Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

"She's charging up for something. That pink sphere is growing larger." Angie warned.

Luna's ears perked up from both the warning and the words of the perpetrator. She wave her hand over to the others, gesturing them to move back. Immediately, the squad scooted backward from the building corner and started to take cover in various obstacles such as bushes and other building corners in 2 teams of 3. Luna herself remained though.

She made a gesture to cast another spell, another minor one. As soon as the spell completed, she peeked around the corner to launched her spell in the form of 3 wind darts. Right afterwards, Luna quickly moved away and ran from the corner, anticipating the charge up attack would cover a huge amount of area.

The attack was not meant deal a lot of damage and is made for harassing rather than actually dealing real harm. However, the darts themselves were hard to see and the trajectory was slightly curved rather than straight making it more of an effort to block the attack.

"You really are noisy, aren't you? Why don't make yourself useful and wake up your friend before she's consume by the nightmare or you don't want her to wake up ever again?" Tenebria's attention didn't change, she was still looking in the direction she knew the intruders were. "Last warning, this big boy can destroy the entire city, if you don't come out... You won't need to~" Eyes started to appear in the sphere as it kept increasing in size, it's gloomy glow was only matched by how intimidating it looked.

Once again, the woman barely paid any attention to her. She was barely even worth paying attention to, and clearly whoever was helping her was far more of a threat. Zoe hated every second of it, when she wouldn't even look in her direction. Her fists were balled up, shaking with anger and frustration, when something she said got her worried.

'Consumed by the nightmare'? But, she's just...

Her attention shifted to the still asleep Maya, who hadn't moved from her spot. She should have woken up by now...at least, that's what Zoe was hoping on at the time. Did she...did she make a mistake, in leaving Maya to her own devices?

"Dammit!" Zoe's attention finally broke off of the woman, as she moved as quickly as she could over to the sleeping Maya. She should have done this right from the start, but her damn temper blinded her again. She just wanted to keep her safe, and now it looked like she'd done the exact opposite, purely because she didn't act on it when she could...just one more thing that was her fault.

Zoe got on her knees next to the witch, holding her in both arms. "Maya! Cmon, you gotta wake up!" She shook her a little, hoping to get some kind of response. "I...I'm not strong enough, on my own...Please! I...I need your help..." The words hurt to say out loud, but she was long past the point where she could hold back her thoughts anymore.

The threat from Tenebria were making the IDOL troops a bit nervous as they looked at each other apprehensively and before looking back back to Luna.  However, the expression of their moon rabbit leader hadn't changed and she turned towards them with a brief smile and a shake of her head.  Her thought wasn't the threat towards them, it was more towards what Tenebria had said.  Consumed by nightmare?  It only reaffirm what she knew in regards to who was the perpetrator.  But why?  She focused on the decoy that she had left sitting near Tenebria, Maya, and Zoe's location.  The illusory woman stood up and turned towards the other illusionist and began to speak.  

"No, no, my dear.  That would not be possible.  The mana needed to do that, your body would not be able to sustain.  Even if it is, you are standing on the place you would wish to destroy."  The woman waited for Tenebria for a moment.  "I do wish to inquire of the nightmares though.  Can you indulge my curiosity of the reason in doing so?"

Try as she may to shake her, Zoe would find that nothing could rouse the witch from her deep slumber. Occasional moans escaped her lips, cries of panic and despair. Maya's face was contorting, showing a mixture of pain and fright. Her skin was unnaturally cold, as if all of life's warmth left her; in those moments, Zoe felt like touching a corpse, and maybe it was not too far from the truth.

"Zo...e..." was all Maya could manage in words. Her eyes were still closed, yet part of her knew who it was despite not being conscious.

Tenebria ignored the woman as her attention was directed towards the fox girl and the witch, she wasn't waking up? Impossible, she didn't use that much power, a few shakes should wake up the witch from her nightmare... Something was wrong... "Nice trick but I'm not falling for decoys, last warning~" She said while her attention was still on the sleeping woman.

---

In the meantime, unaware of all of this, a hooded woman was waiting outside of the city, the woman was supposed to watch over the witch but in her current state she couldn't get into the town without getting spotted. "Damn it... If I wasn't feeling... So weak..." She cursed under her breath in a low voice. "

Zoe was getting more panicked as her actions didn't produce any sort of noticeable response. It didn't take nearly that amount for Maya to wake her up, so why was she having so much trouble doing the same? She was so cold, and her face contorted in fear, pain, anger, so many emotions again and again.

