_ _ _ _Sapphire pov_ _ _ _
How had I gotten into this mess? I had just been helping out at one of the guard stations when they came charging toward us. The first warning they were coming was the sound of the turrets Carmen's people had set up opening fire, only for them to explode a second later when they were quickly overwhelmed.
Panicked confusion then turned to alarm as hundreds of splicers came barreling into our outer defences, a few dozen big daddies charging along with them. What's more, unlike the normal splicers we had been dealing with, the feral, leaderless ones, these invaders were far more coordinated. It wasn't hard to figure out why: these guys must have been part of Sofia Lamb's Rapture Family; it was the only way they could have Big Daddies fighting with them.
Of course, by "coordinated" I mean they were a little more tactical and weren't just charging blindly at our positions. They were still insane lunatics who weren't much of a threat to trained soldiers in small numbers; unfortunately for us though, they definitely were not attacking us in small numbers. A fact that left our front lines to be pushed back rather rapidly.
Thankfully, the xenomorphs who were in the area, members of Nekcar's brood, I think anyway, held them off long enough for the rest of us to pull back and refortify our location. However, despite the relatively safe retreat, that didn't mean we were without wounded. The enemies' weapons may have been relatively weak in comparison to our own, but enough bullets, no matter how shabbily aimed, can still cause major injury and death with some luck and persistence.
"We need a medic over here!"
"I'm on my way."
"Fuck! He's bleeding out."
I listened to the voices as I hummed, the sound easing the suffering of the wounded. (I wish there was more I could do, but hopefully this helps even just a little.) I thought to myself, trying to focus on the task at hand.
My powers, not counting my gifts, were quite diverse overall. They mainly consisted of what you would probably expect: the ability to swim underwater, enhanced strength and regeneration, water manipulation, and so on. However, the main one was my voice; I could sing or hum to inflict various effects on those around me. Depending on my intent, those effects could be positive or negative. I was currently using this ability to ease the pain of the wounded.
Just then, though, I was interrupted when something crashed through the wall next to me, sending dust and debris into the air. I freaked out, to put it mildly, falling backward onto my ass in shock. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but it wasn't long before the dust cleared, revealing... a piece of the floor?
I was confused for a second until a voice came from the other side of the wall where the fighting was currently going on. "Crap! We have a big sister!"
(What?!) I thought, eyes widening as I picked myself up and ran to look through the newly created opening in the wall.
It wasn't hard to spot her. She was standing on top of an old crumbling building, ripping apart some of the security bots that we had control over. And I have to say, she was definitely intimidating. This wasn't a game after all, so her moves weren't predictable; they were wild and sporadic, making her incredibly difficult to pin down.
She pulled chunks out of her surroundings, shot fire and lightning from her hands, and leapt around like a super-enhanced acrobat. Fortunately, she seemed more focused on destroying the security bots right now, probably trying to clear them out so the splicers could move more freely. The moment she was done with them, though? Well, if she got into the middle of our lines it would not end well, to say the least.
"Princess!" Nerak called out the moment he noticed me standing there. "You shouldn't be out here."
"S-sorry, I was... I was trying to see w-what was going on," I muttered, not looking away from the battlefield before me as he walked over.
"Nerak understands, but Nerak implores you, return to the medical area and leave this to us, my lady," he responded simply.
"R-right." I nodded in understanding as I turned to join the wounded again, but my legs suddenly froze.
For a moment I just stood there, unable to move as I processed that. (Hide? He wants me to... hide...?) The realization that I didn't even hesitate, that my immediate response was to do as he suggested and hide away, hit me far harder than I had expected. (Have I... have I really relapsed that badly...? H-have I really gone back... back to trembling in terror behind others...?)
A part of me wanted to do just that: to turn and hide away while all this sorted itself out, to pretend I wasn't terrified, to act as if the trauma and guilt from my trial didn't exist. But I couldn't. My legs wouldn't move; they refused to.
(W-why... why do I want to run...? Shouldn't I... be... helping...?) I asked myself internally.
I knew why; I just didn't want to admit it. It had always been there, ever since I entered The Nexus, the little voice in the back of my head that screamed the answer to that exact question, the one that I refused to acknowledge. In fact, I wanted to prove that voice wrong, to prove to myself that I could do this without pretending to be someone different, I truly did. And that was actually the real reason I had asked to tag along with Carmen, and yet... yet I'm still hesitating.
(A-am I just going to stand here...? Am I really that useless without a script to follow... to use as a mask...?) For a second I let that thought echo around in my head, realizing that if I turned back now it really would be proving that little voice right.
And so, I found my answer. (No...) was my simple response to my own piercing question. (I won't let fear control me... I have to do something...) I inhaled slowly, my feet now carrying me towards the frantic fighting ahead.
"Princess?" Nerak muttered, feeling the atmosphere around me shift.
"Follow behind me; let the dark tide flow once more," I commanded simply, my voice cold as the cyan scales across my body began to glow.
My words caused his eyes to widen slightly before he immediately bowed and spoke, a bloodthirsty grin spreading across his face. "As you command, your highness."
I began to hum, low and melodic. The sound spread far beyond what you'd probably expect, with every living thing on this level able to hear me. For those who fought at my back, who stood by me as friends and allies, the sound caused their fatigue to disappear, energy to regenerate, and even fear to drain from their minds. For those who were my enemies, those who had turned their weapons in my direction, the sound had a far wider range of effects: those furthest away were simply overcome by nausea and confusion; those closer to me though began vomiting blackened water that stuck to them like ink, their skin turning grey and sickly, making them look like corpses that had spent days submerged in the depths.
(I will not run...) I breathed out slowly, the cyan glow getting brighter as a deep dark-blue aura began to leak out from me, one that was cold and focused yet also shifted and snaked around me like a ravenous predator. (I'm terrified... I'm even shaking... but...)
(But I won't let people die while I can do something, not again.)