My eyes felt heavy, like someone had stacked weights on top of them. A dull numbness spread through my entire body, thick and suffocating, making it hard to tell where I ended and the ground began. I couldn't move very well every attempt felt slow, delayed but I could still move a little. I tried to open my eyes, even just a crack, but they refused. They were shut tight, and I didn't have the strength left to force them open.
So I stayed still.
The last thing I could remember came back in broken pieces. My enemies limbs glowing. Light too bright, painful to look at. I remembered throwing my arms up to block it, instinct taking over. Then pain. Sharp and overwhelming.
And then nothing.
As those thoughts drifted through my mind, I heard a soft crackling sound to my side. It was faint at first, like something snapping or popping slowly. I didn't know what it was, but I knew one thing clearly I couldn't do anything about it. My body was too weak. Even if it was danger, I had nothing left to give.
From the direction of the sound, I felt warmth. Gentle heat brushing against my skin. The crackling continued, steady and rhythmic. As my thoughts slowly lined up, it finally clicked.
A campfire.
That realization eased something tight in my chest. If there was a fire, then someone had survived. Someone had time to stop and rest. It was probably my sister and that doctor. They must have won the fight. Set up camp. Dragged me somewhere safe.
Yeah. That sounded right.
With that thought, I let myself relax. Just a little. My breathing slowed, and instead of fighting the numbness, I let it pass over me. Sensations returned slowly pins and needles crawling along my skin, dull aches flaring to life one by one. It wasn't pleasant, but it meant I was still here.
It took around fifteen minutes maybe more for my body to mostly wake up again. Muscles responded sluggishly, like they were arguing with my brain about whether moving was worth it. Though not everything came back.
Below my right elbow, there was nothing. No pain. No warmth. No feeling at all.
I noticed it, acknowledged it, then pushed the thought aside. That's a problem for later, I told myself. If I panic now, I'll just pass out again.
Slowly, carefully, I opened my eyes.
I hadn't done it sooner on purpose. I didn't know for sure who was nearby, and until my body had enough strength and most of its motor functions back, I didn't want to risk being caught off guard. If I had to fight, I wanted at least a chance.
But as my vision adjusted to the firelight, I realized that wouldn't be necessary.
Sitting near the campfire was the doctor the one with the beaked mask and the wide brimmed hat. The flames reflected faintly off the smooth surface of his mask, making it hard to read him, but his posture was calm. He sat on a log, slightly hunched forward, hands busy with something I couldn't quite see.
The fire crackled between us, steady and warm, casting long shadows across the ground as he worked in silence.
I slowly sat up and the numbness finally faded, the doctor noticed the movement almost immediately.
"It seems you've awakened, young lady," he said calmly. "You're probably confused about what happened."
His voice was steady, almost gentle, but it barely registered. Something felt wrong. Very wrong.
I shifted slightly and that was when I noticed it.
My arm.
I still couldn't feel anything.
A cold, crawling dread slid down my spine as I looked down at my side, already knowing what I was going to see and desperately hoping I was wrong. There was nothing there. Just empty space where it should have been.
Gone.
My breath hitched, then sped up, shallow and sharp. I couldn't stop it. My chest tightened as panic slammed into me all at once.
BANG
(7/1 = https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3585- Item #: SCP-3585 Object Class: Safe Special Containment Procedures: Each instance of SCP-3585 is stored in a separate standard item containment locker. Each locker is to be equipped with a basic motion tracking camera. If movement above two meters is detected within a thirty day period a Ventura Event will be initiated by Foundation personnel. All suggested testing of SCP-3585 must be approved by two Level 3 personnel. Any banned materials included in suggested testing materials will result in immediate denial. The list of banned materials is found in document 3585-291. Description: SCP-3585 is a set of nine, thirty-four centimeter tall, plush toys depicting slightly exaggerated representations of various animals. - Due to the middling roll, these animals will attack creatures nearby Yang. By the way, they appear like 10 km away so they won't attack the doctor or anything.)
I couldn't feel it. I couldn't feel it. It was gone. It was gone. It was gone. The thought looped endlessly, louder and louder, drowning out everything else. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. My hands hand shook as I tried to grab at nothing, my body refusing to accept what my eyes were telling me.
My vision began to blur. Black spots crept in from the edges, closing in as the world tilted. The campfire's glow smeared into streaks of orange and red. I could hear my own breathing, fast and broken, like I was running even though I was sitting still. I couldn't do this. I couldn't—
Just as the panic peaked, just as the darkness started to swallow me whole, the doctor moved. I didn't even see him stand. One moment he was across the fire, the next there was a sharp, quick sting at my neck. I barely had time to react before warmth spread through my body, heavy and sinking, like I was being pressed gently but firmly into the ground. My breathing slowed. My limbs went limp. The storm in my chest dulled, the sharp edges of fear blunted into something distant and muffled. My emotions drained away, leaving behind a hollow, empty calm.
