[center][color=9e0039][h1]Angélique's Week[/h1]
[h2]Part 3[/h2][/color][/center]
[hider=Thursday, September 10th]
[hider=Chapter IX: Training]
[center]
[img]http://i63.tinypic.com/2ijgg9d.jpg[/img] | [img]http://i.imgur.com/Fb1UXSA.png[/img] 
[h1][color=B0C4DE]Brent[/color] | [color=9e0039]Angélique[/color] [/h1]
[color=silver][hr]𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟘, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕌𝕊𝔸ℝ𝕀𝕃ℕ 𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕥   / /   ℂ𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕦𝕤 𝔾𝕪𝕞   / /  𝟘𝟡𝟛𝟘  [hr][/color]
[sub]Collab by [@Riffus Maximus] [@ERode][/sub][/center]

Today, he had an excess of energy. Was it because of getting enough sleep? Because of the excitement and anticipation of learning new things? Or because of whatever meaningless epiphany he made up to stay positive? No, it was none of those things.

He had an excess of energy because he had yet to burn any of it away.

Brent sat on a bench, scrolling absentmindedly through international news on his phone. More monsters, more assholes, more misery. It seemed like every day, the world was getting worse and worse, but at the same time...heh. All these tragedies, all these numbers, and he still felt detached from it, removed from it. Same with Montreal, huh? He could read all about how Angelic turned the front row into a slaughterhouse, but at the same time...here he was, apathetic to the possibility of her being a psychopath that'd kill her own fans.

Because really, there was no way in hell it was an 'accident'.

His eyes flicked towards the clock. If Angelic didn't show up today, it could just be a rest day. But if this was her routine, then she should be coming any second now.

Just as Brent expected, the young woman passed through the gym's door during the morning. Dressed in her training wear, it was not hard to figure out Angelique was coming back from her morning jogging routine by the faint glistening of sweat her skin showed. Earbuds blasting music in her ears, she quickly made her way into the locker room, whence she came back a few minutes later with her shoes in her now-bandaged hands 

Making her way to the back of the gym, where the training dummies and punching bag were located, Angel spotted the Overclocking Mage sitting on a nearby bench. Remembering he was also at the gym Tuesday, the X-marked girl figured Brent must've been a gym enthusiast. Perhaps, just like her, it was a routine to come to the gym?

Acknowledging his presence, Angel lifted a hand in a small gesture of greeting towards Brent's direction before settling her stuff down on a nearby bench and preparing herself for another training session.

There was a bit of deviation, but her appearance was still like clockwork. Looked like there was a routine setting in place after all, at least compared to Zoe and Callan. [color=B0C4DE]"Morning Angelic,"[/color] he said with a smile, [color=B0C4DE]"Kickboxing again?"[/color]

Just as Angel was putting away her earbuds and about to put some music from her playlist, her head perked up from her phone's screen, looking towards Brent.

[color=9e0039]"Ah, 'morning Brent. Yes, I am. And you? Taking a break from... lifting? What are you doing here usually this early?"[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"Yeah, usually I'd be going through all the machines here, but after yesterday..."[/color] He paused, recalling the minor despair that was having a class dedicated to working out...that did basically nothing for him. [color=B0C4DE]"...I was thinking of trying something new, actually. Mind if I joined you today for your punching stuff?"

"Figured I was lacking skills instead of stats."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Something new? Hmm... perhaps that wouldn't be a bad idea. That could break the monotony of being here..."[/color] Angel muttered to herself, snapping back to reality when Brent asked to join her. [color=9e0039]"Sure. Wouldn't hurt to have someone to practice with." [/color]

Angélique looked back to her phone and set up some songs, however far less noisy than when she is training by her usual lonesome self. She gently put the phone on the nearby bench where her towel and shoes were resting. 

[color=9e0039]"Have you ever learned about boxing before?"[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"I learned [i]about[/i] it, and I know the whole concept of stepping in, as well as bodily rotation,"[/color] Brent replied, [color=B0C4DE]"Basically understand how the techniques themselves are supposed to function as well, but as for actual lessons? Naw."[/color]

As he spoke, he began to do his stretches. Arms, legs, sides, neck. The hardcore music Angelic's phone blared out didn't do any miracles for setting the proper tone for such a thing, but angry people screaming would probably nicer when he started whaling at the sandbags.

[color=9e0039]"That's good then. I guess that makes you good to go for at least half of what the whole thing is. Let's start up with the punches, shall we?"[/color] 

Angel set up herself next to one of the nearby punching bags, looking at Brent and waiting for him to get started. She was curious as to how experienced he was. From what he said, it sounded like he knew the technical, but perhaps not the practical part.

[color=B0C4DE]"Sure,"[/color] was Brent's reply. His wrists cracked and popped as he rotated them, before he formed a fist, one finger at a time. Raising up his fists, he angled his body slightly so his right shoulder was leading, before extending his right fist to lightly tap the surface of the sandbag. Optimal distance should be just before his arm was fully extended, and more power could be generated with a pulley system, where one fist went in while the other went out. Just a one-two motion. A one-TWO!

A 'whump' sounded as his left fist bounced off the side of the punching bag.

[color=B0C4DE]"...think that hurt me more than that hurt it."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Yeah, you might want to watch out for a broken wrist. Pulling a weird punch could strain it, as the wrist is one of the weakest place on your hand when it comes to absorbing impacts. If you do not tighten your punches correctly, the impact of your fist transfers into your wrist instead of your arm."[/color]

Angélique stepped in, flexing her arm upward, some veins and muscles bulging out to show how tight her grip was. [color=9e0039]"Your stance isn't so bad, You face your target right up front and slightly shift your body towards your lead punching arm. Lead arm should be the one you use for jabs."[/color]

As she explained, Angel took on her fighting stance, her body slightly shifting to her right shoulder. [color=9e0039]"However, you don't need to punch using a one-two strike. It works for combo, yes, but that's when you first have gotten the feel of your punches first."[/color] 

She began with a swift jab from her right fist, quickly extending the arm in a rapid and straight punch all the while her body pushed slightly up front, at the dead center of the bag.

[color=9e0039]"When you extend your arm, keep it tight, straight and steady. Feel like digging your fist into the bag for a split-second before pulling back. That'll keep your hand from bouncing away."[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"Ah, so that's what the spiraling motion is for,"[/color] Brent nodded, before bringing out his own right fist, tightening it until it felt like his skin was going to break open from his knuckles. Too much? Hm...
 
 [color=B0C4DE]"Let me see your arm for a bit."[/color]
 
 Angel wasn't really sure what Brent had in mind, but she complied, extending her arm to the Arbiter [color=9e0039]"Uh, sure..."[/color]
 
[color=B0C4DE]"Hmm..."[/color] Experimentally, he began to press his fingers against it, before stroking up and down, bobbing his head up and down. Still elastic, but that was due more to fat than lax muscles, wasn't it? He went back to his own forearm, comparing the two with that same focused stare of his. [color=B0C4DE]"Is there a balance between how taut your forearms should be? Or is it always a case of 'the harder the better'? Feels like the tenser it is, the slower it'd be."[/color]

Feeling creeped out by Brent's physical analysis on her arm, Angélique yanked her arm away from the intruding guy's probing, revealing a slightly annoyed expression creeping up into a frown. Rubbing her arm as if to shake off the feeling of being touched like that, Angélique shot up a concealed glare behind her cracked shades.

[color=9e0039]"Unless you want to break through concrete, no. If you tense up your muscles too hard, you won't get that swift flow of movement from your arm. Powerful it may be, but recovering and backing up after landing the blow will be much slower. Timing and swiftness is precisely what you want to get the most when throwing your punches and kicks."[/color]

So it all went back to speed again, huh? Made sense. He had come to that conclusion as well, but it was nice to get some actual confirmation for it. Brent closed his eyes, visualizing the sequences once more. Efficiency and speed, with the bare minimum required to keep his fist from folding over his wrist. These weren't bullets. Maximizing the value out of each strike wasn't necessary. He wasn't intending on learning how to punch and kick for the sake of killing monsters anyways.

[color=B0C4DE]"Cool,"[/color] the arbiter said, pointing to himself, [color=B0C4DE]"Mind showing me a normal punch then?"[/color]

Angel nodded, turning back to the punching bag. Doubt crept up in her mind by his request. What kind of 'normal punch' did he wanted to see? A jab? A hook? An uppercut? A cross? There were so many punches it was hard to tell what he meant. Deciding to spice things up with a little variety, the fighting girl fell into her stance. This time, however, she used her left arm as an attack, bringing a straight punch after executing a small pivot with her body. Not too powerful, just quick enough to ingrain what she was teaching into Brent's mind.

Well...it definitely looked good, but he had already seen a whole bunch of her punches Tuesday morning. Brent scratched the back of his head. This was going to get a bit awkward, huh? And from what he recalled, last time someone tried this (Callan and Kusari), it turned into a hilariously traumatizing event. Did he really have to clarify this? Or was she intentionally ignoring his actual meaning?

Ah, it could always be worse.

[color=B0C4DE]"Meant for you to punch me, actually,"[/color] he laughed awkwardly, [color=B0C4DE]"Feel the force of a normal punch with my own body, to gauge how much is enough? You know?"[/color]

Did she know? Hopefully she did.

Angel's face turned to disbelief when she heard Brent explaining himself over the meaning of his request. Why were everyone so fixated on getting themselves hit? She was no Callan of course, so she had no fear of killing anyone with a single punch. But still, she felt uneasy to simply just throw a punch at someone who didn't provoke her into doing so. All she learned was for the sake of self-defense, not injure others without a good reason to.

[color=9e0039]"What the fuck? What would you even gain from feeling that?"[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"It's like that whole thing where when tazers were first brought out to law enforcement, they'd have officers shoot each other with it,"[/color] Brent replied. [color=B0C4DE]"Think the lesson there was more to teach them to be more careful before shooting someone, but I'm more interested in getting a general idea of how disruptive a single punch would be."[/color]

He paused.

[color=B0C4DE]"Can totally see why this is a weird ass request, but you're the only one that I can ask, Angelic. Don't want false impressions to screw me over like it did with my thing with Hazel."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Underestimated her, huh? I admit, I did not foresee such destructive powers coming from someone like her. It just goes to show you how deceiving appearances can be, how powers work in ways we can't even try to imagine. And especially, how freaking awful those powers are in the hands of an Aberration..."[/color]

The black-haired girl remained silent for a few seconds. True, he could use a bit of experience to see where all this training was going, but the way martial arts worked, even a ridiculous blow could potentially be very harmful. That was the reason why instructors wore pads and such when teaching their students with a more physical approach.

