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[IntSys]

Arkady

As much as "Do not engage" was a solid guideline to follow, the odds of that happening were virtually none. The hell was anyone going to do against a Hulk with brains?

Anyhow. Arkady had gathered this much: This Cancer had the ability to create eyes, or more generally, cancerous growths of body parts. She also had the ability to spread purple mold, likely referring to her already known "Rot" ability. Being the incubator of a disease that didn't even have a real cure outside of chemotherapy and intensive surgeries, there seemed to be no way to stop her from that aspect either.

Super strength, super speed... And the ability to replace any injured parts right away.

And so... They must force her to remove her senses willingly.

"Don't look back!" Arkady made himself heard to Klepto and Erika. One may not necessarily be sensitive to light, but anyone using eyes at all would surely be blinded by a surge of intense light, especially one that suddenly appeared in complete darkness. She'd have to use her other senses - smelling and listening, both of which would be obscured as well in the right circumstances... Like these.

Arkady flicked one of the lighters on and threw them both against a crate to the left, setting off a sudden flame and starting a small, but spreading fire. Then, he reloaded his flare gun, and readied himself. Luckily, Cancer had decided to take the shortest path possible, yielding a predictable path.

A crisp shot rang throughout the warehouse, as the flare round ricocheted against a crate and arced down into the straight path Cancer was taking. Smoke spewed out as the round rolled and burned.

Arkady picked up his speed again, all while reloading his flare gun on the fly. "Get that Stephen on the line again. He's screwed too without the keys!" If he were really here to assassinate Cancer, a stark contrast to the "Do not engage" attitude, then surely he must know more about her than even the ICAO.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Erika

If nothing else, Erika was a rather fast runner. It helped that she had kept her body fit despite leaving the military, but she was still able to quickly catch up to Klepto despite the headstart the boy had on them. Granted, she didn't know if they could outrun this Queen, but if they managed to get out, they could at least have a chance. That was what she thought until she heard more crashes behind her, turning her head around as she ran in disbelief, even if she couldn't see the exact details of what was happening. It was rather obvious anyway... Queen was coming straight for them, knocking aside the crates as she did so.

"Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!" Erika muttered right before Arkady yelled at her to not look back quickly turning her head back to the front as the kid fired another flare. This was going from worst case scenario to hell incredibly fast now. But there was always a chance.

Instead of pulling out her radio to get Stephen on the radio when Arkady told her too, Erika instead focused on the keys in her hand, moving them around as she looked for the specific key she needed to unlock the shipping dock door. If she could find it before they reached the door, they might have the chance to 'divide and conquer'. Or in this case, 'divide and survive'. Stephen wasn't a worry for her anymore, he would likely realize he was trapped in here as well, and if he was about to do anything, he would do so. If not, then she could care less.

... Erika had an extreme hatred of life or death scenarios.

[Takosher]

Erika and Arkady

Arkady's flare illuminated Cancer just as she cleared the last container between herself and him. But the creature before him was no longer so susceptible to his attack. Having morphed into a completely inhuman existence comprised of a nonsensical arrangement of body parts, she had abondoned her eyes in rhe darkness to navigate by sound. And Arkady had just given her a beacon of sound to follow by firing his gun.

Erika was now running ahead of both Arkady and Klepto, the latter of whom was starting to wear out from running so much, and had the proper key already prepared in her hand. But due to the twists and turns she had to follow while the queen could chase them in a straight line, there was almost no chance of her reaching the door the ket belonged to before they were overtaken. And so when she heard a crate just behind her fly out of the way, she knew that it was too late, first it would be Arkady, and then Robin, and then her. They would all be ripped to pieces, just like Mimi had been.

[IntSys]

Arkady

So. This was what death looked like. The accumulation of all the humans who had been dragged away from their loved ones by that one looming specter of mortality, cancer. Mutated growths, though oozing with amazing power, also radiated unimaginable misery. This immense shadow was cast upon Arkady, crushing him with all its weight.

He had been in this position before.

When Grandpa struggled with liver cancer, he was there, sitting next to him. Going through all the therapies and medications had given him a few more months to live, yet those were months of nothing but misery. He was so weak, that he couldn't even muster the strength to talk.

Yet, in his final moments, he spoke in unimaginable clarity, in unbelievably clear spirits. It went against all logic. The illogical strength came from something so whimsical and fantastical, it was impossible to believe.


The image of that girl flashed before his eyes. He had helped her go on for so long. Could he still be giving her the final push to her dreams? He prayed, that all the momentum he had built up for her, would be enough to send her out of the dreadful pit of society. That way, he could truly say that he had lived without regrets.

