---

Countless vaults decorated the walls of the bio-storage unit, built and organised in a uniform, prison-like fashion. The doors to each cell were composed of glass, double-glazed and bearing a set of steel security bars inbetween the two panes. Occasionally, one would find that the glass had been cracked; an indicator of an accident or incident, awaiting repair. The walkways which climbed the vast walls had been emblazoned with numbers, marking each cell with a digit from 2-128. The vacant cells towards the end of the block were yet to hold a number, but that would not always be the case.

The cells themselves, generous in size, usually contained what could easily be described as a standard bedsit, with a double bed, desk, and digital billboard being the standard protocol for furnishing. Each room, however, had been specifically personalised to suit its inhabitant; moodlights were common, as were water features and radio systems. This was an area of rest, and so The Institute aimed to pacify its abnormal community.

The main exit of the bio-storage led out and into a multi-level, grand atrium; highly maintained and pristine in condition. The open roof could be closed remotely, and the ground had been paved with stones and accented with greenery. Several seating facilities had been strewn across the different balconies, and a computer-controlled cafe was situated within the Eastern wall. The atrium served as a lobby for other facilities, including three separate gyms, several shared bathing facilities, and the rarely-used auditorium.

At the stroke of the fifteenth minute of the hour, the billboards of around 30 cells flickered on, accompanied by a crude alarm sound which lasted for around ten seconds. A message faded onto the LED screen, capitalized in green font:

---

<sub>//:DEAR RECIPIENT

YOU HAVE BEEN REQUESTED TO ATTEND THE AUDITORIUM AT PRECISELY 6:00AM THIS MORNING. AS THIS IS AN HOUR BEFORE CURFEW RELEASE, AN INSTITUTE EMPLOYEE WILL ATTEND AND MANUALLY RELEASE YOUR DOOR. FROM THERE, YOU WILL HEAD DIRECTLY TO THE AUDITORIUM AND BE SEATED.

NON-COMPLIANCE IS NOT AN OPTION. ::</sub>

---

That sound... that horrible, horrible sound. Shut up.

Alma's eyes peeled open, her eyelids sticking together from her deep slumber. She glanced upwards from her rest, wincing as the bulb of her room flickered and struggled before becoming static, flooding the cell with a dim sheet of light. The message which had been displayed on her billboard stung her tired retinas, and she sighed deeply as the words eventually processed. Ah.

With slow, almost painful movements, the girl used her arms to lift herself from the floor. Indeed, her bed had been completely stripped, and Alma slept instead upon a pile of pillows and sheets which she had piled up comfortably across the floor. Her back was as heavy as ever, and her spine arced slowly as her tendrils writhed and stretched. They scuffled gently against the flooring, and her loose bedding shifted beneath their movement. The cold hit her bare skin cruelly, projected by the air conditioning which she had forgotten to turn down. Unfortunately, clothing often didn't cater for special conditions such as Alma's, and so she was made to sleep in the nude. Not that it mattered; the shutters to her room were always kept down during curfew, and Alma's concept of modesty often didn't apply at the best of times anyway.

After a few minutes of feeling sorry for herself, Alma had plucked herself from the floor, and zipped the front of her suit up over her chest. She used her appendages to fix the buckle around the back of her neck, carefully working around the metallic surface of her shock collar. As she pulled her hair from beneath it, she heard the shutters of her room creak and lift, and turned over her shoulder to watch as the glass door lifted with it. A single Institute guard stood outside on the walkway, with one of the remotes to her shock collar at hand.

"I could have been naked." Alma spoke in humour, but she did not smile.

"Straight to the auditorium, Number 2." The guard did not entertain her remark, and stepped back towards the edge of the walkway to allow Alma passage. A wry smirk pulled at the corner of her lips, and she stepped from her chambers, catching sight of the dark circles which painted beneath her eyes in the reflection of the guard's visor. Her tendrils dragged behind her lazily, and ended up dragging one of her bed sheets across the doorway. Looking up, she caught sight of several more guards; all positioned on higher walkways and bearing down upon her. Her gaze shifted back over her shoulder to the one who followed behind her. Of course, it'd be so easy to just...

Alma's short walk paused just before the door to the atrium, and she turned to her left size, staring down an elongated corridor. Of which, the number '1' had been painted above the doorway. Her head tilted, and her expression remained almost solemn.

"Move along." The guard gestured for her to proceed.

"Will she be joining us today?"

"I said move along."

"Roger."

Alma was the first to arrive in the atrium; understandable, since she imagined they were being collected in numeric order. It seemed strange to her, that they would gather so many of her siblings in one area. The auditorium was huge, no doubt, but Alma frowned slightly as she took one look at the folding seats. Christ. Her extra limbs curled in, and she sat on the floor a few feet in front of the first row of seating. Seating arrangements were such a pain.

Her expression blinked in wonder as she looked towards the head of the auditorium, observing The Director as he fumbled with papers and technology, all behind a reinforced glass screen. How peculiar. What's going on? She awaited the arrival of her siblings tiredly, her head swaying sometimes as she longed to return to sleep.

PINPOINT:

A sleeping, feminine face lay facing upwards, body covered by a white sheet, on the solitary bed in the darkened Room 114. An automatic light struggled to life, illumating the room, the light accompanied by an alarm. Chloe's eyes fluttered open, and she sat up, letting the white sheets fall off of her body. The message beckoned her towards the auditorium. Non-compliance is not an option. Orders from the top, she reckoned.

Opening up her wardrobe revealed set after set of green tank-tops and camo combat pants and rubber boots- as well as several of the same white pair of bras and boyshorts to go under it. She said she liked the green-tank top look a while ago and it they took that idea and ran with it. It's all she ever wore. It worked, though. Chloe was never cold.

She changed into a fresh set of clothes, waited a few moments and the doors opened.

"You're presence is requested at the Auditorium, 114. Non-compliance is not an option." An armored guard said, his voice floating through the door with a stern authority.

"Yessir," Chloe said in response. She strode out of her cell door and let herself be escorted by the guard.

Her given name is Chloe, her field name is Pinpoint, and she's the best shot with a rifle on the planet.

The guard behind her, a pistol in his holster. 3 pounds of insurance. Eventually they arrived in the auditorium and the freakshow started. It was everyone. Mutated abominations in the same room as her. The security was well-hidden but no doubt of the highest caliber. She didn't know exactly how powerful the IOS was but there wasn't a doubt in her mind that a few button presses and 90% of her siblings- including herself, would be dead within the minute. Only the best for planet Earth- and a mass uprising of the Children of Eve wouldn't be good for anyone. It looked like she was one of the last ones in.

She sat herself down, away from the more...generiously changed Children. She knew the safeguards, but still. Not everyone was like her. She didn't really want to talk to anyone, lest one of them go berserk.

A deep, rumbling growl filled his rooms as Daniel heard the alarm, body shaking as he began the daily process of figuring out what the hell has happened to him this morning. The first thing he noticed was that he was blind in his left eye, something had grown into it sometime during the night and even with his extra eyes he couldn't see what it was. Grumbling he pulled himself from the corner of his room to face the large, cracked mirror to finally get a good look at himself. It wasn't pretty.