Just like that, Angel's face beamed with realization. Of course! The pads were the solution. She would be damned if there weren't boxing gear in this gym with all these sandbags and dummies around. 

[color=9e0039]"Hang on a second here will ya?"[/color] Angel told, more like an order than a request as she darted off to the back of the gym, where some of the facility's gear was stored. After a minute, she came back with several kinds of pads into her arms, dropping them near the bench Brent and her were training at.

[color=9e0039]"I don't know anything about testing tazers, but we do have stuff in martial arts classes that can make you 'feel' the impact of a punch without bringing a real physical contact directly on the body. We'll start up with that. Then, if you really want to go all the way with this. I can try to muster the will to actually give you a beating. Put up with my request, then I'll grant yours. Fair deal?"[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"Well, who would have thought she'd be able to steamroll through a building and flatten everyone after taking a hit that the mods thought was lethal?"[/color] Brent shook his head. [color=B0C4DE]"If I was really underestimating her, I would have been trying to snatch her flags or something like that."[/color]

When Angel brought back all the pads, providing a happy medium for the not-masochist and the not-sadist, the Arbiter nodded and began strapping the pads on. Compromise was losing, perhaps, but if Angelic turned out to be capable of cracking bones with well-placed punches...well, he wasn't adverse to Christmas's healing, but he didn't really want to owe that kid too many debts.

[color=B0C4DE]"More than fair. Thanks for putting up with my requests. If you need me to Overclock a TV episode or something, just call me. Worked out pretty well during movie night."[/color]

Angel perked up an eyebrow in interest as Brent merrily proposed his services as a token of thanks for making her go along with his stupid antics. Truth be told, she could always learn more about her classmates' powers, and there was a certain something she wanted to test out considering his powers.

[color=9e0039]"Sounds like an interesting offer. I might take you up on that for this afternoon, if you are free."[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"Cashing in already?"[/color] Brent laughed, [color=B0C4DE]"Sure, I'll toss over as many free Overclocks as you want, as long as you also teach me how to shoot."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Aren't you the bargaining one now?"[/color] Angel replied with a chuckle of her own. [color=9e0039]"I don't think I'm the one you should be seeing for that though. I only ever learned the basics from Lawrence. I have yet to practice whatever I self-studied."[/color]

Seeing Brent was just about done strapping the pads onto his torso and hands, Angel readied herself into her fighting stance. [color=9e0039]"Place your hands up, palms facing me. I'll show you the feeling of an impact behind a series of jabs and crosses."[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"Lawrence, huh?"[/color] The blond that basically did nothing outside of clean up the mess his team made? Brent stored away that chunk of information in his head for a later time, before raising up his hands. [color=B0C4DE]"Come at me, brah."[/color]

Angel grinned slightly before launching a series of punches at Brent's arms. The padding offered good protection against the impact of the varying intensities of the blows. For a prepared mind, one would notice how small the force was behind each strikes, the weakest being the jabs and the strongest by the cross punches. 

It seemed quaint and rather boring to just watch the girl offer seemingly unimpressive combinations of punches at the Arbiter's hands. But just as the pacing of the strikes became steady, Angel broke it by delivering a sudden staggering cross punch with her left strong arm directly against Brent's padded chest. Compared to the previous punches, this one packed an impact powerful enough to make the guy recoil a few steps back and send a slight shockwave throughout his torso.

[color=B0C4DE]"Oof,"[/color] Brent said, surprised at the impact of the final strike, [color=B0C4DE]"Definitely felt that. That last one your actual 'normal' punch, Angelic?"[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Sort of. The padding around your hands don't make you feel much, combined with the fact I was aiming at the hands, which isn't the place you'd usually try to aim a punch at. They don't look impressive for sure, but those were normal. I will admit I've put a bit more strength to the last one to try and make up a bit for the padding. Trying to make you feel a bit what it's like to receive a 'normal' punch when you aren't expecting one."[/color]

Angel huffed, quickly re-catching her breath. [color=9e0039]"Well, despite that, are you sure you want to receive one without padding? That kind of punch can potentially crack ribs, not that I actually would like to cause that, or cause quite a bruise."[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"Yeah, figured that the head would be a better focus for fisting." [/color]The point she brought was interesting though. So the potential was indeed there, that of cracking one's ribs, or at least cause a colorful bruise, but at the same time...stomachs didn't have bones. And, more importantly, fractured bones weren't lethal, at least compared to a bash to the head.

Brent removed the pads one by one, before rolling his shoulders once more. Stomp the back of the knee, pull hair backwards, punch down in her face, and snatch at flags? Was that a possibility?

He recalled the speed of Angelic's punches, a speed that was definitely achievable with enough practice. Enough practice and no need for talent.

[color=B0C4DE]"Alright, enough faffing about. Got the Rocky theme song, Angelic?"[/color]

As much as Angel wanted the situation to not have come down to this, she couldn't help but let a nervous laughter escape her mouth from Brent's joke. She really hoped that last punch would've been enough to dissuade him from getting the real deal. Obviously, he was too stubborn to simply let it go. 

[color=9e0039]"No talking you out of this, eh? God you can be such a pain in the ass some times. Cortana, play Eye of the Tiger."[/color] 

Angélique's smartphone beeped twice, ending abruptly the song that had been playing, changing to the iconic theme song that had been made popular thanks to that old movie. The raven-haired Canadian fighting adept was shifting uncomfortably on her feet, getting the feeling she will regret her decision as soon as she would land the punch. 

She eyed out the possible targets. His sides were out of the question, a fractured rib could be lethal. The thorax's bones were dense, the heart and the lungs were located there, she couldn't allow a punctured lung to happen, and although it was unlikely she could pull a Bruce Lee's "heart stopper", she didn't want to take any chance either. One area remained, the stomach. At worse, he'd get the wind knocked out of his guts for a minute.

Readying herself back into fighting stance, Angel tried to breathe normally, but it was obvious stress was gripping her from how sluggish her form appeared to be, and how quick her breaths were. She just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, without any grave injuries. 

Without warning, she threw a punch at Brent's stomach, fully bringing her body into momentum with a pivot as she extended her strong punching arm into Brent's guts. The intensity of the punch was on par, if not slightly stronger than when she hit her living punching dummy with the padding on.

As familiar, iconic instrumentals played, Brent brought up his own arms, turning to face one of the dummies. He more or less had an idea of how impactful blunt force generated by one's fists were now, and if Angelic's punches could crack ribs or other bones, then with enough training, he could as well. And hey, she DID say something about being able to punch through concrete, right? It wasn't exactly going to be on par with Ms. Pulvernize-Spines or Ms. Eradicate-Property, but it was definitely something, especially if he overclocked gloves to protect his hands as well.

He tightened his fists once more, trying to find a good balance between tension and looseness, before an unexpected impact spiralled into the side of his stomach.

The first sensation was the burning in his solid abs, muscles tightening to absorb the blow. Then, there was a sensation of breathless, his lungs struggling to bring in all the air that had been knocked out. And finally, that all dulled as his amethyst eyes sharpened, Brent taking three steps back and bringing his fists up once more, this time fully prepared to receive his assailant.

The assailant which was Angelic.

The agony was secondary to the comedy and Brent laughed, spikes of pain causing his 'hahahas' to transform into 'owowows'.

Realizing Brent totally didn't prepare himself for that punch, Angel gasped as she brought her hands to her mouth in a horrified manner. Didn't he wanted to get punched firsthand? Gosh, what had she done? Did she entirely missed the point due to the stress? Or was that because she was simply an idiot? She recalled having done the same thing to Marcus a few days ago after their Flags n' Seek match-up. 

[color=9e0039]"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I thought you were ready for this!"[/color] 

She didn't want to make herself more of an idiot by asking him if it hurt. It very much looked like so, but she was still impressed by how he was still standing after receiving that unprepared. She did feel for a split-second how firm his abs was, as if bunching through a wood plank. 

Eventually, the pain had faded, but Brent was still laughing, unable to tell if this was actually funny or if the surprise made him go stupid for a moment there. After a minute or two had passed, the youth eventually calmed down, a smile still on his face as he wiped the tears out of his eyes. 

[color=B0C4DE]"Well,"[/color] he said, standing upright and lifting up his shirt to inspect the quickly-forming bruise, [color=B0C4DE]"definitely wasn't expecting that, but hey, worked out. You totes coulda followed through with more strikes afterwards, right?"[/color]

He gingerly touched the bruise next, wincing slightly. He'll ice it later. It'd be a good opportunity to learn how to fight through some injury right now. [color=B0C4DE]"Nice punch though. Shall we get to the rest of the program then, Angelic? Was thinking we'd go through a training montage once the Eye of the Tiger, started, but..."[/color]

Brent chuckled once more.

By now, Angel's head had turned into an embarrassed tomato, from how much crimson dominated the usual pale tone of her skin. She felt so stupid, she was left motionless and speechless for a moment. Although some harm had been done, it was reassuring to see Brent took it with a laugh, or at least appeared to be. Is it even possible for an Arbiter to cope with this kind of airhead without boiling with rage deep inside? She knew for certain she wouldn't herself.

[color=9e0039]"I-I'm sorry! If I wasn't such an idiot, I would've confirmed with you before throwing that punch. I'm really, really sorry."[/color] Angel apologized, fiddling sheepishly with her fingers.

[color=f7976a][i]If you weren't such an idiot, perhaps you wouldn't have become an Aberration in the first place.[/i][/color]

Just like that, her apologetic face unconsciously turned into a frown.

[color=B0C4DE]"And if I weren't such an idiot, I would have made it clear that Rocky theme was for actual punching,"[/color] Brent replied, [color=B0C4DE]"So really, it's more of a 90-10, with 90 being me. Wouldn't have happened at all if I didn't mention it to begin with, so yeah! Less faffing more punching, Angelic!"

