Chrono Asylum~

[sinai]

"Hey,I need your help, Adriana is still down there somewhere, in the canal."

The asylum they had been introduced to as "Rabi" was recognisable only by his voice. His face was dripping with what appeared to be fresh blood; his hair was matted and hung limp, and the blood had already begun to dry around his body with the heat, coating his black suit and exotic coloured skin in a murky maroon crust. He looked a picture: Sae had been shocked as Rabi hauled himself from the thick, bloody river, blinking hard and breathing heavy. Sae's head span a little: his mind rushed back to his school vocational week.

It had been a hospital, and he had attended as the doctors treated a haemophiliac. There had been blood everywhere. The man had died, eventually. But it took at least two and a half hours of solid work and desperate effort to keep him alive. Sae had stood and watched, watched an innocent human being die, helpless.

His jaw tightened. Despite being acutely aware of his mutilated shoulder, he was not helpless now. Head still spinning, he took a determined yet shaky step towards Rabi.

"You know better than us where she'll be, right?" The smell of rotting blood and flesh became even more pungent as the pair approached Rabi. However, a strangled, enraged, insane roar from the building behind them indicated that Robbyrt had survived the implosion.

"Of course we'll help," shouted Tessa, over the screams of beasts and the steadily increasing background wail that permanently permeated the air; "but I think we'b better get out of here first."

Tessa - Sae couldn't understand how - grabbed Rabi's putrid, dripping arm and tugged it, indicating they should move. Sae soon caught sight of where she intended to run: not too far away, a small side alley separated two buildings. It was wide enough that the flames had not yet consumed it, and Sae, followed by a limping Tessa, made all haste towards it's welcoming mouth.

[Xodus]

Angel x Yin

Enacting the role of the bystander, Angel calmly observed the endeavors of Alastair and Axel. The two shared a most entertaining relationship, well they managed to amuse Angel and with such a feat accomplished those might as well have themselves enlisted in his list of victims to scrutinize.

"My barrier didn't hold..." Yin spoke, desolation reflecting in her tone. Helplessness is a truth every Asylum has to face yet unfortunately this proud Lost Number had been forced to witness it in her very first mission. This truth so heavy, that if she were overwhelmed by it, it would surely shatter her very spirit. However if she could persevere it would undoubtedly mold her into a fierce character befitting of A.M.R.O's fleeting title, "Lost Numbers." With that in mind Angel couldn't help but think if placing Yin in such a precarious position was but an experiment for A.M.R.O, to see how much torture can their dogs be exposed to and in return see if they will progress or regress.

Luckily she had an Angel whose wings constantly hovered over her, protecting her from plummeting into the darkness that would engulf her whole and leave behind an empty shell.

"So what?" Angel replied rather casually, his apathetic reply gaining a grudging stare from his comrade in response.

"So....what?" Yin repeated, mockingly mimicking Angel's tone. "I am useless, I am weak...but most of all....I am afraid! My brother would have finished this quest by now and look at me; I can't even stand my ground!" She replied almost screaming in anger and disgust at her own pathetic self.

"Fear is normal....and normal is good....it is always a reminder that you are alive. Never forget that." Angel replied, his tone colder than usual as if not wishing to soften the progress that Yin's mental condition was making, if she could survive this and keep her spirits intact he knew she would become far stronger and far more capable in handling herself.

These words seemed to be echo through her very fiber, being edged into her mind a carving that would never fade and will soon shape the foundation of what will be one of A.M.R.O's most talented Alchemists.

"Fear is a constant reminder that I am alive...." Yin repeated, almost as if trying to assure her existence.

"Once you know you exist....it is up to you whether you will continue to fight or be extinguished and fade away.....what do you choose?" Angel's cold and unforgiving tone a facade behind which a sense of great curiosity and interest hid, impatience demanding an answer.

"I....I...." Yin muttered, still confused her body trembling as she remembered the eyes of the Alchemist who were being consumed by Alchemy, these eyes which were the ultimate destination for any Alchemist, including herself.

Before she could answer a large cry resonated across the city, sending shock waves causing the very ground to unearth itself. The Alchemist who had been trapped by Sae and Tessa had escaped and his howls seemed to echo a primal rage that seemed to desire vengeance.

"Looks like we have one pissed off, son of a "

"I will fight and I will kill before I get killed!" Yin interrupted Angel, her declaration causing her to firmly, seizing her shaking and clenching her fists. It seemed she had found her resolve and gazing at her from the backgrounds Angel couldn't help but spread a demonic smile, his glasses glowing crimson as they reflected what they saw, and the hellish abomination that slowly approached them.

"And from the ashes of the innocent a demon is born...." Angel mused nostalgically as he contemplated over these verses.

"Where are those bastard, I'll kill em all, I'll burn em to a crisp!" The Alchemist screamed, whose aura manifested itself as a massive scorpion, coated in flames. Almost as if an ethereal being had possessed him and sought revenge on the mortals that dare cross its path.

"Well Alastair and Axel, I think you two are more than capable of handling your opponent and if not I will be sure to ask for....decent tombstones..." Angel cynically joked and with a simple wave left the two to deal with the task at hand, while the two lost numbers faced the threat that had suddenly appeared.

"So are we ready?" Angel asked in a tone eager to see how the new inductee would react to the situation.

"I will not die!" Yin screamed, giving Angel the answer he desired and with that the two instantly charged at their foe with their weapons drawn.

--------Xx----xX------

Rin x Marcel x Emina

--------Xx----xX------

"Damn fools" The Chrono spoke in a tone indifferent to the suffering of others and her mismatched eyes gazed coldly at her subordinated who had been decimated by the Siren. Not a shred of sympathy in her unforgiving glare, a face of an emotionless doll whose soulless eyes scrutinized the souls of others, as if reprimanding them for having souls in the first place.

"With all that planning what did you two manage other having your bodies torn and broken? You two wouldn't even make suffice as decoys, worthless." The Chrono replied in her usual unresponsive tone which made it impossible to decipher whether she was mocking them, being a bitch or acting as her nickname suggested, "A.M.R.O's 'arrogant' little princess."