Hearing Maya mumble her name was the straw that broke the camel's back. "Yeah, it's me! Zoe! Please, you gotta hear me, right?!? You gotta wake up! Cmon, Maya...this is no place for a nap!" Giving her that much was enough motivation to shake just a little more. She could hear her...or she was dreaming about her. Either way, she had to get through to her, somehow.

However, from the back of her, she could feel the woman's gaze on the two of them. Even as she spoke to the other people, her eyes were on Maya, and by extension, her. Zoe's own gaze turned to meet her from the side, gauging her options. Was she thinking about finishing the two of them off? Maya was still out, and she was definitely outmatched here. Zoe could feel her heartbeat start to increase as she was getting more and more anxious. Maybe she should just pick up Maya and run for it. Would she follow? Would she try to stop them before she could? She didn't seem like she cared all that much, until now. And Zoe's form sat inbetween her and Maya. If it came down to it, she'd put herself in her way. Even if it was futile. But acting without waiting got the better of her earlier. She had to go on the defensive if she was going to get anything done.

"No, no. I am not the decoy, I am the messenger. And, I know that you know that I am not real." The 'woman' gestured to herself as if she is real, despite that she just admitted that she was not. "And, my creator will reveal themself if you undo the nightmare that you have placed on her." The illusion gestured to the tormented sleeping witch with an annoyed tone.

"Hold on, Luna. Are you sure? She looks to be the duplicitous one." A worried Angie called out. "She might try to use the witch as a hostage." The moon rabbit didn't had a true response to that. She had concocted a few plan for the situation, though a lot of their basis were based on assumptions and opened to unpredictable results. But Luna's main concern now was the safety of the witch. The squirming and sound she was making seemed to be getting worse. It seemed as if time was running out. What is the pink one doing to her?

"Shut up for a moment will you?" Tenebria stopped supporting the sphere but it remained floating on the air while the woman headed towards Zoe and Maya. "Something is wrong..." She snapped her fingers to break the spell but it didn't work, the witch was still asleep and Tenebria had a worried look on her face. "Why... Why isn't she waking up?" She mutter to herself.

As the woman approached the two of then, Zoe put herself squarely in between her and Maya. It might have been suicide at this point, but she wasn't going to let Maya go down like this, not while the witch was out of commission. Zoe's gaze was like a cornered animal, completely out of options with nowhere to turn to.

The woman seemed irritated for some reason. Zoe's ears, powerful as they were, picked up on her muttering, but the words left her baffled. Why would she care about something like that? She almost looked...worried?

The fox didn't say anything, as she observed her. The bristled fur and the occasional twitch of the ear showed she was agitated, but she was willing to see why she was acting like this. It was a far cry from the unhinged nature from earlier, and the change made her on edge. More unpredictable, too.

Luna looked rather confused at the look of concerned and the words that came out from only exasperate the perplexity of the situation. Did she lose control of her power or was this some odd outlier situations? Something was not adding up. Unfortunately from this distance, Luna could not be able to help the witch in any form and that orb's existance still puts her on guard even if its power is exaggerated by its owner.

"What is going on?" Luna's illusory woman asked Tenebria in a perplexed tone as she 'looked' towards Maya and and then Zoe.

Tenebria kept trying to wake up Maya unsuccessfully. "Why isn't she waking up...?" Maybe a change would make it easier? With a gesture, Tenebria tried to change Maya's nightmare for a pleasant dream.

Maya's body became stiff in response as the air around her became colder and colder. Zoe could not even feel her tail anymore, and all of her hairs were standing up. Tenebria, too, could see her breath in the form of white puffs, her teeth clattering from the temperature.

The blue-haired woman, in her nightmare, lied face first on the ground. There were no walls in sight, only a deep, white hue, like the endless winter and fog of her homeland. And the floor, wet and sticky and crimson. Her body ached and trembled as she felt a great weight push on her back. Each time it pressed against the witch's back, her stomach caught on fire as it sent excruciating jolts of pain through her whole being.