His mouth was too full of teeth, sharp things that rose from his bottom jaw like a pillar of savagery. To make matters worse a tusk had grown and curled into his eye socket, digging everything out on its self-destructive journey to his brain. With something between a sigh and a grumble, Daniel lifted his right hand to his face, a mass of beak tipped tentacles, and wrapped many of them around the offending lump of enamel and yanked it free with a crack. A muffled roar could be heard outside of the cell. Spitting the blood into the sink, Daniel mentally hyped himself as he raised his left fist, a club made of leathery flesh and bone, and socked himself in the mouth in a spray of blood and splinters.

By the time the guards had arrived a new set of teeth had began to poke from his gums but blood still ran down his chin like a stream. The guards did their routine, at least ten of them with high-powered weapons of some sort were stationed around with each death belcher aimed at him. He spat a large glob of blood at the feet of the head guard and there was a tense moment as all the weapons made a chik noise as they readied themselves for trouble, before a gurgling laugh crawled out of Daniel's chest. The guards didn't think it was funny.

The blood had mostly clotted as a stepped into the auditorium, maw now filled with shark-like teeth but missing any and all lips. A fair trade in his mind. He scanned the area and found that the numbers ahead of him had already filled in but the majority had yet to arrive, so he just zeroed in on Sister and plopped his bulk down with a Whump, taking a minute to settle himself before waggling his tentacled hand in greeting.

Asmodeus had gotten up earlier than the norm, he was already done a bit over ninety-five percent of his Institute given program. Low thuds of boots thud against the whirring purr of a conveyor belt. He was running against a specially made treadmill, tailored specifically for his speed. 16 also had a hand in it, which he incessantly thanked her for. The treadmills manufactured by the Institute broke down during his warmup, it was thanks to Weaver that they finally had one created that didn't buckle under his speed. The machinery whirred, slowing down before eventually coming to halt. As he wrapped his face on the towel from the rack, a familiar beeping noise erupted, the words typing out on his plasma television,

---

<sub>//:DEAR RECIPIENT

YOU HAVE BEEN REQUESTED TO ATTEND THE AUDITORIUM AT PRECISELY 6:00AM THIS MORNING. AS THIS IS AN HOUR BEFORE CURFEW RELEASE, AN INSTITUTE EMPLOYEE WILL ATTEND AND MANUALLY RELEASE YOUR DOOR. FROM THERE, YOU WILL HEAD DIRECTLY TO THE AUDITORIUM AND BE SEATED.

NON-COMPLIANCE IS NOT AN OPTION. ::</sub>

---

"Huh, this is rare. Even for them." Asmodeus muttered to the empty room, "Well, I got a bit of time." He stepped down, resting on a chair to catch his breath for a moment. After a few minutes of collecting himself he stepped into the shower room. "Damn heater takes ages to turn on, millions, no billions spent on modified children bred for war, and not a cent on the heaters."

With a towel wrapped around his waist, he walked to his closet, grabbing his everyday clothes. A normal, blurred green jacket, with a white innards along with comfortable jeans. He looked longingly at the tailored boots, designed not to burn up on reaching high speeds. He was always impressed at how the Institute planned ahead so much. Right on cue, the familiar creaking of his doors opened. It was followed by a rather stern looking guard eyeing him, hand on a remote, seeming almost too eager to press with a slip of the finger. Asmodeus chuckled, "Hey." he called out nonchalantly, still tying the aglets of his boots.

"Head to the auditorium, 22." the callous guard said, as if practiced from a scrip a million times, "Atleast buy me dinner first." Asmodeus whispered, his words not reaching the guard's ears. He burrowed his hands into his pockets, and walked towards the designated destination. He whistled a soft tune, taking his sweet time in between each stride. For fun, he ran simulations in his mind on the likelihood of survival trying to take out the eyeing guards from up above. All simulations ended in death, or 0% "Heh. Figures." he said under his breath. His eyes scrunched up at the bright lights in the auditorium.

Asmodeus took a seat, a few rows down from Alma, he figured that the other cool single digit people would sit with her. He caught her sight, and nodded in acknowledgement. She pat the chair to her left from her awkward position on the floor. He shook his head, "I'm not cool enough to sit there." he said in half jest. Alma's smile fell crooked, and her head tilted in amusement. "I can't even sit on the damn seat. Don't be like that." Her words were laced with subtle laughter from her position on the floor. "Alright you make a good point." he replied, standing up and sauntering over to the seat left of where Alma sat.

He sighed once more as his eyes fell onto the chairs, Billion dollar company, folding chairs. he thought, shifting left to right uncomfortably before finding the least uncomfortable spot before giving up and slinking down the chair. He eyed the meticulous Director behind what appears to be reinforced glass, it would be lying if he said that he wasn't curious, gathering of the 'children' were rare.

The alarm was sudden and long enough to have Marshall jolt awake and sit up in his bed to take a moment to realise what was going on, when it clicked he glanced up with a frown towards the source of the noise for a short while before it ended. He sighed and threw off the covers, the man wore only some loose dark shorts he had been sleeping in as he staggered over towards the corner of his room to where a sink was installed along with a mirror, the water was cold enough to make him shudder as he splashed it over his face and let out another sigh, going to wipe the wetness away with a towel by the side. Only after this did he look towards the LED screen and roll his eyes, he at least had enough time to grab a shower. "Marvellous." He mumbled drowsily, cracking his neck to one side then the other then scratching irritably at the shock collar around his neck, he slipped his pants off and tossed them onto his bed then stepped into the cubicle beside the sink and switching on the warm water.

Stepping out and feeling mildly fresher than a few minutes ago, Mashall curled his fists and let a little heat build up to evaporate a bit of the water from his body then grabbed a towel and dried off the rest, he then proceeded to apply deodorant and toss on his typical garb of dark blue jeans with a black shirt, jacket and gloves. He yawned and searched his cupboard for a breakfast bar which was quickly scoffed down, as he put the empty wrapper in the bin he heard the door open up and turned to face the individual who had been sent to release him. "Time to go already?" Asked Marshall, to which the guard nodded and gestured out into the walkway beyond. Grabbing an orange off the side and tucking it into his pocket for later, the man went along out of the room, the door being shut behind him.

As he peered around the block of cells he could see a handful of others being given the same treatment and taken out of their cells, an eyebrow was raised as Marshall wondered how many were being called up and what it was going to be about. With his hands in his pockets, he proceeded towards the auditorium while followed somewhat casually by the guard, at this point it was largely known Marshall didn't attack employees of the institute, not the guards at least, they were all on the same side as him. He was far from the first to arrive, having taken his time getting ready, unlike some. His usual spot on the front row towards the centre was empty though and he went to sit there, noting some of the other arrivals, Alma was on the floor beside the Lovecraftian hulk that was Daniel and he wasn't even surprised by it, Pinpoint and Blink were sat like regular people but away from the single digits that were nearer to him. He faced forwards, eyebrow raised as he listened to what the Director had to say.

Alma's daydreaming was cut apart by the ground trembling beneath her, and her appendages shifted in instinctive caution as to not to be crushed by the hulking giant who had sat himself down beside her. She stared up blankly for a moment, before a smile formed on her lips.

