Residences

Tessa stared at the fuzzy television screen before pursing her lips and trying again. Usually, televisions were only found in the central homes of the Complex, but she was attempting to set one up out here on the edge of the city. It was tricky mainly due to the lack of electrical sources on the edge of the city. However, being gifted with Fyre magyk, she could luckily manage keeping it powered. The issue lay in fixing the box to receive the signals sent out. Mainly, the only things Complex televisions picked up were Guard broadcasts, but occasionally one caught a bit of a movie or show that was being played at the Central Headquarters.

Today was not one of those days. The fuzzy screen cleared, depicting one of the signature Guard uniform clad men. "Attention residents of the Center for the Gifted, Complex 49. Today sees the implementation of the newest set of Magyk concerning laws. As of this day, July the Second, in the year Two Thousand Three Hundred and Eleven, all Magykal activities within the Center for the Gifted will hereby cease. Any and all perpetrators who are found to be in violation of this law will be arrested on sight. In addition, a new detachment of Guards will begin to implement a better and more effective type of government, for the benefit of all citizens. Citizens will be held responsible to obey the new governing body. The law will officially be enforced as of July the Fifth, to allow proper time for transitioning between lifestyles, though the new governing body is to be implemented immediately. Please inform your neighbors and spread the word to ensure that the entirety of this Complex understands the new legislation. Thank you and have a good day."

And that led to her thinking three very distinct things. First, it was very convenient that there happened to be a large group of people there who'd been wanting to watch a movie and ended up watching the announcement. Second, it was very convenient she started the tv as the announcement began. And third: this was a bunch of complete bullshit.

The clouds gurgled in the sky like a whirlpool overhead of the Complex, he had never seen anything quite like it before. A tower in the middle of nowhere jettisoned into the atmosphere piercing the veil of the atmosphere. *DING* "Next stop, Smallville, please gather you things, the train will be arriving shortly, thank you for riding AmTrak." The lights in the car flickered as the air rail slowed to a halt in the station beneath the platform. *DODODODODO* with a click and a hiss the doors separated as Haeron stood up and walked to the doors and out into the grungy funk of the lower district. "Jesus... what the hell is that smell?" He swallowed hard trying to breathe in.
"I guarantee, you don't want to know." laughed Crosby, an ear bud hanging out of his ear, "This is it buddy, the big show." For some reason Crosby was amped today, jogging in place for a solid hour before getting off the train. The low hum of the train rose from the bustle of the station as it whirred away as quickly as it had come.
"Ten Hut!" shouted a stern voice from the massive steel doors at the end of the station. Instinctively Haeron came to attention as well as the rest of the new recruits for the complex. "Fall in line!" The commandant shouted over his subordinates as the fell into a line-up in the middle of the train station. "Now that's what I call a damn good line, men!" They stood at attention for what seemed like an unnecessarily long time, it was called an attrition test. And it was not the first time Haeron had been subjected to it, these were the same posturing games that the bosses at the academy would play any given time. They waited for the first Cadet to flinch and then lynch him as an example. All Haeron cared about is that he was able to stand the test and not draw attention to himself. "Role call!" at this the line of new recruits began marching in place and one at a time they took a step forward and recited their last name. "Aaron! Trusky! Pourtino!" it was all the same as military school. At least they prepared him properly for this. "Brimley!" he recited and stepped back in line. "Annnhuuuagh!" the line came to a stop and stood back at attention. "You are the best of the best of the best. That's why you are here. That's why you have been sent to defend your country in the most dangerous city on God's green Earth. Gentlemen, this is the Complex... stay in formation and we will go to the center district, we have residences there for all the Complex Guard, this includes you. "
"Hut...Hut... Hut..." There was complete silence as the doors swung open to the underbelly of the complex. "March Formation!" The company of new recruits fell into lines of three and marched through the doors. The big doors concussed behind them as dim emergency lights barely lit the ground as the soldiers marched through the corridors. They marched for a solid 40 minutes in near darkness until a glowing white door was before them. "Company, Halt!"
"This is where you will live, for the duration of your career inside the Complex, get to know everyone here, they are the difference between life and death." The commandant pressed a locked code on the door and the doors opened into a hub of activity. Soldiers, men and women walked through the rotunda dressed in the metal and kevlar body suits, rifles strapped to their backs. They all stopped in place as the new recruits entered the lobby of Guard Residence. The veterans stood and applauded them as they walked through the crowd to the elevators. The nine recruits piled into the elevator. The bright blue lights bathed them as they watched the floors go up and up and up. *DING* "35th floor... new recruits... welcome"
The doors separated into a quiet softly lit room. 9 doors lined the room, one for each member. Each with a name plate, H. Brimsley was on door number 5. Each cadet went into their room. Inside was a uniform, a formal suit, a bed, a nightstand, a lamp on said night stand and a window.
Haeron walked forward to the window looking out into the complex from far above he could see, just how large the complex was. For the first time in a long time, Haeron was frightened. The city stretched for miles and miles in any direction. It was seemingly endless.
"What is this place?" He asked his reflection in the glass of the window, "Where have I been taken?"

