Vox Angelis

Knights of Evil (High Casual, Organization of Evil Monsters) (Work in Progress)

Par’Sath Eth’Erax (Parsath/Etherax)

The Apostle of Death/Guide of the Damned/The Deathless One

General description

Race

Deathless (Ancient Dragon Heritage)

Age

Parsath lived for millennials. There are no actual accurate records of his existence in the annals of humanity.

Size

As a spirit-kin, Etherax holds no real form, and thus doesn’t weight nor has an actual height. However, soul-bound set of armor and clothes the Apostle of Death uses to manifest himself to the few rare mortals he appears to are of an imposing approximate of 6 foot and 6 inches tall.

Gender

Again, as a spirit, the Damned Guide has no gender, but used to be a male Dragon in his previous life. His voice is that of a creature whenever spoken, echoing in a deep and sinister whisper.

Sexuality

None. The Deathless Dragon transcended desires as his spirit ascended to become a Deathless.

Religion

Death. Par'Sath worships the concept as something fundamental. To every beginning, there is an end. For every spark of life, there is a final breath.

Job

Being so attuned to the world of the dead, Parsath Etherax’s occupation is to lead the deceased souls to the Great Beyond and lay them to rest permanently. As such, the Deathless One has undertaken the thankless job of burying/disposing the corpses. In the rare occurrence a funeral is held, Etherax will be the one to conduct the passing ceremony.

Personality

The Death Apostle is a keen being. Wise, analytic, focused, calm, those are all adjectives to describe the ascended spirit-kin. It is believed that his enlightened state of mind has destroyed the principles of sins or virtues from his very soul, leaving him as a stern and cold watcher.

However, something obscure and unsettling remains behind this shadowy mask.

Biography

In his living, the Black Dragon known as Par’Sath Eth’Erax was of a studious kind. It is said that greed was the driving factor of these mighty beasts, and the Deathless one was of no exception. His lust for knowledge was so great that eventually, after spending so much time among humankind, the Dragon had nothing left to learn.

It was after spending so much time wondering what could possibly be done that the immortal being contemplated death. But death would be a waste of his knowledge. To have gathered so much, there was a way to keep it all even as he would disappear from this plane of existence. The more Etherax thought about it, the more he cursed himself for being so greedy. There were uses of this knowledge, but he wasn’t willing to put it to actual use. He had ruled villages, towns, cities, countries, empires even over the eras with this knowledge, but it was vain, as nothing was everlasting, and eternity was a lonesome existence.

One day, the empire Etherax had built had crumbled, as the sudden disappearance of its ruler threw the lands in turmoil and ended the legacy in its aftermath. Since then, Parsath was never heard of again. Some say he got bored of the life of opulence he was living, some said he had been assassinated during one fateful night, his corpse carried away.

How exactly did this ancient being came from being recruited by Lancelot? Only the infamous Knight and Etherax know. As far as his motives went, perhaps there was still something in the old being that attracted the Deathless to the Dark Knight’s proposal. A fateful uprising that seemed to distinguish this rise to power from the others. Ever since Lancelot took the power for himself, it would appear the sinister sight of a Reaper followed in his wake.

Appearance

Appearance

While being basically ethereal, Par’Sath decided to appear to the mortals as a being akin to an armored monk, or the manifestation of a battle-ready Reaper. The heavy set of armor and robes the Deathless is bounded to gives him a ghostly and gaunt but imposing appearance, towering well over 6 feet high. If it wasn’t for the black void behind his hood, the animated armor could as well be mistaken for a giant of a man.

Traits and Equipment

Race Description

-The Deathless kin are spiritual beings that transcended their mortal shell after obtaining true enlightenment through the course of their life. Because life is short to earn this level of spirituality, beings that hold long longevity or basically immortal are usually the suitable candidates to becoming a Deathless. Needless to say, those spirit-kin are few in numbers, but each devotes themselves to the Great Beyond, in one way or the other.

Curse/Power Description

As an Apostle of Death, Par’Sath Eth’Erax rules over the realm of the dead, but only to an extend. Being the Guide of the Apostles, the Deathless One holds dominion over souls, spirits and literally death. While Parsath is in an area, the Dragon of old controls the flow of souls, effectively seizing them before they can even leave their body, and judges whether someone dies or not.

Spell list

• Body Reconstruction
  
  As long as a soul is being held by the Apostle, the latter can effectively reconstruct its old body from scratch. The body lay lifeless as long as its soul is not being returned to the body. However, the journey of a soul back to its body is nothing short of consequences. A returned soul will feel heavily exhausted as they reenter their body, and their magical potency will be reduced by half. This spell can only be used twice on a single body, after which a different method of resurrecting must be used.
• Soul Reconstruction
  
  In a similar fashion to reconstructing a body, the Deathless Guide can reconstruct a soul that has been torn asunder, effectively returning a sentient being back to existence.
• Curse Breaker
  
  As the Deathless Apostle holds dominion over those fated to die, Lancelot's Priest can effectively remove any curse burdening them.
• Eternal Rest
  
  Etherax's command over souls is powerful enough to allow him to cast disembodied spirits back to the Realm Beyond. Any spiritual creature in possession of a soul targeted by this spell are banished from the material world and sent back where they belong to.

Strengths/Skills/Talents

• Aspect of the Deathless
  
  Whatever supernatural or physical abilities one might have possessed due to their racial heritage, a Deathless loses all of them, as they are now a shapeless ethereal being that no longer associates with their kin in their previous life. As a spirit-kin, they can no longer be affected by mundane objects. Everything physical or immaterial that aren’t magical in nature cannot affect them.
• Master of Funerals
  
  As it was implied for his job, Parsath is a more than an expert when it comes to laying souls to rest. Funerary rituals, grave keeping, praying for the dead; he does it all with mastery.

Weaknesses

• Aspect of the Deathless
  
  But as he is unaffected by mundane weaponry, the Deathless One can be affected by magic.

Equipment

• Shovel
  
  Just a simple shovel, for burying/unearthing.

Artifact

Hourglass of Fate

This powerful artifact has the power to affect someone's time. At the cost of a fraction of their lifespan, the Hourglass can reverse someone's time, completely removing any injury or ailment. This power cannot be used on creatures that cannot die of old age, such as constructs, immortals, the undead, demons and spiritual beings.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Semi of Safety

Sander | Christmas | Lily

Kusari | Marcus | Emma

Angelique | Grant | Sophia

---

𝕊𝕦𝕟: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟚𝟘, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻.ℂ. / / ~𝟙𝟚𝟛𝟘

---

_{Collab with @RedDusk @January @Kyrisse @Piercing Light @Chasers115 @Diggerton @Riffus Maximus @Deathmyster @VampireOracle}

The Evacuation team had only made it less than a block when a blinding light flashed across the sky, seemingly centered above the Potomac. Another cacophany to the sound that was a monolithic fight, while they scurried through the ruined city streets and abandoned traffic jams like ants. It seemed like any moment, a piece of building would come careening out of nowhere and destroy the whole group, but that tragedy never happened, despite the constant threat of it looming overhead.

It would be so easy to destroy all of them, even accidentally. A thought that rang uncomfortably in Marcus's mind as he slowly walked with Sophia at his side. If nobody took care of those things, they'd be crushed underfoot before the team even made it halfway. The fighters needed help - and there was only one person on the team who could feasibly assist.

"Sander. Hold up a second." Marcus said, shuffling up to the bloodsucker.

"I know you want to get Christmas to safety personally, but we're sitting ducks out here. If nobody takes care of those giants, we're gonna end up as collateral here before too long." A short rumble of debris colliding with the ground a few blocks over seemed to punctuate his point as he spoke, a small pleading light in his eyes.

"Huh?" -Sander blinked, noticing Marcus just now as he was distracted by the explosion of sights and sounds. He turned his head to face the scarred Arbiter, trying to wrap his head around the other's words -"Yeah?"

"And...well...you're probably the strongest person in this motley little group of ours, if not in the whole class..." Marcus continued, slightly taken aback by Sander's complete lack of useful response.

"I'm not." -The denial came quick and easy, even when Sander wasn't even sure what kind of strength they were talking about -"Not really."

"Sander." Marcus said, a slight hint of irritation in his voice. "Between you and Callan, Factory didn't stand a chance. Right now, we need that kind of raw power again, or we're going to get stomped on. Literally."" he said, gesturing to the looming figure of the Ice Titan.

"I'll get Christmas out of the way first." -Sander looked briefly toward the monster -"I'll get you all out of the way too."

Hearing over the exchange Marcus and Sander were having, the Aberration girl had ushered Grant to help her walk over the two. Marcus was right. Sander would be of better use if he could hold the monsters at bay while they were evacuating. After all, Sander and Callan took down Factory by themselves.

"Sander, please." the fallen rockstar pleaded, mustering all the compassion she could find within herself to speak to Sander, despite her mind addled by the anger the voices kept stirring. "Marcus is right. We need you to delay the monsters. You're the strongest there is in our class. We can't afford to stand here for too long with a monster rampaging right behind us."

While she was remaining calm in her voice, there was a clear hint of irritation and impatience, byproducts of the darkness clouding her mind from her stigma screaming inside. They had to move quickly. They had no time to lose by stalling like this. "We need you to make sure that monster won't come after us even if we reach the evacuation point. Zoe, Allison, Hazel, Callan They need your strength to survive out there. We need your strength to make it out there safely and survive."

Angel paused, her tired eyes reaching over the unconscious blond boy Sander was carrying in his arms. "Please. You can trust us, alright? If not for us, do it for Christmas. We'll take care of him, but you have to make sure that monster doesn't follow us to evac point."

"I'm faster. Back soon." -Sander frowned, protesting -"I'll carry you all back then I'll go kill that."

Sander was thick-headed, again. This time, Angel could not tell if it was because he was as dense as ever or if it was just him being overconfident in his abilities. "The drop-off point is miles away. You may be strong, but you can't carry twenty on your back, and running back and forth is just wasting more time." she answered Sander's defiance with her own.

"It's not just us. The soldiers, the civilians. We all need to help them evacuate safely. You can't do all that on your own. You need to freaking stop doing everything by yourself. We're teammates, for god's sake! I'm trusting you to keep everyone alive, so please at least trust us to do something useful. Not only for us, but for what we're trying to build."

"Remember when Christmas told you about Ernie? How strong he was then?" Marcus said, immediately following Angel by leveraging a bit from the one interaction he'd be present for. "He needs you to be just as strong. Strong so that we can make it there safely. So that we can get him back to to the Evac point without getting hurt." he continued, his tone light and airy, as if he was talking to a child.

Sander looked pensive for a moment, red eyes dropped and his occupied shoulders sagged slightly -"I-I...will be back." -He said quickly, before dashing off with the unconscious officer and Christmas.

Angelique could not supress a look of angered disbelief rising up to the surface as she watched Sander sprinting away with his load in direction of the evacuation route. Did he just ditched them all under the pressure? Did everyone meant so little to his eyes.

It's like that night again. He is not worthy of your trust. You are putting your hopes on someone undeserving...

Through gritted teeth, Angel turned to Marcus. As mad as she was right now, they needed to keep moving. If Sander was going through with his plan, then he'll return. But if he wouldn't then, they won't take the chance of standing here and getting stomped by a rampaging titan. "We've got to move... I can't fucking believe that idiot She hissed the last statement into a barely audible whisper.

Marcus gave his own look of disbelief, his mingled with more surprise than Angel's anger. As if to confirm what had happened, he turned to look at the rock-star, catching the quick expletive she muttered under her breath. There was a moment when he stood dumbfounded, staring at his back as he bolted off.

There was a slow anger boiling inside him; a bubbling heat that took him back to the APC; another evacuation attempt, hopefully one that this wouldn't mimic. Huffing to himself, trying to calm the irritation that was rising to the surface, he continued on. "Angel's right. We can't stop here; we can meet him further along."

Lily walked behind Marcus, Sophia, Angel and Sander, silent and thoughtful as she trudged along supporting an injured person she didn't really know and listening to her classmates' exchange. It was strange how they needed to convince the blood mage to go help out when it should be automatic. He used to be like that. She agreed with Marcus. Sander was probably the strongest among all of them. The blonde teenager might not have interacted much with him but she knew what he was capable of. She glanced towards the unconscious Christmas in his arms.

Then again, she can understand why he didn't want to leave the fainted boy without making sure he got to safety. Christmas must be a really close friend.

But even with that understanding and because of her present mood, she felt frustrated at Sander. Here she was offering her help to fight and was turned away while he had all the capabilities to make the monsters bleed and he was hesitating. She shook her head as she watched him speed away. She would have said something but what use would it be? No one would listen to her. No one really does.

She continued moving without saying anything.

---

The evacuation seemed to go smoothly for the retreating USARILN students, despite the commotion happening all around them. Whatever hate the citizens harbored for the Subnaturals now out in the open, it would seem the fear of death was stronger than harassing the majority of Experimental Unit B from fleeing the hotel along with the many escapees. In a matter of thirty minutes, the evacuation group had managed to finally reach Washington’s Supreme Court of United States through their slow pacing.

The surge of panic that came with the rumbling of the icy titan’s fall and rampage gave that ominous and foreboding feeling creeping in Angel’s spine. Luckily for her, it was cloudy enough to allow her eyes to adapt even just a bit to the ambient light of a midday of September. With all the panic, she could not help but notice how slowly their progress had been, from being slowed down by carrying all the injured personnel or their own classmates, and being shoved randomly by fleeing citizens.

Scanning over the crowded street, Angélique could not help but notice the vast amount of cars left abandoned. Monster traffic had impeded the escape by car. But Regulars had no way to deal with traffic jam. Mages though…

An idea sprouted in the Aberration’s mind. It did not take long looking down the street to find what she was looking for. A freight truck, luckily not carrying anything for cargo, obviously left abandoned because of its size and poor maneuverability. Would it be faster to evacuate using this truck? While most of the most powerful members of Unit B were away fighting, there still remained a small amount of respectably strong members among them.

“Guys, wait!” Angel’s voice magically reached out to everyone in their evacuation group. “We’re going too slow. If we want to evacuate the injured and return in time to our friends fighting their asses off, we should quicken our pace. How about we take one of these trucks there, load everyone inside and make our way through the city while some of us clear us a path ahead?”

Marcus stopped suddenly as Angel's voice called out, almost as if she were standing right beside him. It took a few moments for him to locate her, cocking his eyebrow quizzically in her direction. She was a ventriloqist now too? A regular grab bag of voice-related professions, apparently. But that wasn't important right now; the aforementioned truck was the focus point right now.

"Hmmm...that's not a bad idea actually." Marcus pondered, allowing Sophia to shift her weight into a more comfortable standing position. "We'll have to take a detour though; I don't imagine the city-wide evacuation route is going to be any less crowded than this."

In all honesty, it was probably what they should have been doing in the first place; not only would the evac route be more crowded, but it would probably be more dangerous; DC's monsters were around to kill humans, and that was the largest grouping of them - plus they as subnaturals weren't the most friendly treated people in the city.

"Sounds fair enough." Angel answered, looking over the street. An eighteen-wheeler sounded like a good idea. Sure, the thing was big and unwieldy, but that vehicle could carry a lot of stuff. While they needed to quickly leave the area and bring anyone unavailable to fight to a safe place, their self-imposed mission was to help evacuate. If there would happen to come across anyone injured on their way to the evacuation zone, they could pick them up and load them in the freighter. Not that is was only because it was the human thing to do, but that would help the USARILN Mages gain a good reputation. At least that’s what Angel was thinking. Show the world they weren't walking killing machines out to destroy humankind

With Grant’s help, Angel reached the semi-truck with its cargo still attached at the rear. Luckily for them, the truck was empty; the previous driver was probably on his way back to a warehouse to load up his next delivery. "Perfect. It's empty. Everyone, climb aboard, we're leaving." Angel called out magically to her classmates.

Satisfied with the outcome, Angel slowly walked towards the driver’s door.

Throughout the entire trip of evacuating the injured to somewhere safer, Grant had been helping Angel stay on her feet, lending her his shoulders. When she suggested that they all could use a freighter, he sure as hell wasn't going to refuse. It would've been a weight lifted from his shoulders, quite literally. Helping her toward the vehicle in question as she informed everyone of the plan, it was only when they were close enough to it when Grant realized what seat she intended to go for.

"Wait, hold on. Are you sure you should be driving in your condition?" He would ask the Aberration girl rhetorically. Even if the truck idea was good, it wouldn't be so good if everyone just ended up crashing. Seeing as she already needs help with walking, there's doubt to be had about her driving.

Angel turned to Grant, giving him a an exaggerated innocent look. Of course she wasn't in a condition to drive. She had trouble focusing her vision, and the ambient light sure didn't help with her daze, giving her now a slight headache. "I know, but who's going to drive truck? If we're going slowly, I don't think I'll be crashing into anything, right?"

When she had asked that question, Grant took a quick look around at just who was around them at the time. Anybody available, knowledgable would be fine, he would think. He scanned the faces of everyone, to see if anyone at least looked like it. He knew they couldn't be out here for too long, or they'd just be sitting ducks. A choice had to be made. He gulped down the lump in his throat before he looked back to Angel, getting out an answer. "I could try." A faint sense of regret lingered within him, but if it was the better choice, he'd just have to tough it out, or wait until an even better choice comes up.

A small sense of relief lightened up Angel as Grant proposed himself to drive the truck. He didn't seem to know how to drive one, considering his bearing, but it was probably safer to let him drive than let herself take the wheel. "Hmph, fine. I'm still sitting at the front though. Want to make sure you don't crash us into a building." she teased her walking partner as she opened the door to the driver's cabin and hopped inside.

Once inside the cabin, Angel shuffled with difficulty to reach the passenger seat. But before taking a proper seat and settling in, she rummaged inside the truck's cabin. Searching through the glove box, the sunglare-blocking pads and the dash's paper box, she didn't find anything of use aside business papers, delivery proofs and a pair of working gloves. Damn, the previous driver must've escaped with the shades. With a sigh, the raven-haired Aberration sat comfortably inside the passenger seat and buckled in, waiting for everyone else. In the meantime, she was thinking who could possibly help with clearing the road ahead if the traffic jammed the streets.

Though Angel had intended her comment to be in a teasing manner, it would also be the best. Grant hadn't exactly ever driven a semi truck before, but at least there was someone supposedly experienced in the group. "Thank you." He said with a nod. Helping her up into the cabin, he let her move her way to the next seat before he himself stepped up in, sitting down on the seat. He took in his immediate surroundings, moving his feet a bit to touch the pedals. He tried to mask his nervousness, taking a quiet deep breath as he shut the door to the cabin as his current 'partner' took her seat. He tried to get accustomed to... well, everything he was seeing. The steering wheel in front of him, the speedometers, etc.

Calm down. Breathe. Another deep breath, and as he waited for all of the evac group to get inside, he spent his time trying to reassure himself and getting comfortable with everything, pulling his seatbelt on.

"You sure you're good with that?" Marcus said from the ground, looking up at the boy in the cabin. Grant's apparent discomfort was easy for him to notice, perhaps only because he'd tried to read the boy's face as he climbed in, for this exact reason. They didn't need a runaway semi truck in addition to the numerous monsters rampaging around the city - that would just be another problem for the worryingly large stack of problems they were faced with.

"If you don't want to drive, we can always have someone else hop in; you could probably help clear the roads in that case." he suggested.

The unspoken suggestion was that he take Grant's place, but it remained unspoken because he wasn't sure that he'd be any more comfortable than Grant was. He'd only ever driven a small SUV before, and even then he hadn't driven it that much. But surely it wouldn't be that difficult at low speeds. Maybe the turns - his mind wandered thinking about watching some of the larger vehicles come through Panshaw. They always seemed to take up so much of the road when they came through.

He looked up at the cabin, pausing a moment to gaze over the road before them. There were a lot of cars to clear out of the way.

Angel was clearly oblivious to Grant's discomfort as she had been sitting with her eyes closed, as if that would make her think better, or ease her growing headache. It actually did, for the most part, help her concentrate as no light made it through her eyelids and worsened her state. She however kept an ear out, recognizing Marcus' voice and hearing out his proposition with keen interest.

It did made a lot of sense. With his current set of powers, Marcus could be of no use but stay at the back of the truck with the others. Grant, however, had the power to move things with his chains. And with her previous fighting experiences with the young man, Angel had no doubt Grant could move cars aside. Hell, even others could help him do so, as she figured out in her moment of clarity.

"Marc's right. We could use your powers to clear us a path."

Her eyes opened halfway as her head turned to the two boys. "You think you can handle driving this thing, Marcus?"

Even with his attempt to mask his nervousness, one of his classmates apparently saw through Grant, causing a lapse of confusion in his expression before he looked over to the boy in question. He looked familiar. His name started with an M, he was sure. Oh, right, he was just asked a question. Plus, he was hoping to pass it off into another, more capable driver. "Yes. I suppose sounds better." He would agree after the scarred boy mentioned a change of job to moving the roadblocking vehicles.

Grant had already unbuckled his seatbelt when he relearned of the other boy's name. Marcus. He gave a glance to him, placing the name to the face. After that moment, he opened the door and stepped down from the seat to let Marcus take over.

"I've driven Go-Karts before, can't be that different." Marcus said nonchalantly, his tone not quite making it clear if he was joking or not. He gave Grant a small nod as he hopped down beside him, something to hopefully spread the comraderie around a little bit; they were all part of the same team after all, no reason to be completely ambivalent about each other.

He grabbed the edge of the door and pulled himself up after making sure that Sophia was steady, taking a moment to look around the cabin and find his bearings. The road looked a fiar bit different from the height of the cab, and he gave the pedals a quick tap (making sure the vehicle wasn't in drive first) to make sure he knew where they were.

"Alright. Ready to move when you guys are." he shouted out the window, before pulling his head back in and buckling his seatbelt.

"Way to reassure us, Zippy." Angel sighed uncomfortably as she heard Marcus' claim. Inexperienced as everyone might be, at least she was sitting close if he to know anything. Not that she was used to driving these huge vehicles, but she had some basics down.

Memories of a past figure swiftly brushed her consciousness. A man lifting a raven-haired young girl in his arms and making her sit on his laps, behind the big steering wheel of a truck in a field of corn. A time back when Angel was but a child. A time when she harbored no ill will towards her parental figures.

"It's a shame, really... For such a loving presence to turn into a greedy fuck at the first signs of your success."

With a frown etched on her face, Angel brought herself back to reality as the whispers in her head reminded the young woman about things that were better left forgotten in the past. She needed to focus on the task ahead. Resume to her previous train of thoughts.

"Grant, tell Emma to help you moving the blockade with her Tulpas. And ask Siena to come see me." Angel's lips moved, but her words did not came out inside the cabin. Instead, her voice had reached out to Grant's side, her tone straight-to-the-point and on the edge.

As Grant surveyed the road jam, his chains appearing behind him, swaying in rhythym, he slightly flinched to the sound of a voice beside him. Angel's voice. Though he looked to the direction it was in, Angel wasn't physically there. No time to worry about it, since she had asked him to talk to some of his teammates here.

Both Emma and Siena's names were familiar, though their faces in his mind were hazy. He was sure he had heard and witnessed Siena's power, and scanning the faces of everyone, he believed he spotted the one he was thinking of. He strided over to the arbiter helping with an unconscious guard, telling her simply, "Angel wants to see you." before heading off to the next person he needed to talk to.

Again, another scan of faces, and he walked over to the aberration that he believed was Emma. As he arrived to her, without too many words he said, "Help me with the roadblock."

Emma had been quiet up until now- something about falling several tens of stories took something out of you. When Grant approached her she merely returned a quick nod, having noted their new plan to use the semi; one that she wasn’t quite sure she agreed with, but would go along with. They probably knew better than her anyways.

”Determination, put Lawrence and the guard in the back of the truck.” Emma said, gesturing towards the semi’s trailer. The Tulpa was characteristically slow to follow, but he got the job done.

Just as Determination deposited Lawrence and the guard in the back of the truck, Lily herself got into the truck. Silently, she made sure that the unconscious Lawrence was in a comfortable position before she slumped next to him. With her mood low and all the adrenalin gone from her system, she felt the exhaustion from both the blood loss and the effort she had exerted to sate her stigma. Her eagerness to help out was gone. Ernie's suggestion was pushed to the back of her head despite the belt being strapped securely around her waist. She leaned back and closed her eyes. The silence in her head was a welcome change.

Emma herself started walking towards the mass of cars that blocked the way forward, giving the scarred boy in the front seat of the truck an uncertain smile as she passed.

He knew what he was doing, right?

After turning to make sure he had finished his task Emma resummoned Determination to her side. ”Alright, start clearing out the cars blocking our way.” she said, glancing along the stretch of road in front of them… this wouldn’t go very fast, was it really best to slow down with all the sit going on around them? Either way, Determination began to unceremoniously knock cars aside.

A quick nod to Grant was all that Siena could afford to give before she made her way to Angel, a sense of disbelief still washing over the brunette. Though every rational thought in her head said--no, screamed that the events were real, her heart seemed to still itself. A mortifying sense of calm that made her feel almost as though she was walking through a haze.

...but hadn't she already sorted out those inconsistencies?

"Grant said you wanted to talk to me?" Disgustingly calm...it felt wrong. It felt so wrong. Her fingers traced the phone. No service, but she'd taken advantage of the wi-fi in the prior days to arm herself with an arsenal of names to take and faces to wear. Needless to say, she could see where things were going, but...it was best not to strike up a dissonant chord in the midst of the situation at hand. Best to continue playing the obedient follower until the need to be more than that rose.

When Angel saw Siena approaching from the mirror, the black-haired Aberration had opened the passenger's cabin door to allow the girls to speak to each other without hindrance.

Scanning her friend up and down, Angel deduced the Arbiter had suffered a bit through the fall, just as everyone else, bit seemed rather well, contrary to a few guards and a dazed Sophia and Angélique.

"Yeah... I've been remembering about that time. You were impressive, ripping supporting beams of steel away from that building. Think you can take up something like that again to help moving the cars away? No need for anything drastic or too tiring, simply just push those out of the way. Emma and Grant should be helping doing that too."

Another nod. Still morbidly calm about the entire situation, Siena noted to herself, but at least she could be useful. While she was certain that a powerful ability like then would have been useful, she was more than aware of the fact that taking on a name that filled her with a white rage was far from the wisest course of action. (But wouldn't it feel good?) She slipped her phone from her pocket, only giving it a glance as she deftly maneuvered through her arsenal. A few roundabout saved locations, but otherwise business as usual.

A hollow laugh echoed within her somewhere. This was far from business as usual.

"I have an idea already. It should make it easier for others to help move things too." Grey eyes dropped from their usual habit of staring at something that wasn't quite the eyes of the people she spoke to down to the phone screen, words seeping into her vision as the circle of light formed as she beckoned for her mark. Business as usual.

She chose people more mild-mannered than her usual fare. People that Siena knew were inherently good--well, at least as far as she could tell--and not yet broken in to the workings of a harsh reality. Kennedy first, then Dekka. The weakest versions of them that she could remember. Just enough of Dekka to negate--no, that would be too difficult with both names. At best she could reduce--the weight of the cars, and the newly awakened Kennedy to help push vehicles out of the way. Both felt more than she did. As the light faded and the grey eyes dimmed to a deep, muddy brown, she gave a weak smile and moved to provide her support as best she could.

Business as usual.

Upon seeing Emma starting to clear the way with her hulking Tulpa, shortly followed by Grant and Siena each using their powers to move the cars out of the way, Angélique was pleased by how things began to look. But it was only the beginning of their evacuation plan. Now, all that remained was the actual evacuation part as they had to make their way into the city via a different evacuation route.

Focusing her magic once more, the Voice Mage this time projected her words to everyone in the back of the truck, including Marcus at the front as well. “To all the others who are capable to standing and helping, Mages and soldiers alike, look out for civilians to help. The elderly, the children, the severely injured; help everyone who can’t make it to the evacuation point into the truck. We’re going to evacuate as much people as possible while we’re on the road.”

Shortly after, Marcus began driving the truck forward down the path Grant, Emma and Siena created. Worried over if Marcus wasn't joking about his driving skills, Angélique gave the scarred young man a few driving lessons as they were slowly moving. The way to shift speed using the clutch and the manual gear (although at the speed they were going they rarely moved past second speed), distance tips, rearviewing and some other basics.

Eventually, when Time Scar would start to getting the hang of things, Angel focused on the path ahead. Now that the driving and clearing the blockade questions were out of the way, it was time for her to focus on the evacuation. She hated sitting in this cabin, doing nothing but watching most of her classmates making themselves useful in one way or another. She wanted to be out there and help too, but her dazed state of mind and Grant's concern over her situation shackled the young woman down on her seat.

If she was to be sitting there, then she'd make herself useful one way or the other. She had the power to do so without moving an inch, now that she thought about it. It was simply a matter of focusing hard enough about her queries and make the best of what she had available, a skill her first beloved manager had drilled into her.

"Attention all citizens! This is USARILN Special Evacuation Relief Unit coming through. We ask everyone to make their way to the evacuation zone in a calm and orderly manner. If you come across someone unable to make it to the safe zone by themselves, give us a shout and help us bring those people into our emergency vehicle."

The raven-haired Sonic Aberration's voice echoed throughout the area all around them, result of a focused effort to project her voice everywhere all at once. Every few blocks they would drive through, Angélique would broadcast her message all over again, trying to make the most out of her power to help evacuating those who couldn't escape. Angel tried to hide the shaking in her voice, from how stressed and tired she currently was. She tried to sound as professional as possible, turn her group into a legit evacuation force sent by USARILN. The last thing her classmates needed was to deal with a panicked and angry mob of citizens. If she could manage to gain the citizens' trust and ligthen their hatred towards Subnaturals in favor of surviving, then she would be happy with her provided efforts.

"We're going to need a healer down here by the slime in a few minutes if everything goes well. If Zoe's plan doesn't work, presume both of us dead and stay clear. Over."

Anxiety gripped the fallen idol's heart as she heard Allison's voice through her cuff. What was going on with the monsters? Damn, why the fuck was she crippled now of all times. Now that the shadow of death loomed over both Zoe and Allison, Angel yearned all the more about being over there with them and help fighting these giant freaks.

She was at a loss now. Christmas was taken away by Sander to the evacuation point, and Lilianna had already lost too much blood from healing soldiers and classmates alike, she was in no condition to quickly make her way back to the scene where all the chaos was happening. And yet, she did not want any of those two to die. She couldn't bear losing another one, not one that had grown so close to her.

Speechless, Angel's face froze, her gaze slowly turning to Marcus, as if she desperately wanted to find an answer from the driving young man, or any of her teammates, for that matter. Her ears, however, were actively listening to whatever argument was going on through the cuff's speakers. Seemed like Zoe and Brent were arguing about a plan of sorts. Hopefully things would settle well on their end. God, did Angel was mentally cursing herself for being in this condition.

---

The lights, the heavy steps of the ice creature as it continued its destruction, the noise that all the panicking and evacuating citizens made, it was all too noisy and hectic and scary and... just all too much. While leaning on Marcus Sophia tried to keep track of where all the noises and disruptions were coming from, but they came from every side. Her eyes darted from place to place as she observed all she could, but everything she took in seemed to come in through a haze.

It wasn't really because of the blood loss, at least not entirely. It was just her reactions to these kinds of events. This was the... second time that she had been in the midst of such chaos, and she far from accustomed to it. Her heart seemed to be beating so loudly that she wouldn't have been surprised if Marcus was able to hear it, even through the background noise. Her legs felt weak as ever and the feeling wasn't improving speedily as she had hoped would happen.

And the worst part of her reactions was this horrible feeling that she didn't know anything, and it was true. She couldn't even keep a proper track of where the monsters were and what they were doing, because she just couldn't focus and she couldn't see everything at once. She was tempted to turn on her power simply for the sake of being able to see more, not because she wanted to find people. Because she hated not knowing and not having control.

Sophia hadn't even paid full attention to the "plan" that had been formed while they were still in the hotel, because her head had been ringing too badly and it still did somewhat. All she understood that the people that stood around her had the same purpose: to get out. What would happen afterwards she didn't know.

Afterwards. Because they would make it out, right? They-- most of them had made it through the last time, so if that... luck was still with this group, perhaps things would be okay.

Angélique's call using voice projection to tell them all to get in the truck didn't startle Sophia as much as it yesterday evening, but perhaps that was because the Aberration's voice couldn't compare to everything else around them. The idea of sitting in a truck instead of having to walk appealed to her, but when she finally left Marcus to get inside, it reminded her too much of her time inside the APC. A different vehicle, yes, but still. She was enclosed by walls that made it harder to move around if anything happened to require them to get out quickly. Like the appearance of a gargoyle, perhaps.

Still, she settled herself in a seat and tried to listen to what she hear of the conversations going on around her. Relaxing wasn't possible at this point. She listened as Angélique made another announcement, about looking for civilians to help, but though her thoughts had been on her power before, it didn't occur to her now to use it to look out for people. Once she had determined that it didn't concern her, she was quick to dismiss the words.

Likewise, the back and forth conversations happening through the cuffs were listened to, but perhaps not dismissed as quickly. She didn't understand what was going on, couldn't get what exactly was being referred to. Needing a healer soon, wanting to meet someplace... and all those other words. She tried to piece the lines of conversation together as they came in, but all she could get was that something was being planned and argued about.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

It had only been a hour after Angel’s dispute with Emma, but everything was still so intense in Angélique’s mind. The recent verbal bout with her Aberration classmate had poured oil into the fire that was the singer’s Stigma. The thing had been left unchecked for almost a whole week now. The volume of the whispers had grown tremendously without any real way to sate her destructive urges, given the group’s current circumstances. And it was now taking its toll on Angel’s unfortified mind. She had grown restless, impatient, aggressive.

To sate whatever destructive lust Angélique was feeling, she locked herself up in the gym this late morning. As she told Zoe, they couldn’t sate their Stigma like they used to in Ground Zero, but whatever she could manage to work with, she’d do it. Despite the roaring headache caused by her slight remnants of hangover, Angel just pounded the punching bag in front of her though the pain.

Kill herself. Destroy every part of her being that she wasn’t satisfied with.

And then everything went to hell.

The burning on angel’s throat was unbearable, nothing she had ever felt before. Not even the stinging pain from reaching her power’s limits came even close enough to that branding-like sensation. Feeling as if she had been attacked personally, egging on her already bad mental state, Angel shouted out in pain and rage, a sonic wave erupting all around the gym that shoves everything away from the Aberration and toppled them over. What was happening to her?

She did not have much time to ponder over the situation as the sirens and distant rumblings could be heard from outside. There were no windows for Angel to see what was going on, but it was evident something went wrong as a guard came to get her. She had expected to be tazed or shot down, as per warning of that guard a night ago for what she did in the room, but it wasn’t the case. She was brought into the living room with her peers, all standing there and waiting.

Two earthshakings. That’s what it took for the whole world to seemingly fall down all around Angel. Instinctively, the raven-haired older Aberration reached out for the girl standing next to her, Sophia. Whatever the fuck was happening, she would not let another young girl get killed by strange turns of events. Wrapping her arms around the dark-brow haired teenager, Angel held on firmly to the girl, trying to cushion Sophia’s fall with the athletic body Angel had.

Unfortunately, little did she expect that the fall wasn’t what caused the most damage. It was the bookshelf that came down onto the two. Despite the Aberration shielding most of the young Arbiter’s body, the heavy thing came crashing hard enough for Angel’s body to crush the little’s girl frame in her arms as well.

Angélique could feel something had snapped in her body as she suddenly felt intense pain flaring up in her sides from the bookshelf crushing her body. A broken rib, a vertebrae, a punctured organ, she could not tell. She wasn’t a doctor, and she never sustained an internal injury this bad in her life. The pain was intense enough to emancipate a loud, pained gasp, followed by a muted shout hissed under gritted teeth.

She was dazed, the world spinning upside down and her sensitive hearing was shortly deafened from the cacophony the building made when it fell. Still holding Sophia tight in her arms, the obsidian-haired young woman barely registered the shifting weight as the bookshelf was removed from her crushed body, only letting out another gasp of pained groan as the shifting weight caused her internal injuries to flare up once more.

She did not initially answer Grant as he asked if she was well. The pain was too intense in her sides to voice a coherent answer. Her mind was still foggy as well. But when Brent’s alarmed voice blared into her cuff, the Voice Mage knew she would better answer than make her classmates worry over her apparent broken body.

“I’m… alive and-” Angélique let out a painful gasp. God, even talking wasn’t helping her case. “I may have… hnngg… something broken.”

Her voice was faint, strained. But her pained words reached out magically with ease to everyone within range of her newfound ability. The daze would not go away. In fact, it only seemed to worsen as minutes passed by.

For once, she was not bleeding out. She was bleeding inside. And it was way more painful and worse than suffering a bloody external injury.

But hearing Zoe’s words echoing, and that unsettling laugh, Angel wanted to get up. Get up and fight. No… she couldn’t leave her be like that. Not after swearing she’d look over her and prevent the darkness from claiming her red-haired friend.

But as she tried getting up, she was paralyzed from the pain in her sides. It was too hard to move around with something that severe.

“Zoe… please…” Another agony-filled gasp followed by coughing blood. “Stay safe.” Her lips moved without speaking, her voice reaching out almost-telepathically to her fellow Aberration training partner.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟟𝕥𝕙 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘

Chapter I: Harmony

Collab here!

Chapter II: Raiding Washington’s Clothing Market

Read up "Thursday | September 17 | 12 PM

Chapter III: Late Night Lessons

Angélique | Hazel

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𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟟𝕥𝕙 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻.ℂ. / / ℝ𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕝 ℙ𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕖 / / 𝟚𝟛𝟘𝟘

---

_{Collab with @GreenGoat}

Tonight, Angelique could not find sleep. Her mind was preoccupied by a lot of things. Her Stigma growing restless from having spent not much time sating it; the local news constantly replaying every single bit of footage they managed to get on her classmates; the words exchanged between herself and Emma; Zoe's attempt at killing herself.

Usually, when she had trouble sleeping, Angel would simply stay up some more and listen to some soothing music until sleep would finally claim her. However, now that she was rooming with someone else, Angel didn't want to disturb her friend's beauty sleep by listening to some music without her headphones.

The musician Aberration figured that if she couldn't listen to music, she might as well make some. She wasn't too fond of the instruments she had spotted in the music room earlier today, but she could at least work a few of those, although those weren't instruments she had mastered like the guitar.

Making her way to the music room, she could barely hear a thing coming from it. The room was insulated alright, but whoever was playing in there sure made enough of a racket for it to be heard even so slightly away from the door. As soon as Angel opened to the door to the music room, whatever insulation it provided leaked out from the room, increasing the racket by a thousand fold.