"Hey there, big guy." A brow raised at the sight of his face, which appeared to have been freshly beaten. "You punch yourself in the face again?" The lack of concern in her voice was perhaps odd to outsiders, but the beast treated pain in the same way she did. He could take it. She shifted her position slightly, coiling her tentacles around her knees as she knelt uncomfortably on the floor.

Daniel just grunted in response, settling himself to be as comfortable as possible as he unrolled an unnaturally long, slightly barbed tongue to wipe away any remaining blood on his face.

"Ah." Alma blinked hard as the beast cleaned himself up, and turned away. She faced towards the recently seated Asmodeus, and offered him a smile, taking note of his seeming discomfort on the seat close to her. Understandable. She couldn't imagine the scene she'd make if she tried to tuck herself into one.

And then came Marshall, as regal as ever, attending the spot he always seemed to take. She might have said good morning, be he was gone in an instant, and Heavens knew she was too tired to shout. From a distance, she also caught sight of little Pinpoint, who had situated herself far away from her with obvious purpose. A shame, perhaps, but Alma might have been able to empathise.

The blaring siren would have been more than enough to wake anyone up, and Alex wasn't a heavy sleeper. That being said, 'awake' wasn't the same thing as 'out of bed', and she lay there for about half an hour - after a quick glance at the board to confirm there wasn't an emergency - before even bothering to move. Not that she could get back to sleep, of course.

Her eyes narrowing as she finally sat up, the girl yawned silently, looking around a room full of posters and old comic books. Of course, she couldn't exactly complain for anyone to hear, but the filthy look she shot at the billboard was almost enough catharsis. Rolling out of bed, she threw on the first t-shirt and pair of jeans she could get her hands on, not paying much attention to the design of them.

Some of the others probably wouldn't mind this. Some of the others were, no doubt, morning people. And while normally she had no problem with that, right now Alex couldn't think of anything worse. All 'awake' and 'enthusiastic' and 'ready for the day'. Deciding that brushing her hair was a lost cause, she just frowned and tied it loosely into a ponytail in the hopes that it'd hide her bedhead a little. While it didn't really work, there wasn't much time for her to do something else.

"Auditorium, 32."

At least if the guard by her door had anything to do with it. With a soft sigh, Alex nodded snatching up her notebook from the bedside table and followed along without protest. Even if she'd had a problem with this, well... she didn't tend to talk to the staff. Firstly, because it quite suited her to have them think she couldn't, and secondly, because humans got jumpy around mind powers.

Pretty rude, really, but there you go. It wasn't worth complaining about. Easier to just go along with it, and then there wouldn't be any trouble for anyone. It was with that thought in mind that Alex - or Puppeteer, whichever you preferred - looked relatively relaxed as she entered the auditorium.

There wasn't much more than a raised eyebrow at the sheer number of seats set out, and she headed over to seat herself a few spaces away from the children already present. It wouldn't be unexpected, really. As far as most of the others knew, the golden-haired young woman just wasn't much for conversation. A few rows back, away from her more powerful - and, in some cases slightly terrifying - companions?

Whatever this was, she had a feeling it would be important. That didn't exactly reassure her about the whole thing, though - 'important' usually meant dangerous, and while she didn't see much point in complaining about it... Alex also didn't really like the possibility of having her head torn off. For now, she started absentmindedly sketching something in her notebook, occasionally raising her head to check what others were arriving.

Dostya’s room looked more like an operating theater than a place someone lived. The floors and walls were all covered in white tiles, various medical and mechanical equipment was stacked neatly on tables and a privacy curtain covered the already shuttered door for the consideration of those outside during the day who might be squeamish. Pushing their way past this curtain was a guard carrying a large boxy pistol that ended in a curved dish rather than a muzzle. It was a precaution anyone who dealt with Dostya was used to and one that, while it had never been used, did mean the guard didn’t freak out about the fact that Dostya’s collar was currently resting on a table next to her prone form. The reason for it’s removal was obvious, as her spinal column was currently exposed to the open air for him to see. Operating on the wiring running along her spinal cord was a drum shaped piece of machinery from which many arms tipped with surgical equipment extended. The device, sometimes referred to as a medical droid by some and the knife spider by those that found it disturbing, was plugged into Dostya’s skull by a long cord, as she used it to operate on her own body.

“16. Stop what you're doing and get to the Auditorium as you were instructed”

"The Auditorium? um..." one of the laser mounted tentacles attached to her waist snaked up from where it was laying and inspected the board with it’s targeting mechanism. Completely ignoring the EMP pistol now pointing right at her she thought to herself When did it become morning? Oh dear. I got caught up in my work again didn’t I. She had also shut of her hearing for 5 minutes when the alarm went off, then subsequently forgot about it.

"Oh. uh. Hang on, I just need to finish... Ah! there you are"
One of her back leg rapidly kicks the ground like a rabbit, which might have been cute if the taloned foot didn’t pulverize the tile it was previously resting on. The medical droid’s many limbs carefully remove a length of wire from her spine and then replace it with a fresh one, ceasing the leg’s assault on the floor.

“Are you quite done?” the guard asks impatiently, still pointing the weapon at her, as Dostya’s synthetic flesh is stitched back together.

"almost"

The droid completes it’s stitching, then quickly cleans and subsequently dries the length of the incision. Dostya then stands, unplugs the droid, gingerly check that her leg now works correctly and then goes to one of the only normal things in the room, a simple wooden closet. She rummages around inside for a bit, trying to decide what to wear, before pulling an oversized blue sweatshirt out and subsequently doing it. She turns to leave and only then seems to notice the pistol.

"um?" “colar” "oh. Right. Of course."

Only when her oversized collar is back in place is the weapon lowered, though it is quickly replaced in the guard's hand by the control system for the collar itself. The guard then steps out silently, expecting her to follow. As she stomps down the corridors of the institute she wonders briefly as to why they need her in the auditorium.

"They need me to fix the projector or something?"

She jokes. The guard, unsurprisingly, is not amused.

---

After she squeezed gingerly through the doors to the doors to the Auditorium it became clear that it was a meeting of some kind based on the number of other already being there. This should not really have come as a surprise, but she had spent the walk daydreaming about replacing all her teeth with drills for purposes she could not comprehend, so she managed to be surprised anyway. She was spared the age old question of schoolchildren everywhere of deciding where to sit by her size, though unlike Centipede and Monster it was her own fault rather than poor luck. It was kind of a shame that she couldn’t go sit with Blink, he was one of the few who appreciated her gift fully, but the two at the front weren't half bad.

She, for a lack of a better word, pranced over to the front group from the door and, after turning to give a wave to Blink, took a seat. Her heavy bulk rested flat against the floor as her legs and pincers tucking themselves as neatly as possible against her side. She greets Beast and Centipede with a cheerful voice that in no way betrays the fact that she hasn't slept in 24 hours. The fact that she sounded a bit like Hatsune Miku is the most likely the source of that obstruction of information.

"Good morning! Any idea what this meeting is all about?"

She was assuming she missed some announcement yesterday, because this seemed highly unusual.