"That should be enough of a dose," the doctor said evenly. "It should last for some minutes. You should feel a bit calmer. It has no side effects." He paused, tilting his head slightly as he studied me. "But I can see that the loss of your arm has affected you."
Affected me?
I stared at him blankly. I didn't answer. I couldn't. The shock was still there, sitting heavy and cold in my chest. The drug dulled the panic, but it didn't erase the truth.
My arm was gone.
He watched me for a moment longer, then turned away without another word. He walked back to the rock he had been sitting on and picked up some kind of bracelet. He gathered a few tools, metal clinking softly, and began to work in silence, the firelight flickering across his mask and hands.
My thoughts spiraled back to the same place, over and over again. How am I supposed to fight now? What am I without my arm? Am I useless? Can I even be a Huntress anymore? Anger bubbled up beneath the numbness, sharp and bitter, mixing with grief and fear until it burned. This wasn't fair. I had fought. I had survived. And this was the price? My jaw clenched as tears threatened to spill, my chest tight with a pain that felt worse than any wound.
What a damn thing…
And worse than the pain, worse than the fear, was the question I couldn't stop thinking about. What would the people around me think what would ruby...?
As I thought this, a sudden, sharp realization cut through everything else.
Ruby. Where was Ruby?
"Ruby!" I screamed, my voice tearing out of my throat before I could stop it.
BANG
(9/2 = https://borderlands.fandom.com/wiki/Wanderlust-Wanderlust is a pearlescent E-tech pistol in Borderlands 2 manufactured by Maliwan. It was added with Digistruct Peak Challenge DLC. It can only be found as a drop from tubby enemies after reaching level 61 while Digistruct Peak Challenge is installed - Due to the middling roll, this effects applies to the weapon that the doctor is currently working on. The effect is that whatever item that the doctors is currently working on will have a spray feature this will make it very inaccurate but all of the projectiles will have a exploding effect of course this can be turned off)
The sound echoed too loudly in the quiet camp. The doctor startled, turning sharply toward me.
"Calm down, young lady," he said, trying to keep his voice firm.
I didn't listen. I scrambled upright, ignoring the way my body protested, my balance off without my arm. My eyes darted around the camp wildly. Fire. Rocks. Shadows. The strange creature nearby. Empty space where my sister should have been. Nothing.
Fear surged back into me like a wave crashing through a broken wall. Whatever he had injected me with dulled the edges, but it couldn't stop this. It couldn't stop that fear. Where is she? My heart started racing again, pounding so hard it felt like it might crack my ribs. My breath came quick and shallow. I scanned the darkness beyond the firelight, half expecting Ruby to come stumbling out of the shadows with her usual grin.
She didn't.
Memories rushed in uninvited. The explosion. The light. The pain. Being torn away from her. Images twisted in my head, darker and worse with every second. Were we separated? Did she run? Or that monster…
No. No, no, no. I shook my head hard, trying to chase the thought away. Ruby was fast. Ruby was strong. Ruby always made it out. But doubt clawed at me anyway.
I tried to slow my breathing. I really did. I told myself she was fine. I told myself I just needed to calm down and think. It didn't work. My chest tightened again, my lungs refusing to pull in enough air. The world felt too small, like it was closing in on me from every side. I wanted her. I needed to see her. I needed something familiar, something safe.
Just as the pressure became unbearable, the doctor spoke again.
"Calm down, young lady," he said, his tone firmer now but not unkind. "Whatever you're thinking, that's not what happened."
That stopped me. Not completely but enough. I froze, my breathing still uneven as I looked at him. Confusion cut through the panic, thin but sharp. Slowly, painfully, I forced myself to sit still. My hands clenched in my lap as I waited, my entire body tense.
"…What?" I asked quietly.
He studied me for a moment, then sighed through his mask.
"About an hour ago," he began, "before you spaced out for twenty minutes and then passed out for forty Ruby was still fighting that strange creature while you had just been caught up in that explosion."
My jaw tightened. I stared at him, my eyes screaming get on with it even if my mouth didn't.
He hesitated, and when he continued, his voice sounded heavier. Almost troubled.
"I didn't see it clearly," he admitted. "But she used her rose petal form to rush toward the creature. It was about to explode again." He paused. "So Ruby did something."
My heart skipped.
"She… punched it," he said. "And then they both disappeared."
The words hit me like a second blast.