"Hey bitch, who do you think you are! You think shit like you can beat someone like me, I will rip the flesh from your bones and make you watch it all!" Jonathon screamed as he broke free from Emina's bind and charged towards the Chrono at incredible speed. Mere inches before making impact the Siren stopped and channeled all the momentum it had gathered into its wings and without a second thought unleashed it as a mighty gale, the wind uprooting the ground and slicing through the concrete where Rin stood, this onslaught continued until dust obscured the view and finally the gale seized.

With its vision impaired the Siren deduced that it had annihilated its target and instantly burst into a fit of laughter, its shrieks echoing its madness through the city of Venice. However, as soon as the mist faded his laughter seemed to turn into a raging scream.

"How did you survive?" The creature screamed in frustration as it gazed at the Chrono who hadn't moved an inch and not a scratch was present on her while all around her the ground and all the structures had been completely destroyed.

"I despise useless things, garbage that’s all you are, putrid filth that should drown in this city’s bloody rivers." Rin replied her cold glare giving her a most condescending demeanor which seemed to agitate the winged Alchemist even further.

"Damn you, die!" The Alchemist screamed, not wishing to waste its energy in assaulting the Chrono with a long ranged attack, it instantly charged at her with its talons ready to pierce through her skin. "You may be strong but I am the fastest Alchemist here, there is no way you can defeat me!" The Siren victoriously announced as it disappeared from sight.

"If speed is what you excel at, I am your worst choice for an enemy!" The Chono replied, her lips spreading wide forming a sadistic grin, a sight few were privileged to behold for one of the things that this doll was able to express was the satisfaction she derived from exterminating what she deemed as 'useless.'

As soon as the grin crept over her face her Alchemic aura seemed to radiate with a ferocity great enough to stop the vulture in its tracks, horror reflecting on its face. Its speed seemed useless and even though the Siren tried to move with all its might he found himself falling, it almost seemed as if its own weight had multiplied tenfold.

"Your speed is useless just like you. Now you are as good as dead." Rin replied, her cold and merciless tone causing a strange frightening sensation inside the Siren.

"You...you think you have won!" The Siren screamed as he retreated. "Don't think my speed is all that I have to aid me, I can still defeat you!" With that the Alchemist charged at Yin, its speeds greatly reduced due to Rin's manipulation of gravity. Johnathon tried to make several attempts to claw out Rin's throat but his with his suppressed speed none of his attacks were able to even reach the Chrono, who dodged them lazily, her movements almost identical to her partner, Angel.

Yet again the Siren made an attempt to use both of his claws to slash the Chrono but instead Rin had grabbed both of its arms, twisting them until she could hear the bones snapping, completely disregarding the Alchemist's screams of agony.

"Let my arms go bitch! Let them go....please it hurts...it hurts." The Alchemist pleaded as his bones continued to snap and crack.

"Shh....." Rin replied, cajoling the Alchemist, through her placid tone, to stop crying as if indirectly telling him, it’s all going to end soon. She seemed to have stopped twisting the Siren's arms and almost suddenly she gave them a violent pull, the Alchemist's shoulder ripping from the sheer intensity causing him to scream even louder, tears building in his eyes and his howls echoing to the heavens that had long forsaken him.

The sadistic Chrono purposely seemed to prolong the Alchemist's suffering, letting go of his limp arm refusing to sever it completely, instead leaving it clinging from a few strands of flesh that seemed to gradually and slowly tear due to the weight, magnifying the pain.

"You bitch!" The creature howled, mustering all of its energy into a final attack, spreading its mouth wide for a pointblank attack that would deal significant damage even to a Chrono...if not fatal.

"Vanish!" Rin screamed and before the Siren could unleash its shriek the Chrono managed to grab its mouth and ripped it open, sending both its upper and lower jaw flying in opposite directions, leaving the creature to endure further agonizing pain and seemed to eagerly wait for his demise which he saw coming for now the climax had finally come.

Rin's legs seemed to give off a strange aura; it seemed as if the atoms around them had become unstable. The Chrono had caused the gravity surrounding her legs to become far denser and concentrated resulting in the accumulation of mass of incredible quantity. The ground itself that lay beneath her seemed to be cracking from the concentrated mass. Not allowing the creature any last words, with an elegant spin Rin instantly brought her boot to connect to the creature's chest, ripping it apart and making it impossible to regenerate for all that remained was a bloody mess spilled all over.

~Congratulations~

The word echoed in the minds of those who had successfully defeated the Siren and without explanation Rin found herself staring at Marcel and Emina, both who had mysteriously been healed of all their injuries and from their expressions it was clear that even they didn't know how this had happened.

"Congratulations!" The word echoed again and all of a sudden digits appeared on their palms which showed the number '30'.

"You have managed to defeat the main opponent of level 1 and have acquired 40 points! However because you didn't defeat this opponent alone the reward will have to be divided equally amongst you three so each of you has 13 points! Now you face round two, the elimination round! Now let me explain the situation so that you all understand. You needed 10 points to pass level one however....you need 50 points each to pass level 2! Once you pass a level all the injuries that you have acquired will instantly be healed, all thanks to the suit you wear. You can also trade in your points, to heal yourself, heal your comrades or gain a different Alchemic ability, no matter which one you pick it will cost you 20 points! In the elimination round 24 Asylums will take part yet only 12 can pass, each Asylum is worth ten points! Good luck; you have a five minute break!"

[Evilayn]

When Adriana came to, she was tied to a chair, and dripping wet again. But this time; the liquid appeared to be something along the lines of water, thrown over her by Durante, who was watching her with an evil leer. But from the dampness of the blood that was still in her hair, she was fairly certain that she had only been unconscious for a couple of minutes. And if that was the case, Durante could not have taken her far.

The two of them were in some kind of building, and the doors and windows had been bricked over and boarded shut, so she had no idea how they had entered. But they were there, and she wanted to get out and find Rabi. Because she knew that they were stronger together, and even though he had become so much better at fighting without her since they had come to A.M.R.O, she was certain that he would still be out of his mind with worry. But she was confidant that he would have the clarity of mind to find her, and rescue her. Adriana had faith in her knight, that no matter the circumstances; he would come for her.

