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Damion

"Best stay away. I'm a walking wasteland."

0 · 1,870 views · located in Sam's Puzzle

a character in “The Human Puzzle”, as played by Blueshadow

Description

Image


BASICS


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{ AGE }
20

{ GENDER }
Male

{ PARTNER }
Ember



ABILITY:


{ Poison Production }
Damien is able to produce and secret a dangerous toxin through his skin. He is permanently coated in a thin layer of this toxin, this is a passive ability and he has no control over this. Though his toxin is very dangerous and quite deadly the main method of exposure, being direct skin to skin contact dilutes the poison somewhat. This makes poison administered through skin to skin contact much less lethal, and in fact it is only deadly after prolonged exposure, meaning he needs to keep near constant contact to kill with this substance. Small amounts of contact with this toxin will merely render the victim slightly light headed, however if contact continues the victim will become quite sick, and if they are further exposed the victim will eventually die, though it would take at least ten minutes of constant contact for the victim to be exposed to a lethal dose. This ability however not only renders him highly resistant to most forms of poison, it also makes most of his bodily fluids poisonous, and in fact coming into contact with his blood is much more dangerous, and deadly than skin to skin exposure.

In addition to the toxin that covers his body he is also able to produce, another much deadlier acid like substance. He has full control over this substance, as he can control the acidity, and strength, as well as the consistency of the substance. He is able to produce it in either a liquid sate, or a thick slime like form.


{ Weaknesses }

As dangerous and deadly as Damien's powers are, they have several drawbacks as well. He has no other reliable way of exposing someone to his poison other than direct skin to skin contact, and even then his poison is quiet weak. This means that to use his poison he needs to be able to physically touch someone with absolutely nothing in between Damien, and his victim. When he does make contact his poison is far to weak to do much more than provide him a slight advantage by making his opponent slightly lightheaded and disoriented. His poison is far more suited to torture than it is to an actual fight.

His acid is far deadlier, and much more painful than anything else his body is capable of producing, however it is harder to produce than his natural toxin, and requires more concentration and effort to create. .


{ Containment }
Damien is contained through full body and restrictive clothing, that shows no bear skin. He himself has no no restraints due to the fact his acid would be able to eat through most anything they could use to restrain him. However the walls of his cell, and his cell door are coated in a layer of plastic that his acid is completely unable to eat through. Should he somehow find a way past the plastic however the walls and door of his cell are made of thick and tough metals that his acid would take several minutes to eat through completely, providing plenty of time for the facility to respond. In addition to this he is always closely monitored, and it has been made mandatory that any staff that must interact with him are to wear protective clothing so as to avoid coming into contact with him and his poison. However so long as Ember's life is threatened all of these containment measures are completely unnecessary, as he will do anything to keep her safe.



PERSONALITY:


Damion was once a kind, and very talkative person, and it was often said that he wore his heart on his sleeve. To many he was an open book, to those he knew he was a loyal and true friend. Despite this he was also quite intelligent, much more than people would initially think him to be. His time in the facility has changed him greatly however, and if those who knew him from before could see him now they would find it hard to recognize him. He has hardened himself considerably during his time in the facility, he is no longer the talkative man he once was, rarely speaking unless he has to. His once easily recognizable emotions have now been buried deep within him, and he has now adopted a very stoic demeanor. He is an incredibly determined and quite stubborn. Once he's set his mind on something he will not stop doing it, and he will continue doing it with ruthless efficiency. The kindness he was once known for has been reserved for only one person, that being his partner, to everyone else he is cruel, blunt, and uncaring. He is in fact completely devoted to Ember, as the thought of being with her is really the only thing that keeps him going. Were it not for the hope that they would one day be together again, he would've given up long ago, the guilt of the things he's done would have crushed him completely.

{ Passions }

Books:He's always loved books, and he has been an avid reader since he was a child.
Chess:He's always had a great love for the game, and was actually quite skilled at it.
Writing:Writing has always been a passion of his, his head used to be filled with many ideas for stories and characters.
Music:He's never had any musical talent himself but music in general is something he enjoys.
Being alone:Nowadays he generally hates being around other people, and tries to avoid them, greatly preferring his isolation.


{ Dislikes }

Physical contact:His powers make coming into contact with other people problematic, even though he always wears clothing that leaves no bear skin, he prefers that people keep their hands off of him.
His powers:He absolutely hates his powers, he hates not being able to touch others without hurting them, and he hates that he's forced to use them to hurt others. As far as he's concerned it's more a curse than anything else.
Sam:He is the reason that he and Ember have been separated, and as far as Damion's concerned Sam is the cause of all the suffering in the facility.
Other people:After the things he's done most everyone hates, so there's no reason to be concerned about being around them.
Himself:It's gotten hard for him to deal with the things he's done, and he hates himself for it. He can't blame others when they call him a monster, or a traitor.


{ Weaknesses }
Like many Anomalies stuck in the facility he's not very strong physically, relying more on his poison and acid than his physical strength. He's also quite distant from most people, not letting them in, and insisting on doing most things on his own.

{ Fears }
Being unable to control his powers:Ever since he discovered his abilities he's been afraid of them growing beyond his control. He's had several nightmares where his toxin has spread and killed many people. It's mostly irrational as his toxin is far to weak to do anything like that on a large scale and he has quiet a good grasp over his powers.
Losing Ember:It's been two years since he's last seen Ember and despite him obediently doing whatever has been asked of him, he's horrified that he's been lied to, and that he'll never see her again.
Heights:He absolutely can't stand heights. it's not much of an issue in the facility but he kinda shuts down when he's up high enough.




APPEARANCE:


All in all Damion is a rather intimidating figure, something which has served him well during his time as an executioner. He is a fairly tall individual, with dull blue eyes. His eyes used to seem much more vibrant, than what they are now, but over time they have lost much of their color. His hair is dark black, and it always seems to be in a perpetual state of messiness, as he never bothers to fix it. His clothing is generally all black, and he never wears clothing that can allow his skin to be visible, so as to bar direct contact. The facility has provided for him several black gloves, which he will never take off unless he has need of his poison, should one ever see his bare hands they will likely be very concerned, if not outright terrified, as this is a tell tale sign that he is going to attack or bring harm to someone. His dark clothes contrast nicely against his pale skin, giving him a rather eerie, and quite frightening appearance.

{ Defining Features }
Damion has a several scars littering his chest.

{ Weight }
120 lbs

{ Build }
Slight




THOUGHTS ON OTHERS:



{ The Rebels }
He finds their refusal to obey incredibly stupid, and infuriating. He has been forced to deal with them several times due to their disobedience, and each time he has tried to teach them to obey and save themselves the pain. His method of teaching however is simply more ruthless torture than the time before. He finds their behavior absolutely foolish, and even somewhat selfish. He doesn't understand how they could hurt themselves, and each other, he sees their disobedience as selfish endangering each other. He is also well aware that they probably have low opinions of both himself and of Ember. He has been mentally preparing himself to kill both of them just in case they have to defend himself from the Rebels.

