[center] [color=9e0039] [h1] ๐’œ๐“ƒ๐‘”๐‘’๐“๐’พ๐“†๐“Š๐‘’ ๐ฟ๐’ถ๐’ธ๐’ฝ๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐’ธ๐‘’ [/h1] [img]http://i.imgur.com/Fb1UXSA.png[/img] [/color] [color=silver][hr]๐•Š๐•–๐•ก๐•ฅ. ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ› , ๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜ / / ๐•Œ๐•Š๐”ธโ„๐•€๐•ƒโ„• ๐”ผ๐•’๐•ค๐•ฅ / / ๐”ธ๐•“๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ฅ๐•š๐• ๐•Ÿ ๐”ป๐• ๐•ฃ๐•ž๐•ค - โ„๐• ๐• ๐•ž ๐Ÿ›๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜ / / ๐Ÿš๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜ [hr][/color] [/center] Lying down on her bed, it was still too early for Angรฉlique to find any sleep. Her mind was drifting to different thoughts. What a week it had been. There was that Flags nโ€™ Seek game that got out of hand Monday, something that probably made everyone stop and think about themselves. She couldnโ€™t think for the others, but Angel knew for herself that there were things that needed to change. She had met many of her new classmates, bonded and trained with most of them. At the very least, she could see some links being made, some semblance of a potential cooperative effort to survive the miserable fate they were forced to live with. Remembering the first days she got here, and then this week, Angel realized in such a short amount of time, she somewhat went some way to become better. Sure, she still had to fix some more of that extraverted attitude of hers, deemed immature and noisy by SOME people, but she was making progress by establishing a routine, talking with people and focusing on her objectives. The proof resided in the small degree of control she gained over herself and her powers by coming frequently to Ground Zero. Even if it was sometimes to vent out her frustration, she willed herself to become better, not be overcome by the darkness lurking inside her mind. She wanted to not just simply let it all out. She wanted to take control of it. To use it to her whims, not simply for the sake of destruction. [color=silver][hr][/color] [i]Before her eyes, there laid an ocean of darkness, black as the void, nothing in sight. Not even the faintest light, the faintest clue of either person or object. She found herself surrounded by the oppressive pitch-black darkness, blind and disoriented. It was as if this dark vastness had been trying to claim her. All but one of her senses felt numb. It seemed so far away, but she swore she could hear what sounded like a familiar yet at the same time unknown rhythm . But as she focused on her hearing, the rhythm started growing stronger , accompanied by another set of just as strong, yet soother rhythm. One set seemed to come from further away, from the ocean itself, while the other set was much nearer, as if standing in front of the ocean, blocking its path Like unknown forces colliding, screaming words of pain from the ocean clashed against serene and focused chants of hope. And while she was bearing witness to this clash, splatters of the ocean managed to splash its way onto her. But for some reason, she did not fear the tainted dripping on her now-sullied hands.[/i] [color=silver][hr][/color] Angel gasped as her mind re-focused on her previous thoughts. What exactly were those visions she kept having? What was their meaning? Why was she feeling so focused, so calm, so accepting? It shouldโ€™ve felt wrong somehow. She should feel distressed and uneasy about all this. And yet, for some reason, she didnโ€™t feel any of that. [center][color=silver][hr]๐•Š๐•–๐•ก๐•ฅ. ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿœ , ๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿš๐Ÿ˜ / / ๐•Œ๐•Š๐”ธโ„๐•€๐•ƒโ„• ๐”ผ๐•’๐•ค๐•ฅ / / ๐”ธ๐•“๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ฃ๐•’๐•ฅ๐•š๐• ๐•Ÿ ๐”ป๐• ๐•ฃ๐•ž๐•ค - โ„๐• ๐• ๐•ž ๐Ÿ›๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜ / / ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿž๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ[hr][/color][/center] [hider=The Nightmare Revisited] [i]Silence reigned in the young womanโ€™s mind as she overlooked the situation below. Flying high above town, there stood a metal-feathered angel, watching down below as citizens ran off in panic when faced against a gigantic monster made of spaghetti, flying above ground on a giant ceramic saucer riddled with ravenous teeth, and an army of tank-sized meatballs swarming around their noodle overlords. The gargantuan creature made of noodle was smashing buildings with its noodle appendages, breaking them as effortlessly as wiping out a castle made out of cards. Humans and subnaturals alike were being devoured by the army of meatballs. Among those being devoured she could recognize the faces of many students with whom she had been attending USARILN with. The particular sight of one tanned Indian girl having her throat torn open by teeth before being gruesomely eaten alive was horrible to the eyes of all. With utter dispassion in her eyes, Angel had been overlooking the slaughter with a cold expression placated on her face, waiting for the Regulars to finally kneel in front of the mighty Archangel and plead her to save their lives. Parts of her felt ashamed to have grown so apathetic of the lives being thrown away. But sacrifices were necessary, if she was to even be able to reach the goals she had set. Even the disappearance of a brown-haired boy she had started to grow fond of unfazed her. It was only but when a young girl with red-hair came running towards her, only to be picked up by a tentacle and slammed with excessive force at the ground, crushing her skull open that the metal-feathered Aberration moved from her spot. Her face showed fury like none other, but instead of letting it all out into a world-shattering scream of retribution, the Angel closed her eyes, her traits slowly fading into serenity. Then, as she pursed her lips, a mind-shattering whistle came from her mouth, splitting the air like a serrated edge. The monster spaghetti and a line of its monstrous spawns screeched as ithey fell to the ground, a sizeable hole that pierced through their bodies and even through the armored saucer. [color=9e0039]โ€œThey all deserved it.โ€ [/color] A wicked grin could be seen from the angelโ€™s face, tainting her otherwise peaceful face.