Maskless 6.8
Silently Watches
Professional Stalker
- Location
- Right behind you
[] Back in the Saddle, Part 2
-[] With Miss Militia
Maskless 6.8
Monday, April 25
Stone walls stretch skywards around. A quick glance around shows that yes, these are the same walls you dreamed of a couple of weeks ago, though this time your dream, or perhaps the first Calamity Witch's memories, was kind enough to set you in front of the wooden door at the end of the path. Leaving it closed crosses your mind, but only for a moment. If this is a dream, maybe you'll figure out what your subconscious is trying to tell you. If it is a memory, it cannot harm you.
The door creaks open.
The wide pool of bubbling, boiling water still sits there. So does the little lump of dry land in the middle. And so does the little blonde girl who was there last time. She looks up at the sound of the door, and her bright blue eyes widen. "You… You came back?"
"I guess I did," you tell her, feeling bad for your slightly dismissive tone when you see how bright and hopeful her watery smile has become. "You never told me your name."
"Cassiel. If that's okay." She looks down and whispers, "My parents didn't think I deserved a name."
Her parents? Stepping closer, you take a better look at her chains. Thick steel links come out from deeper in the pool than you can make out through the bubbles, but they end in heavy manacles that are clapped onto her wrists. A little bit of red is visible where they rest, her pale skin beneath them undoubtedly rubbed raw. More chains wrap around her forearms to bind them together. You doubt being stuck that position is anything but torturous. "Are they the ones who put you here?"
She sniffles and nods.
"Why?"
"I'm a bad girl. Bad girls are punished," she says in the dead voice of someone reciting an oft-heard condemnation.
Those words hit you like a blow to the gut. Looking away for a moment, you rack your brain for the few things she said when you were here last time. "You said last time that 'it' was coming and you couldn't stop it. What is 'it'?"
Cassiel whips her head back and forth so fast you're afraid she's going to hurt herself. Her words are breathy and terrified. "I can't talk about it. They'll find out. They said not to. Good girls are quiet and do what they're told."
"Did they find out you tried to tell me last time?" you ask, visions of what those monsters might have done to her for being a 'bad girl' dancing through your head.
Her silence is damning.
That makes your mind up for you even if nothing else about this fucked up situation would have. "We need to get you out of here."
"You can't." Her breath hitches as tears start streaming down her cheeks. "I thought you could, but you can't. No one can. They said so."
"Watch me."
Perfect Storm is not in your hands, but you know your flight spell well enough you should still be able to pull off a decent float all on your own. If Epoch can do it, you definitely can. The formula springs to mind with the ease of long repetition, but your feet stay firmly rooted to the ground. Are you just so used to using your Device to kickstart the process that you have trouble drawing out your magic yourself? A deep breath, and you feel for the power within—
"Magic won't work here," Cassiel tells you in a sad tone. "I thought maybe it could. You aren't a parahuman. You're special. But it doesn't."
Fine. If you can't fly, you'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way. You stick your foot into the pool in preparation to jump in and nearly shriek when the scorching heats seeps through your boot. Your Barrier Jacket makes you immune to fire— Except without magic, your Barrier Jacket isn't much good, is it? Maintaining its shape is probably the most you are capable of doing.
Something about that thought niggles at you, but you cannot put your finger on exactly what is wrong with it.
"You can't come over here," she says again. Cassiel hunches her shoulders, looking smaller and even younger than her nine-ish years warrant. "And you can't use your magic. How can you save me?"
"I'll figure something out," you promise. "There has to be some way—"
The walls and pond don't blur so much as shatter, and you blink your eyes to find yourself staring up at the ceiling of your bedroom. "What happened?" you ask out loud.
«Telepathic intrusion resisted.»
"Telepathic intrusion?" You roll over to look at Perfect Storm. "I thought you made me immune to Master effects like Dad's. You even stopped the Simurgh."
«Telepathic connection subtle. Low power. Unnoticed until mental waveform abnormality detected. Once discovered, simple to disable.»
A cold shiver runs down your spine. For months, you assumed you were totally resistant to the various Masters and Strangers out there. To be reminded that protection depends on Perfect Storm's ability to detect them, not to mention that even your Intelligent Device can be caught off guard, is not comforting. "Where did it come from?"
«Unknown. Signal too weak to trace.»
Low power. Too weak to trace. Easily disabled. You roll over onto your back again. "Dad's powers and the Scream, those were high-powered, right? You blocked them immediately. So they were pretty obvious." Perfect Storm chimes in agreement. "This was so weak you almost didn't notice it. Would anyone be able to take control of me with that kind of signal?"
«Unknown. Low probability but cannot be ruled out.»
It could be a villain coming after you in your dreams. No one would blame you for protecting yourself from such a person. But if that really is a scared, hurt little girl on the other end, ignoring her would be closing her last door to safety. And you will never know which it is until it's too late to change your mind.
"And Mom wondered why I hated 'The Lady, or the Tiger?'."
+1 Inspiration to Mass Weapons.
+1 Inspiration to Basic Device (PURCHASED).
You thought this chapter would feature the Beasts, but it was I,DIO! Cassiel. Exploring the storm sewers will be next chapter, don't worry.
First, though, what do you want Perfect Storm to do about whoever's reaching out to you?
[ ] Keep the line open – You're a hero, and this is a little girl begging for help. So long as she doesn't do anything threatening, let her call you when she can.