But it didn't hurt to try escaping, so she turned her attention to the room, and to her captor; Durante. In some ways, he reminded her of Natanaele, and she hated him for it. But she kept her expression pleasant, despite the fact that he had tried to kill her, knocked her out and tied her to a chair. He was also now prowling around her, occasionally lifting her hair to smell it. She fought against the bile that was rising in her throat and tried not to shudder. There was still that horrible, horrible blood in her hair.

"Maybe you should just let me go, if you're not going to kill me," she said hopefully. But he laughed at her, and it was a horrible sound.

"No," he said, "I'm going to wait until the others come to rescue you, and then I'll kill them, and then I can save you until last. Because you are far too pretty to kill straight away. I'll want to enjoy killing you, nice and slowly..."

"If that's the case, perhaps you could untie me," said Adriana, twisting her head to look him in the eye until he came to bend over her, his face so close that their noses were almost touching. She was repulsed by the sick stench of decay on his breath, but she tried her best to ignore it. "So that when you do kill me, it is more of a game."

Her words were intended as nothing more than distractions, as she was already trying her hardest to loosen the knots that kept the rope around her hands. And she had been succeeding a little so far, even without alchemy. If this had been in a movie she would have been able to find a sharp stone or use her alchemy or something like that. But it wasn't a movie; it was her life in horror coloured pictures, and she loved it that way. But it did mean that she had to do everything the hard way when she couldn't use her alchemy.

There was a loud noise from somewhere outside, and Durante's head snapped around. He frowned, and moved out of sight for a moment. Adriana heard the sound of stone grating on stone and then the room was silent except for her own breathing. So she quickly wrenched her hands free and had just managed to pull her legs away from the chair when Durante returned. Adriana quickly grabbed a hold of the chair and raised it above her head to belt him with it. But he grabbed hold of her wrists and twisted. Adriana could feel her bones splintering under the force of his hands and she cried out, her legs giving way beneath her. Unprepared for her sudden fall; Durante fell also, and let go of her wrists.

Adriana tried to crawl out of arms length of him but he was too fast, and he grabbed hold of one of legs, squeezing tightly with his sharp, cold, bony fingers and snapping her leg so that it made a very loud cracking sound, despite the taut calf muscle under her skin. She made a sound of anguish and thought that she would pass out from the pain, but she didn't, and as he reached for her other leg she pushed herself back against a wall that had a boarded up window with her arms, even though her wrists were still aching. But the pain in her wrists was nothing compared to the pain in her leg.

As she moved, one of the broken bones in her leg shifted and burst through the skin in a shower of blood. Adriana screamed, how could she not? And with his patent evil leer, Durante stood and launched himself out her with his arms outstretched, apparently intending to crush her body against the wall with his brute strength. But she slid out of the way just before impact and he hit the wall with such force that it exploded outwards. Adriana wanted to run, but she couldn't move, and a large portion of stone rubble had pinned one of her arms to the ground. Her vision began sparking in bright lights and she passed out again, unable to see that Durante was lying prone on the path next to a canal, blood dripping from his head.

[sinai]

It did not take Tessa long to realise that Rabi had not followed them to the alley, but had remained in the battle ground. She had barely turned to call him when a scream pierced the air, followed by a crash of bricks and a building a few streets away began to shiver and threaten to collapse. She turned and telepathically shouted to Sae and Rabi,

"I think that was her!" Rabi would soon confirm whether the scream was indeed his partners'.

No sooner had she turned to begin
to run towards the building in question
that Robbyrt's roar from behind her jolted her entire being. Her head turned
in slow motion
and saw the blood draped angel and the Lost Number
threatening to engage the creature in a fight.
But Tessa began to see red.
Violent, uncontrollable red

Sae noticed Tessa's eyes glazing over, and began to panic. This was neither the time nor the place...

Or was it? They had been taught that the will and drive of Alchemy comes from the centre of being, the unconscious mind. Maybe this was what they needed right now. And in a moment of beautiful, instantaneous brilliance, her eyes glowed with wildfire, and she disappeared from the view of human eyes. Sae cursed inwardly. She was out of his hands now. He ran to Rabi and beckoned to him, gesticulating wildly for him to follow Sae.

------------------------X-------x------

Tessa darted wildly through buildings, unseen and ignoring the pain of her roasted foot, until she arrived at the source of the commotion. Adriana indeed lay partially buried under a pile of stone. She looked dead. Tessa's eyes flashed and she began to coax the boulder to remove its force from Adriana's arm. A moment passed and Durante was upon her, having approached unnoticed, grunting with pain and seeping blood but wild enough to fight against adverse discomfort.

Two can play at that game. Tessa's wild - evil, even - eyes glared directly into those of Durante, and for one horrible moment, insanity met insanity. But Tessa's insanity was stronger. Purer. As such, she was the first to launch herself into Durante's stomach, bowling him over once again. She picked him up by the legs, swung him, and released her grip such that his skull was propelled into the stones pinning Adriana. They refused to budge, however Durante was dazed, which allowed Tessa to hide herself from view once again and move behind the Alchemist. Revealing herself, she whispered "Boo," into Durante's ear, and held a gun to his head.

Another moment, and Tessa's body was submerged in blood. The Insane had reacted, and picking up a heavy stone from the fragmented walls, powerfully buckled her knees, sending her tripping into the putrid canal. She surfaced, gasping for air from the stench, in time to see Durante standing atop the side of the canal, grinning wildly down at her.

Tessa's dive into the river had returned her senses to her, and her temporary insanity subsided. She realised the pain in her knees, and tried to call out in anguish. But, her ability to kick impaired, her mouth and throat filled with blood as she failed to tread the liquid and slowly began to sink into the canal.