"Still gotta eat lunch and then overclock Desperate Housewives for you, after all."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Y-yeah."[/color], Angel nodded then turned to one of the training dummy. "[color=9e0039]What do you mean 'Desperate Housewives'? Is that some kind of subliminal message?"[/color] Angel exaggeratedly answered, remaining silent for a moment with a clearly forced pout before chuckling. [color=9e0039]"Nah, I'm kidding. Actually, I needed your powers to test out mine, see if we can somehow make our powers work just as well together as Siena and I."[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"Only a subliminal message if you want it to be,"[/color] Brent cheekily winked. [color=B0C4DE]"It's really just a TV drama popular with mid-aged women. And as for the whole power thing...you want me to overclock a megaphone or something?"[/color]

Angel chuckled slightly, unsure if she should take that answer as him flirting with her or whatever. [color=9e0039]"Basically. I've acquired a microphone and some speakers recently. But I now know my shouts are powerful enough to break the mic and blow the speakers in smoke from the sheer sound output. If I could somehow manage to make the microphone and the speakers more durable, as well as making them better distribute sound waves, that might amp up the screams. Might be an interesting useful tool next time we get out fighting, wouldn't you say?"[/color]

Oh, interesting. He had expected Angelic's screams to be capable of destroying objects, but to think she was ardent about it regardless. [color=B0C4DE]"Sounds like artillery,"[/color] he grinned, [color=B0C4DE]"If it's just amplifying durability, it should definitely be possible, but at the same time...if magic only goes through your voice, it doesn't sound like a machine making the noise louder would really help out?"

"Definitely worth experimenting with though. If things work out, perhaps it's possible to set phone-nukes the same way."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Yeah, I'm thinking the same. I'd rather test new possibilities with my powers whenever I go to Ground Zero than just go there alone for the sake of venting out, you know?"[/color] 

She had already done that yesterday. But while she was venting, she was experimenting with her powers at the same time, try and figure out the finer details of her abilities. It was not done in vain, as she had learned the maximum range of her full blown screams, the effect it had on objects and even the limit to how much she could scream before her voice was giving out. The only thing she had yet to know was how her screams affected people, as she couldn't muster the courage to scream at the "fake" people inside Ground Zero. She had an idea about that last detail however when she was replaying what had happened when she managed to shriek at both Chris in his Dragon form and at Kusari.

[color=9e0039]"How about we wrap this up in a jiffy, grab a bite at the cafeteria, then meet at Ground Zero for 1 PM? I have already invited Siena and Allison for a 'Powers Workout' over there too. Maybe we can figure new ways to make all of our abilities work together while we're at it. Sounds interesting?"[/color] 

Was that the decision Angelic came to after being pacified by Ernie? Well, Brent had intended on abusing the existence of Ground Zero in the same way regardless, so having an acquaintance or two join along for the ride wasn't too bad. It wasn't like his power's usages were strictly destructive, after all, but at the same time, its usages were limited to his imagination.

Wouldn't be a bad trade-off, figuring out the extent of his own powers while helping others get a better handle over their own.

[color=B0C4DE]"Shouldn't be wrapping things up in a jiffy,"[/color] Brent remarked. [color=B0C4DE]"Still got a whole hour of actual training to go through if you want results, Angelic. But yeah, 1 PM, bring all the gear you want me to Overclock, and hopefully it doesn't explode!"[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Only if someone brings up that infamous Galaxy Note S7 and you rig it to explode."[/color] Angel giggled. [color=9e0039]"You're still good to go despite that punch? Such resilience! We'll make a MMA fighter out of you yet! Let's continue with the punches then. Next time, if there's any, we'll go with the kicks."[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"Gotta be holding it to maintain it though, so it's less 'stealthy phone bomb' and more 'explode it into someone's face when I punch them, while simultaneously exploding my hand'."[/color] Brent smiled at Angelic's compliment, thumping a fist against his chest. [color=B0C4DE]"And yeah, pretty used to these sort of hijinks. Don't think I'll be asking for a kick tomorrow though."[/color]

He wasn't that depraved yet, after all.

Angel only nodded in silent agreement, discovering a bit more of Brent’s nature of his ability. So he couldn't overclock someone's gear and go his separate way afterwards? This was a huge let-down team effort-wise, still very useful and plenty varied depending on the situation.

This morning, she won't be practicing with her kicks. If both were to train together, she would need to set up her pace to match Brent's. Only punches it would be for now. If he was still interesting after today's lessons, maybe they would move on to the kicking part. The training duo did so for about an hour, just before it was time for lunch.

Wiping the sweat off her face with her towel, Angélique looked towards her training partner, a smile creeping up after the workout they accomplished together. 

[color=9e0039]"That's it for today, I guess? Don't know for you, but I think that's pretty much all I can handle right now. Gotta go grab lunch before meeting the girls."[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"Yeah,"[/color] Brent replied, wiping his brow, [color=B0C4DE]"That's enough. I'll see you there then, Angelic."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Yes, see you later."[/color] The girl answered, gathering up her things before heading to the locker room, then to the cafeteria afterwards. As she was passing the gym's doors, she glanced back and saw Brent still training inside. Would he take no break? The Arbiter sure was conditioned, probably way more than herself, Angel figured.
[/hider]
[hider=Chapter X: Power Training]
[center]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/Fb1UXSA.png[/img] | [img]http://i63.tinypic.com/2ijgg9d.jpg[/img] | [img]http://i67.tinypic.com/2njvpci.png[/img] | [img]http://i68.tinypic.com/es3ewn.png[/img]
[h1][color=9e0039]Angélique[/color] | [color=B0C4DE]Brent[/color] | [color=ff57ff]Siena[/color] | [color=red]Christopher[/color][/h1]
[color=silver][hr]𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟘, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕌𝕊𝔸ℝ𝕀𝕃ℕ 𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕥   / /   𝔾𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 ℤ𝕖𝕣𝕠    / /  𝟙𝟛𝟘𝟘 [hr][/color]
[sub]Collab by [@Riffus Maximus] [@ERode] [@PapiTan] [@dragonmancer][/sub]
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After eating a well-deserved lunch after her daily morning exercises, Angel soon found herself at Ground Zero with a pair of speakers and microphone in hand. Earlier this morning, she had bumped into Brent, and as they trained kickboxing together, she had invited the guy to train this afternoon. She was glad he accepted. She had an idea in mind, but only the over-clocking Mage could potentially help her realize this idea. 
 
She was a bit early ahead of time, but she figured it would only be common sense for the one to organize it all to be there earlier. In the meantime, she was fooling around on her phone while waiting for the others to arrive.

Ultimately, the gear he had lugged over was much less than expected. His vest, his machete, his gun, a box of ammo, his phone, and a bag full of knick knacks. Ground Zero may have been a place where x-marked subnaturals were allowed to let loose and make things explode, but the amethyst-eyed youth was a white smear instead, and he had every intention of utilizing his time effectively.

His power was not his own, and it grew in ways that he could not understand, so really...

[color=B0C4DE]"Should have done this earlier,"[/color] he muttered to himself. The weather was overcast with no rain in sight. Perfect. Alongside Siena, who's powers were apparently 'anything' and Allison, who was basically a better Savannah? Would definitely be interesting 'training' alongside them. He'd probably also have to apologize to the bookworm about losing the rollerblades she bought for him in less than a month.

But not yet. Spotting only the homicidal rock star thus far, Brent picked up the pace and called out, [color=B0C4DE]"Yo ho, Angelic! Eager to get started?"[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Yes, I am. Good to see you joining us."[/color] Angel waved at Brent's arrival. She perked up an eyebrow as she saw her training partner arrive with equipment fit for someone going to war, especially the machete. It brought back some unpleasant memories of Monday's game. [color=9e0039]"I hope you're not intending to use any of that on us today?"[/color]

She was tired, but that wasn't new for the week. Siena's self-enforced training schedule had been brutal on her body, to say the least. Physically, her muscles were still throbbing with an ache that spread like dye through water, and given the jog that she'd had to take from the training grounds to the appointed meeting place of Ground Zero to meet with her teammates, the brunette wasn't exactly at her prime. Not really a concern, but if she were to be thrown into another combat exercise, there was no doubt that she wouldn't be performing at her best. 

Slipping her arms through the sleeves of a caramel coat too thick to be comfortable, Siena wondered if she should have postponed her own training for [i]after[/i] her engagement with Angel. Now she was, to say the least, mildly unkempt and probably not smelling as fresh as when she'd started the day. Too late then. Checking the pockets of her coat for the faint weight within each pocket, the brunette took a few moments to groom herself appropriately before making her way to the duo already gathered. 

Her eyes trailed over the vest. To the machete. 

"[color=ff57ff]...er. Should I have brought more than this...?[/color]" More than Fendi clothes for protection and her own "equipment" of books and e-readers? Certainly, she'd been [i]practicing[/i] what she could remember from Gerwulf's lessons, but without the actual trench knife (she should have picked it up. There was still guilt over such a small item) or opponents, there wasn't any way to really mark her improvement. 

[color=9e0039]"Hey Siena! No no, you look perfect. At least, if that coat hides books or whatever you use to read."[/color] Angélique cheerfully waved a greeting hand at the newcomer.

On that Thursday afternoon, Chris had been walking down to Ground Zero for his own training. Flag football had taught him that his dragon form might not be best for every situation. On the other hand however, he still needed to 'tame' his transformation, as he had felt it still wasn't under his complete control. As such, he wanted to practice both what he can do without transforming, and if he had time to spare, test out his transformation a second time.

The group of three students had caught the attention of the Arbiter's blue eyes. Angelique was the first he noticed, and seeing her brought back the memory of their conversation that one night. [color=red] [i] I shouldn't do this alone. [/i][/color] 

Chris closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. However after a short pause, he walked over to the group with his brown work-boots. His hands were in the pockets of his warm blue coat. [color=red] "Hey you guys training?" [/color] He spoke out as he approached. His eyes however were focused on Angelique, and he had given her a hint of a confident grin.

Smiling in turn, Angel somehow felt good to see Chris joining them. If it wasn't for the discussion they had Monday night, she would've been extremely surprised to see him coming up just like that. In the end, he really seemed to be trying to get along with other people.

[color=9e0039]"Yes we are. I figured it would be nice if we could train in using our powers more efficiently. Moreover, see if we can find ways to combine our abilities or find tactics."[/color] Angel explained with a hint of excitement in her voice. She was looking forward to train with other people, have actually her classmates band together and take a step forward to unity.

[color=9e0039]"Want to join us?"[/color] the raven-haired singer returned the dragon-transforming Mage's confident grin.

[color=red] "I was just about to test out some more of my abilities myself, its better if I work together with you guys." [/color] He accepted her offer, and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked to the other two. He wasnt too familiar with Brent, but he remembered Siena well enough. [color=red]"Hey Siena, you're training too?" [/color]

"[color=ff57ff]Oh, er...there were some things I wanted to try...[/color]" Siena gave a nervous smile. "[color=ff57ff]It'll be good to practice with actual teammates too.[/color]"

Oh, dragon boy was joining them? Must have enjoyed the beating he got from Angelic, huh. Well, hardly knew the guy outside of the fact that he let a victory slip at a crucial point, so ultimately, Brent simply waved at him, before turning to Siena. Fancy clothes, but then again, she was the teleporting, body-manipulating, human-tracking jack-of-all-trades, that probably had a myriad of other abilities.

An apologetic smile surfaced as he squashed down his jealousy.

[color=B0C4DE]"Heyo Siena, sorry for losing those rollerblades you bought me so quickly. Really should have kept them on me, but..."[/color] Then Hazel bisected the roof and buried those sleek blades under rubble.[color=B0C4DE] "...anyways, how we gonna do this? Brought some equipment with me, and I know that Angelic wants to try some megaphone hijinks, but yeah, we just here to think up sick team combo moves or something?"[/color]

"[color=ff57ff]Oh, don't worry about it.[/color]" Giving a faint smile, Siena brushed a few stray bangs from her face. "[color=ff57ff]I don't think anyone was er...well expecting that.[/color]" Giving the latter part of the question some thought, Siena paused. What [i]had[/i] she been expecting? WIth what she saw in the matches before, the mage had been considering counters to anyone that came for her, but...teamwork [i]was[/i] lacking. "[color=ff57ff]I can support most of your abilities, and um...[/color]" Hesitation. She could, in theory, find a way to communicate with Chris if he needed to use that dragon form, but...she pushed the thoughts down. No, that could be something she tried later. When she was using a defensive ability...with resistance to sharp, pointy teeth.

Chris returned a wave to Brent. He hadn't really talk to him yet, but Angelique had inspired him to try and be a bit more social. hopefully things would work out this session.
Chris had given a nod to Siena before speaking to the group. [color=red]"Well seeing were working on teamwork I'll go ahead and transform." [/color]The white-haired subnatural started to look at their surroundings.[color=red] "I'll find somewhere to hide and transform since I dont want to strip infront of you guys, should take me a few minutes, however I won't be able to speak to any of you in that state. I can still hear you though, don't worry, but if you want to discuss any specific ideas involving my power now is the time.."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"I do. Why don't you request for some clothes that would actually stick on you before and after you transform?"[/color] Angélique sneaked a snicker. [color=9e0039]"Well, I was thinking the same way Siena and Brent did. Siena can basically act as the team's rounder. She can cover up any area of expertise we are lacking due to her vast amount of possibilities, going from supporting anyone's powers to taking more offensive and defensive roles. As for Brent, he's basically the same, except it all goes equipment-wise. Whatever gear you bring to the table, he can make it better. That's quite supportive, but he can also cover both attack and defense bases, depending on what he's working with." [/color]
 
Angel paused, thinking about where she was going with the plans she had thought up until now. Chris as a new addition caught her off-guard, but that simply meant she had to think and adapt. Being solely focused on being aggressive, basically what would work well with the Dragon was Allison's nullifying blade should he lose control and have long-range attackers covering him from afar. 
 
[color=9e0039]"Personally, let's try to get the basics out first. As Brent explained, I wanted to see if I could increase my powers via using an augmented microphone and speakers, a bit like how Siena and I already succeeded in doing so. Maybe Brent could enhance Siena's reading tablets, make it faster for her to get the names she is looking for? Siena could probably borrow a power that can increase a Dragon's potency, or flames maybe?"[/color]
 
[color=9e0039]"Actually, now that I think about it, we've been hearing about how rare Healers are. Is it safe to assume you could borrow the powers of a Healer without having those awful drawbacks like what Lily and Christmas are subjected to?"[/color] the black-haired Aberration gazed towards Siena with a look of curiosity, wondering if her classmate's power could extend to that level of usefulness.

[color=B0C4DE]"We already went through this before,"[/color] Brent added, [color=B0C4DE]"but I can only do the whole equipment enhancement thing if I'm touching it. Of course, if it turns out that you can go become a healer, Siena..."

"Could cut a piece of myself off and see if we can do long range enhancements that way. If it doesn't work, just heal it up, I suppose?"[/color]

"[color=ff57ff]Hmm...healing...[/color]" The brunette paused to give it some thought. "[color=ff57ff]I don't know for certain. I've never tried it with magic, so I don't know how permanent it would be. Some of the powers I borrow don't have permanent effects.[/color]" Her mind went back to the Luxin constructs she'd used in the first fight. They'd disappeared, even when they should have stayed after she'd sealed it. "[color=ff57ff]I might be able to imitate Lily's healing or do something temporary, but I don't think we should jump to cutting anything off. If we're concerned about contact, I can try and see if there's a range enhancer somewhere...[/color]"

Slowly, her eyes trailed towards Chris. There was a lot that could be done with the power of an entire [i]dragon[/i] on their side. Finding her courage, the brunette gave a nervous smile. He wouldn't eat her if she could talk to him...r-right? "[color=ff57ff]Um, if we're concerned about communication with your dragon form, I could probably borrow someone that could speak directly to that form.[/color]" 

The dracomancer picked up his attention when Siena mentioned him. [color=red]"I suppose it might be effecient to have a translator, but transforming into someone that can just speak to dragons might be a waste. Isn't there some story where some guy can ride and talk to dragons or something? If you can then I can easily take you and maybe someone else across the battlefield to suffice for range." [/color] Chris turned to Brent. [color=red]"So if you can overclock tools n shit, could you fashion out some kind of gear for a dragon-saddle or something? If so i can probably run into the city part and take some shit like chairs and parts to help craft it." [/color] Chris offered. The idea of using his form for something that is more then just some evil monster appealed to him.

Oh, so her power was 'borrowing', huh? Not something based off copying the abilities of others, but...actually, why the hell was he wasting his time thinking about all this?

[color=B0C4DE]"Mmh, we can hold off on cutting off my ears and taping them onto objects for now,"[/color] he nodded,[color=B0C4DE] "Was never super keen on that idea to begin with. That being said though...what exactly is your power to begin with, Siena? Never got the memo myself."[/color]

Chris was next on the chopping block, and upon his own request, Brent smiled confidently.[color=B0C4DE] "Yeah, don't even need to craft it. I'll just chop off the legs and we can go from there. Going full dark lord would be a fun time, even if the dragon's just a giant lizard."[/color]

"[color=ff57ff]Oh, uh...[/color]" She supposed her powers weren't quite so obvious to someone that didn't know what they were looking at. "[color=ff57ff]I take names from writing and can [i]usually[/i] borrow a skill or ability from them. It's...easier to show than explain.[/color]" Siena was surprised to find that she was still uneasy with explaining it or trying to get into what limitations she could understand. "[color=ff57ff]I guess we should probably have an actual objective in mind with what we're doing here before we get too far. Like...a target or something?[/color]"

[color=red] "Well while you guys decide on that I will go ahead and find a spot to transform at, and get a chair from some part of the city while I'm there." [/color] Chris turned and had begun to walk away further into ground zero. [color=red] "Shouldn't take me too long, I trust you guys will have this training planned out then." [/color]

While the rest of the group discussed and set up the details of their training, Chris looked around the urban enviorment for a good spot to let loose. Even though he believed the city and its populous to be illusions, it still felt strange for him to just strip down in public and use his powers.  The eyes of the arbiter had spotted a worn out apartment that seemed to be foreclosed.[color=red][i]Perfect[/i][/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"Eh..."[/color] Brent mused as Siena explained her power. Names from writing? Like...books? And then...borrow their skills and abilities? Couldn't she just channel Jesus then, and resurrect all the dead? Or channel her inner Hulk and smash all of DC's monsters into outer space? Sure, he might be stretching it a bit, but wow...it wasn't the omnipotence that he had imagined, but it was pretty close.

He scratched his head at her question, before gesturing towards all the buildings just loitering about in Ground Zero. [color=B0C4DE]"Like, there's buildings here? Can you make them explode? Just demonstrate your power and all. What does it have to do with e-readers, by the way?"[/color]

"[color=ff57ff]Er, I suppose I could...?[/color]" Well, exploding buildings, demolishing buildings...it was about the same, right? And fast enough to allow someone strong enough to demolish one to come through...she supposed. "[color=ff57ff]Um...it's easier if I show you. Y-You may want to stand er...[i]behind[/i] me.[/color]" 

[color=B0C4DE]"Yeah, sure,"[/color] Brent replied, taking a couple steps back. Heh, was she planning on turning into a lvl 99 Wizard or something and calling a meteor from the sky?

...

Silver blood flowed into his vest, fibers exploding to expose a muscled chest, before reforming into a suit similar to what one would wear when disarming bombs, the black material making the white, painted brand all the more obvious. Who knew what sort of god of destruction Siena was going to borrow from?

With a soft breath, Siena shot an apologetic look towards the others present before slipping a tablet from her pocket. Destroying things wasn't [i]really[/i] what she expected herself to be doing, but... She flicked through a few volumes. Too early. Too late. Too strong. Not strong enough....[i]there.[/i] Her eyes locked onto the screen as the telltale signs of her magic took place. Faint, purple circles, letters peeling from the screen and onto her neck. If she had been able to look into a mirror, Siena would have seen the grey bleed out of her eyes in favor of a brilliant pink, the tips of her hair darkening faintly in the potency of her choice.

[i]Really, now. Just for a demonstration?[/i]

[i]'[color=ff57ff]Only one shot at this, Siena. Make it count.[/color]'[/i] Thankfully, Nanoha was less of a struggle to control in personality than most of her arsenal. The bookworm didn't necessarily have to [i]control[/i] the mage in order to use her. As if in response to the thought, a radiant light formed before her--the same pink as her temporary eye color. One shot. Only one shot. The magic continued to pool, charging in place for a long enough time that for a moment, Siena wasn't certain she'd get to fire it off in time. Still, she pressed forward. 