{ The Compliant Ones }
He harbors a great deal of jealousy for these two. However this jealousy has not been turned into hate, at least not yet. He can't bring himself to actually hate them as he recognizes that they are doing exactly the same thing he and Ember are, complying with the wills of the Facility just to protect each other. He simply wishes that he was able to have what they have. He wishes he wasn't separated from his partner, and he wishes that his own abilities were more similar to theirs. Despite his lack of animosity towards them he has nonetheless prepared himself should he ever have the need to kill them or otherwise bring them to harm




HISTORY:



{ Ability }
He was born with his abilities, however he didn't start to manifest his powers until he was about five years old. Though no one was really made aware of his abilities until he was twelve years old, when he was promptly taken away to the facility.

{ Free Life }
Damion was born into a rather normal family they were financially stable, and healthy. For the first few years of his life everything was normal, and peaceful. However when he turned five his powers began to manifest themselves, his body began to secret a toxin, and of course no one knew. For many years this resulted in many of his family members, friends, and even strangers getting sick. As he grew his poison only grew stronger, which began to result in several hospitalizations of those that got close to Damion. These excessive hospitalizations of people with a strange substance in their system led to an in depth investigation from the Genetic Modifications facility. once their investigation was concluded they informed Damion's mother, who was immediately horrified. She couldn't believe her child was a freak, she allowed them to take Damion away without a second thought.

{ Facility Life }
When Damion was first brought to the facility he was terrified and miserable. His parents who he had thought had cared for him simply let him go without a care. He was in a strange place, thrown in a cell, and they began experimenting on him almost daily. He was told that his poison could be quiet useful. However the worst thing about being stuck in the facility was being alone.

It continued like this for about a year. Soon another Anomaly was brought in, and placed in the cell neighboring his own. This was his partner Ember, they eventually got to know each other, and other the years stuck in the facility, they became very close to one another. About four years later however Ember was taken away placed with the more deadly Anomalies. Damion was completely devastated, and he kept hoping that they would bring her back to her old cell. Weeks went by and she never came back. He didn't know what to do, he was alone again, he was, he had no one to talk to, and worse of all he was angry they took her away. He was essentially an emotional wreck. So much so that in his turmoil, his body produced something he never thought possible, as the dangerous acidic substance made it's way through his pores, he flew into a rage. His clothes were burned almost beyond recognition, most of the walls in his cell were eaten through. On that day the guards tried to stop him, but many were injured, or killed by his acid. The guards eventually managed to restrain him, though Damion himself was heavily wounded.


Damion was soon brought to where the most dangerous Anomalies were kept. Damion knew that this was a bad thing, they would probably treat him even worse than they did before. Despite this however he almost didn't care. It would be several days before Damion saw anyone again, it was none other than Sam who would later approach Damion. Sam said that he was going to take Damion to see Ember again, and though he was excited at the time, he had no idea what he would be do to keep her safe.


OTHER




{ COLOR }
#FF0000

So begins...

Damion's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lydia Character Portrait: Katherine Delirium Character Portrait: Ember Character Portrait: Rezia Character Portrait: Whispers Character Portrait: Damion
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Let me tie this around it. Don't worry, I'm well aware of your poison. I'm not stupid and I can manage to avoid it." He stiffened as she walked towards him with the ripped piece of her skirt. Despite her assurances that she would be fine Damion couldn't help but be somewhat worried for her safety. All the same however he obediently stayed where he was, and let her bandage his wound without incident. He cringed slightly as she tied the fabric around his wound, it hurt slightly, but it was much better than the alternative of leaking a vastly toxic substance. When she was done he let out a small thank you, though he averted his gaze from her. She was far to good to him, much more than he deserved.

He stood next to Ember as she began describing what she was going to do to Lydia. He was ready to assist her, just as she did with him. He was eager to get this over with, and he waited with much anticipation. However soon sweet music began to fill the air, his attention quickly snapped to the source. Another room had opened, this one filled with all manner of things. Their was a piano, drawing, and writing implements, and large amounts of food. However he ignored most everything else as his attention gravitated to the wall covered in books. Ember seemed to forget about the situation as she moved towards the newly revealed room, he quickly followed her making his way to the book shelf.

Damion let his finger run across the spine of the books trying to find one that peaked his interest. It had been so long since he was last able to indulge in a good, and well written book. However before he could find one that really interested him, he heard it. A soft beautiful melody being played from a piano. He turned around delighted at what he saw. She was playing, Ember was actually playing. It was something that he never thought he would hear, though he always wished that he could. He quickly made his way over to her, he stood beside the piano as he took in the brilliantly played song. He had always considered Madworld to be a beautiful song, but now played by Ember its beauty, and splendor was magnified tenfold. "I have never heard you play before. Beautiful absolutely beautiful." He spoke softly not wanting to disturb her as she played. He was clearly enjoying it, a marvelous grin plastered over his face.

Then Lydia decided to join in, and she began to sing. She was rather good, and her voice complimented both the song, and Ember's playing nicely. He sat down in a nearby chair, as he listened completely enraptured. He almost wished he could join in the performance. Though he absolutely had no musical talent, and was in fact tone death. So he was for the moment entirly content to simply listen to what was going on before him.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lydia Character Portrait: Katherine Delirium Character Portrait: Ember Character Portrait: Rezia Character Portrait: Whispers Character Portrait: Damion
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Stephen Winters | The Rebel | Neural Disruption | #F70D1A

Whispers gritted his teeth as the familiar sounds clicked to signal the infernal muzzle locking around his mouth. It reminded him too much of those days locked away, banging his head against the wall because it was the only way that he could still make noise. It was irrational, stupid, and fearful but he didn't have any other way to respond to his circumstances. In this case he had the key in his hands but nothing really stopped the memories from surfacing from the back of his mind. The metal served as a gentle reminder not to scream (not that he could) but he wanted nothing more than to destroy the device (which would only be possible with the help of Ember or Damion as they had the most destructive of the powers).

He met eyes with Damion for a brief second as the black-haired man ripped the knife out, unable to keep his head long enough to enjoy the oozing blood from his adversary. Had Sarah been here, she might have made a comment on how it would only worsen the wound to remove the knife so quickly but she wasn't and he had little time to react before being pushed to the ground. They were done here and the spiteful hope that Sam would keep them around for longer was all but lost as he vaguely heard the voices of everyone else mix together. People wanted to leave, make deals, all of it sounded like white noise compared to the flashbacks. The sight of Sarah being killed, sound of her screams, and feel of her cold body left him catatonic.

He thought he settled with the idea of failing his task, but to what end did his sister die for if this might actually have been his shot at leaving? At what point did he forgo tact to fill the greedy needs of his own ego?

Whispers snapped back to reality as he heard the first haunting note of a song whose words were long forgotten yet its tune, immediately recognizable. His hands shook as he shoved the key into the muzzle and freed himself and tossed the device against the floor, crushing it under his feet. It was a durable piece of punishment, made to stand against anomalous strength but it still scratched and dented like any other equipment. He made no move to enter the alternate room like some others did and instead turned toward Katherine.

At what point did he forgo her needs to fulfill his own?

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lydia Character Portrait: Katherine Delirium Character Portrait: Ember Character Portrait: Rezia Character Portrait: Whispers Character Portrait: Damion
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Rezia felt the mental nudge immediately. Normally her soft message and the little bit of emotions that flittered through his mind wouldn't have bothered him. It would have intrigued him and he would have wanted to experimented with this new way of communication but in his current situation, it was anything but gentle and light. Each projection that came his way felt like she was stabbing through his mind and he winced at heavy weight the emotions carried. He lifted a hand to his head and broke eye contact with Delirium in favor of looking down at his feet before he closed his eyes to prevent himself from accidentally falling back into rapport with her. He'd want to continue healing her ache and if he continued much longer... it would be too much energy expenditure. He did appreciate what she was trying to do though. Oh timing.