It was so late in the evening; Angel didn't want to wake anybody up. As such, she swiftly closed the door behind her, finding herself alone in the room with the one person that was causing all this racket, Hazel. Angelique only sighed. She was still hogging the piano at this time of the day?

Although Hazel was far from being someone Angel held dear at heart, she could still hear Emma's reasonable words at the beginning of their discussion, before it went to hell. Was she really a misunderstood girl? Earlier today, she seemed fine, listening to the others playing the piano. Perhaps... she could try and mend the broken pieces if she put effort into it?

The raven-haired ex-idol made her way to the Aberration making that late-evening racket, leaning against the piano as to announce her presence so to not catch Hazel off-guard.

"Hey... couldn't find sleep either?"

Hazel stopped, hands still on the keys.

It was true she had been enamored by the piano, but she was not here because she did not find sleep. She was here simply because she did not want to sleep yet. An interesting device, made of simple wood and strings, making such glorious noises. Those who had stayed and observed her banging on the piano after that session earlier would soon notice a methodical feel to it, the feeling that the incessant banging weren't at all that random. Not that anyone would want to stay and watch some girl bang on the piano of course. She was, instead, exploring the piano, so to speak.

Seeing as the long haired girl wasn't about to do anything, Hazel simply nodded, and stared quizzically at Angel. What could she be doing here at this time of the night? And for that matter what on earth does finding sleep mean? She had simply assumed sleeping was an act, but never an object, thus for one to find sleep... Perhaps it did exist somewhere. After all, she had no knowledge of a piano before she found one here.

Angel stood silent for a bit, gazing upon the quiet young woman in front of her. She seemed very quiet, a sight not matching what Angelique had witnessed when the girl had lost control. Even then, through the whole battle, she did gave off that quiet aura.

"I... listened a bit to what you were playing. Do you like playing the piano?"

"Yes."

As if in demonstration, Hazel played an actual recognizable tune; short, repetitive, but still recognizable. It was the jingle from the elevator. However, it wasn't long before she started banging on the keys again, with sequence and melody known only to her mind. Having determined Angel wasn't here for anything important, she had simply turned her attention back to the piano.

"Ah... Wou-"

Just as Angel was about to speak, she was cut short from Hazel resuming her play on the piano. It might have sounded like a random mess of notes to any untrained rookie, but Angel's keen musical hearing thought she distinguished a small pattern in what Hazel was playing. She didn't seem to be trained at playing the instrument, but she seemed rather interested in exploring.

"Would you like to learn playing piano? Like Christopher and Siena?" Angel asked softly.

"Like Christopher and Siena?"

The two who had played, while Hazel watched on intently earlier in the day. They played beautifully, even if the music was unfamiliar to her ears. One she was still trying to piece together right now. Regardless of how she mimicked him, the melodies she created seemed wrong, arranged differently in another manner. While still exciting in its own way, she wanted to play just like that.

"Yes." It was all she uttered as she made room for Angel on the bench, looking expectantly at her.

Nodding, Angel took a spot on the piano's bench. Decidedly, the black-haired sonic Mage never thought that she would transform from rockstar to music teacher ever since she was forcefully incarcerated in USARILN. But it was a nice thought, to be of relative use to the people around her. It was a nice hobby, to make living in a school-prison more supportable.

"See that key here? Take your hands and make it so that your two thumbs touch that key, while your other fingers touch the nice other keys. That way, you can move your hands around with ease to reach other octaves." Angel explained as she put her two hands on the piano's keys. "An octave is made of seven notes: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La and Si." The Aberration musician continued, hitting each keys as she named them. "The black notes are the notes in between, like this one being Fa sharp, or also Sol Flat."

Angel sighed, a faint smile managed to creep on her lips as she explained. Despite still feeling a bit uncomfortable around Hazel, her mind was seemingly put at ease when it came to teaching someone about music. Who knows, maybe that would help Hazel discover a new passion, something they could talk about like normal people.

“Oh wait, maybe that can help you understand. Stand up for a second.” Angel asked as she went to open the bench on which they were sitting, indeed revealing musical booklets. Flipping through the pages, Angélique found the very first song she had practiced on, and quite frankly the only song she managed to play though before turning to another instrument to play.

“See the notes I was talking about? These are the keys you will need to hit to play that song. Here let me show you.” Angel placed her hands on the home keys, catching sight of the keys she will need to hit according to the music sheet. She took a deep breath before starting to hit the keys. As she hit the notes, she sang along the names of the keys to the popular rhythm of Fur Elise. While she was no expert like Christopher or Siena, this song was simple enough to allow Angélique to play the intro without hitch, even with the limited knowledge she had of the piano.

After she was done playing the first two sections on repeat, she stopped and looked at Hazel. ”Here, now you try. It’s okay if you can’t play on the same rhythm; just memorize which key to hit. Tempo will come to you as you practice more.” Angel said as she placed herself to the end of the bench, leaving the middle open for Hazel to place herself to.

It was a familiar tune, one Hazel could not name. But it was familiar to her.

She took the center, noting every key she had identified and mentally attached a sound to. Her movements were slow at first, picking out the notes one by one. Once she figured out the notes however, she belted out what she could remember, pressing key after key, getting several wrong here and there, but it was unmistakably Fur Elise she was trying to play. Frowning a little, she looked towards the booklets Angel was looking through, but could make little sense of the dots and squiggly lines that filled the papers.

"I see."

Angel looked on as Hazel attempted to play the notes she just showed her. A lot of mistakes, but that was perfectly normal for a beginner. Instead, Angel was quite glad to see the quiet girl looking so committed to learn. She laid out the booklet in front of Hazel, pointing the dots on the line and the keys that were paired with the written notes.

"Focus on remembering the dots' position and the keys that correspond to them. We can go over what those lines mean later on as we progress." the fallen musician suggested to Hazel.

Nodding, she repeated the sequence, trying to match her memory of the music to the melody she was putting out. Without a doubt, Hazel was learning quickly, with barely any mistakes made, though her rhythm was still slightly off here and there.

It was certainly exciting for her to find something new, and on top of that, she was playing something that wasn't just pure noise. However, Angel did come to this room at this hour as well. Did she, perhaps, want to play the piano too? Just like those two before, she could be here simply to play the piano to help her find sleep, as she put it.

"Did you want to play?"

The fallen idol was impressed simply by how quickly Hazel was assimilating those lessons. Emma was right all along. Hazel seemed to be a simple girl, but underneath she was a quick study. Perhaps she was an intellectual? It wouldn't be the first time in history for someone to be this gifted despite showing some... issues, Angélique figured.

"Me? No no. Well, perhaps I did want to play for a bit, but I was more interested in the harp over there." Angel glanced towards the majestic-looking string instrument.

"Harp?"

Hazel glanced over to the oddly shaped thing with several strings on it. She didn't like the shape very much; it lacked the sleek black surface of the piano. Running a hand through the strings, she decided that the sounds it made was at least great, even if the shape looked stupid to her. Taking up another seat near it, she stared expectantly towards Angel, obviously thinking she was going to go and play the harp.

God, with that stare, Angel felt pressurized to take a seat by the harp and play it. But she had no idea how to play that instrument. She just wanted to be alone in here and experiment, see if it was a bit like playing the guitar. She had no idea someone would be in the music room at this time of the night. Allison made it seem so easy to play earlier, the very same girl who told Angel on their first evening that she was but a novice at playing guitar.

"It's a little bit late for that though. I'm starting to feel a little bit sleepy. I think... I'll just sit here and hear you play some more and help you if you want to learn more." Angel weaseled her way out of showing just how ignorant she was of playing the harp. Not that it was a bad thing to teach the girl how to play the instrument. Plus, if that would help mending their relationship as battle partners, that would be a good step forward.

"I see."

It was quite late, quite a while past Hazel's bed time to be sure. She was quite sleepy as well, but the clinking chainmail she still wore, and her still aching right arm reminded her she wouldn't get too much sleep. Plus, she still wasn't quite ready to leave the music room yet. Sitting beside the harp, she thought back to earlier that day, to Allison's playing. Reaching over to the harp strings, she started to play a graceful melody. Or at least, that’s what she had intended to do. It was as if she was pulling at a live distraught cat instead of the harp, should anyone else hear the noises she was making.

Now that was just an unbearable sound. And one that Angel couldn't put a stop to since she had no way of showing Hazel how to play that instrument properly. Instead, she tried to dive into a subject she was reluctant of speaking of, but had to get it off from her chest.

"Say, Hazel." She called the girl's name as she approached her to the harp's seat. "Do you remember... what happened in Wisford?"

"Yes."

Stopping her pulling on the harp's strings, she started summarizing the event in Wisford as best as she could, though only through her perspective, and only until she lost control of herself after the dream crept in. After a while of silence, Hazel looked towards Angel.

"That is the summary of what happened in Wisford. Should you need it, I can make a complete report on the mission."

That wasn't the answer Angel had been looking for. Did Hazel forgot what happened after that? Or was she purposefully avoiding the subject? One thing that was certain, the soldier-like explanations of the other Aberration girl creeped the singer out. Too formal. Too much like an automaton. But she'd play the game, if that's how she wanted it to go.

"No, that won't be necessary. But tell me, can you remember anything after Factory had fallen? After we finished off the last of the machines?"

"After... the machines.." Hazel held up a hand to her head. "..We.. I.. There was a dream, I couldn't save..."

Sarah...

Unpleasant memories and feelings seeped through even the haze induced by both the drugs and collar, making her neck crawl. She stood up suddenly, obviously distraught.

"I have to.. This.. I need to go now. Sl..I have to sleep."

Seems like Angel pushed the subject more than she should have. So her theory was correct after all. Whatever vision Hazel had, it had sent the girl into an uncontrollable frenzy.

"I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried. You don't have to go. I will return to my room." Angel said as she stood up as well. She made the girl uncomfortable, she had to take responsability.

"I understand," Hazel spoke, nodding as she did so, but nevertheless, she fled the room, her hands up to her ears all the while.

"Hazel, wait! I..." Angel gestured for the fleeing Hazel to stand by, but it was too late, she was already gone by the door and was covering her ears.

"I'm sorry about..."

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟠𝕥𝕙 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘

Chapter IV: Blowing Off Steam

Angélique | Zoe

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𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟠𝕥𝕙 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻.ℂ. / / ℝ𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕝 ℙ𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕖 / / 𝟘𝟡𝟘𝟘

---

_{Collab with @Lasrever}

While everyone was accommodating themselves in their temporary luxurious shelter one way or another, Angel still kept her daily routine. No time slacking off, not while her mind was on the edge from her growing restless Stigma and all the shit that happened and will happen in the future. The raven-haired Aberration had been training with Brent, Ernest and Siena this morning, but the work-out barely did any good to sate her curse.

She sought out more things to do, to keep her mind distracted from the pent-up stress. And salvation would perhaps come from one girl Angelique saw in the distance. Arguably the best choice considering what happened, but Angel figured the two of them could use an exercise to blow off some steam.

"Hey, Zoe. Hope you're not busy, 'cause you and I are going to kick some asses. Well, sand-filled asses." Angel waved to Zoe as she approached her.

In all honesty, Zoe couldn't help but be a little surprised at the singer's approach. Surprised, and a little apprehensive, considering the circumstances - She still hadn't quite found the will to talk to anyone who'd found her at the motel yet, at least not one-to-one. But then she didn't have much to gain from avoiding half the class, and Angel didn't seem quite as snappy as she had been. Either way, Zoe decided running away and avoiding the girl who'd potentially stopped her from being crippled by her own stupidity was a shitty move, even by her incredibly low standards.

So after a second's hesitation, she raised her head to look at her classmate as she nodded. "Got nothing else to do, so why not? I'm always up for some asskicking."

"Cool. Follow me, I've set something up in the gym that we could use." Angel gave the girl a thumb up before leading her to the gym. "Have you practiced a fighting style before?" The singer with a newfound pair of sunglasses asked the redhead as they made their way to the gym.

There were already a few hanging sandbags that could be used to practice general strikes. However, near those punching bags, there was a makeshift practice dummy made from whatever Angel could gather and hold together. A frame made of some cheap stainless steel rods cushioned with a few of the penthouse's comfy cushions and pillows, all held together by heavy-duty duct tape. The cushions also served as target points, such as the chest, head, arms and lower body.

"Not... Uh, not formally." Zoe's expression darkened for a split second before she chuckled, the moment passing in the blink of an eye. "But I can throw a punch properly, no worries about that."

After reaching the gym, she wasn't sure whether to be impressed or amused by Angelique's handiwork. Not that it wouldn't work, but looking the dummy up and down she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "You know, I don't think that's exactly what they envisioned when they gave us those fancy pillows, not that I'm complaining." She smirked, glancing towards the other girl. "So, how about you? You get some combat training in when you weren't too busy with the whole 'sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll' thing?"

"Hey, that's what being resourceful is all about. It's not like we'll be staying here all our lives. And our 'benefactors' can surely pay the bill anyway." Angel replied to Zoe's comment with a devious grin and a chuckle.

Angel's expression darkened as well for a moment after hearing the rock n' roll remark. "Ah... so you know..." It was to be expected. Even Ernest was a fan of hers. "Yeah, been practicing kickboxing for three years. Mostly Savate-oriented."

Zoe shrugged. "Hey, one of my old buddies was a fan, never affected what I think of you. Good that you got something done to protect yourself with anyway." Noticing that Angelique seemed uncomfortable with the topic, Zoe decided not to take things any further down that line of questioning. Staying focused on training seemed like a better idea anyway - Saved her from having to address the elephant in the room that was the motel incident. "So, you gonna get us started or what?"

"Ah, yeah."

No time mopping around. That wasn't why she was here in the first place. Making her way to the punching bag, the martial-art apprentice took a glance at Zoe before starting. "Savate is mostly focused on swift end-point strikes. You'll rarely see anyone fighting with their elbows, knees, forearms or legs. It's all about striking with the feet and the hands. My style of kickboxing is pretty much boxing, but it includes those Savate kicks as well." Angel demonstrated her technique as she launched two quick jabs followed by a hook and ended with a swift low kick.

"It's rather simple, when you think about it. Just gotta know your boxing and kicking stances, then it's all about figuring out combinations."

"Huh." Zoe watched the exercise, interested. Had to admit, it'd be pretty nice to know what she was doing in that way, but part of her had always taken issue with formal teaching. Nonetheless, she grinned approvingly. "Well like I said, I'm not exactly a kickboxer, but that definitely seems to work. Not too hard to remember either."

The simplicity of it was definitely helpful, just like Angel was saying. "I gotta admit, I was a little worried it'd be one of those flowery styles that doesn't do anything." Walking over to the dummy, she grinned. "Sorry to say I'm not sure how effective I'll be against a dummy. See, the problem I have with formal teaching was always a pretty simple one."

She looked at Angel, interested to see how the other girl took this. "They teach you to fight like there are rules."

"Well you know, I've gotta say..." Angel started as she wandered aimlessly towards the makeshift training dummy. As nonchalent as her walking was, her aloofness was suddenly broken by a sudden punch in the dummy's face, sending the thing backwards a bit before bouncing back straight. "...I totally agree with you there. When you fight to defend yourself, there is no such things as rules." Angel repeated the words her old mentor taught her.

"Sure, a punching bag is a far shot from actually fighting someone, but it still gets the basic through for someone who had no experience like me." the raven-haired girl shrugged.

Zoe couldn't help but be slightly startled by the sudden noise. Well, that was interesting, although she had to bite back a comment about overdramatic stage performers. "Then you're smart, 'cause that's how it is. Nine times outta ten, the person that wins isn't the biggest or strongest, it's the most ruthless person involved. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suckerpunching people, but once you're fighting, you fight to win." A mentality she'd stuck to throughout their fights, not that most of her classmates would agree with it. Honestly, she was surprised to get this much from Angelique.

"But what you're saying seems fair. I kind of learned from experience, so I could never really adjust all too well. Got told how to throw a punch and that's as far as it went. The rest I ever had to do was just about getting stronger. Mentally, you know?" Her gaze flitted over her knuckles as she finished speaking, but she didn't say any more about it.

"Mentally..." Angel repeated, a word that seemed to have a lot of impact. Was she referring to prepare herself mentally for what fighting really meant? Somehow, Angélique felt like Zoe's ruthless behavior sort of came with that 'shouldering the responsibility' of her acts. Just how turbulent was her previous lifestyle for the redhead's Mage to have developed this kind of mentality?

That very same question was burning on Angel's lips. She wanted to ask Zoe if that was the reason she did that horrible thing to Callan. But she knew better than to outright ask this question. Instead, Angel returned to the practice dummy, eying it.

"Yeah, you're right. So it's more like street-fighting in your case, huh?" Angel asked, feeling a bit bitter than the punching session veered towards philosophy than actual punching action. She thought she would just enjoy a nice, steam-blowing session with the tough-looking girl of her class before actually getting to discuss. Angel felt like she needed it, instead of having the both of them trying to justify why they were that way.

"Argh, enough talking, more punching! Show me what you got! Maybe I'll show you a few techniques if you're willing to learn them after."

"Sounds good to me! We're getting off track, right?" Zoe brightened up considerably as she took her place in front of the dummy. It had been a while since anyone gave her a reason to throw a proper punch - Hand-to-hand combat seemed redundant at this point. But then, it was always cathartic to do, and she sure as hell could use some of that.

Her technique wasn't quite as refined as Angelique's, that was obvious once she started, but she more than made up for it in the speed and pure power she could get behind her blows. The redhead's physique wasn't just for show, after all, and she didn't exactly mind getting to push herself. After a long string of punches, she grinned, taking a step back. "You know what, this actually was a good idea. Want a shot?"

Angel was downright impressed by the power put behind Zoe's strikes. Just to tell her that even without techniques, raw power was still something to be reckoned. The more technical fighter could only imagine what it would feel like to receive a punch of that strength straight in the ribcage.

"Haha! I knew you'd like that!" the singing rockstar claimed as nodded in agreement to Zoe's proposal. She might not know Zoe personally, but she had figured she might be into that sort of thing just by watching her go at Ground Zero. She did give off that street-punk vibe after all.

Taking stance right next to Zoe, Angel launched a series of jabs, straights and hooks to the dummy's torso. It did recoil less than when Zoe hit it, showing that Angel wasn't as fighting-savvy nor as physically strong as her redhead peer. It was all about technique, catching someone off-guard with a well-placed strike. Then, to finish her round, Angel took a step back and finished with a mighty side kick to the dummy's chest, sending it reeling backwards with an impact powerful enough to rival, if not a bit more powerful, than Zoe's punches. The advantage of kicking was clear. Since legs muscles are generally stronger, from carrying a person's weight all day to the density of the tissues, they generated more strength behind an impact after absorbing momentum.

"Man, I gotta say, I wouldn't want to change place with that dummy right now. You sure do pack quite a punch. Here, have a turn!" Angel smiled, taking the dummy and replaced it onto its original spot.

"Hey, keep going, I thrive on compliments." Zoe laughed cheerfully, shifting her weight slightly as she approached again. Boxing definitely was a good workout, that was for sure. Lot of movement involved, which was good - Kept her awake enough not to zone out and forget about Angelique. Focusing back on the bag, she threw another few strings of punches, but paused before swapping out. "There any technique to kicking like that, while we're here? Kinda want to see how hard I can hit with that."

Angel only laughed whole-heartedly to Zoe's comment. Damn, if only she could get the girl to be that cheerful all the time. Now that would make her seem less threatening.

Or make her less of a threat to others.

Shaking her head off that sudden thought that crossed her mind, Angel looked towards Zoe, taking a stance next to the dummy. "Actually, yeah. You can't just go about swinging around like that. You've got to get that momentum, transfer the energy to your kicking leg. Here, let me show you."

Angélique placed herself in front of the target, her kicking leg being at the back while her pivoting leg was at the front "Let's take a sidekick, for example. If you swing it around just like that..." Angel spun on 180 degrees, catching the dummy with a kick that seemed much less intense "...you just waste your energy on the swing without putting actual power through your legs. But when you do this..." Angel once again took a kicking stance, but her legs were now a bit crooked. When she went for the spin, she kept her legs and body flexed until the very last second. As she extended her legs and back, the kick reflected the earlier mighty kick, sending the dummy backwards a little. "It's all about transferring the energy from the groundwork into your legs. Then, as you reach for the target, you let all that flowing energy explode by the end of your leg, straight up to the foot."

"Right, I think I get it. Like... I don't know, a spring or something?" Made sense in her head, although she couldn't quite think of a great description for what Angel was doing. Still, she did her best to mimic the action. Just had to hold back until striking, put it all into the blow. That part wasn't the issue, just keeping her balance for long enough to get some power into the strike. "Might take me a couple of tries."

Maybe a few more than that followed, as Zoe tried to get the movement down properly. It didn't frustrate her too much, she could feel herself getting closer with each attempt. And sure enough, eventually, her balance was almost solid, and she launched a powerful kick right into the dummy's makeshift torso.

"Yes, exactly! Feel your legs as if they are springs. Well, don't flex them too much for the sake of balancing, but even a little bit of flexing and extending goes a long way to tremendously improve a kick. Add to it the spinning momentum, and you're just set on learning the simplest yet most effective kick. Basically, if you flex too much your muscle, you'd be just wasting energy to extend your limbs." Angel explained as Zoe tried landing a few kicks. She was getting better progressively. That was what made the beauty of kick-boxing. Simple moves, great efficiency. Keeping up on a single move to further improve it was way easier than learning Tae-Kwon-Do or something similar.

When the last kick came in, Angel was impressed by the power. She felt as if it was but slightly lacking compared to her own, but Zoe's quick progress and sheer power would probably soon overshadow Angel's techniques. The obsidian-haired Aberration felt somewhat proud to have added yet another 'pupil' to her list of people she personally trained, whether it be for music or for martial arts. But at the same time, she felt a bit envious of Zoe's natural talent for fighting, even her physical attributes. While Zoe was barely any older or taller than Angel, the former clearly showed the results of a stricter physical training.

"Nice, very nice! Hell, you might just crook that steel bar underneath if you keep this up!" Angel chuckled, amused by the thought. She'd very much like to see that, hoping Zoe would take the bait with that indirectly-formulated challenge.

Part of Zoe wanted to drop out and prove she couldn't be baited that easily. It wasn't like she just jumped at everything that sounded like a challenge. Especially when it seemed as unlikely as this one. A bigger part of her wanted to at least try, and was way more stubborn than that. "I'll bet you I can. You can choose what I get when I win. Or if I don't somehow, you know, hypothetically."

While waiting for Angelique's decision, Zoe kept at it, adjusting things slightly to try and improve her power. Honestly, she wasn't sure bending that bar was even possible with just a kick, but that was why she was offering the bet in the first place. No fun if she was guaranteed to win, after all. Then there was no challenge. Although she wasn't quite confident in her abilities, she still looked cheerful - For the first time in a while, her mask had slipped and the impression of anger was dropped for the moment.

Looks like her challenge backfired on her, but that was a tempting offer, Angélique thought. But what would she gain out of this? Angel was ready to offer whatever might interest Zoe; a favor, a free meal, more lessons, a live performance, or even questions about herself. But as for Zoe, she did not know what she'd want from the angry Aberration.

No, Angel knew exactly what she wanted, but she feared that asking the reasons behind her recent actions would just ruin the moment they were having and burn a bridge Angel tried to slowly build to her red-haired classmate. "A bet? Oh my, aren't you quite confident? To be honest, I didn't think much about it." A small lie, but it's not like she'd want to outright tell the girl to reveal her secrets or what was going on in her head. "I dunno. How about a favor? Maybe a service. or even a treat to the loser's cooking? Hm... what would you like?"

"Let's go with that. A favor. Might ask for more of your cooking though, if that's up for grabs. Although I'm not great in the kitchen, so you might wanna pick something else for yourself. Don't have to cash it in right away. So let's say... Five minutes of trying, and if I haven't bent it by then you win. Can think of what you want until time runs out. If I manage to, then I win." She grinned, turning back towards the dummy. "Sound good? You can tell me when five minutes are up."

"That... sounds good to me." Angel replied, still unsure about what to ask of Zoe. She did however relished in the fact that her cooking was good enough to warrant being a prize for a bet. Nodding to the other Aberration, Angélique took her phone out of her pocket. She opened the timer application, holding three fingers up. "Okay. On my mark. Three... two... one... go!"

After four minutes without a dent in the bar, Zoe was starting to realize that this might not be happening. To the girl's credit, her kicks did appear to be getting stronger, and she was beating the ever-living hell out of the dummy, but it seemed that all she could do was push it back and make it recoil instead of bending the actual bar. Pausing, she glared at it. Okay, hitting it over and over wasn't going anywhere. One last hit, strong as she could get, and if that didn't work she'd admit defeat.

Taking a step back, she paused for a few seconds before launching a kick with everything she could muster, a yell of effort escaping her as her foot collided with the dummy. As it collided, Zoe realized two things - One, that the bar was just too thick to bend without heating it up or something, and two, that after a point, kicking so hard hurt like a bitch. Still, she had to admit the force was still pretty impressive. Panting, she waved for Angel to stop timing as she waited for her foot to stop throbbing. "Damn. Think that's as hard as I'm ever gonna hit that thing. Guess that's one-nil to the dummy."

As requested, Angel stopped the timer, with barely half a minute remaining. She wasn't really surprised that the damn thing didn't crook, but that wasn't what Angel was looking out for when she challenged Zoe. It already bore its fruits.

"Yeah, but look on the bright side. You were so hell-bent on destroying that thing that you probably didn't notice how improved your technique now is." Angel started lecturing the girl. Not to console her from her failure, but more like a teacher giving their opinion to their student's growth. "Each time you kicked, you felt something off. It wasn't powerful enough. So you changed your stance gradually to better absorb the energy from the ground, increase that momentum and release it into a better exploding kick."

No doubt, Zoe now had sufficient technique to her kick to rival Angel's strength, probably even best her in terms of power. "If you were to actually kick someone like that, you'd break more than a few ribs. The impact on the ribcage could potentially affect the vertebrae as well." Angel finished explaining, offering the redhead brawler a genuine smile. "So I'd say that counts as a success, no?"

"Really?" Zoe looked at the dummy, contemplating what the other girl said. She had gotten pretty focused back there, so it'd make sense. Definitely hadn't hit it that hard before, although kicking that hard probably wouldn't be necessary for her of all people. Once she was in range to kick them, she was in range to... No, not right now. Raising her head, she nodded. "Now I think about it, I guess that did feel stronger. Fancy that. Probably should've tried hitting it first before I opened my big mouth, though."

She took a step back from the bag. "You're an alright teacher, anyway, if this is anything to go by. Even if you did sucker me into making that bet." Zoe smiled, obviously joking with the last part. It wasn't like Angelique had been the one to bring it up, Zoe was just a bit too competitive for her own good sometimes. All the singer had done was finding a good way to motivate her. "Think I'm gonna take a break after that, though, so this thing's all yours if you want it."

Angel offered Zoe a cocky grin, suggesting that she knew exactly how this was going to be. "I've learn that sometimes, you learn more quickly when challenged to do your best."

Accepting Zoe's offer, the fallen idol returned to the dummy's side, launching series after combinations of punches and kicks. While she did not want to show-off, Angel practiced with more complex moves, such as high kicks, spinning kicks, palm strikes, uppercuts and the like. A few of those moves seemed to carry far more power than what she showed previously, but a few of those looked unnecessarily flashy.

After a while, Angel was winding down, the pace of her strikes slowing. By now, she had a peaceful, but concerned look on her face.

"Say, Zoe... do you remember that time we've talked at Ground Zero?"

Obviously there was more training involved with the fancier stuff, Zoe reflected as she watched the attack on the dummy. Had mixed opinions on all of that, although some of it looked useful. Still, she was pretty happy with sticking to the basics - Better to do one thing well than try and do too many and be mediocre, at least where she was concerned. As it was, she was pretty happy with what she'd had so far.

Her smile faded slightly as she was spoken to, and surprised by the change of topic she looked curiously at Angelique. Yeah, there it was. At the very least, she didn't appear confrontational. Bringing up the past could bring their conversation to dangerous places, but she was relaxed enough that it didn't get her guard completely up quite yet. After a pause as she tried to recollect the conversation, she spoke. "Ground Zero... Yeah, of course I do. What about it?"

"I've been thinking for the past few about what you told me back there. And then with what I heard from back there at Wisford and La Plata. I..." Angel trued to look for the right words, trying to not mess up too horribly.

She was hesitating to ask. Hell, she feared speaking about it. But Angelique was always one to seek out to truth, even if it hurt. She took a breath, and then sighed.

"Just what were you thinking? Was it the stigma, or something else?"

Regrets.

"Is this why you asked me here''?" False security, the hope that nothing would come up. Of course it always came back. Never just calm, peaceful. Always something to remind her of what a pathetic specimen she was. Bad places. Zoe couldn't help the hard edge that entered her voice.

"You mean the way I hurt Callan? Or when I tried to..." She frowned, squeezing her eyes shut. Too fresh, the memories too fresh. Images, voices, so much screaming. Hatred. Maybe Angelique would hate her too. What was one more, right? That sentence scared her to think. How much suffering had she inflicted that it was even a consideration? She'd start with the easier part. Maybe the other girl just wanted to understand what had happened there.

"I thought the others would die. In Wisford. When I got there, they weren't winning the fight - I didn't trust them to finish it before someone else died, and there wasn't time to give them a chance. I couldn't reach the first one I killed, but I could reach Callan. Underestimated how fast my ability would work on her." She scowled, annoyed at the difficulty she was having in keeping her voice level. "But it let me destroy the gargoyle's brain. And that meant Callan could toss me towards the other one. I killed her too, ripped off her head."

Trying to sound detached, but failing. Self-loathing and confusion creeping in. "And then I threw the corpse's hand and killed the last one through it. Only took a few minutes for all three, from what I remember. I couldn't focus on what I'd done, then. I just told myself I had to finish the fight, no matter what that took. No matter what I had to do. Thought it was worth the trade if it meant keeping anyone else from dying before we could find a healer. Won't pretend I didn't know what I was doing."

As Angelique listened to Zoe's story, she had kept a surprisingly serene expression on her face, despite the would-be outrage of having used Callan's body to propagate the flesh-eating disease. While it was hurting to know about the details of the story, Angel had mentally prepared herself for the worse, just as she still had a shred of hope left in Zoe to have taken that decision based on her wits. And indeed she had. She proved how ruthless she was by taking this kind of initiative.

"And at the motel? Did you do it because of what you did to Callan?" Angel asked, still keeping an oddly calm and collected behavior. Her voice exuded something peaceful, perhaps even sympathetic.

"Not exactly."

Zoe was silent for a long moment, blue eyes fixed on the floor. Hard to talk about, frightening even, but her classmate still seemed willing to hear her out somehow. Had to wonder why the black-haired girl even cared to know. She'd seen as much as anyone what Zoe was capable of, and the fact that she kept trying to help was almost bewildering. There wasn't anything for her to gain, not really.

"You mentioned Ground Zero. I told you I'd take the burden of killing anyone that was a threat, and I wasn't lying." Felt strangely guilty as she made the admission. "Guess I forgot to mention that included me. I was trying to make it stop, needed to hurt something, and..."

Quieter as she continued. Still couldn't face up to her own cowardice, but she forced herself to look at Angelique. "It was me or one of you, so I chose to hurt me. Fuck, I don't know what you expect me to say. I never wanted to see you guys hurt, but I just keep doing it, and at least... At least you can be prepared for a fight, ready to look out for each other when the time comes. You can't be prepared if there's always a chance of me snapping, right? Fact is, I don't have a place here, and I've proved it again and again - I'm a danger to all of you. My life isn't valuable enough to risk any of yours for."

Angélique kept looking at Zoe’s eyes, a stare that would seemingly pierce the soul if it wasn’t for the fact it was once more concealed behind a pair of stylish sunglasses. The peaceful face she had maintained faded more and more into sympathy. Finally, the fallen idol had gotten the answer she was waiting for. It was worth every last bit of courage she managed to gather to ask the redheaded Aberration those questions.

“Thank you. It’s all I wanted to hear.” Angel finally spoke, letting a soft smile form onto her lips after sighing away the built-up anxiety. “I’m really sorry to put you through my interrogation out of the blue like that, but that was something that I needed to know for myself.” She added as she removed her shades, revealing her sincere forest-green eyes to Zoe. “Truth be told, I wanted to talk to you about this for a while, but I never found an appropriate timing. You may think that I’ve set up this whole stage to wring the truth out of you, and you wouldn’t be wrong. At least, not entirely. I wanted to talk to you about what happened in Wisford and La Plata, but while I can’t claim to know about how you feel, I know this: We both are Aberrations, and we both have urges to destroy, whether it is flesh or stone. Punching and kicking shit in an environment where we can’t use our powers is the best thing I could think of to sate if only a bit of my Stigma. So I thought you could use some of that therapeutic too. It’s been almost five days since we left USARILN, without being able to go to Ground Zero, denied the chance to sate our curse. I can feel it too. My patience slowly eroding, the rising restlessness, the urge to let my voice loose and destroy stuff."

Angel paused, wondering if she wasn’t boring the girl she used to think as a woman of action. But still, after having let Zoe speak for so long, explaining herself about her earlier actions, so did the raven-haired rockstar. She wanted to explain why she was so adamant about knowing the truth. “I brought up what we discussed at Ground Zero because I wanted to know your will was still in there. I could rant and scold you about how wrong it was for you to do what you did to Callan, but in the end, you are the one in the right. I couldn’t bring myself, if I had your powers, to hurt others like you did so as to eliminate all threats, but that’s exactly why we need someone like you, pulling the trigger. Many more would have probably died if you wouldn’t have been there. You said it then, and you confirmed it now. So don’t go spouting shit like you aren’t needed on this team. Instead, in the future, just hope you won’t have to do this again, or if it makes you feel that bad, then think of another solution. I know it will sound hypocrite because I wish what you did to Callan will never, ever, happen to me. But I’d rather see one of our own injured and still being able to be healed than have them dead like Savannah and Alexis while we’re fighting our ass off out there.”

There was a sense of fierce conviction in Angélique’s voice, contrasting the cold but partly ashamed tone Zoe had when she was explaining herself. Despite the Aberration’s roughness, she firmly believed Zoe was someone looking out for the well-being of others under her ruthless methods. She held on dearly onto the hope that Zoe wouldn’t cross the line and continue protecting the others. “But I’m glad that you think of us that way. It still gives me hope that you haven’t fallen out of the conviction you showed me at Ground Zero. I won’t pretend I’m not scared of what you can do. I’ve always been, ever since we trained together a week ago. But as long as you think that way, and keep looking out for others, going so far as put yourself in danger from your own powers, then I’ll still believe in you. And for fuck’s sake, even if you are willing to shoulder it all, then I’ll at least be the ear to listen to your worries, or the hand to put on your shoulder.”

Angélique sighed, winding down from her monologue. “Really, just tell me to shut up if I’m being annoying. I know I talk way too much sometimes.” Angel chuckled as she gave the girl a friendly grin.

So that was it. Sympathy or reassurance, Zoe wasn't quite sure how to describe it. But it was accepted, what she'd done - Though the admissions of fear stung slightly, they made sense. And despite them, Angelique hadn't run away, like they all had every right to. It was confusing, but Zoe smiled despite that. Brent had said something similar, when she'd been bleeding all over the room.

"...you still killed three of those rogue subs that made everyone else go through hell. We aren't better off without you."

Maybe they were right. Maybe it really was necessary, after all, to have her around. Strength which had been faltering renewed, just a little. There was no question about it - Some part of Zoe was fundamentally broken, to make her capable of all this even after building herself back up. But then, they were fighting monsters. Maybe... Maybe they needed one on their side. As long as she was in control.

For now, she just nodded. Something about all of this had to change, but they were right. Her resolve couldn't be what she lost in this place.

"I can't say I wasn't expecting you to bring it up. And I don't know about all of this myself, really, but it had to be said. No point in letting it eat away at either of us, and I could use someone to talk to, so thank you. I mean that." Perhaps an appropriate choice of words, considering the circumstances. "But there's something I don't get." There was an easier way to get through everything, at least for Angelique. And yet the other girl kept giving her a chance, after their first fight, after Gregory, and now here.

Blue eyes met green as she levelled her gaze at the other aberration.

"Why do you keep trying to understand me?"

Zoe’s question took Angel a little bit by surprise. It’s true that she was trying to understand just what kind of person Zoe was. But to pinpoint exactly why? Angélique never tried to think too deeply about it.

“There’s… something about you that is familiar to me. We are polar opposites when it comes to how we do things and how far we are willing to go.” Angel paused, giving the question some more thought. “And yet, we share that same passion: to protect and look out for the others.”

“There’s just this confidence and that will to see things through that reminds me of what I was, that I could have identified myself to. I suppose you can call me envious of how you are down-to-earth.”

There was a genuine smile on Angélique’s face as she recalled one of Zoe’s words during their last discussion.

“Hold on to that. Caring.”

“And… well… obviously because ‘caring’ is the job you gave me.” The obsidian-haired Aberration chuckled.

"You really did listen to me." Zoe looked surprised, but faintly pleased. She didn't disagree with Angelique - The sentiment was half the reason she'd given that speech in the first place. Yeah, she saw herself in the singer, a her that was less broken. Perhaps that was why she'd been so determined not to see her let go of her humanity, back at Ground Zero.

"When you put it like that, who am I to argue?" Like they were two sides of the same coin. She smiled, though there was something wistful about it. Part of her wanted to argue that she wasn't someone to be envious of, but at least Angelique had struck on one of her more redeeming qualities. Few and far between, as far as she was concerned.

"I... think I might've needed that. Thank you." She didn't know why there was a lump in her throat. Sadness she could deal with, but Zoe found it a lot harder to keep her composure when someone actually seemed to care. So long without letting the cracks show for the sake of everyone else. Still, she tried to ignore it and forced an unconvincing smile, mind fixed on some deep-rooted lesson about showing weakness, hiding emotion.

"Don't mention it." Angel brushed a loose strand of hair aside, keeping up a bright smile. It would appear that she was right, in the end, to give in to her inquisitive side and ask Zoe about everything. Somehow, she suddenly felt closer to the girl. Closer than she ever thought was possible, or that Zoe would have allowed to. If only she could manage to give Zoe back a bit of her 'humanity'. But for now, the fallen idol was content with having convinced Zoe she was there to look out for her, to listen to her worries, to care for her when others wouldn't.

"Girl, this sure is getting sappy over here. C'mon! Let's hit this thing 'till it breaks so we can call it a day." the martial art enthusiast called out to the brawler, hoping to enjoy this moment a bit more before they each went their own way.

"Back to the dummy?" After a few more seconds of quiet, Zoe's expression brightened and she nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Chapter V: No Strings Attached

Read up “Ernie and Angelique: No Strings Attached”.