"[color=ff57ff]Starlight...Breaker...[/color]" Muttering the words under her breath, she could feel everything fall into place. It felt [i]right[/i]. "[color=ff57ff][i]SHOOT![/i][/color]" 

On command, a thin, pink beam fired in the direction that Siena gestured, piercing without any immediate form of damage. And then came condensed destruction. The beam seemed to thicken from its source, drowning one of the smaller buildings in light before the name slipped away, and all at once, the magic stopped. The beam vanished, the light faded, and Siena was [i]exhausted[/i].

But in the place of the building was a smoldering shadow of a manmade construct--what had been surrounded by light had been largely broken down. [i]Not as strong as her source...the fault of lacking the weapon?[/i] Where the blast had been most concentrated was obvious--the only places where the building's sturdy frame had fully started to crumble--but the damage was obvious. It was a shame that the attack was so impractical for actual combat, really.

Brent let out a low whistle from within the thickly padded suit, before cutting off his magical influence over the overclocked object. Immediately, it turned silver once more, the amorphous matter reforming into the shame of the bulletproof vest as he applauded his fellow mage. Judging by appearances, it was clear that taking the powers of a god meant she consumed a fair amount of energy in return, but still...

[color=B0C4DE]"Super cool, Siena,"[/color] the amethyst-eyed youth said, pulling out an energy bar from his pockets, [color=B0C4DE]"Thanks for indulging my request. I can sorta see why Angelic wanted me to overclock your tablet now, but...let me confirm this first. Do you need the entire book that features the character? Or do you just need their profile in particular?"[/color]

As he spoke, he offered the peanut-butter-and-raisins bar to her, wondering once again why her team thought it was a good idea to waste such combat potential on lost puppy hunting.

[i]'[color=ff57ff]C-Cool...?[/color]'[/i] Accepting compliments--an art that Siena was still not the best at. Giving a nervous-but-weary smile, Siena gave a brief nod before accepting the energy bar from her training companion. "[color=ff57ff]H-hah...if I k-know the source well enough, a page with the name seems to be okay. It d-depends on what point in the source material too though.[/color]" Certainly, the Nanoha of page one would not have been able to conjure the strength of the Nanoha she had taken from the pages. But she was [i]so tired[/i]. Maybe indulging was a bit excessive. "[color=ff57ff]I-I've never tried just a page, b-but with the way digital content works...i-it might be an option.[/color]" Her breathing hadn't evened out yet, and it was painfully evident in the broken lapses between words. 

"[color=ff57ff]I-I've been working on getting more names, so I don't have to feel like I ran a marathon for one action...[/color]"

[color=B0C4DE]"Mm, out of curiousity, do you actually need to be able to read the text in order to borrow a name? While digital content maybe be good for carrying many characters, it seems to me that you might be better getting to know a small set of people very well, and being able to borrow them with just a scrap of literature attached, while reserving the thousands in your tablet for niche situations that you have time to prepare for.[/color]"

Brent's brow furrowed, a finger tapping on his machete.

[color=B0C4DE]"Have your Avengers as the one-page gang that you're accustomed to using for most ordinary situations, and then have your army of differing Shield Agents as your Plan B for other situations? And for your Avengers, I can probably print out one page of text in near microscopic levels and slot it into a ring or something, so you don't have to fumble with a tablet every time."[/color]

Wait, could he even do that? Eh, probably. Giving up before the first step is for losers.

Despite her best efforts, Siena was quickly feeling an overwhelming sense of urgency. She didn't really [i]know[/i] how to explain most of her abilities, but that was really a matter of less concern than the general unease she felt over its effects. Masking the moment she needed to consider her answer as a moment to catch her breath, Siena busied her hand by turning the energy bar over in it. "[color=ff57ff]I...I'm not sure. I never really go anywhere without a source I can see, s-so...[/color]" Nor had she really had a reason to test whatever rules her power decided to set in place, or a reason to use it for something like combat. 

"[color=ff57ff]I um...I don't really have a lot of extra knowledge on my power. Just a lot of guesswork, r-really.[/color]"

Angélique watched silently as her little training group gathered and began planning what they should be doing. It felt good, to see some of her classmates here today, brainstorming and figuring out ideas to cooperate. Angel was proud of having thought of organizing this training session, even more so to have more people joining them in the end. It was a nice change from the mess they’ve been in on Monday. Slowly, Angel could feel the gears of teamwork starting to move. Maybe the reason the Flags n’ Seek game was such a disaster in the first place is because everyone barely knew each other. Things probably would’ve been different if the entire class had the time, like this week, to get along together.
 
Shook from her thoughts as Siena fired off a pink beam that wrecked an entire building, the black-haired female Mage turned her now-focused gaze to her training group. Walking up to Siena after hearing her words, she put a comforting hand onto the brunette’s shoulder.
 
[color=9e0039]“And that’s exactly what we’re here for. Perhaps not every single one of us, but at least I know I have my own limits and whatnot to figure out. When the time will come to return back to the battlefield, we shouldn’t have any doubt or have to make guesses concerning our powers. What will decide our survival is how well we can work together and how proficient we are in using our abilities. Now that we have free time, I believe it’s the best moment to learn of our limits, our flaws, what we can do and what we can’t, so we can compensate, fix or work with those facts taken in consideration.”[/color]

Chris had started to strip from his attire when he noticed a great shine of light and a massive explosion that followed. Seems one of them had blown up some buildings somewhere in ground zero. [color=red] "Jesus I hope they aren't trying to kill me."[/color] Chris muttered to himself as his jacket and pants fell to the floor.  
Chris, with the rest of his clothes now tripped away and folded to the side in his hidden spot, sat onto the ground to prepare his transformation.

[hider=Tranformation sequence]

Once the mental state kicked in, the familiar sense of pain flushed his body as he saw his skin already had started to turn green. His hands were vaguely shaping into claws and his overall body began to shift as it as done before. The arbiter had thought that he could try to meditate to reduce the pain, concentrate on thought alone to power through. At first it did help, despite his shaking body his state of mind was calmed as he had experienced this before, but a new sensation put him back in unfamiliar territory. Having opened his eyes to investigate he noticed that the tips of his clawed fingers were turning black. His whole body was turning from his previous emerald green hue into the shade of utter darkness. The pain had stopped. Or rather, it was replaced.

He had felt heavy, and more over, he had felt like he was being burned. His breathing starting to increase as he saw his flesh begin to drip. It was as if his whole body had become tar, a pool of black liquid had started to grow beneath his legs and waist. Uncertain terror coupled with this new pain had caused Chris to shriek in terror. He screamed as some of his fingers had fallen off his hands to join the growing pool.  The mage then watched himself become closer and closer to the ground and puddle of black.  The metal cuff at his ankle seemed to have merge with his body breaking down. 

He had figured that his new ability might have altered the transformation process, but he did not expect this. Had something gone wrong? Was he going to die? The thought and fear of death only heightened the volume of his screams. With what was left of his hands he had desperately clawed at the walls and furniture of the building he entered. He wasn't able to move from the waist down, but he tried to at least pull himself up to prevent his body from joining the rest of the pool. All for knot, however, as he just continued to sink to the ground like quicksand. 

Once his legs were gone, his body started to spread out faster. His arms had grown more numb as they dripped and fused with his liquefied body. His head, still screaming, became distorted with whatever features were still distinguishable. His vision had gone black, his hearing fading from him, and sensation of touch and taste were long gone at that point. From there it didn't take long for his head to vanish into the puddle,  the fingers of a hand that had tried to reach for assistance, that was the last of his solid body, fell apart as well. Internal organs such as the heart and liver floated briefly in the thick biomass before submerging with the pool, the bones had broken apart but were still solid.

He was still conscience. But everything was black, or rather, void. He couldn't see, couldn't smell or touch. He could only imagine, contemplate, think. His mind was racing with terror, thinking that at any moment his conscience would cease with the coming death. But it didn't, instead he had felt the growing 'shift' in instincts as he had always did with his transformation. In the oblivion-like state of consciousness, he was left to his fears. He could hear the faint voices of his long dead friends, his recently deceased roommates, and a laugh. The laugh of that damned monster that started it all. Gnarled teeth and savage eyes. Fear was slowly being replaced with anger. Pure and utter rage.

Fire burned from the liquid biomass. The fire mimicked the growing malice of Chris's wrath. It writhed and coiled in the air, flicked the air with crackling heat. The flames rose and carrying with it both the substance that was once Chris's human body and the fragmented bones of his skeleton. The skeletal structure followed the pattern of fire, having risen and collected itself into a new and larger skeletal structure that dripped with the liquid remains it rose from.  With the creation of its new outlined figure, its size tore parts of the room. Completed, the skeleton resembled an amalgamated, natural-looking, structure of what could have been various museum exhibited dinosaur fossils put together. The body was saurian, its claws were sharp and almost talon-like. The head of the still-forming creature could have been mistaken for a prehistoric predator with horns. Most abnormal was the inclusion of massive wings with elongated finger joints like that of a bat, only with more pronounced claws.

 The skeletal mass was still loosely covered in the black liquid, the puddle of the same substance began to collect over the beast starting at its feat. Carrying with it the organs that were kept intact. As the liquid bio substance spread over the skeleton, it started to became more detailed, solid. Red veins had ran through the shaping mass. The white and pink colors of muscle and tissue began to shape over the skeletal body.  The still skeletal creature began to move, letting out a roar as flesh started to cover its face. The body was finished with solid, thick black scales, the same hue as the tar that formed it. A yellow scaled below and skin membrane on the wings of the same hue stood out from the rest of the black-scaled body. The eyes, still burning for a moment with the remnants of his burning rage, were slits like that of a snake. A forked tongue slithered from the snout, before the monster let out another roar. The left ankle of its back legs had a metallic grey discoloration to it, as if the metal cuff worn by the arbiter had fused with the transformed flesh.

[/hider]

The black dragon allowed its wings to stretch and flap,  as he was adjusting himself to his new body. Chris looked to an old dusty chair that had fallen over. Having tried to be as gentle as possible the beast picked up the chair with his mouth. He then looked to his folded pile of clothes, and took them with the chair in his teeth. Once more did his wings stretch as he shot himself out of the building. The structure collapsed as the dragon flew out and into the air.

When he got to the group the dragon flew in a circle around the group before looping in the air, as if he was showing off. The arbiter dropped the chair and somewhat-torned clothing infront of Brent as his gaze looked to both Siena and Angelique. The white mark was still under its eye as before, which stood out more as it contrasted with the black scales that surrounded it. 