"Katherine, stop," he grumbled then. "Right now... those messages are feeling a lot like a cheese grater against my brain. It is not pleasant and it is just giving me a worse headache. We can try this communication later but right now... I need to.. need to work through your earlier emotions and expel it before I can take anything else in. It is hard to explain. I got your messages though. You don't need to thank me and I won't use your name around the others," he promised. He had felt her sorrow for telling him her name after all and he could only assume her name was something precious she didn't want others to know. He would feel rather special about being given that information later. Right now, he had to find 'himself' again and if she bombarded him with more emotions, he's just get more lost in the spiral.


Then... then he heard the music. His eyes widened and he looked up at the door. There was music? The piano melody was beautiful. Music always helped him anchor himself so he was quick to leave the room and his current conversation in favor of seeking out the melody. He heard Lydia join in then and he swayed in the doorway. The power of music was soothing and lulling and helped him deal with the pain in a way that no one else could. Not even Lydia could help him calm down from a healing but music was different. He vaguely noted that Whisperes was heading into the room where he left Delirium and that Damion was enjoying the music as well. He should have been cautious considering there was food available and he needed to keep Damion away, but all he could focus on was the music. He desperately wanted to join in. He glanced around quickly and spotted the violin in the corner. He made his way over to it and closed his eyes, feeling the gentle melody set by Ember. He let the tune calm his shaking just enough to be able to actually play before he joined in.

Since music was a passionate and emotional outlet of expression, he let the melody pull on all the pent up negativity and let his mind clear. He didn't even notice the trickle of blood that eased out of the corner of his mouth or the droplets that made their way onto the violin itself, tucked beneath his chin. There was just music.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lydia Character Portrait: Ember Character Portrait: Rezia Character Portrait: Damion
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#, as written by Shané
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Her slender fingers slid up and down the piano, gently pressing down the keys to the familiar melody. She felt rather than saw Damion draw near to the piano and smiled slightly as he passed on his compliments. However soon her smile slipped off her face as the weight of the sound dragged her emotions with them.

Within a few minutes words were suddenly spoken into her music, though being so involved in it, Ember felt it came from another world. The voice had a dreamlike quality, and with her mind wrapped up deeply within the layers of the song Ember took a while to register that the uncharacteristically strong voice came from Lydia. The intensity of the melancholy chords started to swell and Ember felt her emotions start to give in to the sorrowful pull of the words. However she was careful to try to replace her mask, not wanting to lose control entirely.

Then the first few notes were plucked from the strings of a violin. The instruments inseparable merge with the intense sorrow of the song smashed through her mask without warning. Instantaneously the tears started to fall. After almost a year of complete hardening against such display of emotion, the torrent was suddenly unstoppable. With an uncontrollable sob, her fingers abruptly left the piano just shy of finishing the melody.

Almost as quickly she had wrenched shut the piano lid with a shocking snap. Her body instinctively jumped at the sharp noise, before she placed her head in her hands in a vain attempt to hold the emotion in. All the vented up pain of the years came tumbling out in the only way her heart could foresee expressing it; in tears.

"How easily Sam gives, and yet always he takes it away." Her words were laden with her emotion, soft yet strong enough to be audible.

In an instant her mood changed from despair to a boiling anger. Her eyes flashed a deep crimson and without thinking she raised a fist slamming it forcefully down upon the piano lid.

"I hate him."

Those three words were heavy with an unfathomable venom. For the next few seconds she was frozen in her burning anger, shaking from the strength of her outburst.

And then without warning the lights all went out at once.

She let out a frightened gasp, her body jumping in sudden shock causing her to throw herself to the floor between the piano and the stool. For what seemed like forever the lights remained off, and the room was pitch black.

Abruptly all the lights were back on and Ember was found curled up under the piano, hands clamped forcefully over her mouth. She appeared like a ghost with the colour completely drained from her face. Her eyes were grey with fear and she was rocking herself back and forth.

"I'm sorry." The sound was muffled but strained enough to be heard. "I take it back….I'm sorry."

There was no sincerity, only a sense of complete terror at having been reminded of who was in control and an all-consuming fear of repercussions.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lydia Character Portrait: Katherine Delirium Character Portrait: Ember Character Portrait: Rezia Character Portrait: Whispers Character Portrait: Damion
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Reiza had taken it upon himself to grab a violin, and join in with Ember, and his sister. Many of the others stuck here seemed to be musically adept, and he almost expected Delirium, and Whispers to join in as well. Instead however there was a noticeable snap coming from the piano, regrettably leaving the song unfinished. Ember had shut the lid, and she was in tears. With emotions clearly woven into her voice, she spoke about Sam, and how he can so easily take everything away from them. Unfortunately she spoke the truth, that was something Damion couldn't deny.

He mentally scolded himself, he was so focused on the pleasant music unfolding before him that he hadn't noticed Ember's distress. He immediately sat up, and rushed over to her. Before he could do anything however she angrily slammed her fist down upon the piano lid. She was anger that much was clear, rage seemed to come through her every pour. She was so angry she apparently felt the need to speak the words which he had always assumed but never thought he would hear her say out loud. "I hate him"

He was shocked that she so openly declared her hatred of that vile man. There was no anomaly that had suffered from Sam's influence that didn't hate him, but few so openly detested him. Even Damion who unbeknownst to most anomalies hated the man just as much, if not more than they had, had never declared his hatred out loud. However in an effort to calm Ember he was about to agree, tell her just how much he hated Sam for keeping them apart. Before he could however all the lights went out, and Damion jumped back in surprise. All he heard was Ember gasp, and fall to the floor.

"Ember!" He called out worriedly, this had undoubtedly been Sam retaliating, who knows what he would do. Once again Ember, and the thought of something happening to her had managed to release the emotions from the normally stoic killer. When the lights had turned back on he frantically searched for Ember, finally finding her huddled underneath the piano.

She was terrified, he could tell. Her hands were forced over her mouth like she was afraid to say anything more, and she was pale.The fear coming from her was almost palpable, she was so terrified Damion himself was starting to get scared. He was afraid that Sam would do something else, hurt Ember, take her away from him. His eyes were wide with fear, and without following her under the piano he reached a shaky hand towards Ember."Ember. It's going to be okay, I promise you. I won't let anything hurt you. Please come out, please. His voice was seeping with worry. He wanted to be there for her, he so desperately wanted to ease her troubles. Seeing her in such a state was more agonizing than most anything he had suffered in the facility. "How about we go to our room okay? It's been a long day. I'm sure you could use a rest." His hand hung there in the air, just waiting for her to take it. Hoping for a sign that she was all right.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lydia Character Portrait: Katherine Delirium Character Portrait: Ember Character Portrait: Rezia Character Portrait: Whispers Character Portrait: Damion
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#, as written by Haas33
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Delirium felt slightly stung by Rezia's words, but did not say anything back. He had every right to be in a mood after he'd saved her from that nightmare. THe image of Ember grinning like a maniac flashed across her eyelids again and Delirium gasped suddenly and shut her eyes. She still didn't feel quite right. For one thing she was completely drained, she could barely move, her headache was unbearable, and Rezia had left her in search of some music coming outside the door. Delirium turned slowly towards the wall and curled into her blankets, attempting at sleep She was just slipping into the start of a nightmare when she woke up suddenly.

