[IC] Fateful Convergence

[Vocalia]

Hayley cautiously looked at Sean's hand as if it was a deadly bio-weapon waiting to be unleashed. She still distrust him and she deemed his effort to try and win over her flimsy at best. However, she realized that he had already risked himself by jumping in their fight and kicking Nigel for them and, seeing that Isaac had already taken the initiative, Hayley decided to trust him. Cautiously taking his hand into a firm shake, she replied to him with a frown of healthy 'stranger danger', "This doesn't mean that I'd forget that shit happened in the past, but I'm willing to give this a go." "My personal observation shows that there is sufficient benefit to this partnership. I do not understand your hesitation in accepting Sean Anderson's offer." Hayley felt her finger twitch as she listened to Alexis' unknowingly patronizing comment. Oh, shut it, Lex... I've swallowed my pride to take this bastard up on his offer, she mentally murmured. "I do not understand the concept of emotional pride and I am unable to rationalize your displeasure. I will record this observation for future analysis," Alexis mechanically replied.

[Daxam]

Sean grins and says, "I wouldn't expect you to forgive me in one fell swoop, anyway!" Looking from both Isaac and Hayley, he adds, "So, since you're gonna be spending every day training with me, now, how about you two move out? I have more than enough room at my place for both of you and more. But, I'd understand if you wouldn't want to. I mean, you still hate me, after all, Hayley." Isaac turns to Hayley and says, "It's your decision. It's your home we're talking about, after all."

[Vocalia]

Hayley began to mull over her given options. She could opt to stay in their old and shanty apartment in case Sean decided to pull more mischief, but at the same time, she was worried about being able to keep it hers for long. Doing so would also add time constraints to their training. On the other hand, living with Sean meant that they could train anytime and enjoy the amenities his luxurious abode provided. Shrugging quietly, she smirked and replied, "You know what? I'd say we move to your place!" she replied with no ounce of shame whatsoever. It's not like it's going to make any difference to my battered pride. Might as well enjoy what he could offer while we're at it, she thought.

[Daxam]

Sean claps his hands together and says, "Awesome! Let's head over to your place and start packing! I'll even help you, free of charge!" Turning on his heel, he begins walking down the street. Turning to Hayley, Isaac smiles and takes her hand before leading her down the street. As they walk, Sean going on and on and on about what all they'll be doing, Isaac looks down at Hayley and says, "Don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine."

[Vocalia]

Smiling gently, Hayley clasped Isaac's hand, once again seeking comfort and safety from him. "Are you sure about this though? I'm kinda surprised that you would be so willing to trust him right off the bat," she replied, but then chuckled softly. "Then again, you did trust me and, as annoying as he is, Sean saved our asses. I guess we kinda owed him as much." Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the skies above and said, "I wonder how things would change from now on... I mean, moving from a shanty dumpster to a place a diva would kill for is quite a huge leap."

[Daxam]

"I don't know why I trust him," Isaac says, looking ahead at the man who was still speaking to himself, "but I just do. I think he might've been my friend before everything happened, but I'm not sure. I know he's responsible for my amnesia, but I just can't feel any ill will towards him." I can't help but wonder what his deal is, though, Vincent says. He doesn't seem all that right in the head. Shrugging, Isaac responds, I don't know. I just know we should stay on his good side. You saw what he did to Nigel!

[Vocalia]

"I guess when you're not that thoroughly violated, you wouldn't feel the same level of ill feelings," Hayley replied nonchalantly as they continued their trek back to her apartment. Once they arrived, she opened the door for them and let Isaac and Sean in, barely resisting the temptation to smack the latter's smug face with the wooden door. "There's not much of my own belongings here. Probably a couple of bedsheets, clothes, cutlery, plates and shit," the blonde said and looked back at the two men. "To be fair, I can carry my own stuff on my own."

[Daxam]

"Nonsense!" Sean says as he starts moving into Hayley's room, only to be stopped by Isaac's hand gripping onto his sleeve. "Don't even think about it," he says, pushing Sean towards his room, not wanting him to barge into Hayley's room. Once they were in there, Sean asks, "Why'd you do that?" Isaac turns to him and says, "You bugged her apartment, Sean. Walking right into her room isn't something you wanna do if you're trying to make amends." Sighing, Sean scratches the back of his neck and says, "You're right. Let's take care of your stuff, then, shall we?" Isaac nods and says, "Yep, let's get started."

[Vocalia]

Although slightly puzzled by Isaac's reaction, Hayley quickly moved into her room to pack her belongings with her, stuffing them into her bag. She noticed how few she really had and let out a morose chuckle. "Guess I'm no better now than I was before," she mused and heaved the bag out of her room. "Okay, I'm done here!" she called, hearing noises from Isaac's bedroom.

[Daxam]

Isaac and Sean then walk out, Isaac carrying an armful of clothes, his pillow, and blanket. "We're set, too," he says, taking Hayley's hand with his free one. "Oh, don't forget to tell your landlord you're moving out," he adds as they head for the door. Once out on the street, Sean grins and says, "It's a good thing that I don't live very far, huh? You won't have to lug your stuff for too long!" Turning around, he walks backward and adds, "I think this might be the start of a beautiful friendship between the three of us."