Chapter VI: Popularity Talk

Angélique | Marcus

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𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟠𝕥𝕙 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻.ℂ. / / ℝ𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕝 ℙ𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕖 / / 𝟙𝟟𝟘𝟘

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_{Collab with @Chasers115}

One thing that had left an impression on Angelique yesterday was the news coverage treating her experimental unit. It was interesting, to see that not only they were demonized, but also hailed as misunderstood and mistreated kids. The interview that had thrown the internet into chaos had been Marcus'. Intrigued, Angelique had been reviewing and analyzing what others thought of Time Scar, or Marcus for the members of her classroom. She even dared looking at the footage, and he was impressive on camera indeed.

After finishing lunch, Angel spotted the lonesome form of the Time Mage, wandering about after he himself had finished eating with his lunch crew. Ever since she watched the news and how the footage from her class affected the social medias, the obsidian-haired fallen idol wanted to speak to Marcus about the whole situation.

"Zip Zip Boi! How are you doing today? Preparing yourself for another interview?" Angel playfully teased Marcus, wondering if he knew about the nickname the internet started giving him.

Marcus, who was doing an excellent job of minding his own business, was currently wandering too and fro. He was still reeling a little bit from the spa treatment Siena had dragged him too, having been one of the fancier things he'd ever experienced. He saw Angel coming before she opened her mouth, giving her a slight wave before it was evident that she was actually approaching.

With the nickname spoken though, Marcus was slightly confused. After giving Angel a puzzled look and checking behind him to make sure she wasn't talking to someone else, he paused for a moment.

"Zip zip boi?" he asked, hesitantly. He knew about 'Time Scar', but this new, dumber sounding name was one he had only heard once; Emma had said it back in the limosuine, but he had passed it off as some dumb joke. Why was Angel making the same dumb joke?

"O-oh? You didn't know?" Angel stiffled a laughter, apparently in a good mood. "You must not have read the news on the internet, or what people started taking a liking to the nickname on the Death and Taxes chatroom." she added, trying to regain her calmed composure.

"I'll try not calling you that in front of the camera though." She chuckled again.

"Oh god." Marcus said, sighing and looking to the cieling. "Please tell me that one didn't actually stick. I'll be so upset."

Angel smiled whole-heartedly at Marcus' reaction "Nah... I'm just fucking around with you. Well, the nickname really does exists, but it's just to make fun of someone popular. Time Scar is actually the one that is most likely to stick with you." Angélique comforted the Arbiter's distress on a more serious note.

"Well, at least that's the one that is kind of cool." Marcus said, shaking his head and grinning.

"And I'll have you know," he added, his tone immediately becoming playfully sassy, "I didn't prepare to do the original interview. The lady literally threatened to have me disappeared at USARLIN unless we talked, and I wasn't really in the mood to risk it."

Angélique quirked up an eyebrow, curious at what just happened before the interview. "She what? A news reporter just straight up threatened you? Man, she must be either crazy or have some goddamn balls of steel."

"Probably a little bit of both, in all honesty. She said 'blah blah, reputation, blah blah toss up between silencing you or the media'. And after the way I've seen Zhang handle some of this shit, I certainly didn't want to get on her bad side because I didn't talk to a reporter for five minutes. Seemed like a real dumb reason to be executed to me."

He paused here for a moment, mulling it over in his head. "But in all honesty, it probably needed to be put out there. Someone needed to try and help us out in regards to the public eye."

Angel's playful look turned into something more serious as she heard Marcus speaking about the necessity of this interview. Truthfully, when Angel watched the interview and read the turmoil spreading over the social medias, the Aberration young woman felt thankful, if not prideful, to have a classmate that stood up to the interview and offered a piece of his mind. It did helped the public opinion immensely just by those few minutes of camera time.

"Yeah... actually, that's what I meant to see you for." Angélique started on a solemn note. "I think what you did was pretty cool. Not only answers you gave, but also your honesty. Everyone could see how nervous you were, but they also saw what's lying behind your eyes, your intents and those words that came from the heart." Angel fidgeted with her hair, thinking she was getting sappy all of a sudden. But it was something she felt like sharing to the younger teen.

"I wish I had the same resolve and courage to face those cameras.

"Oh, don't think of me as some big hero - I certainly wouldn't have done it if there were literally any other option for me." Marcus said, sighing slightly. Revealing the intents and words and things behind his eyes had been exactly what he had been worried about. There had been too much going on back there when the interview had happened.

"But if you'd like, I can probably introduce you to Mari. She seems nice enough once you get past the death threats, and she'd probably be tickled pink to get another interview!" Marcus said, giving Angel a small grin.

"Perhaps..." Angel replied with a faint smile, tinged a bit with sadness. "It's not really about the whole 'interview ‘deal though. It's just...." she paused, searching for her words. Marcus didn't seem to know about whom she was before coming to USARILN, and even though Brent did tell her that the whole incident wasn't entirely her fault until proven otherwise, Angel still couldn't find the strength of will to admit the blunder she made back then. "Did you ever felt like you fucked up badly enough to get THAT much bad reputation, and because of it, you wouldn't want to show your face to everyone because of it?"

"Me personally? I can't say I've ever experienced something like that, no." he said, staring off into the distance while he thought about the situation. There had been times when he'd wanted to distance himself from people because of things he did, but he was honestly having a hard time remembering some point when he had any type of reputation, bad or otherwise.

"That sounds like more than a hypothetical question, Angel..." Marcus said, leaving the thought hanging.

"Did I? I got nothing on me! With a name like Angel, I can just be as perfect as my name implies!" the fallen idol gave a fake, exaggerated laugh. God did she suck at lying.

Marcus gave her a look that clearly indicated he didn't believe her, before speaking up. "Angel. I can usually tell when people are hiding things from me, but this doesn't even feel like you're trying to hide it, and frankly I'm considering being offended that you think I'd actually believe that."

He crossed his arms while giving her a mischievous grin, before shrugging and adopting a more legitimate tone. "But if it's something you don't want to talk about, just say the word and I'll drop it, no questions asked."

Angel gave Marcus a disappointed look. "Crap... to be honest, I'd think you'd fall for the joke and add more to it." she sighed. She really didn't know if she should confess to Marcus about what she did in Montréal. Brent gave her all the reasons to not be ashamed of it anymore. There was still the guilt panging out at her though. And she didn't want to bother him with her own worries.

"Let's just say... I've had an issue in the past." Angel confessed with a half-truth. That was the best compromise she could offer to Marcus. Accepting to tell him she did made a mess, without revealing exactly what she did. Hopefully he'd take the clue and leave it at that.

"We’ve all had our issues." Marcus said, spouting the wisdom with a striking nonchalantness. "I don't think there's a single one of us here who hasn't had issues at one point or another."

He could tell that it wasn't exactly a comfortable subject for Angel, however, so he added a clarifier:

"But, if it's not something you want to talk about, I'll go back to making fun of your horrendous attempt at lying to me. Last I checked, lying was a sin; not fit for angels of your caliber."

"Now I can't decide if you're praising or insulting me." Angel gave the Time Mage a faint grin to his comment, slowly assimilating the wisdom offered by Marcus. He was right. Ernest was right. Brent was right. Why is she so stubbornly holding herself back like that? She won't be able to move forward if she kept looking back and regret her part.

Angélique took a deep breath, as if to assimilate whatever shred of courage the air could offer her. "Before coming to USARILN... I was a professional singer and musician. I don't know for you, but I'm still very new to this whole Mage thing. I had that dream a month ago. I've kept it a secret from my fans, my family and my band, holding concerts and jamming as if nothing happened."

Angel paused, hesitating but mentally steeling herself for what was to come. Images of the visions she had, memories of the massacre that happened in Montréal, they all came rushing in as she dwell on the subject. "I tried to harness the power of my voice to impress my fans... but I fucked up, badly."

By now, a small tear had managed to sneak its way away from Angel's concealed eyes. "I was told the intensity of my voice blew a speaker, sending shards of plastic showering onto the crowd. Many died; many more got permanently deafened and much more got sick from sound dizziness." The fallen idol wept the stray tear from her face, sniffing a bit. "I was sent to jail for two weeks after that, until the trial charged me guilty of 'accidental manslaughter', sentencing me to USARILN as a dangerous and unstable X-marked."

Marcus stood for a moment. No words came to him - he was just slightly stunned. What do you even say about a thing like that? He put his hand up to his mouth, moving slightly towards Angel to try and reassure her.

"Oh my god, Angel. I'm so sorry. He wasn't exactly sure how to console her, ending up awkwardly placing his hand on her shoulder. "If it was an accident like that, though, you can't put all the blame on yourself. You had no way of knowing."

While the comfort of Marcus' hand was bringing a bit of consolation, Angel brushed it aside. Yet again, she made herself out for a weak and pathetic girl. She swore she would stop being this way, and yet there she was, brooding and shedding tears over this incident once more. Worse, she got someone worrying over her.

"No, please. It's okay. I'm still trying to move past that incident. I promised myself to be strong. To not look back. But..." Angélique wiped another stray tear from her face. "It's just so hard to move on from something like this, even if Brent told me that it was unlikely that I did all that by myself."

Trying to move past that incident. To not look back.

Maybe he and Angel weren't that different after all.

"Well hey, the rest of us are here if you need us. It's...hard to move past those things without a little bit of help." he was speaking from experience, but that wasn't exactly something he wanted to make known. Even though Angel had told him her story...he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell people his yet.

"I... I know. It's just... that I've never wanted for others to hear about the worries and the pain I feel. I always wanted to be that strong person, for others to look up to and be inspired by. I know it sounds a bit arrogant, but spending so many years being an idol, a role-model even for some people, I've learnt to shoulder my responsibilities and lead by example. I wished to remain that same person, even as a Mage." Angélique confessed, deciding that she might as well pour her heart out to the young man who was willing to listen to what was plaguing her.

It felt good, to open up to someone that way, even if Marcus was barely more than an acquaintance. There was just something about Marcus that made her feel at ease.

This was all starting to hit a little close to home; he was doing his best to not let everyone else worry about his well-being, just trying to play it off as. If the funny, seemingly level-headed guy was starting to lose it, then what hope did everybody else have of not getting swallowed up too? He'd built up himself as being the thing that Angel had started out as; someone who could lead others, who could command respect and admiration. And yet, here they both were, fighting against the same psychological enemy.

"Hey, you can't always play the leader though. You're a human being; you make mistakes, you gotta sit back and at least accept that much. Don't pile everyone else's feelings on yourself before your own." he said, the hypocrisy threatening to make him ill.

Angel stood silent, giving herself some thought to Marcus' wisdom. "I... suppose you are probably right. It's just that I've spent so much time in my life trying to build a perfect reputation that I'm not used to simply being... me." While Angel was known to be a girl true to herself throughout her career, there were times the girl would have abstained herself from being too crude or breaking out into a total mess. "I'd like to say that I would quit being a leading figure, now that I have no reputation to maintain, and let others take the spot. At the very least, someone from out unit is surely a more competent leader, able to take difficult decisions and go through with it for the sake of others."

"But that would be lying to myself. You just proved me with that interview that there is still a reputation I can still work on. If not for me, then it would be for the others. For the Aberrations, for Mages, for you guys."

"There you go! Marcus said, giving her a confident grin. "That's the kind of spirit I like to see!

He shifted gears, deciding to bring an end to this line of conversation. It was good to get these kinds of things off the chest, but dwelling on it too long simply brought forward a whole slew of nastiness. Plus, every word he said threatened to spill more than he wanted it to.

"Now let's back this up a little bit. You said you were a professional musician? Like a rockstar? Is there Angel merchandise out there that I can hang up in my Suite back home?" he said, giving her a devilish smile.

Angélique didn't expect the discussion to turn a dire turn into who she was before. Well, now that the cat got out of the bag, she might as well tell him what exactly she had been previously in her life before coming to USARILN. However, the last four words Marcus spoke strangely hit Angel like a brick.

"Ah... yes. I have been singing and playing hard rock for a long time, before turning to metal a few years ago. I suppose my clothes give off that metal head impression, huh?" Angélique mused, fidgeting with her dragon earring. "You probably could have bought merch in every music store before, but I wouldn't be so sure they'd be selling anything now..." the fallen rockstar added solemnly with a hint of shame as her eyes stared at the ground.

"I am going to track down an Angel bobble head, and I am going to stick it right in the windowsill when we get home." Marcus said, chuckling at his own devious plan. It was clear that she wasn't happy with everything that had happened; probably rightly so, but he hated seeing the usually confident one down in the dumps like this.

"I appreciate you trusting me enough to tell me that, by the way. I know it can't be easy." he said, lightly scuffing the ground with his foot. A thought of his occurred, a plan of action that hadn't served to make anybody feel better yet, but which would have to work eventually.

"C'mere, bring it in, rockstar." Marcus said, opening his arm for a hug and beckoning her.

Again, the word 'home' struck into Angel. Had Marcus already resigned to his old life and adopted USARILN as his new home? The raven-haired singer couldn't blame him; even she had started to grow a routine out of her current life and was actively using its facilities as if it was a familiar neighborhood. Still, there was a part of Angélique that yearned to regain the freedom she enjoyed before, and that was one part of why she had enjoyed the time spend outside the institute, even if she was yearning to return to Ground Zero and give that Stigma a good smack down in volume.

The sight of Marcus' open arms was enticing to Angel. Maybe it was because she yearned for those close moments as she barely had any of those when she was younger. She was one of the friendliest people someone could meet, and yet when it came to physical contact she was one of the coldest out there.

Accepting his offer, Angel stepped in and wrapped her arms around the younger boy. The warmth of his embrace did felt appeasing, combining with the kind and generous words he had been telling her from the start. "Yeah... there's something about you that just makes me feel like I could trust you with my inner demons. Perhaps it's your... joie-de-vivre? Kindness? I don't know. But still, thank you for hearing me out."

"D'awww, stop that. You're gonna make me feel all tingly inside." Marcus said, giving Angel a quick pat on the back. "And I don't speak French, so I'm just going to assume you're calling me mean names or something."

"Hmm... I totally meant 'lousy joker'. Google it up sometime." Angel chuckled as she enjoyed the hug for a few more seconds before pulling herself free from the embrace.

"I guess I should go back to god knows where I was heading before seeing you."

"Mmhmm, and I'm going to be very offended when I look it up." Marcus said, standing back and crossing his arms, his grin never fading. "That's fine, I've got more of this place to explore anyway."

He gave her a slightly concerned smile, saying one last thing before he moved to go. "If you ever need someone to talk to whenever you start getting hard on yourself, my door's always open. You don't even have to schedule an appointment or anything!"

"Heh... that's my line. Well, I suppose it won't hurt to have two open doors, right?” Angel chuckled slightly "I'll consider the offer. Might do me good to have a talk from time to time, and see if Siena is still holding up well from all of your antics." the raven-haired girl gave a the boy a teasing grin as she started to walk on the opposite direction.

"By the way, Marcus." Angel called out to the young man "Stay safe out there, you hear? Washington ain't a safe place for us Mages. Best if we lay low for a while."

God knows she knew that very well personally.

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟡𝕥𝕙 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘

Chapter VII: Wild Girls

Collab here!

Chapter VIII: Confession Of Two Girls Over A Wet Mattress

Angélique | Allison

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𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟡𝕥𝕙 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻.ℂ. / / ℝ𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕝 ℙ𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕖 / / 𝟚𝟚𝟘𝟘

---

_{Collab with @VarionusNW}

After that ‘successful’ attempt at throwing a party with the class’ girls while the boys were gone, Angélique made her way clumsily back into her room. While the party was over, the smashed rockstar still had half-a-mind to keep the party going. But the others probably couldn’t handle more of her antics than what they’ve witnessed already at this time of the night. So instead, the raven-haired girl opted to do what rockstars were known for when they had a good party, throw chaos in the house.

Having brought most of the empty liquor bottles with her, Angélique entered her room and lined them up on a night table. She had an idea that was going on in her mind. She wanted to emulate all those pro shooters at the range, breaking down bottles of beer from a distance to prove their marksmanship. For some reason only a drunken mind could think of, Angel had the brilliant idea of testing her own marksmanship with her ever-growing precision over her powers in the same fashion.

Backing away from the night table, Angélique giggled stupidly, muttering something about ‘looking how improved she had become’. Taking a deep breath, Angel tried to focus her alcohol hazed mind and pictured her target before releasing a loud “BOOM” from her mouth.

Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, Angélique was too drunk to actually focus her mind to have that much precision over her voice. While the initial sonic wave was indeed concentrated, it quickly spread out by the time it reached the bottles. The suppressing cuff combined with her hoarse voice from all the drinking and talking dampened Angel’s power enough to not actually break the bottle it hit, but it send it flying into the expensive-looking mirror behind the night table. In a loud crash, the mirror shattered at the same time the other bottles fell on the ground from being shaken off violently as the night table was hit by the sonic wave with a force equivalent to someone shoving the table backwards with a light push.

“Whoopz.” The drunken Aberration giggled “At leazt I did hit only one bottle.”

Loud crashes broke at the door until two guards pummeled their way into the Aberration's room. Their rifles were aimed dangerously at the girl, fingers poised to squeeze the trigger at any time. The taller one, a woman with a brooding gaze, glared at Angelique.

"The hell is going on here?"

While the situation would have been infuriating to the normally defiant Aberration, Angel was different from her usual self, party still going on in her mind. She did got startled when the door broke down behind her, but Angelique simply turned to face the two guards, seemingly unfazed by the guns pointed at her.

"Oh... hello? Zorry, d-did I wake you up? Didn't mean to..." Angel let out a drunken giggle escape her lips. "Juzt tezting something."

The lead guard glanced at the lines of bottles and the shattered mirror, piecing together the extent of the drunken mage's antics. The point of her rifle didn't let down.

"Start a nuisance like that again and we won't hesitate to taze you down. This is your last warning. Understood?"

"Ma'am yez Ma'am!" Angel exaggeratedly saluted, chuckling "Gee, chillax, doods. S'not like I wanted t-to hurt anyone, ya know?"

"The real concern is getting yourself hurt," the woman said as she took her leave, "We better not catch you pulling this nonsense again."

The door shut behind them.

While the words sounded somewhat empathetic to the Aberration’s mind, she did not find the tone of the woman’s voice to be reflecting that much empathy. They surely didn’t care about her well-being, more likely concerned to bring one of their weapons back to the institute in one piece without hitch. Newsflash for those fuckers, she could not give a fuck about what they thought. She’d just do what she pleases without causing a commotion.

“Yeah, right…conzern my azz.”

Angélique stood silent for a bit, and then redirected her attention to the room. The smell of alcohol was intense from the broken bottles having emptied themselves what was left inside onto the floor. Glass littered all around the night table and the broken mirror. Perhaps she caused enough trouble for one night’s worth? God, she really needed to clear that drunken-addled mind of hers.

Figuring she might as well clean herself up before turning in for the night, Angel went to the vast bathroom inside her luxurious suite and turned on the water. But as one thought led to another, a stupid plan blossomed in her mind. Grinning from ear to ear, the party animal returned to the bedroom.

Once back inside, the singing Aberration flipped the blankets and pillows out of the bed. When the matress was clear of everything on it, Angélique pulled the mattress with all of her might. It was tough as hell to drag the queen-sized thing, but her naturally conditioned body combined with the physical training she received from Brent and USARILN mandatory training classes had made her sufficiently strong enough to move around with the hulking mattress.

Eventually, she made it back into the bathroom with the mattress. While she was taking her sweet time bringing the huge thing inside, the bath was almost filled to the brim with hot water. A stupid grin plastered on the Mage’s face, she went to close the faucet before dragging the mattress to the circular bath and dumping the heavy mattress right into the bath. Unfortunately for the Aberration’s amusement, the mattress was too large for the bath, only managing to cover the whole bath’s area. Still, with the bath filled to the brim, when the mattress fell down, it made a huge splash and spilled the bath’s content all around it, wetting the bathroom’s floor severely.

Fuck, and here she thought she could experience what it was like to sleep on a water-floating mattress. Well, looks like she’ll have to settle on sleeping above a water-filled bath. Angel returned to the bedroom to remove all of her clothing, simply scattering her pieces of clothes all across the room before taking the blankets and pillows and bring them to the bathroom.

There, the drunken Angel threw herself on the mattress with the blankets and pillow, creating another splash from underneath the mattress and spilling more water on the floor. The bed was now uncomfortably damp, but the alcohol-induced numbness that took over Angel made the girl simply not care. Drunken sleep would claim her anyway, no matter how weird the spot she picked for sleeping was.

Allison Revel stumbled into the room in a drunken stupor. Angel had left the couch at some point after Allison had accidentally dozed off, what a jerk. As well, it seemed that Angel had the nerve to cause enough commotion to wake Allison up, and alert some guards, who Allison had seen walking away from the room.

Allison stared at the destruction which filled the room, glass was everywhere, it smelled like booze, and the mattress was gone. Upon closer inspection, Allison found that her friend had pulled the mattress into the bathroom, trying to sleep on top of a clearly full tub. The barefoot aberration carefully avoided the glass shards on the floor, as carefully as one could when drunk anyway, and made her way to the bathroom, where she promptly slipped and fell onto the mattress, right on top of Angelique.

"What're ya doin, silly?" She asked the girl beneath her. "Ya got the mattress all wet, and covered the room in glass. I could've hurt myself, ya know?" She made no attempt to remove herself from her place above the tired, drunken Angel.

Half-asleep, Angel was caught by surprise as she suddenly felt someone fall on top of her, causing the bed to further sink into the bath and spilling even more water onto the floor. In a haze, Angel could barely register Allison’s words, but she frowned at the possibility of hurting her best friend.

“I-I’m zorry. I… waz being stupid, again.” The young woman apologized, concern clearly overtaking her slightly sobering voice. "Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine. though..." Allison looked around the bathroom. The wet mattress reminded her of something... "Ah! I never got to go swimming!" Allison exclaimed the sudden revalation, pushing herself off of Angel, and furthering the mattress's partial decent into the water. She had put on her bikini just for that reason, and she had yet to jump in the water. Plus, she was still wearing a shirt over it. Had she really not flaunted her goods the whole night? How boring. "Angel, to the pool!" She struggled to stand up as she spoke, pointing awkwardly to the doorway. When Allison had found some semblance of balance on the wet bathroom floor, she added "Oh, let's bring the mattress too." It was already wet, so why not?

“G-Going for a late zwim… Z-zounds fun, I’m in!”

Draping herself in blankets as to cover her nudity, Angel managed to return to the bedroom after much effort to not slip onto the wet floor, recovering only her underwear as her drunken mind thought it was useless to wear that much clothes for a midnight swim.

After Angel was (lightly) clothed in her black and blue underwear, the duo of Aberrations struggled to bring the queen-sized mattress out of the wet bathroom. But once they managed to get it out of there, it was no problem with their combined strength to sneak it out of their suite and bring it to the penthouse’s pool, much to the guard’s disappointment as they stared at the not-so-subtle scene unfolding in front of them. While Angel tried to be sneaky, still minding the warning the guards gave her earlier, it quickly changed once she saw the guards’ disappointed looks on their face, but issuing no threat from what they were witnessing. As if to taunt them, she pulled a pierced tongue in their direction with a smug grin.

Once in there, Angélique dropped the wet and heavy mattress onto the room’s floor, letting a giggle escape her mouth as she looked towards Allison “So… whaddaya have in mind?”

"Well," Allison removed her shirt as she spoke, throwing it to the ground, "let's see how well this thing can float, and then we'll jump on top and have some fun." A devious smile stretched across Allison's face. It was pretty obvious what Allison meant. She was quite riled up, Angel's near-nakedness was tempting, a bit too tempting for the drunken aberration to avoid. "I'm not takin' no for an answer!" Allison started pushing the wet mattress into the water.

Sounded fun, very fun in Angel’s mind. Finally, she’d get to see if the damn thing can float and have a water bed. Following Allison’s lead, she pushed the thing into the water.

It made a disappointing splash, as the soaked mattress wasn’t designed to float on water, instead absorbing it. But forgetting all that in her drunken haze, Angel still threw herself on top of it while it still remained afloat for the few seconds it remained on the water’s surface.

Her landing on the mattress gave it a final blow. Her weight combined with the water soaking into the mattress made it sunk slowly at the bottom of the pool. First, the raven-haired singer laughed, but frowned disappointedly afterwards when she noticed the thing sunk instead of remaining afloat.

"Awwwww!" The disappointment was palpable. It looked like there would be no lovemaking on a floating mattress that night. The dejected aberration sat down next to the pool, her legs resting in the cold water, watching Angel float in the water just above the now-sunken mattress while she tried to think of a plan B. Now the pair didn't even have a bed. "I guess we could go in the jacuzzi instead then, unless you just want to swim around for a bit?" Allison sighed.

Angélique floated aimlessly on her back, looking at the room's ceiling then back at Allison with a confused stare "I thought you wanted to have a swim?" Angel asked as she weaved her arms and legs in the water, moving freely around in the water as she enjoyed the cool temperature of the water surrounding her body, surprisingly sobering her up a good deal by now.

"I guess I did say that..." A sudden idea hit Allison. "Let's make this a bit more fun." The Aberration slid into the pool, and after a moment of fumbling, tossed the two pieces of the purple bikini onto the groud near the pool.

Angel quirked an eyebrow up as Allison took off her bikini and threw it away. Damn, the girl sure was being bold, was she? Guess she did wanted to feel to coolness of the water everywhere on her body, isn't she? Angélique only smiled at her sudden lack of clothing, but generally looked unfazed by this development. "Don't you fear someone will run off with it? Trust me, I know from personnal experience just how uncool it is." Angélique laighed, remembering her last naked swim just a little less than a year before.

"It'll be fine," Allison assured her friend, before swimming closer to Angel. Allison couldn't tell if Angel was uninterested, or just being dense, though considering the girl's track record, Allison assumed the latter. "You should do the same. It feels pretty good."

For the first time during their whole encounter, Angel's face blushed, at least redder than before, contrasting on her pale light skin. "Oh... uhm... I-I know it feels good. It's just... ever since that time I don't feel quite comfortable leaving myself exposed like that." While seemingly unfazed by naked people, Angélique exhibited a different reaction concerning her own lack of clothing. She was fine with her underwear on, feeling it acted just like a bikini. But being naked was a whole other matter.

"Oh, come on!" Allison swam up directly behind Angel, loosely wrapping her arms around the girl, Allison's chest pushing against Angel's back. "Don't be such a tease, Angel."

Woah, this was becoming way closer than Angel anticipated. Was Allison finally making her move tonight? The fallen idol was at a loss of words, remembering each and every word from Allison's love song. A song she shamefully kept reading over and over again until she memorized it completely, as if she was trying to find revelations in the brunette's written words. Shit, there was no way she could get out of that embrace without fucking things up royally. She prized her relationship with Allison very dearly, but she did not know how to feel about knowing the girl loved her.

"A-Al..ice. I... I do... can..." Angel's words only came out in an incoherent mess as he mind and heart were racing like they never would before.

"Hmm? Are you Alright, Angel?" Her words were soft, and slightly less drunken than those earlier in the night.

What could he possibly answer to a question like that? Her blubbering mess just dug her grave even deeper. There really was no escape from this, isn't it? Unless...

In a last ditch effort to catch Allison by surprise and actually make her move on from the subject, Angélique shuffled her hands in the water, undoing the straps of her underwear before seizing them swiftly and slinging them far away in a nervous and very tensed fashion, leaving herself naked inside the pool as well.

She did not dare to look at Allison's face afterwards, her face growing redder than it ever had been. Instead, she giggled nervously as her gaze lowered to water-level. "S-See? I... I-I guess I f-feel better... now."

She realized a bit too late she probably fell into Allison's trap after discarding her underwear away now.

"I told you that you would!" Allison pushed away from Angel, and swam around so that she was facing the girl. She swam closer to the girl, embracing her again. "I have no idea what I'm doing..." Her senses were starting to come back to her. This was a bad idea. This was the point of no return. This would probably ruin their friendship forever. "But I love you."

There is was, the dreaded and yet welcomed words Angélique was anticipating. While her silence now may have seemed cold in face of such confession, it was rather the opposite. Angel's mind was fumbling over what she could say to answer that. Her heart raced like a thousand-horses engine. She did not know what to feel, what to think, what to answer, what to do. She wanted to remain a friend to Allison, preserve the harmony and the memories they've had so far. As a matter of fact, Allison was probably the best thing that could have happened to Angel ever since they arrived at USARILN, from the very first night. And yet, she had trouble realizing her feelings towards Allison. Was she her best friend, a soul sister, a lover?

"A-Alice... I..." she paused, her mind still trying to think of the right thing to say. "I've... read that song you wrote the other day. Not the one you gave to me. The one you forgot throwing away." Angel confessed, deciding to let her heart do the talking instead of her mind. Maybe Allison would understand her feelings if she spoke so openly about her emotions, just like they had always understood each other so far.

"I don't know if you left it there with the hopes I'd read it, or if it was an accident... but I've read it. Over and over again, until the words were engraved in my mind." Another pause, another sigh to let anxiety out. "I've... never felt this way towards someone before. I've never felt attracted to anyone. People started nicknaming me 'The Cold Bitch' because of that." Painful memories, disappointment towards her fans as they came up with the title. "I...I'm sorry if I seemed cold or ignoring you. It's just... I don't know..."

Angel wrapped her arms around Allison in turn, hugging her tightly against her being. "Ever since we met on the first night at the institute, there was something between us. I just stood there crying, while you appeased my pain by holding me in your arms. Ever since then, I considered you more than a friend, or best friend even. I thought of you like a sister. The sister I never had..." Angel trailed off, her emotions once again clashing against each others. "B-but ever since I've read that song you left out... I got confused. I was... happy that you felt like this towards me? Genuine love like no one ever expressed to me before. But at the same time... I got scared. I'm scared that we'll lose it all. I don't want to lose you or the great memories we've made together, Allison."

Tears started welling up in Angélique's eyes, signs of stress panging out in her mind. "I... I don't know how to feel about you, Alice..."

Lifting her head to gaze upon Allison's face, Angel's eyes met with her friend's in a most sincere gaze. "What... do you want me to be?"

Allison reeled back, though she did so without letting go of the naked girl who clung to her. Everything hit much to fast for the still-sobering to comprehend. Angel already knew about Allison's feelings... and Angel didn't feel the same way, or at least, didn't know if she did. This was the worst case scenario, or maybe it wasn't? Allison had no clue, everything was blowing up so suddenly. Why did she do this? Why did she think skinny dipping was a good idea? Why did she let herself get drunk? Why did she confess?

It didn't matter anymore, it was all in the past. Allison's secret was out, and had actually been out for quite a bit. She had to be sure of her own feelings. She loved Angelique Lachance. Now that she was sure that was a fact, she had to decide what to do about the naked girl in her arms. What did she want out of Angelique, her best friend, and the girl who wasn't sure if she wanted them to be more than friends.

"I think it's pretty obvious what I want. I love you. I want you to love me too. You're my best friend, and the first person I could actually connect with in a long time. I don't want to lose that. Fuck, if I lost that, I don't know what I'd do." Allison stared into Angel's eyes, though they kept wanting to dart towards the water's surface. "I want to be more than friends, but I can't make you love me. I can't force you into something you aren't sure of. I can't decide for you. I can't control you. If you don't know how to feel, you don't have to choose now. I can wait. We're still friends. We will always be friends, no matter what happens."

Allison let out a deep sigh before continuing, "You know, I never thought I would be able to love again after being sent to USARILN, but here I am..." Allison smiled, a genuine smile, not one of the drunken perverted ones that plagued her throughout the night. "You are the best thing to ever happen to me, Angel. So... even if things don't work out, even if you don't feel the same way that I do, I think we could still be friends, I would be happy no matter what."

Conflicted emotions took over Angélique again. But this time, it was guilt clashing against relief. She felt relieved that Allison understood her emotions and was fine with it, as sad as she looked from the revelation. She gave her the freedom to choose what would be best for their relationship, and seemed to be okay with whatever decision the fallenh rockstar idol was to make. However, Angel felt guilty for making the girl suffer like that. After hearing her love tale, it wrenched her heart to disappoint the girl that had placed so much hope in love into this pathetic and weak person that was the raven-haired Aberration. Why couldn't she properly return that love to someone who genuinely felt good around her, and vice-versa?

"I...I'm sorry, Alice. I just wish... I wasn't this way." Angel pulled the girl back towards her, her lips reaching out for Allison's forehead. "I know I'm being selfish, but.."

"Please, give me more time to think about it, okay?"

"Of course. I wouldn't want you change anyway." Allison's face flushed as Angel kissed her forehead. "Take as long as you need." Allison floated silently in Angel's arms for a few more moments. The two of them were still naked in the middle of a pool, rather awkward to say the least. Allison probably had some explaining to do. She broke the embrace, as much as it pained her to do so. "I should probably explain something, it's best that you know, for future reference..." It was uncomfortable to mention, but Angel already knew about Allison's feelings, she might as well know about the stigma, especially since she had read something mostly devised due to that stigma.

Allison swam to the edge of the pool and grabbed her swimsuit, putting it back on before climbing out, walking to where Angel's underwear had been flung, and going back to hand them to the still-naked girl. Allison sighed, then started her explanation by pointing to the X marking her as an aberration, "My stigma... it, well it makes me... really, really horny, I guess you could say? Basically, that song, and all of... this," She said, referring to the skinny dipping and rediculous flirtation, "is mostly due to that. If I haven't sated it, I can probably come off a bit strong..." She let it hang in the air for a few moments. "It doesn't mean I don't actually love you, that I know for sure is all me. I'm just... well, the exact opposite of you, I guess you could say?" It was funny in a messed up way. Allison was forward and sexual, and Angel was cold and not really interested in those sorts of things. "I'm sorry, that's probably a really weird way to follow a confession of love... it's just, kind of important that I get it off my chest..."

Reassured by Allison's words and the sudden warmth of no longer feeling exposed, Angélique seemed to be just as receptive as ever, sitting on the edge of the pool as she listened to Allison's revelations about her stigma. Wow, it sure must be quite... inconvenient to feel that way all the time? Angel couldn't really tell. That concept was unknown to her. She never really felt in that state of mind before. Perhaps as a result of a faulty sex drive teenagers usually experiment through their younger age. But that would explain all the playful games of seduction Allison had been putting on show for a while. Still, it did not dampen her love towards her, even though most of her actions were driven by the Stigma.

"It's okay. I'm... actually happy that you trust me enough to share this... darker side."

As a reciprocal symbol of the current discussion, Angélique took off the leather choker hiding her X-mark she always seemed to wear no matter where she was, an even more recurring piece of clothing than her usual shades. "I've always wore shades before because of how sensitive to light my eyes are. But recently, with all the battles happening and my sunglasses end up being destroyed, I've come to realize by the way people stare into my eyes that my own Stigma is showing through them..." Angel trailed off, her tired eyes looking over Allison "Ever since I became an Mage, I've never had a good night of sleep. Every night, I'm constantly having the same nightmares. The vision that made me into an Aberration. The... massacre that happened during my last concert. They just keep replaying every night. And when I'm awake, I'm hearing voices... whispers constantly in the back of my head."

It was tough to reveal the inner workings of her Stigma to someone else. She'd usually refrain from talking about it, out of concern to not worry the others. But that just showed how much she trusted Allison. She was probably the sole person she could confess such details to.

"Is there anyway to sate your... urges?"

"Just the same way as everyone else." Angel's words stung Allison. And the brunette thought she had it bad? Allison's stigma was only a nuisance that ruined sex, Angel's was constant torment. Allison didn't comment about what her friend brought up, instead simply throwing a towel over her shoulders. Angel was a professional musician, and she had seen an entire massacre... that wasn't something Allison was going to pry into, especially if it haunted her every night. And despite Angel's words about being unable to sleep well, the two of them definitely needed rest. The problem was that their bed now sat at the bottom of the pool."I think that's enough talking for right now. You look exhausted. Let's dry off, and go to the couches or something."

"Y-Yeah, you're right."

After making sure they dried themselves properly, the two girls returned to their suite, getting a change of clothes for something dry and appropriate for sleeping in the penthouse's public living room. Scavenging what few blankets, pillows and cushions that were spared from Angel's drunken antics, they returned to the living room and laid down to rest on the spacious couches.

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟘𝕥𝕙 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘

Chapter IX: Healing Through Music

Angélique | Lilianna

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𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟘𝕥𝕙 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻.ℂ. / / ℝ𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕝 ℙ𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕖 / / 𝟙𝟘𝟘𝟘

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_{Collab with @Kyrisse}

Boring. Who knew the last day of the weekend would be oh so boring ever since Angélique was brought to USARILN. Not just today, but the past few weeks as well. Somehow, it was just as if everybody vanished or locked themselves up in their room every Sunday. It was strange that she would happen onto a lot of her classmates throughout the whole week aside Sunday.

Being bored and lonely didn’t suit the Mage-turned rockstar, neither before or now. As a matter of fact, it was worse now that she had a Stigma. She didn’t want to be left alone to her own thoughts. She didn’t want to let her thoughts drift to her inner demons.

Fortunately, salvation would come in the form of a familiar blonde-haired girl with golden eyes. She didn’t look very busy, so Angel walked up to her from behind in an attempt to playfully surprise her.

“Boo!” Angel’s displaced voice came inches away in front of Lilianna while the raven-haired Aberration suddenly put her two hands on the other Aberration’s shoulders. “What’s up, Lilianna? How are you doing?”

Lily was trying to think of something to do when a voice said 'boo.' The small teenager jumped in surprise, her eyes wide as she scanned the area for the source of the voice. Hand on her shoulders made her jump the second time. She whipped around and glared at the person behind her, ready for a pounce attack if need be. But when she saw that it was her rockstar friend, the glare turned into a grin. "Oh, hi, Angelique. I'm...uh... fine. Just surprised," she grinned. She really had to get used to how the girl's power worked. Unless she wanted to keep getting surprised. She threw back the question. "How are you?"

"I'm doing good, considering how wrecked I was this morning after the party we threw." Angélique answered back, offering the girl a mischievous but heartily grin after laughing off the surprise on Lilianna's face.

"Hey, are you busy? I thought we could hang out, find something interesting to do to shake off that boredom that seems to be taking hold of Sundays."

"No, not busy at all. I was actually trying to decide what to do today... It's nice being in a place like this but it can get borning too. I mean, not that USARILN is a fun place but at least there's a library and a pool and places to go," Lily said. When she thought about it, She really did miss the school, It really was her home now.

"Maybe you can let me hear you play?" she suggested. "I guess you were one of the people making music the day we got here, right? I would have joined to listen but..." a sheepish smile appeared on her lips. "Sophia and I got hungry and just headed straight to the buffet."