Stephen approached her, and Delirium nearly shot bolt upright in bed. He was safe. Alive, and for the most part, unharmed. Delirium instantly felt ashamed that she hadn't gone to help him. But in reality, in her state she couldn't have helped him. She might have even made matters worse. But it still wasn't a good excuse for herself. She had abandoned him when he had needed him. Tears suddenly pooled in her eyes and she broke down.

"Stephen...." She said in a choked sob. She reached out her hand to him. She wanted him to be close to her. They'd been through so much together, and yet after one day in this hell she felt like she'd nearly lost him, and lost herself. Maybe she just was not cut out for social interaction. Again, she felt tired. So tired. And hungry, almost like a little angry monster inside her that had been pushed to the back of her thoughts until now. But that didn't matter right now. How had she become like this? SHe reached a hand towards him, and gently pulled him to her, so he was level with her. What had they gotten themselves into? She wouldn't bear the thought of anything happening the him. Not this time. Not when there was so much to lose. Just like how she could wreck havoc with a simple glance, Stephen could wreck havoc by simply opening his mouth. They were dangerous, but not deadly. Absentmindedly, Delirium traced the line of his lip with her thumb, wondering how something so simple could do such a thing.

Shock registered on her own face at what she was doing, and she pulled back, surprised with herself. She dropped her arm and a blush crept up her face that matched her hair. "Sorry," she mumbled, and turned away from him. Her heart was beating rapidly. Stephen had always been the brother she never had. Yet right now a different feeling lurched in her stomach. She was just tired. Not thinking straight. This couldn't happen, not here, and not now. What was she thinking?

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lydia Character Portrait: Ember Character Portrait: Rezia Character Portrait: Damion
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Damon entered the room, vanishing from Lydia's sight, but she was losing herself in the music, feeling truly calm for the first time since entering this place. Then Rezia, looking similarly entranced, passed by her, and she offered him a small smile as he entered the room, and shortly after she heard the sweet strains of a violin. She was awash in memory. While her life hadn't been particularly good, she could still cling to those small moments that made everything okay. Rezia. When the piano cut off abruptly, she felt her voice die in her throat, no longer strong without the firm guide of melody beside it. She hesitantly moved over to the door of the new room to investigate. Ember was sobbing loudly, curled over the piano. Lydia covered her mouth with her hands anxiously, her eyes darting to Rezia, averting themselves as Damion went over to comfort the dark haired girl.

Then those words emitted from Ember, it didn't even seem like she said them, more like they seeped from her form, hovering with a tangible venom in the air. Then there was a pause for a few seconds, like everything was holding its breath, and then the lights went out. Lydia let out a small shriek, like a dog shocked by an electric fence, and her hands immediately reached out, searching for Rezia so she could hide her face in his shoulder. New tears, caused by the sudden fear, dribbled down her face.

She needed Rezia, he was the only one who could help her handle the dark. Without him she was alone, and unsafe. "Rezia?" She cried out softly, her voice like a sharp intake of breath. Then the lights flicked back on again, and Lydia winced as her pupils shrank. She wiped her watery eyes on the back of her hand and pressed her face against Rezia's shoulder, shivering slightly. She could feel the room breaking down around them, she didn't need Rezia's power to sense the tension the dark pair were feeling. She could hear Damion comforting Ember, and her soft voice crying that she was sorry. The sound of it made Lydia's stomach twist. Everything was just so...so....wrong. It wasn't fair.

"I wanna go home." She whimpered softly. Even thought there was no home for the two of them. Only more testing, and more testing, and then...? She didn't want to be the brave girl, the good girl anymore, she just wanted things to go back to the way they were. Maybe she hadn't been happy, but at least she'd been safe. At least Rezia had been safe. Here...she had a feeling that if everyone made amends and played nice, things would only get worse for them. Sam was that kind of man, and she knew it. He made sure they knew it. It was a lose-lose situation. Was there anything worse?

There was no home for them. So she just clung to Rezia and snuffled quietly. She wanted to be strong, she needed to be strong, but she just couldn't. Not after what she'd done to Delirium, not after hearing Ember crying softly on the ground beneath the piano. Everything was falling apart, and it felt like it was her fault. "I'm sorry." She whispered, echoing Ember's quiet cry. They were helpless here, and she was empty, powerless to do anything. She was the healer, she was the saver, she was the fixer.

But here they were. Still.

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Rezia was aware that the music stopped and finished his last note just to have and end. He never liked having songs 'unfinished'. He looked up at Ember and instantly felt on edge. Her emotions were bombarding him and he winced. His head was still very sensitive and would be until he got some rest. He couldn't cope with all the emotions in the room. He backed away from Ember and her constantly changing volatility. He didn't want to get caught up in something after all. He had enough of that for one day and he still had to complete his side of the bargain with Delirium.

Then the lights went out. He instantly pulled Lydia against him to protect her from whatever Sam was going to throw at them next. It wasn't long before the light was back. Rezia saw Ember beneath the piano trembling and fear and regret wrapped around his head. Then Damion had to join in with his concern and Lydia was clinging to him with her fear. It was making him dizzy. It wasn't long before he was coughing up blood again. At least Ember and Damion were busy with each other. This was the best time to get out of the room. He ushered Lydia back into the large central room and rubbed his head. He winced when he realized he had smudged some of his blood on Lydia's shirt. She was going to freak out on him and try to heal something but this was not something her power could help with.

"Lydia, I have one last thing to do. I want you to run back to our room and stay there. You need rest and everyone is exhausted. I want you to swear to me that you aren't going to try and heal me. You don't have the energy to do so. I can carry this weight on my own. I want to get Delirium's task out of the way and she needs to shock me 3 times. I am going to use the protection mechanism of her door to do that. I don't want you to watch or even come out of your room until you've rested. I'll be okay. I trust Delirium enough now. Once the task is done, I am confident she'll pull me into the room or bring me to our room. Again, you are not to leave the safety of our room, do you hear me?" He asked, his eyes clearly portraying that there was no wiggle room in his request.

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Stephen Winters | The Rebel | Neural Disruption | #F70D1A

Stephen's eyes glazed over, aware of Katherine's attempts to level with him but not fazed by her touch. Normally he would relish human contact but even that felt foreign now. In his mind's eye she was a red blur, an abstraction of something that was once warm but now nothing. How could he explain his feelings of displacement. It was more than isolation because that still implied he was tethered to his body but he had nothing of the sort right then and there. Basic things like the sound of the piano or the words from Lydia's mouth passed by him, replaced by the ringing of tortures past.

He remembered the first time that sound was used against him in an ironic sort of way when he was punished by an executioner with the ability to copy the abilities of others, albeit in an altered form. That woman managed to make him vomit and kneel over while guards wearing masks beat him into the concrete floors. His ears popped and the ringing never quite stopped afterwards as he still remembered her voice, the static, as it blocked out any of the other noises around him.

His only comfort came when Katherine thumbed his lips and whispered his name. In that moment she sounded like a knight, a warrior who cut through the static long enough for him to realize that he was still alive. He still had her to lean on if everything else went south.

