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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Sept 20, 2016 0:49:33 GMT
Yang struggled to open her eyes. Her head hurt a crap-ton, and throbbed in time with her heartbeat. It took her a moment to remember what had happened, and once she did, she was finally able to hear a male and female voice that was nearby.
"I still don't see why I couldn't just encase her feet in rock. I can control earth, you know. It'd be a lot easier than using this iron ball and chain."
"That's exactly why we can't do that, Mercury. We stick her feet in rock and the police will suspect that somebody with earth powers was responsible. And they'll immediately start investigating us. This way, anyone could have done it. And that will confuse them."
"Whatever you say, Cinder. Whatever you say."
Yang felt something cold latch around her ankle. She opened her eyes to find Cinder standing before her. The boy, who she assumed was Mercury, was attaching a chain to her foot, which was connected to a heavy iron ball.
"Guys, she's waking up."
Emerald's voice was nearby, and it sounded nervous. Cinder, however, seemed perfectly calm.
"Then it's time to put this plan into action."
Yang's senses finally started to kick in as she started to wake up, but she was still no match for Emerald, who chucked her over the side of the bridge like she weighed nothing. She gave a yelp until she was jerked to a halt by the chain that was attached to her ankle. She struggled to figure out where she was, as everything was upside down, but she could see running water under her, and the bridge that she had been on a moment before. She saw Emerald, Cinder, and Mercury lean their heads over the edge.
"Sorry Yang, but business is business," Cinder said. "Maybe when Chat finds out you're dead, he'll know not to mess with us."
Mercury lifted the iron ball, resting it on the bridge's railing. That was when Yang finally realized what was going to happen. And she panicked big time. She released a torrent of fireballs, but Cinder and the others merely ducked down to avoid her attacks. This was bad, really really bad. If she couldn't get out of this, she was going to be food for the fishes, literally. She frantically tried to spot something, anything, that would help her. It was then that she happened to spot somebody. She had only met him once before, but he wasn't exactly easy to forget. She didn't care that he was a police officer and that part of her was still angry and scared of him. He was the only thing that could help her. So, she yelled at the top of her lungs,
"PITCH!"
Cinder and the others' heads whipped up at that shout. Emerald and Mercury seemed confused, but Cinder's eyes widened. She knew exactly who Pitch was, and if he got her here, she was in deep trouble.
"We have to get out of here, now! Go, go, go!"
Those words put everyone into action. Emerald and Cinder took off running. Mercury gave the iron ball a big shove before moving to catch up to them. Yang screamed as she got dragged under the water.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Sept 20, 2016 2:02:12 GMT
It appeared that the tip the BPD had received was true. The call had come in roughly two hours ago, an anonymous caller who said that a gang of criminals was going to try and take out someone connected closely to the infamous cat thief, Chat Noir.
Normally Pitch wouldn't have been involved with cases linked to Chat simply because he didn't deal with thievery. No, the cases he took were those that required underground work and usually involved murder in some form. This, however, had been handed over to him and he hadn't wasted time in heading out to the bridge where the anonymous caller had told them the group was going to dispose of the intended target.
He had barely stepped from the shadows that surrounded the bridge when he caught the scent of fear drifting towards him through the foggy air. His yellow eyes seemed to be the only thing glowing within that fog and as he tasted the fear, he recognized at least two of the sources. Suddenly, the shadows at his feet leapt off the ground and resolved themselves into the shapes of a dozen black horses.
At the other end of the bridge, another set of shadows had transformed and began a slow advance forward. His own collection walked with him as he followed the trail of fear, the horses keeping perfect pace with him. Whoever was present, they were trapped and would find it difficult to escape. They might try and fight off the horses, but if they so much as touched them with bare skin, they would temporarily be forced into their worst fears.
Suddenly, the quiet of the air was torn apart when a voice, the voice of a panicking young woman, yelled from the center of the bridge. And she called out his name. Without missing a beat, he ran towards the voice while his horses followed.
Out of the fog suddenly loomed several forms, one of which hung over the side of the bridge and was only kept from falling by a chain and ball still sitting on the railing. At the sight of him and his Nightmares, the figures took off running in the other direction, unaware of what awaited then on that end. However, they had just enough time to push the iron ball over the edge, sending the figure plummeting downwards towards the river below. As they fell, Pitch saw a glint of golden hair through the mist and understood who it was.
