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Katherine Delirium

"Sometimes seeing isn't believing

0 · 2,754 views · located in Sam's Puzzle

a character in “The Human Puzzle”, as played by Haas33

Description




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{"Life creates itself in delirium and is undone in ennui.ā€}
-Emile Cioran
|| Tool - The Pot ||
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|{Full Name}|
Katherine Delirium
(She coined the name herself)

|{Nickname}|
She mostly only goes by Delerium, but some also call her Katie or Kathy

|{Age}|
20

|{Sexuality}|
Bisexual, but she doesn't really tell anyone

|{Role}|
Rebellious female

|{Ability}|
She has the power to create hallucinations, both bad and good. She can make images appear completely realistic to one person. She can create these illusions for a very long period of time, possible even an entire day without stopping. She can also make people feel things without physically damaging them. However, this takes a lot more concentration and can cause Delirium to pass out of have intense headaches if she uses it for too long. She can make it feel like you are getting stabbed over and over again, or make it feel like you are having sex. The intensity of the feeling coupled with who long she makes it happen determines how quickly she tires out. Often times she can't go more than thirty minutes of that no matter what she is doing. Delirium can not use her power if she can not see or touch the person. This means her range extends for as far as she can see. She can not use her power if she is in severe pain. Her self-induced headaches often times impair her from making her illusions. This could also imply some things. She could create the illusion that she isn't there, but this would only work on one person at a time. Generally, her power isn't good for large groups of people

|{Containment}|
The scientists normally had her skin completely covered or at least have her hands have gloves on them. She was also normally blindfolded if she was being moves. Scientists were extra careful around her because she was known for her escape attempts. She was kept in a windowless room so she could not disturb the others. She lived a very solitary life compared to some.

|{Partner}|
Rebellious Male (Name)




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{"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.ā€}
-Mark Twain
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|{Quirks || Habits || Oddities}|
ā–ŖTends to braid or play with her hair
ā–ŖMakes harmless illusions for normal people to see if they notice
ā–ŖShe blushes easily
ā–ŖShe tends to stare at people for no reason
ā–ŖShe sometimes creates illusions for herself

|{Likes}|
-strawberries
-sleeping
-reading
-being alone
-laughing

|{Dislikes}|
-Sam
-Scientists
-The color white
-blindfolds
-Showing weakness

|{Talents || Strengths || Skills}|
āš˜Packs a good punch and a wicked kick in a fightāš˜
āš˜Well trained in hand to hand combat and is fairly decentāš˜
āš˜Sturdy woman, not easily pushed aroundāš˜
āš˜She is very creative which helps with her illusionsāš˜
āš˜She has mastered making illusions and fighting at the same timeāš˜

|{Flaws || Weakness}|
āš˜Tires easily when using hallucinationsāš˜
āš˜Must see or touch her targetāš˜
āš˜Useless in large groupsāš˜
āš˜Without her illusions she is much less dangerousāš˜
āš˜Too arrogant and rash for her own good.āš˜

|{Hobbies}|
-SInging
-Writing
-Drawing
-Making illusions
-Does sleeping count?

|{Fears}|
ĆøClaustrophobicĆø
ĆøNeedles terrify herĆø
ĆøGoing blindĆø

|{Secrets}|
āœ¤Sometimes she gets carried away with her illusions. Creating them is like a drug to her, sometimes once she starts she can't stop until she's worn outāœ¤
āœ¤She can't actually physically hurt someone, but sometimes her mental damage to someone can drive them insaneāœ¤
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{"Personality has power to uplift, power to depress, power to curse, and power to bless.ā€}
-Paul Harris



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|{Personality}|

Delirium is not your average lady. In fact, most people wouldn't even call her a lady. She considers herself to be a, quote "badass bitch." To some extent, she is. Being held in the Genetic Modifications Facility did break her in some aspects, but it also made her stronger, tougher. Like a callous formed over her personality, making her tougher and more resilient to pressure. Delirium is a bit too feisty for her own good. She has always been dead set on escaping the Facility, losing some of her morals and being known for driving Scientists, guards, and even other Anomalies insane. When she wants something, there are few things that can hinder her determination.

Delirium is cocky and arrogant, and exceptionally rebellious. She and her partner have made everyone's lives a living hell. And Delirium still isn't backing down. She knows Sam is up to something, but Delirium is intent on still escaping his grasp. She is independent and wild, often coming up with crazy and stupid ideas that are severely self-sacrificing. She is a generally angry person who on occasion takes pleasure in watching bad people suffer.

However, beneath that hard outer coating is someone a bit more sensitive. She is a loyal friend who would take a bullet for someone. She's actually a bit of a softy, loving animals and children. She is battling her own doubts on the inside, frantically trying to plug the panic that wells up inside her. She fears she will never get out. She fears her life was all just a pain that would end in pain. Sometimes she feels awful, depressed, and anxious. But she bottles that all up inside, and puts on a brave smile on the outside. She can be nice to people she trusts, but this can be hard considering she has severe trust issues.

Katherine is the type of person to speak what's on her mind even if what is on her mind isn't too terribly uplifting. She is a negative person with high aspirations. She wants to escape and wants to save the day, but often times her negative outlook hinders her. Although she is spontaneous and outgoing, she is also reserved and not really the sharing type. She tends to look down on the others simply because she doesn't believe they have even tried to escape. However, she will not give into fear or doubts. When she gets an idea in her head the only thing that can hold her back is something getting in her way.

Delirium isn't just self-sacrificing and resilient, she is also kind and understanding. Even though she tends to go her own way and do her own thing, she also takes time to consider how her actions affect others. She is the merciful type on those who deserve it. But on those who have hurt her, she holds nothing back and can be ruthless and scary. Sometimes the illusions take over her and she gets carried away

|{Thoughts on Others}|

Pair One: Delirium doesn't have much nice to say about the Dark Ones. She is generally leery of them because she is aware of their powers, but tries not to show her fear. She is bitter and angry towards Ember because of a certain incident. She realizes that they are the Facility's puppets, but she understands them a bit more than the other pair because they have accepted their fate to save each other from death. They are compliant because they are helping each other, not because they are helping themselves.

Pair Two: Delirium is furious with compliant ones. They don't even try to escape. They've accepted their fate and Delirium thoroughly dislikes how they are defeated. She also fears that they will be ruthless towards her because they will only do what they can to save themselves.





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|{Appearance}|
Delirium has bright red hair and a crooked smile. She has piercingly green eyes and a stare that could scare you witless. She has a somewhat rounded face and small nose. She looks almost young in the face. She is an average looking woman, not drop dead gorgeous, but certainly good-looking. She is fairly curvy and likes to flaunt what she's got.

|{Defining Features}|
She has multiple scars all over her body. One of the most obvious scar is one that runs from her left eyebrow down to just above the left side of her face. It barely missed her eye.

|{Height/Weight}|
5'6" / 130 lbs

|{Build}|
SHe has a sturdy muscular build. She doesn't look like the type of girl you can break easily. This don't mean she's fat or manly looking. She's just a bit more intimidating, with her curves and her muscles.




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{"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.ā€}
-John F. Kennedy
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|{History}|

Delirium was very unceremoniously ripped from her home at age three. She barely remembers her life before the facility, only a vague image of her father and mother. That may be why she is so determined to escape, because she knows she has a family worried about her. Upon arriving at the facility they did countless experiments on her and altered several things with her brain. She's lucky she survived. But she did, and now she's pissed as hell.

Delirium grew up in the Facility plotting escape from day one. Her and her partner suffered more than any others, but also made more people suffer than any others. Delirium figured if she were to grow up in hell, she shouldn't go down without a fight. Every time she was hurt or forced to do something, it only made her angrier and more resilient. They might have broken her physically at times, but her mentality stayed the same- nobody was getting off easy. However, years later and after several failed escape attempts, her future is really starting to seem bleak.

Delirium grew up somewhat in solitary, but she was next to her partner (which may not have been a smart idea). They became partners in crime instantly, and hopefully will still be during whatever scheme Sam has cooking. Delirium's life in the facility wasn't pretty. At times she wished she were dead, and other times she was barely an inch away from it. Her escape attempts bought her several punishments that still burn in the back of her mind. One of her best accomplishments was making one guard believe the other guard was her, and once he had started to attack the other guard, she'd move to another guard. This eventually led to mass confusion and a few seriously injured guards. Nearly twenty were involved and she was so close to escaping when a new guard showed up and caught her unaware. SHe was punished severely for causing so many injuries and so much confusion.




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|{Miscellaneous}
Her eyes turn red when she uses her power, but the person seeing the illusions does not see this, but everyone else does.

|{Face Claim}
Emma Stone

Character Dialogue || #800000
(Only add if you are using dialogue color)

So begins...

Katherine Delirium'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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Rezia gasped as Ember yanked him back by the color, effectively cutting off his breath until he moved backwards. Before he had a chance to recover from her tug, Damion was upon him and he found their roles had reversed. Now he was the one on his back with a livid man atop him. He diverted his gaze to Damion's lips or to the side to avoid catching his eyes or Ember's eyes. He wasn't strong enough this morning to do his healing and he didn't want to accidentally start one. The intense emotions around him were already bombarding him mercilessly and making his already aching head feel like Damion and Ember were driving a sledge hammer into his skull. Tears leaked from the corner of his eyes from the pain but also his panic for Lydia. He didn't want any more harm to come to his sister. He couldn't fail when it was his turn to protect her. She had done what she needed to do to save him from Sam. He had to do at least that in return.

Rezia's eyes widened as Ember brought his hand close to his face, immediately drawing his attention there. He knew what the man's power was now after all and he didn't want another encounter with that acid.

"What good did you think that would do you? Did you think you would try to appeal to my conscience? My humanity? Or my kindness? Well here's something you may not have realized. I don't have any of that. It's all gone. Has been for years," Damion spat at him.

Rezia's jaw set and his eyes narrowed. Maybe Delirium's residual anger would help here. He was already irritated and tired of all of this. Without her anger he wouldn't have had the strength and confidence to talk back to Damion the way he did. "Liar. It is all there, Damion. It always has been. You say you don't have humanity of conscience? I know exactly how much it pains you every time you think about what you've done. You've done it all for Ember and no one understands that better than I do. You are hiding behind a mask but your pain and humanity is always there at your core."

Damion brought his hand closer as he began another tirade to try and shake him but that wasn't going to work this time. He didn't care what he or Ember did to him so long as he completed his damn task and Lydia was safe. This is what Sam wanted wasn't it? He had wanted Rezia to get physical and pit a healer against a man who could kill and had killed. It was like pitting a butterfly against a spider.

"Get this through your head. I'm a bloodthirsty killer. I'm cold, and I don't care. About anything. Not about you. Not about your sister. Only about Ember, and myself. If I don't keep my strength up I won't be able to survive in this place. I won't be able to protect Ember. Now perhaps you should give me a good reason not to kill you. Because I'm drawing a blank."

"You aren't a bloodthirsty killer. You aren't cold and you do care about many things you don't let on. You can't hide from someone who can see the emotions that lurk behind your visage. I don't care if you kill me or not. Life is void of joy and you know it. If you really want to kill me, get on with it. I know you hate me though I hold no hate for you or for what you've done. I only care about Lydia and if you kill me, she won't help you so you'll loose two healers that can aid you. You think she'll help you if you kill me? This twisted game isn't over yet and you need the allies you have because otherwise you'll loose Ember or she will loose you. You are already injured and Ember hasn't finished her task against Lydia has she? We really aren't that different at the core, are we, Damion?"

And then Delirium came to his rescue. He was actually surprised she had come to his aid as she thrust pictures at Damion and started to lecture him much the same way he had. She even got in front of him to protect him. Maybe in the end, he could rely on her to help him. It did make him feel a little better.

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

"What do you want with me?"

Ah what did he want from Ember? The obvious answer was for her to fulfill his task but on a deeper level, a level of mutual understanding. Would she understand enough to walk into that elevator and see Sam? Stephen knew enough about her (and facility members in general) to know that none of them ever wanted to see Sam for any occasion and he would have to either trick her or force her. That would certainly be how it went for him. Hell, he'd already lost his advantage by giving his knife up and destroying the muzzle. Even if it was only meant for him he could have forced onto Damion or something.

You were always such a short-term thinker, Sarah seemed to whisper in his head.

Incidentally, Reiza didn't have the same line of thought seeing as he tackled Damion to the ground. He begged and pleaded for the black-haired boy not to eat any bread which wouldn't have bothered him save for the fact that Katherine intervened. She couldn't stand to let Reiza die which was enough to make Whispers follow after. She stood in his place, face to face with Damion and Ember while Reiza was pushed to the side. Honestly, he didn't know if she was an angel or a demon for tempting him to become mediator but he followed nonetheless. She had a talent for diving headfirst into situations and while she could handle herself he didn't want to freeze up while she put herself in harm's way. It would have made all her efforts useless.

"All of you stop!" he yelled, "Kathrine's right. I hate all of you, but it's useless trying to kill each other when we're still stuck here. This is what he wants. He wants us arguing and provoking each other. You already know this Ember so why the fuck are you playing along?"

The look in his eyes was pained, pleading almost for Ember to say something as much as it was for everyone to give up their arms and figure something out. Reiza, harmless as he was, had already figured out that much about the supposed Dark One and had it been Stephen, it would only give him more reason to kill the mental healer but it wasn't him. It was Damion and Stephen had no clue how the black-haired male would react when there were so many people against him.

He was never as smart or as eloquent as Sarah or even Reiza but once he had their attention he needed to keep speaking.

"I don't have my mask anymore, but in case you forgot you don't have my muzzle either. I can scream until we're all too weak to hurt each other or we can just stop."

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 was gone before she could even register it, tackling Damion, and then Ember was on him, pulling him away. Lydia felt her throat constrict. She had to do something, she had to save her brother somehow, tell them that it had been a misunderstanding, that it was fine if he ate, everything would be fine, anything to save Rezia, even at the cost of her own life. Damion was talking, and Rezia was talking back, but she couldn't hear anything but the sound of her blood rushing in her ears. She forced herself to move forward, she wanted to push in between Rezia and Damion, shield him with her body, but she didn't want to make things worse, and her limbs felt like lead. Was this a panic attack? A sob boiled at the back of her throat, threatening to tear out.

God, what if he hurt Rezia, and then she was taken away from him? She wouldn't be able to heal him like last time, everything was going wrong, this wasn't what she'd wanted to happen. Her fingers went to her scalp, raking through her hair anxiously, pulling out long golden strands in their furtive combing. She was almost to the entrance to the room, but she wasn't any closer to thinking of the magical solution that would fix everything and save her brother. Her body was shaking, her thin limbs quivering violently, like paper in front of a vent. She looked like a little paper doll, with her white dress smudged with the brownish blood that Rezia had coughed up the day before.

And then Delirium flew back into the room like an avenging angel, pushing between Rezia and Damion, her voice sharp and clear. Lydia could have fainted from relief. Delirium, oh, sweet Delirium, god she could really cry now at the terrible thing she'd done to the girl. Lydia's mouth opened and she emitted a small shriek as she darted across the room in a sudden fit of speed, into her brother's chest, wrapping her arms around his neck and hiding her face in his chest for a moment. It served a dual purpose. It calmed her down, her body was still shaking, but she also had her back to Damion, which mean that she'd joined Delirium in shielding her brother from the black haired male.

"Rezia, Rezia, it's fine, let him have the food, I'm not worth you getting hurt," she pulled back to stare him in the eye for a moment, her thin hands still clutching his shoulders. "Sam won't get more than an hour or two out of me anyway, I won't suffer." Her voice cracked, she was lying, lying, he could keep her alive for weeks if he wanted to, slowly cutting away at her. She had to turn her eyes away, so her body twisted as she looked towards Damion. "He'll take what he wants anyway, and if he hurts you I wo- I won't be there to heal you." She was still talking to Rezia, her fingers tightening over his shoulders as her eyes wandered. The expression in her eyes was that of a wild animal, vacantly frightened, but therein simmered hatred, the fearful rage of a cornered animal. If only she had the power to protect her brother. But she was the compliant one. Compliant, complicit in everything, down to her own death.

If souls truly did exist, was there anything left in hers?

If she'd been able to, would she have killed Damion for threatening her brother? For threatening her? She hadn't known what the serum would do to Delirium when she stabbed it into her neck, it could have killed her, and while she felt bad for doing such a terrible thing, wouldn't she just do it again the same way if she was given the choice? Anything for Rezia, anything for Rezia. Was she insane? Was she a monster too? For wanting to hurt Delirium to keep her brother safe. No it wasn't even that it was Delirium, would she have done that to anyone to keep her brother safe? Others were just faceless pawns, stairs to step on as she struggled to keep her grasp on the one thing in her whole life that had ever been there for her, the one person she could always trust. And these weren't scientists anymore, these were just kids. They couldn't take Rezia away from her to force her compliance.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, and she quickly turned her head back to Rezia, her face near his ear and horror in her voice. "I'm a monster too." She whispered in revelation on shaky, half-formed breaths. "I want to kill him so badly right now that it hurts."

A single choked sob. Or was it a chuckle? Hard to tell.

She could feel it now, it was so easy that it momentarily stole her breath away. If she ran, right now, and hid in her room, Ember wouldn't be able to finish her task, and she could take Damion down with her. And then Ember would be all alone against Whispers and Delirium, and since they seemed to have accepted Rezia into their little pack, he'd be safe. And the smile, oh the smile that curled up on the pale little girl's face as she stared vacantly over Rezia's shoulder as her body curled, ready to run, ready to fight with the only tool left to her.

She was a healer. But she could kill, oh, she could kill too. She had the power to stop death, but what if she chose not to? What if she just sat back and watched him die? Watched them all die? Kill them all. Then it would just be Rezia, and Rezia would be safe and it would all be good, he'd be safe, that was all that was important.

She really was a monster, wasn't she?

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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One instant Damion was on the floor with Rezia with the upper hand, and the next she had yanked Rezia away and now he had to face Damion's gloveless pale hand. The hatred pouring out of Damion's mouth frightened her. This was the Damion Sam had created, she knew, and he terrified her. Without her will her eyes lightened, though she forced her expression to remain unreadable.

Rezia was instantly attacking Damion back verbally. At the truth of his words Ember's mouth went dry, however she tried rather pointlessly to convince herself it wasn't true. She and Damion were different from the others. They didn't know the half of what she and Damion had been through despite what Rezia said.

"Damionā€¦" she found herself half whimpering his name as she felt all the others in the room grow hostile.

Delirium pushed Rezia aside and now stood between herself and him. That's when Ember noticed the pictures. She looked down in horror at her past. For a moment Delirium was busy confronting Damion, and all Ember could do was stare in expressionless shock at all the images. Some were not her own, but hers were by far the worst. The sudden confrontation of a history she had always shoved into the back of her mind awoke a deep anger tainted by her fear and pain.

"You made peace with you past!"she suddenly spoke up shrilly staring at Delirium. "How dare you dig up mine."

Her voice immediately lowered dangerously. To her right Lydia had curled herself around Rezia, but he was no longer Ember's concern. Whispers stopped her before her emotional tirade continued.

"All of you stop!...This is what he wants. He wants us arguing and provoking each other.You already know this Ember so why the fuck are you playing along?"

Feeling threatened and memories of the past threatening to engulf her, Ember was in no mood to respond kindly to Whispers pleading. She could tell he was trying to engage what was left of her humanity, but if he wanted her to listen he should have stopped Deliriums hateful theft.

"Playing along!" Her voice was scream of anger and frustration. "You think I'm stupid? I'm not you and Delirium! I don't rebel- not anymore. You are the one that should know. I do what Sam wants- understand? Because I'm never facing his anger again."

Her anger was starting to melt into despair and her whole frame was shaking.

"You make peace, and go against the grain if you want. But I will not. I'm not strong enough to face him."

Unbidden hot angry tears started to gather and fall. Furiously she brushed them way, her small hands fists.

"I don't have my mask anymore, but in case you forgot you don't have my muzzle either. I can scream until we're all too weak to hurt each other or we can just stop."

Fearfully she glanced over to Damion. He knew. He had to. He had no choice but to back down. But if he did what would the others do to them? Now they had even lost Lydia. Ember couldn't help remembering the nights terror of her fate being in the hands of Whispers and with all of the others now in power they could do what they liked with both herself and Damion. Her fingers curled and uncurled wishing she had the knife. If she had she was certain Whispers would have the hilt protruding from his chest.

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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Things were getting rather fiery in the room. His head hadn't recovered from his ordeal and any protection he could have put up was immediately shredded as he was bombarded with everyones' hyped up emotions. The worst was when Lydia rushed to him. Her physical contact and her immediately terror sent a searing knife through his skull and Rezia stumbled, nearly falling to the ground with his sister. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth. He gripped his sister tightly and realized that it probably hurt his sister. He forced his hands to relax on her shoulders and avoided looking down at her. He hated that his anger boiled and he wanted to shove her back. Didn't she understand? He was doing this for her! It was all pointless if she died or hurt herself in the process! Rezia was sure he'd kill himself if Lydia was murdered because of him. She was his little sister. He was the one that needed to protect her, not the other way around! Every time he tried to protect her, she stood in the way and put herself in harms way all over again. It frustrated him to no end and she didn't seem to understand it all all.

He sighed and ran his shaky fingers through Lydia's hair. Monster? She wasn't a monster. She was just terrified. Her sorrow hurt him more deeply than anything else in the room. "Lydia you aren't a monster. You think I don't have the same sentiment? Especially towards Sam? It is just emotions. You and I are doing what we can to keep each other safe and survive. That doesn't make you a monster or any one of us evil. You need to calm down. I am sorry but we have to talk about this later, alone." It was getting harder to think clearly. He looked up at Delirium and even Whispers that had come to their aid. He couldn't believe they were actually there to help him and Lydia. Maybe there was hope after all. Both of them were actually making sense for once. And even more shocking was the fact that Damion had actually stopped. He was listening to reason and he wasn't going to eat. And dare he admit he heard Damion's whispered apology? No, he didn't hear it, he felt it. That alone made his muscles relax. Maybe from here on out everyone could just communicate with each other. Things had to get better if they all cooperated. He even smiled when Delirum offered to make this sentence easier for Damion so he didn't have to suffer from his hunger. Even Ember seemed to be backing down.

"Damion... look, I know that there is something about me that you despise. I am sorry I tackled you but that was the only thing I could do to get you to stop. I don't hate you and I don't wish you or Ember any sort of harm. I can't hurt you anyway. You are both stronger than I am and my power is far from destructive. Like Delirium said, I understand your pain and understand that you were protecting each other in your way just as we try and protect those we love and live for in ours. I am a healer just like Lydia but I don't heal the physical, I heal the mental aches," he reminded. "I would be more than happy to extend my hand to you both and help you heal that pain you horde in your heart. I can only offer that if we all agree to actually help each other. I didn't mean to scare you when I first saw your pain. I am not actively seeking anything out. I can't turn it off no matter how much I wish I could and I don't want to flaunt your pain. I know it is personal and private."

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose again to relieve some of the pressure in his head. "And Delirium is right. Not all of us have finished our tasks. I think it would be best to state what they are now and figure out how to progress from here. This constant attacking each other is going to get us nowhere except an early grave" not that that was a bad idea where Rezia was standing.

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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Perhaps it was a crisis of identity, or perhaps she'd just lost her naive notion that they could somehow make it out of this place, but either way, Lydia was having a panic attack. Her stomach was twisted into knots, she felt like she was going to vomit, she would have already if there was anything in her stomach, and she could barely breathe. Rezia was running his hands through her hair, a gesture that usually calmed her, but she just clenched her fingers in his shirt and shivered as the collective words of everyone in the room hit her, and she made a new realization. This was it. This was the end of the line, the garbage heap, they were no longer useful, so they were placed here to kill each other for Sam's amusement. Before she'd only half acknowledged it, thinking that if they did well enough they'd be able to keep living, everything would be okay.

But really, what was the point? What even was this life? Not dying? And she'd done everything right she'd been good, she'd healed people, and all for what? To be discarded. Even if this wasn't the end, there would always be another, another, another. Everything was just about as useless as her power, clinging to life for a moment more, a moment more just to be hurt again. She was powerless to stop it. Nothing she did to protect Rezia, nothing he did to protect her, was effectual, just prolonged this strange purgatorial state. She was nothing but a power, a number, a test subject. Trash, now.

How was everyone so calm about this?

She needed to leave, she needed to get away from the normalcy of this whole situation, everyone talking about their own mortality like it was nothing, She was most certainly hyperventilating, because her head was spinning now. Lydia let go of Rezia's shirt front, her expression vacant as her mind spiraled, and started to stumble towards the door, away from everyone. "I'm sorry," She began to say, but didn't finish the sentence as her shoulder hit the door frame. She didn't flinch, just repositioned herself and continued shambling through the door.

Once she made it back into the main room, she leaned against the wall and all but slid to the ground until she was on her palms and knees, retching, shaking, her dry heaving thankfully bringing up nothing. Death had never been real until this moment. Just a card to be played at the right time, she was a healer, she could stave of death, right? The inevitability of it all had never struck her. But what Delirium had said was true, there wasn't anything they could do to stop Sam from killing them. They could do everything right but he could get bored with them and kill them anyway. Or they could tear each other limb from limb and do the job for him.