[ ] Block her – You don't know who this is, but she managed to sneak by Perfect Storm's defenses. Don't give a dangerous stranger a chance to Master you.
-[] With Miss Militia
Maskless 6.8
Monday, April 25
Stone walls stretch skywards around. A quick glance around shows that yes, these are the same walls you dreamed of a couple of weeks ago, though this time your dream, or perhaps the first Calamity Witch's memories, was kind enough to set you in front of the wooden door at the end of the path. Leaving it closed crosses your mind, but only for a moment. If this is a dream, maybe you'll figure out what your subconscious is trying to tell you. If it is a memory, it cannot harm you.
The door creaks open.
The wide pool of bubbling, boiling water still sits there. So does the little lump of dry land in the middle. And so does the little blonde girl who was there last time. She looks up at the sound of the door, and her bright blue eyes widen. "You… You came back?"
"I guess I did," you tell her, feeling bad for your slightly dismissive tone when you see how bright and hopeful her watery smile has become. "You never told me your name."
"Cassiel. If that's okay." She looks down and whispers, "My parents didn't think I deserved a name."
Her parents? Stepping closer, you take a better look at her chains. Thick steel links come out from deeper in the pool than you can make out through the bubbles, but they end in heavy manacles that are clapped onto her wrists. A little bit of red is visible where they rest, her pale skin beneath them undoubtedly rubbed raw. More chains wrap around her forearms to bind them together. You doubt being stuck that position is anything but torturous. "Are they the ones who put you here?"
She sniffles and nods.
"Why?"
"I'm a bad girl. Bad girls are punished," she says in the dead voice of someone reciting an oft-heard condemnation.
Those words hit you like a blow to the gut. Looking away for a moment, you rack your brain for the few things she said when you were here last time. "You said last time that 'it' was coming and you couldn't stop it. What is 'it'?"
Cassiel whips her head back and forth so fast you're afraid she's going to hurt herself. Her words are breathy and terrified. "I can't talk about it. They'll find out. They said not to. Good girls are quiet and do what they're told."
"Did they find out you tried to tell me last time?" you ask, visions of what those monsters might have done to her for being a 'bad girl' dancing through your head.
Her silence is damning.
That makes your mind up for you even if nothing else about this fucked up situation would have. "We need to get you out of here."
"You can't." Her breath hitches as tears start streaming down her cheeks. "I thought you could, but you can't. No one can. They said so."
"Watch me."
Perfect Storm is not in your hands, but you know your flight spell well enough you should still be able to pull off a decent float all on your own. If Epoch can do it, you definitely can. The formula springs to mind with the ease of long repetition, but your feet stay firmly rooted to the ground. Are you just so used to using your Device to kickstart the process that you have trouble drawing out your magic yourself? A deep breath, and you feel for the power within—
"Magic won't work here," Cassiel tells you in a sad tone. "I thought maybe it could. You aren't a parahuman. You're special. But it doesn't."
Fine. If you can't fly, you'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way. You stick your foot into the pool in preparation to jump in and nearly shriek when the scorching heats seeps through your boot. Your Barrier Jacket makes you immune to fire— Except without magic, your Barrier Jacket isn't much good, is it? Maintaining its shape is probably the most you are capable of doing.
Something about that thought niggles at you, but you cannot put your finger on exactly what is wrong with it.
"You can't come over here," she says again. Cassiel hunches her shoulders, looking smaller and even younger than her nine-ish years warrant. "And you can't use your magic. How can you save me?"
"I'll figure something out," you promise. "There has to be some way—"
The walls and pond don't blur so much as shatter, and you blink your eyes to find yourself staring up at the ceiling of your bedroom. "What happened?" you ask out loud.
«Telepathic intrusion resisted.»
"Telepathic intrusion?" You roll over to look at Perfect Storm. "I thought you made me immune to Master effects like Dad's. You even stopped the Simurgh."
«Telepathic connection subtle. Low power. Unnoticed until mental waveform abnormality detected. Once discovered, simple to disable.»
A cold shiver runs down your spine. For months, you assumed you were totally resistant to the various Masters and Strangers out there. To be reminded that protection depends on Perfect Storm's ability to detect them, not to mention that even your Intelligent Device can be caught off guard, is not comforting. "Where did it come from?"
«Unknown. Signal too weak to trace.»
Low power. Too weak to trace. Easily disabled. You roll over onto your back again. "Dad's powers and the Scream, those were high-powered, right? You blocked them immediately. So they were pretty obvious." Perfect Storm chimes in agreement. "This was so weak you almost didn't notice it. Would anyone be able to take control of me with that kind of signal?"
«Unknown. Low probability but cannot be ruled out.»
It could be a villain coming after you in your dreams. No one would blame you for protecting yourself from such a person. But if that really is a scared, hurt little girl on the other end, ignoring her would be closing her last door to safety. And you will never know which it is until it's too late to change your mind.
"And Mom wondered why I hated 'The Lady, or the Tiger?'."
+1 Inspiration to Mass Weapons.
+1 Inspiration to Basic Device (PURCHASED).
You thought this chapter would feature the Beasts, but it was I,
First, though, what do you want Perfect Storm to do about whoever's reaching out to you?
[ ] Keep the line open – You're a hero, and this is a little girl begging for help. So long as she doesn't do anything threatening, let her call you when she can.
[ ] Block her – You don't know who this is, but she managed to sneak by Perfect Storm's defenses. Don't give a dangerous stranger a chance to Master you.
Last edited:
