Prompts: Gashes and Fog
Character Focus: ????̝̫̃͝?̧̫́̓̏?̙̠̬̻̇͂̀̀?͆

Let me t̻̽ẻl͔̉l̺̽̈́ ̚y͓̲̝̔̉͝o̮͚̫̊ù̪͒ ̈́̐́̚ȧ̲͕̩̘ ̲̲͇̗̻̻̞̂̍́́͗s̭̤͎̮̟̘͌̃̒ţ̖̘͔̘o̡͕̬͎̦͕͎̐̓͟ŗ̧̢͚̟̣̥̖͑̈̈͒͡͡y̨̥̥̗̳͖͋̎̌̌͡.

A story of new̚ ͌b̾͜ĕ̥g͈iň̟n̺̍́i̘̘͌̅n̐̽͠g̓̈ş ͇̖͖̈́͆a̠̬̱̝n͛̇̉̓ḏ̠͓̽͟ ̪̬̀̿c̮̖̃͗̈ở̳̂̋m̹̦̖̿̅͆p̺͕̞l͙̪͇̓̒͌̍̀̈́͌i̗͂͐c̔͌̈́͘͠͝a͈͔̭̫͎̝͎̤͂̍̔̏ͅt̨̞͎͙̘̞͝i̢̳̼͓̹̜̦͙̝o͎̅͐̄̃́̚͝n̡̻͇͚̗̭̭̒̉͑s̡̡͊̎̓̂̑̕ͅ
Third Person
Ocean gets interrupted on the most important day of the year. Luckily it's for good reason.

She lets out a frustrated sigh as she hears the frantic knock on her door. She drops the pen on the report she's signing and runs a hand through her strawberry orange hair. Ocean has no idea why Fate themselves seems to throw inconveniences at her at the worst times, but then again, Fate has always been... Fickle with her.

"Enter." Ocean says sharply. Her body relaxes when she sees who entered but she still remains onguard. Her hands lay on the desk, intertwined with each other, and she keeps a steady gaze. "Pacific, do you realize what day it is?"

Pacific blinks for a moment. Ocean always found her eyes to be the most entrancing: Lavender irises and dark purple sclera. If Ocean didn't know better, she'd think she was a demon. She did when she first met her, but then she was soon corrected. Pacific was simply a witch.

The rest of her appearance was no less strange. She had tanned skin, which was the only normal part about her, and navy blue hair with lighter blue undertones. She had tattoos of eyes on the backs of her hands and wore classic witch robes and hat- both of which were monochrome black and white, with designs and runes that Ocean had yet to understand.

Her body radiated magical energy.

She might've found her intimidating in some way if Ocean wasn't only abnormally tall but also had a few tricks up her sleeve that could certainly hold her own against her.

Ocean was often told she was too pessimistic to think about things like what to do if she got betrayed and what everyone's weaknesses were. Ocean didn't think so, she believed she was simply being prepared. And realistic.

The world was unforgiving. Ocean had to be ready for anything.

"Oh, is today that day?" Pacific said after a moment.

"Yes." Ocean huffed. "As you know, we're funded by the government. Every year, I need to justify why we get as much money as we do. Without it," she gestured to around her. "None of this would be possible. Our research teams and agents wouldn't be able to get paid and the entirety of The Abyss would surely crumble in a matter of days."

Ocean leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "So, pray tell, what's so important that you need to interrupt me?"

Pacific wasn't too phased by her hostility. It was one of the reasons Ocean had promoted her. It was rather annoying when others couldn't stand their ground. "We got a level nine distress call. From Team Myth."

Ocean was silent. Steadily, she stood up and grabbed the dark blue jacket from her chair and slung it over her shoulder. She strode towards the door, signaling Pacific to follow her. "I want a full status report. Now."

"Megalodon was the first one found. Nessie and him are the only ones standing but both have taken some pretty heavy injuries. Kappa, Leviathan, and Hydra were all unaccounted for while I was there but assumed alive. They are being searched for as we speak."

"Team Myth was just in the Northern Hills, correct?"

Pacific nodded. "Searching through the cave systems. They didn't arrive there when it happened. A thick fog rolled in and then..."

Ocean glanced at Pacific. The worry in her face was evident, which was unusual for the woman. Ocean had found that she always had a firm belief that Fate would run its course the way it was supposed to. She was often unphased by anything bad that happened. Her skills in temporal magic made it so she not only accepted whatever happened, but also she had a feeling it would. Why she chose not to stop somethings and did for others, Ocean was unsure.

