MEN WHO NEED THERAPY

This would be his last test for the day. He hadn't slept at all yesterday, and the sun was high now. Any further and even his stimulants wouldn't keep his mind clear.

Filghe's death had brought him to his senses, in a way. A stark reminder that the answers he needed, the miracle he was working towards was not going to fall in his lap, nor would it be achieved with his current methods. He had spent too many sweeps painting himself the lie that psionics or modern medicine could heal him.

This was not a renewed vigor. This was a last-ditch effort, grasping at straws. Plunging headfirst into the depths of unknown territory knowing full well he could easily fail to return. In some ways, he was counting on it. His last failure, and he could finally rest.

Garnet pulled a mouse from a cage waiting on his desk. He had cut the forelimbs off several mice a few nights ago in preparation for these tests, and this mouse was no exception. It attempted to bite his finger, and he dropped it on the small arcane ring he'd drawn.

This was the most complete spell he'd done yet. If he had done it right, it would regenerate the mouse's lost limb. He pressed the most to the paper to keep it from fleeing, and pressed his other hand to the ring, calling up that strange energy from the depths of his being.

He'd done this several times now, to minor effect. A few bones sprouting from the missing limb, or the mouse's flesh contorting itself as it tried to reshape the arm, one instance where the creature just swelled and burst in a gory mess... He had pinpointed and altered the problematic runes in each case, or so he thought.

The ring illuminated with flickering blue light. The mouse spasmed under his hand. Garnet watched carefully, and as the mouse's flesh began to warp he lifted away his hand.

Tendrils of magic ghosted from his fingers. Tendrils of flesh followed like flame lapping along a trail of gasoline, rapidly coating his hand, combining with his own flesh, warping and displacing tissue in a manner so reminiscent of Filghe's psionics.

Garnet jolted backwards and tried to cut off the energy flow within himself. The flesh continued to rearrange itself for a few more moments, back into the shape of a hand.

Not his hand. One more like a mouse's front paw, complete with sparse fur along the back of his arm. Shaking, Garnet pushed up his sleeve to survey the extent of the damage. It mostly only extended to his hand and wrist. The mouse itself was gone, absorbed into his own hand.

He considered immediately cutting his hand off, for lack of having any means of reversing this, and some paranoid fear that it might continue to spread.

Silent. Watching.

And yet, not visible.

The waves crest higher. Alioth falls back on the sand, gasping for air to no avail as the water comes crashing down. The ebb of the water draws him down the shore, off the edge of the land and down into an icy blue void.

That dreadful feeling claws at him now, the emptiness, stifling. But only for a moment, as the vision fades to black.

"Come on, now, don't quit on me here-" a familiar voice says.

There's a repetitive pressure on Alioth's chest, forcing the water out of his lungs. He jerks with a cough, drawing air in and opening his eyes to assess his surroundings.

At his side is a very-relieved looking troll- his partner, Ke'nalo. A rugged violet with thick, coarse, curly hair that's been tied back. As he looks elsewhere, he sees walls of cut stone and water flowing into a deep pit through a channel. He lies on a walkway at the edge of this circular, vaulted chamber.

He is soaked to the bone, water and blood dripping down his forehead.

… Right, Alioth remembers. They had chased the watery creature they were following into this enormous cistern, hoping to halt it once it stopped running away. Apparently, it had been causing problems in the city's waterways- clogging drainage pipes and killing maintenance workers who had come to investigate.

Sure enough, the elemental felt right at home in the chamber and defended it to the very end. But Ke'nalo managed to cut off its supply, and Alioth had managed to freeze it in place- but not before it got off one last hit. The elemental had took one of its frozen tentacles and bashed it into the side of Alioth's head, knocking him off his feet and into the reservoir below.

Ke'nalo interrupts Alioth's thoughts. "Geez, Ghel. Giving me a fucking heart attack, here." The violet then reaches a hand to the radio on him. "Control, Icepick's conscious again, but he took quite a hit. Get a medic on standby above us, would you?"

He pauses a moment, then getting an affirmative beep in response."Copy that. MCU's on their way to set up transport, they've been briefed on handling. Just focus on getting out of there."

"10-4, Control. On it." Ke'nalo turns his attention back on Alioth.

"You alright to move bud?" he asks, but quickly grimaces and answers his own question before Alioth can say anything. "Ehhh, actually. I got you. But you better say something quick."