"Oh. Certainly. I wasn't the one playing, but I can handle myself on the piano." Angelique answered, leading Lilianna to the music room. Once inside, she took out a booklet or two and began looking over the melodies they offered. There were a few good classics, while there were also a lot of complex ones. Angel opted for the classics her teacher had taught her. Simple melodies, but beautiful to the ear nonetheless.

Angel sat on the bench and gave Lily a smile before turning to the piano, her fingers started dancing on the massive instrument to the rhythm of Mozart, Bach and Beethoven.

Lily peered over Angelique's shoulder as her fingers moved on the piano keys. "Wow..." she commented reverently. "I don't think I know anyone who plays like you do," she commented, a relaxed smile on her lips. "I bet it would be nice if my brother was here. He's good with the guitar," she added, not really realizing that she remembered something from her past.

"Guitar is my favorite. I have one back at the institute. I often play it during the evening to relax and occupy my mind." Angel replied, barely registering that Lilianna just said something about her past that was presumably forgotten. It wasn't the first time it happened. It had occurred at the hospital too, exactly when Angel had spoken to her about being a musician. Maybe music triggered her memories?

Taking mental note of what her golden-haired friend just said, Angelique decided to prod a bit further, see if she could get selective memories out if asked passively. "So I'm not the only musician you know of, huh? Was he playing in a band?" Angel asked as she flipped a page to continue playing the undergoing song.

Distracted by the music, Lily automatically responded. "He used to have friends over who would play with him. But when he got his mark... I supposed Regulars really don't like Aberrations," she said, looking back from Angel's hands to the sheet music and trying to figure out which part she was playing. "I think if I were to choose, maybe I'd play the flute. Maybe. Or the violin? It must be so nice creating music."

Incredibly, it worked. Hearing Lilianna speaking, it was just as if she had suffered no memory loss. And to think that her own brother was an X-marked as well. Truly, there was a saying that went along the lines of "Music is therapeutic." and Angel could start believing it did not only heal the soul of broken men.

"Composing music is hard work, but it definitively pays off. I always took great pride whenever I was finished and hearing over what I created." Angel said, nostalgic as her hands slowly danced on the keys, reaching a slow-paced part. "I wish I had friends playing music too back then. I got stuck with strangers that I didn't really appreciate when I began working for producers."

"What kind of music was your brother playing with his friends?" Angel continued experimenting on Lily's memories, to see if she could get something interesting out of them.

"Maybe you should ask our classmates to form a band or something. And we could have concerts in USARILN," Lily spoke excitedly as though they really were in a normal school and doing normal teenager stuff. Her head moved left to right, still following the movement of Angel's hands. "Oh, he played all sorts of music, he composes too and let's me be the first to hear it. He really played well."

"Perhaps... that's something we could do, in the future. For now, I think I'll stick to playing solo in my room." Angel mused, still feeling a bit uneasy about going full-blown on her musician past. But with all the others playing music and Lily appreciating what she was playing, it brought Angel's old passion slowly back to life.

"Your brother sounds like someone fantastic. Who knows, perhaps I know of him, if you say he was talented. What was his name?"

"Maybe I should try playing too. It looks really fun...and...' Lily paused. "Whose name?" she asked, confusion on her face.

"Your brother's?"

And the string of memory was broken as Lily focused on Angelique's question instead of the music. "I have a brother? You know him?" she asked, golden eyes wide.

Angel's hands stopped, her focus now directed to Lilianna. The way she couldn't recall things directly was creepy. It seemed as if only in certain situations, music for example, triggered latent memories. The fact she suddenly forgot about everything she had just told her made it really weird.

"You... really don't remember? We were talking about him just now. How good of a musician he was. That he composed all kinds of music and let you hear them first. You even said he was an Aberration, just like you and I."

Lily stared at Angelique, her mind scrambling to remember exactly what she's been talking about. She remembered the music and vaguely chatting about musicians. But a brother? Did she actually remember something and unconsciously narrated it? She furrowed her brow, trying to piece things together. Maybe that blonde boy she's been seeing once in a while in her head was the brother Angelique was talking about. Could it be possible? "No... everything's a blur. Except for the music. But if I said it then it must be true..." she said slowly. There was no other explanations for it. "I'm trying to remember but every time I try, there's just that wall that always seem to be blocking the way...But... how did you do it? How did you make me remember?" she asked.

A brother. I have a brother?

"An Aberration brother that composes music..." she repeated her words.

"A wall?"

Now that sounded like something that sort of made sense, as unbelievable as it was. Could it be someone, or something, was preventing Lilianna from remembering her past? There were so many movies and stories of characters that had their memories erased; Angel thought maybe Lily's story could be one of those. It seemed like the only logical explanation to the raven-haired Aberration why the blonde girl could not actively remember by herself but would gain insight unconsciously. Was USARILN behind that, or was it genuine memory loss? The whole situation made Angélique curious. It was definitively a case the Aberration singer was willing to look further into.

"I'm no psychologist, but I saw a pattern in your flashes of memory. Whenever we speak, they always happen right when we start talking about music. And if you say there's something blocking your memories whenever you think about it, then I'm assuming you get those flashes unconsciously. Maybe when you are not focusing into actively remembering?" Angel explained the mental notes she was taking since earlier.

"Whatever's in your past, I believe music is a large part of it."

"Probably..." Lily looked thoughtful and at the same time a little hopeful that she hadn't completely lost her memories after all. She was just having trouble remembering them. But if her subconscious still remembers then that means that she'd eventually be able to remember as well... "It makes sense... Maybe I played an instrument before too?" she asked, looking around the room and its meager collection of instrument.

"Perhaps. You said that you would like to play flute or violin earlier. Perhaps those were instruments you used to play back then?" Angel voiced the possibility, getting up from the piano's bench to grab one of the two violins not far away.

"How about you try playing it? Doesn't matter if you don't know how to play it now. Just get the feel of the instrument. Maybe it will jog your memory. If we're lucky, you might even reveal yourself to have been a violin prodigy in the past." the musician young woman added as she handed the fancy instrument along with its bow to Lilianna.

Lily looked at the instrument being handed to her, a skeptical look on her face. Did she play the violin? Can she remember playing it if she did? She reached out and took the violin and the bow from Angelique. She didn't exactly know if she was holding the instrument correctly but she places it on her left collarbone and rested the left side of her jaw on the chin rest. She gently rounded her left wrist and then placed the bow on the strings. For a second, she wondered what she would play or if she even knew any pieces to play. She thought of how Angelique played the piano minutes earlier and focused on that. Her fingers and the bow moved slowly at first. A tentative sound.

And then she began playing the exact same melody her friend had just played.

Wow, so Lily was indeed a musician prior to losing her memories.

A soft smile appeared on the young woman's lips as she returned to the piano's seat, letting Lilianna's melody guide her fingers on the large instrument's keys. Together they played the same song in near-perfect synchronized duet.

Music filled the room with the sounds of violin and piano for a while. Angel did not stop Lily, for she wanted to know if she could remember anything else while playing. She simply was satisfied as she followed her blonde friend's lead.

There were no notes or music sheets in Lily's mind. She merely focused on what she had heard earlier and replicated it on the instrument she was holding. It seemed natural, almost automatic. The smooth glide of the bow, the positioning of her fingers and the melody that came from it. And with the melody came a single clear memory.

A boy with short blonde hair the same shade as hers and golden eyes that sparkled with mischief. While Lily was short, he was tall and towered over her. He was handing her a sheet music but she remembered shaking her head.

"Just play it and I'll listen to it,"

The music aburptly stopped and the X-marked blonde looked at Angelique, a mixture of wonder, surprise and gratitude in her eyes. "Sebastian. His name was Sebastian," she announced triumphantly.

Chapter X: Mutual Understanding

Read up “Emma and Angélique: Mutual Understanding”.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Harmony

Hazel | Allison | Siena | Christopher
Brent | Kusari | Angélique | Ernest

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𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟟𝕥𝕙 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻.ℂ. / / ℝ𝕠𝕪𝕒𝕝 ℙ𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕚𝕥𝕖 / / 𝟙𝟙𝟘𝟘

---

Experimental Unit B had only been in the suite for a few minutes before Hazel Baker made a bee line towards the music room. A small hoard of students seemed to follow the strange girl to the insulated room, only to find that instead of music Hazel had decided to make a horrible amount of noise by slamming her hands against the piano's keys.

Allison Revel had the unfortunate honor of being at the head of the hoard, ears facing the full brunt of the cacophony. Immediately, Allison clamped her hands over her ears and stepped aside to allow the others get a closer look at the music room and its sole inhabitant. She had half a mind to just walk away, but she was oddly curious as to how the childish aberration and her "music" would be dealt with.

Their current living arrangements were closer to what Siena was accustomed to, and it showed in the way she'd carried herself. A far cry from her usual attempt to shrink and make herself seem smaller and less imposing, the brunette had shifted her mannerisms slightly. Back straighter, gait more precise, and most importantly, eyes cast forward, no...over the faceless masses. Not challenging, but lacking the uncertainty of her typical movements since her arrival in USARILN East. Part of her felt odd, being able to fluidly immerse herself back into that mindset, but...it had only been a few weeks, hadn't it?

Following after the others despite the faint shifts in her composure, the Arbiter had hoped that she would be able to take some solace in the familiarity of instruments she'd thought long behind her, but instead she heard nothing but dissonant notes. Loud, ear-rending noise that blew away the comfort, replaced it with an expression of something between confusion and despair.

As she peered into the room, the latter began to win out.

Hazel. Not that Siena had failed to understand that there were probably reasons for what had happened, but memories of her clothing, her reader, her safety disappearing in a single sweep made the brunette tense faintly. Made her feel as if it might happen again if she strayed a little too close. Instinctively, the girl took a half-step back. "O-Oh...I suppose it's occupied now."

Another move. Chris had hoped that they'd be back in their little pretend school by now. At the very least, the rooms here seemed more expensive then the motel. Those thoughts were immediately replaced, out of an old impulse, from the sound of a piano. The notes were all wrong. There was no rhythm, no reason, for the randomized assault on individual ivory keys. The arbiter moved to the front of the crowd gathered in the music room to discover Hazel as the culprit. He never spoke or talked to her before, but he recalls seeing her when he was spectating flag football. That wasn't important however. He wanted to end the aberrations attempt at a melody. This wasn't because he wanted to spare everyone of the horrible 'tune', but rather for his own desire to play it. It has been a damn long time since he ever touched such an instrument. It was something he had a mild hobby of playing. The highlights of Christmas eve was his family gathered around him to listen to him play Silent Night or Rudolph the Red Nosed reindeer. He regretted that he hadn't cherished those moments as much as he did remembering them.

"Excuse me." He spoke in an unapologetic tone, but tried to refrain from sounding rude as he put a hand on Hazel's shoulder. "I'd like a turn on the piano."

Hazel jerked suddenly, as an unfamiliar hand touched her shoulder.

She did not immediately respond, or move to that question, but stared a while at Chris, and the rest of the people in the room, before moving aside to the other end of the piano's keyboard. She did not relinquish her seat, however, in her mind she was justified in hogging the piano for herself.

Chris looked a bit confused at her silent stare, and only grew ticked off that she didn't give up the seat entirely. He wasn't going to cause a scene though. She at least offered half of the instrument. Upon taking his seat, the arbiter stared at the piano. He hit a single key, as if to test it himself for its sound. He paused, as he wasn't sure of what to play. There wasn't a whole lot of songs he knew. A few classicals from Mozart, a few christmas specials sure. None of them however seemed appropriate for what his soul wanted to cry out. There was one song that did come to mind however. The closest he could think of that he knew how to play. It was the song his father taught him when he first started. Though he couldn't remember the singer, he remembered how the song went. So he began to play the intro to Piano Man, and reached over to the other side of the keyboard that Hazel hogged when he needed a key from there.

He ignored the discomfort, playing the song was all too important for him to be bothered by its difficulty thanks to the abberation. To him every note was a piece of his soul crying out his anguish and past tragedy in a beautiful symphony. The melancholy melody spoke his language wonderfully. Though he didn't sing the song himself, within his own mind he recited the lyrics in sync with his performance.

"La la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum..."

A voice, slightly off-tune, joined Chris's melancholic notes as Brent walked in the music room as well. It had first been the cacophony that caught his interest, and then the identity of the mysterious pianist that pulled him in deeper. Slightly surprised at how Chris was dueting with Hazel of all people, the amethyst-eyed youth said, "Didn't know you played, Chris. And Hazel too?"

He let out a low whistle, taking in the music room with all its high class instruments.

"Lots of musicians here."

Could have made a band.

"I'd hardly call that noise Hazel is making music." Kusari interjected, walking up to Brent's side. She knew Hazel had issues right now, but she sure as hell wasn't going to listen to that racket for days. She crossed her arms and watch Chris play. "This is the same guy that needs a change of pants after every mission, right?" she said. Apparently she was in a bit of a bad mood, what she saw on the TV as they arrived at the hotel had her on edge in particular.

"Call it abstract art," Brent replied to Kusari, "And that's a bit harsh for the dragon lad." Gesturing to his own rags, he said, "Feels like everyone'd need a change of clothes after Factory."

"Uh huh..." Kusari looked at her own ragged clothes, it was a good thing she requested multiple pairs of this outfit. "A pair of cheap sweatpants would go a long way ya know? Just something to leave at our exit zone so you don't have to flash anyone."

"Mhmm," Brent nodded, "Or even just a raincoat. You play anything though, Kusari? Or is your new hobby roasting people?"

Kusari let out a low groan. "My art appeals to a different sense, the windows to the soul, so to speak." She said. Her father often talked like that when the topic of art came up. It was as if he enjoyed playing the pretentious artist.

The window to the soul?" Brent laughed good-naturedly. "Art just as abstract as Hazel banging away?"

Kusari let out a sardonic chuckle. "Actually, it's basically at a professional level. Or at least it would be if I still had the will to draw. All the killing and what not isn't exactly inspiring."

"But all you've done was save people, right?" Brent said, turning his gaze directly on the immortal arbiter. "Thanks for bailing out Marcus and Emma, by the way. Didn't realize your transformations had become so flexible."

"Huh?" Kusari turned to Brent, she wasn't expecting him to suddenly thank her. She had saved people, hadn't she? She could let herself feel good about that at least, right? "You're... Welcome." The words felt alien and uncomfortable, she wasn't used to it just yet she supposed. She raised her clawed hand up. "Some limbs are more flexible than others it seems, I wonder what else this body has hidden away. I guess hacking away at myself to find out wouldn't be cool huh?"

"It'd definitely be a pain," Brent replied, "But, well..."

He shrugged. "Can't imagine a clawed hand being good for holding a paintbrush, considering how it was slicing through concrete like nothing. Maybe get a human hand back before working past the art block? Professional level skill does sound like something worth bearing witness to."

It's hard to move from the past when there was a constant reminder of it, after all.

Someone that actually wanted to see her art, now this was a nostalgic feeling. She would be lying if she said she didn't care about people enjoying her artwork, but what could she do about it now? She wasn't even sure if she could draw anything of substance. "I'm ambidextrous, actually." Curse her inclination to blurt out the truth! She let out an obviously fake cough before turning back to the piano. "Maybe I can... Draw you or something later. You'll have to provide the art supplies though."

Ambidextrous? His eyebrows went up, impressed. "No problem," Brent replied airily, "Not like it's my money anyways. You didn't take Art as an elective though? For the whole school thingy."

As Chris changed to a different song, however, the arbiter's expression changed, very slightly. A tinge of remembrance, eyes glancing over the two violins. Ah, he can't take this too seriously right now.

So he smiled and joked about it instead. "Christmas in September? Now that's something novel."

"Ugh." Kusari let out a groan of disgust this time. "As if I care about what that prison of a school wants to try and teach me." She knew it was petty, but she wanted to resist the school's influence as much as she could. The fact that they were pretending to treat them like proper students was insufferable enough.

She frowned at Chris's next song of choice. He wasn't seriously playing Silent Night, was he? She shook her head, it wasn't the worst thing he could do at least, but it was jarring.

"Guess you don't need classes if you're pro anyways," he said, as the music changed once more. Chris was a rather spontaneous player, wasn't he? Switching so rapidly from one song to the next. And while the tunes were fun for a while, this one in particular...just sounded like it was repeating itself, over and over again.

"Damn straight." Kusari said with an indignant huff. Chris had switched songs again, likely realizing the last choice wasn't the best. He seemed pretty alright, though Kusari like her music a bit more... raw. Though she had to admit this entire sight felt strange to her. Looking at them now they all almost seemed like a normal group of kids just messing around. I gave her an uneasy feeling, as if this peace was destined to be destroyed at any moment.

Allison suppressed a chuckle as she approached Siena, looking in on the rediculous scene playing out in the music room. Seeing Chris sit next to Hazel and play despite her presence was rather amusing. The dragon boy was either brave or stupid, though it was pretty obvious to tell it was the latter, this was Chris after all. Still though, Allison was impressed that Chris had any talents at all, given his lackluster showings in combat, and his even more lackluster equipment.

"So, Chris can actually play the piano? Not bad." Allison looked towards the rich girl. "What do you think, Siena?"

'Ah...' How familiar. The song wasn't one that Siena recognized as Chris began to play despite Hazel's presence. Taking in the melody with her eyes shut, the brunette felt herself reminiscing about days long past. When she was too young to play anything other than a few dissonant chords on the piano because it was the most her tiny hands then could muster. A laugh that held something she couldn't identify as fondness or detachment and a pair of hands pulling her away from the pristine ivory keys. One day when she was older.

Opening her eyes, Siena glanced at Allison, a faint smile forming on her face. "He has some skill. Perhaps a little rusty, but..." Her eyes returned to the piano. "It makes me want to join in a little."

"Yea, I get what you mean..." Allison glanced at the harp. She hadn't played one in a very long time, but her mother had given her lessons when she was a little girl. They were painful memories, any involving her mother were going to be, but ones that were immediately drawn out at the sight of the instrument. "Well, let's go!" Allison said, nudging Siena into the music room.

"H-Huh?" Finding herself being nudged towards the room, Siena blinked in surprise, a mild sense of trepidation trying to meet her. "Oh, no, um, I don't think I should--" Get too close to Hazel yet. "--interrupt if Hazel still wants to play."

Chris stopped his melody. The crowd of students and their comments distracted him. Brent's presence was even a tad upsetting, especially with his compliment. It stung like salt on an open wound. Some other girl, Kusari if he remembered the name correctly, gave him a bit of an insult, something that he tried to shrug off. He needed a tune to soothe his frustrations, more so then what his previous performance offered. Keeping things simple, and playing a song he had more practice with, he began to play Silent Night. He made sure he executed every note perfectly. He played with his eyes closed, this song he could play with muscle memory. He even started to hum along the lyrics. He tried to distance himself from the outside world. From Hazel who sat on the piano, from the spectating students behind him. From the soldiers that guarded him or the cruel world itself. He just wanted to play his music, and for the moment nothing else mattered.

Hazel stared all the while, observing every move Chris made on the piano, every note he pressed. It was odd how simple arrangements and timing of the presses made them sound better. Music was something she was familiar with of course, but actual live performances with actual instruments was something she was not familiar with. It was akin to magic, with how his fingers glided across the keys and made music.

After performing a chunk of Silent Night, Chris paused. He didn't like to think of the people watching him, but he knew Brent and Siena were present. He wasn't ready to confront either of them about his issues, especially in public like this. However a song came into his thought process. He once again began to play the piano, this time playing Uptown Girl. Though originally he wasn't so keen on a more light song, his inner feelings gave way and guided the piano in tone with his childish infatuation.

Eyeing Siena and Allison near the entrance, Brent waved at the two, saying, loud enough that Chris could hear, "Hey, you two wanna give it a go?"

Allison, seeing that Siena was too afraid of Hazel to move towards the piano, made her way to the harp. She positioned herself in front of the large instrument. How long had it been since she'd played one? It had to have been at least five years. The aberration tried to focus in on what Chris was playing, but Allison didn't consider herself much of a Billy Joel fan, at least not of Uptown Girl. Since that didn't seem like it would work out, Allison just let her hands flow across the strings, the strict teachings from long ago coming back just enough to allow Allison to play the thing somewhat competently. She wasn't playing any particular song, just sort of jamming out, playing whatever sounded nice. The first few moments were sort of chaotic and random, though eventually Allison settled into a rhythm of sorts.

Should she...?

The sound of a harp started to mingle with sound of the piano, the rhythms not quite syncing, but the melodies still oddly harmonic in its cacophony. Glancing at Hazel, Siena steeled herself momentaraily. At least...she didn't seem like she was entirely eager to begin mashing out notes on the keys for the moment. Carefully, the brunette approached, stopping a short distance away, but deciding that sudden touch was probably more alarming than sudden sound, she deigned to call the Aberration's name. "Um...Hazel? Would you mind if I played for a bit?"

Turning to Siena, Hazel gave but a small glance, before moving slightly more towards the end of the seat. Staring expectantly at Siena, it was clear she meant for her to just squeeze in if she could. Hazel was still bent on observing the people play those instruments, and thus was reluctant to leave the best seat for doing so.

The gap was a bit small, but... "Thank you, Hazel. Ah...excuse me..." Carefully squeezing into the space, Siena found herself shoulder to shoulder with the two beside her. Part of her felt a sense of unease, but...perhaps Hazel wasn't as intimidating as Siena initially thought. Again, images of her sources being demolished in a single sweep sent chills up her spine, but the girl held fast to the initial thought. Hazel hadn't done anything on purpose. Siena was the one being irrational. She was.

Still, it was hard to set the discomfort aside.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you for a bit," Siena said with a brief nod to acknowledge Chris.

"You play?" He asked. There was a hint of a smile on his face as her company was something he didn't outright detest, but he kept that joy surpressed as always. He glanced over at Allison. "Well since Allison is going with the flow, why don't we try to make a good melody with her? Do you mind if I let you start, and I'll try to match up a tune with yours?" Siena was one of those few people Chris could talk to directly and rarely ever be in his usual bitterness. Something about her was like a sun through the rain in Chris's perspective.

"Hmmm, alright. Let's see what I can do..." Though she felt almost odd being the one starting on the piano, Siena listened to the harp for a moment, her mind filling in the blanks. Key, time signature, tempo... 'And I guess with this sound blend...' Her fingers started to dance across the keys, starting with featherlight touches that gradually swelled into notes that chased the tune from the harp. Carefully allowing her strings to tie into each other, the melody fell back, the volume subdued, the notes confined in such a manner that they almost felt as if they were lacking, no, waiting for the higher tones the piano so readily offered.

Shortly after arriving in the penthouse, Angelique had been visiting the bedrooms and the various facilities offered to them for their stay. This place reeked of high-class, that much was certain. It wasn't something she wasn't used of, but it certainly wasn't something she was quite fond of. The ex-musician preferred much simpler things, warmer and more modest.

As she wandered around aimlessly, her footsteps stopped as Angel heard music. Piano and even harp, from the sound of it. They couldn't have held a concert for the students now, would they? Curious of the melody played by the blend of two majestic instruments, Angel's footsteps resumed their pace, however heading towards the music room.

The door had been left wide open, and there were already a lot of students inside. Brent and Kusari casually looking on, Allison deftly playing the harp, Siena following along the harp's rhythm with flowing motions, Hazel spectating up close at one end of the piano's seat and Chris sitting on the other end. A lovely sight, to say the least.

Listening to the melody, Angel stood by the door's frame, smiling and arms crossed, content with listening while not intruding on the scene.

Not too long after Siena started a flow with what keys she had, Chris began to play with his side of the keyboard, trying to match her Rythmn with his high notes which together forged a collective harmony of the piano and the Harp. Chris found a bit too close for comfort with Siena squeezed next to him, a fault he silently blamed Hazel for. Other then that however, he was enjoying their little performance.

Allison looked at the three people shoved much too close together in front of the piano. It was an odd sight, but the sound eminating from Chris and Siena's playing was undeniably infectious, urging Allison to continue plucking at the harp. The instrument rested on her right shoulder, her right hand playing the higher, closer notes, with her left hand stretching to reach the lower ones. Allison was amazed at how much of the muscle memory she had retained despite not playing the harp for so long, her elbows up, and her fingers gently picking at and flowing across the strings. She didn't pay too much attention to her surroundings, instead focusing on the strings, and the playing of the piano.

The harmonic of Chris and Siena on the piano coupled with Allison on the harp moved Angel, who found the moment and the whole coopperative effort sublime. She felt the moment sinking in her soul, wanting to be a part of it. But she wasn't good without an instrument she knew how to play with. The violins were hardly something she had properly learned to play with. She wanted to add something to that harmony, just like the music classes she had when she was still in high school.

But then, it hit the raven-haired musician like a brick. There was no need for instrument. Her voice literally was one. One that she had spent most of her life honing. And although she was mostly known for her rock and metal songs, few knew that Angel had started with more pop-style songs, going so far as singing really sappy songs before moving on to something more rhythmic.

"It's going to be alright..." Angel muttered. she took a step into the room, repeating "It's going to be alright. her voice gradually increasing, but remaining calm and soothing. A song that was fitting with the melody of the piano and the harp's notes. It didn't exactly follow the original rhythm of the song, but Angel chanted the lyrics to match the tempo, opening the window to her soul.

Even Angelic was bringing in her voice now, wasn't she? He had thought that she looked marginally better these days, but to witness the Lucky Angel pulling off the miracle of trying to unite all these different sounds together, it certainly made him want to...watch? No, to join in, even with his own lacking skill.

"Man, this really is sorta contagious, eh?" he said, grinning stupidly at Kusari, "Gonna go in for a dance?"

Without waiting for much of a reply, the arbiter hopped over, taking one of the violins in his hand. He could feel the craftsmanship within the grained wood, and a part of him felt bad for intentionally ruining it, but...

Someone had to unite this loose attempt at harmony.

Silver circuits turned craftsmanship into a miracle, wood and strings replaced with metal and circuitry. Flourishing the bow, Brent played randomly, fancifully, enjoying the motions rather than anything else, but the AI that detected the chaos around him automatically called forth a tune that would masterfully fill in the gaps left by this improvised quartet. It was almost cheating, but...

It was definitely fun.

"A-ah, yeah?" Kusari stammered out a response to Brent as he took a violin and transformed it with his ability. With so many playing along with Angel's voice, the room felt like an impromptu concert venue. She liked to listen to music, but she felt rather out of place here. Her rough voice was hardly fit for singing, and she couldn't even play a plastic recorder. She was a terrible dancer as well, so what was she supposed to do, just stand and listen? Maybe that was fine. She took a seat in a corner of the room out of the way, deciding to just enjoy the moment.

Hurried steps carried a puffed out Ernie to the door of the music room, his gaze searching for the source of that wondrous voice. He knew who it was, of course, he just needed to see it live and outside of a computer screen. The bathmat examinations could wait.

The buzzcut boy had been more than fine with ignoring the key-smashing from before, had almost been repulsed by the Billy Joel songs. It wasn't like Piano Man's song choice was particularly attractive either. But the chance of watching Angelique Lachance jam out in person was too good to miss. The scene before him was somewhat chaotic but looked fun as hell. All the more reason he rued those three on the piano seat. It was stupid. Hearing people that weren't him play on the piano always bummed him out for little reason. Not much he could provide here. For now, Ernie was content with leaning on the door frame and listening to the magic unfold.

Music buzzed in the air between Allison at her bench, the trio at the piano, and suddenly...a voice. Slowing her fingers by a faint amount, Siena glanced over to see that Angel was joining in, her voice following the melody before a new instrument came to tie the instruments together. Giving a mischievous smile briefly, Siena let her fingers press here, jump there...and then, it bled into something easier, something that supported rather than led. After all, it was the duty of the accompaniment to support the vocals, was it not? Her pedal presses became more precise, softened the force of the hammer as she reached over one of Chris's arms to continue the progression of chords.

"Pardon the intrusion," the girl claimed with a ghost of a smile as she felt herself pressing closer than before to the other boy at the piano for a moment before she was able to reverse the movement, sliding back to her original position to continue the notes.

Everyone started joining in to make one large harmony, a collaboration of tormented and dreary souls unified by their curse. The whole event was inspirational. Then Siena had brushed against his arm. The joy he felt sparked a side of him he forget he had. "Right back at ya." There was a small but mischievous grin across his face as he mimicked Siena's accidental arm brush, yet he made sure that the music he continued to share did not upset the Rhythm. The whole thing felt like some unreal dream.

Allison adjusted her playing to fit with Brent's violin and support Angel's surprise vocals. The impromptu song was a wonderful occurance, the strange combination of 5 students and an expensive-looking music room. Allison's playing improved by the second as she got back into the swing of things, and kept a keen ear to the others. Angel's powerful vocals took center stage, with Chris and Siena's piano duet building behind it, supported by Allison's rusty harp playing, and pulled together by the surprising quality of Brent's violin. This jam session had no right to be this good.

As charming as it was to have everyone playing all together - hell, she didn't even know Brent was a master at playing violin - all good things must come to an end as Angel finished the song with a long-winded note that slowly decreased in volume, until she would remain silent. She was so caught up in the moment that she didn't think of everyone's instrumental parts had started building up around her singing. It was only when her voice faded and the music started dying down that she realized that accidentally she had taken the lead of the music session.

Blushing slightly, Angel scrathed the back of her neck and offered a warm, if not slightly embarassed, smile. "Wow, I did not expect a lot of you guys to be musicians. I guess we should start a band or something, right?"

Letting her hands slip off the keys, Siena turned her head as best she could to glance at the crowd that had gathered--the room felt fuller than she expected. "I certainly wasn't expecting anyone to be able to play the harp." It had been too bulky despite its grace when Siena had taken an interest in music, and...well, certainly, it didn't provide the same versatility as a piano when it came down to it. Turning her attention to her temporary partners, the brunette gave a weak smile. "Thanks for letting me invade midway."

Ernie chuckled along to it all, hanging back as an outsider since there was nothing he could add here. Angel's voice was incredible as usual, but as it ended, there was no reason to stay. With one more wistful glance at the piano, the Aberration took his leave as discreetly as he had arrived.

With another flourish, Brent ended his segment as well, enjoying the motions of the music, if nothing else. As his Overclock faded from the violin, he placed it on the rack as well, wiping his brow. "Don't know about a band, Angelic," he replied, But this was hella fun. Didn't know you were such a good pianist either, Siena...guess it's expected though. And damn, Allison, you know how to harp? I'll double on Siena's statement. That's pretty rare!"

"Heh, yea, I guess it is." Allison stood up, stepping away from the instrument. "I haven't played in a really, really long time."

Chris had removed his hands once everyone else ended the melody. With the music gone he no longer let any joy escape him in the form of a smile. His expression was now melancholy.

"I wouldn't be against joining a band. I have to admit though, Siena outclassed me on her half of the piano."

With the improvised concerto over, a few spectating students of Experimental Unit B left the room while the others made small talk to each others. Eventually, one thing led to another. The discussion about forming a band shortly turned into a proposition to go downtown for a shopping trip. Once everything was settled, each student went their own way. Some went to prepare themselve for the upcoming shopping trip, while others simply returned to their own devices.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟟, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕥𝕠𝕟, 𝔻.ℂ. / / ℍ𝕪𝕒𝕥𝕥 ℝ𝕖𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕔𝕪 ℍ𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕝 / / ~𝟘𝟡𝟘𝟘

---

Washington D.C. It had been a while Angélique set foot into the capital, and wished last time would have been the last. While there were fans all around the states, Washington had been the least successful part of her last tour. But popularity wasn’t something that bothered the fallen rockstar about this place. It was the reputation it had. It was the stronghold of anti-Subnaturals activists, the very core of the propaganda that demonized both monsters and Mages alike. It was the cause of the magically-gifted people’s suffering.

Angel could remember well just how unpleasant her stay had been in this city. Back then, when she was on tour, Angélique had already taken a stance on the Subnaturals’ case. Against expectations, she had announced that she wasn’t in favor of the current treatment of the Subnaturals. Her producers thought that taking a stance publicly that favored the Subnaturals was a suicide for her career. And because of that opinion going public, the denizens of Washington D.C. had hated Angélique Lachance just as much as Subnaturals themselves. It borderline called for a boycott on her concert, and even nearly cancelled it, but Angel’s firm resolve managed to keep to thing going, although this was by far the least successful part of her tour. After the disaster, the lead singer vowed to never return to that city ever again. Not because she was scared of all the threats she had received from angry mobs of the anti-Subnatural citizens, but because she hated the very populace. The general atmosphere was just that unwelcoming, that despicable.

Inside the limousine, Angélique seemed clearly unimpressed by the setup. Whether she was used to think kind of treatment as a successful rockstar or simply because she did not care, the fallen idol was apparently not as excited as some of the others were. She had remained silent for most of the ride to the hotel, answering only when spoken directly to as she gazed at the tinted windows, helping herself in a carefree fashion about the luxury aboard, from wine to snacks.

While the penthouse was however jaw-dropping, Angélique felt uncomfortable to be living in such luxury. She never went anywhere THIS luxurious before, but luxury wasn’t something she was a stranger of. It gave the young woman a sneaky suspicion that something was afoot. Why exactly would the Director bring them all the way over here? A shitty motel could have done the job, for all she knew that they were probably keeping them away from USARILN after the Subnatural attack. She did prefer more modest accommodations during her stay in big cities, her bandmates were always quite adamant about living the classy life while they still could.

Might as well get used to it though. Angel had no idea how long they would be staying here, but there were a few places she wanted to check out. But the racket coming from the music room warranted a visit to that place first, and see who had been making all that noise.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

𝓤𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 & 𝓗𝓪𝓽𝓮

Chapter VII: Power & Confidence

Angélique | Ernest

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟝, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℍ𝕠𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝 / / 𝟘𝟠𝟘𝟘

---

_{Collab with @banjoanjo}

Ernie stood outside the doors of the hospital, bracing himself for his visit to Cal. His weapon of choice, a canvas bag filled with assorted convenience store goods. His armor, a beanie covering his buzzcut scalp and a cheap scarf to hide his mark. Hopefully they would be effective enough conversation starters, distractions to keep him from breaching that forbidden topic. He eyed the guards and roaming nurses warily as he stepped into the lobby.

First thing to do was find to someone for Cal's room number. But who to ask?

His saving grace came in the form of Angelique making her way out from the hospital. He jogged to her without thinking too much about it. "Hey, Angelique!"

The growling in Angel’s stomach just wouldn’t stop. Ever since she woke up this morning and went to train with Brent in the early hours of the morning, she was hungry from the lack of proper feeding ever since yesterday morning.

Not intending to eat the crappy kind of food hospital cafeteria usually serves, Angélique wondered if she could find her classmates somewhere in town and ask them if they had suggestions for a place to eat breakfast.

As the elevators doors opened, the raven-haired Aberration left quickly, but was soon to be intercepted by what seemed to be Ernie’s voice. But his appearance seemed to have changed… greatly. Unless her light-blindness really was pulling tricks on her.

“Ernie? What have you done to your hair?”

The boy blushed, suddenly self-conscious. It didn't look that bad did it? He stepped back from Angelique's squint.

"Um, I cut it?" Ernie replied tentatively, "Wisford messed it up pretty badly."

It felt stupid to be complaining about his hair when Angelique had suffered so much worse than him. He looked at her again, faintly surprised to see no lingering scars or injuries on her face. Thank god her only treatment wasn't his mess of bandaids.

"Your face is okay."

"Yeah, it is. Thanks to Christmas once more. I swear, I don’t know what we would be doing without him. I’m… just mad he gets treated like a walking healing blood dispenser here. But the institute is allowing it, and we can’t just go against their orders.”

Angel paused, her eyes narrowing as she tried to take a closer look upon Ernest’s new haircut, or at least the beanie he was wearing.

“You know, it doesn’t look half-bad. Gives you that street punk look. In fact, I think it looks cool? Build some more muscles and get some tattoos to complete the look." the raven-haired singer chuckled.

"Really?" Ernie lit up instantly. He never thought that Angelique Lachance of all people would compliment him. He was probably grinning like an idiot now but he couldn't seem to care, "Thanks, I'll take that into account. Hell, maybe I'll ask Brent for workout tips!"

Ernie held his tongue at the mention of Christmas' powers being used. To him, it seemed like the most sensible method of using that power. But he wasn't looking to start a fight here.

"So where you off to? Nowhere too wild, hopefully? The news guys haven't budged since last night so it's kinda hard to get around town."

Angel’s jaw dropped at the mention of media coverage going around town. Fuck, what if her face was caught on camera and people now knew her whereabouts? By now, anyone following her would know she was incarcerated in USARILN. She hoped the fandom would die down with what happened in Montréal and she would stop worrying about her public image. But the opposite actually happened. A lot of Regulars had turned their back on her, but now that a popular personality had become a Subnatural, activists that had been agreeing to her earlier stance on Subnaturals and more of them, both Arbiters and Aberrations that could relate to her, began surging on social media and express their idolization for the fallen Aberration rockstar.

This whole thing made her feel uneasy. But since Ernest seemed to know a bit more about this town than her, maybe he could guide her around without raising suspicion.

“Well, you just happened to appear at the right moment. I was thinking of finding one of you guys. I’m dying to eat something, but I literally have no idea where to head to.” Angel explained while she was tying her hair into a ponytail and brushing her signature long bangs behind her ears.

She wasn’t exactly clothed the way she used to be, and wasn’t wearing her shades for once, much to her dismay. Maybe the cameras won’t recognize her if she changed her hairstyle too during her stay in town.

Breakfast, huh? That would be a fine way to delay his visit. It only occurred after he said it that former celebrity would have the most trouble with the press out of everyone in the class. But the thought of having breakfast with a rockstar quickly overshadowed his doubts. He was determined to make this fun for both of them.

"The most obvious place to avoid is the motel. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get out of there last night," Ernie scratched his head, formulating a plan, "Looks like most of them don't have the guts to enter the hospital, though. Or maybe they just don't know that some of us are here."

If he'd known that this would be happening he would have brought another scarf.

"Do you want to eat here instead? I could just get some stuff from the surrounding stores and bring 'em back to the hospital."

Angel looked hesitant to Ernest’s proposal. Part of her didn’t want to try her luck and come face to face with the media. But she really wanted to eat somewhere else than in the hospital. Actually, she probably had enough of being in that hospital. She wanted to be somewhere else. A quiet place she could spend the rest of their days in La Plata in peace.

She really was torn apart there. In that case, there was only one thing to do…

“Eeeeh… I really don’t know. Tell you what. You call the shots this morning.”

"Oh, me?" he swiped sheepishly at his nose, sniffling slightly from the cold air. He could understand if she wasn't keen on the idea of eating at the hospital, with the guards and chemical smells constantly wafting about. The stench of disinfectant was nothing he wasn't used to, but he supposed that Angelique didn't feel the same way. He looked out the doors a brief moment before turning back to the singer with a smile.