[Vocalia]

"Beautiful friendship, my ass..." Hayley muttered, making a mental note to let her landlord know that she had moved out. "Still, I guess I should thank you for letting us move in with you. I'll try and keep collateral damage to a minimum, keyword being 'try'," she replied to him, then remembered something else that she felt he needed to know. "Oh, and if I start acting strange or anything, don't worry too much about it. It's a long story..."

[Daxam]

"Oh, don't worry," Sean says, "I know all about your friend upstairs." Then, quickly, he adds, "It's not because I bugged your place again! My powers let me sense others with abilities like my own. For instance, I can sense two different sets of power coming from you, Hayley, leading me to believe that you're sharing space with someone like Isaac is." Doesn't he mean that you're sharing space with me? Vincent asks. Quiet, Isaac responds, only to be met with a mocking repeat of the word from Vincent, as if he were a child.

[Vocalia]

"It would appear that my presence has been detected," Alexis said to Hayley, to which she replied in a deadpan tone, Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. "So you know already, huh? Guess I shouldn't beat around the bush with you." Hayley pondered about what Sean said to her, before putting more attention to what he had just said. "Wait... You said you sensed two sets of powers from me. I don't think I get what you're talking about. Not that I know much about what the 'other me' can do, aside from what I was told, so what do you mean by that?"

[Daxam]

Sean shrugs and says, "Easy. By 'two different sets,' I mean I can sense that there are different levels of control. While I sense that one's wild and barely restrained, which I assume is yours, the other is really well-contained. The only way this is possible is if there are two different entities sharing the same body." Isaac can't help but stare at Sean in surprise, clearly having not expected that level of perception from the seemingly idiotic man in front of him. It seems like he's full of surprises, Isaac remarks inwardly.

[Vocalia]

Now more aware and wary of what Sean could do to either her and Isaac, Hayley frowned and kept a short distance away from Sean as they made their way to his apartment. "It's really that obvious, I guess," she replied. "Yeah, I'm pretty much the novice chick here while the 'other me' holds all the cards. I didn't even know I have powers until she showed up, but I'm sure you can tell that already from how I fought with that crazy bitch..."

[Daxam]

"I'd still say you did an exemplary job," Sean says, "especially for someone who only discovered her powers recently. You have talent, I'll give you that." Isaac turns to Hayley and smiles at her, saying, "It's probably from the experience you got from fighting. You probably developed a talent for fighting styles, even with your powers. With Alexis helping you learn at night, I'm not surprised you're handling yourself as well as you are."

[Vocalia]

"To be fair, she was holding partial control of my body. We kinda fought together back then, although you could imagine how awkward the whole thing was," Hayley replied, a timid blush on her cheeks. Looking back at Sean, the blonde curiously asked, "So... Do you know what sort of power I have? It's nothing I know much about. From what the 'other me' told me, it seems to be connected to shadow or some dark shit I have no clue about. How is that even possible and why do I have it out of nowhere? The whole thing really felt surreal, even until now."

[Daxam]

Sean raises a finger to his chin and taps it thoughtfully as he thought about Hayley's question. As he thought, his pace slowed until he was walking next to Isaac, who had his arm around Hayley. Eventually, he holds out his hand. A tendril of darkness springs from his shadow and collects above his hand, becoming a pitch-black sphere of darkness, as he says, "If I had to guess, it's like your other self says: it's somehow connected to umbrakinesis, or the ability to control shadows and darkness. It's probably a more primordial version of what I can do, though, from the way it feels to me." As the sphere returns to his shadow, he adds, "And you don't just have it out of nowhere. This kind of thing is passed through the generations. A line of your ancestors had to have had it in order for you to have it now."

[Vocalia]

"So you're saying that it's in the blood?" she asked, growing more curious by the minute. The fact that Sean easily demonstrated his superior skill at umbrakinesis, whatever that could be, yet describe her power as being much older in origin only made her question her powers even moreso than before. Opening her free hand, she took a deep breath and tried to imitate what he had previously did with his own powers. Black wisps emerged from the shared shadows of her and Isaac, then gathered above her hand into a pitch-black sphere, smaller in size and less solid in form. The presence of the sphere alone seemed to suck in a little of the light around them and the cold air it gave out bristled her skin slightly, but it had no moral essence in it and was essentially neutral, nothing that could discern it as being evil or good. Instead, it felt like a solid form of encasing shadow as if it yearned to envelop those who saw it in its void embrace, a feeling Hayley sensed very strongly. "It still feels... unsettling, but maybe I'm just not used to this whole thing."

[Daxam]

Sean grins and, at the same time as Isaac, says, "You'll get used to it." Sean then goes on to say, "I've had my powers for about five years and it took a good sixty percent of that time for me to get used to them. But, the important thing is that I did get used to it, just like you will. Before you know it, you'll be a master at your abilities, just like me and Isaac."