[TheBrainsick]

The reactions were as per the usual, a simple nod, a mindset of never having intended to become what he was if he had not had the ability to accept death as an option, and the slight tensing in his fingers, which curled into a fist. Axel had, for another moment of his life, lost himself to the idea of fear and weakness, a quiver in the idea that he had succumbed to the thing he had no intention of giving in to, but could not avoid. In his lungs, there was a dull burn, an ache that told him that he didn’t have the air to go on, but a notion that he did not have the time to fix what was damaged. He knew he was, in some sense, helpful as a distraction, an assistant to the pain, but he couldn’t not help but feel useless when it came to such situations.

His shoulder still stinging badly, his sides and thigh staining the surrounding skin a nice shade of scarlet, Alastair gave his own response in a scoff, a cocky smirk, and, pulling his cloak off smoothly, the discarding of the unnecessary garments. He had little time to himself for such actions, as Dylan took to the rudest of interruptions; lurches, jumps, twists, evading pain and liability, Alastair made his way around any attacks that got too close. His cloak was thrown aside, and Axel took to the responsibility of catching it, before other things came along. With a leap, Alastair landed atop the morphed, metallic limb, balancing himself in the time he needed as his fingers went to the buckles hidden under layers of armor, undoing them as quickly as he could manage, and letting his left arms armor drop off as he swung off of the beast and ducked under the mimic-scythe. His second followed, along with the arch of his back, the tactics of quick movements in a hope to dodge the other quick motions, but resulted in a stumble, a pain, and a chocked noise as he felt the metal rip through his palm and wrap around his hand, twisting his arm quite suddenly to the side. His eyes widened, his breath hitched, and then, with another of those crack!s, his knees had buckled and he was thrown to the side.

His arm bleeding badly, Alastair took just a moment to grip it with his better hand, grinding his teeth together as he took in deep breaths, and straightened. At least he’d gotten what he needed off, things that the beast could latch onto, things that weighed him down, the things that were currently unnecessary, but

The Joker trapped in the game of chess was forced along with the rules of a game he could not play.

It was within a moment’s pause that he had to act; Axel, bringing his gun up and into position, aimed, and fired again, hitting as close to the open wound as he could despite the difficulty of it due to the constant thrashing and the angle of the gash. He was full aware of what pain his partner must be in, but had no chance to address it when a beast such as this one was hurling towards him, the arm twisting to form something oddly resembling a saw, as he forced himself to lurch to the side, just barely stumbling away in time to avoid the attack. Landing on his ass, he twisted around, pointing his gun up as quickly as he could, before a pain came and struck at him suddenly, metal ripping through skin, and cracking the bone, as he felt it break through his shoulder. He gave a noise, gasping loudly as he pressed the side of his face into the ground, gripping at the wound as Alastair jumped into the situation, his metallic arm thrusting forward and into Dylan’s upper arm. It tore, clung on by a sliver, and morphed into a scythe as he twisted around, and then he felt it.

He let out a scream he’d attempted, but hadn’t had the time, to stifle, watching as his own hand flew off in a different direction than the rest of him, which was thrust back against the rubble. With a groan, his head spinning, he forced himself to his feet despite his bodies every scream – in form of aches and burns and sharp, stabbing pains – in time enough to sloppily make his way off to the side. He couldn’t get back to Axel from where he was, and, in his disoriented state, attempted to watch from his peripherals to secure the idea that he was safe. He could see standing, and that was all he needed to know, before he had to go back to his opponent. He didn’t have the mind on him to concentrate on both right then. He…He just couldn’t. His vision was blurred annoyingly, and every handicap coming from his latest injury aggravated him beyond belief, but that frustration was nothing compared to the agony, which over threw the idea of the anger completely.

One handed and dizzy, Alastair stumbled, relieved of the task of getting to Dylan, when Dylan came to him. He barely avoided what would have been a sharp and quick blow to his skull, and managed to get a blow of his own in the process, digging his metallic arm deep into what might have been his guts, and tearing to the side. He was slammed, with what he could have sworn was a hammer (although he was well aware that it wasn’t, in any sense, a hammer), and was forced back again, tripping over his own feet and hitting the ground for what must have been the hundredth time. The sensation of falling was starting to get sickening, if nothing else, the jump of his innards made him feel like his stomach was in his ribs and his lungs were in his throat… queasy, if nothing else.

Bullets went off, and he could hear them somewhere in the back of his head as he took to composing himself, grateful for whatever distraction Dylan had come across, before he realized what it must be: Axel. Axel, who was busy with his gun up, aiming for whatever vulnerable point he could, was that distraction, and he had to end it before Axel became a dead man on top of that. It was stopped with a motion his body wanted nothing more but to relieve itself from, as he forced himself on, thrashing blindly at what he could reach, metal meeting metal and then, with what seemed at first to him be a colossal blow, he found himself pressed between a breaking wall and certain death. It was then, with a lurch, an exaggeration of his energy he had no choice but to force from himself, he drove his arm through the bastard.

There was a moment, where they both stood still, his own arm through the chest of the black suit, while a metal, pole-like contraption, ran him through his stomach. A gasp came, as he took to air, taking in a deep, desperate breath, as Axel, attempting not to panic, did what he could. He heard bullets, knew they were hitting their target, and with what effort he had left, he pulled his arm to the side, running it through and up past its shoulder, cutting into its neck, its face, until it broke through. Stumbling back, he put his arm over the hold now in his stomach, his vision blurry, black specks of dark light intertwining. He felt sick, he couldn’t think past the pounding of his heart, which seemed to race and echo inside his head. His throat was so tight, his eyes burned, his lungs ached, he couldn’t breathe or speak or think clearly anymore. He was pounced on, and, with another bullet into the vulnerable skin, Dylan was defeated, and Alastair lost his pulse.

The Empty White Room

Alastair opened his eyes with a large gasp of air. He was bleeding, he was hurt – or, last he’d known, he had been – but things were different, suddenly, and he found himself to be in a white room, empty asides for alchemists, as he stood before Rena, Marcel, and Emina. Axel… Axel was just behind him, something he noticed only as the boy, looking shocked, stepped up next to him. Words, there were so many words, but he could barely concentrate on any of them.