<sub>//:DEAR RECIPIENT

YOU HAVE BEEN REQUESTED TO ATTEND THE AUDITORIUM AT PRECISELY 6:00AM THIS MORNING. AS THIS IS AN HOUR BEFORE CURFEW RELEASE, AN INSTITUTE EMPLOYEE WILL ATTEND AND MANUALLY RELEASE YOUR DOOR. FROM THERE, YOU WILL HEAD DIRECTLY TO THE AUDITORIUM AND BE SEATED.

NON-COMPLIANCE IS NOT AN OPTION. ::</sub>

---

"God fuc-flipping dang it. You and your flipping announcements so early in the flippin' morning." Lilith growled as she covered her head with her pillow. Another night she had spent mostly rolling around on her bed, plagued by such weird dreams, she couldn't really recall them but they weren't nice, for sure.

She got up and washed her face before wearing her usual dark hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. Today was cardio day and she was not looking forward to it. She had some time before her escort arrived, she guessed, not that it mattered, Phil was always patient when it came to her, they had reached an understanding through the years. She wouldn't fling whatever she could against him and he would give her time to get ready.

'There's the first knock.' she thought as Phil most likely, softly knocked on her cell door.

"Almost ready, Phil! You're awfully early today!" she yelled as she sprayed some perfume over her body, she might be wearing sweatpants but she's no savage. She needed to multitask if she didn't want him to start knocking again and so she did, her whole cell was tidying itself up, even her shoe laces were tying themselves up as she was using her hands to do her hair, a slightly more complex task she always enjoyed. Within a few minutes everything was set and she took a deep breath before she stood in front of her cell door, knocking on it so that he knew it was time to unlock it.

"Hey Phil, how's the family?" she said without a second look, the man waiting for her wasn't Phil after all. He didn't reply, only nodded for her to go on.

"You know Phil, you're probably wondering why I'm calling you that. Thing is, I call all of you Phil, there have been so many like you, so so many, you're that meaningless and expendable, get it?" she added, with a cold smile now on her face. She could see him tense up and she loved it, she was indeed the prisoner but never the prey.

She made her way to the auditorium and saw that some had already arrived. Not the one she was looking for, though. She stood by the entrance, much to the disdain of her escort.

"There you are, girl, been a while since you've been out, how do you feel? All of us gonna be in this room in a bit, you good with that?"



"Not all of us." was the only thing Orphan whispered, her gaze fixed towards the front rows where some of the single-digits were seated.

"Let's sit, sweetie, no need to stand." was the only thing Lilith said, it wasn't looking like one of the good days, for Eve. She motioned for her to move but she wouldn't budge. "Sweetie?... Eve, no."

But Eve's gaze was fixed on Alex, the mute girl. She always had an interest in her, for some reason.

Would you kindly, allow me? she projected in Lilith's mind, using her telepathy.

"Sweetie, let's just sit down, see what this is all about and we'll mingle afterwards, alright? I promise." Lilith finally said and they both settled down a few rows behind the front row.

"Mornin' fellas." she said, seeing some of her siblings already in the front. "I see they have yet to make you a custom seat, Alma. HEY, Director, what the flip are you doing? We riskin' our necks for you and we can't even have proper seating?" she continued, certain that he wouldn't bother with her yet she took a certain kind of pleasure "sticking it to the man".

Nile woke up at the first second when the alarm started pinging. He didn't feel tired, only calm and clear. He had long since cast his doubts away. His room could serve as a mirror to his mind. Fully white with no decorations or additional objects. It might as well be an asylum room. Instead of the usual guard, a professor awaited him at the door.
"Good morning Nile. Any dreams?"
"You know I'm incapable of dreaming professor Rikard."
"Random surprising events do tend to happen."
More like 128 random surprising events. Add the 2 big ones where EVE came followed by the Hydras.
Sitting in bed he rolled up his sleeve and presented his arm to the professor who swiftly drew a filled syringe from his coat pocket and inserted it to Nile's vein. Not even using a belt for the veins as he had already perfected the aim through dozens of injections.
Draining the syringe in Nile's arm he asked:"Felt any effects lately? A surge of power? Any feelings when close to Alpha?"-and after a pause he added:"A diminishing of power?"
Now that he was done, rolling his sleeve back up Nile responded:"Nothing of that sorts."
"I see..well continue with your activities, don't let me hold you."- he said while putting a hand on the child's shoulder before adding-"And stay safe."- ending it with a pat on the back.

Well he was up now. Finishing his morning routine he went to join the others in the auditorium. On the way he met the usual energetic girl.
"Professor Charlie."- and no, it wasn't a male, it was a young girl, probably the youngest employer here in her mid 20s, a genius of her class.. who also had her father working here. Cheerful as usual she approached Nile. The only one to whom she had mustered enough courage to get to know. The fact that Nile spent most of his time with the researchers and most importantly he looked completely normal and had a sound mind also helped.
"Nile!"-she rushed to him and hugged him in the air. As Nile was created later than most, she was around to watch him grow up from scratch.
"I was just notified of you being requested for a mission outside."-so that's what this was about. Not a surprise.
"They grow up so fast.."-she said while putting both of her hands on his shoulders-:"Literally."-she added as she gave him a worried look filled with care. This was all unnecessary in Nile's eyes. But again he didn't feel emotions and as so he couldn't understand them or the reason behind them.
"I just saw Rikard walk out of your room."-she said then went eye level with the child-"I swear to God if he has done anything to you.."
Wait, did she know? Did she suspect that he was conducting experiments with Nile? Looking her in the eye he finally got the meaning and sighed.
"No professor Charlie. Nothing of that manner happened."
With half a sigh of relief she continued:"In case I don't get the chance to meet you before you depart. Be safe."
"Will try."
But some time had passed, long enough for the guards to be summoned to look for the boy.
"You are supposed to be in the auditorium at the designated time."
"He was with m.."-but they didn't let her finish as they dragged the boy roughly all the way to the briefing room.
"HEY!"- the young girl began to protest but they completely ignored her while rushing the boy off.
Later than...well everyone who came before the designated time lime he was pushed roughly in the room and took the nearest empty chair on the upper most rows of chairs.

Entering he felt eyes look at him, some with anger, some with despise and others. The others had many reasons to not like him. For one it stripped away their power, secondly he spent A LOT more time with the researchers than any other children, often seen helping the transportation of the other subjects or when one needed to be subdued. He might even be considered a traitor by some.
He gave a quick glance to everyone in the room. He remembered when he was young and his desire for change, freedom. He traded words with many of them, trying to show them how wrong their current predicament was but most if not all seemed contempt. Might've been because he was the youngest, they had more times, more years to adapt and he had just joined.
His nullifying aura encompassed the entire room and some might feel discomfort. He didn't bother on turning it off. He didn't care for their discomfort, he just viewed most of them with the same eye that he viewed humans. What were they after all? Humans who gained power by using the genes of EVE. Anything that might connect them to their Mother is simply but a piece used by their humanity inside them. And the one who is most connected to their Mother? She simply doesn't care on their predicament. She has better, higher things to worry about.
But he doesn't do anything out of spite or feelings. He simply follows the most logical path to a solution and decision. He doesn't need to go out of his way for others.