"I might take a while. Hold this for me, will you?" he said, handing his giftbag to Angel before running out.

Angel slowly nodded as she held onto Ernie's bag, tilting her head slightly in curiosity as she watched the teenage Aberration leave the hospital. While Ernie was gone, the young woman mostly kept to herself and took a seat in the corner of the room, adjusting her leather choker. She wondered if that thing was still good enough to hide her mark?

Fifteen minutes later, he returned, one hand holding a plastic bag overladen with wrapped goods, the other carrying a cardboard cup holder with four different drinks sitting in the spaces. A second scarf was hanging from his neck, which he promptly draped over Angel's shoulders as soon as he set down the food. He left the girl to wrap her own scarf though.

"I found a nice place nearby, follow me."

A soft smile crept on Angelique's face with the proposal and what he gave to her. The scarf was just about perfect to complete the disguise. She draped it around her neck and the lower part of her face, stopping just under her nose.

The place in question was a gazebo behind the church, a quiet place to sit that was a fair distance from the footpath. With the distance and the scarves in the way, it was highly unlikely that any passersby would see their X-marks.

"The cold might be a problem but, well, you're Canadian so I'm hoping it'll be okay for you," Ernie made small talk as he unwrapped one of the burgers he'd gotten from the nearby diner. The morning sky was cloudy and bright, but the chilliness was manageable. Distant cars and neighbourly conversations could be heard from where they were sitting.

"Ha, don't worry about that. I've always enjoyed the autumn's breeze. I find it... refreshing. It's quite moderate when compared to the heat of summers and the chill of winters. I kind of like autumns and springs for that." Angel chuckled slightly as she unwrapped one burger.

Been a while she did not have this much junk food. Yesterday was fried chicken for late night dinner, today is burgers for breakfast. At least she could count on Brent's hellish training to burn off the fat.

The black-haired Aberration paused between two bites, swallowing her mouthful of food before turning her black circles-ridden eyes towards Ernest.

"Thank you Ernie, for helping out." she said, for the first time using the guy's nickname.

"Yeah, fall is a neat season. This town is pretty nice too." Unlike its residents.

Ernie felt his spirits lift when Angelique finally used the nickname. He would've eventually asked her to do so anyway, just because of that weird feeling he got when someone called him his proper name. It was a superficial thing to dwell on, but it was definitely more comfortable to leave all traces of his past behind. Even if it was just a name.

"It's no problem, really. I want to hang out with you," Ernie chuckled into his burger, "But it really should be me thanking you. For yesterday. I might not be even sitting here if you hadn't been there."

"Oh..."

Angel didn't expect the small talk to suddenly shift to what happened yesterday. As a matter of fact, she tried to not talk too much about it, especially about the part when Hazel lost it and started attacking her own teammates.

"You don't need to thank me. You guys shouldn't have been involved in this mess. I made a bad decision that time. It's only right that I should try and make up for the things I do wrong."

Angel lowered her burger, a bitter expression slowly crawling out from her fading smile.

"I'm sorry to have you two exposing yourselves to danger like this. And for getting you caught in my power's range. I... guess I still need to train on that control thing, huh?"

"No! No, you can't blame yourself. I should've waited for you guys to take out the second collector instead of rushing out with Christmas. And it wasn't your fault that Hazel..."

It was his fault. They might have had a chance to sneak away if he hadn't lost it and drawn that monster's attention with panicked gunshots.

"I mean, at least you weren't actively trying to kill us. I can get over a few scrapes if it means you saving my life. Control will come with experience. And I know you can do it."

A thoughtless steadfastness. His half-blind adoration had pushed the words out before his experience-tinged cynicism could stop them.

Angel was taken aback, slightly startled as Ernest abrupt negative answer shook her out of this self-blaming cycle. His words held some truth to it, and she was thankful of him being so kind to her, even though she could not completely shift off the weight of her responsability from her shoulders.

"T-thanks for believing in me. I... appreciate it."

It somewhat felt good to have someone who wanted to believe in her and encourage her. Sort of like Brent, even though his approach had been way more direct and harsh. But still, to be surrounded by people believing in her strength, even though she was still lacking, it brought more conviction into becoming stronger.

The uneasiness of the whole event just called for a change of subject.

"So... where were you heading with those bags inside the hospital in the first place? Wanted to deliver something to someone in particular?"

Angel tried to shy away from the discussion about yesterday's battle, wanting to focus on something else more enjoyable happening at the present time.

Ernie nodded, accepting the sudden subject change. He wasn't keen on talking about the battle either.

"Uh, yeah, I was meaning to visit Cal. I should've done it last night but..."

He still didn't know if he needed to be afraid of her. Ernie shrugged.

"I didn't really know what to get her, so I just got a bit of everything. Do you think she'll like it?"

“I know it’ll sound corny as hell, but I think it’s the thought that matters. I’m sure she’ll appreciate the gesture.”

Memories of yesterday evening replayed in her head; of the moment she went to visit Callan in her hospital room. A lingering sadness that was difficult to watch.

“She’s… quite down from what happened yesterday. I think she needs emotional support from her friends.”

"Emotional support?" Ernie repeated, taking another bite from his burger. Him, actually going good with his words? He laughed at the notion, "I don't think I'm the right guy for that. My words have never really... helped."

“It doesn’t have to be with words though. Just going to check up on her, making sure she’s alright and bringing food to share is just as good as any speech.” Angel promptly corrected Ernest, her brows furrowing as he was underestimating his own cheering capabilities.

“Plus, you shouldn’t be so quick to denigrate yourself. I mean, I did find your words meaningful and helpful when I wasn’t feeling well last week."

And just now too.

Angel took a bit of her burger, savoring this delicacy she always did enjoy. For a moment, she looked thoughtful.

“You know, I’ve been taking you up on your advice. Every day, in the afternoon, I went to Ground Zero. To release pent-up stress, aggression and ease my mind. You were right, in the end. Whatever crap I tried before just couldn’t measure up to wrecking something in there.”

There was a solemn tone in her voice. She was willing to admit she was wrong and he was right, a small defeat that however turned into a victory.

“But I used this opportunity to train as well. I may not have become more powerful, but…” a grin flashed on the Aberration girl’s lips before she continued speaking.

“At the very least I managed to gain more control.” she continued, her voice however did not come out from her mouth. Instead, it echoed behind Ernie.

He'd... helped? But he hadn't even meant most of what he said that day. Still, Angelique's comforting words warmed him better than the food ever could. It gave him that small bit of pride he never knew he needed.

He did want to see that Cal was okay, really. Any intrusive doubts about her background could wait for the time being.

A "thank you" was about to leave his mouth before a sudden voice, Angel's, sounded from behind him. He jumped from his seat and yelped, stood and looked behind him to find the source. Once he saw the grin on Angel's face, he let himself relax, his own smile forming.

"Was that you?" he asked incredulously with a small chuckle.

The obsidian-haired Canadian tried to stifle a laugh, but Ernest’s startled expression emancipated that which she was trying to suppress.

“Unless I have an invisible twin sister, of course it was.” The girl explained, still giggling from seeing her classmate’s incredulous face.

“Whatever happened out there yesterday, after seeing those visions again…” Angel spoke, but her voice eerily coming to Ernie’s left side.

“I gained enough control over my voice to project it elsewhere. Think of it like a ventriloquist, only that the range is far more greater.” Angel’s voice this time switched to Ernie’s right side.

“It’s not only that. After training for a whole week, I managed to gain more control on my sonic blasts. Sure it takes some focus and a good aim, but I can make precise enough shots to hit a single target, instead of an area.” Angel further explained, her voice however returning where it belonged.

Angélique wanted to tell Ernie that she also felt the rushing tides of darkness being blocked out by something powerful, but the concept was so vague and so unknown even to the Aberration that she was reluctant of talking about it. One thing was certain though. Her last improvements gave her control beyond what she would have thought possible when she first started discovering her powers at the institute. It had brought her some hope concerning herself. If she could only try and find a way to further improve her power and her control.

Ernie laughed like a child, leaning away from side to side as the voices rang out.

"God, that can be really creepy when you want it to be. I can already think up some pranks you'd be able to do with that."

Visions, though. That was an interesting topic. He'd known many subnaturals in his time so he was confident in his knowledge of power progression among mages in that, well...

Subnatural powers didn't develop sudden new perks. They didn't evolve the way he and Angel's apparently did.

Mages, whether they were white streaks or X-marks, were generally stuck with the base power they had been given by their Awakening. If they wanted to get better then they had to just train and work to make the most of their abilities, form their own techniques and skillsets, or wait until they transformed into an Ardor or Animus. There was never anything in-between, no small packages of new abilities granted without the prerequisite training like what he (and now Angel) had gotten. And there were definitely no visions involved.

For the longest time, Ernie was alone with these once-in-a-while dreams. It had never been comforting or terrifying, it was just...strange. But now that he had found another, someone else who saw the same thing and reaped even more than he had, he wasn't sure what to feel. Relief, maybe. But there was something else, something much more familiar.

Jealousy.

"Yet another stronger classmate. You just keep getting left behind, don't you?" a sadistic voice taunted him.

Shut up. At least Angelique actually liked him. Ernie tried his best to be happy for her. Plus, this was a very strange situation he wanted to explore. The rate at which her powers were changing was something to discuss.

"Your powers change after you get visions too? Can you tell me more about that?"

Angel thoughtfully chewed into the final remnants of her burger, finishing it before starting onto this new turning point of their discussion.

And it kind of slapped her in the face. Why did she went through all the trouble of asking on Death and Taxes about those vision when this one experienced Aberration was part of her class? Ernest is probably one of the oldest running Mage of her experimental group. He probably had seen and know a lot more about Mages than any other person she could actually trust here.

"Not simply changing. Improving, I dare say. Range, control, power. Hell, I think even the strain my sonic screams inflict on my vocal chords also lessened."

Angel paused, thinking about the visions for a moment. Would it be alright if she talked to him about those? Was there a way to even describe coherently what she saw?

"How could I put it in words... Every time, it feels like... the ocean comes to me. An endless, dark abyss trying to consume me. But instead, it slowly drips into me. Each time it happened, I felt... dirty? But recently, it just feels right, especially ever since that unknown force just showed up quite recently and started blocking the ocean. Retaliate against it even."

Angel showed some enlightenment as she was speaking about her visions. Nothing made sense, but at the same time, it sort of did. At least that's what she was trying to believe.

"As a matter of fact... ever since that force showed up, I only gained more control over my powers, as opposite to the times the ocean was left unopposed. Before, the ocean seemed... content by feeding me more power to the destructive side of my abilities."

The Aberration girl stopped, looking at her classmate before rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, smiling earnestly.

"I'm sorry if I don't make much sense. This whole thing is still pretty much vague even though it happened a few times already."

Ernie stared and listened attentively. He hadn't been expecting her to open up so much about it and was suddenly worried over whether or not he'd provide a satisfactory answer. There were parts that he could relate to but also just as many that he'd never experienced. It seemed that Angel knew and had received much more than him, even if she didn't know it yet.

"So much info! And she didn't even have to fester for years in a Senators den to obtain it. Jealous?"

Of course. Shut up.

"Nah, no need to apologise, I get what you mean," Ernie waved her concerns off with a smile, providing zero indication of his inner thoughts.

"I've seen that ocean. And I've felt that dirty feeling. But...I think you know a lot more than me about whatever those visions are. I don't really know what you mean when you talk about that force. My ocean's always just done whatever it wanted."

He chuckled.

"It sounds like I'm describing that Disney movie. But yeah, looks like your power's evolving a lot quicker than mine too. How often do you see these visions? It's only been a month or so since you got your powers, right?"

"Honestly, I don't know for sure. They... just happen when they need to? I could spend a week without experiencing them, just as they can happen two times in the span of a single day."

Looking back at it, it was pretty much what happened to her. She spent her first two weeks without seeing a vision other than The Awakening a month ago before being imprisoned at USARILN. Then, on the night of her first battle, she saw the vision for the first time. A few days after, she saw another one during the Flags and Seek game. It took almost a whole week afterwards to happen again, then not even a whole day passed before she saw the fourth one in Wisford.

"I've been meaning to ask, now that we are talking about it. Are those visions a rare occurrence to Mages? The way it sounded like when I asked on the Death and Taxes chatroom, it felt like very few knew what I was talking about, thinking it was the work of a Dream Mage."

The green-eyed monster's jeers only multiplied as Angelique kept talking, and Ernie felt it become more and more difficult to smile with every passing moment. The strong always took their gifts for granted. That was a fact he had bitterly come to terms with long ago.

His eyebrows raised at the mention of the subnatural forum. If he recalled correctly, the conversation she was referring to had a few people admitting to their own visions. Ernie pulled out his phone, scrolling through the backlog and ignoring his companion for the moment.

References to a sea. A flash. And the evolution of abilities resulting from it.

It looked like there were at least two people beside him that had experienced what he knew. And it was definitely not the work of a dream mage, despite what the moderator suggested. Ernie turned to Angelique and showed her what was on his screen. He pointed to the username 'Misfortune'.

"This is you?"

"Who knows?" Angel faked a grin to hide her embarrassment, leaving the boy to piece the puzzle together.

Looks like she blew her secret identity for over there. Well, only to Ernie at least. Surely he wasn't going to scream in every dorm her online persona.

Her question was left unanswered though. She had expected him to at least follow up on her question after having so diligently revealed details most Mages either kept for themselves or simply were ignorant of.

"You see? It doesn't look like a lot of people, even the moderators, know about it. Was it the same in West?"

Ernie raised a quizzical but amused eyebrow at Angelique's sudden coyness. He decided to count that as a yes, though he understood why she was so secretive about her online status. He'd made some pretty bold claims himself in the chatroom under the guise of anonymity. If anyone found out that it was him, it would be pretty embarrassing.

"Yeah, there was no vision talk at West. Or on the old DnT either, the one that wasn't just for East students."

He still had some things he wanted to investigate before he revealed all his cards. He pointed to another username, the only other person who seemed to have visions like them. 'Anon'.

"Wait, isn't Anon that dragon guy in our class? I prepped a suit for him a few days ago. Shouldn't we ask him for info too?"

"No, I don't think Christopher knows any more than we do. That wasn't the impression I got from him anyways."

Ernie was silent for a second.

"Angelique, I've been an Aberration since I was nine. I've met more mages than I can remember, even before West. Hell, I probably know more about subnatural life outside of the Institutes than anyone at this school. Which is why I find all of this so weird."

Hazel eyes met green with utmost seriousness.

"Powers aren't supposed to change like they do for us. That's the way it is for literally every subnatural I know, except for Animi and Ardors. But that's the thing, right? When a mage undergoes that giant transformation, that's the only time their powers evolve so noticeably. The only time, except for us apparently."

His brow furrowed and he looked away, deep in thought.

"I've known strong mages for stretches of months and years. They got stronger because they learnt to use their power better and practiced, not because they were suddenly granted new sub-abilities by a magic dream ocean. I mean, look at this!"

Ernie demonstrated by summoning his rope and throwing out his hand, sending his rope flying towards one of the gazebo's posts and automatically tying a noose around it.

"I couldn't even do this auto-latch thing until last week! If no one else is getting upgrades like us, then they're almost definitely not getting any visions either. For years, I thought that I was the only one getting these. But now there's you and this Anon person and all three of us are at East for some reason..."

The rope was dissipated and Ernie took a deep breath. This was a lot more rambling than he'd expected to do this morning. An idea came to mind and he looked to Angelique once more.

"Do you know anyone else who's had this happening to them too? Besides Dragon Boy? There's something seriously weird going on."

"You don't need to look that far away to find out who else are affected by those visions, if we go according to sudden surge of new powers." Angel paused, taking in account everything she had witnessed so far.

"Our whole class is made of those people. Grant keeps sprouting more chains; Hazel can actually make things explode now, not to mention I've noticed her projected arms growing longer. Christopher keeps becoming a bigger dragon by the weeks; Allison's blade is also getting longer; Zoe can make her rotting ability spread from one person to another. And I'm skipping a lot because I haven't seen them fight yesterday or on the first day we were brought here."

Angel sighed, the whole situation having turned into some sort of weird conspiracy theory.

"Take a closer look at our classmates. Some exhibit new powers each time we get into a fight, while some are more discreet about it. But point remains. We're Experimental Unit B, and it doesn't seem to be a coincidence to have all these... 'Gifted' people united in a single classroom, if we are that few in number, as you told me."

Angel looked thoughtful, wondering if anyone from her team had been hit by visions yesterday, just after their fight with the clockwork army ended.

"I suspect everyone else from our class has had these flashes of insight at least once."

"Our whole...class?" Ernie paled.

Well, there went his inferiority complex again. No wonder he was surrounded by such strong classmates. It wasn't just an East thing after all. He tried to deny the disappointment of losing what had just been his thing to seventeen other people but failed. Seventeen people who not just had his speciality, but were apparently better at it too. They got more out of it over the span of a week or two than he had gotten from over more than half a decade. Seventeen strong mages, moving on while he remained frozen, exactly the same. Nothing ever changed. The strong got the spotlight and he was just...there, barely holding on.

"It's Reno all over again! You'll get over it eventually."

But that wasn't even the worst of it. Angelique was right in that it wasn't a coincidence that twenty or so kids experiencing the same visions had been sought out and put in the same class. That was his biggest concern. How did they round up all these subnaturals with these specifications? Ernie's eyes widened with a horrible realisation.

USARILN was a Regular-run government organisation. Regulars. How did they know about all this? Did they know?

Perhaps. But they weren't all unpowered oppressors. His mind went back to Monday, to a particular pair of subnaturals. A suave, lanky man and a short, peppy woman, both bearing white streaks on their faces. But even if they were fellow subs, Ernie didn't trust them. They were USARILN staff after all. There was another thing. Ernie knew it was close-minded and childish, but he couldn't help but think of them as traitors of a kind. They had probably been captured when they were still young, and probably had no choice but to be affiliated with the organisation. Even if they were doing their best to make the transition comfortable for new kids, they were still just submitting to their tyrant Regulars without a fight. He couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment for that. If they did have answers for this conundrum then he doubted that they'd be reliable.

Ernie sighed before remembering that he still had a conversation he needed to devote his attention to. There would be plenty of time to think afterwards.

"Guess we're not so special after all, huh?" he smiled weakly.

'We're'? He knew that he was only referring to one person.

Angelique raised an eyebrow at this statement. Now that was a weird way to view things. Wasn't being a Mage good enough for him? As a matter of fact, she was a bit caught off-guard by how he seemed okay with being a special case of Aberration. Until yesterday, after her talk with Brent, she always was lamenting that she had taken the wrong decision, becoming a being of destruction rather than a being of harmony.

"I wouldn't exactly say that, Ernie." Angel's fingers drummed on the table, now that she had nothing to eat and her fingers ached to play with something when she was feeling anxious.

"Out of the billions of people on this earth, you're one of the few thousands to have become a Mage. And out of those thousands of Mages, you're part of a group experiencing visions that probably doesn't number more than half a hundred, at least from what we believe. If that doesn't make you feel special, then fuck man, we can't all be Precursors, Animi or Ardors. But at the very least, we're breaking away from the 'mold' and walking down a path few Mages had treaded."

Her shadow-ridden eyes, despite looking tired, brightened to their vivid emerald color as some sort of burning conviction was blazing in them. An aura of confidence she was exuding akin to what she was emanating in her career before.

"Who knows? Perhaps, one day, we'll be at the top. Those gifts granted to us will elevate us into powerful people who could actually do something of the fucking mess that is the world right now. Even if the visions don't, then I'm just as willing as to work my ass off 'till I become that something. Hell, if whatever is making us so special in the first place is helping us survive and fight back the monsters, then fuck yeah I'll gracefully accept it and make sure I live another day to fight and protect people I care about."

Ernie stared in awe as Angel delivered her speech. A strange feeling overcame him, one he struggled to identify at first. It was the same feeling he got when he watched a video of one of his favourite rockstar's live performances or watched one of her interviews. That limitless energy and confidence she seemed to radiate, the one that could bring thousands of people jumping to their feet. The one that was bringing a smile to his sullen face right now.

He couldn't help it. Ernie burst out laughing, louder and more genuine than he could ever remember. He knew it was a weird, maybe even inappropriate, reaction. But it was what he felt like doing. The joyous sound continued trickling out even after he tried to restrain himself.

She was right. Absolutely right. It all seemed so simple when she laid out the numbers like that. Eighteen subnaturals out of the thousands in the world, all with powers with unlimited potential. And he got to be one of them.

With everything going on in the past week, it was easy to forget that his powers were comparitively stronger than most. Seven months at West had confirmed that for him. Hell, even some of the bigger guys at Reno would have had trouble fighting him at the level he was now.

Yes, that was another thing to remember. Like his classmates, he was also improving, even if it was at a slower rate than he would've liked. But his time would come eventually.

"Will you even be alive long enough to see it?"

Who knows?

"Being 'special' won't help you survive Sander. It won't back you up when you're outnumbered by Emma. It won't let you withstand Hazel's disintegration."

Those thoughts were right, of course. Always right. But Ernie didn't care. Angel's words had moved him, and for that brief, rapturous moment he actually felt good about himself. No matter how delusional this feeling was, he was going to cling to it for as long as he could.

After all, it wasn't every day that he got to recieve a tailor-made pep talk from a rockstar.

"How did you find exactly the right words to say?" he grinned widely, wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye, "Is that another one of your upgrades?"

He coughed out the last of his fit before turning back to her with shining, grateful eyes.

"Really though, thanks. The transfer's been sorta rough on me and, well, I guess there was some other stuff from before that too. I think I just really needed to hear that. Sorry for laughing, it just...it just surprised me, I guess, how better I feel now."

Ernie scratched his head, slightly embarrassed. But he felt like this was the best time to take a risk.

"You're seriously inspiring, Angel. That's probably why you're one of my favourite musicians."

Ernie's laughter did indeed surprise the rockstar off her socks. Her fingers stopped drumming as she wondered what she said that was so funny. But hearing that genuine laughter, she could not help but smile warmly.

Angel scratched her cheek, a bit self-aware of her position. She had always known her words had great impact on others. That's why she had always tried so hard to set herself up on the right track and become an example. She had many fans in the past. It was only right for her conscience to lead those people down a good road rather than exhibit the same debauchery many of her past bandmates showed. Angel wasn't only in the music show-business for the music in itself and the fame, but largely to inspire people in these dark times.

"It has always been who I was. You said it yourself. I am Angelique Lachance and forever will be." Angel took up on a more solemn look as she recalled their first discussion "You just happened to catch me at a bad time, at the gym. A moment of weakness that I wish you would have never met. And yet, at the same time, maybe it was for the best you saw me that way. Otherwise you probably would never had come see me and offered me help."

Her heart sank though when Ernest revealed she probably was one of his favorite musicians. It was difficult, to hear someone say those words after what she had done to her fans a few weeks back. But she promised herself she would stop crying like a little bitch about it. Move forward and kill the past, like Brent suggested. Still, it was a hard thing to come to term with, but perhaps the first step to healing was to accept it?

"I... I'm sorry for what happened in Montreal. I just wanted to impress my fans with my newfound power. I didn't mean to maim people with it." Angel said, her voice filled with honest mourning, without however lamenting over it. "I don't know how you still can be able to say that despite what I did. But… I'm somewhat thankful you can look past that, even if I probably don't deserve it."

The raven-haired fallen idol sighed, her eyes slowly looking up and closing as the intensity of the ambient light was a bit too much when looking at the sky.

"I'm not trying to look pitiful here. I think I've done enough of it for the past weeks to finally understand that moping about it isn't going to help me here. I just… wanted to let you know that I'm sorry if I've become a huge let-down because of it. That's exactly why I'll be working double on becoming a stronger Mage. To make up for the people that died that day, and for the people I will want to protect in the future, like you guys. Moving on from that tragedy won't be easy, but if I can turn it into a stepping stone to my ascension as a greater Mage, then I can surely find solace in that."

"I'm glad I saw you that day too. It might sound kinda messed up here but," Ernie shrugged, "I liked that I didn't have to see you as one of my idols. I could talk to you like a person I could relate to, like maybe even a...friend."

He cringed at the sappiness of it all and got to work folding up the wrappings from their shared breakfast and putting them back into the bag.

Montreal was an...interesting topic for the boy. To this day he still hadn't figured out how he felt about an idol suddenly revealing her self as an X-marked subnatural and causing a small massacre. Surprised, definitely. But any resentment that could have lingered had faded immediately once he saw that picture of a tear-streaked Angelique in an article regarding her trial and sentence. There was no way she was as bloodthirsty and evil as the people he had lived with, no matter what the Stigma said. He was glad he didn't stop believing.

"Nah, it's cool. I know that we shouldn't wave off something this big so easily, even if it was an accident. But you've shown me the guts you've got. You've saved me once already so I know you'll be saving others just as well. And I can see that you're gonna work your ass off. Makes me more than sure you'll make up for what happened someday real soon."

He chuckled again, crumpling the collected rubbish into a strangely neat package.

"Makes me want to work hard too. Maybe I should start with those muscles and tattoos you were suggesting earlier."

Angel's solemn face returned to her earlier smile as she heard Ernest encouraging her even if she had been confronting his beliefs for her past deeds. Even if it was just him, it felt good to have someone believe in her.

She chuckled in turn at his last statement. "Then work hard man. It would be enjoyable to see you standing on top with the rest of us."

The black-haired Aberration fell silent, thinking about what her classmate just said. About being an idol and talking to a friend.

"Say, Ernie. Since we're both stuck at USARILN for the time being as classmates, and I'm no longer continuing my career as a rockstar for obvious reasons, wouldn't you want... to become my friend instead of a fan? If it means to break the walls of idolization and discuss of things we could both relate to each other, I would very much like that."

Ernie nodded eagerly, "I'd like that too."

He toyed with the trash bundle in his hands, seeing his giftbag for Cal at his feet. He didn't feel much like stalling now. That pep talk had really done a number on him. The boy stood.

"Well. Guess I should go see Cal now. It took some weird turns but..."

He smiled brightly. Innocently. That wasn't a word he'd use to describe himself often.

"I really enjoyed our talk. Catch you later then?"

"Oh! Yes, of course! I'm sorry I took some of your visiting time. Please do go and see her. Cheer her up!"

Just like you have done for me.

Angel stood up as well. However the destination she had in mind was elsewhere.

"And Ernie... thank you for believing in me. I'm glad we've got to sit down and talk about all this"

He was tempted to say that he'd never stopped, but that snarky cynicism rudely reminded him of the impatience he'd felt at her weakness during that first meeting. He wasn't sure what part of his belief she was referring to so he said nothing. Instead, he just nodded again and dashed off, feeling a lot braver than he had been that morning.

Chapter VIII: Love Through Music

Collab here!

Chapter IX: Words Best Left Unspoken

See 9/15 – Emma and Angel: Words Better Left Unsaid

Chapter ???: A Grim Reminder

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟝, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / 𝕄𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕝 / / ℕ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥

---

Ever since Angélique had become an Aberration, it was incredibly hard for her to go to sleep. Her mind had been plagued with the fear of what kind of nightmare will visit her at night and filled of events replaying in her mind. Moments of shame, or guilt, of sadness, of pain. It would usually take several hours before the fallen musician would fall asleep.

Tonight was no exception. After her talk with Emma, the voices in her head kept screaming how weak she was, how unworthy of her trust and love the others were, how worthless she had proven herself to be so far. Angel still was seeping within the depths of Angel’s soul from Emma’s outburst. She was mad that the girl, whom she looked up to her for she seemed to be so calm, peaceful and in control of herself, was hiding such poison and was adept at delivering it through venomous words.

She was mad that she did not understand her point of view. Angel was mad at herself for having fallen prey to the wrath that had corroded the walls of her steely resolve. She had always wanted to talk with Emma, befriend her and be part of the little dinning group they have set up ever since everyone arrived at USARILN. But it was a dream best left forgotten now. Hate and animosity was probably the only thing between them now. As Brent told her, it’s best to forget about how things could have been now that it already happened. And yet, it was hard to accept. It felt only bitter to have developed this kind of relationship with someone Angel was looking forward to be friends with.

Through her grieving, sleep had finally managed to sneak its way onto the tearful Aberration, crying herself to sleep.

---

“Good job today, Angie! With that song finalized, we’ll be able to launch the album very soon! I’m amazed just how quickly you guys managed to work on that one! We’re far ahead from the schedule we’ve promised to the fans. Since the new album is finished so soon, I thought you guys could use what time we have left to do a marketing campaign. We’ll organize a few events to advertise the soundtrack and rile up the fan hype. That way, we’ll be able to get even more fans, and already existing fans will be so hyped they’ll throw themselves at the more costly time-limited merchandise.”

Annika had been Angélique’s newest manager for not very long. The business woman was quite the marketing saleswoman and mostly thought about ways to rack up profits rather than pleasing the fans. Money was the center of her decisions and talks. To be quite honest with herself, it made the young rockstar sick. Money doesn’t buy the hearts of people, performance did.

“No. We’ll launch the album ahead of time in a surprise event. Fans will be intrigued by the event, and the surprise announcement will just pop out of nowhere. I believe that will greatly please them. I’d rather have them happy of getting that album sooner and further bolster their loyalty than have them go through meaningless purchases. I want people to enjoy what I make with minimum cost than sucking them dry and leave them bitter.”

That’s what she had loved about Sandra, her previous and first manager. That woman had found many ways of making the small bud that was Angel bloom into a radiant flower, ravishing the hearts of many in the process. Fans were her main concern; money could come second as far as she was concerned. The raven-haired singer lamented her retirement as the brand name Angel had been working under decided to put an end to her contract and find a replacement. The house knew just how profitable Angélique Lachance’s fame was. Sandra’s ways were too soft now that she managed to bring out her full potential. They needed someone ruthless and effective, someone like Annika.

“But… just think about the possibilities of pleasing your fans through all the events we will be organizing! They love your stage presence, your appearances on talk-shows and the small live performances all around town. Surely you can’t pass up on this opportunity making your fans happy?”

The auburn-haired manager flinched at Angel’s flat rejection. The girl had become increasingly difficult to bargain with the more her fame grew. She despised artists with that kind of attitude. They had their heads so stuck up in the clouds that they forgot just how costly it is to massively distribute material of that quality. The house was lucky that Angel’s popularity had sky-rocketed through her various public opinions and claims to cover up for the lack of profit she was causing them by her bad decisions.

“Fine. But we’ll still release the album ahead of time. By the end of August, instead of October. We’ll organize a homecoming concert in Montréal. We’ll perform this year’s most successful hits and give them a one song sneak peek of the new album at the climax of the show. Sounds good enough of a compromise?”

There was one thing that Annika’s predecessor had done that she despised the most. Feeling she was just about to be put in retirement, from watching the administration growing restless, she managed to present a renewing contract to both parties – the owners and Angélique Lachance – that would make it very profitable for the brand, but give a lot more freedom for the rising superstar. Basically, Angel relinquished the vast majority of her rights, including profits, to the music she produced. In exchange, she was given free reign of organizing her events and her appearances. It was hard to come to an agreement. Threats of finding a new brand to work with have been made and negotiations went on for a long time. It was probably what sealed Sandra’s fate. But at the very least, she managed to keep Angel’s freedom intact even after her departure. And that was what Annika had started to feel as a pain in the ass.

“That sounds more reasonable, I agree. Alright then, I’ll start to make preparations for the tour, then.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

“What?”

“I’m taking charge of deciding what we’re doing. Like you said, I’ve got a lot of free time now that we’re ahead of schedule.”

The formerly-dressed woman let out a snarling click of her tongue, her face growing visibly displeased by the decision. But she could not go against her. Her contract allowed her to be the one taking the decisions, no matter how hard she tried to take control as her manager. Now she was getting out of hand.

“Pompous little brat…” the older lady muttered as she turned her heels in frustration and walked away.

“Excuse me?” Angel called out, an equivalent frown etched on her face as she thought her keen hearing picked up an insult.

But that was where the memory was ending. Angel could remember Annika turning back to her, faking a smile and telling her a bold lie about having told her farewell. But instead...

“You selfish little bitch!”

Angel flinched, caught off guard by the now distorted voice. When did she suddenly changed voice, and what were those words she never heard before? “W-what?”

“You heard me, you fucking child. You’re a selfish little girl, thinking the world revolves around you, like all those pathetic self-important rising stars.”

Angélique’s wrath started surging from deep within, finding the burning resolve to go up against the now-familiar voice, but still out of place from the woman’s mouth.

“T-This isn’t true! I do what I do for the pleasure of others! I do it to entertain them, to distract them from how shit the world has become, to inspire them!”

“Stop lying to yourself and the others! You do it for your own ego. You don’t cheer others out of concern for their well-being; you do it so you can feel satisfied with yourself. There is no compassion within you, only the desire to stand above the rest and look at them below like the unimportant peons they are.”

The enraged young girl grinded her teeth, about to scream at the being that had taken the form of her manager. But as she was oh so close to let her searing fury out, familiar figures began appearing in front of the manager, like a line of soldiers protecting their commander.

“Mathieu, Joël, Cassandra, Mike, Éric, Sylvie, Anthony, James, Marie, Xavier. Those are the name of all the people you discarded simply because you didn’t like them. You denied them the dream of working with a successful rockstar and casted them back to whatever pathetic lives they were having before meeting you. You could have led them on the path to success, but because of your selfish ambitions, you left hem behind to rot.”

Angel’s wrath turned to sorrow. It was true, there was no denying it. No matter how hard she would try to convince herself otherwise, she had fired those musicians because they were either lacking, made her look bad, were indecent to her and the fans she cherished so much, or simply didn’t like working with them. It had become a running gag on social media to take bets about how long would a new band member would last under Angélique’s lead.

Then appeared an army of silhouettes, slowly materializing into each and every member of her classroom. The ones she had barely spoken to were at the far back of the group – such as Gregory, Sophia, Grant, Kusari, Callan, Christmas, Sander and Hazel - while people she knew gradually appearing at the forefront.

“Emma; the person your despise the most because you want to find the perfect target for lashing out against.”

“Marcus; who you joke and laugh with because you desperately want to find a way to escape from this harsh reality.”

“Lilianna; the girl you shower with pity for her amnesia because deep down you wish you would be the one that had forgotten everything.”

“Zoe; the monster you try to tame because you fear your own inner demons and require validation for your sins.”

“Christopher; whom you desperately tried to coax out of his lonely shell because you feel the need to have a weak-willed boy at your beck and call.”

“Ernest; a fellow X-Marked you keep having around on because you still want to feel what it feels like to be idolized.

“Siena; the girl that you want to protect like a little sister because of your obsession of being perceived as someone strong and reliable.”

“Brent; the guy you consider a brother and keep hanging around with because you need an emotional crutch to support your weak self.

“Allison; your first love that you cherish above all else because all your life you wanted someone to love you wholly and fill that void you’ve always insisted on keeping unfulfilled.”

Just as she thought it was over with, a silhouette slowly appeared, seemingly manifesting from the shadows themselves. It morphed its amorphous shape until a clear shape remained, complete with clothes and features. Angel trembled at the sight of what could only be described as a reflection of her dark soul.

“Angélique Lachance; the fallen idol that keeps fighting against who she really is because she fears the opinions of others. She fears to not be liked, not be idolized, not be loved. She fears of being looked down upon, of being seen as a pathetic weakling and an unsuccessful loser. A brat that will only lie her way to others’ heart only to validate her very existence into the eyes of everyone.”

Before she knew it, Angélique woke up crying, a muted scream escaping her lips.

There was no time to think about it though. It was nearly time to join Brent into their morning training routine.

𝓕𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼

Chapter X: Conspiracy Theory

Angélique | Brent

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟞, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / 𝟘𝟟𝟘𝟘

---

For the second time ever since Angélique resolved herself to change, both Brent and her finished their daily morning hellish workout. Well, for Angel at least. Kickboxing and jogging for a few hours paled in comparison to what Brent was used to do early in the morning. She had been working out like she never did before, to the point she could barely move a muscle through the aching.

But nonetheless, it felt goddamn good to surpass her physical limits every time. To her mind plagued by her Stigma, it felt good to destroy herself physically this way as a substitute of slowly destroying her vocal chords in Ground Zero. Angel felt dirty, to have grown addicted to use that place to sate her appetite for destruction. It’s just as she feared when she first talked to Ernest. Ground Zero did indeed feel like a drug to Aberrations.

The fallen idol’s glistening skin and dripping beads of sweat was proof of her hard work and will to achieve results. However, Angel felt more distant, less friendly during this training session than the day before. As a matter of fact, a frown was etched face all morning long, not complimenting her already awful-looking visage ridden with dark shadows underneath her eyes.

Angélique sighed her exhaustion away. Her stigma was burdening her less for some reason after this workout, having her mind focused on destroying every fiber of her body to pay any mind to the whispers.

“Well… I suppose that’s that. Thanks for coaching me again today. It feels… satisfying.” the womanly Aberration said as her tired eyes turned to the Arbiter accompanying her.

Another morning conquered. Rolling his shoulders, Brent felt a satisfying crack from his shoulder blades, before he moved on to making sure his legs loosened up properly after such intense physical activity. It really was nice, having someone to go through the same routine he did. A partner? A rival? Yeah, Angelic may become something like that.

There was always a different feel when you can encourage yourself with the presence of another.

"No problem," he said, offering her a can of iced coffee, "Gotta pay you back for teaching me all those kickboxing techniques, after all, and it's always encouraging to see others grow."

The young man paused, his eyes turning towards a sun that was slowly beginning to rise. The mornings were growing colder, but for now, his blood still roared and his heart still hammered. The cool breeze and the transforming skyscape. Those were all sights that only early risers got.

"How's your Stigma been treating you?" he asked, out of the blue.

“It’s shit, to be honest with you. At the very least what we are doing pipes it down a bit. Doesn’t compare to Ground Zero, but it helps.” Angel answered, her gaze avoiding the source of Brent’s attention now that the light had started growing brighter with the rising of the sun.

She however kept to herself the reason why her Stigma had grown restless. The talk with Emma, then the nightmares, combined with the amount of time that passed without her giving into the grim desires of her inner darkness.

"Glad it does then," Brent replied, pulling out a couple of energy bars from his plastic bag of goodies. Tossing one towards Angelic, he unwrapped his own and finished it off in two quick bites, balling the wrapper up and tossing it into the trash. "Always been curious. How does it feel to sate a Stigma? Does the urge disappear? Or does it try to 'encourage' you to sate it more?"

"No, it doesn't disappear at all. I told you about my voices before, didn't I? Well, days like today, they are just unbearably loud. Sating the Stigma down simply turns the volume down, but never mutes them. Quite frankly, it's the opposite actually. The Stigma want me to sate it, but I do. You'd figure us Aberrations sound like junkies if I'm saying this, but it makes us feel so damn good when we fuck things up to calm it down."