"You have managed to defeat the main opponent of level 1 and have acquired 40 points! However because you didn't defeat this opponent alone the reward will have to be divided equally amongst you three so each of you has 13 points! Now you face round two, the elimination round! Now let me explain the situation so that you all understand. You needed 10 points to pass level one however....you need 50 points each to pass level 2! Once you pass a level all the injuries that you have acquired will instantly be healed, all thanks to the suit you wear. You can also trade in your points, to heal yourself, heal your comrades or gain a different Alchemic ability, no matter which one you pick it will cost you 20 points! In the elimination round 24 Asylums will take part yet only 12 can pass, each Asylum is worth ten points! Good luck; you have a five minute break!"

Points, points… What point? Oh, right. Points. They had points. They – he – was alive. He could have sworn, if just for a moment, that he had died back there. Death... He had never feared it, merely been, if anything, curious. So why could he not think of how it felt? He didn't want to think about it any more.

[Evilayn]

As the wall exploded outwards, Rabi ran to where he could see Adriana, half crushed underneath the rubble as she was. There was blood oozing out of her mouth and he could see that she was deathly pale; obviously because of the splintered bone that was sticking at a jagged angle out of her leg. The stench of blood was everywhere, because of the canals, and Rabi could see it; Adriana's blood, on pieces of masonry all around them. He became very, very still, and very, very angry. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Tessa fighting Durante, and as he turned his full attention to their enemy, he noticed that Durante's movements were a little slower and a little more sluggish than before.

Now; Rabi had no idea whether this was to do with his earlier attacks, Adriana pushing him through a wall, the fight he was currently having with Tessa, or the combination of all of these, but whatever it was; it was good. Rabi wrenched a splintered support beam from the rubble and managed to give himself several splinters. But the end of it was sharp, and pointed, and Rabi had enough strength left within him to lift it easily, and enough adrenaline running through his system to not notice the blood that was oozing from the splinters in his hands, and the pain that came along with them.

Rabi turned to Durante, who had just managed to push Tessa into the blood filled canal, and he ran at him, driving the wooden beam through his chest from behind before Durante even noticed that he had come at him with the attack. The beam drove straight through Durante as though he was made of soft clay, and it splintered inside his body. He staggered, and turned to face Rabi, reaching out his cold hands towards the Arab's throat, matching the vicious snarl on Rabi's face with one of his own. But a shard of the wood slid into his heart in addition to his already punctured lungs, and his body simply gave up. Durante's eyes rolled back into his head... and then he tipped into the canal; dead.

Rabi closed his eyes... and then suddenly remembered what had sent him into a beserker rage in the first place, he spun around and cried out... "Adriana!"

But they were not in the macabre version of Venizia anymore. They were, all four of them, in a white room, completely healed. There were no splinters in Rabi's hands, and Adriana was standing on two strong legs, a flush of colour returned to her cheeks.

"Congratulations," said a strong voice, and the speaker appeared in front of them.

"You have managed to defeat the main opponent of level 1 and have acquired 40 points! However because you didn't defeat this opponent alone the reward will have to be divided equally amongst the four of you so each of you has 10 points! Now you face round two, the elimination round! Let me explain the situation so that you all understand. You needed 10 points to pass level one however....you need 50 points each to pass level 2! Once you pass a level all the injuries that you have acquired will instantly be healed, all thanks to the suit you wear. You can also trade in your points, to heal yourself, heal your comrades or gain a different Alchemic ability, no matter which one you pick it will cost you 20 points! In the elimination round 24 Asylums will take part yet only 12 can pass, each Asylum is worth ten points! Good luck; you have a five minute break!"


Adriana spat on the ground and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, glaring at the speaker. "I hate this game." She muttered.

[Xodus]

Angel and Yin had charged the beast without a moment of hesitation. In such a battle hesitation was your enemy for in a battle where there are but two choices, kill or be killed you are forced to follow the most basic of instincts carved in the human race, survival! It is necessary to remove all hindrances such as hesitation, regret and guilt as to survive in such a situation the law of the "fittest" must be implemented.

The right to live is itself dependent on the desire to live and there must always be something that fuels this desire, a reason for existence some may call it. Those that stare at the mirror and question the authenticity of their reflection are the ones least likely to forget themselves as they plummet into the abyss. Do I exist? This is a question blatantly obvious when you stare at the mirror, however it is not your existence that you question it is the reason for your existence, it is why you exist and it is for whom you exist?

Those that do stare in the mirror are most likely to answer these questions at some point of their life and it is then that their existence resonates through the very fiber of their souls. A subconscious desire to live is formed and all Asylums who are able to hear this resonating melody are also supposedly said to hold the key to decipher facade from truth a curse which ultimately leads to their deaths, an ironic fate for one who treasures his/her existence oh so much.

“She is far too young…” Angel thought, was it possible that A.M.R.O was trying to groom Yin into becoming something more than a mere meaningless digit? Lost numbers were never thought anything more than being disposable assets whose sole purpose was to assist the Chronos, Angel was well aware of this point however it didn’t make sense that A.M.R.O would willingly dispose off a talent in which they saw so much potential. No…this was something else…something a kin to the warped ideology which A.M.R.O had possessed since its creation, the stagnant experimentations with destiny haven’t ended…

“I won’t let something like you kill me!” Yin screamed her frustration at the scorpion like entity which seemed to find the child’s tantrums rather amusing. “I am Yin Fang and it is the Fangs who have served A.M.R.O for over four generations, we have Alchemy pulsing through our very veins. While you are trash that looks at Alchemy as a drug to give you that ecstasy that life has denied you!”

“Stop mocking me bitch!” The titanic creature replied, its flames changing colour and shape as if reacting to the Alchemist’s emotions which were clearly unstable. “So what if I don’t have a history of Alchemy like the Fangs, you bitches have always been respected just because you were born talented. Well that ain’t fair! While you excelled I had to fucking suffer, I had to work hard and improve and still I was nowhere as good as your family. I have hated the Fang and what good fortune I get to kill one of them!” The Alchemist screamed and without warning the scorpion opened its mouth, breathing out an intense crimson Alchemic flame.

