Closed RP Cryptid Collection Services

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Slate

Slate

Member

Never in a million years had Obsidian thought he’d ever be in this situation. Not with someone who wasn’t explicitly Pack, at least. Even when Mal had disappeared, panic hadn’t gripped him quite like this. They had known from his chip that he’d been in the same space that entire time. That he’d been dead. But with Todd, there was nothing. There was no way to know where he’d disappeared to.

It had taken Sulphur and Lapis three days of scanning cameras and security footage, both private and city, before they were able to place the area he had disappeared in. That was why they were all out, running between warehouses as they tried to hunt him down. It was Pack business, in his mind, and everyone else had agreed with him. Even Onyx, who still didn’t know what Todd actually was. Todd was one of theirs, in all their hearts. That was why they’d left Quartz- Rowe- back at home. If something was keeping Todd prisoner, or if he was being held hostage, well Rowe just didn’t heal fast enough for the kind of warfare they were expecting.

Everyone was armed to the teeth. Even Rhody was carrying a Walther PDP, which was a far cry from her usual arsenal of just flaying knives and needlepoints. They’d brought enough fire to take out a small army. Because that was what they were expecting. They were expecting another gang, maybe, like the Pincers or maybe even WOTN. They were in conflict with both right now as they continued their attempts to bring all of Pittsburgh’s gang activity under their control. Carmen was handling the mafia families, so Slate was able to devote a lot of time to the lower gangs.

They were efficiently and quickly running through the district, with Obsidian staying close to Onyx. With his arm still broken, he needed to stay close to either her or Sulphur. They were the best shots on the team. Already they had surveyed and made it through around 60% of the buildings as they ran. The Pack was in hunt mode, and they’d stay that way until Todd was safely recollected.

A sharp whistle sounded through the air, twice short then once high and long- Lapis, calling everyone’s attention. Obsidian nudged Onyx in the right direction and took off, reconvening with the rest of the Pack.

Lapis waited for everyone to fall on her before explaining and gesturing up toward the window above her head. “Blood, and a lot of it. Days old at least. There’s bodies inside. I haven’t seen movement, but we should check it. No security on the building.”

“We go in slow. Anticipate traps or an ambush. We get Todd and we leave. This is a rescue and nothing more currently. If we find out who’s done it in the process, then we will exterminate them tomorrow. The objective is retrieval.”

Everyone nodded, and they all dispersed to find their way into the building. The more spread out they were, the less likely they’d be taken out in an ambush. Obsidian locked eyes with Onyx and nodded to her. He pulled out his Dan Wesson DWX, the only gun he trusted, and let Onyx lead him into the building.​
 
It was almost unnerving how comfortable Onyx was, moving with the Pack, clearing buildings and warehouses in the district. But to be frank- she missed this. The focus and drive being on a job gave her. In one hand she had her .45 ACP ready, and a secondary handgun strapped to her ankle. Around her neck hung her favrotite pet, Xeno the Ninth. Right now he was dormant, but at a moment's notice he could lash out at a threat, or she could use him to keep an eye behind her. In small containers hooked to her belt, she had a collection of nasty insects and spiders ready to let out when need be.

Things had been slow in Pittsburgh initially, and she was struggling to feel busy or useful behind the bar with Hematite. Now, shortly after her hazing, she was back to work searching for one of theirs. Not Pack- at least not yet- but a member of Slate Obsidian had seemed to take a liking too.

Iolite.

Onyx didn't question Obsidian. He usually was right about people, and she'd be hard-pressed to voice a contrary opinion to his. It happened occasionally, but that was how it should be. It was important to keep order in the ranks, and the less one argued, the more likely they were to be heard when they did. It had taken her time to get comfortable with the way Slate worked, but she had adapted to Ethan, and his kindness. So when he said they needed to find Iolite, she agreed without issue. Iolite was one of them. Or close to it. A meta at least, and thats what mattered. He'd been nice enough too, when she had met him.

It was Obsidian she was with now. With his injury, and honestly weak constitution, she had almost objected to his presence on the search, but it was agreed he'd stay close to her or Sulpher. The two of them worked methodically, moving through the street until Lapis called them back.

By the sound of her report it looked bad. Bodies and blood.

What else was new?

Onyx waited for Obsidian's order before breaking left, entering into a perimeter formation with the rest of the team, taking point in front of Obsidian. Extraction was a simple objective, but a difficult operation. Especially if their target was under gaurd, or injured. She quickly took stock of their exits, and the movements of the rest of the Pack before entering the building, sweeping left and right, clearing the space before giving Obsidian the hand signal that it was safe to follow.