Then again, she was never a fan of temporal magic, unlike Pacific. Fate and Time had never been kind to her. She didn't believe that appealing to either would help. They didn't care about mortals. They only cared about themselves.

Ocean paused for a long moment before finally speaking up once she realized that Pacific wasn't going to bring it up. "Is there a reason you're leaving her out?"

Pacific's face paled. Ocean continued. "All teams have at least six people. Team Myth has been under my eye for awhile so I do know the agents within it. Not to mention," her gaze shifted slyly to get a good look at her. "You two are close. I would've thought you'd bring her up by now."

"...It's complicated." Pacific said at last. "We don't even know what happened exactly. The only reason we got there when we did was the concerned reports we got that she and some of the others were missing."

"I wonder who brought it up." Ocean said sarcastically. "Let me guess, Red and Arctic?" Pacific nodded. "Why am I not surprised? Oh well, I guess it paid off today. I swear some of these people are going to be the death of me one day if they don't chill out for five seconds."

"You're one to talk." Pacific hummed.

Ocean gave her a flat, annoyed look. "Don't start. I'm not in a good mood as it is. Just take me there."

—

The Northern Hills were supposed to possibly hold secret artifacts that many were still trying to find. Ocean might've been in a better mood going there had she not been going for completely different reasons other than finding them.

Already, a group of her team had set up a small, medical tent and were treating the injured. When she entered, everyone inside saluted, to which Ocean waved them off, focused on those being treated.

"Five out of the six have been accounted for, Boss!" One medic told her promptly when she walked over. "All are currently resting and some of them lost quite a bit of blood but I assure you, they will all make it."

"What happened exactly?" Ocean pressed, her dark blue eyes burning into the medic's green ones.

She gulped and carefully lifted up some of the bandages around Leviathan's stomach. Deep gashes were cut all around them, and judging from the bandages around her arms, legs, and back, she definitely took quite the beating. Blood oozed from them, all of the bandages getting colored red and the medic winced.

"Leviathan here is one of the worst ones. Definitely took a more than a few knife wounds in the scuffle, which is surprising given she's proven to be much faster than her... Opponent on several occasions." The medic winced to herself, mumbling something under her breath before moving to her arms. "But there's something more important you need to see."

She lifted up some of the bandages on the arm and Ocean almost gasped to herself. She kept it internal and squinted at it. "How... Are those second degree burns?" Ocean's eyes moved across the irritated skin, frowning to herself. Some of it looked about ready to peel off.

"They are." The medic confirmed. "Which is what's puzzling us. It's not just her either. Most of them have some sort of burn on them, some worse than others. We know they didn't bring much other than a torch and unless they sat there and took the burn, there's no way they could've got that from a simple torch. All evidence points to-"

"Fire magic." Ocean finished. Her eyes narrowed. "Which doesn't make sense... Where is she?"

"Somewhere out in the fog. Our search team is still looking for her."

"Call them back. I'm getting to the bottom of this."

The medic blinked in surprise. "But Ma'am-!"

"It wasn't a suggestion. That was an order." Ocean said coldly. "I'm taking charge. Call them back."

The medic nodded nervously and quickly ran out of the tent. Ocean stayed put, giving her a moment to relay the information as she examined Leviathan one last time. Pacific approached her carefully after a brief second of peace.

"What are you planning on doing?" For once, Pacific's calm, honest voice sounded guarded.

"Don't look so serious, I'm not going to kill her." Ocean told her. "There's no need. She didn't kill anyone and I still need to know the details of what happened. Once I figure that out, I'll decide what happens. For now, I need answers."

Ocean began to exit the tent as Pacific followed. "Why do you always need answers?" Pacific murmured.

"It's my job." Ocean told her, then walked into the fog, with Pacific close behind.

The fog was unusually thick but Ocean was determined to get through it. She walked slowly and carefully, judging her surroundings and trying to find anything to suggest that she was still here. Ocean almost thought she fled until a flicker of light suddenly appeared and then was thrown at her.

Ocean was quick to grab onto Pacific and pull her down just before the fireball hit. Her eyes narrowed on the direction it came from. "I know you're there. You just gave yourself away. There's no point in hiding any longer."

Silence filled the air, only to be broken by footsteps slowly approaching. More fire ignited in their hands until Ocean could see her at last.

Most of her looked the same. The same long, brown hair, the same body, the same fair skin and outfit, everything looked right. All, except for the eyes. Which instead of deep blue, were orange, with black sclera around them. They glowed like fire as she stared at Ocean and snarled.

