Upon Vestia: Chapter Thirty-Five

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"perhaps this is something we should discuss with the telepaths on board, if any wish to volunteer or... have any suggestions for ways to reduce the risk?" Armin suggested, he cuddled Luna just a bit closer.

Esk sighed. Tala had a point. "Fine..." He pointed to the guy he didn't recognised. " How do we do this then?"

Starr nodded "Omega will check for her, the rest will have a shield." She said, moving to let Omega get close while the rest of them move, some shifting to make more room.

Ellie grinned at Shane. "Awesome, thanks." She held up some of her experimental foil feathers, which came in a variety of shapes and sizes, "Which one do you want on your hat?"

~~
Tala was pleased that Esk understood the need for secrecy still. He had always been sensible, she liked that about him. She stood aside to watch the proceedings. This... should be interesting.

Esk looked tense, but he folded his hands on his lap, bowed his head and waited. He didn't really know what to expect, which he didn't like at all, but what else could he do? he'd agreed to this, it was important, but he knew he wasn't going to enjoy it and neither, no doubt, would the poor bastard having to get into his messed up brain.

Matt went to Kay's side and Kay put a hand on his arm. He was chewing his lip anxiously. Both of them watched nervously.

Shane looked at the feathers she had made and picked one. "How about that one?"

~~~
The dragons made the shield then Starr nodded to Omega. She glanced to Kay You have tranqs, right?

Omega nodded then looked at Esk, starting to search his mind for the demon's presence.

Ellie nodded. "Good choice. Well they're all good choices, honestly." She considered the feather, then started trying to decorate it with blue paint to make it look more... feather-y.

"I hope foil feathers don't work like brain wave antennas," she mused as she worked.

Kay nodded. I do. He looked spooked for sure.

Esk was trying very very hard to drop his defences but it was rather a difficult habit to give up. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and grit his teeth.

His mind was, as Starr had discovered, weird and difficult to navigate. It wasn't as ordered as you'd maybe expect for someone with perfect recall and his subconcious was actively fighting to keep Omega OUT by throwing up whatever awful shit it could.
Esk's life had been fairly unpleasant so there was a lot of fairly traumatic imagary to throw at the poor Star Dragon to try to force him OUT.

Thing was, the deeper Omega went, the more he'd realise it wasn't going to be so easy to get out again. Esk's mind was a maze, difficult to navigate and seemed to be closing in around him. Whether that was Esk's subconcious or the demon's doing wasn't clear, but soon enough Omega would find himself hopelessly lost.

Shane chuckled and watched her for a bit before working on another hat.

~~~
Omega growled at some of the images given to him, but even lost, he wouldn't give up his mission for his queen. This mind was strange, but he had to search for the demon. He was stubborn and had his own defenses.

Tala watched Omega and Esk, trying to read their expressions for any hint as to what was happening. She wished she could listen in, but she was sensible, and knew not to try. That would just make things worse for everyone.

She just had to wait, and hope Omega and the dragons knew what they were doing.

~~
Ellie would probably continue working on hat stuff and painting feathers, she'd probably give hat a nice, in very sparkly hat to wear before too long. They were going to be busy for a while though, yep.

You should not be here. A voice told Omega.

He'd find himself in a forest, there was snow on the ground.
Ahead was a clearing.

the trees seemed to press in around him, closer, till the path behind was no more. Something was trying to cage him in.

Omega stopped and smiled So, you are still here, that makes this worth the trouble. He replied, pushing back against the forest.
(Female voice or male?)

~~~
Shane didn't mind the distraction, it was better than worrying about the demon specifically.

(just a voice, or rather, the knowledge of words. No gender, no sound)

The forest continued to press in, forcing him toward that clearing.

There was blood in the snow, red spatter on white, already covered with a thin sheen of ice.
It was freezing cold and getting colder.
the clear sky above almost blotted out by the dark trees.

A figure blocked Omega's path forward, a whispy black cloaked figure with no face. It didn't speak, it just hung there, in the way, radiating menace.

---

Kay frowned as he watched, was this supposed to take this long? Was Omega alright? Was Esk?

Esk's face was blank, his eyes closed, he looked like he was asleep sitting upright.

"how.. how long do we wait?" Matt asked anxiously.

Omega frowned and glanced around at the forest, pushing against it again. He didn't care about the cold, it wasn't as cold as space after all. Who are you?