 
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After Onyx signaled for him, Obsidian was rushing into the building, silent and quick. He fell into step alongside her and scanned the area. No other energy signatures. The only one, which was faint, was up high. That was… peculiar. This might not have been a kidnapping then. He frowned and touched his earpiece, paging everyone else. “No energy signatures other than the one. Might not be our target, but let’s advance anyway. Keep an eye out for cameras or traps still, don’t let your guard down.”

With Onyx at his side, Obsidian advanced, letting her stay ahead of him at all times. They pulled out of the piled-up crates and boxes and out into the middle of the steel mill. The sight was so gruesome that for a moment, Obsidian forgot what they were there for. There was more blood than there should have been by far. The ground was fractured in places, as if hit hard by something. The place smelled like three-day-old bodies and blood, that was for sure.

Then he looked up. Bodies were hanging from hooks high above the ground. One of them held a faint energy signature as he unfocused his eyes. Slowly, he refocused them- and stopped still. Then, without waiting for anyone else to move, Obsidian rushed to where the chains were secured, pulling on the right bar to try and slowly let the bodies to the ground.

“Todd! Todd! Fuck, fuck, fuck. Rhody, Sulphur, get over here and check him out! Onyx, Hemie, Lapis, secure the area!” There was a panicked edge to Ethan’s voice as he tried to keep his breathing even. As he watched the very unconscious body of Todd Fowler, his Iolite, get lowered to the ground. He was alive, barely, his energy signature a faint snow when it was usually a sharp blizzard. Against Ethan’s will, his hands began to shake as he closed his amber eyes to try and regain control.

When he reopened his eyes, he scanned the floor again. He was looking for any signs of what had happened, of how Todd had ended up like this- and saw lying on the ground the crushed and twisted mask of Cryptid. What had done this? What was strong enough to hurt Todd like this? What could have destroyed his mask and broken him enough to hang him from a hook like a piece of meat? While he tried to calm down, the rest of the team moved. Lapis and Hemie separated and started to look for cameras and traps, securing the doors, and Rhody and Sulphur were helping to carefully lower Todd’s body to the ground.​
 
Onyx was familiar with the smell of old blood. It had been a long time though, the stale air, with a metallic tinge. The smell of rot and dirty flesh. If she dwelled on it too much she might be drawn away from the present moment and taken back to that basement, drowning.

Onyx didn't let her mind wander. Obsidians- Ethans- panicked voice kept her sharp. If he was this worried, something bad was happening. She paused for a moment, and obeyed the order, leaving the body to Sulpher and Rhodey. She watched the entrances and exits to the space, and surveys the vents anything else that might be trapped, or where anyone might be hiding.

Thats when she saw the mask. Crumpled like a soda can and bloodied, but recognizable. Onyx put the pieces together quickly.

Cryptid.

Crytpid.

Cryptid.

Iolite was Cryptid. The polite, unassuming man she had met at Christmas was Cryptid. Cryptid was Iolite.

Todd Fowler had murdered Malachite.

As soon as the room was secure, and the body brought down from the chain, Onyx didn't hesitate, coming close to Crytpid, and leveling her pistol at his head. He was still breathing- just barely but he was alive. She almost wanted to spare him the bullet as it would be a mercy.

Onyx turned her head to Obsidian, mostly out of deference. If Obsidian wanted him to suffer, that was up to him. If not, Onyx was more than willing to put the son of a bitch out of his misery.
 
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On a gut reaction, Ethan moved and reached for Onyx’s arm. In a movement faster than a blink, he grabbed her wrist and pointed the gun at the ceiling. His eyes were panicked as he swallowed, quickly letting go of her wrist. The mask would certainly have alerted her, and Onyx wasn’t stupid. Onyx could piece together that Todd was Cryptid. He took a breath and very carefully, to keep the pleading tone from his voice, spoke.

“That’s Iolite, Onyx. He’s one of us. Don’t– don’t hurt him.” His breathing was quick as he looked down at Todd. He looked so gaunt, so much worse than he had ever seen him. And he had just eaten. This shouldn’t be the state he was in. Rhody looked up at him from her examination and shook her head a bit.

“I have to cut it free. He’s healed around it. I don’t know if it will wake him up or not.”

“Then do it. Just get him off that thing. He’ll heal the damage.” Ethan turned back to Onyx and sighed and looked between her, the mask, and Todd. Then he leveled his gaze on her one more time. “Onyx, don’t kill him. I’ll explain everything to you once we get him back to the Diamond, okay? But right now he needs us. He needs our help.”