[/i] [/hider] This morning, Angel felt unusually calm after waking up. She still felt distressed about the whole gory show, and the remembrance of a missing Aaron, but she felt as if this new variant of the nightmare couldโ€™ve been worse. She felt something was keeping the rising tides of a tsunami at bay. That fact alone was putting her at ease. Whatever was blocking out the oceanโ€™s rush put her at ease. Hopefully, things would get only for the better from now on. If those were the results of the discipline she tried to bring back to her life here, then it gave her the more reason to reign in those feelings and start acting like she should be. Act like herself, like who Angรฉlique Lachance was, is, and will be. Slipping into her morning footwear, the raven-haired Mage lifted the black curtains from her window. She had expected the weather to be this bad, judging from how cloudy it had been all week, but she didnโ€™t quite expected it to be this bad. From behind her window, she could see the lightning illuminating the sky beyond the thick veil of dark gray clouds and the heavy drops of rain smashing soundly onto her window and the ground below. So much for going for a morning jog this morningโ€ฆ Yawning the sleepy bits out of her eyes, Angel made her way to her closet and grabbed a precise selection of clothing for today. No need to put on her usual training clothes on today, she figured. Instead, sheโ€™ll just take the day easy, even though her recent discovery of her powers being potentially linked to the visions she was having left her anticipating for the next time she would go back to Ground Zero. She had something she wanted to test badly, see if there was anything new concerning her powers. Just as she had finished slipping into her clothes and was putting on make-up, rattling at her door made the Angรฉlique snap out of her beauty-making trance. Wasnโ€™t it early morning? Classes werenโ€™t supposed to start until three hours. Maybe Allison or one of her classmates wanted to talk, this early in the morning. The loud banging at the door intensified No, this impatient knocking couldnโ€™t be anyone from her class. In fact, it brought the unpleasant memory of one particular night she wasnโ€™t ready to forget so soon. The door automatically swung open, and hurried footsteps stepped into the room, stopping this close to a surprised Angel, still in the middle of applying a light touch of makeup on her lips. It was a morning ritual Angel had been doing for just as long as she could remember. Her agent always said that she had a nice set of lips that should be highlighted because of her shades hiding the rest of her face; bring out their gloss to overshadow the loss of what her smoky glasses were hiding underneath. [color=f7976a]โ€œAre you deaf, Missy?โ€ [/color] Angel stood there, speechless. Somehow, this sudden appearance was sinking into her chest. What the hell was this guy doing here this early in the morning, with a soaked umbrella in hand? It couldnโ€™t beโ€ฆ [color=f7976a]โ€œPlaying mute now, are we? Well, since you are already clothed, get up and come with me. You have a briefing to attend to this morning.โ€[/color] Slowly, Angel started to realize just what was going to happen. They were about to get thrown into another battle, werenโ€™t they. Shutting her makeup kit with a low thud, the sunglass-wearing young woman slowly got up and let the guard escort her to the briefing room, trying as much as possible to not comment on every nudge and stab the guy made with the muzzle of his weapon. [hr] Angรฉlique listened with keen interest to commander Kardosโ€™ plan and explanation about the details of their next mission. So basically, they were to kill a machine-summoning colossal Subnatural who was wreaking havoc on a small town. So the mpowerhouses of their class were to take head on that Mage, while Angel and some other powerful Mages were to distract the machinery and back up the strikers, while the less offensive people were to either defend the healers or assist the injured/townsfolk. The plan sounded right in Angelโ€™s mind, except for her own involvement. Why the hell was she among the supportive group? Being someone who could emit powerful sonic waves, she could not affect machines, as they were lacking earing organs. The best she could do was put a dent and knockback a few machines herself, but she was more less useful than someone like Allison, who could probably cut through them easily with her anti-inorganic blade. Combined with Hazel, they could be a devastating duo. Angel saw herself more at the back, probably with Zoe, safeguarding a Healer, or even helping people out of the town. She wanted to protest about the plan, but she was kept under silence by one of the nearby guards. When everyone was dismissed, they were escorted so quickly out of the room, Angel didnโ€™t even have time to give a call at Kardos and have a talk to him about the tactical aspects of his plan. Left out by the door, Angel turned to the guard with the gun still nudging against her back. [color=9e0039]โ€œJeez, thank you so much for not making me waste my time! I wanted to actually speak with the Commander. Donโ€™t need to fucking push me around with your shit. I got it already, after the Nth time you asshats shove your guns into my back.โ€[/color] [color=f7976a]โ€œCanโ€™t do, Missy. The commander is very busy with this crisis right now, so he isnโ€™t available to waste his precious time into ordering this mess. You got your orders, so move out.โ€[/color] The guardโ€™s tone betrayed his inner thoughts despite trying to look unfazed by the brazen attitude of his care. Annoyed by the manโ€™s condescending tone, the black-haired musician ripped the umbrella from the manโ€™s hands and stomped her way outside, leaving him dry inside the building. Heeding Kardosโ€™ counsel, Angรฉlique headed for the cafeteria to grab a brunch. If they were to leave in seven hours, she might as well eat a mix of breakfast and dinner before heading to Maryland. Inside, Angel picked up a tray and grabbed a few toasts, eggs, bacon, potatoes, fruits, sausages and pancakes. With her overfilled tray, she sat by her lonely self at the far corner of the deserted cafeteria. She figured she might as well get some peace and quiet for what could be her last meal, even if part of herself refused to acknowledge the probability of dying. Just as she started eating, her mind drifted to memories of Aaron. A mechanical-summoning Subnatural? Aaron was pretty much the same, power-wise. This humongous creature that was supposed to be Human didnโ€™t look a thing like her disappeared friend though. In fact, this thing was nothing like him. If thatโ€ฆ thingโ€ฆ was willing to kill people, then by all means, she would gladly shout that thing apart.