Why are you still here? he thought with tears threatening to leave his eyes, why do you care enough to put up with me?

Yet instead of crying he merely faced away long enough to gather himself.

At this point he wasn't sure why the others weren't back, but saw Lydia and Reiza enter the room soon enough. Clearly passing their tests didn't warrant leaving the area but it was a cruel comfort knowing that everyone was stuck with him in this hell hole. He didn't want to be abandoned by anyone at any point and he was sure that if Damion hadn't given him the key to the muzzle he might have broken then and there. To be stuck alone and muzzled would have warranted bashing himself against the walls until he knocked out, but knowing now that there was another window of opportunity gave him enough strength to speak to his partner.

"It's okay," he whispered, "I shouldn't be acting weak like this."

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Her gaze was fixed unseeing on the other side of the room as she continued to rock herself back and forth. Her body had completely shut down as emotional overload took its place. Abruptly a voice cut through her trance like a knife. Instantaneously her head snapped to the side to latch onto the source.

"Ember. It's going to be okay, I promise you. I won't let anything hurt you. Please come out, please."

For a moment she could only stare sightlessly at Damion, the words simply being heard and not registered. After a few seconds the sounds finally sunk home and in an instant their meaning became clear. She became immediately reactive.

"You can't promise that." Her voice came out like a growl, an instinctive, uncensored reply to his attempt to comfort her.

Her mind raged at her, fury at how pointless those words were. All she had ever done was try and protect one person, and had ended up failing in every way. No one could protect anyone else in the facility. Emotional links to other people were only manipulated and used as a source for further punishment.

Then the context of the situation brightened, and dimly she realised she had snapped at Damion. She let out a groan, her hands covering her face once again.

"How about we go to our room okay? It's been a long day. I'm sure you could use a rest."

She took in another shuddering breath before mustering the energy to remove her hands and look at him properly. Concern was etched deep into his features and he had a hand proffered, promising some sort of assistance. His worry snapped her out of it.

"I'm sorry." she managed to croak out, desperately trying to gather the shattered pieces of her personality back in order. Still shaking she disjointedly took his gloved hand and allowed him to pull her out from her temporary hiding place.

"I'm a mess." she found herself whispering. After two years she had convinced herself that had managed to control her emotions and had become as unfeeling as necessary. Without a depressive incident for three months she had assumed she had adapted enough to her environment and had accepted what was left of her life. And then Sam had to smash through her carefully built up protection with his proposed plans. The latest episode had lasted almost a week, proving just how incapable she really was of patching up the damage.

A wave of dizziness ran through her and she clamped her eyes shut for a few seconds before the moment passed.

"I need to sit down…" Without letting go of Damion she half collapsed into a nearby chair. After a few minutes the solid feeling of the chair and time to recuperate allowed to return to a more functional level. She took a quick glance around the room, pleasantly surprised to find it empty.

"We're finally alone." She whispered the words before a faint smile played over her face. She spoke up louder this time. "No more facades."

For a moment this realisation was enough to keep her happily content, but then she darkened slightly, a half frown transforming her features.

"What happened since…." Her face twisted slightly as she attempted to word her question. How to ask about a lost two years? And how to sensitively ask after what you most certainly did not want to know, and yet simultaneously had to understand?

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"You can't promise that." She spoke with venom he had never expected, not toward him. His eyes went wide, a lump formed in his throat. He immediately thought the worst, she hated him. After two years alone, she grew to hate him she must have. He knew he deserved it. He deserved every ounce of her ire. She was right, he couldn't promise to keep her safe, Sam would make sure of that. Even with everything he had done, he felt more shame in this moment than he ever had before. Not knowing what to do, he stayed there, continuing to speak, hoping beyond hope she didn't mean it.

To his immense relief, she looked at him. She looked at him, and apologized, though it was never her fault. It was his. Damion had failed to keep her safe. He couldn't blame her for being frustrated for that. Damion was simply lucky that she had felt merciful enough to forgive him for his failure.

When Ember finally took his hand after what felt like an eternity, he gently pulled her out. Though her full beauty was brought into view she didn't seemed to be in much of a better mood. She said she was a mess, but Damion didn't think so. He could never think of her like that. He wanted to say something to her, tell her how wonderful he thought she was, but he couldn't. He couldn't say anything. Words that once would have come so easily to him, were now impossible to utter.

The moment Ember said she needed to sit down, Damion began guiding her to the nearest chair, which she nearly fell into. He looked around the room, everyone else was gone. Ember wore a small though still beautiful smile on her face. At last they were alone.

"What happened since…." The words came almost hesitantly, her face was pained as if the question itself had actually harmed her. "Since we last saw each other?" At once his voice, and face took on a darker, more wounded turn. It was admittedly a hard thing to talk about. Though with Ember words that he would kill to keep hidden instantly became unburdened."I'll be honest it was hard sometimes. I was alone again, but I did everything I could to keep you safe, Ember. I did everything they wanted me to, because I knew what would happen if I didn't. If I wasn't alone in my cell, or following their orders they were testing on me. Working on my poison, it wasn't pleasant."

Images soon filled his head of those horrible two years. Images of the things he did, the people he hurt. They began to poison his mind again, it seemed worse when he was awake. He saw innocent people succumbing to his toxin, slowly but surely marching towards an unpleasant end. Worse he saw corpses destroyed beyond all recognition, flesh stripped off, eaten away by his acid. And their screams, agonizing, truly agonizing echoing across the room where he had coldly taken away their lives.

He couldn't look at Ember. The things he had done were truly horrific. Even if it were to keep her safe it still made him a monster. He walked away from her toward the bookshelf. he didn't deserve her, he couldn't even bear to be that close to her. "To keep you safe I had to do things. Things I'd rather not talk about."

As he spoke the visions kept pouring through his mind. He unknowingly set a hateful fist toward the bookshelf, sending several books falling from their resting place. As it fell one in particular caught his eye. It was ornate, bound in a most intricate manner. Once it landed it sent a wave of pictures spewing from its pages. Damion eyed it curiously, on the side was his very own name in gold lettering. Though he did not know it at the moment the book was filled with all manner of history, and facts pertaining to Damion himself. On the ground in scattered piles lay hundreds of photos. Damion's eyes went wide at what he saw.

The very images he saw in his head mere moments before sat there before him. His victims were memorialized, their pain and death forever captured on these images. Damion looked at the ground in horror then back at the shelf from which this horrid book originated. There were five other books placed there, each with the names of one of the anomalies trapped here. What in the hell had Sam done here?

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Character Portrait: Lydia Character Portrait: Katherine Delirium Character Portrait: Ember Character Portrait: Rezia Character Portrait: Whispers Character Portrait: Damion
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Rezia winced lightly as Lydia pressed the positive emotions towards him. He understood she was trying to support him but any type of pressure on his mind made the throbbing in his head worse. He didn't want to worry Lydia worse so he didn't say anything though part of him wanted to snap at her the way he had snapped at Delirium. If Lydia had done this before the music, he was sure he would have snapped at her and possibly pushed her away, but the music had calmed him a bit. He closed his eyes and pressed a kiss on her temple before his sister pulled away from him. Now that she was going to be safe, he could focus on his deal with Delirium. He wanted all the pain to be dealt with in one final swoop today so that he could just recover after this. The shocking was going to knock him out at least so he didn't have to worry about not being able to fall asleep.