He stepped back and away from her. Nothing he had said had been an order. She could kill him if she wanted to. He wouldn’t stop her. But his eyes were begging her not to. His eyes were begging for Onyx to let him be and just help get him back to the Diamond where they could more effectively help him.​
 
There was a wild desperation to the way Obsidian grabbed Onyx's arm, forcing her aim to the ceiling. He let go before she had the chance to pull away. The pleading in his voice was more than enough to give her pause, as was the fear in his eyes. Her trigger discipline kept the gun from going off. Only then had she processed what Obsidian said. Obsidian was concerned about Iolite's wellbeing, rather than getting him to the Diamond for further interrogation, which led Onyx too only two conclusions.

Ethan didn't know Cryptid had killed Jasper. However, the mask was present. Todd was still dressed in clothes that people often associated with Cryptid. Onyx would have even bet they would find Cryptids bagh nakh if they tried hard enough.

I’ll explain everything to you once we get him back to the Diamond, okay?

No. Ethan knew.

Onyx's jaw shifted. Her stoic reticence hardened into something that could only be described as confused betrayal. She had given Obsidian her skills, her time and her hard won talents. She had championed his cause for years, and more than that she had given him a much rarer gift: her trust.

That trust was the only thing that stayed Onyx's anger. Whatever this was...she would at the very least hear Obsidian out. Holstering her gun, she signed to Ethan with hard, stiff motions, "Good thing Pearl is still in town."

Without further preamble, she went to assist Rhodanite.
 

“I don’t think even Pearl can help him. This wound isn’t fresh. It doesn’t look infected, but we’ll have to disinfect it before it closes up. Hopefully he doesn’t wake up from this.” Ethan turned back to Rhody as she stuck a knife in between the hook and Todd and ripped it down, carefully not to perforate any organs that might be there. They had no idea what the inside of Todd’s body looked like after all. She rolled him closer, with the help of Onyx to still him, and did the same with his back. Then, she slowly started to push the hook back and out, trying her best to avoid rubbing it against his spine anymore than she had to.

Ethan had to look away, to stall the panic from rising in his chest. A hand went to push the flop of hair out of his eyes. He rubbed his nose where his glasses normally sat, replaced by contacts for the night so he wouldn’t be impaired. For all the good that was doing now.

He breathed in through his nose, slowly, and out through his mouth. He looked around him, at the blood, at the walls, at the chains, at the cement floor, at the distant figure of Lapis coming back. He touched his hair, his coat, his shirt, the gun he’d holstered when he saw Todd hanging. He listened to the sound of shoes on the floor, to the sound of chains rattling up above, to the sound of Todd breathing. Todd was breathing. He was still breathing.

He turned back around, his calm firmly taking hold. He needed to be strong right now. He couldn’t break. Not like he did the second night Mal hadn’t come home. He couldn’t collapse in on himself. So he pushed his hair out of his face and took in a deep breath, filled with the scent of decay and old blood and the smell of metal grindings.

“We need to get him back and give him a place to heal. Sulphur, go get the Rover. Bring it around. Rhody’s medical kit is in there, we’ll need it to bind him up until we can get him back. So he doesn’t bleed out. He’ll heal, hopefully, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

His eyes fell on Onyx once more as he watched the women work. Sulphur was already halfway out the door. Her willingness to put a gun to Todd’s head wasn’t bad, necessarily. If it had been anyone else behind that mask, he wouldn’t have hesitated to let her shoot him. But it was Todd, and that made all the difference.​
 
Susanna wasn't on the verge of a panic attack, but she was far closer to one than she was used too. Because of the hazing, and how badly she had spiraled when Rhody slit her throat, and seeing her carve into Todd now, Onyx would have sworn the hanging chains were chiming to the tune of "Oh Susanna." Still, she concealed the discomfort and nodded in acknowledgement to Rhody.

She blocked out the scent, and Marco's singsong voice, and helped Rhody, holding the broken, bloodied, man close to her, supporting him so they could get him free with the least amount of damage. Onyx hefted Cryptid - Mal's murderer- up, decreasing the tension on the hook as Rhody pulled it out with a sickening, yet all too familiar squelch.

Onyx eased the body to the floor.

He wasn't quite a body yet. Onyx could feel when things were dead. It was an innate sense of hers, something she intrinsically knew because of her powers. Yet, with Todd there was nothing for her to find. Nothing to hold on too that would let her puppet him. His breathing was shallow, but still persisting.

She couldn't fathom why Obsidian wanted him alive. Onyx had questions, but she pushed them aside, applying pressure to Todd's back until Sulpher returned with the medical kit and Rover.
 