That thought soon faded away, as reality took its place. The grotesque monster named Cancer. Her eyes had long been abandoned, replaced by overdeveloped ears - she had been chasing their footsteps instead. That flare was hardly useful. Neither was running, for that was what allowed her to take the shortest distance.

Hate and fear, those were emotions useless in the face of death. The best he could do, was to display that same willpower those before him had.

"Watch me die, Cancer! Watch, as you tear me into pieces. I won't give you the pleasure of a scream."

That was it. One last gambit. Biting his lips, Arkady was ready to fire one last flare at this unconquerable beast. The fire had already been started. Every second Cancer spent chasing and killing them meant even more strength to the fire. If he were to die, his fire would live on for him, and burn brighter than ever.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Erika

There wasn't a point in taking the time to look behind herself now. She already knew that the Queen was getting close, from the fact that she was sure that a crate right behind her had been thrown out of the way. No time to do any fancy planning, no time for last second chances. Death was practically looming over them... And judging by the general positions of everyone, she knew that Arkady would be the first. Leaving... Her the only survivor of the team.

If she wasn't filled to the brim with adrenaline, Erika would've started to cry from the realization. But as it stood, she didn't even spare a second, instead using that regret to push herself forward, somehow managing to sprint even faster than before.

She was, unfortunately, unable to do much more than that.

[Takosher]

Arkady

Cancer stopped in her tracks at Arkady's demand. Her grotesque body receded, reverting to her natural form at a rate much faster than it had taken to be constructed. Now in the guise of a human once more, the monster walked forwards, her quietly menacing demeanor daring Arkady to fire his flare gun for the final time.

"That's alright, I wouldn't take any pleasure in your screams anyways." she said softly, "You are not here with me by choice, I have no wish to harm you. Indeed I weep for you, as it is my own weakness that will be your undoing. How sad, if I were stronger you might yet live."

To Arkady's horror, he caught the glint of tears in her eyes. Her mind must have been incomprehensibly twisted for her to truly believe what she had just said.

[IntSys]

Arkady

Arkady remained unflinching at the face of nonsense. Even now, his hands were still firmly grasping the trigger.

Cancer's words stood in stark contrast with her previous words and actions. "Weak" was not a word one could use to describe the carnage that had unfolded, and "Hostility" was all that her words had been.

It was as if, those were two different people.


He recalled ICAO's data. More specifically, the page on Klepto. Not all Incubators seemed to be able to control their abilities. Klepto might be the weakest case of them all, but were his abilities stronger, he could end up being classified as Volatile. A weak mind paired with great powers.

In that case, could this Queen be one of such cases? Or maybe she was just trying to convince herself that it was not her own fault? Could she really be a murderer who blames her crimes on her knife? Or was she the most misunderstood Incubator of them all, who had repelled all contact with grotesque violence and carnage?

Either way... She was weak. Cancer was strong, but the name behind the frightening word was weak. Suppose that she was suppressing herself... Then this was likely the extent of her willpower. Or should one call it, good will?

"You're not Cancer. Who are you- What's your name?" Strangely enough, Arkady was not at all compelled to step away in response to Cancer's advance.

[Takosher]

Arkady

Audrey was taken aback by Arkady's response. It had been so long since anyone had treated her as a person, even longer since she had done so herself. She reached out to this boy who asked her name, placing her hand softly on his cheek. "Audrey, my name is Audrey." she smiled, her tear becoming tears of joy. But her moment of happiness was fleeting, and she was struck by a sense of dread as her weakness once more attempted to overpower her. She was touching him, it would be so easy. All she had to do was give in, and her life would be prolonged a little further. A struggle broke out within her, and the look in her eyes once more turned to pain.

Cancer recoiled back from Arkady's face, a pink wisp floating between her hand and his cheek. She glared at it as it faded into nothing and she cursed her weakness yet again. "Dammit." she spat, trying to overwhelm her anguish with rage. Refusing to look at Arkady again, she ran. She shoved aside her heart and charged after her prey once more. She would destroy this weakness, if not in herself, then in the others who were cursed as she was.

[IntSys]

Arkady

A stream of wind blew back in the wake of Audrey's sprint. Arkady turned his head around and watched as she vanished in the dark. A faint smile resurfaced.

There was hope again. For all of them. However faint.

The path behind him was soon going to be blocked by the spreading fire. He could probably still pass through it, but that would mean giving up on escaping on his own for the time being.

Should Erika or Audrey fail to deal with Cancer, it would have to come down to this.


He prayed quietly, and began to walk in the opposite way, nearing the fire but stopping at a safe distance. In meantime, he took out the bloodstained phone again. In a purely symbolic gesture, he added Audrey's name to Cancer's page.