The shaking ground as one nearby building collapsed from a Dragon flying through it alarmed the black-haired Aberration. At first, she thought that maybe it was Christopher, but she then remembered the transformed Mage’s form to be green and wingless. This Dragon was a bigger and meaner looking black shade of those legendary winged creatures.
 
Fearing this may have been an actual monster that somehow managed to enter the school, Angélique stood on guard. Whether it was being protective of her friend, overconfident from having defeated Dragon Chris before or simply being her usual recklessness, she put herself in front of her training partners, between them and the incoming flying Dragon.
 
The sonic Mage nervously waited as the Dragon circled above their heads, but as the creature landed near them with a chair in its mouth, Angel sighed in relief. Her fears were immediately dissipated as she saw the trademark of an Arbiter smearing its jet-black scales.
 
[color=9e0039]“Wow, you’ve been holding back on us, Chris. I got scared for a moment. Could’ve told us you had a new trick up your sleeve before leaving.”[/color] The raven-haired singer replaced her loose shades back on her face.

Wow. When did that upgrade happen? Letting out a low whistle as Chris descended from the cloudy skys, the first thing that Brent noticed were the spines that jutted out of the black reptile's back. That was going to be a problem, wasn't it? Not a problem that he couldn't work around though. Rolling up the torn-up clothing and taking the chair in his hands, he said, [color=B0C4DE]"Damn dude. Badass form right there. Want to kneel down so I can actually, like, get up onto your back?[/color]"

The legs of the chair was going to be important after all, huh? First function would be to make it even usable on his back. Second would be to extend the number of seats on it. Would he need a third? No, should be fine.

[color=B0C4DE]"Looks like we can put this off til later, Siena,"[/color] Brent smiled, [color=B0C4DE]"Now who wants to ride Chris?"[/color]

[i]Chris had [b]wings[/b]?![/i]

The reptilian beast that had touched down was [i]definitely[/i] Chris if Angel and Brent were right. He certainly didn't match up with the memories of either the footage of the match or the night of their first combat assessment, but given that the dragon wasn't trying to eat anyone...it was a pretty safe bet. As the surprise washed aside, Siena couldn't help but stare. 

And stare.

And quietly, as if volume could hide the hope that dared to break past every emotional filter Siena had in place, the girl spoke. "[color=ff57ff]C-Can we really...?[/color]"

Chris was sastisfied that his new form was impressive to his comrades. He tried to deliver a toothy grin, but being a mere beast, the expression only displayed his large monstrous teeth and maw. He folded and lowered his wings while he lowered his legs. His body leaned on his left, and his left lwing lowered to an arc like a ramp to a plane as he awaited Brent's adjustments. His neck had lowered too. The tail of the beast slithered and flicked about as Chris was just as excited to fly as the rest of his team were. 

Angelique grimaced at Brent's question. She may be referred as Angel by many fans and friends, but she was ironically far from being someone at ease with heights. Plane trips always did make her nervous.

[color=9e0039]"I-I'll pass. I'm not too good with heights. Sorry."[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"You sure about that? Gotta face your fears before you're faced with a life-and-death situation featuring it."[/color]

Angel had got to admit it, Brent did make a point. It would be quite hypocritical of her to have told her teammates earlier about being prepared for future encounters and refuse to face her own fears. 

[color=9e0039]"Fuck... you got me there. Alright... I'll give it a try."[/color] Angelique nodded slowly, nervosity obviously showing up. [color=9e0039]"You better hold me tight should I fall unconscious!"[/color] she joked, trying to ease up.

[color=B0C4DE]"Don't worry,"[/color] he grinned, slapping the jittery Angelic on the back, [color=B0C4DE]"It'll be like a roller coaster: conceptually terrifying but actually hella fun!"[/color]

With that, the brunette took the chair and took his first experimental step on Chris's wing ramp. There was a bit of slack, but it was definitely taut enough to hold his weight. Really, tougher than expected. A part of the arbiter wanted to bring out his machete and see if he could cut through it like a ship sail, but...

Yeah, not now.

Grabbing one of the spine-spikes for balance, Brent placed the chair roughly over Chris's back, before letting out a deep breath. Silver blood flowed and the chair exploded, a kaleidoscope of illuminated pieces. They expanded, a saddle forming around the dragon's torso, before the material 'cooled'. A single seat saddle made of synthetic wood, complete with stirrups for the feet and a horn to grasp in lieu of proper reins.

Another deep breath, another pulse of that silver energy within his core, and this time, the saddle screeched, twisting and controrting violently, erractically. It extended further, dark wood now turned into a sleek silver with 'N0 NAME' etched on the side as three seats were made. Now appearing to be more like a fusion between saddles and booster seats, it had the impression of a roller coaster car, elevated a foot above Chris's back.

Man, sucks for Angelic.

Careful to keep one hand on the ride from hell, Brent gestured towards the two down below. [color=B0C4DE]"All aboard!"[/color]

hesitantly, Angel stepped forward, walking unevenly on the dragon-transformed Chris' wing. she was surprised his new appendage would be so tough as to allow one to walk on it What surprised her most though was just how easy he was willing to let people ride him. Wasn't that supposed to be something Dragon highly despised, or at least honored few of this privilege? At least, that's what she heard from stories, movies and books, back when Dragons were but creatures of the mind and not the ravaging beasts in flesh and blood that basically destroyed the eastern world countries.

Joining Brent, Angel settled for the middle seat. Somehow, it put her mind at ease to have someone both in front and behind her

"[color=ff57ff]Er...give me one second...[/color]" Though really, Siena wanted nothing more than to hop onto the dragon's back, she was aware that Chris being able to hear them didn't mean much if they couldn't get actual words out of their mouths at higher altitudes and speeds. If the words were lost on the winds...well, that was at least easily fixed. Quickly, the girl brought up a volume she wanted, hoping that her plan would work the way that she wanted it to. 

Hopefully. 

After allowing the name to settle over her, Siena quickly made way to the seats that Brent had made for their next little experiment, eyes now a brilliant green instead of their usual grey, the sense of fatigue making her almost regret working her magic as she steadied herself using any handholds she could get until she reached her comrades. 

"[color=ff57ff]Hope this works...[/color]" She gave a nervous smile as the words escaped her lips, before taking a quiet breath, focusing her thoughts on communicating with the dragon.

[i]"[color=ff57ff]Chris? Can you hear this at all...?[/color]"[/i]

Chris was shocked to hear a voice unlike his own to vibrate within his conscience. The sensation Siena's magic gave him was calming, he had no longer felt so alone in this beastual form. 

[i][color=red]  "H-hello? I can hear you....You can hear me too right?" [/color][/i]  The dragon's tail had become stationary., his head lifted and turned to see the three. 

[i]"[color=ff57ff]Oh, good...! I can hear you too.[/color]"[/i] Siena gave a small wave to Chris as he turned to glance at the trio. [i]"[color=ff57ff]I guess we'll be able to communicate with each other this way then.[/color]"[/i] A pause. Perhaps it was a good idea to let the others know too. 

"[color=ff57ff]Er...well it looks like I can communicate with Chris while we're up there, so if we need to land for some reason, we should be okay.[/color]"

[color=B0C4DE]"This seat will last for ten minutes, after which we can stay around for another ten minutes,"[/color] Brent said, [color=B0C4DE]"Or land. Guess if things get sketchy, I'll...tap Angelic on the shoulder, and then she can tap you on the shoulder?"[/color]

Well, that was under the assumption Angelic had even guts to let go of the handles during flight...

[color=B0C4DE]"Be counting on you, Angelic!"[/color]

With everyone onboard, Chris raised both wings as he let out a roar of pride. His forked tongue tasted the air as his eyes grew excited. The black dragon began to move its wings in flight motion, each slow beat whisked a gust of air beneath the yellow membrane. The beast then sprang upwards. As he gained height, his wings would beat at steady interval like a large bird. Once he had attained a height of about 500 feet, Chris looked to the ground in awe. 

Confident, Chris let out another monstrous cry as flames began to flicker out of his maw. He had started to get carried away in his newfound mobility, and to show off, he performed a loop in the air in a similar arc that a roller coster would have. When the loop ended the dragon had darted itself on a downward angle. He had released the flames in his mouth to graze the earth below as he drew closer to it. By the time his sustained attack diminished, he was merely 50 feet away from crashing into the now burning field before he steered right and upwards. 

Seated uncomfortably into this damned oversized chair without even a single seatbelt to hold her steady, Angel kept muttering lowly [color=9e0039]“Fuck, this is a bad idea.”[/color] Her knuckled were white from holding so tightly the handle bars. She was far gone in her mind, preparing herself for the worst, she barely heard Brent calling out to her about the plan, to which she only blurted out [color=9e0039]“A-aye”[/color] in reply.
 
When Chris roared, it made Angel jump from her seat, the ball of condensed anxiety that would be the only Aberration in the group however tensed up and firmly held onto dear life as the Dragon took off from the ground, letting out a yelp of surprise.
 
During Chris mid-air tricks, Angel couldn’t help but scream like a frightened little girl on her first roller-coaster ride. As a matter of fact, she never dared ride one of those things. To now experience the thing on the back of a Dragon at five hundred meters off the ground, she was just about losing it. 
 
Muted by the wind force, she kept yelling [color=9e0039]“OH MY GOD I’M GOING DIE ON THIS STUPID DRAGON!”[/color] as her hands were quivering violently from the sheer pressure she was gripping the handle bars. Then the worse happened. The fiery dive bomb of doom. Thinking Chris had gone mad, and seeing the ground coming down so quickly, Angel unleashed an ear-piercing shriek upwards. As much as Angel tried to not scream, in fear of accidentally using her power, she managed to dampen the intensity of the shout, barely affecting her comrades’ senses, but their hearing would suffer for a little while. 
 
By the time Chris steered upwards, Angélique was a crying mess, still clutching her seat and pleading her life to return to the ground below. Her eyes were now closed, unwilling to witness anything more until they returned to her beloved earth.

While Angelic was busy screaming her lungs out, Brent was busying screaming his lungs out as well. Two hands raised up towards the sky, with only his feet locked against the bars that kept him from flying right off the dragon, the amethyst-eyed youth screamed in exhiliration as Chris showed off his full aerial potential, jets of flame spouting about everywhere.