"Follow them. If they try to escape, trap them in a Nightmare Sphere."
Pitch spoke to the horses, who immediately took off after the retreating forms with neighs that almost sounded like screams. The demon didn't pause to watch them but went over to the railing of the bridge before launching himself over the edge without the slightest trace of fear.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Sept 20, 2016 3:19:42 GMT
Cinder and her gang hadn't been quick enough. They saw Pitch reach the bridge, and while he dived after Yang, he sent his nightmarish horses after them. Cinder knew this was bad. If there was one officer that was infamous among criminals, it was Pitch. Rumor had it he used to be a pretty bad guy himself, which was probably why he was so good at catching criminals. Not to mention, he was a demon, so he was able to terrify anyone who tried to escape. It was hard to get away from him, which was the main reason why Cinder was so worried.
"What the heck are those things?" Mercury asked, pausing only for a moment to launch some rocks in the horses' direction.
"Don't know, don't care," Cinder replied. "All I know is that Pitch controls them, which means bad news for us. Move!"
Mercury and Emerald continued to run, while Cinder let loose a few fireballs. She wasn't sure if these would stop the horses, but it might be enough to slow them down.
At the bottom of the river, Yang hardly noticed anything other than the pure panic she felt. This was her worst nightmare come to life, the thing she feared the most. The same memories Thrax had brought forth at the ball flashed through her mind as she tried to escape. She pulled on the chain with all her might. Nothing. She tried punching it in an attempt to break it. Nothing. Desperately, she even tried to shoot fire, but all that came out of her fists was a thin stream of bubbles.
No, no, no. This can't be happening. This can't be happening!
Yang could already feel her lungs aching for air. She wasn't even sure where Pitch was. The only things she could register were the overwhelming fear coursing through her and the fact that she was getting closer and closer to her breaking point.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Sept 20, 2016 3:37:45 GMT
Up on the bridge, the Nightmares continued to pursue Cinder, Mercury and Emerald as they had been instructed by their master. Even as the gang sent attack upon attack at them, it hardly effected the equine shadows. Most of the time the creatures merely dodged the attacks and those few that landed only caused the Nightmare to dissipate for a few moments before quickly reforming.
The Nightmares advanced in a slow line, tossing their manes violently and kicking out with their hooves as they continued to screech and scream at the figures before them. Suddenly, the mist parted from the opposite side of the bridge as another group of Nightmares came forward, blocking off their retreat. One of the new arrivals suddenly charged forward towards Emerald before rising onto its back legs and kicking out with its front hooves.
Meanwhile, in the water under the bridge Pitch was swimming towards the struggling figure of Yang, his strokes sure and strong even though he couldn't see anything within the depths of the water. It was dark and cold, with little to no light penetrating into the murky depths of the river. However, he wasn't navigating by sight but rather by fear. He could feel it pouring off of Yang, could taste her own unique fear of drowning like it was a fine wine with subtle flavors unlike any other.
Guided by this, he swam further down before finally reaching Yang. He grabbed her firmly by the arms but realized in the next moment he wouldn't be able to swim her back up to the surface before she drowned. At least, not with the chain and iron ball weighing her down.
Knowing this, he released his grip and instead moved his hand down to grasp the heavy chain.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Sept 20, 2016 4:02:48 GMT
Right when Emerald was about to attack, one of the horses charged forward and knocked her down. Cinder and Mercury halted in their tracks and started releasing throwing rocks and fireballs. Cinder knew it wouldn't work though. Fighting these things was useless. It was like trying to attack smoke. And they couldn't outrun these on foot. There was only one thing they could try.
"Emerald, take my hand!" she yelled as she grabbed Mercury's arm. With enough firepower, she could probably blast out of here, taking Mercury and Emerald along with her. If she was lucky, that was. At this point, she would consider it a miracle if even one of them got out of here.
Yang felt Pitch's presence first before she caught sight of him. And even then, she couldn't see him that well. Any relief she might have felt though wasn't enough to combat her rising sense of terror. How was he going to get her out of this? Panicked thoughts rushed through her head as she tried to hold onto whatever air was left inside her.