Rezia turned and headed back to Delirium and Whisper's room and knocked on the side of the door to get their attention. Though it was going to hurt, Rezia knew he was going to have to use his mind to speak with Delirium. It wasn't that he didn't want Whispers to hear, but he was outside the door and if Ember or Damion overheard him, their plan would fail. He needed to get this across to Delirium now since he knew he was going to be out of commission for the rest of the night and as of yet, Sam didn't tell him that his task was over. Damion could not eat anything and he didn't plan on loosing this sadistic game. He had Lydia to think of. He'd take any abuse necessary and allow himself to become a monster to spare Lydia. Huh. This was probably how Damion and Ember became the shells that they were now, just doing Sam's bidding and hurting others to spare each other.

Rezia centered his gaze on Delirium and began to send emotion laden images towards her mind hoping that with her ability to sense image she would understand his message.

Delirium... I will complete my part of the bargain now and shock myself three times on your door. I will be too weak to do anything after that. Please pull me inside your room or have Whispers take me back to my room afterward. Now, here is what I want from you. My task is ongoing towards Damion. Damion can't eat anything until Sam tells me my task is over. With your power of illusion, I want you to make Damion think he is not hungry or that he has already eaten. It is a subtle manipulation. Anything too obtrusive and he'd realize we are messing with his mind. We may have to manipulate Ember a little so she doesn't notice he is not eating.

If that doesn't work, we need Whispers to drag Damion into this room and you can keep him bound with your illusions since from what I saw, Damion would be able to burn through real bonds. I can help with getting Damion into the room. Once Damion and I lock gazes, he will be immobilized. As long as we have eye contact, he won't be able to break free. This may be hard considering you'd be moving him. If anything, I could immobilize Ember until you get Damion into the room. However, this forceful avenue is one I would wish to avoid so none of us gets injured. This would also make Ember and Damion much more likely to plot against us. At least the subtle illusion can be hidden. Can you do this for me? Are you understanding my message?
Might as well make sure she was understanding him considering this whole telepathy sort of thing was new to him. You are more than welcome to tell Whispers about this plan. I just don't want Ember or Damion hearing us.

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"Since we last saw each other?"

Ember winced, but managed a slight nod. She knew the answer she both desired and feared would be unpleasant, but at some point both of them would have to release it. The more she had to keep hiding the past and keeping it as her own burden the more it seemed to weigh her down and guide her actions. She could only assume Damion's past was tearing him apart as much as herself.

From his words it was evident her assumption had been correct. His whole countenance had shrivelled up, recoiling from the effort of having to dwell on the past. Ember flinched at his earnest, almost begging tone as he tried to assure and persuade her that he had done everything he could for her. The way he had not assumed she understood hurt; she had never doubted his efforts. He did not need to seek her approval, then her own words came back at her.

"You can't promise that."

Shame made her cheeks burnt. In their current state, words were far more lethal than before, and she had been careless with her own. The colour didn't remain for long, the mention of the testing and poison was enough to make her blanche. It seemed both of them were lost, each with a mixture of vivid horror stories of the past and then fictional constructs of what the other had had to go through.

It took a few moments for Ember to force herself out of her dark reverie to realise Damion had got up, his face darkened with a shame she understood all too well. Now she well and truly wished she hadn't asked.

"To keep you safe I had to do things. Things I'd rather not talk about."

A lump rose to her throat at the confirmation that her question had been too much too soon. She was going to apologise and attempt to change the subject to anything….anything at all, when a thump caused her to jump slightly. Damion's similar spout of anger to her own had resulted in a mess of scattered photos and documents. Unknowing of its contents, instinctively Ember rose to begin picking them up. As her hand moved to pick up one of the photos its contents immediately became known and she recoiled in horror.

Two sightless eyes stared up at her, masked in a pain so real Ember felt her old scars ache. Averting her eyes from one only bought another tortured soul into sight. Damion had backed away from the permanent stamps of his history, and Ember struggled to keep how shaken she was hidden for his sake. Nevertheless her heart pounded and her hands curled into fists to steady her shaking hands.

"It's not our fault." She said far more sure and steady than she felt. She turned to Damion, her eyes blazing with a determination to convince both herself and him. "We know it's not."

Her face became masked with anger and all the words she had constantly chanted to herself came rushing out.

"They don't understand!" She pointed a shaking finger out the door. "Anyone would do the same thing in our position. The truth is all these people would be dead and tortured whether we did it or not. If we refused, Sam would simply torture and kill us both, and then finish the work we declined. We didn't kill these people- Sam did. We simply saved each other that's it."

Her voice was starting to break, the original confidence starting to waver.

"I'm right….it's true." Her eyes were no longer fiery, but now wide and worried, desperate to be convinced. "Isn't it?"

She forced herself to look back at the spread of pictures spewing from Damion's book. Without her conscious control her eyes moved up to land on her own book. Without thinking her hand followed suit, her fingers brushing the spine.

She already could see its contents. The early pictures would simply be unmarked, fearful corpses and then the far worse bloody scenes of her later victims. Innately she was only capable of leaving unmarred death in her wake, but slowly Sam had taught her to follow in his own footsteps until a knife handle fit naturally into the curve of her palm.

"Our pasts are not so different Damion." she said softly. "Despite my ability seeming less damaging, Sam found other ways to ensure I would become just as harmful."

With some effort she pulled her fingers away from her book, and began to scoop up hurriedly the documents from Damion's. She would summon the courage later to face her past, for now she needed to stay focused.

"I will finish my task to protect you as we have both done." She said firmly, trying hard to distract Damion "We'll do what we've always done. Keep fighting."

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Delirium was still extremely weak from today's events, but at least now she could get up without vomiting onto the floor (Which was always a plus). However, a strange feeling in her mind was directing her attention away from Stephen. Delirium furrowed her brow. It was almost as if someone was tapping gently on her mind as if to get her attention, and then whispering a bunch of incoherent babble. She slowly got up and walked to the door. Maybe Rezia was trying to communicate with her. She'd never been able to send illusions to people without looking at them, but maybe because this was somewhat different, she'd be able to. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the pressure on her mind.

Yes, she could definitely sense Rezia trying to communicate, but what was he saying? It was almost like a baby was trying to talk to her, saying a bunch of nonsense and then one word seems to jump out that makes sense like "food" or "blankie." Rezia's connection to her mind was still something very new and she didn't quite know the extent to it yet. She could pick up the general gist of the message. Rezia is going to shock himself now and will need our help. Something about Damion? Yes, Rezia's task. Food? Damion can't eat food. Illusions for damion... tying him up... everything was very incoherent but with a lot of concentration she strung together the important parts of the message. Should she tell Stephen about her task and Rezia's? It would certainly be better if he could help, but after what he just went through maybe it would best not to drag Stephen into her problems at the moment. Instead of trying really hard to send back a message without looking at him with her still aching head, she simply opened the door a bit and continued their silent conversation.