However before the flame could engulf Yin, whose widespread eyes gazed at the fate that awaited her, Hell’s Angel managed to wrap its wings around the petrified soul. The flames themselves seemed almost hesitant to approach this crimson figure whose mere gaze managed to subdue them and alter their direction.

“What the hell was that?” The Alchemist screamed in disbelief. “My flames fear nothing how could someone like you manage to deflect them so easily, who are you?”

“Don’t you know?” Angel replied in a tone so frightening that even the deranged Alchemist found himself retreating. “I am the personification of your sins, the doors of heaven have shunned your soul and I am the Angel set to deliver you to woe.”

“You will take me to hell? Is there a hell worse than this?” The Alchemist replied laughing maniacally. It was clear his mind had started to regress and it would be only a matter of days before he is consumed by insanity.

“Forget hell, you have to go through me first!” Yin replied, her rage unleashed from the cage that contained it, the cage that it clawed for so long and now it was free. “Before you get sent to Hell, I will kill you a thousand times!”

“What the fuck!” The Alchemist screamed yet again, it seemed he finally managed to notice the dark aura that had accumulated around Yin and what seemed even more strange was the fact that her shadow was unstable and seemed to be spreading all over the place, a monstrous entity that had seemed to creep closer and closer.

“Something like you cannot escape from darkness because you very soul has plummeted into it and because of that I am your worst enemy!”

The darkness itself seemed to manifest itself into a tangible entity, mutilated tentacles reaching forth and grabbing onto the scorpion.

“Let me go, let me go.” The Alchemist pleaded as he could feel the darkness wrapping around him, suffocating him. “Please no more, have mercy!”

“You don’t deserve sympathy, now die!” The shadows had completely engulfed the scorpion, managing to extinguish the light from its flames and in sync to her signal numerous spikes spontaneously manifested from the darkness that had veiled the Alchemist, impaling him and suddenly subsiding. As soon as the darkness subsided what was left behind was the gruesome image of a disfigured Alchemist who had returned to his former feeble state, still clinging to life and shriveling in agony.

“And now it is my turn….” Angel replied, his fingers gently closing the eyes of the Alchemist as if offering him a few seconds of peace before allowing him a vision of what is to come. “Writhe in your sins and bleed!” Angel whispered as a sadistic smile crept onto his face and as soon as he removed his hands the Alchemist’s eyes had melted, leaving behind a bloody disfigured corpse.

-----Xx----xX-----
The white room
-----Xx----xX-----

“CONGRATULATIONS!”

“You have managed to defeat the main opponents of level 1 and have acquired 80 points! However because you didn’t defeat the opponents alone the reward had to be divided equally amongst you all and now you both have 30 points each. Now you face round two, the elimination round! You need 10 points to pass level 1…however you need fifty points to complete level 2. Once you pass a level all your injuries are healed, all thanks to the suit you wear. You can also trade in your points to heal yourself or your comrades or gain a different Alchemic ability. No matter what you pick it will cost you 10 points where as each kill in the elimination round will give you 20 points! In the elimination round there will be 24 Asylums participating yet only 12 can pass. Good luck!”

“Angel….you are late.” A cold voice echoed amongst the crowd which could have been none other than Rin.

“Aww was my little sister worried about me?” Angel replied sarcastically, his witty remark only receiving a blank and empty reply from his unresponsive partner. “Well you are as energetic as ever…..so I see all f us passed the first level, how interesting.” Angel continued and slowly maneuvered himself towards Marcel, sitting beside the passive little rabbit which Angel found oh so amusing.

“Well, well, well, what will you do now my amusing little friend? I am sure you are well aware of the situation you are in? Did you count how many Asylums were assigned this mission, there were thirty eight and out of them I am guessing twenty four have managed to survive round one, with us included of course. So will you be able to kill your own comrades in order to survive? Did you know what I said to you in one of our first encounters? I believe I said the most basic of instincts present in any person is that to survive and to survive one will kill and amongst Alchemist this instinct is far stronger compared to any ordinary human. You are a living contradiction which is one of the reasons I am so amused in you, try not to let your personal ideology get you killed….oh and Emina…..as far as my knowledge goes….your father is alive and he is having a tea party with some pesky pharmaceutical firm….well you two take care.”

As soon as Angel walked away from the two, the white room in which they stood disappeared. What lay in front of them was something completely different, there were no building on flames and no putrid canals filled with the stench of blood. Instead it was all a frozen wasteland, the buildings encased in ice, the rivers frozen, and worst of all was the temperature. The cold so intense it almost seemed as if the skin was burning and the blood itself would freeze, Asylums were well trained to survive in any climate yet this artificial cold was something even could subdue even the most disciplined of Asylums. Fighting in such a situation would definitely prove tedious as the snow covered tracks restricted movements and the lack of clothing made thinking a task to difficult.

“It….it’s cold…” Rin replied as she wrapped her hands around herself. The black suit didn’t seem to aid in sheltering the Asylums from the cold as it was a fabric that was a substitute to one’s skin. Hence it was like someone being practically naked and in a temperature such as this it could be fatal.

Even Angel seemed rather distressed as this sudden change wasn’t expected and he had to change his strategy if they were to survive this.

“We need to find shelter…but how will I get pass them.” Angel thought as he gazed at a horde of Asylums that slowly seemed to approach the group. It was clear in order to complete this mission twelve Asylums had to survive hence some will have to die and it seemed the others had already accepted this and were ready to spill blood.

“Hope you guys don’t mind me using you all as decoys?” Angel replied rather loudly, his arrogance mind boggling as how could someone be so confident that he would reveal his plan before he has the time to execute it.

“With that I bid you all farewell.” Angel gazed at all of his comrades with a mischievous smile and immediately shouted. “Let me have ice manipulation!” And with that the figure on his palms instantly shifted to twenty points and without warning Angel stomped on the snow which instantly hardened around the feet of his comrades, all accept Yin, Rin whom he grabbed and suddenly disappeared.