She realized it then, exactly what she was lying in... blood, her own blood. Maya could only gasp for air as she held a hand to the gaping wounds in her abdomen. The one thing coming from above? Laughter. Mad, demented laughter.

"I like this power. Don't you like it, too? I say we hold on to it, as best we can."

Her own boots were digging into her spine, her own voice mockingly laughing at her pain. For a few moments, Maya could even see the fog fade away, the blood sink into the ground, and a warm sunshine manifesting itself behind them. But that did not come to pass, her wretched other would not allow it.

"Backing out? What a useless wimp! One should always finish-" The doppelganger took her foot off Maya, rearing it backwards... "-what they start!" ... to brutally kick the witch where it hurt the most, in her pierced stomach.

As she was sent sprawling over the immaterial floor, Maya caught another glimpse of her monstrous self. The other was holding a mass of pink energy in her hand, gleefully smiling at the bloodied witch, approaching her downed form. "No one can get rid of me. We'll be here forever, you and I."

The fox observed the woman's growing irritation, even if she didn't fully understand it. Was she trying to wake her up? It definitely wasn't working, if that's what she was doing. Zoe could feel both Maya and herself getting colder and colder, fast. Her breath came out in shivers, and part of her body was starting to grow numb, but she wasn't going to move from this spot, not while Maya was going through something she couldn't even begin to imagine.

Her body unconsciously vibrated from the sensation, and she had to look pretty pitiful right now. She didn't care. Nothing she could do even made a dent in whatever was happening to Maya. She was at her wits end. The only hope she had of helping Maya was the woman in front of her, who she still didn't understand. She was going to hate herself for this, but she couldn't think of anything else.

"H-Hey..." Her voice reached out to the woman, shivering and devoid of spirit. "Enough is enough...please...just end this!" Zoe brought her face to the ground in a pleading gesture. She'd done this more than once back home. Normally it was because of an apology for something she messed up. It was vulnerable, and pitiful, but she wasn't too proud to beg. "I-I-I think...something's wrong with her! You can do whatever you w-want to me after, anything! B-b-but I...I can't do anything f-for her...so please..." Zoe didn't dare look up to the woman, considering this her last resort. For all Zoe knew, she could just up and leave right here, leaving Maya to just get worse and worse. But she had to try.

That confirmed it. It seemed to be beyond the control of the dream mage and whatever was happening to the witch, it wasn't intended and definitely wasn't anything Luna had seen before. She have made her decision; Luna stepped from the building she was behind and holstered the weapon she had in her hand.

"Judging from her rather cold state and the abnormality of your ability not working, something within her may be interfering: both her condition and preventing you from bringing her back to awakening. If you allow me, I am try to glean some insight of the cause of this." Luna voiced her concern as she approached the two slowly as to prevent any further complications in the situations. Despite her willingness to help, she stopped once she was within 10 feet away from them.

Tenebria's face soon turned from concern to frustration then to disappointment. "Fine, do whatever you want." Tenebria started to walk away looking really disappointed and annoyed. "What a let down, when she wakes up, tell her that I hope she do better in out next meeting... If there is a next meeting." Without further ado the pink haired woman started to walk towards the closest exit of the town.

"You hear that? She called you a let down. What a disappointment!"

The doppelganger crouched down, jabbing a hand in Maya's throat. She held it in a tight, cold grip as she lifted the witch by the windpipe. Maya could put up no resistance, she was much too weak and afraid. Ever since June strangled her that day, she had been afraid of that particular side of the doctor, the one willing to kill. Just by being held like this, Maya was reminded of that painful incident.

"But I'm... in...vincible..." she managed to say, choking on her own blood.

"No, you're not invincible. I am. You are nothing but weakness."

Another blow to her stomach, from a punch this time. Her pain crossed the unbearable threshold, her breath taken away by the swift strike. Maya could not speak anymore, only cry at the torture she was being put through, wondering when - or if - it will end.

Zoe's gaze jumped up at the new voice, not sure of what to make of them yet. Was she...a rabbit? She thought she could make out rabbit ears. It was too dark to tell. Her face whipped back around to the other woman, who's emotions were rapidly changing. Whatever she was trying to do still didn't seem to be doing anything. And she basically didn't even acknowledge her offer. It seemed like, well...

Like I was being ignored again.