~~~
Starr shrugged and looked around, watching everyone she could. "I don't know, if you think this is taking too long, then tranquilize Esk first."

"Would it be safe to tranquilize him while Omega is still in his mind? We know not what is happening in there, and we do not wish to damage one of your people," Tala asked Starr. She looked uncertain though, this wasn't her area of expertise. Tranquilizing while someone was in Esk's brain sounded dangerous to her.

"Tranquilizing Esk could help Omega, if he needs it." Starr replied, hoping that was true.

Kay frowned, he didn't know enough about this sort of telepathy really to know if that was safe.
He watched Omega warily.

---

That isn't important little dragon... The voice spoke again, reverberating around him. How curious... your people have blocked me from reaching out. The voice cackled. Well, maybe we'll just have to bring them in here too...

The voice was definitely not coming from the spectre, it simply remained where it was, preventing Omega from moving forward while the trees around stopped him going any other direction. He was trapped.

Omega growled again, shaking his head and pushing against the demon strongly. you will not harm them, or Esk any longer. We will be certain of that much. This was simply a test after all.

Tala's ears were slightly back, she was getting concerned. "Are we sure tranquilizing would help? We know not how the mind of a demon works, they are from another dimension after all." At least Esk was on Omega's side, she thought. If it was just Omega and the demon, well, that seemed even more dangerous to her.

The voice laughed. Fool, this mind is MINE.

The spectre rushed forward, clawed hands outstretched.

At that moment the world seemed to pitch and tilt, gloved hands reached out, grabbing Omega and yanking him sideways through a gap in the trees that hadn't been there previously.

The voice howled in rage.


----

Kay stepped forward.

[I don't know enough about this sort of telepathy. Knocking Esk out MAY boot Omega out of his mind completely, or it may simply remove Esk's concious mind's ability to fight back. ] He looked at Omega worriedly. [This shouldn't have taken this long surely? ] He didn't know what to do, he looked to Starr for guidance.

Omega wasn't sure what was going on, looking to the one who had pulled him out and listening to the howls of rage. Well then, that was unexpected.

~~~
Starr sighed "Nothing is certain with this." She admitted softly.

Tala squinted at Kay's tablet for a bit, then nodded, getting the gist of what he'd written. "If there is a fight in Esk's head, then we want Esk to be conscious for it," she agreed. That made sense to her. "We should not tranquilize yet." She eyed Esk thoughtfully. "He knows his mind well, and he is a good ally to have if there is a fight in there."

Starr nodded then sighed "Right, but if the demon is in control, it may not be in our best interest to let it take Omega over."

It was a young boy, about eight, scrawny, lanky with tanned skin and long, wild black hair with a bluish tint to it. He stared up at Omega with narrowed golden eyes. "you should not be here." He told him and started along the path. The way behind had closed over, the only way forward was after the boy.

---

Kay looked worried. [if he's in trouble, how do we get him back out?]

"Maybe someone should go in after him..." Matt suggested. Hey he had no idea, but it sounded plausable.. right?

Tala tilted her ears toward Matt at his suggestion. "It is an interesting idea," she said. "Would the dragons be able to shield another person as well, though?" she asked Starr.

Omega glanced back then followed the boy I was sent to be certain the demon was gone, she isn't so now other measures must be taken.

"Yes, we can shield another, but I don't know if that would be safe." Starr replied. Was there much of a choice?

Kay's frown deepened. [Is it safe to send one person in? Who's to say they won't also get into trouble? ]

Matt hobbled over. "Rescue party?"

Kay looked to Starr and her dragons. [Could they shield more than one person? And potentially produce a sort of.. beacon or.. life line to yank us out again if the need arose?]

"us?" Matt looked at Kay.

Kay rubbed his temples. [I know Esk better than any other telepath here. He's my brother, if anyone can figure out his mind... I stand a better chance than a complete stranger. ] He looked to Esk. [He's pragmatic, he'll understand... I hope.]

"We can, the others can lend us power if needed to pull everyone out and protect them." Starr said, she was worried too. "He will understand, he is pragmatic."