I'm not going to make it. I'm going to die. I'm going to be dead, just like my parents.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Sept 20, 2016 4:53:07 GMT
Pitch could feel the terror and panic engulfing Yang, causing her to squander what little oxygen she had left and making it difficult for the demon to hold on to the jerking chain strapped to her feet. Time was running out and he needed to move quickly.
On another mental level, he could see what his Nightmares were doing and knew that Yang's attempted killers were trying to escape. With his focus almost completely devoted to Yang's possible drowning, he didn't have the time to direct the Nightmares so that they could capture all three criminals...but then again, they didn't need all three of them. Capture the weakest one and they could easily lead the BPD to the others.
Leave the others, take the smaller woman.
The Nightmares received Pitch's order and didn't hesitate to act upon it. Immediately all the equine shadows leapt forward and charged the trio. Several of the horses galloped in between Emerald and her two companions, separating her from them. Several more ran straight at Emerald with their heads lowered, ready to bash her to the ground and stampede her. The rest charged at Cinder and Mercury, a wall of black ready to swallow them whole if they hesitated for even a moment.
Meanwhile, Pitch kept his attention on Yang as they continued to sink deeper into the river. Focusing, a shape suddenly began to form in his hand from the shadows of the water before solidifying. In his grasp was a wickedly sharp knife, a Shadow Weapon and one of many weapons he could create from the darkness.
Gripping the knife firmly, he brought the blade forward and wedged it in between two of the chains. Then, with a sharp twist the blade managed to force the two rings apart. The iron ball quickly sank out of sight as he let the blade return to the shadows and looped it under Yang's underarm.
With a powerful kick, Pitch propelled them towards the surface of the water. In only a few seconds, the murk began to lighten ever so slightly. His face set and determined, the demon continued to swim upward despite the lack of air and the heavy burden he now towed with him.
Finally, in what might have seemed like hours but was really only a minute, they broke the surface of the river. Pitch took in a single breath despite being underwater for so long before tightening his grip on Yang and turning towards the short. A moment later his feet hit the muddy bottom of the riverbank and he began to half carry, half drag Yang onto dry land.
"Yang, can you hear me?"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Sept 20, 2016 17:46:14 GMT
Cinder could see things began to shift. Like a pack of wolves that had singled out the weakest deer in the herd to hunt down, the horses were closing in on Emerald. No matter how much she tried to fight them off, the water nymph was no match for them. Cinder gritted her teeth. This was going to put a dent in her work, but she had no choice. Grabbing Mercury, she let out a fiery blast that propelled her into to the air.
"Cinder, what are you doing?" Mercury yelled. "We can't just leave her!"
"Better to have one of us captured than all three," Cinder shot back. "Besides, this isn't over." She looked back down as the horses knocked Emerald to the ground. "Pitch is going to pay for this. Mark my words."
Mercury knew better than to argue by this point. He knew Cinder was right. When it came to the crime family, making sure it could still thrive was the most important thing. With Cinder free, she could still do that. Hopefully, she'd find some way to get Emerald back.
Yang's luck seemed to run out when water started to rush into her windpipe. It was like an alarm was going off in her head, blaring "ALERT, ALERT. WE CANNOT BREATHE. DO SOMETHING NOW." Lucky for Yang, somebody did do something. Pitch cut the chain in two and hauled her to dry land. As soon as her head broke the surface, Yang sucked in a breath of air, then started coughing hard. One factor in her favor was that water had only entered her lungs for a few seconds. By the time Pitch asked if she could hear him, she gave one more shuddering cough before finally breathing normally, somewhat. Her chest heaved as if she had just sprinted for a mile straight, and her body was still flushed with adrenaline. "Where...what..." Despite her condition, she stubbornly tried to stand up. "Where's Cinder? And the others?" she gasped, trying to spot the gang leader and her cronies.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Sept 21, 2016 1:06:20 GMT
It was clear that Yang was far from being alright, but she was at least breathing and starting to speak. Pitch quickly released his hold on her when she staggered to her feet but stayed close in case she started to fall. Despite her near death situation, she was stubbornly focusing on the trio that had tried to kill her instead of her own wellbeing.
"Yang, you need to sit down and rest."
He ran a hand through his hair, causing the black and spikey mass to resume its normal style as he reached into his pocket and brought out a small BPD standard radio.
"BPD headquarters? We need a bus out on the East side of the Antionette River for a young woman who inhaled some water. Also, we need some backup to bring in an assailant that was subdued at the scene of the attack on the Antoinette Bridge.”
