Team FLME Volume 9

On the Rocks

After the opening, a pan down towards Ember is shown. Slowly, it descends on his face as his eyes shoot open. He coughs a little as he is fully awaken. He blinks rapidly and launches himself up, looking around the hospital room, panting a little.

May: Easy! Easy!

Ember: What happened?

Leia: Onyx happened.

Ember perks his head forward from May's view. The members of Team FLME and VILE are awake and either in their beds or moving around the room they all shared. Ing is still in his bed, looking downtrodden. Leia, Llew and Violet are all up and about. Eadwulf is resting on his own bed as well. Ember looks out across to his friends, confused and concerned. He sighs and goes to twist his body but he grunts a little and hisses slightly.

May: I said easy!

Ember: I know, I know! Get off my back about it.

Ember sighed a little and looked to his friends. There was a clear welding job done for Eadwulf's glasses to bind them together again.

Ember: I thought we had-

Violet: We didn't. Realistically, I don't even know if we stood a chance.

Eadwulf: We did. (Violet turns to him) Don't deny the good we did. We know he can be beaten. You saw him bleed. Hell you made him bleed more than Fred ever did!

Ing: Eadwulf!

Eadwulf: You know it's true! I mean, come on! How many times did we see his blood! With a few more powerful hits he would have-

Leia: And at the cost of yourself. If you kept rising up in that power he would have strikes back just as hard. Maybe even harder! You were going to die! As to why he granted not just you guys but all of mercy is beyond me.

May: Maybe it was a message?

Ember: Like what, taunting us? Oh yeah, we did so good. Better luck next time kids. Real great.

May: It's an idea.

Ember: Yeah, well, that was also 200 tons of kick ass coming down on us and bashing our heads in. Not just us, but two professional huntsmen too! One of which is the bloody maiden! As to why she is still alive is beyond me?

Leia: Then maybe it was to send a message.

Ember: Of what? False hope? He wanted to send a message, killing us and taking the Relic would have done more than enough!

Violet: Fred...

Everyone in the room turns to face Violet.

Ember: Excuse me.

Violet: He told me...Fred was live. Somewhere. The tone...he was convince Fred was alive. It was to send false hope...he wanted our injuries to give us all slow deaths.

Ember looks at Violet and sighs deeply. He gets up and grits his teeth a little before he can even speak.

Ember: Violet...I'm sorry but I have to say that is an utter case of bull.

Violet: What?

Ember: It's Onyx. He manipulates, lies backstabs and kills!

Violet: It's about him! Why would Onyx ever lie about that?!

Leia: Like you said...false hope. Slow agonizing death. (She turns to face Violet fully) It was simple emotional manipulation and mental abuse. Nothing new for a person like him.

Eadwulf: They have a point.

Ing: That's not true! Violet wouldn't lie about it.

Ember: No one is saying Violet lied about Onyx saying it. What we are saying is that it is stupid to think he is honest about Fred being alive. Look, I'm his brother. I would LOVE for him to be alive. Truly, I would. I mean, he's family. But we all saw it. Beaten to a pulp. Little to no chance of success. Tossed into oblivion. If he even had a fraction of aura left, it was gone after the first hit. It would be a miracle if he survived that fall. A bigger one if he has found food or shelter. And this is coming from the extroverted and overly optimistic member of FLME...he's gone. And he's not coming back.