consciousnesses... I'm getting that feeling now." Aaliyah's hackles had been up all day but she'd falsely put it down to hormones. Or something. "Are we bein' watched?" she whispered to Daniel, keeping her arm locked with his.

And then, while they all hummed and hawed, it happened. It was as if the sky split open with the hugest lightning strike, though for something so huge it wasn't too loud. They were all still stunned and their ears all rang, but it was the blinding light that really took them out. Aaliyah's sensitive eyes and ears were nearly obliterated, and she screamed in agony, collapsing to the ground. Everyone else was left sprawling and confused on the ground where they'd been, but Knight... Vanished. Into nothingness.

Aaliyah's ears were ringing painfully loudly and she was still dazed, clinging to Daniel blindly and deafly. "Wha-wha' happened?" she slurred, squinting up at his face. As her vision cleared, something above Daniel caught her attention. It was with utter horror that they all realised that an entity was looming over them in the blue sky. Her form, for she was visibly female, was immense and blue like the sky around her. The shimmer on her body was as if she were clad in silver, and through her closed lids they could see light shining through. As they stared at her, they all felt their grip on reality waning... Until an immense shadowy fist rocketed towards the enormous woman and sent her spiralling back into space. Knight appeared before Elli again, though her form was sheer. "This is bad," she said to her, going to her and holding her close. "I'm sorry I didn't see her sooner. Are you alright?" Tenpo was on the ground, clutching her head, but Caoimhe looked transfixed. That raw energy was... Wow.

"Uh huh," Aaliyah agreed with Daniel, shaking her head vigorously to try to clear the ringing in her ears and the water in her eyes. "Long story short, you can say that's my sister," Knight said. There was an urgency in her voice that Elli had never heard before. It was bordering on fear. "I'll tell you in more detail later, but right now there's no time. She has followers, you'll all have to fight them off. Don't worry, they're nothing like her," she added, trying to be reassuring. "I have to go. The only way to defeat her is to burn her out. Be safe. I love you." She quickly kissed Elli on the lips and vanished, right after confessing for the first time her love for Elli.

Somehow, they managed to communicate with one another that they should meet up in the park, even though S.H.A.D.E. was probably the best option for them right now. As they all assembled, they felt another, different sort of presence converging on them. From the sky there tumbled many small ships of shining silver. This must have been what Knight meant by her sisters' followers.

"I'm ready," Caoimhe said to William with a dead-eyed determination that she'd picked up recently. It was unnerving. Squishy was still looking up at the sky. "I don't think we'll need to wonder where Knight is for long," it said, pointing upwards. Faintly, through the clouds and blue sky, they could see the outline of two immense shapes, swinging at one another. One was shimmering, and the other was dark and familiar to Elli. It was Knight! It seemed like she was doing her best to keep the other being away from the planet. They couldn't think too much about it though, as the ships began to land. Some of them simply started scything through buildings and causing carnage.

That seemed like the best plan for it, and they all split up into the recommended teams. As Aaliyah, Daniel, Will, and Caoimhe headed towards where two of the larger ships had hit the ground. Caoimhe turned to Will. "Ya gonna be alright with this?" She trusted both him and Golem, but didn't know if they trusted one another. Also she didn't want them to feel pain, which William had forbade her from taking from him again. Tenpo was glad that she wasn't being put into a combat role. There were many people that needed getting out safely. "Zeke?" she thought to him. "Could you tell everyone in their minds to go to a certain safe place?"