Zoe grit her teeth as the woman casually walked away from the scene. She really wanted to give her a piece of her mind, but not only was she not strong enough to give her anything, she couldn't focus on her now. Not while whatever was going on with Maya was still happening, and nothing Zoe could do seemed to be having any affect. So for now, she let her just walk away without a word. Even if she couldn't stand the thought of it, she had to look at the bigger picture.

Her attention whipped back to the new person. The emotions running through Zoe were painted all over her face: exhaustion, frustration, desperation, and maybe even a little relief that the pink haired woman hadn't taken her up on that offer. The culprit didn't matter anymore; she clearly didn't care to continue. She rushed over to the rabbit person, taking one of the woman's free hands in both of hers. "Please t-tell me you can help!" Luna would be quick to notice quite a few things from the little fox just from being this close, namely how cold her touch was, the slight shivering she still felt, her voice chattering, and the absolutely pleading, puppy-dog eyes look that would be hard for anyone to say no to.

Luna could practically feel the desperation coming from the fox. This was someone that would do anything to save Maya. What had happened that this woman would risk everything to protect and save the witch of deceit?

The rabbit operative weighed her options, despite the puppy-eyes looking at her:

The first option was to continued her pursuit of Tenebria, less she gets away. She was one of the few people that can effectively track her and support any forces. There was no telling what she would do once she was free.

However, defeating her even with support is problematic due to her immense power and containing her is other issue; she needed some of her colleagues to aid her in that. She also looked as if she was going to exit Alexandria, nullifying her threat temporarily. Her gaze moved to Maya as the air around her is getting colder and colder. Luna simply could not leave someone to suffer from whatever is ailing her right now, her guilt would not allow it.

"Have everyone stand back, including the gate guards. None of them can effectively fight her. Track her movement, but do not have anyone engage, it looks like she is leaving." Luna communicated through her handheld device.

"Huh? We're just going to let her leave?" Angie responded incredulously, with a mixed reaction of relief but also some disappointment.

"I am afraid so. We would be hard-press to nullify her with what we have. Beside, we have another incident developing here and I may be the only one suited to help here."

"Alright...all units, stand down. Do not engage the target, I repeat, do not engage the target."

Luna turned her attention to Zoe and squeezed her hands reassuringly, despite how cold they were. "I do have the means to help her. It will not be easy though as I am woefully uninformed of what is happening but I will do what I can."

Zoe's face lit up in a genuine smile. Her hands, still freezing, held onto the woman's tighter as, after all of this, there was some good news. She didn't even know the woman's name, yet. For all she knew, this could be some elaborate trap. But right now, she was too desperate to care. Anything was better than just letting Maya sit there, getting even colder than she was, and refusing to wake up.

"You can really help?!?" Zoe's excited breaths still came out in cold puffs, showing both her overall lowered temperature and her exhausted demeanor. "T-Then, come on! W-We can't wait!" Taking one of the woman's hands in her own, Zoe nearly dragged her over to the still unconscious Maya, the air around them getting colder just from proximity alone. Luna would note the signs that it was have affects on Zoe as well, with the fur on her tail standing on ends and stiff, along with her shivering that was growing more and more pronounced as they approached the sleeping witch. Even through all of that, however, she wasn't going to give up on Maya.

"W-W-When that woman put me to s-sleep earlier, Maya just...w-woke me up, really quickly. B-But...I c...couldn't do...the same, for her..." Zoe was kneeling next to Maya on the ground, right at the epicenter of the sudden cold snap. Whether it was her determination or her stubbornness, it was hard to tell, but she was doing everything she could not to let the cold bother her. Not when Maya needed her, now more than ever.

"S-S-So...you t-think you can help h-her?" She looked over at the rabbit woman, worried. "A-And...can I h...help?"

"She was able to awaken you but you were not able to do the same."  Luna murmured as she pondered for a moment.  "A mage would have been able to wake you up easier if the sleep malady was magic.  I  assume you are not a mage yourself?"  If that was the case, Zoe was the least qualified to do wake Maya up.  Luna briefly thought of an awakening spell but quashed that idea, if the the pink-haired one wasn't able to do it, Luna herself wouldn't be able to.  She did have one ace up her sleeve though.