Hyllis was deep in meditation when he sensed the alarm and read the message on his Billboard.

---

<sub>//:DEAR RECIPIENT

YOU HAVE BEEN REQUESTED TO ATTEND THE AUDITORIUM AT PRECISELY 6:00AM THIS MORNING. AS THIS IS AN HOUR BEFORE CURFEW RELEASE, AN INSTITUTE EMPLOYEE WILL ATTEND AND MANUALLY RELEASE YOUR DOOR. FROM THERE, YOU WILL HEAD DIRECTLY TO THE AUDITORIUM AND BE SEATED.

NON-COMPLIANCE IS NOT AN OPTION. ::</sub>

---

He decided to break his meditation soon after because this call to attention was irregular. It was calling all the siblings to one place. "How very odd~" He was already in his tunic and loose pants as he fell about an inch and bounced on his bed, uncrossing his legs and shaking his body lose. He gracefully threw himself across the room and grabbed his belt and mask. The blinds flew open from the front of his cell. Instantly camouflaging himself, just to mess with the guard. After a second of the guard intensely scanning of the room, squinted eyes and all, Hyllis revealed himself and gave a little laugh. The guard, clearly disgruntled, hit the intercom and barked at him.

"Not funny, 17, Get to the auditorium like you were told."

All hyllis bothered to reply with was a curt nod and he grabbed his gause and began to wrap his forearms. It took one role exactly for both arms so he decided he could do his wrapping on the way to the auditorium. He sauntered towards the door and the guard opened it controller tight in hand. Hyllis took one step out and froze. Turning around quickly he ran back inside and grabbed his kunai knife out from under his pillow, "Almost forgot." He said as he looked the guard right in the eyes and made the knife dance in his hand for a moment before sheathing in in his tunic.

By the time he reached the auditorium he had his knife back out twirling it around and tossing it like a toy with his forearms all wrapped up. He took a glance around and with a hidden smile hugged everyone with his eyes, He loved his siblings, and he cherished every second he could spend with them, lest it be in battle. If it were in battle he would rather them stay in safety and let him risk his life instead. With the loss of some of his closest siblings already he was terrified of losing any more. Nimbly he jumped up the chairs on the outskirts of the seating arrangements and sat up high in the back so that he could see everything and everyone. He crouched and surveyed the room spotting all the 24 firing slits where guards would rain down bullets if anything went awry. Thankfully he knew it wouldnt and it looked to him like all his siblings were getting along great as they greeted one another after their vacation of isolation since their last mission.

But, Alpha, Where~ was~ Alpha.

#14- Nuclear

In room 14, there was almost nothing that represented a room for a place to rest. There is no bed, desk, moodlights, radio system, or water systems. The only thing that is present in this room that is different from other is a small hatch to allow the soldiers to give food for whatever the thing is inside. Despite having no source of light or normal tools compared to other chambers, there were large varieties of wired laying on the ground. Sounds of the electricity zapping something can be heard. And the sound of something heavy contacted with the wall created a loud thump.

Making the way to the room 14 was a person, a man in his prime age. Unlike others group, the man came here alone, holding a letter in his hand. But he was afraid for the person that he is going to contact, as his footstep is not purely organized. With his distance decreased as each of his steps came closer to the glass wall, signs of panic started to show upon his face. But it seems that something had urged him to move forward.

Standing in front of the glass door, the man took the final breath, before pressing the button to pull up the door. As the door slowly but surely pulled up, the wind started to blow, inside the secluded concrete place. The wind was a little hot, passing all in its path. Covering his face, the man took his final breath before giving an order to the thing inside. And sitting in the middle was the thing, code name "Nuclear." But besides from that, there is nothing more in the room. There is no bed, desk, mood lights, radio system, or water system. Even the digital billboard had been pixelated, dividing the message into many tiny square figures.

"Stand up 14, you are ordered to meet alongside with others Children."

Lifting up its head, the being said in a low deep tone, looking to at the tiny human compared to his size. " Alpha, will she be there?"

The man remained silent, for it is not his responsibility to care for another monster nor it is his duty to respond to this thing. Placing the letter under his feet, the man took a step back, hands ready on the remote for anything suspicious. But against his expectation, the thing was pretty cooperative, against all the record that he had previously read about the thing. So they walk in silence, heading to the Auditorium. Walking against the thing, the man felt proud, proud of being able to tame the beast. He thought of his future when he will be promoted after this, being the only survivor to escort the being. He imagined the admire from his peers. The future seems to be so bright after this event, for him only of course.

The man looked up, to see a small grin from the thing that is escorted by him. Although it did not has eyes, the man could swear that the being is looking at him, like a king looking at a jester. Suddenly, the man started to cough. Its intensity was unbearable as the man felt he is coughing out parts of his organs. The man started to realize the reason he is the only one as he saw blood on his hand. He was used as a sacrifice to this monster, nothing more than a living letter. Suddenly, the man felt a strong force imply on his head, forcing him to turn over to number 14 face. Their eyes met, only this time is in a different situation as he is no longer the oppressors. Fear filled his eyes as he started to realize his inevitable death. He can felt his pants started to wet as a strange odor coming from his lower body. Voice started to came out from number 14, as its face starting to resemble something similar to a grin

"Well now, little, you seem a little bit scared? You should take a little sleep. And don't worry, I'm mature enough to find my way to the Auditorium. Now, take a rest."

The man was unable to hear what the thing said as his eyesight and hearing started to deteriorate. But one thing for sure, he felt his body is being put down on the ground before a force is started to imply on his skull. It was as light as a baby foot at first, until it started to get stronger and stronger. The force does not seem to have boundaries, and time is infinite. Started to lurk in his brain as he imagines how he used to crush an ant by bare hand. The ant dies, flatten into a two-dimensional shape. The image itself keep rewinding, forming an endless loop of crushing an ant. And then, the force stopped as sudden as it came. And the man's mind came to a stop, realizing that it should take a rest.

---

"Well, it was sure a damn fun thing. Too bad I can't crush that guy's skull"

Walking down the hallway to the Auditorium, Joshua grins. He could saw the nearby guard started to gather around the body, and that make him very fun. For how could an artwork being acknowledge without spectators. It was a shame that he could not complete his actions though, for near the place there is a camera. Being caught killing is something that he, Joshua, usually tried to avoid. Although quite dissatisfied about his uncomplete work, Joshua was totally believe that the men will died to cancer and tumors. Picture of the man suffering, yelling, and screaming amused Joshua. Slowly makes his way to the Auditorium, Joshua only to see most of his brothers and sister had been there. And then, he made his way into the line, standing between 13 and 15, waiting to hear the reason those tiny human had to offer.

Trevor was sound asleep when he was suddenly jolted awake from the shock collar around his neck. It pulled him out of a solid sleep causing him to fall out of bed. His eyes shot open to find the source of the pain and landed on a guard standing on the other side of the safety glass door to his unit. The guard's hand was on the trigger and a look of enjoyment on the man's face as he watched the child of eve pull himself off the ground. Trevor rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he stared at the man through the door with a look that was wondering why he had been shocked.