And that was the reason why it felt so damn good to scream, whether she was using her power or not. It was one of the few rare times she actually got to mute the voices, by screaming louder than they did. If it wasn’t for the limits her vocal chords imposed on her being, she probably would be spending so much more time at Ground Zero.

"So it encourages," he replied, thinking back to that problem with Hazel that he had decided to ignore, back to battle fury that Sander had displayed on the first day. No wonder Hazel needed a collar. Her stigma must have been horrible. But on the other hand, outside of that one moment of weakness, Sander had been rather stable, rather controlled. So...ultimately...was it Hazel's self control being inferior to Sander's? Or was there a different problem?

No, in the end, that wasn't what he wanted to talk about. What he did was...

"Angelic,"he began, carefully, "In Montreal, was it you? Or your Stigma?"

Of all the subjects Angel had considered talking about, her last concert's freak accident was the last thing that came in mind. And yet, she should have expected it. Expected a classmate to know and confront her about it. And who else would be more likely to bring that up than Brent.

Angel's face froze. Her stigma had been bad enough this morning, but being reminded of that horrible event, her mind started replaying in loop the day all over again. The people she murdered or disabled accidentally. The remorse, the guilt, the pain, the shame. They started gripping her heart. Before she even knew it, tears had begun to form into her eyes, bringing a sad upbringing of life into that frozen face.

"N-no! I didn't want anyone to die! I just wanted my fans to be impressed with my new voice!"

And it was the truth. She did not expect her power to be THIS strong when she hit that screaming note with everything she had. She did not expect the sheer volume of the amplified scream to bust out those speakers and send shrapnel flying everywhere. She did expect that scream to be loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage.

It was all her fault. Not the Stigma's, only her own foolishness. By now, streaks of tears had managed to pour all the way to her chin. So much for resolving herself to stop crying like a bitch.

"It wasn't... my Stigma. Simply... ignorance. Stupidity..."

Realization hit Angel harder than a hammer swing. Did Brent heard what the Regulars news stations were saying about her? How much of a bloodthirsty monster or scheming terrorist she apparently was? Was he thinking of her like such?

Brent..." Angel's pleading eyes turned to Brent's. Her gaze had been avoiding his in shame, but right now, she only sought validation. "Do you believe... what they said about me?"

Those tears again. Tears that evoked sympathy, seeking forgiveness. So real, but at the same time...all Brent knew were smiles. This was a different sort of territory for him. A different type of deception, if it came to that. So instead, he began to speak, slowly going over the 'facts' that the news articles have brought up.

"What was reported," he began, "was that your voice was powerful enough that the speakers exploded with enough force to rival that of grenades, killing those in the front rows, deafening those in the middle rows, and sickening those in the back rows. The casualties easily numbered in the dozens, and the backlash pretty much destroyed your personal brand, as well as the record label that hired you."

He looked her in the eye. A part of him wanted to look away.

"Is that what actually happened?"

"From what I can remember, and what they presented at the trial... yes." Angel replied quietly, wiping the streaks of tears away from her face.

"...do you not see how absurd that situation is? That speakers, of all things, had the same destructive force of a grenade just by attempting to amplify an already loud noise?" There was definitely something that didn't match up now, and Brent really didn't like it. Of course, if Angelic had admitted that it WASN'T the speakers, that it was just her own power, there was nothing he could say, but...

"Have you seen machines overheat before? They don't explode into fiery bits. They may violently shake, but their circuitry will soon be fried and they will burn. Don't neglect the training we had together. Your screams were magical in every way, to the extent that my speakers couldn't amplify it further. Even assuming you directly struck the speakers, there has never been a point where your screams demonstrated the ability to cause them to explode."

This was the root of what brought her to USARILN? What could have gotten her charged with the death penalty?

"Angelic, be very detailed." He let out a breath. This was becoming dislikeable. "What do you remember?"

Angélique listened to Brent giving his opinion on the matter. As she listened to him, her mind aligned with the things that didn’t make any sense to him. To be truthful to herself, while the fallen rockstar had quickly put the blame on her, she had started to develop doubts concerning the incident. He was right; her powers didn’t quite match what she was currently able to do.

“Of course I know about speakers. I fried my fair deal of those with my band in the past. A loud popping noise, smoke and a burnt smell, right?. I can still remember Mathieu trying to overheat them at least once per practicing session.” Angel explained with a nostalgic expression.

“I don’t know so much about my powers. I’ve heard we instinctively know what we can do, but most of the times I just seem to learn as I experience. Perhaps something happened unconsciously that I was never able to reproduce? Unless…”

The raven-haired Aberration closed her eyes. For once, she allowed herself to be consumed by the flooding memories that her Stigma kept replaying in her mind.

“The shouts of joy, the crowd, the music, I can remember them all too well, as if it had happened yesterday. Everything had started well, until we reached the final song. Something I was keeping a secret from my fans. I wanted to surprise them with a new song I was secretly writing. Then, as I went for the climax of the song and used my power to put more intensity in my voice to hit that note I had been working on, I screamed, and all hell broke loose. Speakers exploded all around me, miraculously not sending shrapnel my way, but on the crowd instead. People suddenly dropped like flies. Screams of joy became screams of terror as the people at the back started fleeing.”

As the girl began recalling the event that had led her to being taken into custody by the police and put on trial, her face was visibly showing mental pain as she delved into her memories of that event.

“There… was no impact. I screamed, and the speakers just… exploded without signs of being affected in the first place? Nothing budged from the scream. People just… dropped in on themselves, as if they just blacked out all of a sudden.”

“You know, this isn’t the first time I hear something about the speakers. During my trial, a prosecutor had suggested that I had planned a terrorist attack. That I’ve set up bombs in the speakers. But that theory was dismissed as the police department’s bomb squad found no trace of explosives after the incident. The jury however still believed I was to be blamed for the explosions, that my power as an X-Mark had caused the things to explode.”

"No trace of explosives..." Yeah, if the police did detect something, it would be on the news, wouldn't it? On the other hand, this was the era of martial law and subnatural discrimination. It could just as easily be that they hid such information from the public, because a subnatural scapegoat was the easiest focus of the public's hatred.

Brent pursed his lips, before taking a bottle of water and offering it to Angelic. She still needed to rehydrate, after all.

"If I were a subnatural with a pounding Stigma, and the only way for me to release that Stigma was by killing others, the best way to do it is to let someone else take the fall for me," Brent began. "A power to scream loudly may deafen and disorientate, but there is a different power that causes inanimate objects to violently explode."

There were more reasons, more theories, but for now, all the arbiter wanted to do was to knock some sense into Angelic.

"You are still at fault for deafening and traumatizing your fans, Angelic, but don't write yourself off as a mass murderer." He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. "Until there is definitive evidence, you are still innocent, taking the burden of someone else's crime. I can understand that this is a painful subject, but..."

"Would you rather let it rest, knowing that your hands aren't as dirty as you once believed? Or would you resolve to pick at the scab and search for the true perpetrators?"

The young woman listened with keen interest to Brent as she downed the bottle of water he gave to her. What started as a thought ad developed into a conspiracy theory.

“So you’re saying that… someone else is framing me?”

Angel did not know whether she should be angry over hearing that possibility, or be glad that she wasn’t the murdering psychopath she had believed herself to be from what everyone was saying of her. Brent offered a nice compromise though. To still be blamed for what she did, yet not blame herself for what she didn’t. At least until hard evidence was found.

“I…”Angel found the guy’s last question difficult to answer. Would she leave it be and believe she was less tainted than before? Or would she make this into a new object of her obsession of finding out the truth?

“I’ll give it some thought. I’ve lived with this burden for a month now. It’s not like I can completely erase the guilt I felt since then all of a sudden. But… what you say makes sense. And if there’s a possibility that someone goes around and frame Mages for things they did not do, then turning a blind eye to this would probably the same as letting them win. I won’t accept it.”

And just like that, the sorrow that was etched on her face this morning faintly gave away to an aura of conviction. If she was not entirely to blame for what happened in Montréal, then it was up to her for cleaning her own mess and find out the truth behind all this. At the very least, it will put a definitive conclusion to that incident. That would seal her fate either as a murderer or a victim.

Feeling Brent’s warm touch on her shoulder, the girl felt herself overwhelmed by gratitude. Just how many times Brent came unto her during her moments of weakness and brought her back to her senses? It felt as if the amethyst-eyes youth had become a buoy to save her from drowning and being lost to this ocean that was trying to claim her. A beacon that she desperately tried to cling onto.

Replying to his reassuring gesture with her own sign of affection, Angel threw herself onto Brent’s firm being, embracing the brunette with a comforting hug. “Thank you… for everything you do for me. I don’t know what I would do without you. I just wish… I could return the favor.”

It was too tight, and Angelic was still incredibly damp from all their training, but Brent relaxed as she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing. He didn't fully deserve it, really. After all, there were still too many holes in his own theory, and he hadn't even mentioned the possibility of the police ignoring the evidence just so they can get another subnatural out of their sight. There were anti-subnatural groups that could easily have been the true cause, wanting to pin the blame on a celebrity-turned-subnatural in order to convince more people that, no matter how adored they are, all subnaturals are monsters.

So many possibilities that Angelic was going to have to pick through, but for now...

He was fine just seeing the light in her eyes. There was no life without light, after all.

His own hands remained at his sides as Angelic spoke, her breath tickling his ear. Too tight, too sweaty, but so warm.

"You're welcome. Anyone would have done the same," he said finally, "But Angelic, if you want to return the favor?"

A cheeky grin emerged on Brent.

"Next time, shower before you hug me."

The sweaty Aberration only laughed in return, disengaging herself from Brent. "C'mon! It's just a bit of sweat. It's not like you aren't going to take a shower after anyway." A grin reflected the Abiter's own.

"Ouch," he grasped at his heart, "Even meatheads care about personal hygiene, you know?'

"Meathead? That's... a rather harsh view on yourself." Angélique chuckled, finishing the last drops of the bottled water before starting to walk towards the motel's direction. "But yeah, can't wait to get cleaned. I just really want to be back and have something else to wear than these dirty war-torn clothes."

Angel could barely believe what she had just said. Looking forward to return to USARILN? Did she get so used to it now that she was ready to call it 'home' now?

"Yeah, same," he replied, somewhat wistfully, "Really miss being able to cook for myself. Still gotta show 'ena the true power of corndogs too."

He pondered on that for a moment, before asking, "Think the motel staff will let me borrow their kitchen?"

"Yeah, I miss eating a good homemade meal..." the Aberration girl said, thinking back to the dinner she had prepared two weeks ago. "I actually tried to go over their kitchen and prepare dinner yesterday. One of the guards stopped me and told me it was off-limits. Room service would take care of our meals." Angélique added bitterly.

"If I just could stop spending my allowance in clothing, I'll actually buy food to cook a few things for myself over next month. Now that I've filled up my closet, I should get to stock up that refrigerator."

"Well, $500 in groceries is definitely enough for one person, but you know, I always wanted to try asking the cafeteria staff if they could just like...hand over their ingredients," Brent replied. "I mean, the food is basically free anyways, right? Unless there's some sort of nefarious plot where all the food in the cafeteria actually comes from Dreamcatcher monsters."

"Didn't know you cooked though, Angelic."

Mhm. If I wasn't on tour, I usually spent at least one day in the weekend experimenting with new recipes. I tried asking for using the kitchen at the institute for the dinner I made for the former members of my first team. I got denied the access though. Dunno if they would be willing to let go of their ingredients though. I suppose it's worth filling a request form for that?"

"Wow, a culinary explorer as well as a divine singer? How impressive," Brent said, overtly reverent, "And yeah, that's totally worth. Shopping bags are heavy when they don't even buy cars for you, after all."

"That being said, Angelic, wanna help me with something? Not now, but once we get back?"

"Sure, what would that be?" Angel flashed a smile, her earlier words about paying him back in kind still echoing.

"It's a secret for now. Just gotta know if you're in or out." He paused, before realizing that 'sure' was basically 'in'. "...I'll tell you more when it's time. Just expect lots of frying."

Angel quirked up an eyebrow in curiosity "You know that sounds hella suspicious, right?" the bright-green eyes young woman commented with a mischievous grin. "But I'm game nonetheless. You got me intrigued by the secrecy of your devious plotting." she chuckled cheerfully.

"I'm basically a super suspicious guy anyways," Brent laughed, "What sort of man would go around creeping in the hospital rooms of cute girls without having inhumanly insidious schemes in place? My gambits stretch on for thousands of years, Angelic, and your fealty is but one part of my plan for galactic conquest."

"Wow, such a daring ladies man." Angel laughed at how ridiculously exaggerated the whole scheme was. "But don't overestimate yourself. Who knows, perhaps it is you who has fallen into my hands. Welcome to my angelic harem, Brent." the fallen idol added, playfully faking a seductive tone as she traced her index on one of Brent's bulging biceps..

"Oh no, but how can this be?" Brent said, melancholically, "To think it was I who was the prey all along, falling into hands of a demon in heavenly garbs~"

Swooning dramatically, the arbiter's expression turned into one of longing. "But, alas, the time has come for us to part, fair Angelica. I must attend to my tyrant of a father now, for his is the business of enslavement, and thus...adieu."

"Yeah yeah, see you around, Roméo. Don't go slave driving them too hard now." Angélique giggled as she offered the Arbiter dramaturge a farewell hand wave before going her separate way.

While the sweat she worked out gave her a feeling of satisfaction, she needed to wash that away as Brent suggested. Can't go around smelling like that around the others.

Chapter XI: Taming the Dragon (Part 2)

Christopher | Angélique

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟞, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / 𝕄𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕝 / / 𝟘𝟟𝟛𝟘

---

_{Collab with @dragonmancer}

This week has gone to shit.

The whole ordeal of metal constructs they had to save a town from was stressful enough, but now Chris has to deal with the thought of Brent, someone he had started to look up to, run off with his crush. And that other brat that mocks him...What was his name?

It didn’t matter, he'd find out eventually. Revenge was tempting but he couldn't do anything extreme to satisfy that inner demon, it was something for him to plan and wait for an opportunity. He didn't have any intent on hurting them too bad, just enough to get across his trivial sense of personal justice.

Today however wasn't a day of plotting. The angry arbiter merely sat in the lobby of the motel. He was visibly in a bad mood, he had been staring at the window with a hand on his chin.

Coming back from her new daily morning routine with Brent, Angélique entered the motel’s lobby in sweat, as if she had run a marathon just before getting there. There wasn’t a lot of people around in the morning. As a matter of fat, she was surprised to see someone sitting all by his lonesome self at this time. It wasn’t hard to recognize the Dragon Arbiter from his unique appearance.

She eyed him from afar, looking at what he was doing. He didn’t seem to be doing something really interesting. The hardened features on his face suggested he wasn’t in the best of moods. Was he brooding?

Angélique shrugged. She supposed she could try and talk to Christopher for a bit. They haven’t spoken at all ever since the ride to Wisford. Perhaps it would be a good idea to know how he was faring. Of course, Wisford battle was a huge bummer for everyone in Experimental Unit B, but if she could lift Chris’ spirits up like she did with the others, then maybe it was worth a shot to talk to him.

“Yo. What’s with the long face, Chris? Got something on your mind?” Angélique spoke directly as she let her aching and sweaty body slump on the chair in front of the Arbiter. For sure, her blunt tone and crude manner of speech sure sounded different than her usual carefully-crafted words.

"Nothing regarding you." He said with eyes narrowed, still staring at the window instead of Angelique. The coldness in his voice made it clear he wasn't in the mood to talk. With Angelique present, it reminded him of his fear of death, how he wanted to make bonds with others. A decision he now started to resent, as he was starting to believe he was better off on his own as always.

The raven-haired Aberration quirked up an eyebrow in disbelief at hearing Christopher's words. He might have had as well told her to fuck off and she'd probably take it less personal than his pathetic attempt at pushing her away. She remembered the rough attitude the Dragon Mage was exhibiting in his first days at USARILN, but she thought the guy had become a bit more tame after having that talk with him after the Flags and Seek game.

A part of herself felt worries about him. Usually, they had friendly talks and were going alone well. This morning though, flags were raised for the sudden outburst of negativity. But this morning, with her Stigma going full throttle in her head, she could humor him. If he wanted to be an ass to her, then she will show him she's not one to be stepped on just because he felt a bit gruffly.

"Tch, someone rose from the wrong side of the bed this morning. What happened to all that friendliness towards a fellow training partner?"

"I was a fool to think something like that would help me. Connections like that only lead into disaster and further despair. We all have our burdens to carry, and besides, I'm not sure who I can trust anymore.." He went off, the frustration that had been building up for the past three days finally came fourth charged full of standoff-ish negativity. Angelique was perhaps the only one some part of him still trusted as a friend, since she was after all the most he'd have talked to aside from Siena. That same part of him grew anxious of talking to her further for fear she will betray him too. His eyes were fixed on the outside. The gaze reminded him that they were all in a prison, and likely sentenced for life with executions as the only escape.

Well, talk about a melodramatic fellow. Not that she knew who else Chris had close ties with to be saying stuff like that. She didn't do anything regarding him in that matter. Or perhaps lack thereof made him feel that way? The only other person that came into Angel's mind was Siena, whom she had learned from Christopher two days ago that he and her had a date. Could it be that...

"Christ, take a chill pill and tell me what happened." she said, her face growing serious and her tone graver.

He shot a glance at Angelique from the side. He studied her face as if trying to read her intentions. A few seconds of making up his mind resulted in a sigh. Angelique was for now the last hope of believing anyone in this school had some remnants of loyalty. So he started the rant that he didn't even know how badly he wanted to share it until now. "Well I started to branch out. Brent was one of the guys I trained with, and during the last fight I started to look up to him. Though I was a bit jealous he got to help Siena more then I it wasn't anything suspicious or anything. Just being a good teammates and all. We also had a nice chat on the way back but when we got in the van he gave me this smug-ass grin and took a seat by Siena before I got the chance. At the hospital I went to go check up on Siena myself but to further insult me Brent was already there spending time with and...." He paused. "I spied on them a bit to confirm my suspicious and some other student with a stupid smile on his face starting mocking me. It was that same twerp that mocked me after flag football, the guy that can rewind time or whatever....If there wasn't any damned guards or civilians nearby I would have slugged the fucker harder." His fist clenched with his finishing statement, He didn't expect he'd be swearing so much out loud yet the profanity had some comfort to his dramatic stress.

"I'm sorry I don't usually like to talk that much." He had suddenly shifted back to that cold tone upon realizing the mistake of opening up so much and leaving himself vulnerable. He was half expecting Angelique to do something to betray his former trust. His arms were crossed from how weak and exposed he felt.

Angélique listened with intent as Christopher started his rant. Clearly, she didn't expect him to be so petty. So he simply got jealous of Brent for trying to befriend her? And what about Marcus? She did have him figured out for quite a buffoon, but she didn't expected him to be messing around like that towards a classmate. Was there some sort of animosity between the two of them that she was not aware of? Well, considering Chris had been spying and on Siena and Marcus had seen him spying on his roommate, of all people. Of course he would have witty comments about that him. But to come down to fisticuffs for that, now that was just stupid.

Had she been clear-minded, she would have given him a speech to raise his morale and defuse the whole situation. But the constant whispers in her head had eroded her patience and she really didn't feel like beating around the bush and prettying up her opinion on the subject.

"Wait... so you're feeling like shit because you're jealous of Brent trying to be friends with Siena? Just what did Marcus say that was so horrible as to earn a fist in his face?"

And there it is.

The arbiter shook his head. "No I don't think Brent's intentions are to be just friends. The first comment Marcus made was enough to piss me off. I started to walk away from it but the bastard wouldn't shut his trap." He looked the other way, her questioning had already made it clear Angelique didn't care enough for his side. No one could understand his pain, just as he couldn't understand their pain. His attention was back to the window, he didn't have any more reason to be a part of this conversation.

Angel sighed and rolled her eyes at hearing all this. she felt like she was talking with a middle schooler, whining about the boy next seat flirting with his crush and the class' clown making jokes on him. She could have expected Marcus to get himself in trouble for all she knew, jokes taken too far when directed on an immature individual are bound to make shit happen. But Brent flirting with Siena? Now she had trouble believing that. Brent didn't strike Angel as a ladies man. If at all, Chris might have interpreted Brent's awkward straight-forwardness into a confession or whatever it is he had heard.

You think you know about Brent's intentions? Did you, like, confronted him about how you felt towards Siena, or asked him how HE felt about her? You just can't speculate things like that when it comes down to relationships and let this slip if you really love Siena, man. At the very least, dig deeper to figure out Brent's true intentions. And ask Siena to confirm whether she wants to be in a relationship with you. Her feelings matter too you know."

Despite sounding so frustrated of hearing Chris bad-mouthing the people she considered like soul siblings in their classroom, it was not like she wanted to create more unnecessary drama in this whole mess. At the very least, she wanted to help sort this situation out. It's not like she had a bone to pick against Christopher. In fact, she wanted to help him down a better road than the self-imposed lonesome bullshit he was craving so hard to return to.

"Why bother? Last fight we lost a subnatural, everyone fight we've had so far we've lost at least one student. Were all dropping like flies and connections like that become a weakness..." He paused, his eyes squinting once more. "I’ve lost too many loved ones before I joined this damned school to see the same thing happen on repeat.."

"So fucking what? You're just going to admit defeat in the face of adversity, give up on everyone and be fending off for yourself from now on? Just what good is a team if everyone thinks like you do. I'll tell you what would have happened. We would have fucking lost not only Savannah, but a lot more people. If Zoe didn't show up out of concern for y'all safety and killed all the Mages by herself, a lot more people would have probably died two days ago. Whether you like it or not, we're now neck deep in this shit and we're going to see people dying. But why do I keep trying to make new bonds? Because I want to have a reason to get out there, stay alive and keep them alive too, so that we can enjoy another good moment together. You just can't strive out for yourself in this mess, because sooner or later, that loneliness is going to gnaw at you, and one day you'll wake up and find out that the world you're living in is complete bullshit and not worth fighting for it anymore. In the long run, you'll just pointlessly try to put an end to your suffering, or you're going to end up living long enough and growing powerful enough to become a monster like Cat's Cradle or Garrote."

Angel did not expected to go on into a speech so early in the morning already, but seeing someone as pathetic as Christopher sinking so low into their solitary acting, she could not help but morally kick his ass.

Another sigh escaped the dramatic arbiter. "You're not wrong. But I would still like to be alone right now. Once everything gets back to 'normal' and I am confined to that infernal cursed room I'll get right to asking Siena everything." He wasn't lying, but his tone was still bitter. Angelique's advice wasn't something that offended him directly, but it came a bit off like a parent lecturing a child. He didn't want to deal with anyone right now.

A'right. I think I can understand now. Well, as long as you're trying to makes things right instead of letting them fester, I suppose I should cut you some slack." Angel got up from her chair, leaving Chris to be alone just as he wished. "And about Marcus, try not to let his jeering get into you. You're letting him win by having him get under your skin. Violence isn't going to get you anywhere but a tour inside a confinement cell after being tased. Take it like a man, not like a middle-grade schooler."

Chris nodded, though his hands clenched on the last comment. Referring to him as a child was an insult, but he supposed she was right. He was being foolish. He had let such darkness cloud him once more. It was still too early to tell if he wanted that darkness back in his life or not, but with inspiration he planned to at least get things straight with Siena. No more misunderstandings. Once they're back in school...

"Thanks for listening Angelique.." He muttered as he watched the grass drift in the breeze outside.

No problem. Remember, I'm always around if you need to talk. . Like I told you before, there's no need to be alone in this. At the very least, if you lost faith in everyone else, you can count on me." That last part sounded a bit too much presumptuous of herself, but all things considered, if he was able to put up with her darker side without coming out of the discussion as a nemesis like what happened with Emma, then they could go through any hardship with a steely bond of trust.

Before leaving the room to head towards the showers, Angel stopped, actually thinking about how much of a condescending bitch she sounded like this morning with Christopher. Maybe he deserved it, maybe not. But still, it left a bad aftertaste in her mouth. Not as intense as what happened yesterday evening, but still...

I'm... sorry if I just sounded harsh on you right now. I'm not feeling all that well too... Anyway, take care, Chris." Angélique manage to voice an apology despite the protesting of the voices inside. She really needed to cool her head down and scrub off that sweat.

"Like I said, we all have crosses to bear. If you need help carrying yours like I did mine, well I got nothing else to do." His cold tone softened into something more melancholy. Though he hid it, there was a tear forming at his left eye.

Chapter XII: A Scream in the Night

Collab here!

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

𝓐 (𝓝𝓸𝓽 𝓢𝓸) 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓮𝓽 𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓐𝓽 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓗𝓸𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓵

Chapter I: Wake Me Up

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℍ𝕠𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝 / / 𝟚𝟘𝟜𝟝

---

It didn’t take very long for the unconscious raven-haired Aberration to wake up from her comatose state as Christmas’ blood began coursing through her veins. The pain of bandaged but still open wounds slowly faded away until it was no more. The pricking sensation in her throat was no more after a few minutes, leaving Angélique able to speak clearly without coughing or straining her voice.

Soon enough, Angel could feel heat rising up from deep within her being, washing away the cold darkness that had invaded her mind. Christmas’ blood had done its job as effectively as it had always been, unbeknownst to the young woman. But as she opened her eyes and felt like she had never been injured, aside from the aching in her body and memories of the pain inflicted by the clockwork spiders, the ex-musician was quick to realize that it was her fellow Arbiter classmate who had been responsible for bringing her back into top shape.

The light of the hospital room was slightly too intense for Angel just after waking up and being sensitive as always to intense brightness. She let out a displeased groan as she shielded her eyes with an open palm as she brought herself to a sitting position on her bed. Seeing the X-marked whose neck was covered by a leather choker starting to wake up and move, the nurses that were grudgingly attending to her started to panic slightly. When the hospitalized Subnatural took a tired glance towards them, they stammered an explanation that she was clear to leave the hospital now that she was okay, before leaving the room in a hurry. She didn’t even have time to ask what had happened to the battle in Wisford and to her classmates. Strange… nurses in USARILN were quite the bitches, cold and uncaring. Those people though, it felt as if they had never dealt with Mages before.

So that’s what Aberrations were suffering about when interacting with Regulars. Angélique didn’t know if this was better or worse than being held at gunpoint by soldiers. She felt like she would never be welcomed into normal society ever again just by having witnessed how the nurses were seemingly terrorized and anxious of leaving her. As a Regular before, Angel pondered why she was so accepting of the existence of Subnaturals, compared to the rest of the world. Perhaps it was because fate had decided to brand her with a magical mark in the future, so that the transition wouldn’t be a shock?

It felt weird to have all this padding and the bulletproof vest on her being, now that the battle was seemingly over. But the added protection remained steadfast on her body, unmoving and seemingly stuck on her body. Feeling the material wrapped around her body, Angel deduced that the Wishalloy was still functional. Was this prototype defect and lasted longer than intended? Or has it been less than three hours she was out? That was impossible. USARILN was about more than a three hours’ drive. The Wishalloy should’ve faded away inside the truck. Unless…

Angel reached for the pocket of her jeans holding her personal cellphone. At that very moment, the raven-haired young woman realized that her wallet was no more, obliterated by Hazel when she swept her left side, her unprotected jeans’ left pocket along with it. Not that she had anything very useful in there anyway. No money, her driver’s license – that she felt wouldn’t be of use because it was unlikely USARILN would let her drive a car – the debit and credit card of an empty and rejected bank account and her…

“Oh fuck...”

Her student ID. Angélique had the habit of carrying it around in her wallet at all times, in case she needed it on the spot. Guess she’ll have to request another one.

Fortunately, her phone was still intact. It surely held the answer to some questions she had, using the built-in GPS and some other tools. And…

Of course there was no signal. Whether the hospital room had thick as hell walls, she was in an area with no signal coverage or her data plan expired, there was no way to tell now if she was at USARILN or not. Although she had been using wifi on the campus before, so that meant maybe she was not at USARILN right now. Maybe she required immediate medical attention and was brought into Wisford’s hospital?

No use sitting here and wondering, Angel figured. She slowly got up on her feet and walked towards the door.

Chapter II: To Become Stronger

Brent | Angélique

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℍ𝕠𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝 / / 𝟚𝟙𝟘𝟘

---

_{Collab with @ERode}

What an unlikable atmosphere.

Though it was easy enough for him to ignore when he was still hanging with Ernie and Marcus, gathering up a variety of greasy foodstuffs from a nearby 7-11, now that he was alone in the hospital, with the jittery eyes of staff and patients flickering from his cuff to his mark to his two large, plastic bags filled with stuff...it was getting harder to ignore.

But his smile persisted, even if he knew the ability to smile after just walking out of a warzone was more frightening than appearing like a jittery, traumatized mess. He spoke a few greetings towards the staff, nodded at one of the soldiers, and headed off towards the upper floors. A receptionist had previously been 'kind' enough to provide him with a list of room numbers that pertained to his subnatural classmates, and from there, he headed down the corridor to the closest one: Angelic's.

It was a small blessing, really, that the cashier had given in at the end.

Brent couldn’t have any better timing for as he reached Angélique’s door, the door slowly opened. A tired-looking Angel wearily walked out from the room, barely bumping into her visitor as she stopped short after noticing someone was standing in front of her room’s door.

“Oh… Brent. Nice to see you… What are you doing here?” the obsidian-haired Aberration asked in a monotone voice, oblivious to what her friend was carrying in his hands.

Her voice was lacking her usual lively and passionate tone, as if she had just woke up and still in a daze. However, now that she wasn’t wearing her usual shades and her face had been cleaned from all the blood and the dirt, one could clearly see the dark shadows under her usually hidden eyes, signs of a girl who haven’t had a good night’s sleep for a very long time.

A familiar appearance greeted him. Half open eyes, heavy bags, and skin that was a shade paler than normal. Not a trace remained of the facial injuries she had sustained, but Angelic looked half-dead regardless. Had she been this tired in the morning? Nevertheless, at least she was up and walking about, however zombie-like she was.

"Just doing a food run," Brent replied, hoisting up the bag, "Town's real small, so I more or less figured that the hospital food wasn't going to be spectacular."

His amethyst eyes peered a little closer to her face.

"You alright, Angelic?"

Angel’s eyes squinted to shield themselves the most they could from the ambient light and still make out what was in front of her without being a burning aching mess. Brent’s words felt just as confusing as when she just woke up and realized her Wishalloy prevented her added protective gear from being removed from her body. So were they really not at USARILN right now?

“How considerate of you. Thanks…” Angélique flashed a smile towards Brent as she finally noticed the heavy bags he was carrying. “I’m… alright. Just a bit tired. I’ve just woke up. Injuries are all gone now, I can still talk and I’m not dead, so I guess I’m in top shape?” Angel tried to let a chuckle out, but it more sounded like a half-assed attempt at humor after coming back from hell.

“Where are we exactly? I’m starting to think we’re not at USARILN, right?”

"Welcome to La Plata," Brent said, using the tone of a slimy tour guide, "Population: insignificant, location: not sure. You're in their hospital, a world-renown location full of only the most stunningly handsome doctors and ravishingly beautiful nurses, as well as cafeteria food that will probably rot your stomach from inside out."

He bowed, before saying, "Dunno how long we're staying here for though. Dunno why we're even here...but anyways, you're hungry, right? Got the usual fries and chicken and hot dogs affair from 7-11, but there's also salad and sandwiches, if you're feeling healthy."

The arbiter tilted his head, looking past Angelic into the sterile room she inhabited, before saying, "Probably should sit first though, eh?"

“La Plata, huh? Never heard of it. Sounds very… Mexican though. Hopefully they didn’t drop us off in the middle of a desert for confinement.” Angel joked, nodding slowly as some things made sense. At least why her Wishalloy was still wrapped around her. Like Brent said, she had no idea why they stopped here instead of returning to the institute.

“You did? That’s so cool! To be honest, I was just thinking about eating as soon as I would have known where we are.” Her tired face beamed with the mention of junk food. She was so hungry, she felt like she could eat through a bucketful of fried chicken.

“Uh, yeah, I suppose so.”

Angel walked back into the room, taking a seat onto the edge of her bed. Now that Brent was here, she could probably get some news from what happened after she fell unconscious while she was eating and regaining some strengths.

“So… uh… how are the others? What happened after… you know…” the young Aberration woman stammered through. Truth be told, even if she was still mad at Hazel for attacking her, she was still trying to preserve what little harmony was left during that bout, hesitant of talking in detail about the other girl.

Pulling out a carton of greasy chicken, Brent popped it open, reminded himself that he could eat later, and offered the deep-fried heartkillers to Angelic. It really was too clean of a place, and how quiet and empty it was bothered him slightly. The hospital at USARILN, if nothing else, had books and video games to occupy people with, even if the x-marks were fully sedated, but here? Too quiet, too dead. Like the patients here were already in the grave.

His nose twitched, catching the smell of bleach mixing in with the aroma of cheap chicken.

As Angelic began to eat, he slid the trash can over, before finding a stool for himself. "Zoe took care of the enemy subnaturals, and Lily healed mostly everyone up. Lawrence survived, but we weren't able to make it in time for Sav," Brent tonelessly spoke. "Cat's Cradle appeared as well, but I don't know what they were doing there."

He recalled that scene once more, a black monster that swallowed up the stars itself, towering over the far-off buildings.

"They were definitely fighting something though. Perhaps the subnaturals behind the Factory incident? I don't know." He laughed suddenly. "Shit, I don't know much at all, even after being there the entire time."

Angélique listened intently to Brent as he explained the situation. Of course Zoe had the situation under control. She knew all too well what she was capable of, after training intensely with the red-haired Mage and witnessing just how much damage she could inflict to fleshy opponents. Not only that, but she was certain Zoe would not have any issue killing another human being. Their deep discussion had revealed the Aberration’s will to stain her own two hands instead of the others’.

But Angel froze at the mention of Savannah. Her mouth was left agape in the middle of her chewing and the drumstick of chicken falling back into the cheap box as she felt the shock behind Brent’s words.

“S-Savannah died? H-how?”

Her stomach suddenly tied up. After hearing that news, she no longer felt any appetite. Instead, her mind was ravaged by sudden flashbacks. The few moments she shared with the little girl. Their first battle. The sight of the young blonde girl with a focused look on her face as she tore off a part of her clothes and bandaged Allison’s bleeding side.

The day they went all shopping for new clothes, when they went to eat at McDonald’s and went shopping some more after for more or less useful accessories. The little moment she spent trying to defuse her initial blunder of an introduction to the trip.

Savannah snorted at this sentiment, trying to contain her childish giggles. But she could no longer contain them, so she burst out into adorable laughter. She raised her mouth to Angel's ear, still giggling. "You did? Damn, that's some daring stuff. If I walked around half-naked, my parents would've had my head!" she whispered softly, still giggling softly.

"A girl gotta get clothes when she has nothing left to wear. But hey, better go around town with a bra on than wait until my pants and my underwear get torn up as well. Now that would be embarrassing, wouldn't you say?" Angel added, now smiling warmly as she managed to ease off the tension and see the girl's smile for the first time ever since they had arrived at USARILN.

The dinner she made to the survivors of Green Team a few days after. A small, meaningless moment when Angel tried to unite her partners and bring harmony to the table, only to realize how hard it would be to get everyone working together.

"Already? Damn, that was so good I lost track of time. Thanks for the food, Angel. It was awesome. Savannah said, smiling. The food had been good, Savannah had devoured a lot of it. Especially the pie. Especially the pie. What could she say? Savannah had a tooth for all things sweet and sugary.

She is going to miss that innocent, childish smile. Savannah was too young to die. She wasn’t ready to be shoved into this cruel world. No one was. But the world showed just how despicable it had become, for children to be involved in such bloody situations, and die because of it.

Tears began trailing down the Aberration’s cheeks, but she was quick to realize it and swiftly brought an arm to her eyes, trying to wipe out the opened flow.

Brent's laughter stopped. Ah, this must have been the first time for Angelic. She really was unaware of how much shit the Evac group had to go through, wasn't she? And now...now, she wanted to know how Savannah died? How she was slowly being strangled to death, before Callan charged into her assailant and the force of the tackle snapped her neck? How the subnatural that attacked her came from within the APC, the implication being that Marcus, Lawrence, Sophia, or Savannah failed to properly confirm that the people they were taking in weren't enemy mages? How he had been lazy enough himself that he thought Callan's arrival would resolve everything, instead of trying to get the gargoyle bitch off her?

He felt like letting his shoulders slump, like falling into the same mindset that plagued him before, where thoughts were overrun by emotion. But he held firm. Pulling out a few napkins from the bag, Brent handed them over to Angelic, watching her suppress her tears.

Was that the proper way of reacting? With grief instead of sadistic anger?

He didn't know. Didn't know so much.

But at the very least, he knew this.

"Sav's neck was broken," he said, "Her death was quick and painless."

A pause. What sort of weak, consolatory bullshit was this? His hands curled up into fists.

"But I could have saved her still. Sorry."

A sigh followed.

"You can cry as much as you want, Angelic. Think it's healthier to release it all while you can."

The fact how quick and painless Savannah's death meant very little to Angélique. As a matter of fact, this wasn't the kind of answer she was hoping to get. But, through her grief, Angel realized just how hard it must be for Brent to announce her death, just as it was hard to accept the death of a girl the rockstar was starting to grow fond of, despite her quirks.

Anger began surfacing through her guts as she heard the rest of what Brent had to say. He could've saved her, but she was still dead. What exactly the fuck had he been doing then? And then he told her to cry as much as she needed?

Is that the impression she was leaving on the others? The image of a big softie who was crying for every death and bouts of embarrassment? Was that the impression she left of herself?

Angélique's hands trembled from rage. Anger that wasn't directed at Brent. It was self-loathing. Angel's tears stopped just as quickly as they came in. For a moment, Savannah's death was forgotten as swiftly as the subject came crashing on her. Her obsession over what others thought of her was embedded in her mind. She could not stand being looked that way.

Without thinking, the raven-haired Aberration had taken the napkin Brent offered her in one shaky hand and crumpled it as soon as it was brought near to her face. No way. She had to stop this. She had to stop looking so weak, so pathetic, and so pitiful in front of the others. She already showed this side of herself enough times in front of others. It had to stop.

"No... I've had enough... of crying. I can't be like this... forever. I can't cry for every single death that happened and is going to happen. I can mourn their death... but it has to stop."

For the whole time, Angel had a pitiful face, looking downwards. But as her anger rose, her face showed some sort of twisted conviction. A face born from a mix of resolve and the darkness dwelling deep inside as an Aberration.

"I have to stop being so fucking weak, Brent! I won't save anyone being like this!"

And there it was. From grief to hatred, just like that.