After her stomach stopped writhing, Lydia lay her face on the cool floor and shut her eyes. She was still pale, but a bit calmer. Maybe letting Ember cut her up would ground her again, get rid of this spinning in her head. Or maybe she could just let herself bleed out and be done with everything. Finally have some peace. That would be fine too.

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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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Stephen Winters | The Rebel | Neural Disruption | #F70D1A

"Playing along! You think I'm stupid? I'm not you and Delirium! I don't rebel- not anymore. You are the one that should know. I do what Sam wants- understand? Because I'm never facing his anger again. You make peace, and go against the grain if you want. But I will not. I'm not strong enough to face him."

For the first time in many years, Stephen actually felt pity for Ember.

It wasn't enough to erase their bad blood, but he saw pain in her eyes. It wasn't pain in the traditional sense of hurting however. It was the dulled pain that came from years of being worn by Sam mixed with the fear of further trauma. The numbness was all too familiar to Whispers who had long stopped caring about the sort of pain dolled out on himself. Though most of his nerve endings were fine according to the facility's doctors he'd steeled himself against the man's torture devices and techniques. The singular traumas...not so much. Sam had this great way of digging into someone's heart, finding the most beloved part of their lives, and then crushing it into tiny pieces. He did it with Katherine, Whispers, and presumably Damion and Ember.

He didn't respond to anything else she said as Reiza interjected with his own words about the situation as well as agreeing with Katherine that their tasks needed to be shared in order to have everything out in the open. Rationally this made sense, but rationally he could easily drive everyone away. He didn't want to share his task if he didn't want to, but knew that either way Ember wouldn't agree to it. Whatever Sam subjected her to would come back to haunt her and any progress they'd made would be lost. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if Sam planted her as some sort of sleeper agent to stymie everyone's development into a team.

Then again if that were the case Damion was doing a much better job.

He glanced toward Ember before deciding that he would be the first to step up.

"I have to make Ember go into the elevator and down the floors," he started, unsure how to phrase his task, "he didn't specify condition but I can't kill you and..."

He trailed off and pressed his lips together to figure out how to best phrase the part of the task most important to her.

You have to see Sam.

He wants to see Ember.

Sam needs to see you.


Nothing sounded right in his head because everything involving Sam always felt predatory. Even so he would honor his word.

"he wants to see you Ember," he turned to the black-haired girl, "he didn't say why but I guess he was expecting a bigger fight between the two of us."

His eyes met Damion's for a brief moment, wondering how angry the other executioner was before stopping back at Ember. He expected her task to be equally difficult, but like all things this was left up to chance (and chance never quite liked him).

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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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Since they'd gotten here, Ember had not seen Damion even slightly remorseful in front of the others. The sight of the old gentle Damion simultaneously relieved and frightened her. He was still the same person inside, but the others had gotten to him and the only way she could think of to survive this ordeal was to remain strong and distant from the rest. She had little time to muse over Damion's reaction and even less time to go over to him with Delirium suddenly addressing her.

ā€Donā€™t you understand Ember? This is the end. He doesnā€™t need us anymoreā€¦"

Ember's eyes widened in fear, her mouth hanging open in shock. Delirium was still talking, but her words fell on deaf ears. Distantly she was aware the Delirium was apologising and trying to bridge to canyon between their understanding, however all she could think about were the girl's first sentences.

He does. She told herself fervently. He still wants us. He would have killed us otherwise.. The voice in her head wasn't convincing herself. He was still toying with them, like a cat with a mouse between his paws, and Ember was far too aware of it to deceive herself. Her thoughts were making her feel sick, and she was almost considering squeezing her eyes shut to attempt to prevent herself from imagining all the horrible ways Sam was no doubt devising to finish her off when she caught sight of her pictures again.

Her stomach twisted violently at the hideous array and as eyes are want to do they became fixated on the most horrifying secret of her past. A small handful of the pictures depicted happy scenes of two friends laughing, sharing various conversations and one with a mans arms around her. Ember wanted to be sick. How well Sam had played her. What on earth would the others think if they ever imagined she had trusted the bastard. His lies had seemed so honest and well meaning at the time. Memories of her first meetings with him flooded her mind causing her to feel ill.

Rezia's voice piped up and Ember was only too happy to have herself distracted from the twisted contractions of her nervous stomach. The little speech Rezia had come up with sounded pretty typical of him. Apparently he understood, despite him never having to deal with Sam to the extent both she and Damion had, he was harmless (which she had figured out pretty quickly) and he had no will against either of them. None of what he had to say interested Ember until he offered to try and heal them both. Ember was still not very taken with the idea. On one hand it sounded perfect, magically remove all the emotional trauma of the last two years. However she had had to grow into the person she was because of circumstances, and as far as she was concerned, the circumstances hadn't improved. She needed to be the deadly, strong Ember, she couldn't afford to return to the person she was. Not now. Sam would only take pleasure in breaking her from the beginning. The thought made her flinch.

She returned her attention to Rezia who had, for a reason unknown to her, begun to pinch his nose. A weird quirk to be sure, Ember thought to herself before her mind processed the question. It no longer bothered her to announce her task. Lydia had already agreed to it anywayā€¦.

Speaking of the blonde. Ember's dark eyes sought her out before catching the girl crawling out of the room. It appeared Delirium's previous words had affected Lydia far worse than Ember. She made no move to follow her as her place was here until Damion was no longer vulnerable.

Whispers voice caught her off guard. She turned to him puzzled, hadn't he completed his task with Rezia? His words made her pale. Somehow she had dangerously mixed up the task. Pushing her previous error to the side she frowned at his mention of the elevator. That wasn't going to be hard and he wasn't able to kill her. That was nice.

Abruptly the meaning began to be clear as her mind pieced it together. The elevator was how they had entered itā€¦.before Sam-

Her thoughts cut off as Whispers confirmed what her mind had just caught onto.

He wants to see me.

Involuntarily she drew in a sharp breath as her face whitened further. Her vision dipped crazily and she stumbled back a few paces, wildly flinging out her arms to catch her balance. Her back felt as though it was on fire again and for a horrifying moment she could feel each incision and the bite of the whip followed by the taste and smell of blood. Unbidden her hands flew to her mouth as she struggled to bite back another gasp.

"You won'tā€¦.you won't do it?" What had meant to come out as a demand, came out as a terrified plea.

Wildly she looked over at Damion before protectively raising her arms in front of her backing away from Whispers. Fearfully her gaze tore away from Damion to rest on Whispers, her dark irises lightened almost to white in her terror. She held his gaze staring him down trying to read his intentions.

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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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As things winded down, and the dust began to settle Damion was still rather noticeably shaken up from the whole ordeal. The words spoken to him, and the lengths the Rebels went to protect Rezia had left Damion unable to hide behind his normal mask of stoicism and calm. Where once stood a killer, cold, and monstrous now for the moment stood a vulnerable man frightened out of his mind. He hoped it would pass, he hoped he could go back to his mask, go back to being strong. Even if the others no longer posed a threat danger was ever present, and being vulnerable as he was would be a death sentence, he was sure of it.

As Delirium came, offering to use her powers to make his impending, potentially never ending starvation somewhat manageable, he gave her a confused, vulnerable look. He never expected anyone down here save for Ember to try and make things easier on him. Maybe the others weren't another obstacle to be beaten away, maybe he and Ember really could work with them. Form some kind of manageable peace. The offer alone was a kindness the likes of which Damion had long thought extinct in this world. He couldn't say anything in response, he wasn't really sure what to say. In the end all he could do was give Delirium a brisk, though thankful nod.

As Rezia spoke Damion stayed silent, though he kept his gaze on the boy. Damion still hated him. He didn't want to, but the hate came all the same, even as the boy extended his services to Ember and himself. Though now this hatred towards Reiza was just another reason to hate himself. The boy didn't deserve this hatred, and Damion felt disgusted with himself. As for the offer itself, Damion thought it simply sounded to good to be true. Even if Rezia could help them both would it really matter? Sam would just break them all over again. Hell maybe that was the whole reason he trapped Rezia down here, with the rest.

He wasn't expecting Whispers to be teh irst to reveal his task. When he heard it, he was for but a moment relieved. It seemed easy, and likely wouldn't harm Ember in any lasting way. However once Whispers revealed the true scope of his task Damion was horrified. Whispers for but a moment locked eyes with him, and he couldn't help but show a hint of fear in them. Sam wanted to see Ember. That could only be bad news. Just thinking of the things Sam might do to her put his stomach in a knot. Nothing could be worse.