Ke'nalo then adjusts his gear to be more comfortable, moving to lift Alioth onto his back in one, swift motion.

"… Like.. what." Alioth mumbles, letting himself be jostled around. He doesn't have the energy to complain.

"Like anything," Ke'nalo says, not elaborating. He instead tries to remember how exactly the pair got down here, in the first place.

There's numerous tunnels that flow into this chamber, and they all look nearly identical. But thankfully, navigating is one thing he excels at. The minute differences between each path are clear in Ke'nalo's mind. The archway with a large chip in it, pillars in the tunnel behind it. We slid down this way, he thinks to himself.

As Ke'nalo starts to move, he continues talking. "…How's the head?"

Alioth doesn't answer, initially. The answer is obvious, he thinks, and he's distracted by the incessant pounding near the back of his skull.

Ke'nalo shakes him gently, though. "I mean it. Talk to me, here, 'cause if you stop, I'm gonna start running."

"Ugh." Alioth responds. "It's bad."

"Yeaaah, that's about what I thought." Ke'nalo says, sigh-laughing. "Don't worry, I'll get you to a doc and all fixed up soon enough. So, bear with me here."

It takes a moment for Alioth to realize what Ke'nalo said, and he responds after a few beats of silence and walking.

"… That… was your worst one yet. Stop it." Alioth mentally rolls his eyes.

"Stop what?" Ke'nalo says, smiling slightly. He knows Alioth can't see it. "I'm trying to make conversation here, and you're getting a free ride. I should be getting gratitude out of you, and yet-"

Alioth scoffs ever so lightly. "Your terrible puns. Is now… really the time?"

"Any time's good enough for them, especially if I need you to comment on them." Ke'nalo snorts. "One, I need to make sure you're still kicking, back there. And two, with a blow to your thinkpan like that, you really shouldn't fall asleep on me until someone clears you.

So rest- but not too much, back there."

Alioth obliges, settling into the position he's in and laying the side of his head on Ke'nalo's back. He pauses a moment, thinking, before he continues the conversation.

"… How do you think that thing got here?"

"The elemental?" Ke'nalo responds. "There's a few ways they show up here, from what I know- most common way is summoning. Mages of old liked to use them to guard sites of power, or other important places. Not bad help in a fight, either.

They are terrible to defend against when they're in their el- … domain." Ke'nalo manages to stop himself before saying another bad pun. "Someone must've lost theirs, or something. I can't imagine why one would hang out here, otherwise."

"Irresponsible." Alioth mumbles.

"Said it better than I would, kid." Ke'nalo agrees. "I hope this was just a one-off. Otherwise…" he trails off.

Alioth sighs. "More mess to clean up."

Ke'nalo gives an affirmative hum. "Though, you've more than earned a break. So it'll be another team's problem, if so."

"Shouldn't have to be. I just-" Alioth chokes up a little. "It's stupid. I could've done that better. Cleaner.

I'm sorry." He mumbles again.

"Wh- sorry for what?" Ke'nalo says, looking back. "You did the best you could. Some shit that we didn't expect happened, but you're not dead. That's a win, as far 's I'm concerned."

Alioth doesn't have anything to say to that- clearly, not feeling the same.

Ke'nalo continues. "You've improved quite a bit since you joined Spec Ops, Ghelda. Higher ups have noticed that, I've noticed it- even Eyrlow has, I bet. So just take your mistakes in stride, don't stew over 'em. We did a good job, here."

The thumps of Ke'nalo's boots echo in the tunnels as he half-jogs through them. He's trying to take care not to rock Alioth too much, but also to make good time to the entrance. They're not too far off now, Ke'nalo thinks to himself.

"I don't feel so good." Alioth murmurs, interrupting Ke'nalo's train of thought.

"Yeah, I can imagine not-" Ke'nalo replies. "-Getting hit like that and almost drowning. Like I said, we'll get you taken care of- but hang in there, ok?"

Ke'nalo gets no response.

"… Alioth?" he asks one more time, waiting. Ke'nalo's gait slows as he looks back again, but he can't quite see over his shoulder.

Nothing, again.

He then quickens his pace to a run, turning a corner down another long tunnel. Up ahead is a doorway on his left- the stairway they'd slid down to get here.