"First, let's back up so we do not freeze up.  I know you are worried about her but it will not help if we are afflicted with hypothermia in the attempt."  Luna gently lead the worried fox a bit away from Maya until they are moderate distance from the witch and a then some.  "Now I will investigate within her to see what is the issue.  Normally I would be able to solve the issue too but...this is a highly unusual situation.  How you can aid me is if you see me in great discomfort, pull me back at least 4 feet back from here."  The moon rabbit laid down a glowing stick on the ground.  "Can you do that for me?"

The worry was painted all over Zoe's face, as she stared at the sleeping Maya. Luna could very likely not just see, but feel just how anxious she was about all of this. Her shivering was growing by the second, but she wasn't focused on how cold she was at all. Even as she started to grow pale, she could barely feel it.

At her question, she looked up at the woman and shook her head. "Magic isn't something I'm really u-used to." The most poignant example of magic she could think of was, ironically, what she saw Maya do. And Eri, too, but not even she really understood it perfectly, either. There was a few scant things she could recall before them. Namely that one time, back home...but, she didn't like thinking about that. It was enough to give her more chills than she already had. She had the scars to remember that one enough.

Zoe was hesitant about leaving Maya's side, looking back and forth between her and the rabbit person, but eventually relented, letting her lead Zoe away from Maya. She took occasional glances back at her even through it, though.

She wasn't even really sure what she could do, but she seemed confident, at least. It was probably something that was way over her head. Especially since she had asked if Zoe had any magical abilities. All that really mattered was that she could do something to help Maya, hopefully. Her arms went to her sides, unconsciously trying to warm herself up a little. And...it seemed to be something that put herself in danger.

"S-So...if you start looking, weird...t-then I pull you back here?" On the one hand, Zoe was a little disappointed that this was all she could do for her. On the other, it was at least something. "O-Okay...I promise!" Zoe perked up a little, hoping to at least look somewhat dependable. "Oh! A-And, I'm Zoe, by the way..." The fox was starting to become aware of her own temperature now that it was brought up, namely how numb some parts of her body felt. Had her tail always been that stiff?

Angie could see the holographic expression of joy on agent Rain's helmet being directed at the monitor. Ever since he - as IDOL ended up using for reference - showed up during negotiations a week ago, he had never been seen without the space suit. His helmet constantly displayed a holographic smile made out of a curved red line, with two other vertical lines representing eyes. It looked more disturbing and creepy rather than happy, but perhaps that was the intention.

It was not his place to comment, yet he could not help but find Alexandria's method of dealing with terrorists severely lacking. His personal computer started typing by itself, a common occurrence with him. Angie saw the new note that was created: "To improve security".

The moment Zoe introduced herself, Rain's attention went back on her. "Interesting. The female mutant Zoe is a verified citizen of Westland. May I ask how you acquired her?"

"I am Luna, please to meet you, although I wish we could meet under better circumstances.  There is much to discuss though after this is resolved."  Luna bowed politely to the fox woman.  "Now...let us reveal what is within the realm of fantasy."  She murmured before she mentally started to project herself towards Maya, her eyes changed from a light silver into a deep lilac color.  Slowly, she allowed her psyche to drift forward to see what is transpiring within Maya's dream..

---

"Mutant?  Really?"  Angie quipped in an annoyed voice as she raised a tentacle in accentuate her point.  "As for how she got here, seems to be pretty recent judging from appearance."  From the clothes she was wearing, the fox woman looked like an outsider.  The fact that this Zoe person was a Westlander piqued her interest her though, both that she was here in Alexandria and the potential reason why she was here.

In the deep void, Luna was surrounded by darkness. Her feet trudged through thick, crunchy snow that seemed intent on keeping her in place. Skeletal hands jutted out from below, as if the very ground she walked on swallowed those people.

The center of Luna's attention was the pair of blue-haired women, looking very similar to the witch in the waking world - one of them at least. Maya lied motionless, soaked in a pool of her own blood, her eyes staring blankly at the double that had her pinned under her boot.

"Lookie here, someone's come to watch you die," shouted the doppelganger as she stomped on Maya's chest, making the woman spit more blood. "So do us all a favor and expire!"

---

"What would you call a being that is the direct result of genetic mutation then?" Rain asked, before the visor of his helmet went blank. "Never mind that. I am sure your security logs can help with the issue of her arrival. In any case, she is not my concern at the moment."