A Chained Memory

Adrianna frowned as she separated Aura from Tam with a hug of her own. "Aura, please understand what they're doing. They want to keep you safe and the only way to ensure that is to end this monster for good."

Tam's heart lurched slightly at Aura's hug. A small part of her wanted nothing more than to remain, and assure Aura that everything would be okay. But everything would not be okay. Not whilst there was a threat to Aura out there. She did not turn around.

"Aura, trust us. I'm not about to let some draining sludge get the better of me, and by the sounds of it, Tix almost beat it alone. Do you really think it stands a chance against the two of us?" Tam asked, ignoring Barchiel's entire contribution to the team.

Aura did not say another word. They were leaving... they were going to face that thing... but they were strong; her friends, no, her family was strong. Wherever that creature was, they would find it and put an end to this threat.

Turning towards them, Aura gave a firm nod of approval. She was still worried, of course; but she could not show it to them, not anymore.

I will pray for them, Miss Adri, with all my heart. And I will not stop until they return.

"What are we waiting for then?" Tix asked just as Ix tugged her arm "What do you want?"

"I-I'll go with you, Aura is my friend and that thing is after her... I can fight." She claimed as she took her sword.

"Fine, let's just go already..." She then looked at the space marine "You think you can follow my shadow jumps with your jetpack? I can only take two more people with me."

"A simple task."

"Then we can go." With the marine's confirmation, Tix started to walk to the outside of the house "Don't take too long or I'll leave without you two, Ix, fox!"

"O-On my way." Ix replied following the shadow warrior and waiting outside.

"Worry not, young one. We shall be back in no time."

With that, the Space Marine stormed outside, preparing his gear. This would be a good challenge. He needed one.

With that, the party was formed. Tix, Tam, Ix and Barchiel passed through the Sanctuary's barrier, ready to begin their search for the deadly slime. Without Aura's guidance, there was little they could do to locate the creature but form a logical conclusion. It has not been too much time since Tix fought it; the monster would not have had the chance to run too far.

There were a couple of locations close to and including the city itself. Where they would go was entirely up to them, and yet a feeling of dread hung over them... they had to find this thing as fast as possible, lest Aura's worries come true.

---

Where would the party go?
Regulus City(big) | Fishing Village(small) | Dense Forest(small) | Lakeside Ruins(medium) | Abandoned Settlement(medium)

Tam began to put herself into the mindset of a wounded predator. A task that was rather simple for her.
"This thing is likely to want to find a way to easily regain its energy. It'll be weak, and looking for its next source of food. Its unlikely to return to the city to seek out prey, as it risks running into further threats. In its position, I would probably look for a low risk, but high reward target. The forest may contain the odd animal, but that is unlikely to help it survive. It has to be a place with a small population of targets rich in power. Isn't there a small fishing village just South-West of the city?" Tam queried. "I suspect that that's where we'll find it." Tam looked to Tix and Ix for confirmation of her logic.

"There is one indeed, I saw it when we were tracking that thing, that might be a good lead, if you are ready to go, hold tight and we'll jump." Tix then looked at Barchiel "You better put that thing at max power."

Ix grabbed Tix's arm tightly waiting for the jump.

Sent from Topic'it App

A chuckle escaped the Marine, before the Jump Pack sputtered to life. Backing up a couple steps, he looked at them. "Just tell me which direction to start moving."

Tam nodded to the pair, and hooked her tail around the three of them, before taking Tix's arm.

"Alright, just head that way until we hit a village." Tam instructed Tix, but loud enough that Barchiel would be able to hear it, as she pointed towards the village.

Once they all were ready, Tix started to jump from shadow to shadow at a vertiginous speed, following Tam's directions they soon arrived at the village "Here we are." Tix looked back and noticed Barchiel landing "Not bad, that junk sure makes you go fast huh."

"Hmm. The ingenuity of the Imperium can not be underestimated." Barchiel looked around, his Bolter at the ready.

It was a small place this fishing village, so small that they could see the entirety of it from a distance even in the middle of the night. This should be an easy search, especially given Tix's ability, but she planned on using it sparingly; the swordswoman could not afford to spend much more energy. She thought about it over and over on the way here, it was all she could do. The immensely powerful Totsuka, her ace in the hole, was not an option, not with this reserve of energy.

Tam shifted her eyes briefly on Tix, seeing her grip the mighty blade only to release it and clench her fist. Tsk. This was not good. Judging by the description of this slime's abilities, her own skills would be compromised as well. The dreaded thought popped in her mind constantly… that if things did not go well, she would have to let Jennifer take the charge.

A sign lied on in front of the entrance, torn apart with vile force. They would never know the name of this village, and an ominous feeling was telling them that no one else did anymore. The party was invited by the cold wind of the night, an empty village presenting itself before their eyes. The 'architecture' of the place left a lot to be desired, with misshapen houses made entirely out of wood and discarded materials, repurposed time and time again, now waiting to snap at the earliest sign of a storm. And yet on this day of all times it could be viewed as a piece of art, the scene depicting a macabre prelude.

They moved forward, being entirely sure that the creature they were searching for was here. Tix made her approach: a small house right at the edge of the village. She slowly opened the door, basking herself in the darkness inside. What was supposed to hinder one's ability to see only enhanced hers – the dark was her element after all. And what she saw in there left a disgusting taste in her mouth. Two people were lying on the floor – their skin pale, their bodies shriveled. She needed not check closely, for she knew how death looked like.