“Roger, Detective Black. Ambulance along with Jones and Sanders are on their way.” With that seen to, the demon pocketed he radio and returned his attention to Yang. It was clear that the young woman wasn’t going to relax despite the trauma she had just experienced. He stepped in front of her suddenly before getting a firm grip on her shoulder, something that would hold her still for a moment but wouldn’t hurt her. As he did this, he let his power flow out of him and towards Yang, using it to temporarily block the fear emanating from her and creating a brief calm that would hopefully end with Yang sitting down until the ambulance arrived.
“That is enough. Now rest.”
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Sept 21, 2016 3:35:49 GMT
Yang shook her head. "No, no. We have to...we can't let them get away." She vividly remembered what Cinder had said when they talked in the alley. She was going after Chat. If she had decided to try and drown Yang just for not giving her information, then who knew what they would do to Chat for stealing from her. "They're going to hurt him. They're going to hurt Chat. We can't let them do that. They'll do horrible things to him. We can't...we can't..." She heard Pitch calling for an ambulance, but it sounded dim and far away. The only thing she could register was that it was hard to breathe. It felt like there was a weight, pressing down on her chest.
Her legs started to shake as Pitch got a hold of her. What was going on? Why couldn't she breathe? What was happening to her? The thought that she might be having a panic attack never crossed her mind. At that moment, she suddenly felt a wave of calm wash over her. Was it coming from Pitch? Was he capable of something like that? She had no idea. The fear and the anxiety didn't seem to go away. It was just...blocked. She knew it was there, but it was so far away that it couldn't affect her. She sat down on the ground, breathing deeply in and out as she tried to think. Whatever Pitch was doing, it was weird, but it made her calm, and it allowed her to get a grip on all the thoughts that were spinning around in her head. She looked up at Pitch and asked what she felt was the most important question. "What were you doing here?"
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Sept 21, 2016 4:54:16 GMT
"Temporarily placing a block between your mind and your fear."
Even as he spoke, his expression was one of concentration. His powers were meant to cause fear but he had learned long ago that he could also block it in the minds of others for a short period of time. He couldn't hold it for very long, but given the situation it was better then allowing Yang to go into a full panic attack. At least now he could explain the situation to the young woman while her mind could process it.
"You are correct in that Cinder and Mercury have escaped, but Emerald has been captured by my Nightmares and isn't going anywhere as of now. She was the weakest of her comrades and will be taken into custody for attempted homicide before being questioned in the whereabouts of the other Elementals."
He said all this clearly but quickly, aware that he couldn't kept Yang's fear at bay much longer. Already he was feeling the strain of it and his own darker nature desperately wanting to unleash it, to feed it. The waters of the river continued to lap at their feet and now the distant wailing of a police siren was heading in their direction. However, he kept his focus trained on Yang's purple eyes.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Sept 21, 2016 5:03:34 GMT
Oh. So that was what had happened. Yang knew that demons could cause fear in people, but preventing them? It almost seemed ironic. But Pitch explained the situation, now that she wasn't babbling at a mile a minute. It looked like only Emerald had gotten caught. Yang wasn't sure if that provided her with much relief though. Now that she thought about it, hadn't she mentioned Chat's name? Would that get him into trouble? Pitch was a cop, after all. No doubt the police would love to get a hold of a cat burglar like him. Yang could feel worry and anxiety creeping back into her system, particularly as the sirens drew close. Were the cops going to question her about this? What if one of them recognized her? She had tangled with quite a few of them, after all. How long would she be at the hospital? How was she even going to pay for her bill once she was released? Then, there was Pitch himself. It couldn't be a coincidence that he had been nearby right when she was in trouble. What had he been doing out here? Had he saved her just because he was a cop and that was his job? What about their rocky relationship? "Stop, stop, stop," she whimpered, clutching her head. She tried to focus on the positive things. She was okay. She was alive. She was out of the water. But that didn't change the fact that it had been a close call. If Pitch hadn't shown up when he had, she would be dead. And that scared the hell out of her.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Sept 22, 2016 3:09:36 GMT
Pitch could feel his hold starting to slip on Yang, her fears slowly taking over once more and consuming her mind in a blind panic. As he held back her fears, the demon had seen flashes of her terrors in his own mind. Images of a another woman with brown hair drowning, sinking into a darkness from which there was no return. The horribly beaten and mangled body of a young man dressed in black. Yang locked away in a prison cell while several children starved out on the streets, no one there to protect them.