BANG
(1/10=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-2028-Item #: SCP-2028 Object Class: Safe Special Containment Procedures: Site-91 has been built around the affected house of ████ ██████. Instances of SCP-2028 may be kept in a standard containment locker at Site-20. Experiments involving SCP-2028 must have the approval of at least one Level 3 Researcher. Description: SCP-2028 is a collection of 258 empty snow globes. The words "Remove the negative emotions and thoughts from your mind, with your friends at The Oneiroi Collective. Do not use more than three times per 30 days. In case of emergency, DO NOT BREAK THE GLASS." are written on the underside of each instance of SCP-2028. Analysis of the structures of the instances reveals no anomalies. The anomalous properties of SCP-2028 manifest when one or more human subjects enter REM sleep within 4 meters of an instance. The subject will invariably experience a vivid nightmare. Upon waking up, the subject will feel an intense sensation of relief. For the following three days, the subject will report an increase in happiness and willingness to participate in social situations. The instance used will be filled with images from the subject's nightmare. If picked up and shaken for more than 3 seconds, the subject will experience brief, random hallucinations related to the nightmare. Sleeping next to a used instance yields no results. Should the phrase "please reset" be spoken within 4 meters of a used instance, the images will disappear and it will manifest its anomalous properties again if used. Using an instance of SCP-2028 more than three times every 30 days causes damage to it in the form of cracks appearing on the glass. If an instance is used approximately 6 times in a 30 day period, or if it is broken through impact, a 2028-Alpha event will occur immediately. This event consists of a local restructuring of reality of varying size surrounding the broken instance. Said restructuring measures 250 m² on average and strongly resembles the events and physical laws found inside the nightmare "stored" inside the broken instance. Almost all 2028-Alpha events have disappeared after a number of hours equivalent to those of the subject's sleep duration. SCP-2028 was found when ████ ██████, a farmer on [REDACTED], accidentally broke a used instance. The entirety of his house was affected by a 2028-Alpha event. The farmer reported that he often had nightmares about being considered inferior due to not receiving a proper education. Due to the immobile nature of the affected structure, Site-91 was built around the house. The following anomalous phenomena are found within it: The majority of the structure lacks any color beyond black and white. Several books of varying nature appear and disappear randomly. Should a book be picked up, it will become animate, manifest tooth-like growths and attempt to bite who is holding it if they do not finish reading it. Several lockers similar to those found in schools fill one of the structure's corridors. If they are opened, they will reveal random contents normally found inside school lockers. However, any notebook will be filled with text complaining about bullying or having to study.-Due to the perfectly middle roll this item will appear in Yangs pocket as a grenade. it can be thrown and upon breaking a reality structure event will occur. The radius of this reality reconstruction will be around the radius of a house)
"…They just disappeared?" I asked, my voice shaking despite myself. "What do you mean they disappeared? What happened?"
I leaned forward, fear burning fresh in my chest, waiting for an answer I wasn't sure I was ready to hear.
He looked at me noncommittally. "I don't know," he said at last. "But what I do know is that she isn't dead. She did something. Maybe they're on a different battlefield right now." His tone stayed calm. "But we can't do anything about that."
My chest tightened at that. Can't do anything. I hated those words.
"What we should be worrying about," he continued, lifting a gloved hand and pointing behind me, "are those."
I turned quickly, ignoring the ache in my body. Out in the distance, barely visible through the haze and darkness, were massive shapes moving slowly across the ruined land. Their silhouettes shifted as they walked, long limbs dragging through ash and broken ground. They weren't rushing. They weren't hunting. They were wandering. But they were getting closer.
My stomach dropped.
BANG
(3/11=https://worm.fandom.com/wiki/Manton_Effect-Manton Effect
" It's that little rule that keeps pyrokinetics from boiling your blood, that limits most powers from affecting people's bodies. Or, depending on what theory you're going by, it's the rule that says your power either works only on organic, living things, or it works on everything else.The Manton Effect is a common tendency among powers to affect either living targets or inanimate objects, but not both.[1] This seems to be a manifestation of a more general tendency of powers to be limited to facilitate their use by humans; more specifically, powers tend to have "in-built" controls to avoid harming the parahuman using them.[2] This phenomenon was first recognized and codified by William Manton.-due to the middle roll .you will gain the Manton in effect meaning no powers that directly affect you will work fully for example boiling your blood or manipulating your biology. These things will be significantly lesson.)
I looked back at the doctor, fear written plainly across my face. He met my stare evenly, completely unbothered.
"Don't give me such a look," he said. "They've been there for around an hour now. They probably won't find us for now."
Probably. As if that word was supposed to help.
He turned away from me again, attention returning to whatever he was working on. Metal clicked softly. Tools scraped. He worked with careful, deliberate movements, as if monsters weren't slowly drifting closer in the distance.