"Your late number 9. Hurry or your gonna get shocked again."

"What are you even talking about?" That was when Trevor noticed the message that was still on the monitor in his room. Apparently he had slept straight through the alarm and lights turning on that had told everyone else that there was a meeting and now it was 5:55am and all the guards had arrived to escort his siblings to the auditorium. Lucky for him, he had slept in his pants and didn't even bother to throw on a shirt instead putting on his jacket and walking out the door to the waiting guard.

As he left his room, Trevor noticed the large amount of guards on duty and knew that it couldn't just be for little ol' him. That meant that there had to be others that were coming to this meeting and after coming to this realization he pushed it out of his head as it really didn't matter in the end.

Eventually, they made their way to the auditorium where Trevor saw that there were already a good amount of his siblings already there. He was still waking up so he wasn't as loud as he normally was when he ended up around the others. Number 9 took a seat near the rest of the single digit numbers and was trying to hold in a smirk as he started at the director. If most of his siblings wanted to that flimsy barrier would not protect the director or any of the guards that were standing ready to gun them down.

Rnnnnn. Rnnnnn. Rnnnnn.

The alarm broke the silence of Eli's room. The high-pitched screech pulsated with the power to wake even the hardiest of sleeps and Eli was no different. In fact, no matter how many times Eli heard the alarm, he was always startled by it. This time was particularly bad - upon waking, his face warped and contorted. It opened in strips, revealing a gaping hole surrounded in oozing holes as saliva dribbled out. By the time he was lucid, his face had already reverted to normal. He looked at the briefing on the screen. Something about being at the auditorium at 6 AM. Eli wasn't exactly the most awake, so most of the wording was lost at him. He glanced over at his clock - a plain white clock with seemingly empty hands - pointed at 4 and 3. It was either 4:15 or 3:20. Either way, Eli had enough time to get ready.

Taking his time, Eli removed his blanket - being sure to neatly fold it against his bed - and walked to his closet. It was a dreamland for a fashion genius like him. Jackets, shirts, and pants filled the closet. After some choice deliberations, Eli chose his classic ensemble: turtle neck, jacket with a fur collar, sweater vest, corset, pants, socks, boots. All in some shade of brown or red. It looked good on him. So much so that, even though he wore it often, he spent an extraordinary amount of time looking in a full-body mirror. He was good to go - his hair was in order, his clothes were on point, he just needed to greet the guard on the way out.

"Hey Ray! Nice seeing you," he said as he waltzed out of his room, "how's the wife and kids? Didn't your son have a baseball game coming up? Tell him that he'll do fine and to just relax. And tell your wife I said hi." The guard, understandably, didn't acknowledge anything. He wasn't Ray. In fact, nobody was sure who this Ray was. Eli had probably made Ray up to get out of listening to guards be rude, but nobody was completely sure.

---

By the time Eli reached the auditorium, the majority of his sibs had already arrived. He looked around and saw Asmodeus, Alma, and Daniel all sitting together. Daniel, more or less, being gross and covered in blood (bad fashion choice). With a hop, skip, and a stumble, Eli chose a folding chair in front of them all. He quickly spun around, sitting backwards on the chair. "Hekyekyekyekyek. What's up with all of you?" He had said before glancing over to Daniel. Daniel was quite messed up this morning, what with missing lips and shark teeth. Not wanting to be undone, Eli quickly transformed. His head splayed open into five segments, as if a flower bloomed from his thin stem neck. Sharp teeth covered each strip as they danced around on a whim. Just as quickly as his face split open, it closed.

She had slept well, even if she was annoyed about having to go to bed early to make up for the early wake-up call. Anat spent an hour roaming around in her Astral form spooking the guards. That being one of Anat favourite pass time. Anat up at 5 am setting up a little trap for whoever would come to collect her. A trip wire nothing flash but given she had to get ready the best she could manage.

So when the cell door started to open Iza turned to look to watch whichever sucker was brave enough to come in. But before the door open Anat suddenly found herself floating above her own body.
Damn it not now. she thought to turning back to the door as she heard footstep followed by a surprised gasp. Watching as slender male guard feel flat on his face. Anat breaking down into a fit of silent laughter. Although she used the tripwire often, to her it never got old. Iza always enjoying watching the guards fall flat on their faces.

She watched the guard pick himself up and approach her body. The guard giving a large sigh when he saw Anat’s body on the floor.
“Oi sleepy head get up,” he said nudge Anat’s body with his foot. Waiting for a moment before giving her a soft kick.
“OI! GET UP! I don’t have time to play your games #74 Get up NOW!” he spoke giving her a slightly hard kick. Anat frowning at the treatment of her body. So focusing gave the guard a shove.

“You feel out again? Great now I have to carry you.” The guard sigh picking up Anat’s body.
“Better follow me, or you’ll get in trouble, again. Also, you trip me over again, and I’ll make sure you dental floss is conversated.”

So Anat’s body was carried to the auditorium and placed in a seat close the door. Incase it needed to be moved quickly that and so the guards could watch it, making sure the other children didn't take advantage of Anat being unable to use her body.
Anat giving a sigh in her Astral form. Wondering how long it would take for her to get back into her body so in the meantime Anat figured she pull a quick prank on The Director. A risky thing to do but it was rare he was exposed like this. Typically in areas of the facility, she could not get into with her Astral form.

Anat knew she could not do much or risk being punished badly. So figured a she'd trip him. Who knows maybe some of the siblings would enjoy it. So slipping through the glass Anat moving in close and focusing on the director shoes she redid his laces tieing them together. Something that was very hard to do as it required a lot of movement. But something she could pull off with enough effort. Anat hoping that would get a laugh. Thinking it had better pretty sure she would get in trouble for it.

With her prank in place Anat pulled back and drifted in her Astral form amongst her siblings enjoying have so many of them gathered. As she drifted, she gave some a tap on the shoulder followed by tapping on the other to bug them. Lacking anything better to do while she waited.

---

The alarm sounded, and Iza jumped who was content in her cell making a small pool of blood dance around on the floor. Hmm contently to herself having been allowed outside of her cell for an extra hour due to good behaviour. Looking at the digital billboard, Iza got up and moved to it. Trying to read the message on it thought a partial layer of dried blood. Iza signing as she knew it was important cleaning the message board with some water and dirty a rag. Making it readable although only just.

---

<sub>//:DEAR RECIPIENT

YOU HAVE BEEN REQUESTED TO ATTEND THE AUDITORIUM AT PRECISELY 6:00AM THIS MORNING. AS THIS IS AN HOUR BEFORE CURFEW RELEASE, AN INSTITUTE EMPLOYEE WILL ATTEND AND MANUALLY RELEASE YOUR DOOR. FROM THERE, YOU WILL HEAD DIRECTLY TO THE AUDITORIUM AND BE SEATED.

NON-COMPLIANCE IS NOT AN OPTION. ::</sub>

---

“Oh this sounds like it important. Still, 6 am? Better go to bed ...” Iza muttered with a sigh before to turning heel to bed to the bloodied mass that was her bed.
“I wonder how they will release me manually? No one dares come in here early.I wonder if I I’ll get my morning transfusion early. I better I’m not going in morning stage 2.” she muttered climbing into her bed.