... And then, it occurred to him. What were the odds of the ICAO knowing the name, but not its connection to Cancer? Going through the archives again, he searched for mentions of Audrey. The more he knew about her, the more strength he can give to her. And it would inevitably come down to that strength to conquer her weakness.

Unfortunately, he couldn't pass any of the information to those who needed it the most at the moment.

[Takosher]

Arkady didn't find any mention of Audrey in the ICAO's files. He had learned all he was going to. The fire was slowly starting to turn into a blaze, the exponential growth of the flame making a pretty decent allegory for the way this night had gone.

Cancer quickly gained on Erika and Klepto, the time Arkady thought he had bought them seemingly not mattering at all. She was getting closer and closer, and the exit only seemed further away.

Then Klepto tripped.

He had already been lagging behind Erika a decent ways, so the instant he fell, it was too late. Cancer caught up, took hold of him in one of her grotesquely oversized hands, and squeezed.

Klepto screamed, then started to wail for help. "Help me! Erika! Erika! Help! Erika!" But there was nothing she could do. Scream, crunch, squish, and Klepto was gone.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Erika

All Erika managed to do when Robin tripped was slow down, turning to run back and help him back up, before Cancer had caught up, grabbed him, and then squeezed. Gone, just like that, pleas for help cut completely short by bones and flesh turning to dust and mush. The only positive being that he died relatively quickly. But ultimately she lied to Robin. She had said they'd be fine, but now here she stood, alive while the kid was dead. She was the last one left now... No doubt Cancer had already killed Arkady as well.

... Was there even a point to running anymore? She had no doubt that Cancer could cross the distance between them in an instant, kill her before she could do more than scream. But someone had to live on... And while she had wished otherwise, that someone was her. Could be her. Had to be her.

So the veteran of war steeled herself, ignoring the tears that had started to form in her eyes, turning to make one final, desperate dash to freedom, knowing in her heart that it was useless. She still had to try.

[Takosher]

Erika

Cancer was rather slow to respond to Erika fleeing, and when the woman rounded the next corner, she thought she might be home free. There was the exit, right within sight, just a little further.

Just as freedom was in sight, she felt something grab her by the throat and yank her to the side. This turned out to be a good thing, because Cancer smashed the place where she'd been standing a moment before.

"Make sure you tell the ICAO what she can do." Stephen said, letting Erika to the ground, "We incubators have failed to stop her, I failed, so it's up to the humans now. Good luck."

Stephen ran out towards Cancer, shouting to her, "Hey you, you hate our kind, right? Come get me!"

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Erika

Initially, Erika was certain she was dead once something grabbed her throat and yanked her away from where she was going. It was only when she heard the crash from where she had been standing that she got confused... Until she looked at the person who had 'saved' her. Stephen.

The Incubator was lucky that Erika was still processing the fact that he had gone out of his way to save her, long enough for him to say what he needed to and allowed her to continue on her way. In fact, it still took a bit of self restraint to not start shooting his back once he ran towards Cancer.  But he was willingly running to his death, she would just be getting herself killed. So she didn't, instead continuing her run towards freedom, scanning the ring of keys in her hand to make sure she had the correct one selected.

At that point, she wasn’t expecting the final dash to be simple. She was expecting something to get in her way, or for something to hit her from behind and kill her as soon as she got to the door. So when she inserted the keys into the lock, opened the door, and then slammed it shut once she was on the other side, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, breathing in the cool night air as she stepped back. There wasn’t a point in locking the door, Cancer could likely just break it down without even trying at this point.

But she was finally out, free and able to run away from this nightmare. So she did, turning her back on the warehouse as she began sprinting, barely registering the darkness that surrounded her.

[Takosher]

Erika

Erika kept going long enough for her to lose track of how far she'd been running. She never saw or heard any sign of Cancer following, but that wasn't enough to stop her. What finally did stop her was a black SUV that stopped right in front of her. Several men got out and told her to get inside. Any questions she had were preemptively silenced with a succinct, "We're your backup." That didn't actually answer anything. Having little choice, Erika was forced to get in the car.

Her rescuers turned out to be from the ICAO, and Erika was put into their protection. After being forced to recount her story a painful number of times, she was eventually given an unusual offer. The ICAO wanted her to join them. Her military experience made her qualified, and her experience with the previously unknown Cancer made her valuable. It wasn't one sided, Erika needed a job. And more than that, she needed revenge. She took some time to come to a decision, but eventually took the offer.

Even after joining the ICAO, Erika never truly learned the fates of Arkady and Stephen. The fire had destroyed the remains of all of the night's victims, and the only evidence left besides Erika's own testimony was Mimi's cellphone, recovered from the charred rubble. Eventually the event faded into the past, becoming a legend at the ICAO. But Erika would never be able to move on, and she would be forced to live with the nightmare for the rest of her life.