The Forgotten Zodiac

Tyler had opened his mouth to argue with Werr about whether or not he was allowed to quit when the man collapsed. His jaw dropped and so did he, out of Quinn's arms so that she could take care of him.

Kyle's eyes widened and he shook his head. "It's-that's... This isn't a side effect that's possible. It's been tested on other things." He watched Werr for a brief second, then looked up at Quinn. "Put it back in! You're water; you can do that!"

Quinn nodded. She chose to keep the water on the ground out of Werr's body; goodness knows they didn't want any unneeded bacteria or microorganisms getting inside him. But she was quick to push against his limp frame, sealing up the holes. Almost immediately, she started feeling a sharp pain in her gut, a familiar pain that she knew from overworking herself. She had to double check, though...not holes. Thank goodness, not holes.

"Who's there?!" Subject suddenly yelled at the alleyway. "Show yourself!"

In the alley, there was a dark shape that seemed to resemble a man. A very tall man. "An Iyoui," Aurora drew her sword and started forward, but even as she advanced, the Iyoui raised his hand.

"Bang."

The cold voice echoed through the alley, making it heard more than once. Aurora collapsed at once, her sword clattering to the ground and harsh bruises starting to blossom on her arms. By the time Subject made it into the alley, however, the Iyoui was gone. "Shoot," Subject hissed, glaring into the darkness. "He must've used his shadow powers like a hole puncher..."

"And tore up Werr's insides?" Quinn whimpered, half out of fear and half from the pain in her stomach.

"Probably. Oh, Quinn," Subject shook his head, hurrying over. He was quick to settle his hands on her shoulders, starting to feed power into her, making it easier to work.

Tyler ran to Aurora's side, holding her arms and feeling them for holes. "Aurora? Are you okay, Aurora? This never happened when Sylas was here; he always made the bad guys go away." The boy grabbed Aurora and tried to pick her up by the shoulders, because standing up immediately was always the best plan.

Michael was finished in the backyard by then, and he hurried about to the house. Of course, he knew nothing about the Iyouis attack; since he hadn't been able to see it. "Quinn, what's going on?" He stopped when he realized she was working, looking instead at Kyle. "Kyle, what happened?"

Subject answered instead. "It was an Iyoui. He hacked up Werr's insides, then stopped Aurora from going after him..." He huffed a bit, starting to get a little worn down, but he still had plenty of energy to give. And he gave it, pouring it into Quinn to the best of his ability. She was working diligently, hoping that the blood would congeal and seal the holes eventually. But she definitely couldn't keep this up forever...

Tyler shook Aurora harder, trying to get her to speak. "Aurora! Hey, Aurora! Talk to me, Aurora. You aren't allowed to be dead. Stop being dead and talk to me!"

Michael stared at Werr in horror, realizing how dangerous it would be that an Iyouis could do damage like that so quickly. "He got away? Where Sylas? He's the one who predicts things like this."

Tyler looked over at Michael and shook his head. "Sylas isn't here. He hates us now, and he doesn't want to be here any more."

Aurora pulled herself together. She hadn't been unconscious, but she had definitely been in shock. She worked quickly, using her sword to strip her sleeve off. She was quick to tie off her arm just below her shoulder, restricting bloodflow to the damaged part. She used the rest of the sleeve as a sling, unsure of what else she could do for the wounds.

"Sylas...why would he do this now? We need him..." Subject muttered. "Could...could that have been Sylas? No, I don't think so...it didn't look like him. And Sylas would never hurt anyone." He shivered a bit, starting to feel chills as even more of his energy was sucked up by Quinn. But he didn't stop, and neither did she. Werr...Werr was important. He was one of the stronger ones of their group. While Quinn was timid and protective, and Michael was lethargic and uncaring, Werr was the one who actually drove them to get things done. They couldn't have him dying...not like this.

So when Quinn's power finally gave out, she broke down and started to sob into her arms. She couldn't do it anymore. Even with Subject's powers, it hurt so much. She had given Werr absolutely everything, there was nothing more she could do. So while she cried, Subject had to check the older boy's vitals. His breathing was okay, and his pulse was a little weak, but there. Subject double-checked Werr's mouth for more blood, but there didn't seem to be any. "I think the holes sealed. Most of them, at least. Thank goodness." He sighed. "We shouldn't risk moving him for a couple of hours. Even the slightest bump could reopen the wounds, and I don't think Quinn will be able to do anything for awhile." She was lying on her side now, sobbing into the grass miserably. Subject rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, then looked up at Michael. "He has a chance of surviving now, though."

Kyle, here, was able to do something useful. He knelt by Werr and looked around the deck. Without stopping, he held his hands out over Werr and stood up, lifting him into the air carefully. His air powers enabled him to move Werr without changing his position in any way, so Kyle moved the man from the floor to the couch. This way, they could at least walk around.

Tyler left Aurora and went over to Quinn, patting her shoulder gently. "It's okay, Quinn! Werr's okay, and the nasty weasel didn't eat anyone. You can be happy. Sylas'll come back soon, and he'll be happy too."

Quinn shook her head. She slowly stood and walked back into the house, still crying as she curled up under the table and laid down on the floor where she was.