With this information now out in the open he gave a worried gaze at Ember. She was terrified, the mere idea of a private audience with Sam had her backing away in fear. If that was Whispers' task he would certainly try to complete it, no matter what, even if it destroyed the idea of them all working together. In an instant it became clear to him. They would remain divided, because that's what Sam wanted. He was pulling the strings every step of the way and there was nothing any of them could do about it.

Damion protectively stepped in front of Ember. "No. No! Absolutely not!"Damion locked eyes with Whispers once more, though he looked far more fragile than he meant too. "She is not seeing Sam. It's out of the question!" In the terror of the moment Damion's whole countenance was one of total desperation. His body was shaking from the weight of everything, it seemed everything he had so bravely held above his head came crashing down at once. He was hurt, tired, the pains of hunger was tearing through his body. Above all he the effects of the previous confrontation were clearly still with him.

It would be obvious to all that he wasn't up for this. He wouldn't be able to fight off Whispers if he felt the need to attack. He wouldn't be able to keep Ember safe in the heat of the moment, and he certainly couldn't continue acting like he could handle everything currently facing him. That would not stop him from trying.

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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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Delirium was a bit relieved that Damion nodded to her offer. It was a small sign that maybe they wouldn't have to tear each others throats out. Simply, and quickly, she looked him in the eye so she could focus best, and then nudged the illusion at him gently. A feeling of fullness, a lessened weight on his stomach. He did not feel hungry, the food didn't look as beautiful and tasty as it did, instead it looked plain and boring, not very appetizing. She spent some of her energy forcing the feeling of fullness, which was much harder than a simple visual illusion. Finally she pulled her gaze away and hoped that his mind would hold that illusion for a bit. Then she turned back to the present conflict.

A lump formed in her throat when she realized it was her that had thought telling each other their tasks would be the best course of action. But when she heard Stephen's task, she realized this was way worse than she thought. All other tasks were mostly harmless and not very long, not the gut wrenching feeling that you'll go downstairs to pain and sorrow that you never know will end. No one wants to see Sam. She would take three more of those syringes full of god knows what than a trip down that elevator.

When Delirium turned to Ember, something shattered inside herself. Such outward fear and panic. It reminded her of herself. How she always felt every day of her life yet pretended she was ok and that she still had hope, even though she had broken down a long time ago. Sam might have picked up on it, but Delirium was a pretty good actress when it came to how she felt. A realization also hit Delirium. It was Ember or Delirium. If Ember didn't agree to Stephen's task, one way or another Delirium herself would get set downstairs for something probably even worse than what Ember had coming.... But if Ember agreed, who knows what state she would be in when she came back up. If she came back up. So who would it be? What if they both went down and attacked Sam. What if they all went down? What would Sam do?

Delirium looked at Ember again. What would Sam do to her? Why would he want to see her? If Stephen said no to the task, would Sam kill Delirium? Delirium shifted her eyes to Ember's and silently relayed a message to her in the form of an illusion. Ember I don't know what he will do to me. If it's Whisper's task to send you down there its probably very unlikely he will kill you, because he expects Whispers to do his task. I don't know what he will do to me Ember. She pleaded silently to the dark haired girl. If it came down to it, Delirium wasn't sure Stephen and herself would be able to take down Ember and Damion. And she also didn't want to have to fight. This was truly Ember's decision. Delirium would face whatever happened.

For all she knew these might be her last days alive.

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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 frowned and looked down at Lydia when he felt... he felt something off. His powers were a bit wonky from the electrocution he had gone through, but he still felt her emotions like they were his own. Hers always had a powerful effect on him and he had to assume it was because they were blood related and always connecting to each other; healing the other. They had a steady rapport that they could never shake no mater what they did. Rezia had always tried to keep the mental connection at a minimum for both their sake but it appeared he was failing at that as well. And now Lydia was breaking down. He felt that thought rip through his heart like a butcher knife. Why was he such a failure that he couldn't protect Lydia? He had tackled Damion for her sake so she wouldn't get hurt or tortured or killed and now... now Lydia was deteriorating right before his eyes and he couldn't heal her heart break. He was still too weak and damaged from the events of yesterday.

The healer swallowed hard when Lydia let go of him and made her small apology and started to walk away from all of them. Maybe all of this was just too much for her and she needed time to rest. He knew that wasn't quite true though. She was depressed, hopeless. She was giving up. She couldn't give up! He couldn't let her give up! The world needed people like Lydia and damn him to hell if there was such a thing, though he didn't think death could get worse than what they lived daily, if he couldn't protect her at least once. He needed to stand by her side. He shouldn't care so much about these strangers. They would easily kill them both without a second thought to gain their own freedoms so why did he care so much? Oh right. He was a damn healer. That's why. He sighed and his eyes traveled after his sister and hesitated a moment. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do.

He started to walk after his sister and ignore everything else but then Whispers spoke up about his task and both Damion and Ember got defensive. He winced and nearly stumbled when the immediate fear and sorrow and anger rose up in the room and tried to overtake him. And there was the migraine again. He nearly threw up right there but his stomach was empty thankfully. He leaned against the wall and looked over at the 4. Things were going to get ugly again. He didn't want any more fighting but this is what their master wanted. He wanted them to always be at odds, just as Lydia had realized. There was always going to be something else till everyone was dead. Even the 'victor' would find Sam there with a knife. He'd probably order them to take their own lives. He was sick enough to conjure that up and with everyone dead, even the ones they loved, why wouldn't they just end it? Rezia knew he would kill himself if Lydia died.

Maybe there was a way around this. He wished he could speak mentally to all of them but he couldn't. He didn't have that strength. He didn't want Sam to hear this conversation though. If he did, Sam would be able to prepare accordingly. Rezia grabbed one of the books at random and looked around the room and turned back to the food. He did have a pen so he'd have to use food. He grabbed a piece of chocolate and scribbled a note. "Sam didn't say she had to be by herself, did he? Why don't you all go together? You four have destructive powers and should be able to overwhelm Sam and whatever else he has down there. Ember could go down first and then everyone will go in after while Sam is distracted and not watching or just go down at the same time. Just a thought." Rezia passed the book to Damion then since the man was the closest to him. He made a point to keep the book facing the floor so the multitude of cameras didn't catch the words.

Once he didn't have the book, Rezia waved at them in farewell and reached the door. "I am going to check on my sister. We'll be in our rooms," he announced. He hesitated a moment before he grabbed the violin in the room and held them close and rushed off to his sister. When he saw Lydia on the floor their shared room, his heart went out to her and he sighed. He sat down beside her and didn't say anything. Instead, he started playing the violin to try and lift both of their moods.

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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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Stephen Winters | The Rebel | Neural Disruption | #F70D1A


Here it was, the hurricane. Here would be where everyone would crucify him or give him empty thanks based on his decision. He thought at first that he'd had the hardest task and even now he was right. What sort of cruel bastard would give him something where he needed to lie in the face of everyone else, hated or otherwise? If he'd used this opportunity (as it really was the perfect opportunity) he would have played into Sam's hands perfectly. The sadist wanted to corrupt Whispers' and Katherine's pure vision of defiance by forcing him to play Sam's game and throw out his principles in one fell swoop. Not only that, but if Whispers chose to defy Sam, well, look where he was now.

Ember fell back, desperately trying to regain balance as she furthered the distance between them. She didn't beg and plead in the traditional way (because the redhead never knew her to do that) but merely asked in fear of what was to come. He hated it. He hated seeing her act like a scared animal and Damion's own collapse only furthered the mounting anger inside of him. They'd always been this way: frightened animals who afforded a tough face because Sam took a liking to their lethal powers. Truly, they weren't more powerful than anyone else, none of them were in this situation...

...not even himself.

Whispers had the fate of two lives in his hands, but he didn't have any choice in the matter. Sam knew so long as he was in the equation there could be no true, united front. There was no "third option" that people in movies so valued. They had to choose between sending Ember or not sending her and everyone had their sides, like it or not. And even if they found a loophole, they would get punished for that too wouldn't they?

"What do you want me to do then? Do you want me to send someone else down in a fucking Ember wig and fight Sam?" he asked, "this entire time I've tried to come up with something else to substitute her, but you know it, I know it, everyone knows it that were at the end here. Sam's given us two options and regardless of what we come up with Sam's going turn it back on us isn't he?"

He turned toward Katherine who likely had her own thoughts on the matter or was relaying something to someone (as she always did) and sighed before leveling with Damion.