Karien couldn't have been more irritated today, probably hadn't been in her entire life. Really, if they wanted her to come with them they could have just asked nicely... and then try to catch her as she ran and escaped. But no, they had to barge into her little hidey hole and tranquilize her, but not before a few of them were stuck with her knives. It'd been interesting to see their reactions, seeing as they probably expected her to use her magyk more than physical attacks. But she knew it probably wouldn't have taught them not to touch her as much as her blades had, and she'd learned that there were some that were enhanced to withstand magyk attacks so she wasn't going to test that. Either way, now she was here, departing from the train loaded with other Magyks from the outside world into the cage they called the "Center for the Gifted." A sigh escaped her lips and her eyes scanned the other, sadder ones around her. Resentment leaked through most along with other strong emotions towards those that imprisoned them simply for the hereditary abilities they had... hatred, anger, spite, sorrow, and bitterness met her curious gaze, her otherwise blank expression unaffected by what she found.

Then she met the gaze of a guard, and her eyes narrowed at him. There she found what could be a catalyst when paired with the emotions of the imprisoned and her own morals, a cause of chaos Karien would most definitely be a part of. Arrogance, mutual spite... fear of the unknown, and what she thought might be jealosy. Every one of the guards she'd encountered had so far gained her disliking, and she memorized every face as it came and went. As the guard finally backed off by breaking his gaze away she smirked and continued further into the Complex, her hands now in her pockets and her nose wrinkling at the smell.

"Well... welcome to your new home, Karien. You'll be living here..." She looked to where the tower reached up from it's place in the Complex, her smirk now joined by an analytical gaze, "Temporarily." Running a hand through her blonde locks Karien began walking again, not yet planning on going to her assigned living area... if only for the sake of irritating whatever higher ups might be watching.

Karien took the glass of water with a nod of thanks before beginning to sip from it gratefully, savoring it's watery nothingness. She herself had her own thoughts on a certain situation. This prison. Every prison had a weak link, a crack in the foundation, a pressure point which could crumble the whole thing if it were just pressed hard enough. Every prison was escapable, breakable, every single one. And usually, the more guarded the weakness, the more obvious it was. You just had to look for the right things to find it. She'd had enough time spent in cells, chains, and other imprisonments to know that anything could be broken down and escaped. You just had to know what to look for and how hard to look for it, then how to exploit it to your greatest ability.

As Ayumu's words interrupted her thoughts she listened to him intently, her eyes moving to follow him politely as he spoke. But still, as he spoke, she thought. 'Visions, huh? Must be a Mynd, and Tessa a Fyre if she can spark. Her thoughts were no distraction though, merely side notes still being made and then stored elsewhere within her mind. As Ayumu finished speaking she nodded slowly, still somewhat in thought. "Yeah... I'm totally cool with helping out whenever the time comes. If you ever think you'll be needing my help but I'm not here, even if I'm busy come and get me. I'll be happy to assist."

Anyone that really knew Karien would know that aid in doing something, anything against authority, or just simple protection, wasn't something that needed to be asked of her if she'd been befriended by you. If anything, she'd be excited to show she can protect a friend from the trouble that aims to cause harm to them, but if she failed... it wouldn't be pretty for the opponent. It would become a world of pain and endless problems as they became the receiving end of her anger. Now imprisoned with thousands of innocent people, she knew that she herself was already at least a fourth of the way there... and she couldn't wait to see what might happen. But as these thoughts ran through her mind, she wasn't silent.

Karien continued speaking to the others in the room, "As for befriending the guard, it seems like a great idea. But we'd have to be careful, try to do it while being seen as little as possible by other guards that might be watching. It could get ugly if any one of them decided it would be a good idea to fabricate a story of how we attacked the guard and the other acted as the hero in killing us. From what I've seen so far, I wouldn't be surprised if something like that actually happens the moment we step a foot outside."