WorldEnd , an organization created by Trigger , a once normal man whose life had been ruined by IRIS and their ACTIVUS project. Their groups was made up of the most dangerous most powerful irregulars in the world , whose goal was to destroy the government body.
Seventeen years ago , they'd failed and the founding members went into hiding. As Mordred looked at the creatures above him , all the fight seemed to drain out of him.
He knew eventually find him. They always did. But he hoped that they'd given up. Especially since a year and eight months had passed since his arrival in Rocket city. It was the longest he'd ever stayed in any one city.
But they'd still come. It took the a bit longer , but they'd found him again. And this time , one of their strongest was here. Ringmaster. He had a feeling that this might be his last day as a free man.
Ringmaster was known as The Scout in Worldend- the guy Trigger depended on for information. Although his title sounds lame , his abilities are far from it.
His power allowed him to manifest any creature out his shadows and control them. No one knows why he makes them look so grotesque, or the absolute limits that he has , but the guy rarely shows himself, allows letting hiis puppets do his dirty work. It is said that only Trigger has ever seen his real body before.
"What the heck are those things?" Mark shrieked as he scrambled back , his skin gaining a coppery sheen as he used his hardening ability. But no one could answer.
The creatures , having been discovered dropped down one by one , filling the space up ahead. Some had 4-6 arms. Others multiplexers or heads , with twisted expressions and gaping maw. It was a really disorienting sight. The creature at the head of their monster troop rose to its feet. It was the only thing that truly looked human.
"Come with me or suffer. Come with me and your …" it surveyed the small group of children before it continued " …group pays the price. "
It stretched out a shadowy hand. Mordred trembled , his fingers shaking uncontrollably. The very act of hearing Ringmaster voice awoke unwanted memories in him.
He knew what would happen if he grabbed the offered hand. The Ringmaster would recall his creation, pulling it across space, inconceivably defying the laws of space-time and taking him with it. Even if he was on the other side of the world , Mordred would be pulled toward led him in mere seconds.
He sighed , calming his nerves. He could feel yin's friends eyes trained on him. Questioning. And he didn't blame them. He would've probably done the same thing in their shoes. But he had to protect this group of innocents.
No matter what , he'd survived once and found a way to escape. He could do it again. Just as he was about to step forward , he heard a loud crunching sound and saw Mark ripping a large chunk out of the tunnel wall and hurling it at the humanoid thing.
The creature was crushed under the hulking structure and faded into nothing. "Hello yeah!" He yelled. Mordred froze, terror suffusing his features just as the dozen other creatures hissed. He didn't know whether it was bravery or stupidity to challenge Ringmaster like that.
"What have you done ?" He whispered as he came back to his senses.
Madison gestured and everyone started gathering , forming a tight formation to fight the creatures. 'We're not letting them take you. You're one of us , remember that. No matter your past '
Madison telepathically said and then started to withdraw from his mind. But with a stinger will , he latched into her retreating presence and spoke back ,'You don't know what you're doing. Who you're messing with. This isn't about my past , it about your survival. WorldEnd …"
He was interrupted when one of the creatures leaped at them. Instinctively, Mordred raised his hand and a burst of lightning fried the creature into nothing , at the same time frying his leather glove.
Madison stood there , frozen , whether from the shock of his telepathic abilities or the mentioning of WorldEnd , he siding know. And now wasn't the time to find out. "Run," he roared as the creatures charged forward en masse.
The group hesitated for just a moment , and in that moment , Mordred knew that they wouldn't be able to outrun the horde.
Turning around , he called forth his power forcing it to build such that the tingling sensation he felt whenever he used them turned into a crackling spear of pain running down his back. But he gritted his teeth and endured it.
Powerful, gale force winds erupted from his stand point, blowing quite a number of the shadows creatures back down the tunnel. A few of them managed a dig their claws into the ground to stabilize themselves.
Madison tried to reach out for his mind , probably to finish where they left off , but he tuned her out. Leaving her just one word -"Run"
The lapse in his concentration caused the force of the winds to winds to diminish , allowing some of the creatures to move forward. Redoubling his efforts , he shoved them back.
While wondering how long he could keep this up and hoping that his friends made it out by the time he was exhausted, he heard a shriek and snuck a peek out of the corner of his eye while tryin to maintain his focus.
A shadow creature had jumped out of a wall behind him and slammed into Mark , shoving the man into the opposite wall where they both dissolved into the shadows. Mordred felt his heart sink. How could he have forgotten Rindmasters most dangerous skilll.
Wherever he or his shadow creatures exist , any area of darkness's was under his absolute control. He'd messed up.
As he was thinking of a plan , shadows pooled together above them and a mangled body fell through. Alexis cried out , shock and deep fear marring her beautiful features. Mordred didn't even bother to look at the body.
His inattentiveness might seem harsh and heartless considering the guy had died because he stood up for him, but he knew what Ringmasters hidden message meant.
Surrender or die. It was as simple as that.
He had to do something. Fast.
He looked at his friends who were slowly backing away. They tried to huddle up ,- probably Madison's idea- to protect themselves from anymore sneak attacks. But that wouldn't work , not against a member if the octave.
His eyes paused on Chris- the guy with the self proclaimed elemental control. The boy had promise. Maybe one day he could actually manipulate any element. But right now , he wasn't strong enough.…
An idea slowly formed in his head even as the shadows begin to pool together. It was like Ringmaster was giving him one last chance to give up.
Hoping this worked , and seriously apologizing to Chris in his head , he ignored the rest of the shadow creatures and rushed at his friends. Ripping off his one remaining glove he grabbed Chris as though trying to carry him and sprinted away as all hell broke loose.