"Well," Subject sighed. "Come on, Aurora. Let's get inside." He led the woman indoors, somewhat unhappy sounding. But he quickly deemed himself the vitals-checker; every few minutes, he reached over and gently felt for a pulse from Werr, and he watched for breathing. After awhile, though, he turned on the television to keep himself entertained while he kept an eye on Werr.

Tyler sat down next to Quinn and leaned up against her stomach while he watched the television with Subject. "Really, Quinn! Everybody here is safe and not dead. You don't have to cry, because everyone is not eaten by weasels." He shuddered slightly. "I wouldn't like to be eaten by a weasel." The boy had no idea how deterimental that would be to Quinn's emotional state. The idea was entirely abstract for him.

((What happens 'today'?))
Tyler ended up sleeping curled up next to Quinn with his head on her shoulder. The group remained in that strange position all night, though the back door did end up shut and locked before everyone fell asleep. Eventually, morning came and Tyler was awoken by his stomach. He poked Quinn gently and began waking her up. "Quiiiiin!" he whined. "I'm huuuungry."

((We'll find Sylas again and kill Lotus, and move on to the next arc.))

"Mm..." Quinn slowly stirred, opening her eyes. "Go see if there's any cereal," She muttered, not feeling up to getting up just yet. She looked up towards the TV, which was still on. The channel had been changed to the news again. Quinn would have changed it, but she noticed the remote in Werr's hand. He must have woken up sometime in the night and decided to watch something, but he had fallen asleep again with the remote in his hand still.

((Awesome.))

Tyler rolled away from Quinn and stood up. Before he pattered into the kitchen, he looked at Quinn curiously. "Do you want some cereal too? I'll bet there are Frosted Flakes. I love Frosted Flakes." He bounced into the kitchen and grabbed the milk and cereal  before pausing at the bowls. "Huh, Quinn?"

"Sure..." Quinn sighed, checking on Werr's vitals. She muted the television, and sat down in one of the chairs next to the couch. The news was important, though, clearly; Quinn kept an eye on it, in case something related to them came up. She wasn't expecting anything, but an interesting news flash about anything in their area would be a hint as to whether or not the agents were still tailing them.

The house was quiet. Quinn smiled and nearly giggled a bit when she realized that Werr was lightly snoring. At least she knew his lungs were working properly.

Tyler bounced back in shortly with two bowls, full of cereal, two spoons, and a jug of milk. "I can't pour. If you want me to, I can try and spill it all over you and Werr; but maybe you should do it." He held the gallon jug out to her, little arms struggling with extending the weight that far from his body. Once she took it, he moved over toward the end of the house and looked at Werr, getting quieter. "Is Werr gunna be okay, Quinn? I don't want him to die; that would make me sad."

"I don't think he'll die," Quinn said quietly, pouring the milk over the cereal bowls.

"Yeah, I'm not gone yet..." Werr muttered, opening one eye a crack. "Sure hurts, though...Qu-Quinn, would you go see if Kyle's awake and ask him for painkillers? He should...have some..." He sighed. Quinn slowly nodded and set her cereal aside.

"Don't jump on him, Tyler." She warned, before hurrying upstairs.

Kyle was on the first floor, facedown in the hallway and entirely asleep. He'd placed himself there to avoid anyone coming in the front door without his knowing; but, due to the uncomfortable nature of certain floors, this had made it difficult to get to sleep. When he finally had, he'd been out hard.

Tyler eyes had lit up when he heard Werr talk, but he did restrain himself from touching the man. "Good morning, Werr! I'm glad you're okay, because I would be sad if you were dead, even though you weren't being nice right before you almost died." To the boy, this seemed like the utmost generosity, as horrible as it sounded that he remembered that. "Would you like some cereal? It's Frosted Flakes."

Werr blinked at him. "So-sorry about that...I shouldn't have been so rude." He sighed, closing his eyes again. "No, no cereal for me. I think I need to take it easy for a little while...would you go and fetch me some water? No ice, just water..." He sighed.

"I couldn't find Kyle, but--oh, there he is," Quinn spotted their host as she was coming down the stairs. "Either way, I found the painkillers..." She handed the bottle to Werr, who looked at it critically before taking some. Just to be sure.

"Thanks."

Tyler's eyes widened in surprise and delight and he stood up, jostling the coffee table and spilling the milk slightly. He ran into the kitchen and grabbed a cup, carefully filling it with lukewarm water. He moved back into the room carefully and knelt down by the couch to hand the cup to Werr. "Here you go, Werr. I found water for you."

Werr smiled a bit. "Thanks..." He held the cup awkwardly before looking up at Quinn.

"Uh...you shouldn't try and sit up right now. Here," She went to the kitchen and returned with a straw, which Werr took without protest.

"Thanks." He sighed, drinking the water until it was gone. Then he set the glass aside and closed his eyes again, relaxing noticeably. "I think I need to sleep more..."

"A good idea. We'll--" Quinn stopped short, staring at the TV. She snatched up the remote and turned the sound on.

"--We're not entirely certain what's going on, but there appears to be two men with unusual abilities. Whether they are gifted or not is to be questioned. We have a chopper on the scene, video will be available after this break." The newscaster said, a solemn look on his face. Quinn started watching the commercials, intently waiting for more news.