"Ah." Ocean realized in an instant. "Somebody isn't in the right body, are they?"

Her fist clenched and the fire burned deeper. She raised her fist.

"You tried that already. I just dodged it. Why don't we have a talk? I need to know exactly why one of my agents is... Possessed. Are these hills cursed?"

"No. She ̤ṡu̙m̥͌̐̑m̧o͙͉̣͟ṇ͔̫̿͐̂͝e̮̹̗d̢̛̲̰̗̬̲̈́̌̅͑͟͡ͅ ̠̥͔̜͗͜m̨̢͓̘̞͈̙͇̀̾̋̒e̡̳͍̯̳̪̙̖̦̿̈̿̿̈̇̄̽" She said. The cocky look in her eyes was undeniable. "You'd thin̦̑k̃ ͚t̡̂ḫe̘̚͜y̍̅'̓̔̂d̳̀ ͒̏̔k̄̔n̼̭̮̗͊o̻w͎͖̩̰͛̋̀̔ ̪̈́̉̕b̛̬̥̼̫͖̲͛͐ĕ̼̌t͎̻̙̞͌̈̐̐͋t̳̯̭͛̒̇͆̇eṛ̨̰͆͂͜.̢͙̜̤̣̝̙͖̗͈̝͑͆̿̅̂̉͊͋̕͠"

Ocean's eyebrows raised. "Summoned you?" Ocean echoed. "How? Why? All of my demon summoning information is always locked away. The only way she could've learned that is if..."

Ocean's eyes widened. She couldn't help the shock when it hit her. She turned to Pacific, gravely serious. "We might have a serious problem on our hands."

Ocean just barely ducked in time when another fireball was thrown.

"He͠ý̫̬̳͓͔̭̈́͂̑͋̊!̵" She growled. "Don't fo͗r̺g͙̐e̜͛ẗ͚ ͉͒̊ä͕̘̬̤b̘̟ǫ̧̱̥͔̓u͗ţ̩̥̠̳̥͌ ͙̖͚̪͙̼ṃ̪̞̤̣̭͔̪͈́̈́͋̄̀̓̈́̆̊e̠̯̪̝̪̰͐́̀͐͜!̎"

Ocean rolled her eyes. "A bit of an attention hog, are we? Did mommy and daddy not love you enough as a kid?" She flinched. Ocean's eyebrows arched. "Oh? Did I actually strike a nerve there? Interesting, so demons can be sensitive."

"Shut̟.͝ ̛̖͓͙͛͝Ư̐͋͗̈́̓P̭̙̖͔̫̏͐!̨̞̲̱̬̫͓̝" She raised her hands again, summoning more fire. "Shut up or I'll make yõ̥u!̐ ̡͗I'̌m̲̈́ ̡͊̚͟jú̖st͇̦ ̳͚ảs̈̀ ̧̤͜m͈̝̻͋͠u̬̬͗͘͟c͉͊h̙̬̐̋̎͠ ̆̋̒̓of̲̤̼̅̎̿͝ ͚̜̆a̮̫̖͆ ̧̨̢d̤̖̾̏͝͝ẻ̛̦̖̱̱͇͆̚͝m̗͕̬̣͆̑̾̔̈́͛o͎͉̗̊͛̆̈́̀n̢͓̱͙̠͐ ̠͠ạ̧̢̱̹̰́̽͜s̗͊̓̕͠ ̦̾̀̃̚ȩ͔̲̳̘̫̾̌v̛̰̦̞̰̿́̇͜ḛ̥̯͙́ͅr̡̝̝͓͈̟̿͋̚͟͟y̟̣͋̾̀̊̈͊̕͝ö̥̭̤́͌͂̈́͌͆͟n̹̲̤͔͚͎͑͟͟ę̲̙̲͙̠̺̯̼̑͟ ̨̢̠̺̯̫̞̦̈͌̅e̖͈̝̬l͓͓̗͌̀̚ş̨̝̖̙͉͖̙̙́̎͗̔͑͂̌̾̐͠͡ͅḛ͍̞͇͍͎̪̥͑͊͐̎͒̀̓̂͜͡͡!͔̝̞͖̳̑̌̌"

"Interesting." Ocean said again. "You seem to be sensitive about that. You're not a naturally born demon then?"

The flame got brighter in her hands.

"Not in a mood to talk then? Fine. We'll discuss this later."

