Fast as a blur, he reached Scarleteye before she could fire a single arrow just as Caesar rushed and tackled Horri. Reya stabbed and quickly disarmed two surprised Feari and Pannica, knocking both out with the butt of their own weapons.
Dominique, quickly over his shock, aimed his weapon at Reya, yelling "You are gonna feel the pain, I promise ya this." But then Aaron, Cleo and Zether made their presence known, as Cleo and Zether rushed to Stryker's side, intent on healing him, just as Aaron threw a knife at Dominique's gun hand, making the boy drop his gun, but he wasn't down yet.
Somehow, the air began to rise in temperature, as Dominique's irises glowed fiery orange. All metals became instantly untouchably hot, as everyone dropped their weapons. The air sizzled even the breath they all breathed and it suddenly became too hard to do that; the walls even threatened to burn with steam. Austin didn't need the Voice to tell that it was Dominie's power - That the monster had power over heat.
What made things worse was when Terrora used her abilities in-sync with her crewmate, sparking electricity in arcs, knocking both a groggy-looking, previously unconscious Horri back to sleep, and electrifying Zether, who couldn't even grasp before the paralysis of electric shock stilled his barely breathing body unconscious. Aaron had used his wooden knife to finish Horri, twisting the captor's gut with the knife until he no longer drew breath.
Meanwhile, Feari was back on his feet and was enraged at the sight of Aaron continuing his work on Pannica, easily killing the gun-crazed maniac as Feari tackled him, repeatedly punching the boy in the face.
Austin saw this as he fought his own battle. Both disarmed of their weapons, Austin and Scarleteye grappled for reach of the only crossbow in front of them. Austin tried to keep Scarleteye away from it, hugging her towards him but she was strong and quick, swiftly releasing herself from his grasp.
Going for the weapon, Scarleteye managed to get it but Austin grabbed one end of it and then disarmed the girl, aiming the arrow at her fallen form. He was gonna pull the trigger. He should pull the trigger. She's the reason he had to hide who he was in this place. The reason why Reya had never trusted him in the beginning and why he had to work so hard to earn her trust. She's the reason no one would like who he was if he shared - They'd want his head if he had. Sure the few that saw his crest earlier that day already knew, but not everyone did, especially when he considered that there were likely over 80 people in the Meadows. But, from the reactionsAustin has already gotten from those who have seen his crest, Austin could definitely say that he didn't like it. And it was her fault. All this woman's fault. The reason no one wanted to train him was her fault. He really should kill her…
'So then why can't I?' Austin thought. But, for once, The Voice had no answer. But Scarlet did.
"Do it! End me! Pull the trigger, Austin. It's right there."
"No," Austin thought. "I'm no killer."
"Austin, look out!" Alyssa shouted when, out of nowhere, the girl jumped in front of him, as multiple bullets flew into the human shield. And, as she fell, Horri was grinning so hideously, so sickly, his words next spoken made him seem like an angel in comparison. "The witch stabbed me…," the boy grimaced before continuing his sick smirk. "That's what the bitch gets."
As Horri aimed his automatic gun at Austin, Austin stood there, paralyzed by shock, staring at Alyssa's unmoving form. Why had she done that? was what he could think. It seemed like a joke that Alyssa did that for him. They didn't necessarily get off on the right foot when they first met and they never really spoke. So, then, why…?
But, just as Horri pulled the trigger, Austin was tackled to the ground by Reya, who wasn't so paralyzed.
As Caesar and Aaron doubled teamed Dominique, Dominique seemed to feel as though they were only flies or gnats in comparison, chucking Caesar out of his way and kicking Aaron in the gut. Luckily Aaron, using the last of his strength to push Dominique back into the wall, hard, and his head starting to bleed at the point of contact.
Austin hadn't noticed it, but Aaron's eyes glowed yellow briefly in that millisecond of strength.
Getting off the wall, yelling in outrage, Dominique caused the air in the room to rise up even more so, even going as far as producing a heating aura encycling his body. A fire would soon burn them all alive if someone didn't put a stop to the boy, but no one could get close. It was just too hot to get near him enough to do anything.
But, as if by instinct, Austin pulled his last dagger from the thigh of his pants and threw it at Dominique's gut, hitting him on the spot, but it only served to weaken him and, thankfully, Aaron got the message. Aaron pushed the boy repeatedly into the wall until the boy was barely breathing and definitely unconscious.
Meanwhile, Scarleteye had got the crossbow but before she could even fire it, Reya had reached her, grappling for the weapon which eventually fell into Austin's hands somehow. Austin then aimed the weapon again at Scarleteye. "Don't make me do this! I will!"
"You won't," Terrora stated, startling everyone as it became known she had watched everything unfold with hardly any interest to join in other than that brief display of electric ability.
"She's right, you know," Scarleteye teased, sneeringly. "You're no killer."
Austin felt the truth behind the words. He couldn't kill her. He couldn't kill anyone. He wasn't a killer. And the connection he'd been feeling with Scarleteye ever since that first time in the Labyrinth - Austin had a sickening feeling that it wouldn't let him do it even if he tried to.