A long silence settled between us.
I stayed quiet, staring into the fire, my thoughts circling dangerously. My sister had disappeared vanished in the middle of a fight. I tried not to think about it, because every time I did, my chest felt tight again. My head hurt. My heart hurt. Everything hurt. Thinking wasn't helping. Thinking was just making things worse.
After a while long enough for the silence to feel heavy I spoke.
"What are you doing?" I asked quietly.
He didn't look up. "I'm creating a weapon for you. Haven't you noticed? Your old one is gone."
That made my chest sink.
I looked down at my left hand. Ember Celica what was left of it was shattered, scorched, and bent out of shape. Cracks ran through the metal. The mechanisms were ruined. It wasn't dead, but it was close. Repairing it would take time. Time we didn't have.
Still confused, I looked back at him.
"Why don't you just repair this?" I asked, lifting the broken gauntlet slightly.
He continued working, voice calm and matter of fact. "Building a new one is much easier. The parts are already here, and the blueprints are available." A pause. "I don't know the make of that thing. And I don't feel like blowing myself up because of some unstable material I don't understand."
I stared at him, not sure how to respond. My fingers tightened around the broken weapon. Ember Celica wasn't just gear. It was mine. It was part of me. Losing it felt wrong like another piece had been taken.
Another silence followed. The fire crackled softly. The distant shapes continued their slow movement. The night felt too big, too empty.
My thoughts drifted back to Ruby. To my arm. To everything I'd lost in just a few hours.
My voice came out barely above a whisper, breaking the quiet.
"Don't bother."
"Mmm?"
He finally looked up from his work.
"Why do you say that?" he asked.
"I'm useless now." The words slipped out before I could stop them. My gaze drifted back to my right side to the empty space where my arm should have been. My chest tightened again, like something heavy was sitting on it. "I can't fight like this. I can't protect anyone."
The fire crackled softly between us.
He watched me for a long moment without speaking. His masked face gave nothing away, but I could feel his attention, steady and focused. Then he spoke.
"Perhaps you are," he said calmly. "Perhaps you're not." He tilted his head slightly. "But if you are useless, then I am too."
I snapped my head up, shocked. "What? You're not"
He cut me off before I could finish.
"A doctor's job is the same as a patient's," he said evenly. "To do whatever he can to improve their condition." His hands paused for the first time since he'd started working. "I am a wandering doctor yes, but that does not change my priority. I am trying to save you."
He turned his masked gaze fully on me.
"So if you say you are useless," he continued, "then that means I did not do a good enough job." His voice remained calm, almost gentle. "And therefore, I am useless."
My throat tightened.
"No," I said quickly, shaking my head. "No, that's not true. You're not useless at all!" My voice cracked, emotion spilling out faster now. "It's just me. I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't block it. I couldn't stop that thing fast enough, and because of that, I lost my arm."
My hands curled into fists one real, one phantom, aching in a way I couldn't explain.
"It's not your fault," I said, voice trembling. "You can't just bring it back."
He was quiet again. Too quiet. Then he spoke. "But it is."
I opened my mouth to argue, but he raised a hand slightly, stopping me without a word.
"I could have brought your arm back," he said slowly. "But I lack the proper materials." His head turned slightly, his gaze drifting past me, toward the shadows beyond the firelight. "I could obtain those materials."
BANG
(3/14=https://worm.fandom.com/wiki/Hookwolf-Hookwolf can transform into a shifting mass of hooks, blades and other weapons.[8] He prefers to assume of the form of a large wolf-like creature, but is not limited to that shape.[3] Under the influence of Jacob, Meadows began showcasing his versatility assuming forms like a Wolf-headed serpent or even an amorphous glob of blades.[9] Even when he appeared human, Hookwolf had metal encasing each of his muscles.[3][10]
Due to the relatively high roll,Yang will gain the abilities of hook wolf)
My heart skipped uneasily.
"But," he continued, voice firm now, "I will not."
He looked toward the strange, degraded creature resting a short distance away the one with patched flesh and frog like wings. It slept peacefully, chest rising and falling in slow, steady breaths.
"You are my patient," he said. Then, without hesitation, "And that creature is also my patient."
He turned back to me.
"I cannot destroy another patient's well being to save another," he said. "I cannot sacrifice one life to restore another." His voice softened slightly. "That is simply not the doctor's way."
Something twisted painfully in my chest.
I looked away, blinking hard, staring into the fire as my emotions threatened to spill over again. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to feel. All I knew was that I hurt and that for the first time since waking up, someone wasn't looking at me like I was broken beyond repair.
Even if I still felt that way myself.