He let his shoulders slump, tired of holding himself up. He let his back curl, tired of sitting up straight. He leaned in, looking more at his tented fingers than the person he was speaking to.

"Hey, Angelic, do you hate yourself?"

What kind of question was that all of sudden? Was Brent trying to test just how much hatred she could spit? A part of her wanted to remain calm and composed, not let herself turn into this pitiful mess in front of someone she knew well. But another part of her felt like she could use opening up to someone who was already so close to her, felt almost like a mischievous little brother.

Could she really fall so low as to rely on Brent to emotionally support her? The guy who was more focused on looking at his fingers instead of staring into her eyes as he spoke this vital question?

“Why the fuck are you asking that all of a sudden?” was the only thing she could spontaneously answer.

"Don't answer a question with another one." Fingers clasped together, tightening. "Yes or no?"

Angel felt at a loss. A loss she refused deep down. Being a superstar throughout her life, she rarely met anyone confronting her like that. Speaking with someone so obstinate, she didn’t know how to escape this situation.

In the end, she would only fall back to her honest and passionate side. If Brent was so hell bent on coaxing the truth out of her, then so be it. Now would be the time to see who Brent really was depending on his reaction.

“You want to know that badly? Fine then! Yes, I fucking hate myself. I hate myself for what I’ve fucking done before being locked away as a Subnatural. I used to think I had no regret in choosing the path of a Destroyer. Seeing the consequences of it, I fucking hate it. I hate the fucking voices whispering all day long. I hate those fucking nightmares I keep having each night. I hate my inability to help anyone, to cause only pain and suffering. Had I known I would be so fucking weak despite choosing the way that promised more power, I would have chosen Harmony instead of Destruction. I fucking hate myself for sucking so much at taking important decisions. I fucking hate being so weak and looking that way!”

He held his tongue throughout her entire rant, hands clasped like a prayer. Self-loathing for making all the wrong decisions, self-loathing for admitting all the wrong decisions, self-loathing for the entirety of their life. He could hear that voice once more, the poison that kept him alive, that woke up him up every morning, and he suppressed it. Kept it inside. Deep.

Not now.

He turned his face up, to look into Angelic's. There wasn't a trace of a superstar at all. Just a tearstreaked face full of agonizing fury, messy strands of hair clinging onto the sides. And on his own face, there was no longer a smile to soothe the violent intensity of his own eyes. "If," he began, slowly, the last traces of hesitation stubbornly remaining, "you hate yourself, then kill yourself. Tear your muscle fibers to shreds, burn away every trace of fat in your body, destroy your opinions with the knowledge of others, reconstruct every habit you have for every activity, don't even think about being satisfied with the pathetic little shitstain that you are."

He swallowed, teeth grinding together.

"Kill yourself every day, replacing each unnecessary, unwholesome, useless part with something that's marginally better. Use whatever you can to make yourself obsessed with changing who you are. If you hate your past decisions, then just make better ones the next day, until you can bury the past with the present. If you went down the wrong road, stop dreaming about the other path and just break your fucking mind until you come up with a way to make your path the right one."

He wanted water. Drink something and shut himself up.

"Hazel's a god of destruction, Sander is an unkillable juggernaut, Emma has nigh infinite range with her powers, and there is not a thing in the world that Zoe can't kill. But all the prayers in the world won't turn a line into an x, and all the prayers in the world wouldn't have taken an opportunity that had already passed."

He didn't want anything.

"All I can do is kill myself every day, and hope that my future is better than my past."

When did he start talking about himself?

For once ever since they met, Angel saw the true meaning behind Brent’s words. For all the time she accidentally misunderstood him, it was at this time she caught a glimpse of who Brent was. The idea of killing herself sounded rude at first, but as his speech went on, Angélique finally understood. Is that why Brent was up so early in the morning, each day? Why he looked so distant when speaking to others, but at the same time so close?

Angel’s mind shattered as she heard her classmate talk as if he was talking about himself. All of her past convictions, her goals, her lamenting, they crumbled. Was that why she was such a failure? Because everything she stood for was a lie to herself? Had her beliefs put a stop to her ambition? Was she weak because she imposed limits to herself?

Oddly enough, Brent’s reasoning sounded close to what Ernest once told her. About giving up on trying to control what she can’t and accept her fate. Stop looking back and mourning her past. Acknowledge who she had become and use it to her advantage.

So that was the final answer.

Angélique nodded silently. Her rising voice had been silenced by the harsh reality Brent had voiced out.

“Will you…” Angel hesitantly said; vestiges of her past decisions trying to cling onto her.

No, it had to stop. She had to change. If she would remain the way she is now, nothing will change. She will still remain the pathetic lamenting sack of crap she now is.

“Will you help me down that path? Should I sway from the road, slap me back into the way?”

He didn't understand music. Nor had he spent years in kickboxing. In terms of knowing how to deal with paparazzi and adoring fans, his experience was zero. He doubted he could organize large events that easily. But there was still a part of him that felt glad that Angelic, someone who had so many things that he'll never have, wanted to rely on him.

You fucking leech.

The words that didn't voice itself when Siena showed her gratitude rang through his mind, and he knew that he could not bring himself to smile. Not yet. No jokes either.

Brent straightened his back, felt a crick in his spine.

"It'll be a punch, not a slap. You don't want to be a little sissy that can't take a hit, right?"

A grin appeared on Angélique’s face. Of course, she had to expect no less from the man

“Damn straight! Bring it, bitch!”

It felt weird to say that, but it came straight from the heart, without restraints. And to be honest, it felt damn good.

"Better not hear you regret this later," Brent replied, a small smile emerging in response. "Now go eat and sleep. I'm waking you up at 5."

"Aye aye sir!" Angel returned him an exaggerated salute in answer as she watched Brent heading to the exit of her room. She watched him leave with a solemn look into her eyes.

Guess she will have to mentally prepare herself for the incoming change. Double her efforts and work her ass off until she can finally live with herself.

Chapter III: Soul Sisters

Angélique | Siena | Marcus

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℍ𝕠𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝 / / 𝟚𝟙𝟜𝟝

---

_{Collab with @PapiTan & @Chasers115}

After Brent’s visit, Angel had tried to feed herself with what remained of the fried chicken he had brought. However, after all the emotional torment she had gone through during their discussion, a metaphorical noose formed itself in Angel’s esophagus, cutting her appetite short and refusing to swallow anything for now.

She had tried to go to sleep, like Brent suggested, but with the WishAlloy preventing her from removing her clothes, take a shower and head to sleep, Angel couldn’t fall asleep. Instead, her mind drifted to what happened today and her classmates. Were they alright? Was she the only one hospitalized?

In the end, curiosity killed the sleep cat and made Angel leave her room. She headed towards one guard patrolling the corridors, seemingly on high-alert. However, he was diligent enough to point her towards the rooms of her hospitalized classmates, who were really not too far from each other.

Angel's feet brought her in front of the door to one of her classmate's room, Siena. Out of all the ones that got injured in this fight, Angelique was worried the most for her friend. She blamed partly herself for having let Siena go help Evac Team without proper healing first. Hopefully Siena was in there because of the 'superficial' wounds she had sustained before leaving the fight.

The door was already open, but Angel didn't want to intrude into someone's room unannounced. She knocked on the frame of the door, hoping that her brunette friend wasn't bedridden with life-threatening wounds. Christmas would have healed her anyway, just like he did to her face, right?

After Brent's visit, the unwelcome feeling of isolation had been lifted briefly off Siena's shoulders, even if other troubles had risen in its place. Though she was far from bedridden, the brunette had been hesitant to show herself as capable of leaving. Not when she didn't have her usual sources with her, and especially not when the only thing she had was the handwritten book tucked away on the side of her coat that had been spared from Hazel's disintegrating sweep.

'The one you should have used, you mean?'Jeering, hateful, bitter. She should have. Hand picked names from one of the two people in the world that she trusted without batting an eye. Even if she'd never dared to break the seal of the cover before, Siena was aware that whatever had been placed in the little thing was likely more useful than any name she'd taken herself in combat. A surge of guilt rushed through her at the idea. She could have done more. Maybe she could have helped finish their fight sooner. Maybe she could have helped Savannah.

Her fault again.

That was why she didn't want to be alone.

That was why the knock at her door pulled her in so easily. Why it would keep pulling her in without a hitch.

"Oh, it's...it's open...!" Siena called while pushing herself up. Her mind was still buzzing with the events of the battle. With emotions attached to events that she knew didn't belong to her. Not her. The mantra that she repeated while using a name that could threaten her control. The mantra that she continued to use long after the presence had faded. "P-Please, come in!"

After hearing Siena's invitation, it didn't take long for Angel to slowly slip inside the room. At first glance, the girl looked alright on the outside, not a single wound had been left behind. But then again, she had been healed by Christmas. What was her condition before being healed?

The wounds inside are harder to detect than the injuries of the flesh...

Siena probably had been there when Savannah died, when shit happened on Evac Team's side. Angel didn't know what happened on that side of the field. But if anything bad happened and was tormenting Siena, then Angel felt compelled to make sure her Arbiter friend was alright. There was always this lingering feeling of unease concerning Siena. She was a capable girl for sure, but the scene of both being crying messes after overdoing it on their first training session kept replaying in her mind.

"Hey Siena. Are you alright? Is everything okay?"

Angel was genuinely concerned, but nagging at the back of her mind were the words told her she should stop caring. It was what made her weak, the worthless piece of shit that couldn't do anything useful in battle. The reason why she hated herself so much.

Are you alright?

No.

"O-Oh, I'm fine. Most of my injuries were taken before we got here.

Is everything okay?

No...but it was too hard to let on that it wasn't. So the brunette gave a tired smile as she spoke. Her problems, not theirs.

"I'm not entirely sure they thought it was necessary to use additional healing on me...but I guess I wasn't a good judge of my own condition." Siena thought about Christmas's unconscious body being carted to her room. To the syringe of blood. To the fact that they treated him like a human medicine pack. She didn't like the idea, but she hadn't opposed to it. The same bitter voice that mocked her had whispered that it was his job as a healer. Because he could do something that would make a difference and last unlike her. "...I'm glad that it seems you were healed though. I...I was worried."

Unease squirmed in her chest like a serpent. Angel's condition had been far worse than her own when they'd been transferred to the separate transport. Siena didn't like seeing the end results of battle, and never would. The fact that Angel and Hazel had been injured to the point of unconsciousness...maybe she should have stayed. She might have been able to do something more. All that leaving had done was hurt people. Hurt the Evac team, let the Offensive Support team get hurt...she didn't arrive quickly enough to help anyone.

"I'm sorry I left. I...I should have stayed with the team."

Angel walked further in the room, pulling a stool and setting it right in front to Siena, so they could talk face to face without tiring herself out standing up like that. Feeling that mutually feeling worried for each other brought both some ease and unease at once in the singer's mind. Glad someone was caring for her, but hating that she was leaving others to worry about herself, a self she wanted others to look up to as a strong woman.

She shook her head negatively "No please, don't say that. We both agreed we should help the others as soon as possible. If anything, I should have pushed forward onto that thought instead of staying behind to get healed and play hero. I... got the others into a mess they shouldn't have been involved in the first place."

She should have known better than looking out for herself. The safety of her teammates should have been a priority instead of making sure civilians were alright and getting herself patched up.

"Don't be sorry. We did the best we could. We... just need to be better prepared next time."

Angel's approach brought up conflicting emotions that Siena wasn't sure she could separate. Relief. Concern. ...Anxiety? She masked them all with a welcoming smile, still tinged with a sense of fatigue--she wasn't sure whether it was mental or physical, but one usually bled into the other regardless. " could say the same thing about myself. I...if we hadn't had the WishAlloy... Memories of being flung upwards. The fact that she had still started to fall. What would have happened if the others hadn't had the magic armor? All because she hadn't killed her target. "But...you're right. Maybe with better preparation, we can avoid a repeat." Because there was going to be a "next time" whether Siena wanted it or not. Instinctively her hand tried to reach for the remaining booklet tucked away, but Siena changed course. Swapped to twisting the strands of hair in her fingers. Act normal.

"I'm glad it's over." But Savannah was gone, and Siena was too busy trying to sort through the shambles left in the wake of people stronger than her to feel the grief she wanted to feel. Instead, she felt hollow. Different from when Padma...when Padma... A flicker of pain came to life, cracked through the facade for an instant before the seams melded back together. More memories. More events, but these were...these were undeniably things that she experienced...just like other tragedies and joys that she'd also thought belonged to her.

What if they got lost in the sea too?

"...I'm glad you're still alive too."

Angel looked at Siena while she was hearing her talk. She never was good at picking up the faintest hints, or really understanding people. She always had been a good spokeswoman though. A lot of people were drawn to her speeches, but it was a shame that the idol wasn't great herself when it came to understanding the feelings of others.

She watched Siena twisting the strands of her hair, a habit a lot of people would usually associate with anxiety. But in her state of mind, Angel simply assumed it was just a bad habit as anyone toying twiddling their fingers. Her tired eyes and blurry vision from the ambient light further tiring her eyes didn't pick up the jagged end of Siena's hair.

"I'm glad you are safe too. I feared the worst when I learnt you were hospitalized. I... blamed myself a bit for letting you go without being healed first."

Angel tried her best to steer away from the subject of Savannah's death as it went in that direction. She already cried in front of Brent earlier. It won't happen again in front of Siena. She promised earlier to herself she'd stop being weak, as she screamed her hatred to her earlier visitor.

"Do you remember that guitar you bought me the week before last week? I still haven't got the chance to play that something I promised you."

"Oh..." Grateful for the change in topic, Siena felt her smile grow faintly. Part of it felt forced, even for her. "Now that you mention it, you're right." It felt like an eternity ago that they'd gone shopping together in town. Shopping with Aaron, who'd been missing ever since, and Savannah. Another flicker of pain, once again fading back into the mask. "Though I don't think that we can make good on that here. They might think we're rowdy teens trying to rile up the patients."

Letting her visage brighten a bit further, Siena tried to slip away from the thought of their comrades no longer with them. "But...maybe once we get back, I can take you up on that offer."

"That would be... pleasant." Angel only replied to the idea, preferring to think of that rather than everything that had happened today. It was something to look forward to for when she'll return with the others, a small reason to live up for tomorrow, to push herself into becoming better.

"What kind of music are you into? You wouldn't happen to be the daughter of the awesome Carlos Santana, would you?" Angel joked, trying to ease up, if not break, the tension that had built up in the last few hours.

She just wanted to leave what happened today in the past and look forward to a better moment. See the brightness faintly slipping through Siena's face transform into a genuine smile by the time she would leave.

"Oh, no...though maybe he's somewhere in the family tree," Siena replied with a light chuckle. Twisting her hair around her fingers and snapping a few strands. It felt...unsatisfying, even when the faint popping sounds managed to reach her ears. "Maya was a big fan of his, though she said I should keep up with modern music." A pause. Siena didn't really consider her own music tastes, having adopted her caretakers' when everything was said and done. Classical music that came largely from Gerwulf and his travels and....whatever it was that Maya thought was relevant and made Siena seem more in touch with the times than she really was.

"I guess I haven't really explored much music myself though. I listened to classical music and alternative rock myself, but...most of the music I received was for culture training," Siena claimed with a thoughtful tone. She hadn't really ever considered looking for more--there was always plenty to listen to. "It probably made me less cultured than if I listened to things as I found them, but once you reach a certain circle, everyone talks about the same movements."

“Awww, that’s a shame. I could’ve bragged to the others I would have been friend with someone closely related to one of the best and my favorite guitarists.” Angélique further joked, letting a giggle gleefully escape her lips.

Classical and alternative rock? Well that was a strange mix. But who was she to judge? Angel was an avid listener to metal, rock, blues and country music. While she never composed any blues song, she did wrote plenty of the three other genres of music. Pop music was something she had been playing too when she was younger, and country was something she had taken on her late teenage years before fully dedicating herself to rock and metal music.

“I can’t say I’m a big fan of classical music, but I do enjoy alternative rock. Maybe I could try to work something of that genre?” Angel pondered as she was trying to make out about the whole cultural side of music. Siena came from a rich family, maybe it was part of her ‘etiquette’ training?

Angel didn’t prod further into that subject. High-class matters weren’t really her cup of tea. Despite being someone largely successful financially due to her hard work in the musical industries, Angel had been standing on the opposite side of wealth. She simply enjoyed what small things life could offer her. The difference to the common folk was that if something ever happened, she would not immediately hit the bottom of the barrel, and could afford whatever she wanted. At least that was before the whole concert incident happened.

The black-haired Aberration stood silent. Small talk was good to escape this harsh reality, but there were times like these she couldn’t exactly find a lot of subjects to talk about. Initially, she just came to check up on Siena and see if she was alright.

"Most people aren't that interested in classical music so much as the image it presents." Siena admitted with a nervous laugh. Well, most people, at least. "I wouldn't mind listening to more than what I did before. Gerwulf and Maya had decent taste, but I would like to expand my horizons a bit." Finally releasing the locks of hair from her grasp, Siena averted her gaze briefly, as if in thought. "Though...now that I think about it, I'm grateful for classical music. Telling an entire story without a single word is something I've learned to appreciate since this showed up."

Motioning to the white mark on her cheek, the brunette let her hand drop back into the sheets with a soft noise.

"It's nice not to think of a story as something that I might have to turn into a weapon. Maybe that's why I ended up liking it so much after the fact."

Angel listened to Siena with a solemn look on her face. It was good, to know a bit more about Siena. She considered the Arbiter as one of her friends, but now that she was thinking about it, they barely knew each other that well. Their likings, where they came from, even their personalities. That’s probably what compelled Angel to stay despite having nothing to say. She wanted to know more about her friend, and hoped the small sparks that were small talk would ignite into a more passionate and revealing discussion.

And her patience bore fruits. Listening to what Siena had to say about music, the raven-haired Aberration looked both genuinely interested and curious.

"That sounds... quite enjoyable, looking at it this way. I've got to admit, when I was composing music, it had always been the opposite for me. I used music as a tool, a weapon like you said, to convey my thoughts to others, my opinions or simply wishful messages." Angel started opening up, taking a strange turn into slowly revealing her old persona. "Maybe I ought to listen to more lyrics-less music? Bask into the rhythm of the music and make out those stories?" she chuckled slightly at the thought.

"Those people you mentioned... Are they your siblings? Members of your family?"

It was...calming, to some degree, to be able to talk with Angel about music. It wasn't the same type of animated conversation she used to share with Gerwulf or the quick quizzing that she used to receive from Maya, but it was nice to talk about something that seemed normal. A faint ping of longing for the old days came to mind...something that she brushed aside. She chose to leave. Even if she didn't know exactly what she'd signed up for, even if she was going to be sent into battle after battle, she chose to leave. The shattered wall, the panicked expression, the blood...

...something about that memory felt out of place.

"I think that's still a good way to use music," Siena claimed with a smile. Brushing a few strands of hair over her shoulder, the brunette considered Angel's own thoughts. "But maybe we can both broaden our views. It might be a little bland, but I'm sure there must be some classics that will interest you."

And then came the question. Ah, right. She'd never really brought up Maya or Gerwulf around Angel--mostly because there hadn't been a reason. Drawing from them during their last encounters had been the extent of her thought. "Oh...no, they were my caretakers. You know how it goes with successful parents. Always globetrotting and never home." A lie, but at least a believable one. Her parents were never "home" as she put it--her concept of home had never really involved her parents. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"

“That would be an interesting experience. Maybe we could set up a musical evening when we get back? I’m intrigued by your view on music.” Angel smiled.

Ah, so that’s how it was. Stories of rich little girls left to themselves and an army of butlers and maids to raise them was not unknown to the singing Aberration. For just a glimpse of a moment, Angel felt a bit ashamed of herself. She always lamented herself about having crappy parents more interested in the fame and wealth of their daughter than who she was. At least it was better to have parents around than not seeing them at all, right?

“Nah. I’m an only-child.” Angélique paused, a crack of a faint wishful smile appeared. “But… I’ve always wanted to have a little sister though. Show her around the world, teach her new things every day, sit behind her and groom and make her all pretty, cuddle the heck outta her until we both fall asleep, look out after her well-being, punch her boyfriend in the guts for making her sad, that sort of things.” The raven-haired imaginary elder sister chuckled with a hint of melancholy behind it.

Just how she wished to have a younger sister to hug her pain away at this moment.

'Ah...' Something lit up in the back of Siena's head, triggering a faint alarm that tried to drown the rest of her thoughts out, feeling a surge to correct what was wrong. Gray eyes flitting to the dark-haired musician beside her, Siena's mind immediately began to cut through ideas. The mask began to form, and quickly. Maya's words poured relentlessly into her ear, feeding her lines, telling her what to do, how to act, honing in on a specific course of action even as Siena gave a nervous smile.

"Ah, I see..." Carefully, Siena readjusted her position so she was sitting in a more upright position, attention fully focused onto Angel. Another flurry of mental whispers that came to mind, quieted only when her mental filters accepted one at last. Sweeping her hair behiind her ear, the mage gave a weak smile. "I...maybe it's a little presumptuous for me to say it, but...you seem like you'd make a great older sister." A pause as she twisted a few locks around two of her fingers. "If I had a choice, I would have liked to have a sister like you...though, I think you'd have to get in line behind Gerwulf on punching any unsavory suitors."

Angélique giggled slightly in answer to Siena’s statement. The pale tone of her skin slightly reddened in embarrassment at this sudden revelation. The compliment made her feel somewhat whole inside, filling a bit of this hollow and lonesome part of herself. Ah… if only they would have met earlier in their life. Become childhood friends before the whole world had become hell. At the very least, they were together here in now, going through the same hell and fighting it with everything they had.

“I’m sure that…” Angel carefully weighed her own words, wondering if this odd sisterly discussion would not be freaking the brunette Arbiter out. Unfortunately for the both of them, the raven-haired rockstar’s honesty and direct approach was always something to count on to create those bizarre situations “I would’ve liked to have a sister just like you. You look always so calm and focused… I could actually learn some things from you.” Angel let out a soft but nervous laugh.

A sudden knock at the door heralded Marcus's arrival. Thanks to his fight with the lizard boy earlier, he didn't have to track Siena's room down like he had Callan's. Fortunate, given that he imagined it would be difficult to do based on the lack of descriptors available for his second roommate, and the apparent aloofness of the passing nurses.

He certainly wouldn't tell them how long he'd been standing at the door. That'd ruin the little bonding moment they seemed to be having. All he needed to do was drop in and make sure that Siena was doing fine, and then he could leave them to their little 'sister talk'. Watching the scene had caused an unexpected gnawing to catch him by surprise; he'd never really had the chance to be an older sibling to anybody. Hell, he'd had one opportunity to prove himself a protective team member, and that had met with...

"I hope I'm not intruding on anything." he said with a smile, forcing the thought out of his mind. He gave the two girls a small wave, revealing the shitty, hospital room tabloid he'd stolen along the way.

A knock and a familiar voice broke into the moment, tugging Siena's thoughts out of their fixed state and sending them into a furious storm once more as her attention snapped towards the source, eyes darting there, absorbing the figure of her male roommate and processing it before her head moved to follow the motion. Lips parted briefly in an expression of surprise before sealing again in a smile. Careful, cautious, but not quite nervous. She supposed not every conversation was able to take place in a controlled situation like before. Unexpected interruptions were bound to happen every now and then.

'Why are you bothered by that?' The thought went unvoiced.

"Oh, Marcus! I hope you haven't been waiting long...uh...at my...doorframe." It took almost all of Siena's self-control not to eye the pages he held in his hand. Printed words, potential sanctuary. Escape, her mind tried to declare. It took whatever remained of that restraint to keep from trying to bring it up. No. She didn't need it, didn't need it. Her mind wandered to the booklet in the tattered remains of her jacket, to the mentally placed red tape. No. "I guess everyone lucky enough not to be stuck here is making their rounds."

Angélique got startled when a voice came through the frame of the door she had left open earlier. Like Siena just voiced, she hoped he hadn't been over there, eavesdropping on their whole discussion. A slight shade of red took hold of the Aberration girl's face as she returned Marcus' wave with her own.

Feeling suddenly like an intruder between the talk of two roommates, Angel mostly kept to herself. She didn't know if she should be leaving the room now that there was someone else closer to the Arbiter girl now visiting her.

"Nah, not too long." Marcus said, pushing himself off the doorway and walking into the room. "Figured I should probably make sure that neither of my roommates were-" he stopped himself. The words he was going to say were 'not dead', but that was perhaps not the best thing to start with. He tried to mask his sudden hesitation by coughing slightly, before continuing. "-were bored out of their minds sitting in a hospital bed. But it looks like someone already beat me to it!" he punctuated the sentence with a friendly smile to Angel.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Angel on the APC ride over, which meant she had probably been injured or something in the fight. There were a lot of other people he hadn't seen either, the more he thought. A slight wave of guilt flooded over him; he'd not even thought about the other people that had been missing, despite them being classmates. Hell, Angel had been one of his teammates in the CTF game, and her absence still hadn't crossed his mind.

"How're you feeling, Angel? Didn't get too roughed up, I hope?" He sincerely prayed that he hadn't just stepped on a landmine or something, otherwise this visit might be a little short.

Angel grinned at the obvious jab sent her way. “You ought to sharpen your timing mate. Time wizards shouldn’t be beaten by noisy Mages like me.”

Oddly enough, the girl’s grin didn’t fade away at the mention of being potentially injured during today’s battle. She bitched and moaned enough about it, she just wanted to go with the flow and joke around with Marcus and his up-lifting spirited attitude.

“Nothing Christmas couldn’t handle. It’s a blessing our Healers don’t leave scars when they do their thing. Wouldn’t want to steal away your ‘Scarface’ title, would I?”

Perhaps it was too much considering the current situation? Angel’s humoristic moments were few and rare, but it had always been a sarcastic or dark thing. That’s probably why she didn’t pick comedy as her part of her linguistic skills.

Angel was about to say something, opening her mouth, but she suddenly stopped and faked an awkward yawn. She had considering returning him the question, but Marcus was part of the Evac Team. Shit happened over their part of the battlefield, stuff that Angel’s little bout against Hazel paled in comparison. He probably didn’t need to be reminded of Savannah’s death and the injuries a lot of people seemed to have sustained from their skirmish.

Feeling a somber sense of uncertainty trying to settle over the group, Siena was quick to try and figure out how best to steer the conversation away from the battle. There would be plenty of time later to grieve and ache, but...not when they were still trying their best to recover. Everyone was still a little too raw, a little too vulnerable--if people were anything like she'd come to expect, they'd try to take the blame. Over and over again without any real rational thought applied. Siena was aware, even as the guilt continued trying to rip out the logic.

At least, that was what she kept telling herself.

"Angel has a point. What was it that Kell said...?" A pause as the quote appeared instantly. in her mind's eye She'd read the words enough times that some of them might as well have been imprinted into her head as well. "Ah, right. 'Lovers like men with scars.'" A small voice that giggled in the back of her head, aware of what she was saying even if her face didn't allow it to show as she finished the quote. Whether they caught it or not...well, that wasn't her concern, was it?"Or so I've heard."

Ooh, 'Time Wizard'. That was a nickname he could live with. Of all the stupid little titles he could be given, that one didn't seem to bad. Inevitably it would at some point, but for this exact moment, he didn't mind. Just as he was going to say something, Angel's 'Scarface' joke came across. His face fluttered for a singular moment in a mixture of surprise and what could only be described as hurt confusion.

Of course, it was just a joke; and he certainly couldn't be the jokester of the group if he couldn't take as many punches as he gave, so the expression was (hopefully) gone before anybody could catch a glimpse of it. Any witty comeback he had was blown to smithereens by Siena's statement though, a sentence that completely stopped his train of thought as his face flushed slightly red and he turned to look at her.

That certainly wasn't something he was expecting.

Angel couldn’t help but reveal a toothy grin as Siena took a turn at a comedic crack. She had heard that one many times over, even though she did not believe herself it made a man any more attractive than how she already felt regarding the opposite sex. But the look on Marcus’ face was priceless. It made the sole Aberration in this room laugh heartily.

Well...her plan seemed to work, though she wasn't entirely certain at what cost. Well, at least someone was laughing. Flashing Marcus a mischievous, if still apologetic, grin, Siena joined in with a softer laugh of her own. 'Sorry, Marcus.' Feeling some of the tension leave her shoulders, the bookish mage settled into a more comfortable position to face both her visitors. "Oh dear, was I wrong? Haha..."

Marcus recovered slightly, just shaking his head in disbelief. He said nothing at Siena's second statement, allowing his face to grow a little bit redder and continuing to just sit there. He joined in the chuckling after a while, looking to Siena and holding up the tabloid. "And here I even brought some reading material for you, because I was worried you'd be bored. Seems like you're entertaining yourself at my expense enough, I might as well just keep this to myself and read it back at the motel!" he shot her a wicked grin of his own in retaliation, flipping through some of the pages without actually reading them.

There was a surge of mild panic that tried to surface at the thought of having the pages taken away, even if a cursory glance told her that it wouldn't yield anything useful for her purposes. With practiced grace and an masterfully forged mask, Siena let the fear slide off her without letting it break through the filters. Instead, she gave a fake pout at her roommate, unruly bangs slipping from their place and falling back into her line of vision as she cocked her head ever slightly. "Aww, so mean. How else am I supposed to keep up with scandals to gossip to you about?"

He glared for just a moment, before shrugging and tossing the magazine to Siena. "Fair enough, I'm certainly not going to be the one to read this stuff, so you might as well keep up with all the hot celebrity news."

He moved into the room a little more, leaning on the side of the bed next to where Angel was currently seated. "I wasn't sure what kind of stuff you liked to read, and the jerk at the store didn't exactly have a wide variety." he said, suddenly feeling the need to explain himself for some reason.

A thought crossed his mind though; as nonchalantly as he'd said it, he actually didn't know what Siena's taste in books was, despite constantly calling her the bookworm of the group. He gave her a puzzled glance for a moment, speaking the thought aloud: "What do you like to read anyway?"

Snatching the magazine from the air in a flurry of sounds largely consisting of paper fluttering, Siena felt a vague sense of relief. It wasn't exactly what she'd normally read, but something was better than nothing in that case. Glancing over a few of the cover story titles, the brunette could practically hear Maya making sounds of disapproval in her ear. There were much better ways to manipulate and draw the eye, right?

Ugh. She really didn't want to remember those particular lessons.

Instead, she returned her attention to her visitors, just in time to see the expression pass over Marcus's face. An expression of confusion that quickly gave way to a question...a particularly enlightening one, really. It took a moment for Siena to process that she hadn't, in fact, shared any titles of the works she read, reread, and bookmarked. It took another for her to realize that she hadn't been reading to enjoy it in recent times. It had all been to hone them as weapons of warfare. Had been forcibly forging links that she wouldn't have considered before because they were useful and not because they were enjoyable.

A pause.

"Hm...almost everything, really." A pause as she thought about it. "Mostly fiction or fantasy though. Foreign books too, since I like seeing the differences in culture."

"Alright, fiction or fantasy, or anything foreign." Marcus said, making a mental note of the aisles he'd have to go down in the library. "Guess I should probably make sure to grab something you can actually read, though huh?" Marcus said, chuckling slightly. "Wouldn't want to grab something that looks interesting only to have it be a People's Magazine in Arabic!"

What was so difficult about Ara--ah. Siena blinked faintly in confusion even as the realization started to dawn onto the mage. It really hadn't occurred to her that other people weren't going to be quite as knowledgeable as her caretakers had been on the topic of her reading materials, or even on her ability. With a half-smile on her face, Siena gave a nervous laugh while scratching the back of her head. "Oh, u-um...I could read that, actually. Or um...any language. Guess it kind of came with the power...?"

He stared for a second, involuntarily blinking in surprise. "Wait. Waitwaitwait. You can read literally anything?" Marcus said, the disbelief evident in his tone. "So I could show you the diary of some German dude, or the recipe straight out of a Mongolian kitchen, and you would be able to tell me what they say!?

He'd never thought of the powers as being that useful before - he was grateful for his ability to rewind bumps and scratches and the occasional gunshot wound, but being able to read any language flawlessly? That was a little more useful than his was!

Though she knew he had every right to be, Siena was still moderately surprised by Marcus's apparent disbelief. No, it made sense. While her ability was flashy and versatile, she'd never made any indication of which names she was pulling, which languages she was borrowing from. Given the way that it seemed to work, what language she was looking at was never really something the mage thought about. "W-Well, um...yes? I-I mean...it's hard to explain..." ...and now that she brought it up, she imagined there would be at least one conveniently foreign book in whatever Marcus brought. "When I see the words, I just...know what it means."

Marcus's mind reeled slightly with the new information. He had so many questions to ask her, but he was having a hard time getting them put into any sort of coherent order.

"Can you write in other languages too? How about speak them? Could you teach other people to read different languages if you wanted to?" The questions poured eagerly out of his mouth, before he stopped himself. He didn't want to overwhelm the poor girl, but now that he knew the secondary effect to her power, he was curious to test it out. Maybe he'd grab a foreign book for her while he was out.

A count had started in Siena's had as soon as she noticed the expression on Marcus's face, ticking off the seconds before the inevitable. When the revelation had come to her caretakers, both had reacted similarly. Sort of. Maya had been more straightforward with her questions in a strange twist, having Siena test the limits for precise information, whereas Gerwulf had worn an expression like he wanted to ask, but simply acknowledged the utility of such a skill. Of course, neither of them had launched an avalanche at her, so Marcus gained a point in the "original reaction" category.

"E-Er..." Giving a nervous laugh and unable to resist sending a sidelong glance of mild distress towards Angel, the bookworm tried to organize the questions into easier-to-answer groups. It didn't really work. "I uh...it's kind of complicated." Which bought her another moment to figure out how exactly to answer those questions in a concise manner.

It was much to Siena's own annoyance that her first instinct was to lie.

"I can't speak ones I don't know, but um...I guess I could use my not-so-magical gifts in conjunction with the power to learn to write them...?" She let the insinuation that the same went for teaching someone how to read another language. It would be rudimentary at best, she knew, for the languages that she didn't make a point to read often. Nordic tongues, for instance, weren't exactly her forte, but...there were languages that she had become more capable of, given her previous experiences with Maya and Gerwulf. Memories of strict lessons and whispered conversations in languages that the masked masses around her couldn't understand came to mind. She missed the sanctity of those moments. "Th-though it's all a little more complex than that..."

Marcus gave a short whistle of surprise, his eyebrows raised the whole time Siena answered his questions. He could tell that she was a little bit uneasy by the sheer amount of questions he was giving her, as the glance to Angel hadn't gone unnoticed. He took a breath, calming himself down from the original twenty questions moment, looking over to gauge Angel's reaction as he spoke.

"That's pretty cool, Siena!" Marcus said, deliberately trying to give the poor girl a moment to catch her breath. "Did you just...know you could do that, or did you catch a glimpse of something and realized you could read it?"

'Did you know you could do that?'

Unwelcome memories. Unwelcome, almost frightening memories that made her flinch visibly. For a second her breath didn't come to her and her muscles froze. It was fine, she could answer. No. "I...u-um..."

No. She couldn't answer.

Angelique sat in silence as she watched the two roommates discuss to each other. She didn't dare to really interfere with their talk, as she felt a bit out of place. But watching these two go at it, she felt envious. She wished she could have roommates like that too. It would make her living in USARILN so much bearable, much more interesting.

Bit it was no use dwelling on things that were not. Instead, she should be focusing on working on it. Maybe if she proved she was stable enough and cooperative, the institute would actually let her be paired with someone as a roommate? That could be something to be work on. At the same time, it would probably fix that bitchy behavior of hers she exhibited more times than necessary ever since she arrived there. Really, there could only be winning aspects in this decision.

Sadly, when Siena turned to Angel with an uncomfortable look, the raven-haired Aberration did not immediately pick up the distress on her soul sister's face. By now, she felt her eyes burning because of the usual brightness of hospitals lighting. A headache had started to punch its way into her head, and the intensity just kept growing. Hopefully it would not develop into a migraine.

But Siena's voice barely hinted her desperation to Angel's keen hearing. Angelique did not really know the cause behind Siena's distress, but as Marcus kept bombarding the poor girl into explaining the finer details his roommate's power, something clicked inside Angel's mind. A flashback from previous training sessions.

Siena never seemed really comfortable in trying to explain how her power worked. The Arbiter was vague in her explanation the first time they trained together, keeping it relatively simple for Angelique to understand the basics. Then, when it came down to Brent, she had basically blurted out a jumbled mess of explanations as the overclocking Mage kept trying to coax out ever more details from Siena.

Blaming herself for not having realized this sooner, Angel turned to Marcus, her tired eyes lingering onto his face with what seemed to be a grim smile. "Now now Marcus. Siena had it rough today. Let's not bother her with all these question, shall we? She must be pretty tired. Surely she can answer those another day, right?"

Oop. Looked like he hit a nerve without meaning to. And just as he'd realized that, Angel turned to him and gently asked him to stop his inquisition. It was fair enough; there were some things about the first couple days with his power that he didn't want to talk about either, made sense that Siena would have some of those.

"She's right. You probably need some rest, and I am probably not doing you a favor at all in that goal, huh?" he said, a slight unsure grin on his face. He tried his best to make it seem like he was following along with Angel's idea, and not that he'd noticed how uncomfortable Siena appeared to be, because that could make her feel even more uncomfortable.

"I should probably make my way back to the motel anyway, before they barricade the doors or something. I promise I'll be back tomorrow with an actual book, though! G'night Siena, g'night Angel!" he said, giving a small salute and making his way back towards the door.

"Good night, Marcus. See you soon." Angelique replied, waving a farewell to the time Mage as he seemed to take the clue and leave.

'Thank god...' The topic fell back like the tide, stopping Siena from getting plunged in. Part of the mage was irritated with herself for letting anything slip past her filters, frustrated that the panic had managed to root itself deep enough to control her. Ashamed that she was still afraid of things that happened long enough ago to be a cracking memory. The only thing that made her so certain was that it was too real to deny that it happened. As Marcus left, Siena tried to bid him farewell, but her voice still caught like a shard of ice in the center of her esophagus, so she gave a wave instead. Better that than whatever choked sounds she might have made in the moment.

And then the backlash started, the emotions that broke free of their confines taking turns trying to batter Siena into submission. Pain won out for a moment, etching itself onto her features like a flicker of candlelight, little more than a ghost that passed through her before she forced it back. She was in control. Her. The mask settled back into place, fragile, weak little creature with an even frailer smile.

"Th-Thanks for d...deflecting that, Angel."

"Mhm, you're welcome." Angel smiled, oblivious of the moment of pain Siena just showed.

She sighed, scratching her eyelids as she desperately tried to shake off the burning sensation in her eyes without letting Siena know how troublesome her eyesight had been ever since she woke..