"Yeah you don't want her getting hurt, but I have someone I give a shit about too," he said roughly, "if you have any ideas on what to do I'm open to them but your task was easy. I'm at a fucking loss here. I don't hate Ember nearly as much as I hate Sam, but I hate Sam as much as I care about...Katherine."

The last few words came out a Whisper as he closed his eyes for a few seconds. Would this be the end of their short-lived alliance or would someone find a solution?

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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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Damion looked at Rezia when the boy placed a book he evidently wrote a message in tight into his hands. The healer than left the to join his sister back in their room. Just as well, Rezia's presence wasn't exactly doing any wonders for Damion's current mood at the moment. Rezia seemed to take great care to keep the message out of the peering eyes of the many cameras in the room, so Damion made sure to shield the message from their view. The message suggested that they all accompany Ember down below to meet Sam, and try to overpower him. Damion let out a mocking laugh, clearly the boy meant well, but something like that wouldn't work. Sam would've considered every possible option and Damion was sure he had measure to deal with every single anomaly currently in the room. It was a stupid plan, as far as Damion was concerned. Though not without it's merits. If he couldn't stop Whispers from fulfilling his task, if he couldn't keep Ember out from Sam's grasp God forbid, she would not be going alone. Damion was adamant in not being separated from his love again, no matter what. If that meant following her into the abyss so be it.

He looked away from the doomed message within the book, and turned his attention back over to Whispers. Who at this point was speaking about the task. Damion was surprised to hear about Whispers' reluctance to send Ember down to that monster. Somehow it was good to know that despite the hatred the Rebels held toward Ember, they truly didn't want to send her to what would likely be a torturous experience. Though Damion knew Whispers really had no choice, none of them did.

"Yeah you don't want her getting hurt, but I have someone I give a shit about too. If you have any ideas on what to do I'm open to them but your task was easy. I'm at a fucking loss here. I don't hate Ember nearly as much as I hate Sam, but I hate Sam as much as I care....

Damion did not hear the last few words, but it din't matter. The message was clear. Damion felt a surge of anger, and shame flow through him. He clenched his fists at the futility of it all, and cast his gaze towards the floor for a moment. Whispers only wanted to keep Delirium safe. He could understand that. He suffered purely to insure the safety of the one he loved, so he understood well.

Damion didn't want Delirium to come to harm either. Not after she was so willing to help him. And truly she did, the hunger was undoubtedly there, but surely wasn't as intense as it could have been. Because of her it was tolerable, and he was afforded some kind of relief.

"Dammit! I know you care about Delirium! But I can't lose Ember again!" He paused for a brief moment, his fists were shaking more so than before, and he desperately tried to regain his composure. He was somewhat successful as the next out words out of his mouth were much softer, but no less filled with pain and desperation." I wish it didn't have to be like this. I wish we could work together, form some kind of alliance, and just keep the people we love safe. But Sam won't have any of it, the damn monster just wants us to tear each other apart. I don't have any ideas out of this.... except...." He glanced down at the book still in his hands. It was a horrible idea really, but no one else had a clue what to do. What harm could showing it to the others do. "The only idea in this whole damn room, is in this book. And it's not a very smart one." He held the book out towards the others with the message facing the floor.

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Her petrified gaze at Whispers was interrupted as Damion stepped in front of her. His words offered no negotiation and an immediate sense of support. Despite this it was also clear that he was terrified of the new development in their situation. She tried without much success to calm herself, only managing to prevent herself from succumbing to the need to hyperventilate. Her nerves were shot through, and she was distinctly aware of how little control she had over herself. The mention of Sam bought far too many terrifying memories to the forefront as though the mere mention of the man was a bad omen.

Despite her better judgement she ended up glancing up at Delirium, knowing that it was down to the two of them. Instantly she regretted the decision. Mentally Delirium's message was forced upon her- one she had no intention of hearing. Ember had heard thousands of pleas over the last two years, and neither reason nor emotion reached her any longer. On top of that, once again her sanctuary had been invaded. She snapped.

"Get out of my head!" Her voice was an uncontrolled wail.

She recoiled away from Delirium, her wild frightened eyes locking on the red heads.

"I can't-" she stammered out breathless "Don't even ask! You don't know if he will kill me, and don't you dare pretend you know."

Then Whispers re-joined the argument. Frightened with anticipation her head whipped toward him, expecting inflammatory words. However her look of fear changed to one of genuine astonishment. Substitute? Her brow wrinkled with sudden confusion. Whispers had been trying to save her from his own task from the beginning? The realisation sent a tremor through her. This rocked every theory she had come up with about him. He had always been the predator, the most dangerous villain in the group and now it appeared she had been wrong?

Hastily she thrust these thoughts aside. She could not see him as anything other than the villain she had constructed him to be, how else could she fight him? Despite her resolve, a lump rose to her throat at his mention of Katherine. He was right. There were two options; her or Delirium. And despite Whispers obvious reluctance Ember could not allow him any mercy if he tried to take her. There was nothing on earth she feared more than Sam, and despite whatever monster it might make her, nothing and no one would get in her way of escaping his clutches, if it was at all conceivable to do so.

Damion at least was on the same page. He vocalised exactly Embers true feelings, though Ember would be loath to admit any sort of pity for the rebels. Pity only became a weakness- she'd learnt that once and the scars on her back would never let her forget it. Her hope was quickly raised by the idea in the book, though quickly crushed with Damion's description.

With the prospect of torture still looming dangerously over her head, Ember completely shut off whatever humanity she had seen in Delirium and Whispers and focused getting herself, and Damion, out of the situation. If only I had my knivesā€¦. she thought desperately. It would be so easy; two knives and two targets....however the only way to get them would be to go past Whispers and get them out of her room-. Her thoughts cut off as a terrifying realisation hit her. She hadn't finished her task. Dread filled her at the thought of not only herself but now Damion at risk of dealing with Sam. Suddenly a plan occurred to her.

"You can't give me to Sam now!" she suddenly blurted out. "I want- I need to finish my task first."

She locked eyes with Whispers, begging him to understand. If he genuinely didn't want to harm her or Damion he had to understand that she needed to do this to spare Damion.

"I need to-" she paused, realising her normal blunt way of phrasing things would not do her any favors. She had to appeal to mercy, not logic. "My task involves Lydia and unfortunately it means I need to use my knives on her..."

She winced, it still sounded brutal- but how else did you explain it?

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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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Stephen Winters | The Rebel | Neural Disruption | #F70D1A


"The only idea in this whole damn room, is in this book. And it's not a very smart one."

When Damion tossed the book in front of everyone Whispers was the first to dash and hover over the message, but Ember's words brought his attention toward her. She wanted to use knives on Lydia? To what end? How in the world would that help anyone? Well actually that was irrelevant as Sam's tasks were intentionally self-destructive even if they didn't result in death. None of the tasks so far were fatal so was this a trick?

As humanized as she had been he couldn't wrap his head around using deadly weapons as part of a task. The muzzle, the needle, and the elevator were all conceivably deadly things, but these knives were made with the intention of killing. How the hell was she going to justify this? With Damion? Stephen grit his teeth and looked down at the message, trying to read the message to get his mind off of the issue. If he could take care of his problem he could worry about the other one later. Lydia was and issue yes, but she wasn't here in front of him.

Sam didn't say she had to be by herself, did he? Why don't you all go together? You four have destructive powers and should be able to overwhelm Sam and whatever else he has down there. Ember could go down first and then everyone will go in after while Sam is distracted and not watching or just go down at the same time. Just a thought.

It was smudged and nigh unreadable, but Whispers got the gist of it. If they all went at once they could attack Sam directly or get close to it, but Ember wouldn't go for it unless she trusted everyone and everyone's relationship with each other was tenuous at best. He didn't trust her and she barely trusted him. Lydia and Reiza only stopped playing the field to help each other recover from last night's events. They had that power because their abilities could undo any damage that the other four inflicted on them.

Did that make it fine for Ember to proceed with her task?

He glanced at Katherine, indecision evident in his eyes. If he came to regret this (which perhaps he would) he knew Katherine would be the one paying for it, but he also knew that both she and him were prime to attack if Ember came at them. He just needed to be on guard.

"What are you doing to her?" he asked, "I was completely clear with you so do me the same service. I could have just told you to get into that elevator but I gave you everything you needed to know."

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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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Thoughts jumped around inside Deliriumā€™s head, smashing into each other, running around screaming. One thought remained clear and steady throughout all the chaos in her head, but it was the worst option she had. Emberā€™s backlash only made things worse.