While Angel, Rin and Yin had vanished the fighting had already started and several Asylums had begun assaulting each other where ass some approached the tantalizing targets whose feet were frozen and were points on a platter. However before the Asylums could reach the group, the ice that restricted them quickly melted away so as to let them have a fair chance at survival.

Meanwhile Angel, Yin and Rin had taken shelter in a small cave which Angel had uprooted using his ice manipulation.

“Why did you use our comrades as bait?” Yin replied, her tone clearly displeased with Angel’s actions.

“They will be fine…..I am sure soon enough logic will hit all of the Asylums and they will realize now is not the time to fight. I mean it is only practical to search for shelter and wait until the temperature improves. It will be amusing how this game goes about…lets see.”

[sinai]

Tessa gasped in the crisp air of the white room. Her eyes widened and she began to tremble. Am I dead? Sae ran over to her and helped her to her feet. Having fought against those abominations, it would not surprise her if they were all dead. Was this hell?

"Congratulations..."

Tessa's head snapped up. They had survived? She had not killed anybody: she had no "points". How...

"Because you didn't defeat this opponent alone the reward will have to be divided equally amongst you..."

That made sense. She had helped, in a way.

Damn it. Had the others seen her like... She had no idea when Rabi or Sae had arrived. She would have to judge by Rabi's reaction. She swung a tired gaze over to the Arab. She was suddenly scared of facing him again, if he had seen her in her state back there. She felt a cooling hand on her shoulder, which send a tingle down to the base of her spine. She looked into Sae's eyes.

"I can't thank you enough." She was nearly weeping.

"You say that every time."

"A.M.R.O - you - save everything I am every second. How can I not thank you?" She gave up fighting it, and her eyes filled with tears, many of them escaping and fleeing, traversing her cheek like pollution clouds rising into clear skies. Her head fell onto Sae's shoulder, and he gently kissed the top of her hair. Now it was Sae's turn for his eyes to glaze over. We depend on each other every day. And yet there's so much unsaid.

She had mentioned AMRO. As a saviour.

Damn AMRO.

Before any of them knew what was happening, a bitter cold pounced upon them and began to gnaw at their skin. The horror of realisation that they would be needing to kill their own comrades showly percolated into Sae's mind. Kill or be killed? he said telepathically to Tessa.

I dunno, but you have to choose now, came the reply. But you die and I do too.

This was true. Sae pulled a small lever on the arm of his crossbow, and with a satisfying ring of metal on metal, serrated claws protruded from the scythe end. He fashioned a spider's web around his arm and the bow, tying the two together and making them as one. He was ready. He knew nobody here: they had only just arrived. The only people they would not be killing were Adriana and Rabi. Everybody else was fair game.

The arrogance that was Angel abruptly bid them his farewell. Sae turned to the nearest Asylum he could find: it happened to be Marcel. In one fluid motion, he raised and swung the scythe so that it was millimetres away from Marcel's throat.

"We need to kill each other such that only twelve survive. Give me a reason not to kill you now."

"Sae..." Tessa called after him. She quickly realised that he had a point. However she realised that they had had to work together to beat the first level, and had a suspicion that this level would be no different.

[Shroud]

“Well, well, well, what will you do now my amusing little friend? I am sure you are well aware of the situation you are in? Did you count how many Asylums were assigned this mission, there were thirty eight and out of them I am guessing twenty four have managed to survive round one, with us included of course. So will you be able to kill your own comrades in order to survive? Did you know what I said to you in one of our first encounters? I believe I said the most basic of instincts present in any person is that to survive and to survive one will kill and amongst Alchemist this instinct is far stronger compared to any ordinary human. You are a living contradiction which is one of the reasons I am so amused in you, try not to let your personal ideology get you killed."

Marcel looked at Angel, knowing that his chances of surviving this would be a lot smaller if he wasn't going to kill. That would also put more pressure on Emina, which was not something he wanted to do. But the other choice would be to kill, could he do that? Would he, is the better question. As for being a contradiction, that's false. He simply controls his instinct to kill, for reasons only known to him and Emina.

"….oh and Emina….." Angel continued. "As far as my knowledge goes….your father is alive and he is having a tea party with some pesky pharmaceutical firm….well you two take care.”

Emina's jaw clenched and then loosened. Pharmaceutical firm. Nothing sinister about that. But could Angel be trusted? It had been Rin how had promised her information, she could only trust Rin about her Father, maybe not even Rin.

Emina looked to her left to see the new girl crying into her partner's shoulder. Exactly what she felt like doing. But Emina knew, in their situation, it would solve nothing. It would solve anything in any situation. And there was no way she was going to show that weakness in front of everyone.

“Let me have ice manipulation!”

Emina's feet became embedded in ice and not long after Angel, Rin, and Yin were gone. She quickly became aware of how incredibly cold it was. "Give me physical manipulation." Emina muttered. She warmed her body heat to a comfortable level, glanced at the on coming asylums, then at Marcel. "Get your lightning, you'll need it if we're going to be killing five of them."

Marcel looked at her for few seconds then nodded. "Lightning Manipulation." he said. Emina was ready to kill five asylums. He could argue with her that he could kill and get his own points, but it wouldn't work. Emina would never agree to it. Marcel wasn't even sure if he wanted to agree to it. It was best just to stick to the plan.

Marcel twitched and jumped backward as the new guy swung his scythe at him, nearly hitting his neck.

"We need to kill each other such that only twelve survive. Give me a reason not to kill you now."

Emina stepped forward, eyes glaring at Saenam. "Even try to touch him and I'll kill you. Reason enough?" Emina didn't know what he thought he was doing, but no one threatened Marcel without having to deal with her. The fact that she needed someone to take her emotions out on just made it all the easier.

"I'll handle it Em." said Marcel. She looked at him, long and hard. It took an effort for him not to look away. He could let her keep putting herself on the line for him. It wasn't fair, not to her. Marcel remembered something Angel had told him: 'If you don't grow up, you will cause Emina to break.'