Iza awoke next morning at 5:40am to the sound of a high pitched whine that was used as her alarm.
“I’m up …” she muttered rolling over in her bed the whine growing louder.
“I'm up! I’m up! Turn that thing off!” she shouted sitting up. The whine dying down.
“Morning Iza, how are you feeling today?” A voice spoke over an intercom asking the same question it did every day.
“Not bad, but I do not like being awake so early. To deal with my blood whispering at me at this time is hard."
“We know it hard for you. I assure you it's very important. It seems everything is ready. It seems today menu is form #1.”
“Big sisters blood! OH! I love getting her blood.” Iza spoke quickly climbing out of bed and sitting in a chair large chair in the far corner of the room. Iza bouncing in her seat as she watched and mechanical arm came out of the wall. A large syringe filled with blood attached to the end. Positioning itself about Iza’s left arm which she was eagerly offering to the arm, it penetrated her skin and started to slowly inject the contents of the syringe into her.

The transfusion took five minutes to complete, the setup in her room doing it slowly to provide per Iza’s request. Once done Iza was quick to change he clothes, and a few minutes later her door opened. A middle-aged woman in a blood-stained lab coat entering, followed by a large guff looking guard.
“Good morning Iza! Are you ready to go?” the woman spoke with a cheerfully. A hand slowly extending out towards Iza
“Morning Samatha. Yep! It all quite in my veins! Give big sis a big thank you! When you see her next” Iza replyed taking woman's hand allowing herself to be lead out of her cell. Iza humming happily as she was lead to auditorium. Looking at the guards who seemed wary of her presence. Pondering if they were still scared of her form her last stage three attack. Where she killed three of them.

Once at the auditorium was placed near the back of the room and the gathering crowd. Iza looking at her siblings wondering what was going on.
“Now Iza I need you to listen to the director. I’ll be outside if you need me.” Samatha spoke Iza nodding, knowing the woman was never far. After all it was her job to look after Iza making sure she didn't cause problems. Sitting down in her seat and starting to sway, waiting for whatever was going to happen, to happen. Feeling very happy which was normal for when she had just a transfusion.

"There's only one bottle left."

The woman smiled, her cheeks warming with a red tint. The woman's brown eyes rose to Alpha's worried face, before falling back to the tablet supported by her left forearm as her right hand danced over the glass surface to make notes. Dr. Hannah Quinzel was the Assistant Chief of Psychology for the EVE project. She hadn't the authority that Frost required, but to abide by the rules that the Institute had set for her Frost needed someone's assistance. Anyone. Hannah Quinzel was simply one of the precious few that Frost physically saw.

Even if she only saw her through the remarkably strong, daunting, glass of her containment area.

"Um, please?"

The Doctor's big brown eyes shot right back up to her. "Please?"

Frost paused, suddenly finding herself in the rarest of positions: uncertainty. Did I say it wrong? Is that the wrong word? After a few quick seconds of reflection, Frost surged ahead, certain that was both the right word and that she had said it correctly. If there was another fallacy in her approach, she would require the Doctor to explain it to her. Eagerly, Frost nodded. "Yes. Please."

The woman's head tilted to the side, just-so. "Frost, working under the assumption of your god-like abilities...can't you just make that last bottle appear right in front of you?"

As she always did when the question of her capabilities came up, Frost withdrew. All the fear in the world towards her stemmed from that question: 'What can she do? What are her limits?' It was a question and concern that was the source of every petty difficulty in her life. While normally she would never concern herself with issues so small, this was personal.

This was about orange juice.

"I alerted Institute staff of the growing shortage in our ChildNet group message application. I left a note on the kitchen staff's notice board."

The Doctor's expression softened, her tablet lowering to her side, her smile growing. "Frost, I think it's great progress that you're trying to follow the Institute rules set for you to the 'T'."

"Is there a recorded incident of my not following these rules?"

The Doctor ignored the question. Frost didn't mind the pass; she knew the Doctor's position on her, she knew that the Doctor was firmly in the camp of 'Alpha isn't hostile.' It wasn't fair of Frost to contend her status with the woman, seeing as the woman both didn't agree with her current status, and lacked the authority to do anything about it. After watching the woman give the slightest of sighs, the Doctor brought up her tablet again, and typed something quickly on it. Dr. Hannah Quinzel's head nodded quickly down to it, assuming that Frost could just read what was typed on it, despite being on the other end of her containment cell.

It was a safe assumption. The words on the tablet screen? 'Sometimes, Frost, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.' Advice from the Doctor that she couldn't possibly risk saying aloud to Frost, not with all the monitoring devices around them, not with all the eyes on them at the same time. The Chief of Security for the Institute checked his mobile device for the live-feed of those monitoring devices for Frost's containment area more than he checked it for messages from his family or his fantasy sports ticker.

Frost's appearance stiffened; gone was the compliant, nervously hopeful girl in dire need of orange juice. Replaced with the cold, distant, expression of a godling. A sudden change reflected in the tone and pitch of her voice. "My apologies, Doctor. I will bring the issue up with another division of the Institute staff more capable of processing my request."

"Don't worry about it, Frost. I only have one last questio--"

"--yes," Frost cut the woman off, knowing the question before it even left the Doctor's mouth, "I am lonely and do wish I could attend the briefing going on at the current moment."

Her smile and amusement from the orange juice request gone, Dr. Hannah Quinzel simply gave a quick nod. "Thank you, Frost. I will see you in a few days."

Frost didn't acknowledge the woman's departure, her mind busy contemplating the uniquely human nature of the advice the woman had given her. Asking forgiveness, rather than permission... Frost would stay standing there, closing her eyes gently, allowing her mind to wander off into the cosmos all above and beyond.

At least that's what the monitoring devices would show. When you can exist at different places at the same point in space/time, it was easy to throw off your surveillance. All you had to do was will yourself into the Auditorium, and so you appeared--even if you did so in such a way to ensure only one of your fellow Children would be able to see and hear you.

Some, like Daniel, would be able to sense her presence--but that would be the extent of their ability to experience her current presence in the big room.

But for the Puppeteer, for Alex, the next time her head peeked up from her notebook, she would see the back of a figure standing just feet from her: a long grey coat over the figure's frame, high grey boots with heavy, thick, soles on them peeking out from the bottom of the long coat. The very moment Alex would look up, the figure would turn towards her.

Under the hood of the coat came blue eyes that sparkled with flecks of starlight, and an impish smile on pale lips. Lips wet from having just taking a long sip from the open plastic bottle of orange juice the figure held in her left hand. "Hello, Alex. How goes the sketching?"

An alarm began to beep insescently, forcing the rather irritated bundle of covers to whine, shifting beneath the fabric. A grumble, and the bundle eventually groaned in defeat, standing up. To tired to think straight, the bundle began to walk...only to flop directly off the edge of the bed. Another groan, and he wrestled with his covers,before rolling free. The small scale covered child pushing himself to his feet. Rubbing his eyes, he stumbled over, grabbing his collar as he yawned. It was too early for this...

Clicking the collar on, he streatched, coming to the board.