I think I understand most of what you said. Go ahead and shock yourself and I'll wait out here so I can pull you into the room if you pass out. I don't know how bad of a shock it will be. I can try and subtly putting an illusion on Damion, but it will only work when I'm around him. If he takes food into his room I won't be able to stop him from eating it. I think the best action would just be to take all the food and stockpile it in one of our rooms. If either ask where the food went, we just play dumb and assume Sam took it away. I don't know how long this task lasts. But for now, let's deal with this and get it over with. Again, I'm really sorry about this. Also, the task was for me to shock you. I don't want there to be any question if I technically completed my task or not. I can see Sam pulling something if you just shock yourself. Would you be ok with me at least pretending to force you to touch the door?

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Rezia winced as Delirium began to relay her part of the message to him. It didn't hurt any less but it was required. He couldn't wait until all of this was over. Hell, even if he passed out, it would be relief considering he'd be unconscious so he wouldn't feel any more pain and he wouldn't be bothered with anything. It made him wonder if death wasn't such a bad option for them. Death was release. He didn't believe in heaven or hell so to him, it was just emptiness... emptiness and nothing which in itself was relief. Anything else was just pain or too overwhelming. He shook his head to clear those thoughts away however. He couldn't think like that. Lydia needed him even if he couldn't provide her with everything she deserved.

He gave Delirium a nod then. Yes, that is fine. Let's just get this over with, he answered her.

He reached a hand up to rub his throbbing forehead. He moved to the side to let Delirium out of her room. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, a bit awkward considering the nature of this task. He tried not to tense when Delirium put her hands on him. Being limp always made things hurt less right? At least he hoped so. She pushed him and he stumbled into the protective barrier of her room. The electricity immediately coursed through his body and Rezia cried out in pain as his body seized and convulsed. He dropped to his knees panting, his mind blank and body still twitching. He didn't have much time to recover as Delirium pushed him into the barrier the required second time.

This time, Rezia found himself laying on the floor, drooling. His body was twitching from the residual electricity. "gnnnnn....." he answered. Then at last, he was shocked the third and final time. Unfortunately the nature of his abilities and the power of the shocks, put him into a grand mal seizure. Rezia's body convulsed as he collapsed unconscious.

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Stephen Winters | The Rebel | Neural Disruption | #F70D1A

Whispers returned Katherine's affection with his own, gripping her fingers tightly within his while he tried hard to accept her comfort. Normally he would be ecstatic to receive her love, the love that he enjoyed more than he should have and he was happy...but only in the loosest definition of the word. Her soft touches brought him back to Earth long enough for her words to drift into his head.

He watched as she kissed each knuckle with care, making sure not to hit the bruises or soft parts of the skin where he'd previously been hurt. They were tender, soft, and deliberate, as if she knew the code to each lock keeping him in stasis. Small things like murmurs about the need to keep fighting, a lack of control, they all resonated with him and reminded him of where he was and what he needed to do. They also, unfortunately, reminded him of his past failures. The two only needed one time out of a million to go their way, but they simply hadn't found it yet. They just needed to stay strong and find it.

"Why can't we be weak for a while? Let someone else make the decisions. Just lie down and sleep. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep since the day I was born. Let's stop pretending everything is ok and that we will make it out of here. Maybe we will. But for now let's be weak."

"But we're not pretending, we're..." Whispers's voice trailed off as his body became awash with something else all too familiar, one of Katherine's illusions.

Even in this mode he still called her by her first name because the illusion she'd showed him wasn't of his sister for once. No, it was of him and Katherine plotting their little schemes to try and escape. She showed him their first meeting when he heard her through the vents that had to exist and inevitably led to their friendship. Each escape attempt fueled him with more serenity, but also more passion to learn about what they'd done wrong and how to rectify their mistakes. There were the times when he'd let Katherine use her power on him so that he could see his sister again, but she must have known now that it wasn't enough for him to see an illusion of Sarah. He needed something more real, more meaningful and Katherine knew that she was the closest thing to real that this limited world of his had to offer...as well as something else.

Whispers supposed that he made it obvious in the way that he interacted with her in the past (or maybe she was sharper than he pegged her for) since the shift was recent.

"Katherine why are you here? What are you doing?" he muttered, his mind's eye unable to discern what was real and what was willful interpretation on his part.

What started from distant memories began approaching the moments before she'd cast her illusions on him where for the first time he felt contented to let his muscles relax and his body go limp.

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She managed to suppress a sigh of relief as Damion bent to assist her in removing the obscene display of images on the floor. She was surprised to see him place the book back on the shelf and felt a little uneasy leaving both their histories where the others could get at them. There was a lot of ammunition that could be used against them in those pages. However for now she would have to leave lest she risk sending Damion back into a dark mood.

And so she allowed herself to be pulled away from the horrors on the shelves and accepted his hand. She returned his smile with one of her own, her eyes lighting up at the reminder of all they had gained in the last 24 hours. In order to make sure it stayed that way she needed to complete her task.

"Once I deal with Lydia we can retreat from Sam's madhouse." she murmured quietly leading him gently back over to the piano stool. Reluctantly she let go of his hand to get a grip on the knife handle. Absentmindedly she looked wistfully over the piano keys and then towards the food. The thought of a full stomach made her head dizzy and only reminded her of how long it had been since her last meal.

Finish the job first. she told herself firmly.

A tortured shout made Ember jump in fright, only to realise it had something to do with the rebels. While a spike of fear went through her at the reminder of the precarious situation she gravely reminded herself that it would be better if the rebels and Rezia were tangled up in their own tasks. It meant Rezia was also too busy to do whatever his task asked of him against Damion.

She continued out of the room to find Lydia waiting for her, however all her expectations were ruined with on low humming drone. Ember let out a hiss of frustration. Of course Sam would now decide that the superficial night sequence would begin. She was sure the long droning meant exactly the same as it had in the facility; that the lights would be turned off and all Anomalies would have an enforced silence.

"I will sort my task out tomorrow." She said scathingly to Lydia, before taking a hold of Damion's hand again.

"Of all times." she muttered with exasperation to him as she marched them both to their quarters.

Despite her initial anger at her plans once again being foiled, the sight of the beds came as a sort of relief. Though she dare not admit it within the main area, Ember was exhausted. The lack of food and the extreme stress since the move from the facility had taken a harsh toll on her. Besides it had been a few years since she'd had more than a hard floor and blankets to sleep on.

She found herself sinking into the mattress with relish. By normal standards she assumed the mattress would barely suffice, given it was more like a glorified thin piece of foam, but here it was luxury. It was another few minutes before the warning drone ended and the room went black. In the darkness she could here Damion breathing, and she allowed herself an unseen grin to come over her that would have been suppressed in the light. Unbidden a rush of tears leapt to her eyes. He was alive, and in his rightful place next to her. She was tempted to call out to him, to ensure her senses did not deceive her, but she dared not while the curfew was in place.

Beside her wits were starting to leave her as her eyelids began to feel like lead. No longer able to resist, Ember let the folds of darkness drag her away for the night.

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Lydia shrank into herself, shutting her eyes, as Rezia cried out in pain. She understood that he didn't want her to see him this way, but she had her own promises to fulfill. Nonetheless, she willed herself to not look at him, to try not to listen to the sharp visceral sounds of her brother being shocked.

Then she heard someone approach, so she opened her eyes to see Ember and Damion. She began to get shakily to her feet, brushing the wetness from her cheeks, but then a deep humming sound rose from the air around them. Immediately Lydia felt heavy, tired. 18 years of conditioning had certainly left their mark on her. Ember seemed to feel it too, or at the very least knew what it meant, because she left with a dismissive snap.