"I've got it Em. You go get your points. Saenam is no threat to me." Marcel told her telepathically. He could see a slight bit of confusion in her eyes. She had never seen him be this defiant toward her before.

Emina looked to the on coming asylums that were ready to attack them. She nodded to Marcel and went to find herself twenty points.

~*~*~*~*~

The fight came to Emina. AS he approached, she caught the sight of the number XXX on the side of his face. He was cold, she could tell, and the blood on his suit told her he had already killed. She charged him with speed that surpassed his by a long shot. He blocked her first punch, but just barely. The cold was a hindrance to him giving Emina the advantage.

She pressed him hard. Forcing him to try and keep focus each and every second. It wasn't until Emina backed off for a second that he showed the alchemy he had. He teleported left, right, then behind her, and kicked her square in the back. Emina rolled to her feet and whipped out her gun in the process.

He teleported again, but this time Emina was ready. He punched at her stomach. Instead of moving, Emina took the hit then dropped down to take XXX's legs out from under him. In the next second, Emina pulled the trigger of her gun.

The number on her hand flashed from three to twenty-three.

*~*~*~*

Marcel sent a small bolt of lightning Saenam's way as a warning. "I'm not the person you want to make an enemy of here" he said. "Those asylums over there," he pointed toward where fighting had begun, "Are the ones you should be trying to kill. But if you choose so, I will fight you."

That was the only word of Diplomacy he would say. If Saenam attacked, then Marcel would retaliate. He chose not to, then he would be making the better decision.

[sinai]

Sae was impressed. The response had been appropriate and... what was the word? Human. Unlike the Blood-Draped One. Marcel had the potential to become a friend, in any other circumstances. And, to boot, the guy had lightning maniplation. He took a conceding - yet not cowardly - step backwards.

Tessa, meanwhile, knew Sae well enough to know that before killing, he would churn over the morality in his head. But there wasn't time. She said, softly and telepathically:

"Sae. Look. Emina's enemy." Sae looked. He already had blood on his suit, and was fighting Emina like nothing was wrong. The blood was evidently not his own.

So he had killed another of the asylums. In the approaching group.

They were the ones killing each other.

"We're better than that."

"Damn it, Tess," he replied, with a slight smile. He took a cautionary glance at Marcel. He had asked for a reason not to kill, and the man had given one. But undoubtedly, regrettably, he'd just made an enemy. He would have to make amends later: for now, he braced himself for the attack. Emina finished off XXX; and this had seemed to become the opening of the floodgates. The remaining eleven Asylums poured towards them. They could take one each? Or group together. The decision was made for them when an Asylum with Earth manipulation shattered a portion of the ice when the ground beneath their feet exploded and rapidly rose into a towering spike of rock: the force sent Sae one way, and Tessa the other.

---------{x}----

Tessa found herself propelled to her left, the wall of rock separating her from her partner. Instead, an Asylum with homely eyes and a scar across his neck plummeted towards her from the sky. He had clearly attained flight. She produced her pistol and began firing. This would be so much easier if she had brought her Sub, but Mason's harsh teleportation had not given her time to unpack the Feng-Huang. But the Asylum's powers of flight, apparently, applied also to her bullets: he was able to halt their advance in mid-air, drawing an enormous sword from a pouch on his back and deflecting the rounds by swinging it. He landed on the ground, on one knee, with his sword hand on the ice. His head looked up at Tessa, who was recovering from the shock of the deflection of her bullets, and had just mustered the ability to aim her gun at the man. Their eyes met for one moment, and he spoke.

"I'm so sorry." And that was when he raised the battle blade and attacked.

Tessa removed herself from view. But if all she could do was become invisible, while being able to evade him, she would have difficulty defeating the man. She knew she needed to buy a new ability, but was indecisive, and couldn't hold invisibility forever. She jumped at the spike of rock, using it as a springboard, propelling herself into the air and striking down on the back of the Asylum's head. The back of his hair was balding, and through the patch she saw his tattoo: "XCI". She hit her target, right in the middle of the C, and the perplexed man stumbled for a moment, before spinning round and catching Tessa's stomach with the handle of his sword, winding her. Her concentration faltered and she lost grip on her invisibilty, and she reappeared shortly before making contact with the ground, gasping for breath. The Asylum sprung off his feet and rotated in a short forward roll in mid-air, with the intention of bringing the blade down with a crushing force. But this gave Tessa a chance to evade the attack, and the sword became embedded in the ice inches from her thigh.

--{x}-----------

The rock tower separated Sae from Tessa. This alone was cause for Sae to become nervous. But his troubles increased when the Earth manipulator headed his way, raising smaller columns of rock beneath him with the intention of taking him off balance. However he gained the high ground, retaining his balance atop the columns, and the Earth Asylum got carried away. Before long the two were fighting, balancing on the summit of two rock columns, quickly aproaching the height of the main one itself.Sae swung his Scythed arm, making contact with the Asylum and drawing blood. He roared as the droplet traced a crimson trail down his forearm, and in rage caused Sae's column to drop to the floor, leaving him in mid-air for a moment before plummeting back to the surface. He could have tried to fashion a web to catch him, but there was not time. He hit the ground with a force, performing a parachute roll onto his side but almost certainly still breaking something. The pain in his rib, where he had landed, was immense; but it was only now that he noticed something. The Arachnoid in level one had burnt his shoulder. Sae's hand went to feel the place in question: there was no pain. Even the suit had been regenerated. He had heard the announcement: "Once you pass a level all your injuries are healed..." but it had not really sunk in. Wow. I can get as hurt as I like. As long as I don't die.

The Earth asylum lowered his column to the ground and faced Sae again, this time fashioning a huge battleaxe out of the ground, from a hole in the ice he had created. He threw it with alarming force, but disappointing accuracy, and it shattered as it flew to Sae's right and made contact with the rock wall. But the Asylum had a better idea. And so, he began to manipulate; and so, the rock wall began to topple. With Sae and the Asylum underneath. The Asylum was far enough away to be able to escape. However, Sae was practically against the wall, as its descent began to pick up speed.