Holy shit, this was great!

[color=B0C4DE]"HELL YEAH!!! ISN'T THIS FUN, ANGELIC?!?!"[/color]

Clearly, somewhere between getting up in the morning and that exact moment, Siena had lost her mind. While the flight was exhilerating in ways that Siena had never experienced before, she was also suddenly made acutely aware that there was [i]nothing holding her in place[/i]. Gripping onto anything she could wrap her hands around, Siena wondered briefly if her heart could physically explode then fly out of her throat. it certainly [i]felt[/i] like it could happen, especially with the rushing air making her ears pulse and her eyes water, robbing her of two of the senses that she relied on most in most circumstances. Wind whipped the chocolate braid of hair from its place over Siena's shoulder, flinging it at an angle only possible because of their velocity, and all logic pointed at the fact that [i]she should have been screaming for dear life.[/i]

What escaped from her mouth instead, was a laugh that was ripped away by the wind before it could even fully reach Siena's ears. 

[i]"[color=ff57ff]This might be a bit much for us now, but I think you can get less resistance if you fold your wings a little more for a dive.[/color]"[/i] A pause Between the thrill and Chris's own excitement, Siena was starting to sort her own emotions and her dragon companion's. Something...[i]wild[/i] was lingering in their connection. It was familiar, and yet entirely primal. Rough around the edges, indeed. [i]"[color=ff57ff]But not right now! I think we should get more secure seating if we want to try this again.[/color]"[/i] Without the aid of her usual mental filters, it was harder to hide the traces of glee that she would have kept from physically speaking--the connection was...[i]different[/i] from typical communication. Harder to mask anything. It should have scared her.

But instead, she laughed.

As Siena had started to speak to him, Chris leveled himself in the air and slowed his speed to a more comfortable sustained flight. His head had once again glanced back to the crew to see a thrilled Brent and a weeping Angel. With less wind resistance it was easier to hear Angelique's screaming.
The dragon seemed to give a nod towards Siena.

[i][color=red] "Right, make sure you tell Angelique I'm sorry, got a bit carried away." [/color] [/i]

The dragon steered to the left, towards the city. His tongue once again slithered out of his maw briefly. 

[i][color=red]"I don't think I've seen you so happy before."[/color][/i] Chris's voice showed a hint of enjoyment.

With the speed reduced and her senses no longer trying to adjust, Siena was left with a light feeling. While she was aware that it had to have been from the name she'd chosen, that didn't stop the mage from feeling a sense of ease while riding a dragon. Taking a breath of air, she glanced back at her fellow mages, the smile on her face muted compared to the one in her head. "[color=ff57ff]H-He says sorry about that. Got carried awa--[/color]"

And her thoughts came to a dead stop. 

[i]"[color=ff57ff]O-Oh! I uh. I mean.[/color]"[/i] A surge of emotions came forth, the embarrassment cutting to the front of the pack. [i]Right[/i]. There were no real filters between her head and Chris's, and that was probably both ways. She'd been able to sense something from his end, so it wasn't entirelyunreasonable for that to go both ways. Pushing aside most of the thoughts to recollect herself before trying the communication again, she gave a sheepish smile on both fronts. [i]"[color=ff57ff]W-Well, I mean...I never thought I'd get to ride a dragon before.[/color]"[/i] 

C-close enough, right?

[i] [color=red] "No reason to be flustered about it. I'm having a good time too." [/color] [/i] 

The dragon steered down, having grazed the side of an office building with his claws. He'd then darted downwards, and had extended his wings fully to slow down his momentum. He had landed on the city street with a crashing thud that bore a small crater into the pavement, however he did not stumble in his stance.

[color=red][i]"What else should we try?"[/i] [/color]

Oh, over already? Running a hand through his now horrendously wind-swept hair, Brent let out a deep breath. Practically speaking, it was basically useless because no one could focus enough to, say, bombard any surface-dwelling enemies with a long range attack, but that just meant he needed to use his Overclocks more effectively. If he didn't have to worry about multiple individuals, that single saddle could have been overclocked to better keep people ON the saddle. After that, it was just a matter of being able to swallow your fear and shoot shit down.

But still...he shook his head and let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding.

[color=B0C4DE]"Well, how bout that? Slow yourself down a bit and we can go for the whole mobile aerial fortress of death here."[/color]

Despite Chris having landed, Angélique wouldn't even notice the group were now back on land. Still clutching the handbars tightly, the raven-haired young woman had her head lowered, quivering, seemingly lost within her obvious fear. If one would pay close attention to her face, they would notice Angel was no longer sporting her shades, and faint wet trails on her cheeks suggested not so completly dried tears fell from her eyes.

[color=B0C4DE]"Chris, wing ramp, please?"[/color]

The dragon had lowered his left wing to the same ramping arc in response to Brent. He once more turned his long neck to watch the three mages.

[color=B0C4DE]"Angelic, can you walk?"[/color]

Shook from her panicked state by hearing her name being called, Angélique slowly opened her eyes towards the source where Brent's voice came from. Immediately, her eyes were assaulted by the ambient light. Lucky for her, it was cloudy today, but her eyes still squinted from a slight pain in her eyes.

Sniffing loudly and wiping her face, Angel tried to hide the mess she had been throughout the ride. [color=9e0039]"J-just give me a moment... to pick myself up." [/color]

Wobbly on her legs, Angel nearly tripped over the supposed saddle for three, her sight blurry and hard to distinguish where she was going. Groaning in frustration, Angel shamefully turned her head away and handed her arm to Brent. [color=9e0039]"Guide me... okay?"[/color]

Her shades were that important? Light-sensitive, maybe? He brushed aside his assumptions for now, turning briefly to Siena. [color=B0C4DE]"That saddle's gonna become a chair real soon. Mind bringing it down with you?"[/color]

With that, he hooked Angelic's arm with his own. Clammy and cold from the terror of Chris's little twirl through the sky, but still solid enough, more muscle than fat. [color=B0C4DE]"One step at a time,"[/color] he said, slowly guiding her down, [color=B0C4DE]"Did well, Angelic."[/color]

Legs still shaking, it took great mental efforts for Angel to be able to slowly get down from the Dragon. It also took every last shred of dignity left in her to not give to the unpleasant feeling churning in her stomach. But as soon as they reached the ground, Angelique's legs gave out,the girl slumping in an awkward sitting position on the ground.

[color=9e0039]"You've got to be shitting me. It'll be a wonder if I ever take the plane again after that."[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"Planes don't do backflips though,"[/color] Brent replied, [color=B0C4DE]"After Chris's performance, would've thought that anything else would pale in comparison."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Maybe that works for some people. But scaring shitless someone who's afraid of heights will help them much."[/color] Angel sighed in exhasperation. This riding trip somehow left her tired and drained, surely by the intensity of her emotions.

Complaining like a little girl was unbecoming for the raven-haired singer. She figured she'd need to take a breather and get her shit back together before continuing without being a bother. Her legs moved to cross each other, taking a more relaxed sitting stance.

[color=9e0039]"Give me some time to get over it. Anyway, it's not like I can be of much use right now. I can barely see anything."[/color] Angélique squinted so much it seemed she was closing her eyes when looking towards the others.

While Brent made his way to ground level with Angelique, Siena picked up what was once their saddle, hefting its mass awkwardly as she picked her way down Chris's wing. Angel seemed less than ecstatic at the preceding events, and...well, that made perfect sense. Throwing someone directly at their fears wasn't always the best way to help them overcome them. Setting the chair down, she turned her attention back to the winged dragon. While flying wasn't really an option without Brent's ability to make an actual place to sit, there were other things they could do...right?

[i]"[color=ff57ff]If we can't fly with you, there are some other things we could test.[/color]"[/i] Well...there was [i]one[/i] thing Siena was certain she wanted to try. [i]"[color=ff57ff]I think there's another name I'd like to try using as long as you're in this form, but it'll take me a bit to get it. In the meantime, maybe we can see if this telepathy can contact you at a range...?[/color]"[/i] More importantly, at a range with two different names printed across her neck. There had definitely been a few limitations on her usual prowess with familiar names when she had been in the match before, but with enhanced control, it might have been a better option. 

[I][color=red]"Sure thing, I'll fly some distance away and see if he still have a link."[/color][/i] Once the three had gotten off of him safely, the dragon stood upright. Having turned away from the group, Chris sprinted down the road for a few meters before he had leaped off of the ground and  allowed his wings to carry him in the air. 

After he had risen above the city, he tried to see if there was still a telepathic connection with Siena. [i][color=red]"You still there?"[/color][/i] Chris had leveled himself and hovered in a single position, his wings were beating twice as fast to sustain his position.

[i]"[color=ff57ff]...Yeah, I can still hear you...[/color]"[/i] The words came to mind more clearly than she expected, given the distance. Perhaps distance wasn't a factor in it? [i]"[color=ff57ff]I guess if we have combat, I can keep in contact with you and vice versa.[/color]"[/i] And that aside, there was one more name she wanted to try as long as there were other mages around her. [i]"[color=ff57ff]I've got one more thing I want to test, but I don't think there's much range to this.[/color]"[/i]

Turning to glance back to Angel and Brent, Siena paused. Or...maybe she could try it with them...[i]later[/i]. Yep.

[i][color=red] "So any ideas on what we should try now? What do Angelique and Brent think?" [/color][/i] 

Looked like Angelic's microphone adventures were going to be taking a backseat for now, what with the singer's inability to even stand properly. Ultimately shrugging at her problems, Brent made a mental note not to bring up heights alongside Montreal and flipped out his phone once more. It was a fun diversion, flying on Chris, but while the draconic transformation and the fire-breathing was fun, it was still Siena's power that warranted the most research.

[color=B0C4DE]"Right, now that we're done..."[/color] he pulled up a word document and began making adjustments to a PDF, [color=B0C4DE]"...Siena, can you read this?"[/color]

At a font size smaller even than bullshit fine print, with the text being light gray against a white background, Brent didn't expect her to...but then again, maybe literary girl had god-like reading capabilities as well.