She wasnā€™t pleading for her life, she was pleading that Ember make the right decision. Because Ember actually had a choice for once not to doom her victims. She had the choice to do this and likely come out of it alive, or put someone else up against Samā€™s wrath. Ember couldnā€™t make the excuse that if she didnā€™t do this, Damion didnā€™t get hurt. It was Katherine or Ember, and since all other tasks had not been fatal, Delirium guessed that Ember would have better chances. The logic of it all angered Delirium, that Ember couldnā€™t see it.

ā€Iā€™m not in your head, Iā€™m not a mind reader. Iā€™m trying to make you see reason. Stop acting like a child!ā€ She said to Ember. Itā€™s like Ember had never been tortured before. Perhaps she hadnā€™t. Perhaps that skin of hers had never been torn apart by knives, since they had never rebelled much. Delirium was used to it.

Delirium thought maybe this was different though. ā€Your lives are no longer indespensible.ā€ That part of Samā€™s letter kept flashing across her eyes. If Whispers couldnā€™t complete his task, there was no knowing if Sam would kill her or not. Perhaps he would. Perhaps he wouldnā€™t. However, Sam wouldnā€™t give a first task that would kill his subjects right away. One day in and one already dead? It seemed unlikely. Maybe neither would die.

The others suddenly started talking about a message on the book. She peeked at it curiously and snorted her laughter. Ah yes charge down there, because Sam would definitely have no way of knowing we all got into the elevator, and no way of sedating us in any way once they were in there. There are cameras for a reason. She wouldnā€™t even be surprised if the elevator could emit a sleep inducing gas or tranquilizer. Charging down there would do no good.

Delirium turned to Ember. Ember was clearly itching for a fight. She was panicky, all over the place, blurting things out. Delirium glared at the girl.

ā€You disgust me. You do all these terrible things in the facility and then when you have one chance to do right you are selfish,ā€ she practically spat at Ember. She then turned on her heel and stalked up to the elevator, opened it and stepped inside. ā€œDonā€™t do anything stupid Stephen. Consider your task failed.ā€ Then she turned away from the group as the door began to close.

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Character Portrait: Katherine Delirium Character Portrait: Ember Character Portrait: Whispers Character Portrait: Damion Character Portrait: Sam Pravus
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ā€ā€¦Stop acting like a child!ā€

Immediately Ember's eyes flamed red. Delirium didn't have a clue how terrifying it was to have your own mind used against you, to see and hear things that weren't there. If seeing Sam wasn't on the line, Ember might have attacked her then, but instead she mustered all her strength to leave the only sign that the comment had bothered her in her auburn eyes.

Whispers question allowed her to shift her attention, though she automatically bristled at his demanding tone. She was evidently hopeless at pacifying anyone. She'd only offered a little information because in the past people hadn't appreciated gory details and now she was being accused of deception.

"Three incisions straight to the bone. That's it." She had attempted to keep her tone neutral, but there was no denying the hard edge to her words, daring Whispers to ask for more information.

The tension of waiting didn't last long. Instead it skyrocketed into a tirade coming from Delirium. Ember's eyes widened in shock before narrowing into incontrollable fury.

"Selfish!" Her voice shook with rage. "Selfish to not allow myself to be tortured for the sake of my enemy."

Delirium was walking away, but Ember would have none of it. The words had hit home in a way she had not expected.

"You tell me what I was supposed to do!" Her voice was distorted with the strength of her emotion. "I refuse to do what I'm ordered to and it's not just me that gets mutilated. It's Damion and the other victim. I do it so they don't have to face Sam. I didn't choose any of this! Have you ever had to make a choice between murdering someone or watching them being tortured slowly to death in front of you? To know that as soon as they take their last breath that knife will turn against you and then someone you love? I kill to protect people from Sam."

Her words were bubbling with hysteria and then she went deadly calm.

"I'd rather die than face him again." This sentence was directed straight at Whispers, her eyes a flaming red against the sickly white colour of her skin.

Suddenly there was a screech of metal sliding open. Her head wrenched to the side in surprise to see Delirium stepping into the elevator.

ā€œDonā€™t do anything stupid Stephen. Consider your task failed.ā€

There was moment of unreal stillness as the elevator doors slid shut again and then there was silence. Ember's mouth widened with shock and then her legs went numb and collapsed underneath her. For a while all she could do was sit staring open mouthed at the floor trembling in the aftermath. Why on earth had Delirium done that? It didn't make any senseā€¦.for a second there was a sharp pang of guilt, but soon it was washed away with an overwhelming emotion.

Twisted, sickening relief.







SAM

Sam watched the events without a change of emotion. However his eyes flickered with interest at the girls little feud. For a moment he remained motionless, hands clasped in front of him with his chin resting atop of them. As soon as the elevator door closed on Delirium the frozen form jumped into dynamic motion. Without hesitation he strode across the room and threw open the back door, striding into a plain white room with a desk to his left and the elevator door to his right. As soon as he shut the door behind him it became barely discernible from the paint work and suddenly the room had one exit; the elevator. There were two armed men in the room with handguns cocked towards the door, both had reflective visors over their eyes.

Sam did no more than glance at the pair before going to seat himself at the desk which faced away from the elevator to the back wall. The wall was covered with a floor to ceiling mirror. As though nothing was happening he calmly began to scribe some notes onto the pad in front of him. The elevator doors slid open to reveal Delirium. Both guards immediately tensed, training their weapons on her preparing to shoot if necessary. Sam didn't even glance up, but continued to write.

"And what, pray, brings you to interrupt my business?"

For a moment he continued what he was doing as though he had not spoken when abruptly he dropped the pen and stared straight at Delirium through the mirror.

"Your arrogance has been noticed Katherine."

His words were delivered calmly but had a threatening edge to it as his blue eyes roamed over her, assessing her current status. Finally he dropped his gaze back down to his work.

"I find it interesting that you can announce when Stephen has failed his task when I was the one who gave it."

Sam picked up a picture on the desk, holding it up as though he was studying it. It was all for show, as the picture clearly depicted Katherine's past broken form on one of his interrogation benches. Carelessly Sam held it over his shoulder indicating that Delirium should come and take it from him.

He continued to speak oblivious to whether or not she was coming.

"I suppose this is something of what you were expecting this time? I'm sorry to disappoint you my dear, but you see, Stephen has not yet finished nor failed his task. He will only do so once he successfully completes it himself, or I get impatient and press that button. In which case anyone who has not finished their task has failed. Does that make sense?"

He glanced back up at her, his tone condescending as he pointed to the small black panel on the desk in front of him.

"So you see you've merely decided to have a rather premature or else meaningless visit." He paused for a moment, staring coldly at her as if trying to decide to do with a new problem. Apparently he got bored with her as he returned to writing.

"However the visit may not be a complete loss." He said carelessly. "I could end the tasks now."

He took a sneak glance at Deliriums reaction.

"I'll begin work with you and send someone else to collect Damion as Ember has evidently not completed her task. Or I could simply send you back up to await when I press the button or Stephan completes his orders."

His expression suddenly hardened and he sent her a threatening, dark glare. Almost immediately the temporary malice dissolved and he asked casually.

"What do you suggest?"

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Character Portrait: Katherine Delirium Character Portrait: Sam Pravus
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The sound of the elevator doors closing was a slap to the face. Her face became hot and red. She was angry, furious even. Sure Ember did everything to keep herself and her precious Damion safe. She would never do anything that might save the life of someone else. It all made sense to Delirium. All other tasks had not been immediately life threatening, just very unpleasant. But not completing a task would result in what? Something much worse. Or much better depending on how you looked at death. The fear of the unknown weighed down on her heavily.

She was stupid for doing this. But it was Stephen she was protecting, not Ember. She saw the look in Ember and Damionā€™s eyes. If Stephen even tried to get Ember in the elevator, both Stephen and herself would likely end up dead. The way she saw it, it was either both her and Stephen, or just her. Delirium leaned against the back wall of the elevator casually, and crossed her arms as it began its decent. She looked up and did notice one corner of the elevator had a camera. She was surprised, however, that they had made no attempt to restrain or subdue her. That likely meant there were guards waiting for her when the elevator door opened.

Should she attack them? Should she try to trick Sam with her illusions? Sheā€™d only tried it a couple times before and the consequences were brutal. However, when the doors finally slid open, she just stood there, watching as the guards pointed guns to her and Sam had his back to her.

