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If Jake had been just a bit slower, nothing would have happened. If Sherry had not exposed the horsemen in all its impurity, nothing would have happened. And if the strange, broken horsemen had not, in a moment of surprise, turned around to stare down the intruder, Jake's weapon would not have dug perfectly into its side, cleaving it through its weakened point, causing bone and fear, blackened smoking Fear, to scatter.

As the bones scattered, so did the fragment, falling heavily onto the ground. The horsemen did not reappear, there was no terrible cry or triumph: without the fragment embedded in it it simply ceased to exist.

Instead the only thing left in the room was a broken pile of bones and a single red fragment. The figure, the lady in red that had walked alongside Jake, had disappeared as well leaving behind only the tiniest whispers of a promise.

Jake found some satisfaction slicing through the horseman, as if they weren't as indestructible as he had thought, and that hunters could possibly one day finally eradicate this world of the scum. It was but a fleeting hope though, and when the horseman disintegrated into bones and dust, only then did he turn his attention to Sherry.

The guilt returned when he saw her appearance, saw her hands, and the gaping hole in her side, the blood staining her clothes. This was his fault. His fault he put her in harm's way again, and if he had been just a little later...

He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her as he buried his face into her shoulder, needing the confirmation to know that she was still alive and well, needing to know that the warmth of her body meant she was still breathing, and would survive this ordeal. How she would fare after it though... he didn't know.

"Yes."

He felt her move slightly, and was about to tell her to stop, when he heard her speak.
... one of them was hers?
Slowly, he turned, eyeing the pile of bones, and noting that one seemed misplaced. It wasn't broken, and was stained with blood.
... oh god, was that one of Sherry's bones?

He hissed angrily at the pile of bones, silently cursing the horseman for hurting Sherry, and with one arm around Sherry, he knelt and lowered her to the ground, and reached out with his other hand to take the bone, putting it in her hands.

"Just rest now. I swear I'll get us out of here alive."
He turned back to look at what remained of the horseman, waiting, as if expecting it to come back, but when it didn't, he only pulled Sherry closer, reaching out to take hold of the fragment.

Sherry was just going to spend most of the day confused.

She didn’t hurt anymore. Her side was not ball of pain that grew with every breath; her hands weren’t dull numb aches at the end of her arms. She wasn’t in that hell of a room, it wasn’t even cold. Fully functioning hands went to her side, double checking- there had been a hole there a moment ago. That was when she noticed the coat. It was nice, and new, and not hers. It was way too fancy to be hers.

The voice made her freeze, and she looked to Jake. That was Jake, right? With a fancy coat? The voice continued, it offered. Sherry looked away, she looked out over the army, over the battles.

The voice in her head was laced with pleasure and desire. Armagnac liked power. It was her whole reason for being what she was. Power was something the weapon felt she deserved, and her hunter, too. Sherry could feel it.

It was a nice offer. A very nice offer. No pain. Being in charge, rooting out corruption where they saw it, setting things right. That was why Sherry had become a hunter, wasn’t it? To make the world a better place? To make a difference? What kind of difference could she make with this kind of power?

She looked at the army, at the battles, at the shiny coats. It could be real, all of it. Cleanse the corruption, decided who and when and how. To lead… all she had to do was say yes, and give herself to the voice.

The only problem with all of it was the simple fact that Sherry had no desire to have that kind of power. She wanted to be stronger yes, she wanted to help save the world, but she did not want to do it from a pedestal with an army laid out before her. She was a cog in the machine of war, not someone who turned the wheel. And to be the one who ordered such Destruction? No. Sherry wanted no part of that.

Armagnac did not approve of her hunter’s train of thought.

“Not to Destroy the world. Not on this scale,” she whispered. And not if I have to belong to something else. She’d already agreed to be a Hunter, what more was there to give?

rule. We could be the strongest. We would have power.>

“I don’t want that kind of power. Especially not like this." She had a choice, and she knew what her answer was.

"You are all the same," the voice laughed, but this time it was cruel and cold. It stung and withdrew and felt bitter. "You all would rather die chasing others rather than lead and that is why you will fall. When my cage is released, the first thing I will do is tear your little walls down and then you will play my game and mine only."

There was no laughter, just a moment of silence, as everything dissolved-

- And then the pain and aches returned. True, carnal pain, harsh as reality and as deep set as the memories they carried. This was what they were now and this was what the would always be. The fragment remained in Jake's hand.

There was someone waiting behind Jake but it was not the figure in red. They didn't even quite have form, just the feeling of a promise, and a tug somewhere not quite forgotten. The feeling of a cavern and the tablets waiting in the water. There was still one more task to be completed.

Jake grit his teeth as the voice continued to taunt them, and when it finally faded and he endured the onslaught of memories, a reminder of what a failure he was, only then did he finally exhale, closing his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts. Part of him just wanted to throw the fragment away, but... it was probably best to bring it back.

When he felt Sherry leaning on him and heard her speak, he opened them again, and turned his head towards her. He needed no further prompting as he took the roll from her hand, and proceeded to bandage each hand carefully, firm enough that it would stop the bleeding, but not tight enough to hurt, hopefully. Next was her side, and though it made more sense to remove the fabric before bandaging, he wasn't sure if Sherry would appreciate him trying to undress her.

Once he was done, he pulled Sherry onto his back, using the remainder of the bandages to pretty much literally tie her to him. There still remained one more task.

He didn't see the figure, but he felt it. Remembered. He made a promise, and it was one he intended to carry out. And so, carrying Sherry, he made his way back to where the tablets lay, untied his sash, and knelt down, carefully plucking each tablet out of the water. Each one had an untold story, each had a partner, but now...

As soon as he gathered them all, he placed the very last one, the darkened cracked one which had spoken to him on top, and he placed a hand over it.
"I'll take you home now. All of you. I'm sorry for doubting."

Any other time Sherry would have protested to being carried. She had legs that worked, thank you very much. But this time she had a lovely hole in her side- and missing a rib was rather painful, wisp of a Fear shield remaining or not. So she didn't protest, too much. Nothing beyond a few grumpy mumbles, she didn't have the energy to fight Jake on the matter in any case.

And any other time she might have relished alone time with Jake, mission or not. But again, serious damage to her rib-cage killed any mood, and well, it wasn't like Sherry considered them as dating anymore anyway. Jake had been clear about that, even if he still asked for her help with things. Jerk. No wonder she was confused. Ugh. He was being nice right then, too.

She sighed, leaning against him and relishing the fact that she wasn't alone in that weird, creepy building anymore. Or maybe she was just happy to not have pieces being ripped out of her anymore. The contact, the warmth, was nice. If things didn't hurt so bad she might have laughed. When you almost died was the time for last minute or courageous confessions of love or whatever. But she'd done that already, and she was tired, and she was pretty sure Jake didn't want to hear it. She didn't feel having him reject her again, it'd kill the moment. Not that it would last very long with the portal there. "Mm," she mumbled, "I can walk home."

It was about then she registered the fact that he'd been picking up tablets. Weapon tablets. Something else clicked in her head. "When'd Chester come back?"

They arrived at the training fields, and it took a few minutes longer for Mark to rush down and then just a little longer for them to actually call someone a little more qualified. Sherry was quietly carried to the Life labs (hospital wing) and sedated for further treatment. There was a lot of her blood everywhere.

"Hang on," Mark grabbed Jake's arm. He looked nervous, even as several Hunters were already whisking away the recovered weapons tablets "Do you- did you get the thing?"

The relief of being home was almost overwhelming. Jake might have gotten a a half of a hug before being carted off. Sedation couldn't come soon enough.