Ethan could hardly watch as Rhody and Onyx worked, and then as Sulphur joined them. The three of them worked in tandem to stabilize Todd. If Ethan thought he’d be any help at all, he would have done so. He would have been on his hands and knees, doing anything he could to help as they disinfected the wounds with almost too much saline, and then the edges with rubbing alcohol. He would have done anything to help carry him out to the car, when Hematite lifted him gingerly up and carried him out the door, Rhody and the others trailing close behind him.

The car ride back was silent. No one tried to talk. And no one, certainly, tried to talk to Ethan. They left him to his own thoughts as they quickly drove back to the Diamond. As soon as they were there, Ethan was out the door, keys in hand, as he called to the others. “Bring him up to the guest room by my room, I’m going to get the bed ready.”

He raced up the outside stairs to the door that led into their renovated home, unlocking it before rushing inside. At least this was something he could do. At least he could make his way downstairs to the basement and get one of the soft tarps and bring it back up the stairs to cover the bed. At least he could do that.

He was just finishing tucking the sheet in when Hematite walked into the room with Todd in his arms. They carefully laid his body out on the bed, and Ethan watched his energy. It was more stable now. The soft snow was falling more steadily through his veins. Taking him off the hook had helped his energy to circulate better. He breathed in a sigh of relief and leaned over the younger man, his hair obscuring his face from the others as tears slid down his face.

“What did you do, you idiot?”​
 
Onyx knocked on the bedroom door to get Obsidians attention before signing.

"You know he killed Jasper."

Onyx had held her tongue all through assisting Rhody in cleansing Todd's wounds. Something Malachite should have been there doing. She hadn't tried to sign a damn thing as Hematite carried Todd to the Rover, a task Malachite would have once undertaken. Because thats who Jasper was. Someone kind and strong. She had kept it all in during the drive back to the Diamond, and helping getting Todd upstairs.

The was no reason to beat around the bush. Onyx never cared for sugarcoating anyone. It was best to state things as they were. Ethan had known all along that Todd killed their brother, and now they were fighting to keep the man alive- had risked their lives for him.

Ethan was crying for him.

"You knew and you didn't tell us."
 

Eyes turned on Ethan. He had already had talks with all of them about this- he had meant to tell Onyx, but there hadn’t been a good time since the Christmas party, since their introduction, to actually do so. He’d had to talk to all of them as they had found out. He’d had to see that hurt in all their eyes. After a moment, he turned his tearstained face up to look at Onyx. His face twisted into a painful smile as he looked at her, tears still spilling over slowly.

“You’re right. I knew. I knew it was him. I’ve known since day one. It was my choice, not his, to lie to everyone. I thought that it would be better if none of you ever knew. But then, you all found out one by one. Sulphur, then Rhody, then Hematite and Lapis. And now you. There’s no more secrets now.” He looked down and laughed bitterly. “I’m sorry. That I didn’t tell you. But I couldn’t risk losing him. I told you before– he’s special. He’s the only other thing like me I’ve ever met. And Mal– Jasper– I can never replace him. There will always be a hole in my heart from him.”

He stood from the bed where he’d been kneeling. He made his way slowly across the room to her, in the doorway. Never once did he break eye contact with her. With a heavy sigh, he stopped in front of her, looking down into her eyes. “But Todd fills something else in me. He fills something else for all of us, some other role. You think that he’d still be alive otherwise? That they would have let him live once they had found out?”

He turned back to look at the bed and sighed again, this time softer. “This idiot, this absolute idiot, has been keeping me going. As much as everyone else in this room has. I know this is hard to understand. I know it’s hard to accept. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you myself before this. I meant to. I really did.”

Turning his attention back to Onyx, he held her eyes for just a moment before looking down. There was something about him, maybe the set of his shoulders or the way his head tilted down, that implied he was waiting for judgement. That he was waiting for whatever rage she had to descend upon him. That he was ready.​
 
Onyx had long accepted that's what most of the Pack was. What Slate was- broken things for Obsidian to fix. God knew Lapis had issues. Hemie came a background not unlike her own, and Rhody...it made Onyx sick what had happened to Rhody, and much like with herself, there was a lot that hadn't left scars. They were all broken. It had taken someone like Obsidian to fix them, give them purpose. He was what they fought for- his ideals.

Sometimes she wondered if the Pack believed more in Ethan or the cause.

Onyx returned his gaze with startling clarity. He wanted her anger. Her rage. Ethan knew he deserved it, and every guilty soul, deep down, craved the catharsis of justice. Punishment.

But Todd wasn't something for Ethan to fix, no- Ethan was saying that Todd was fixing him.

"I hope he's worth it," Onyx signed. "And...I want to talk to him. When he is able."
 
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