"You know, Siena. I've come to understand you aren't particularly doing great when people are asking you about your powers. And it's okay, really. We all have our own little secrets concerning who we are and what we do." Angel started slightly scolding Siena, just like a mother or a big sister would do. "If you don't feel comfortable talking about it, then don't force yourself to do it. In those cases, you just refuse to answer. No means no. If they truly respect you, then they'll understand."

Another surge of emotion broke free, these particular ones undeniably belonging to one Siena Santana. The brunette grappled with them for a moment, tried to drag them back under control. But these were different. Just like it had been with Maya, Siena couldn't keep hold of them. Couldn't stop them when they ran rampant, destroying the carefully maintained order that she was desperate to cling to. They couldn't be controlled. First came the affection, swelling like a river beyond the banks. The feeling of comfort and irrevocable safety that would have comforted her if not for the quickly approaching flood of the next surge.

Guilt. Shame. More guilt. She couldn't control it.

"I-I'm sorry, I know I'm not supp--" What was she doing?! Catching the instinctive phrase before the rest of the sentence could escape, Siena blinked in surprise. Not supposed to talk about her powers to people that knew she had them? And more than that, there had only ever been one person that managed to shatter her neatly put together self without even trying, and that was because that woman had built everything from the ground up. Taught her how to control herself, to slip in a few gestures, touches, words... "Um...I mean...I know, b...but I want to get better at e-explaining them. In case we have more deployments in the future." Liar.

"Alright then, if you say so..." Angel simply replied. Honestly, she still couldn't get just how Siena's words seemed so hesitant, if not a bit tense, despite maintaining that peaceful appearance. What was the reason behind it? Or perhaps was she just imagining things from being so out of her mind because of that lingering pain and fatigue? But then, why would Siena have thanked her for deflecting the discussion?

Maybe both girls were tired and needed to rest their heads to think clearly. At least, Angel wanted to acknowledge for herself what she told Marcus just now. Siena was probably tired, and confronting her for her conflicting actions would probably just pour fuel on embers. The Aberration singer knew better than trying to start an argument with one of her closest friends after what they went through tonight. Plus, she promised herself to not be so pathetic in front of someone ever again like she did with Brent just before coming here.

"Well, I suppose it is getting a bit late. I'll let you have a well-deserved rest. I still have a few more people I want to check up on before going to sleep too." Angel said, feeling the development of the situation had called for her visit to end. Better ending it here on a rather good note than push forward and risk creating unnecessary tension between the two. There could always be another day to discuss this kind of matter.

Shifting herself onto the mattress, Angel pulled herself closer to Siena, hesitantly reaching out for the Arbiter soul sister with open arms as she wrapped them into a warm hug.

"Good night, Siena." Angel wished to her friend before letting go of her and heading towards the exit.

Chapter IV: Wishes of Recovery

Angélique | Callan

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℍ𝕠𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝 / / 𝟚𝟚𝟙𝟝

---

_{Collab with @Baklava}

Out of all people, Callan wasn’t on the list of classmates Angélique expected to be hospitalized. The girl had shown such resiliency and strength before; it was frightening to know the enemy was powerful enough to actually land a few injuries on their resident Super Girl.

Angel didn’t really know Callan all that well. The first time they crossed each other was quite awkward, despite the Aberration’s efforts of befriending the Arbiter. But being a classmate, the obsidian-haired fallen rockstar felt compelled to go and check up on the girl, just as she did with Siena.

Having looked at the clock on her smartphone, Angel figured it probably wasn’t so much late as she would fear waking Callan up. Plus, it would be a hour or two before the Wishalloy would wear off, if what Kardos said was true.

Angélique’s footsteps brought her in front of Callan’s room. Softly, she knocked at the door.

Sleeping usually came as easily as drawing breath, but tonight she simply couldn't stop her head from ticking through everything that had happened that day. Callan laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling while spinning her cheap headphones around her fingers. One of her old sets had met its demise that way, but she didn't notice she was doing it until the knock sounded. She stopped abruptly, turning her head towards the door. She'd only left the lamp light on, so she could barely make out the figure in the small window. A nurse, probably. Or maybe someone else coming to check up on her. Siena or Ernie came to mind, but she called out anyway-- just to be sure.

"Who is it?"

"It's Angel. Can I come in?"

Angel? Callan sat up. "Y-yeah," she answered hesitantly. Why was she here? Had she... known Savannah, maybe? Maybe she found out what happened?

Slowly, Angel entered Callan's room. However, unlike the others, Angel stood by the door's frame. It was probably too presumptuous of her to join the Arbiter's side so closely as they didn't know each other all that much. And somehow, Cal felt a bit distant, sitting up on her bed like that? Was she still injured? From an outside point of view, she looked tattered but fine.

"Hey there. I just wanted to know if you were alright, You know, I was actually surprised to hear you out of everyone had to be hospitalized."

Callan seemed somewhat relieved by the question, but she kept her guard up. "Hey... yeah. Just had some mild blood loss." she answered. Definitely an understatement, but she didn't want to make her worry. She sat up a little more, hugging one knee to her chest. "Ah-- looks like Christmas fixed your face up. Those were some nasty cuts."

"Ah... yeah. And not even a single scar left. The boy sure makes miracles. I just wish these people would stop abusing him for his blood though..." Angel added bitterly, having caught glimpses of the Arbiter being carried around in a wheelchair and being used as a living blood packet.

The blood loss part had intrigued Angel. What kind of wound did she sustained to be bleeding that much? She kind of wanted to know, but Angélique knew herself better than push for details after what happened today. Especially with Savannah's death. Callan was the first person Angel had seen rushing to Evac team's location after Factory fell; surely she had seen what happened to the poor girl up close. Brent said her neck was snapped, but the circumstances that led to it were left vague. As a matter of fact, the whole ambush battle was left unknown to the Aberration singer.

"How's Lawrence? I heard a bit of what had happened through the cuffs, but I was told he was still alive despite having sustained bad injuries." Angel shifted subject, not completely off-track to what she was thinking but at least she wasn't bringing up a dead girl's name.

More guilt yet as the subject of Christmas and his stolen blood came up. She felt sorry for having not said anything to stop them from using him like that. She idly wondered about Sander and what he would think. It would probably be kind of disturbing-- being carted around to all those different rooms so doctors could inject your blood into numerous people. Then again, maybe it wasn't so different from a blood donation. Either way, perhaps it was a boon that he'd slept through it all.

God, she wished she could sleep.

"Lawrence," Callan perked up at the name. She'd seen him in the ambulance, too. "I haven't spoken with him. Looked like Lily and Kusari healed the worst of it, though...."

"That's... good to hear."

Silence slowly settled in as Angel started to think everything was alright with Callan. Her half-blinded state could not pick up well the minor details that would make her see this faint aura of sadness Callan had around her, and the fact that their usual talk always had been quite short and awkward enough to not detecting a depressed tone.

While it was good to know she was alright with those very few words they shared, Angélique felt it was a shame she couldn't find grounds to socialize more with the Arbiter. She looked quite a cool girl to talk with, if she would go according to all the action she witnessed during their lunch breaks. She kind of wished she could be a part of that group as well.

Looking over the tattered clothing Callan wore, the raven-haired Aberration recalled a bit of their last discussion "You know, if we're to come out of each battle with our clothes reduced to that, we really ought to go on that shopping trip and get more trends before we're stuck wearing our underwear on the battlefield." A grin managed to creep on Angel's face, trying to lighten up the mood with a bit of comedy.

Callan couldn't help but smile. The demise of all her favorite hoodies did seem to be a growing trend when it came to these missions. She still couldn't say she was a big fan of gal-pal shopping trips, but Angel definitely had a point. "I hear that," she chuckled tiredly.

And score another happiness point for the rockstar. Going about to check up on everyone was a good thing after all. Maybe it was because she tried avoiding most of the talk about the hell they just come from. Still, to see her classmates managing to crack up a few smiles and chuckles this evening, it's only what mattered the most to Angel.

Callan's tired state did not go unnoticed though. Despite not being able to see her well, Angélique could hear it. Maybe this small talk was just about enough for tonight. She came to know if Cal was alright, both physically and mentally, and it seemed she was, if not sounding a bit bummed. Nothing a night of rest couldn't fix, Angel figured.

"Alright then. You sound quite exhausted. Can't blame ya, I feel a bit tired myself, even after coming to be not a few hours ago. I'll be taking my leave let you get your beauty sleep. I still have a few others I want to see before going to bed. Hopefully I won't be waking them." The Aberration chuckled, turning towards the door she had been leaning against its frame ever since she came inside the room.

"I'm glad you are okay." Angélique casted a glance back at the aquamarine-haired Arbiter. "If you need anything, or want to talk, my room's just across. Have a good night, Callan."

Another invitation to another room. But this time with less innuendos. The fact that she was making such a connection had to be another sign that she was tired. She was... kind of touched by Angel's concern, actually.

"Okay, cool. Thanks. Glad you're okay, too," she said--and she meant it, "Have a good night."

Chapter V: Strangers in the Night

Angélique | Lilianna

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℍ𝕠𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝 / / 𝟚𝟚𝟛𝟘

---

_{Collab with @Kyrisse}

It wasn't much of a surprise for Angel to hear that Lilianna had been hospitalized with a few others. With the nature of the girl's ability combined with her personality, it was to be expected Lilianna had sustained injuries probably not directly inflicted to her, but by taking the others’ wounds. Fortunately, someone like Christmas existed in their classroom, to heal the cursed Healer.

Still, it was worthwhile to check up on her fellow Aberration classmate. Make sure the girl was alright. Lilianna seemed to be the odd type, from the very few times she interacted with Angel. But Lily had done her fair share of healing people important to Angélique, and she was genuinely worried about the girl’s mental state. Taking over all of everyone’s pain, it was just too cruel for the Healer. Angel feared one day the girl’s mind would snap from receiving this amount of pain. A bit like how Kusari was oddly accepting of suffering pain through her immortality.

Reaching the door to Lilianna’s hospital room, Angel checked the time on her phone. It was getting a bit late. Hopefully the girl wasn’t sleeping her injuries off. She wouldn’t like to disturb a well-deserved rest.

With that in mind, Angel’s knuckles rattled softly on the door.

Lily was contemplating on sneaking out and was staring at the IV tube taped to her hand. It was strange that she was afraid that pulling out the IV cannula out of her vein would hurt when she had actually gone through a lot more pain earlier in the battlefield. Would they be angry at me if I walked around? she thought to herself as she dangled her feet on the edge of the hospital bed. Can't be hooked up to this bottle if I wanna walk around so I should really just... she reached out to remove her IV line when someone knocked on the door. For the second time that night, she jumped in surprise and glared at the door. And then realizing that it might be a nurse or a doctor coming to check up on her, she hurriedly lifted her legs back up on the bed, tucked herself underneath the blanket and feigned an innocent look.

"Come in," she called out.

Hearing Lilianna's answer, Angel slowly opened the door and made her way inside, looking at the blonde Aberration tucked in her bed and stuck to an IV machine. Seeing her like this, she wondered exactly why all this apparel was needed if Christmas would have healed her wounds just as easily? Maybe the nurses ran out for their lives when they saw her X mark? Surely it was what had happened. Angélique could remember the face of the nurses when she woke up. They cleared her out from hospital stay just before running out from her room.

"Hello Lily. I hope I did not wake you up? How are you feeling?"

The blonde Aberration didn't expect another classmate to come by and see her. She wasn't exactly too friendly with any of them. But it was a pleasant that people wanted to at least see how she was doing.

Of course they'd want to see how you're doing. You're useful to them. They don't see you as a friend. They see you as someone they can use to keep themselves alive, the voice inside her head whispered.

Outwardly, Lily sighed as she looked at the dark haired girl she remembered meeting the first time they arrived in USARILN East. "No, I don't really sleep that much. And I suppose I'm okay... The worst of the injuries I... uhm..." she paused as she looked down at herself. "...they didn't really stay with me that long." She looked up. "Are you okay? And everyone else?" she asked almost automatically.

Hearing Lilianna talking, the sonic Aberration could not help but feel sorry for her X-marked. All those injuries she had taken for herself, it was no wonder why she was hospitalized in the first place. All this pain... She was willing to take them all away and suffer through it for the sake of others. Sometimes, Angel wondered why Xs were reputed so badly as most of the ones she had met were selfless people like Lilianna, Emma and Allison. It probably was the Cat Cradle’s and Hazels of this world that made people scared shitless of Aberrations and the curses burdening them.

“Yeah, we’re all fine…”

Except Savannah.

“…thanks to you and Christmas. I don’t know what we would do without you two.”

Christmas is enough to help them all. You're not really needed, the voices relentlessly whispered in Lily's head.

The all to familiar feeling of uselessness resurfaced, one that the small girl tried to push back down but was unsuccessful. She shook her head and spoke her thoughts. "Christmas is enough for everyone. He's the real healer, not me," she said with a slight shrug. Her thoughts shifted to the lifeless eyes of a classmate that died in the battle. "Although I wish I could have done something for that girl who died..."

"Don't say that, please!" Angel had initially replied upon hearing Lily's lack of self-esteem. "You are right in some way, about not being the same kind of Healer as Christmas, but..." her mind was bringing her back to the strategic deployment section she had written for the blonde girl's profile sheet. "You have an asset other Healers don't. You can inflict damage by giving these injuries where it matters, on an enemy. So really, not only can you heal wounds, but you can cripple opponents as well. Now from the way I've seen it, there is only winning in your case." Of course' she purposefully avoided the fact she had to injured herself first to do that switcharoo, but Angel figured she might as well only focus on the bright side given the situation

"Plus, it is a blessing you were there for the whole ordeal. I was with Christmas and he... wouldn't have made it in time to save the other injured if you didn't take their injuries. So yeah, I'd say it's thanks to you some of the folks here are still alive. You... did the best you could, and I believe you did."

For the moment, Angel wanted to avoid the subject of Savannah's death, rather focusing on bolstering her classmate's morale. If what Brent said was true, about the little girl's snapped neck, there was simply nothing Lilianna could have done that would've resulted into some sort of self-killing injury transfer.

Lily’s erratic mood swings shifted at the encouraging words, much like it did when Emma offered to have her hang out with them at lunch. Take injuries and cripple opponents with it. Yes, she can definitely do that. And maybe she should ask to be put in the frontline the next time there was a battle. "I'm glad I could help," she smiled and then blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "I wonder though if I can do more..." her sentence drifted off. "Transfer death, maybe," she added in a softer voice.

Angel quirked up an eyebrow at the mention of transferring death. Surely she must mean from one being to another? She couldn't think of killing herself using her own power. "One day, perhaps. Our powers always seem to grow the more we fight, right? Now that would be quite something, huh? Lilianna: Life and Death Bringer." Angel tried to encourage the girl a bit more, dismissing completely the fact that Lily thought of transferring someone’s death onto herself.

But all this talk of taking injuries and death made the young womanly singer quite uncomfortable. She just wished to have small talk with the girl, seeing they haven't spoken much to each other ever since that first night at USARILN. "I didn't see you a lot last week. How have you been? Did you go to class even though we earned a week free of it?"

At the mention of classes, Lily wrinkled her nose, completely forgetting the previous topic they were on. "Class is boring. But I had nothing to do so I attended some of them. Most times I stayed in my room or the library or just wandered around..." she paused. "Hanged out a bit with Sophia too. She's nice."

Oh... I haven't go the chance to meet and speak to her personally. I'm glad nothing bad happened to her. They both... shouldn't be caught in this mess." Angel involuntarily brought up Savannah back into the discussion, feeling a hint of guilt and remorse after realizing it.

Lily looked at Angelique for the longest time before speaking again. "We all shouldn't be caught up in this mess," she said in a serious, soft voice. "There shouldn't be deaths all around. We shouldn't be scared of dying every single day..." she sighed as she trailed off and then her train of thought veered off into another direction. "I came close to dying once. But people in USARILN East took me in. Should that make me thankful to them?" She wondered out aloud.

Angélique could only but nod at Lilianna's statement. She was right. No one deserved to be here, treated like soldiers without even being given a choice. Fight or die. She was surprised to hear her fellow Aberration being so open about how she was brought to USARILN, or rather that detail that only made Angel the more curious about her life before being brought here.

"Dying? What happened to you before you came to be there, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I lost my memories so I don't really know. I just know what the doctors told me when I woke up in the hospital," Lily reached up and touched the part of her head where the wound had been, a habit whenever she recounted what happened to her. "They said that they found me just outside USARILN East with a huge head wound and barely clinging to life. So, I guess someone must have hated me so much that they tried to kill me," she shrugged. "I can't say I'm not surprised. I do have this mark after all," she touched the X mark at the base of her neck.

"I'm... sorry to hear that." Angel really didn't know if it was a boon or a curse to not remember about the past. For all she knew, she would have preferred to forget about everything that happened before. Perhaps if only to stop remembering about that day she screwed up badly.

"Don't be so quick to makes guesses, Lily. Perhaps an accident happened?"

A bold lie. She knew better about all the harbored rage towards the X-marked. Enough to warrant death threats and even violence against them. But for now, all Angel wanted was to comfort the blonde girl in front of her, escape from this harsh reality.

Lily shrugged again. "It doesn't really matter. I can't remember anyway," she said. "Sometimes I get flashes of memories. But they're too fragmented to make sense of," she explained.

"I see... Maybe it's for the best, who knows. So much shit happened for a lot of us before coming to the institute. Sometimes I feel like it would be best to just erase the past and start from scratch here. Angel rubbed her eyes, feeling a bit hypocrite of saying something like that when she is one of those people clinging onto her past actions, either lamenting it or using it for a reminder of what she was.

"It's... not like our past lives matter anymore. Might as well burn the bridges and build something entirely new with the others." Just how she wished to believe in her own words.

"I suppose I can't miss what I don't remember," Lily said. "Tell me something about you in return. Your powers are cool."

"T-they are?" That wasn't the first time someone said her powers were cool, but Angel still wasn't used to hearing this. Despite all the training she undertook and the growing ease of using her unbridled voice, she still felt a bit afraid of hurting the wrong people with her powers. She still was remorseful and afraid of causing another incident.

Still, with her newest addition to her arsenal, she supposed she could agree with Lilianna. "I... suppose so. I mean, I finally got something else from the visions than outright screaming people's ears off.” Angel added, gathering magic into her being as she spoke.

"Like this." came Angel's displaced voice, far away from the corner of the room instead of next to Lily where the speaker stood.

She was hesitant to spoke of herself to Lily, but she felt obliged to answer her for having pried on her current amnesia problem. "I... was a musician before coming here. I used to sing and play guitar a lot. Earned my life doing that even."

Like a child, Lily clapped her hands at the demonstration. "That is so cool. Did you do concerts before going to USARILN?" she asked. It was nice hearing about other people's past lives. It gave her a bit of hope that she'd eventually remember hers.

The discussion was getting a bit too revealing for Angélique's taste. Already, she could feel the Stigma trying to worm its way out and give Angel flashbacks of her biggest failure. But the smile on Lily's face was precious. In these dark times, she would rather cling onto other's smiles than deny them.

And so, the musician Mage kept on her facade with a forced smile. "Y-yeah, I did. With a lot of people, lots of chants, plenty of cheer and so on."

God, why was it so hard to keep this face straight and hold the tears back.

'Wow... It must have been great... I wonder if I ever attended any of your concerts?," Lily chuckled. "That would be really really cool if I did. Although if I didn't, I'm glad I met you now. Maybe I can listen to you sing and play sometime?" she suggested a little shyly.

It was harder for Angel to keep this facade when Lilianna just kept on going with the concerts. Hopefully, Lily would have not been a fan of her music in her forgotten past. She hoped even more she hadn't attended to any of her concert, especially the last one.

"Ah... the pleasure is all mine. I was looking forward to speaking a bit more with you after we met on the night I arrived at USARILN." Angel managed to say, deviating a bit from the subject.

"But sure. If you want to, I play a bit of music every now and then in my room with Allison in the evenings. How about stopping by sometimes and relax with us?" A faint trail of tears managed to escape from her left eye, almost immediately wiped off Angel's face when she realized the sudden wetness.

Lily's smile turned brighter at the invitation. She was finally making friends. "I'd love to stop by. It'll just be like back home. He used to play the guitar all the time and the music was really nice..." a faraway look came over the blonde's eyes but she blinked when she caught Angel wiping her face, the burst of memory gone. "Oh, are you okay?" she asked, demonstrating her occasionally keen perceptiveness.

"Oh, it's okay. I'm just tired. And I've never been all that good with lights on." Angel managed to blurt out an unsteady excuse. Her voice tried to hold firm, but unusually shades-less eyes told a different story.

"He? Have you just remembered something?"

"Really?" Lily asked, leaning forward to peer at Angel's face. She seemed... sad... She was just about to pry more when the singer's question made her pause.
"He?" she repeated and then furrowed her brow. "Hmmm... I think maybe I did..." she said, trying to grasp what it was she had been thinking about a mere second ago. Concerts and music. Who has she remembered? She reached up and scratched her head, feeling a little frustrated that her memory was in such a state of disarray. After a while, she gave up and shrugged. "It's gone now."

"That's... quite strange." Angel commented, wondering just what was going on with the blonde Aberration's memories. "Is your memory loss affecting only memories from before the time you came at USARILN, or does it happen you lose some memories of the time after you arrived as well?"

"Oh, it doesn't affect the memories I have after coming to USARILN. Although, I can be forgetful... I'm not entirely sure if that had to do something with the head trauma," Lily answered.

"Perhaps the trauma damaged the memories-managing part of your brain? Can't say for sure though, I'm no brain doctor." Angel suggested, unsure as what to think of that. "Well, at the very least, you still remember about all of us, right? It would have been a shame to have you wake up in the morning and keep having to introduce ourselves to you each day." She cracked up a smile, trying to bring a bit of light on her mental ailment.

Lily wrikled her nose a little comically. "Oh, that would be horrible," she commented. "I bet no one would want to talk to me then."

"Nah, we'd do just like in that love movie at the end. Record the events of the days and put it in your room so you can watch before starting your day. Well, at least that's what I think I would do." Angel offered a smile to Lily.

"Makes sense but that would be a lot more frustrating than what I have now... So, I guess this is not so bad," Lily gestured to herself.

"Yeah." Angel trailed off, letting silence slowly settle in.

It was getting late, for both of them. Right now, even though she was an emotional rollercoaster, Angel did appreciate having taken the chance to check up on Lily. It was good to know she was relatively alright, considering her amnesia, and get to know her a bit more.

"Well, I think I should get going. I should leave you to rest. You probably need it after what you went through." Angel slowly got up from her seat, her shadow-ridden dark-green eyes meeting gold. ”It's been nice to talk with you, Lily. We should do that more often."

Lily nodded. "Thank you for dropping by. I appreciate it," she smiled a genuinely friendly, happy smile and raised the hand that was connected to the IV fluid to give Angel a small wave goodbye. As the IV tube hit her arm at the movement of her hand, she looked towards it and frowned, her attention already distracted from the friend that was just about to leave.

"It's my pleasure, really.replied as she reached the door. She gave a last glance towards her bed-ridden classmate, returning a curt wave of her hand. If there's anything you need, my room's not far from yours. Goodnight, Lily."

Chapter VI: Factory of Questions

Angélique | Sander

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕃𝕒 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕒, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / ℍ𝕠𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝 / / 𝟚𝟚𝟜𝟝

---

_{Collab with @RedDusk}

Following the instruction given by the guard earlier, Angel figured she might as well go and see Sander and check up on him. Not that she knew him all that much, but she knew he and Christmas seemed rather close to each other, and she also wanted to know about the whereabouts of Christmas in this hospital. Furthermore, there had been questions nagging at the back of her mind. Questions only Sander and Ethan could potentially answer. But she’d rather talk with a fellow classmate than someone who seemed just a bit too close to the authority.

It was late in the evening, and Angel was feeling very tired. Perhaps Sander would be the last person she should check up on for tonight and wait tomorrow for the others.

Stopping in front of Sander’s room, her knuckled rattled the door thrice, hoping he was still in there or wouldn’t wake him up if he was still in here.

The knocking had, indeed, woken Sander.

He slowly sat up, blinking the last vestiges of sleep out of his eyes before looking around. He was in a strange room. Hospital room. But not the one he was used to. This was strange. Where were he? The withdrawal nagged at him, and he could tell there was some blood in a nearby cooler. However, the person waiting outside the door required his immediate attention.

He could tell it was Angel.

“I-I’ll be right there.” -Sander stood up carefully, his movements were still awkward from an extended period of immobility. Spotting a folded set of clothes on the chair nearby, he quickly threw on a blue hospital shirt before walking toward the door and opening it.

“Hey.” -He greeted the young woman with a curt nod.

Judging by how unkempt his hair was and from his facial expression, Angélique could tell she probably woke the guy up. She kicked herself mentally for being such an idiot.

"Hello Sander. Sorry if I woke you up. I... just wanted to know if you were alright."

Sander wasn't a man of much words, that much she had learned from her previous interactions with him. Whether he was simply antisocial or just awkward, Angel felt like she shouldn't bother him for longer than she needed to.

“It’s fine. I was just about to wake up anyway.” -Sander shrugged –“…Can I help you with anything?”

Well, he didn’t quite pick up on the hint about her asking how he was feeling, but he seemed quite alright anyway. Not that she had any reason to worry about him though. He was a ‘walking juggernaut’, as Brent qualified him. Still, it was only right to make sure he was alright, no?

Nonetheless, now that he was asking, she just had to take him up on his offer. She didn’t simply come here to check on his superhuman well-being. There were questions she was meaning to ask him.

“Actually, yeah. Can I come inside?”

She preferred if their discussion was in private, away from prying ears. Hopefully Sander would pick that up

Sander blinked at the question, peering into the hallway behind Angel for a brief moment. But if she wanted to talk in his stuffy hospital room, he supposed he could oblige.

“Sure.” –With that said, he turned and walked inside, clearing off the spare chair in the corner so Angle would have somewhere to seat. As for him, Sander merely sat down on the bed.

Angélique took gracefully the seat Sander cleared for her, giving him a small thanking nod as she sat down. She joined her hands together, her right leg shaking in anxiety. She had told herself she didn’t want to speak any more of the battle yesterday, but deep down she yearned to know the truth. At least, a possibility that could hold a small truth. Depending on what she would learn from Sander this evening, it could actually bring more questions to mind.

She cleared her throat, not because it was sore but more like out of nervousness. She really didn’t know how to start on the subject, and so stood silent for a moment.

“I… uh… heard you from my cuff’s speakers yesterday… about you having killed him.” She started slowly, working up the courage to outright ask him the question that burned inside her.

“Was Factory really a Mage? A human, like us?”

" It's human inside, yes. " -Sander nodded.

"Do you remember how he looked like" Angel pressed on

"...It was...strange. Wrong. Very wrong."

"Could you... elaborate? Please?"

“…I’m not sure?” -Sander only shrugged. He had already told Angel all he knew; her request was rather confusing. Why would she care about an enemy? There was an order to kill it, so he did. What else mattered?

“Why do you care? The missions was successful, wasn’t it?”

Looks like she was meeting some resistance. It would be a lie to think she didn’t expect it. Still, if if it meant being an annoyance, she was willing to look bad to Sander’s eyes if it meant coaxing out a truth she was desperately trying to know.

“Yeah… it was, despite the casualties…” Angel admitted. “I just… I want to confirm something that had been bothering me about this whole mission.”

Her tired naked eyes grew more intense, the burning desire to tell him what was on her mind only became stronger. But she had to keep it for herself. IT was her burden to know. She vowed to herself to find the truth. For Aaron’s sake.

"Trust me. I'm going to figure out what happened, without your help. Thanks for nothing, sir."

She remembered the vow she took upon her shoulders when she spat these words to Fredric, on the morning Aaron had disappeared.

She was tired of beating around the bushes, aimlessly getting nowhere with someone as dense as Sander. Taking her phone out of the remaining pocket of her ruined jeans, Angel browsed through many layers of hidden files and scrolled down to a name. She opened the file, a black and white picture of someone popping out on the screen.

The black-haired young woman practically shoved the phone in front of Sander’s eyes, revealing to him the very same picture of Aaron that was originating from her profile sheets.

“Did he remotely looked like him?”

Sander squinted at the picture, trying to link the teenager's features to whatever he could pull from his tattered memories. However, nothing really matched. The fine details escaped him, and to be honest, he hadn't really noticed in the first place. -"Sorry. I don't know."

"Who's that?"

Angel’s heart sank when she heard his answer. She didn’t know whether Sander didn’t bother remembering or if the truth she was trying to get was elsewhere. Still, it somewhat hurt nonetheless. Perhaps she should rejoice that it wasn’t Aaron they faced in Wisford. Maybe there was still hope he was somewhere out there alive.

“He… was a classmate of ours. A member of my team during our first battle. A friend to me.” Angel answered, looking defeated. She stood silent for another moment, dropping the phone onto the bed.

“I’m sorry if I’m being a bother. I just... wanted to confirm if it really was him masquerading as Factory, or even as Aaron, for all that it matters. He disappeared just before our first day of classes. He was a clockwork summoner, but I never got to see his ability myself. He never did get to summon his creatures in our first fight. Or didn’t want to. I don’t know anymore…”

“Why would a classmate of ours masquerade as a monster?” -Sander was thoroughly confused now. Had he really missed that much details?

"Beats me. Why and how did Aaron disappear from a place that is known for its tight security? Just look at the fucking cuff on our ankles. They threaten us to zap the shit out of us if we stray from the line. And everyone at the institute refused to answer my questions? Hell, I know Fredric was hiding something from me when I straight up asked him." Angélique let out an exasperated sigh. The whole situation was a complete mess in her head. She was seeing links that may not even make sense from her obsessive quest of finding the whereabouts of her would-be 'friend'.

"I have just no idea where else to turn to. When I heard Factory was making clockwork creatures, I just... thought of Aaron. It's been a week since I haven't heard anything about him. And USARILN pretends nothing happened about him."

The young woman lifted her defeated black-circled eyes towards Sander "You were really the only hope I could trust to know if my suspicions were correct. Ethan confirmed Factory's death too... but I feel like he'll just repeat what the rest of the Institute's staff told me. I just don't trust anyone outside our class anymore..."

“Sorry.” -Sander repeated, unsure what to do with the hope this stranger had banked on him. Angel wasn’t really a stranger, though. She was a…classmate? He wasn’t sure what that really meant, but for some reason, she trusted him because of that? Sander couldn’t be more confused –“I…can’t really help you with any of that.” -However, she had been nothing but nice, so he supposed he would try to return the favor.

“Maybe you can…talk to someone else? Ethan?”

Angel found herself confused by Sander’s advice. Didn’t she just told him she wasn’t trusting Ethan to tell her the truth about Aaron? Maybe he is so sleepy he’s just half-listening to what she was saying. It made her mad a bit to think of that possibility, but she was the one at fault. It was her mistake to place her faith into someone for something that probably wasn’t what she was looking for. If he didn’t know anything, then what else could she do about it? There really was no reason to not believe Sander. He was a classmate and she doubted they had any trusting issues between the two of them.

“Like I said, I don’t trust him. I feel like he is too close to the higher authority.”

The Aberration girl sighed once more. She was getting nowhere with this discussion. Sander clearly knew nothing about Aaron, and it seemed like her missing friend wasn’t Factory after all. No need to extend her stay here and bother Sander about it more than she already did.

“Anyway… I’m sorry if I’ve been bothering you about my personal obsession. I just needed to talk to someone about it. Get this thing out of my chest.” Angel took the phone she dropped on Sander’s bed and slowly got up, heading for the door.

“Good night, Sander. If you happen to see Christmas, thank him on my behalf, for bringing everyone back into shape again.”

“Good night. I will.” -Sander nodded, watching Angel’s retreating back –“I hope someone can give you a better answers for…whatever you’re looking for.”

Yeah... me too..." Angel solemnly replied before opening the door and leaving, returning to her room and return to her own bed for the rest of the night.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Let's hop on this power trip, shall we? Well not really.

Angel can now project her voice to anyone/everyone within 50 meters. This effect cannot couple with her other abilities.

So in short, Angel has become a walking short-range phone! Or a master ventriloquist!

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

---

𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 / / 𝕎𝕚𝕤𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕕, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 / / 𝕋𝕠𝕨𝕟 / / ~𝟙𝟟𝟝𝟝

---

Her screams did exactly as Angel tried to accomplish. Seeing the elephant clockwork toppling down as the sonic waves demolished the creature’s joints on its legs and sent it crashing to the ground. If a wide scream wasn’t enough to affect a machine of that size, then she had figured targeting smaller but vital parts of the construct would be just as beneficial. She had missed one shot out of four, but it was to be expected. Her focus had begun waning as pain and fatigue started settling in.

This development doubled the Aberration’s confidence in her own abilities. She proved to not be so useless after all. She was quite capable in fact. Now if only those weren’t mechanical creatures, she could only but fathom how useful her forceful shouts would be combined with the ability to inflict mental trauma. Images of Angélique bringing down enemy Subnaturals to their knees in front of the dominant and superior sonic Mage flickered in her mind, bringing a rather grim smile to the rockstar’s lips.

Grant’s pat on her back did not go unnoticed as well. Her confidence was further bolstered by the rare encouraging words offered by her teammate. Her wicked grin turned into a genuine and appreciative smile. Angel offered no word in return; feeling like she should save what strength remained in her vocal chords for more shouts. However, she did return his pat on the back with a slight fist bump on his shoulder, combined with a smile and a thumb up.

But with the toppled mammoth-sized clockwork, Angel would soon figure out why those creatures were named ‘Collectors’. She did not expect what would come out of the giant metalwork as it crashed on the ground, spewing a mess of mangled corpses and clothing all across the ground in front of it.

The stench and the sight were unbearable for the faint-hearted Angel. If it wouldn’t be for her overwhelming pride, she would have thrown up her lunch right on the spot. But she held onto her dignity, feeling she had already experienced enough embarrassing moments for the day. Keeping it all inside though, she felt sick.

Even as unfocused as she was from feeling so nauseated, she could clearly hear something coming out from inside the elephantine mechanical creature. It sounded like human voices. As a matter of fact, it sounded like moans of suffering and pleas for help.

The raven-haired Mage froze on the spot as she recognized human voices. Her eyes widened in shock and brought a hand to her slack-jawed mouth, stifling a “Oh my god… there are still people alive inside!” underneath her fingers.

Immediately, Angel thought of helping those poor people out of Factory’s large minion, but her thought process was stopped as a voice manifested itself loudly in her mind.

Leave them be. They are as good as dead in there.

This isn’t the right thing to do!

Even if you do save them, they’ll have to live with it for the rest of their lives. Spare them a lifetime of misery…

But… I want to prove we are better than this. We’re still humans inside.

Regulars will see you as a murdering monster all the same…

Maybe I am… but not the others. I will change this mindset, for their sake.

Angel turned to Grant, a confused look etched on her face. Was she really in the position of someone calling the shots? She did it so far, but most of what she called was outright ignored by most of her team so far. It’s just as she feared. No one recognized her as a reliable person for taking decisions.

Despite telling everyone to communicate about their whereabouts and keep together, Emma was gone on her own as soon as the fight ended, Hazel simply ditched them and walked away alone without saying anything and Siena teleported away by herself (granted, Angélique misinterpreted Siena’s words into believing she would get everyone to Evac team by using one of her useful names).

“W-what should we d-“

---

Again, she was standing in absolute darkness, as if this scene was a continuation of her previous waking dream. Only this time, she was suspended and protected by a force unknown yet familiar to the singer. The screaming waves of the ocean crashed all around her, like water against a cliff.

The chants of hope weren't satisfied with blocking the tidal waves of screaming despair anymore. This time, Serenity and Wrath both retreated, leaving the girl as an empty husk, devoid of thoughts. Then, both came back, colliding against each other with unspoken but yet loud violence.

The singing voices all around the existence in the middle of it all were oh so very familiar to the young woman lost in the darkness. Was it her own voice, echoing all around her? Varying pitches, multiple tones, each expressed one mood, a thought, an emotion. From giggles of glee to screams of anger, it was as if each passing voice was reminiscent of her past and present feelings. Were her feelings so conflicted, at war against each other, so undecided?

Everything felt so distant, from her lack of understanding and everything happening beyond her control. And yet, everything felt closer than it ever was. Familiar feelings, emotions, states of mind. Some she acknowledged, some she refused to fall prey to. But in the end, they all belonged to her. It was a matter of accepting them and controlling them.

The screaming ocean grew louder, its waves pounding more fiercely against the rocks that were her willpower. Amidst the cacophonous struggle happening all around her, a strand reached out to her being. A drop fell into her cupped hands, sullying them with sparkling stains. It felt like it was her very life force.

An angel's blood.

---

Her sentence was interrupted as her eyes suddenly turned unfocused for only a second. What was she about to say to Grant? Was she conflicted about saving the humans alive inside the Collector? Was it worth saving them? Would it be better to listen to the voices inside and leave them to their fate?

Of course not. If she ever wanted to prove a point, tell the world Subnaturals weren’t the selfish and murderous kind depicted in the media, then she’ll have to cast this doubt aside and use this opportunity to prove it. She’ll use this day as a stepping stone to bring change into this twisted mentality.

The confused look she had given Grant was now gone, replaced by fierce and determined bright eyes.

“Aim for the eye. We’ve got to disable this thing.” Angélique ushered in a whisper to Grant.

Not too far away, Angel’s attention fell towards Hazel as the girl screamed just about as loudly as even herself, clawing her head. The girl was surely dealing with her stigma right now, Angel figured. For a moment, she felt bad for being so hard on the girl. Hazel was an Aberration, just like her. She knew what it was to deal with something nagging at her from within. Much to her surprise, she witnessed the fury launching herself at a Collector not far from their current position.

Overhead, the Aberration could see Chris flying towards their direction, seemingly searching for the offensive team. So he heard her call and acknowledged it. Good. That gave Angel an idea while he was still on his way to their position.

“Transmit to Christopher.” The obsidian-haired Mage waited for the beep on her cuff to acknowledge her request. “Chris, help Hazel take out the other Collector nearby. Ernest and Christmas are surely about to cross its path.”

Now, to focus on her duty, Angélique faced their own crippled elephantine clockwork, watching the flickering eye of the machine. She mustered every last bit of focus and aim she could get a hold of. Inhaling through her pained vocal chords and nausea, the screaming Mage let out a concentrated sonic wave towards the creature’s eye. But it soon revealed to be a bad idea to shout despite her condition, as she heaved from the contraction of her throat, followed by another coughing fit that seemed to only worsen the state of her vocal chords. Right now, Angel felt pin pricking at her throat.

I've got to hold on. For everyone's sake. I will bring change!

Ability Notes

Shout used this round: precision force effect

Shouting Limit: 18/24