ā€œAnd what, pray, brings you to interrupt my business?ā€ Delirium didnā€™t respond as she pushed herself off the wall of the elevator so she was no longer leaning against it. She slowly walked out of the elevator almost as if she was going for a stroll in the park. She immediately noticed the mirrors. Of course he would have mirrors. It was the one thing that seemed to make her illusions less effective. The brain did weird things when looking in a mirror, especially large ones. Delirium has noticed people becoming less confused and willing to accept her illusions as truth when surrounded by mirrors.

ā€œYour arrogance has been noticed Katherine,ā€ He continued while eyeing her in the mirror. She gritted her teeth as he used her real name almost like an insult. Katherine snorted some laughter as if they were old friends.

ā€Ah yes, just mark that in my file ā€˜arrogant and defiant,ā€™ or donā€™t you have that in there already?ā€ Sam continued his show of authority as he spoke again.

ā€œI find it interesting that you can announce when Stephen has failed his task when I was the one who gave it.ā€ Delirium again bit back her response as he held a picture over his shoulder. Taking that as an invitation she winked at one of the guards and then sauntered up to Sam, retrieved the photo and studied it as if deciding whether or not to put the photograph on display at some haughty new artsy show for photography. She picked up an extra pen from his desk and sprawled her signature in one corner like an autograph and handed it back to him. She couldnā€™t help but smile at her own defiance.

However, Sam continued on his tirade as he pointed out that since he hadnā€™t pressed the button none of the tasks were over yet, and she was down here for no reason, because Stephen hadnā€™t ā€˜technicallyā€™ failed his task yet. Which, granted was true, and also the reason why Delirum told Stephen not to do anything stupid like trying to finish his task anyway while she was already down here. However, one phrase hit her like a smack to the face.

ā€œI could end the tasks now.ā€

Delirium new Ember hadnā€™t finished her task yet, and being the cause of Samā€™s malicious button pressing could make the tension between them too much to bear. Hopefully, Ember would very soon, perhaps right this minute if Delirium was lucky. However, her only outward reaction was her shrugging her shoulders.

ā€œNow why would you do that? I mean wouldnā€™t it be better to see us doing these things to each other rather than you do them to us. You torturing us must get old after so many years. Just seems like a waste of time when you probably know according to your cameras that Ember is about to complete her task. And sure, I could go back up and wait so Ember can hurry on up and finish but that also seems like a waste of time when you and I both know Stephen isnā€™t going to complete his task. So Iā€™m just cutting out the middle man you know? Why donā€™t I just wait down here while Ember finishes her task? We could chat like old friends. I have to admit this new set up is pretty sweet.ā€ She smiled sweetly at him, putting just the same show he was. She looked at herself and the mirror and began to pick at her teeth with a fingernail as if it were a bathroom mirror. She fussed with her hair a bit before turning back to him.

ā€But if Iā€™m really such a bother I can go back upstairs if you wish. Or just wait here. I doubt you will have to wait long. And wouldnā€™t that make getting me down here easier? You wouldnā€™t have to drag me down or knock me out or anything. Wow blame a girl for trying to make your life easier.ā€

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 listened to his sister talk about the fairy tale they often told each other about who their parents were. He smiled softly and closed his eyes to bring up the image. Yes, they were royalty and they would go home one day and be as carefree as the singing birds across the painted sky. Their parents would be kind and gentle and they would be able to sing, dance, and eat as many thing as they could ever want. They'd live a spoiled life without worry of being tortured a second longer. He knew that something like this would never happen though. This wasn't a story book. This wasn't a happy fantasy world. If they ever go out of here, there would be no carriage waiting for them. They'd be just as lost out there as they were in here except out there, they might have a chance to get ahead. One could only hope it was different from the world in here. Whispers and Delirium had been brought in from the wold outside. Maybe he could ask them what it was like out there. It must be a beautiful place considering how hard they fought against Sam to try and get back there.

He turned his attention back to his sister and offered her a small smile. There she went complimenting him again. "And you, Lydia, would make the finest queen. Your kind heart would lead us all," he smiled and tapped her chin. Lydia would be a far greater leader than Rezia could ever be. He knew that sometimes, he didn't come up with the best ideas.

Rezia started to move to get up and helped his sister to her feet as well. He stabilized her on her legs least she topple over and used his fingers to comb her hair back and make it somewhat presentable. She had turned it into quite the mess. "Come on, Lydia. Let's go and search the shelves for some good books on mermaids. I think everyone will have made a decision by this point so it should be safe for us to leave." He really hated that he couldn't use his powers right now. Not only were his abilities passive and didn't help him personally, he now was powerless. That was not a very good feeling. He preferred it when he at least had something up his sleeves. As was obvious from earlier, Rezia was not a physical match for anyone. He honestly thought that Damion would have killed him after he lunged at him. And he knew that Ember hadn't completed her task yet. She wanted to protect Damion and the only way to do that currently was for her to cut his sister. He really didn't want that to happen but Damion was being nice enough and willingly not eating to save Lydia so Rezia couldn't raise a fuss. For now, they were helping each other no matter how much he hated the idea. He wouldn't be able to take away Lydia's pain. Maybe he could ask Delirium to give Lydia the illusion that she wasn't in pain so things would at least be bearable for her.

The young healer took his sister's hand in his own and slowly led her out of the safety of their room and back to where everyone else was still standing. He frowned as he looked between them. Ember was near the elevator and she looked distraught. Damion didn't look much better and the look on Whisper's face made Rezia's stomach sink. Where was Delirium? What had happened out here? He moved closer to Whisper's and touched his arm gently to get his attention. "Where is Delirium? What happened?" he really hoped that Ember and Damion didn't kill her or do something to her. Delirium was... sweet when she wanted to be. He felt a sort of kinship with her based on the fact that their abilities seemed compatible.

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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 hauled himself to his feet then picked her up. Lydia felt like a small china doll, the way he held her for a few seconds until her legs found their bearings, the way he ran his fingers through her tangled hair, taming it. She didn't mind the feeling, particularly. It was nice, that feeling of being taken care of. Rezia cared so much about her. It only made the heaviness in her chest grow deeper. She had to do this for him. She had to stay alive. Or rather, she had to not die. There was a strange in-between place where she now resided, the place of a healer who'd made too many second chances for herself. His warm hand encompassed hers, so Lydia laced her fingers between his. " That will be good," she murmured.

Safe to leave. When were they ever safe? When would they ever be safe? Certainly not now. She wondered if Rezia was play-acting with her now. She'd told him Ember's task, three cuts to the bone, so he knew that it wasn't safe out there. Not that Ember would pounce on her or anything, actually she'd been fairly respectful while discussing it previously, but still. It caused that lingering aftertaste that Sam was watching them, waiting for something...anything... Doing whatever it was that pleased his morbid little heart. But really, he was loosing his touch. Cutting the healer? Like it hadn't happened before, like she didn't have marks all over her body from that very action? Like she wasn't used to feeling knives dig past her skin? The only thing of substance it would do was drain her power for the day. It honestly seemed more like a punishment for Ember.

They exited the room, and Lydia leaned her head on Rezia's shoulder, slumping over a bit so she could press her ear against the place where his clavicle met the acromion. She let out a small, weary sigh. What a sight she probably looked. Her eyes were red and swollen, cheeks tear-streaked, and there was dried blood all over the front of her dress from Rezia, and even though he'd smoothed down her hair, it still hung in mussed tangled. What a child she was, breaking down over the smallest thing. Oh well, it couldn't be helped.

Rezia stopped rather abruptly, so Lydia lifted her head to look around as well. Everyone looked tense. Something had happened while they'd been in their room. Obviously. And Delirium wasn't there. Had she gone back to her room? Had there been a fight? Ember looked rather upset. Lydia felt her eyes gravitate towards the dark haired girl. It was time to get this over with. Ember was just sitting there, on the ground. The blonde girl lifted her eyebrows, though the expression didn't permeate the rest of her face. Her eyes were still dull, her mouth small and turned up slightly at the corners as it often did when at rest. Such a small, unassuming face, frosted with red from where she'd been crying, glistening with tears. She was barely interested in what had happened to Delirium, though she could almost taste Rezia's distress from the sound of his voice and the way he held his body. She squeezed his hand gently.

He was too good, too kind for this place. Lydia hoped that Ember would let her take her task elsewhere, so Rezia wouldn't have to see it. He didn't need that. Though it was still so tempting to let Ember do her task and then just not heal herself, just slip away, easy as that, from the blood-loss. Her body had been trying to kill her for years anyway. But if she did that...would Rezia...? She didn't want to think of that. So she just stared at Ember, waiting quietly, patiently. Just like she always had.