"I'm not goḯ̩n͓̅g̲ ̮͋t͚͂o̟̥ ̜͋t̮̱̿̌ę͖̽͋l̑l̙̺͔̫̏ ̛̝̈́̌y̍ọ̌̇͌ù̪̝̯̞̠̓͑̚ ̛̰̰̆͝͡ạ̫͈͕̞̐̽ͅn̟͖̺̫̮͗̒̀y̤̭̝̑̇̓̐͐͗̕̕t͈́̐̈́̒̍̆͆͜ḧ̡͚͖̗̪͉͌͘͘͟į̯̏ṉ͂̊̐̅̇̚͡g̒̈́͆̈́̀͋̀̽͠!̬͇̱̦̹̠͌͛̌̎̿̀̊̐́͊̑"

"You misunderstand me." Ocean raised her own hand up, focusing on her. "I wasn't giving a suggestion, this isn't a coffee date I'm suggesting. You possessed one of my own. That was an order, you don't get a choice."

Ocean snapped her fingers and her body instantly went limp, eyes fluttering shut as she forcefully fell asleep. Pacific was quick to catch her as she fell. Ocean strolled forward, bending down and carefully lifting an eyelid open with one finger. Black and orange stared back. Then, she did it to the other, where white and blue stared back.

"Curious." Ocean murmured. She took her from Pacific's arms and instead, laid her in her own. "We will get to the bottom of this later. Atlantis has a lot to explain for herself."

—————

This is a st̬͐or̥y̏ ͒̀o͇̽̊f̢̙̓ ͙̼̎a̜̗͗n͚̫̚ ̖̪̲͜u̮̒̑̍͟n̠͉̲̮̈́̉̐̂è̈́͊̈́x͉͚̬̆̄͂͡͡p̥̥͇ĕ̙̞͔̲͔̗̉̍̋̈́̈́ċ̙͍̀͑͘ͅț͓̔̾̅ͅe͇ͅͅd͉͖̹͋͡ ̧̭̟̦̭̮͙͉̗̇͒d̩͈̋̆̓ͅu̢̨͓̪̳̯̱̙͊̂̂͡ơ͙̳͍̯͚̣̠̭͖̝̼̋̃̂̄̾̎͛͑̋͝.̣͓̦͉͔̃̄͗̌̾͋̃͂̕͡

This is a st͈̽o͇r͔̅y̪ ͍̳̏̓ö̘̠́f̙̬͇̈́̇̚ ͈̦̥̏͋l̬͙̃̈́͗ö͓́͑͝v͕͗͂͋̊̚ę̞̀̆̆͡ ̄̈a̟̫̼̜n̨̨͎̬̈́̿d͉̬͖̜̔́͆̾̕ ̹͖̐͑̋̈́͊̑͌͊p̗̣̫͈̊̈̋̚͠ȧ̛͗̍̐̿̿į͔̞̳̝͕͆͋̈́͐̇̓͊̇͟͡ͅn͙̰̳̫̝̄̅̄͛̍͛͂͌̓.̼̬͕̟͎̲̯̫̀̀̓

This is a ͍̐s̼̏t̤̐ȏ͜r̡y̮ ́̆o͈̔̐̂f̭͂̔ ̡̬̬̐̒͐͘c̥̭͉͔͂̄͛o͚̤̯̅̎ȍ̞̯̖̒̋̋͠ṗ̧̗̣̼̼̔̕͝e̢͇̻̦̪̘͖r͇͕̖̊̈́̀͘a̛̠̮̫̥͑̃̈́͠͠t̅͆̓̄̆̈́͠i̺͇͊̒̅̃͝o̢̜̣̥͆̀̆͑͟ṇ̢̡̦̦̙͖̤͓̩̹̋̈̀͑̈́̌́̃.̛̛̱̥̭͚̓̄̎͗́

This, is a st́o̎r̞y͎̕ ̖̦ǒ̢̗f̛̲͎̅ ͆a̰͈͗ ̲d͙̟̩̀̿ͅẻ͚͕͕̚m̨ọ̢̠̈́͌n̡̓̆̕ ̘͖̪̜̫̲͋à̹̥̗̽̔͒̐n̨̰̉͛̚̕͝d̛̀͋̂ ̜̟̐̍́̂͡ȃ͔̙̖̖̙͔ ̡͈̩̯̮̤̽͊͋g̨̭̬̤̖͈̔̌̉͜i̢͕͈͛̾̇̿r̟͕͕̹̿͋l͓̣͓͖̪̔̉̿̀̈́̓͗̈́͝ͅ.̮͚͍̬̺̦̗̯̯̩

~ 🔺