There was a third one, a child, still on his feet… but something was wrong with him. It was on top of his head – no, it was growing out of his head: the black monstrosity that left only disaster in its wake, the parasite that would consume all.

---

Tix: 25 stamina/willpower
Tam: 30 stamina/willpower
Ix: 30 stamina/willpower
Barchiel: 30 stamina/willpower
P. Clone[villager]: 3 stamina

Tam saw the scene ahead of her, the bodies on the floor, and cursed. It had already begun to eat. It had started to recover. To make matters worse, the actual slime itself didn't appear to be in this house. Perhaps it was spreading out throughout the neighbourhood, for maximum draining potential. Likely this was not going to be the only house containing corpses they would find. But the child was still alive. Perhaps they could use the child to find the slime. If the parasite finished draining the child it would almost certainly return to the original body.

"Tam, we have to help him." Jennifer chimed in, seemingly horror struck by the situation.
"A single human child's life is not worth the mission." Tam responded, her expression becoming a frown.
"What if it was Aura...?" Jennifer responded. Tam closed her eyes, and grimaced. Aura wasn't human, nor was she a child, even if Tam saw her as one. But Jennifer had a point. Besides, this confirmed that the slime was here. It couldn't be that difficult to track down, right?

Tam manifested two of her tails, and slung both of them towards the parasite, intent to slash it off.

(Manifested Tails: 2
Basic Attack: Roll for each tail Tam has manifested. Deals 1 stamina damage per hit.)

A parasite on a kid, it wasn't their main target it could be pretty much ignored but Tix knew that Ix wouldn't allow it and she didn't wanted to leave the child either... For some reason she thought of Aura, she couldn't let the children die, tightening the grip on her blade, Tix slashed the parasite with her crimson red blade aiming, not to kill it, but to everyone's surprise, to sever his attachment to the child.

Ix on the other hand couldn't ignore the fact of the parasite "How awful..." She said as she noticed the bodies of the parents "We have to save him!" Ix channeled her magic and summon a tiny version of herself.

(Tix: Basic attack)
(Ix: Summon Pix)

A guttural snarl escaped the Space Marine as he saw the devastation, the death and carnage caused by the abomination sitting atop a child's head.

This thing, this creature, this...This...

THIS MUTANT.

He was no stranger to death. Many a civilian had been lost, and even some Battle Brothers. And it enraged him.

And even here...Storming forward, he went to punch the parasite from the child's head. As much as he wanted to use his weaponry, it was too risky.

(Basic Attack)

With a carefully placed slash, Tix struck the parasite without harming the child, slicing it clean off his head. But it did not die, the attack was too weak to finish it off in one strike. Oddly it did not retaliate; perhaps it couldn't due to the small size. All it did was stand there, violently twitching in a systemic rhythm. A brown tail finished the job, smashing whatever was left of it into a pool of harmless goo.

They carefully examined the house for signs of a trap and found nothing. Going over to the child, Tix noticed he was quiet and did not move an inch so far. When she reached out to him, the boy immediately collapsed to the ground; his face was pale and his eyes closed. God knows how long he stood there until someone moved him... at least he was still alive.

A distant shriek attracted their attention. It would appear that the monster was made aware of their presence. The battle did not start yet, there was still time to turn back. This was their last chance.

Heroes: (Basic Attack - 24) (Basic Attack - 29, 86!)
Parasite Clones: (Warning Signal - auto-hit)

---

Tix: 25 stamina/willpower
Tam: 30 stamina/willpower
Ix: 30 stamina/willpower
Barchiel: 30 stamina/willpower

The shriek caused the marine to grimace. This noise would not defeat him...!

"You three. Make your choice. Do we stand, or do we run?"

Tix remained with her guard up determined to press on "I'm not running away from this thing."

Ix nodded at Tix's statement while Pix jumped onto her shoulder and sat there "We can't let that thing remain free."

Tam rolled her eyes at the space marine's question.
"Humans..." she commented, before slowly and cautiously heading in the direction of the shrieking. "Tix, stick to the shadows. It may know we're here, but it doesn't know our number. I want you to take it by surprise. Ix, stick close to Tix until she's close to the target. Don't get too close. We'll need your support in the back. And human, stay out of our way. Or run, if you're afraid. I'm not going to save you if you get yourself caught." Tam instructed. "And Jen, be prepared to be swapped in. If it's fixed itself up, I'm not sure my fighting style suits this battle. But, if you do fight, then you HAVE to swap back out when I tell you." Tam added, internally, not waiting on a response. "Everyone clear?"

"Okay. I'll be ready." Jennifer responded.

A scoff. "I was created for battle, fox. I simply wondered if you wished to run to find a more advantageous position...Truthfully, I fear I qualify more as a mutant, or an alien, than a human."

All these genetic modifications..Was there truly any humanity left in him?

Shaking his head, he lifted his Bolter, aiming it in the direction of the screaming. "Just point me in the direction of what needs to be shot."

Tix nodded and vanished into the shadows "I can fight too!" Ix replied "For Aura... I can fight." She added.