---

<sub>//:DEAR RECIPIENT

YOU HAVE BEEN REQUESTED TO ATTEND THE AUDITORIUM AT PRECISELY 6:00AM THIS MORNING. AS THIS IS AN HOUR BEFORE CURFEW RELEASE, AN INSTITUTE EMPLOYEE WILL ATTEND AND MANUALLY RELEASE YOUR DOOR. FROM THERE, YOU WILL HEAD DIRECTLY TO THE AUDITORIUM AND BE SEATED.

NON-COMPLIANCE IS NOT AN OPTION. ::</sub>

---

"...its reeally to early for this..." he whined, shaking his head. He grumbled, reading the notice again, and again. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was hoping he was reading it wrong,even though he knew otherwise. He barely heard the door open, before the footsteps stopped behind him. Turning and looking up, he sighed as he saw the hand.

The entrance opened up to reveal a guard carrying the small lizard by his tail wih a grumble. After promptly setting the lizard on the first chair he found, the gaurd quickly left.

Eric grumbled, clawwing at the scales around his collar before curling up on the cheap chair, Closing his eyes again. Wayyy to early...

"ERRRRGH!! ERRRRRGH!! ERRRRGH!!" Blarred the sirens. It was time for every one to wake up, whether they wanted to or not.

Kyo's eyes snapped open wide, perfectly circular disks of blue glowing fiercely. He had an intense look on his face, like he was about to go into a blind rage. After only a moment, his eyes closed again, his face relaxing. He slowly opened his eyes again, actually awake this time. The glow had dimmed significantly, though it was still there. It was always there. He stretched in his bed, feeling like he hadn't gotten enough sleep. Looking at the glowing screen, he realized he hadn't. "...thank the gods for coffee..." he muttered to himself. He walked over to the wall that housed his mini fridge, one burner stove, one cup coffee maker, and small sink. He wondered if the other Children had such welcoming accommodations, though they probably didn't. These were given to him due to his need for large quantities of food, and even then, it wasn't until he had almost passed out a couple of times.

Kyo got some coffee started, then stripped out of his pajamas. He climbed into the shower and turned the water on. Once he had gotten the temperature the way he liked it, he began bathing, singing about some sea captain named Albert something or other. He finished, toweled off, and opened his closet. There were only two pairs of black jeans, about five black shirts, and assorted undergarments. He pulled his clothes on, choosing to wear his favorite shirt today, since something important seemed to be happening. It was a simple black tee, but with a very angular, very stylized skull. It only had four long teeth with no lower jaw. He pulled on his long, black gloves. Once upon a time they had had fingers, but he tore through them the first time he had tried to jam his massive claws into them. Once they were on, he slapped some spiked leather cuffs over them to compliment his long spiked boots.

Kyo finished dressing himself by putting a spiked collar over the shock collar all of the Children had to wear. Finally he could enjoy his coffee. No sooner had he poured in the creamer and begun stirring it than the door to his cell slid open. "Number Eleven, you're required to meet your fellow Children in the auditorium." Stated the guard at the door, coldly. Kyo sighed, gazing tiredly into the swirling storm of coffee and creamer in his favorite (and only) mug. "Yeah, just a sec..." he muttered. He placed the steaming mug into his mini fridge, settling on having iced coffee when he got back. Whenever that would be.

Kyo made his way to the auditorium glumly, his back hunched slightly as the guard followed behind. The guard was keeping close, though not so close that Kyo could reach him with his claws. Not that he would anyway. It annoyed him that he was treated with such caution, despite being classified as "SAFE". As he walked, he absent mindedly placed a hand on the wall, his claws making thin marks in the cold steel as he dragged them along. The guard told him to stop, so he did.

Finally they had reached the auditorium. Kyo turned to bid the guard farewell, only to find he had already closed the door. He stared grumpily at where he imagined the guard to be before walking over to his Siblings. "Sup?" he asked one of them, not expecting anything more than a nod. He found a seat that was more or less by itself and sat, leaning back slightly. He began whistling softly while he waited for... whatever this was to begin. At one point he felt a tap on his shoulder, and then again on the other, but when he turned to look each time, there was nothing. "Good morning, Aant." He said, looking straight ahead. Either she was incorporeal, or he was talking to himself.

Eli laid in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He once again couldn't sleep. His fingers picked at some scabs located on his forearm absentmindedly, a habit he had formed over time. It was... oddly calming. It wasn't odd for him to be unable to sleep, he more often then not would have nightmares that would wake him up time and time again. More often then not, he wished that he could for once just not dream, to be able to sleep the full night like a normal person. Not that he was normal, none of the children were. He let out a brief sigh before allowing his eyes to close, bored of the blank wall that he has stared at so many times.

Despite being awake, the incessant, overbearing, high pitched alarm seemed to almost scare Eli, jumping out of bed and to his feet, a mildly wild look in his eyes. A slightly strange look for the boy, his hair at the back of his head was sticking up into the air in a mess, his simple sweatpants and t-shirt wrinkled, mismatched, with his sweatpants beginning to fall off. Gaining awareness of his surroundings, he took a deep breath, clenching his hands into fists and releasing. He ran his hands through his hair rapidly, before pulling his pants up completely. He now glanced at the board, feeling all energy drain out of his body. Brilliant... something urgent... something that means having to go out to fight... amazing...

Slowly moving towards his closet, he removed a form fitting black shirt, a pair of black combat pants, and his black boots. All of his movements were slow, as if each required a large amount of effort to complete. He entered his wash room, quickly ridding himself of his night time clothing, and washing his body. Soon after, he dressed and began to fix his hair. It took approximately five seconds. He looked at himself in the mirror, noting the relatively unemotional look in his eyes. He forced a smile onto his face, but alas, his smiles never reached his eyes. Did not prevent him from trying however. Shaking his head, he walking into the center of the room, glancing around, when the guard finally arrived. Eli stared with a vacant expression, regarding the guard his discontent, remaining still even as his door was opened.

The guards gruff voice sounded from under his helmet," To the auditorium 13. Do not make me force you." A glimpse of frustration crossed his eyes before quickly fading. If it was one thing he learned, do not show the guards any weakness. He forced his feet to start moving, carrying himself to the door and began to slowly make his way down the hall. He then felt a sharp nudge to his back, as well as heard the loud statement from the guard," Move faster, 13!"

Eli spun to a stop, now facing the guard, where he practically snarled, rage filling his eyes," Do not touch me!" The guard took a step back, his finger hovering over the option on his controller to give the subduing shot. However, he quickly realized his mistake, and spun back around and started down the hall, struggling to control his breathing, simply desperate to get away from the guard that was following behind him.

He shoved through the door into the auditorium, waves of stress rolling off of him, but grateful that the guard was leaving. He barely glanced around, taking slight inventory of the people here, before placing himself in a seat away from others, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, looking at the ground in front of him, slowly gaining back control of his thoughts. He hated himself. He hated he couldn't stand to be touched. Why couldn't his brain just think right. Why was it so difficult for him to go through simple processes for everyone else. A deep, shaky breath rattled him, his eyes closing shut, but keeping aware of the sounds around him to listen if someone approached him.