Now she could sleep on what was to come. How delightful. Her body ached with the continual fear of this horrible, horrible day, and perhaps sleep would not be long in coming. Maybe it would be mercifully empty. The blonde turned her eyes to her brother. He was no longer unconscious, his body still twisted in a faux paroxysm of pain. Hopefully his unconsciousness was non-lethal.

With a wary glance at Delirium, Lydia slunk forward to retrieve her brother, looking more like a wary, feral cat than a human at this point, hunched into herself. She didn't want to search Delirium's eyes to see the anger at what she'd done, so she whipped her gaze back to her brother, trying to keep as much distance from Delirium as she could. She was very much afraid. The drone of the warning was still blaring in her head, certainly there was no time for Delirium to take revenge on her before the lights went out and the quiet hours began, but she took no chances with lingering over Rezia's limp form, she just hooked her arms under his, her hands clasped over the front of his chest so his head would loll against her shoulder, and dragged him backwards towards their room, her wary eyes on Delirium again as she labored with the body.

Before she could make it to the door, the drone ended and the lights shut off. Lydia held her squeal of fear back by biting her tongue. As much as she disliked the dark, she didn't want to risk getting in trouble. So she fumbled in the darkness for the door, one hand still vainly trying to hold her brother up, and dragged him into the safety of their room.

Then there was more fumbling to find a bed to put him in. After she finally did manage to haul him up, which took the last of her very little strength, she knelt beside his form for a little while, wiping away drool and brushing his hair from his eyes, her fingers careful on his familiar features. He was still breathing, he was still alive. He had to be. She didn't know what she'd do without him. When the lights came back on she promised herself that she'd take better care of him, but until then, she needed to recharge herself.

While sleep alone wouldn't bring back her powers in full, a few REM cycles would do a bit of good in recovering her strength. She crawled until she found the other bed, not trusting her weak knees, and pulled herself in. The bed itself was different, but the feeling of it was familiar, and she was asleep in minutes.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lydia Character Portrait: Katherine Delirium Character Portrait: Ember Character Portrait: Rezia Character Portrait: Whispers Character Portrait: Damion
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#, as written by Haas33
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Shocking Rezia was not an enjoyable event. It was too real. Delirium was so used to making people feel pain or experience things that weren’t actually there that physically hurting Rezia made her feel sick. On the final shock, Rezia completely collapsed, and Delirium quickly grabbed him to keep him from hitting his head on the floor. She slowly sank with him down to the ground and placed her head to his chest. She could still hear his heart beating, which was all she needed.

Suddenly, a humming drone sounded, signaling night. Delirium’s immediate reaction was to question if it was really was night or if Sam was just trying to mess with them. Either way, it likely meant the lights would go off soon, so she would have to hurry up and get Rezia somewhere safe. As she was about to pick up the unconscious figure, Lydia came in and looked at her warily before dragging Rezia into their room. Lydia seemed both angry at her for hurting Rezia but scared of her for what Lydia had done to her.

Either way, Delirium made no move towards the frail girl, except to cast the brief message in the form of an illusion: “I’m sorry.” The lights went out, and everything was pitch black with the exception of a few blinking red lights from cameras in the corner of rooms, but they did not illuminate anything. Delirium wondered if she would get in trouble for being out of her room. She decided talking was likely out of the question since it was usually not allowed at night in the facility. Not wanting to take any chances she quickly entered her room. She felt her way over to a bed, but found it was occupied by the sleeping form of Stephen. She was glad he was able to sleep after the day they had. She gently brushed his hair out of his face, battled the urge to curl up next to him, and then finally made it over to her own bed.

At least her task was over. At least the task against her was over. However, a selfish thought flashed through her mind- what if Stephen didn’t complete his task? What would happen to her? She would gladly help him, but for now, she needed to sleep. However, a weird feeling creeped into her, she felt strange, slow, tingly. All of a sudden a bright light appeared in her room, and it was Ember, holding a candle and a knife.

Delirium shuffled back quickly and stifled a scream. How did she even get in here? Where did she get a candle? Ember smiled to show a row of razor sharp teeth. Damion stepped out from behind her and morphed into a large wolf like half man half animal thing. Delirium couldn’t help but whimper. She was going to die. The image went fuzzy for a second though and Delirium realized with horror that the serum she had been injected with hadn’t completely left her body, and Rezia had only subdued it for a while. Delirium curled up in a ball and cried silently as all her happy memories were torn to shreds and her nightmares came to life.

She didn’t sleep at all.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lydia Character Portrait: Katherine Delirium Character Portrait: Ember Character Portrait: Rezia Character Portrait: Whispers Character Portrait: Damion
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Seeing her smile was a wondrous thing, he was glad when she accepted his hand. Once she was up he was following behind her towards the piano, he gave a brisk nod at the notion of cutting up Lydia. Dirty business of course, but necessary to stay with her.. He took a quick glance back at the shelf and the book with which held so much of their history. It was a blatant risk leaving them there, but Sam was undoubtedly watching, and monitoring everything. The chance of angering Sam by destroying or removing the books from the room was one Damion was not willing to take. Perhaps he could hide them somewhere? He would have to visit this room again, and find a decent place to put them. One where they would not be found, hopefully before the others could find them.

It was regrettable when Ember let go of his hand, but he allowed her the chance to steady herself for what was to come. While she was steadying herself he looked over at the tempting food the table. His stomach was growling, he had been hungry for some time now. However he knew that Lydia had to be dealt with first. Hopefully there would be other chances to satisfy his hunger. Though knowing Sam, Damion wasn't as confident as he'd like to be.

As he stood there he was aware of some kind of commotion happening outside the room. He wasn't really sure what was going on out there, though he couldn't really be bothered to care. With any luck maybe they all killed each other, forever to be out of his hair.

When they let the room behind Damion was more than a little surprised to find Lydia sitting there waiting for them. Seems she was as eager to get this done as Ember, and Damion himself. It was a good thing to, this would be over quickly he thought to himself. He walked closer to Lydia, ready to assist Ember in her task. Before they could get started however a familiar humming sound made itself apparent. He gave a small sigh, how he hated that sound.

Ember spoke some venomous words towards Lydia, and then took his hand in her's once more, leading them towards their room. She muttered in exhaustion at the timing, Damion gave an agreement. He supposed that this shouldn't be too surprising, it was just like Sam to do inconvenience them like this.

Despite everything however he went towards the bed with relief. The day was tiresome, and he was of course starving, some sleep would be an immense relief. However once the lights finally went out he found himself unable to slip into slumber just as he did so many times back in the facility. In the darkness he looked in Ember's direction. It was good to be with her again. He had tried so hard to find his way back to her, and now that they have finally been reunited he would never let them be torn apart.

In the absence of sleep Damion moved his hand towards the wound he had sustained earlier. He gave a small almost silent sigh. He was careless. Far to emotional. Then again how couldn't he be? Despite all his efforts toward building his emotional wall Ember's presence and of course Reiza who so enraged him, had managed to easily bring that wall crashing down in less than a day. He made to many emotional mistakes, something which he would make sure to avoid in the morning. After seemingly an eternity of tossing and turning Damion somehow managed to slip into a light sleep.