He finally was forced to release his hold on her fears and they immediately swarmed back on her. Pitch looked at Yang, only too aware of how close the young woman was to having a complete breakdown. He wasn't a therapist, he didn't work with people unless he had to, and he certainly didn't know how to empathize with Yang.
But he did understand that, despite everything going on, Yang's response was a physical one. Her body was responding to her mind and driving her towards a complete breakdown and, while he couldn't help heal her mind, he could get her body to at least calm down. And that could have some effect on her mind in turn.
Reaching forward, Pitch suddenly grabbed Yang's shoulders in his hands. Normally, they were only cool to the touch, but now the skin held a chilliness within it that was like ice on bare flesh. Perhaps it would be enough to shock her into listening, even for a moment.
"Breath."
His tone wasn't angry or upset, but it was completely firm and filled with the order to obey. As he said it, he tightened his grip ever so slightly and the coolness intensified.
"Breath now."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Sept 22, 2016 3:24:44 GMT
Yang could feel it coming back, the heart-stopping panic she had felt earlier. Why couldn't she stop it? Why couldn't it just go away? Thoughts like these joined the dozens that were already scrambling about her head. They sounded like an angry mob yelling at the top of their lungs. She could feel the weight returning to, that horrible weight that seemed to settle on her chest and slowly crush her lungs. But then, she suddenly felt something icy cold against her, like somebody had just touched her with a block of ice. She looked up to see that it was Pitch, making his touch cold enough to get her to pay attention to him. His instructions were simple enough: breathe. But Yang felt like it was hard. Her hands wrapped around Pitch's, trying to find something that could keep her grounded. She was drowning again, albeit in a different way. And right now, Pitch was the only thing that was keeping her from sinking to the bottom.
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Post by neverlandlostgirl on Sept 24, 2016 17:56:05 GMT
The feelings coming off of Yang were a whirlwind of anxiety, panic, and fear and it took all of Pitch's focus to not be tempted by the strong fear she was producing. To him, it was like placing a glass of wine in front of a reforming alcoholic, a temptation to indulge in that which he had given up long ago. Fear could only make him stronger and Yang's fear was difficult to resist in such close proximity.
However, somehow the demon managed to throw off the pull and kept himself focused only on aiding the young woman. Her hands had come to wrap around his own where they gripped her shoulders. He recognized this as a desperate move to hold on to something that was real and he seized on it before she could be completely lost to her own mind.
"Yang, you must keep breathing. Focus on something, anything that brings you peace and calms you, a simple image or memory is all it takes. Focus on this image and don't try to fight off your thoughts, your feelings. Let them come into your mind and then let them go. Let them pass the image in your mind but always remember the image."
Pitch's tone was calm, confident and inviting, trying slowly to lead her towards something that would help her. He continued to speak in the same voice, his eyes on her face and his hands on her shoulder.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Sept 24, 2016 18:16:28 GMT
Yang closed her eyes, trying to focus on something that would calm her down. She had to imagine she was somewhere, anywhere but here. Her mind instantly went to the Stella Theater, the only place where she felt completely safe. Sure, any curtains left had a bunch of holes in them and the only lights that actually worked were a few light bulbs here and there that she had strung together. But, it was still her home. And one of the reasons she felt like it was home was because of the family she had there. She forced herself to think about her kids, to wonder what they were probably doing now. Jenny would be talking to any mice that had made their way inside the theater, telling them that they could stay as long as they didn't bother each other. Louie would try to run things, insisting that he was in charge while Yang was away, but Cody would just tease him all night long. Penny would be reading from the small pile of books they had, trying to sound out the big words so she could feel smart.
My kids are waiting for me. I can't lose it right now. I have to get back to them. That was all the motivation Yang needed as her heartbeat started to slow down and her breathing became more even, bit by bit. When it came to her kids, she'd go through Hell and back, even if it meant riding through whatever bad feelings were coursing through her. In a way, having Pitch there actually helped. He was keeping her grounded, and his voice was able to cut through whatever was going on in her head. Despite their rocky relationship, she actually felt a little glad that he was here.
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