[i]"[color=ff57ff]Well, if you come back here, I had an--oops![/color]"[/i]

The brunette jumped when she heard her name cut through her thoughts, eyes widening a fraction as she instinctively took half a step away from the source. "[color=ff57ff]O-oh, um...[/color]" Cautiously, Siena brushed her bangs out of her face as her eyes darted briefly to the document before her. "[color=ff57ff]I er...don't think I'd be able to read it, but I don't know if I could grab a name that way.[/color]" Unease settled over her stomach again, and despite her best efforts, the girl couldn't stop the surge of distress that rolled over her. "[color=ff57ff]I-I actually wanted to try something while Chris was still in dragon form, b-but I...er I mean...[/color]"

[i]"[color=ff57ff]Siena, calm down. You're f--wait.[/color]"[/i] C-Could Chris hear that? Another wave of distress that threatened to drown the girl. Maybe she should have grabbed the name earlier.

[i][color=red] "Hey Siena, you alright?"[/color][/i] Chris asked, the sudden unease in her telepathic connection made Chris worry a bit. He had already started to fly back down towards the group. Once again he tried to slow his descent to avoid accidentally falling onto a teammate. 

[i][color=red]"Hey listen its ok if you're stressed out about this, it isn't easy planning on taking monsters."[/color][/i] He paused. [color=red][i]"D-do you want to talk about it?"[/i] [/color]

So she couldn't read it after all. Sorta expected, but also...sorta disappointing?

Not that super-reading was too useful against monsters anyways. Eyes bouncing from Chris flying over once more, and Siena's own stuttered statements about her plans, Brent said, [color=B0C4DE]"Oh, alright, go ahead. Just sorta had no idea if you were doing nothing because you had nothing to do, or if you were telepathically speaking with him."[/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"But huh, how long does his transformation last anyways?"[/color]

[i]"[color=ff57ff]S-sorry, I'm fine. I'll be okay,[/color]"[/i] Siena lied, forgetting once more that the filters she relied so heavily on weren't working like she wanted them to. Remembering sent yet another weak wave of nausea over her. How long would the connection last? Maybe with another name, the connection would weaken...but that wasn't the only thing that was making her feel such drastic levels of distress. She took a breath, slipping her tablet out of her pocket again. 

"[color=ff57ff]I uh...I could ask him.[/color]" Despite her words, Siena darted down to the pages she'd used earlier, a few breaths calming her down as her eyes took in the sight of her mark's name. "[color=ff57ff]Just...give me a moment...[/color]" The magic started again, a faint purple light as she reached for the name. 


[i][color=red]"You're not alone Siena, remember that."[/color][/i] Chris was a bit nervous of having such a strange connection to Siena, his mild feelings for her was apparent with his concern, but he knew that today at the very least was not the time to press on such issues. The beast landed with a thud near the group. His wings stretched around him which balanced the pressure that had formed from his ldescent. He stood upright on his four legs, neck upright with a still posture. His tail had helped balance his stance. Chris awaited for whatever Siena wanted to try next, curious of what name she was calling.

[color=B0C4DE]"Actually, Chris, can you understand what I'm saying? Nod if yes."[/color] Siena was probably the one running dry on juice the most. Why on earth was he letting her burn out before moving onto his own experiments?

The dragon looked to Brent and nodded his head. 

[color=B0C4DE]"Does your transformation last only minutes?"[/color]

He shook his head. [i][color=red] "Tell Brent that my form lasts about 2 hours. It's difficult for me to transform back now. It's easier for me to just wait for the transformation to wear out on its own. So whatever you guys want to do with it, now's the time. [/color][/i]

[i]"[color=ff57ff]Alright...[/color]"[/i] 

As she felt the second name settle over her, there was yet another sense of control. More control over the abilities that weren't really hers. More control over the emotions that she couldn't block out. Another breath, and the brunette turned her attention to Brent again. "[color=ff57ff]Chris's form lasts about two hours. Apparently he can't change back to human until the time's up, so now's the time if we want to do anything with it.[/color]" A pause. "[color=ff57ff]I would guess that it's pretty tiring to transform too, so I guess we don't have a second chance at this for a while too. I'd better see if this name's support works on er...well, [i]us[/i].[/color]"

With a faint smile, Siena glanced over at the dragon, her left eye stained with flecks of pastel pink like splotches of ink in a forest. "[color=ff57ff]Actually, this could probably work with anyone, but I wanted to see if I could boost those flames. After that, I can see if the other variations work with everyone else.[/color]" 

Chris turned his body to the building behind him. He rose up to his hind legs as flames once again began to trickle from his slowly-widening maw. When he stood in a bipedal stance with his tail to further balance in his new stance, he released the build up of fire like a giant flamethrower. 

[color=B0C4DE]"Woah,"[/color] Brent applauded as Chris just casually spewed out concrete-blackening flames. A part of him wanted to try Overclocking his vest towards fire resistance and bathing in the giant flamethrower, but Siena had first dibs. And other parts of him didn't want to try dying yet.

[i]"[color=ff57ff]Whoa, whoa...![/color]"[/i] That was sooner than she expected. Quickly adjusting her position and turning her attention to Chris, Siena tapped into the Caro's abilities. Softly, the brunette released a breath as she felt her magic leaving her, a faint pink wisp reaching the dragon in question. "[color=ff57ff]Boost up, barret power...![/color]" In theory, the support should have bolstered the destructive capabilities of a mage's ranged spells. WIth everyone's abilities falling under what Siena assumed was a blanket spectrum of "magic", it was at least worth a shot.

Once Siena's magic enchanted the dragon, Chris's eyes had sharpened its gaze from wild excitement. The encompassing buff sparked a sensation not unlike an adrenaline rush. The flames themselves suddenly bursted into a larger spread, the hue had become a more brilliant crimson as fire tore through the wall of the building. Having sustained the breathe, he slowly tilted his head with a lust for destruction as the flames carved a massive line through the apartment building. Once his maw closed and ceased the jet of sizzling flames, the burning apartment caved in. The ground beneath the black dragon sizzled with heat and fragments of intense embers.

Hm...he could definitely see it now. As Siena and Chris fused their powers together to create flames capable of physically blasting through a building, Brent could see just what sort of formation Angelic envisioned with inviting them here. Siena had the ability to play as a hyper flexible support, either buffing or providing her own magical onslaught. Chris appeared to be growing only stronger and larger as a dragon, with his own ranged flames to scorch the enemies. Angelic was also capable of long-ranged assault, while Brent had the ability to more or less create the platform that they would be standing on.

This was similar to Shane's bird of death, huh? Raining destruction from above utilizing Siena's ability to increase the power and range of their breath attacks. While the 'main' team's barrier-and-battery combo allowed for mitigation in its own way, this...this could work out as well.

An aerial fortress from which mages can safely attack out of the reach of DC's monsters.

But the size limitation...that was still a problem.

[color=B0C4DE]"How you feeling after that, Siena? Less tiring than your pink death-ray?"[/color]

[i]"[color=ff57ff]Whoa...[/color]"[/i] She'd expected a good boost, but Siena was still impressed at what just a bit of support could do. With the connection muted, the odd primal sensation she'd felt earlier was dimmed, but still present. Still, the girl set the thought aside. [i]"[color=ff57ff]I guess that works.[/color]"[/i]

"[color=ff57ff]Y-Yeah, it's not all me, so this is easier.[/color]" That and Caro was significantly weaker than Nanoha, so the strain wasn't nearly as intense. "[color=ff57ff]WIth the variations, I could make us faster and stronger too, I think. It's probably more energy efficient this way.[/color]"

Sastified with his destruction, the Black dragon screamed its monstrous note. Siena's voice had quelled the monster's instincts. [i][color=red]"That felt good, just to note I won't be able to breathe fire until another five minutes for it to charge up." [/color][/i]

The dragon fell back onto its four legs. He turned his body halfway to watch his teammates plan on their next idea. 

Brent nodded. [color=B0C4DE]"And can you buff multiple people at once? Or no?"[/color]

[i]"[color=ff57ff]That's okay, I think we got what we needed.[/color]"[/i] Glancing at Brent, the girl gave a brief nod. "[color=ff57ff]I should be able to, though I don't think the number is very high in this state.[/color]" Considering the early form of the mage she'd taken, it wasn't entirely surprising. "[color=ff57ff]The three of you shouldn't be too difficult to support, but Chris might take more out of me as a dragon than...er...normal people.[/color]"

[color=B0C4DE]"Oh, no"[/color] the Arbiter waved, [color=B0C4DE]"Considering what I remember from Flag-and-Seek, there really are only three ranged attackers in class. Anyways, picture this...platform on the dragon, you buffing the three of us up, and then all of us raining empowered death-screams, breaths, and shots down below from the relative safety of high altitude. If things are sketchy, we can bring forth Hazel 'Literally a Team of Her Own' Baker to deal with flying threats too!"[/color]

Brent gestured energetically as he spoke, before stopping suddenly, like a conductor at a climatic finish.

[color=B0C4DE]"...but that's future talk, considering my current size limitations."[/color]

While she was simply sitting there, wincing from the small amount of ambient light that made it through the clouds, Angélique was listening to her training partners. Once more, she was glad they were sorting this out nicely. Using Siena as a support to the others was a good thing, although she would’ve liked if they could somehow find a use for Siena to go on the aggressive combined with the abilities of their other teammates. 
 
The idea of a ‘Flying Fortress of Death’ was appealing to Angel, even though she despised the height involved. That was indeed one hell of a way to stay on the move while blasting down monsters. Logically, if they could manage to figure out a squad of long-ranged fighting Dragon-riders, that would be quite a deadly combination to use on the field.
 
As the talk went to the matter of boosting everyone all at once, Angel managed to get up on her feet. Her legs were still a bit shaky, but she would manage to walk up to the others. One arm brought on her forehead to shield her eyes as much as she could from the light, the other reaching out forward to make sure she wouldn’t be bumping into anyone. 
 
[color=9e0039]“Don’t overexert yourself by using your powers on me, Siena. We already had a successful test about this the other day. You better focus on the others.”[/color] Angel remembered the time she trained alone with Siena. The girl went overboard by taking up too many names, she assumed. They both lost control of their powers as a result, and the ending part was quite a pitiful sight, Angel recalled both girls being on their knees, herself hugging the brunette to somehow bring what little comfort she could give.

[color=9e0039]"Actually, it's a shame Allison isn't here today. I had thought up of her digging a hole with her blade, attract some targets into that pit, and have you iron-maiden'ing them by using earth-control abilities. Speaking of Hazel, she might just be able to do that too." [/color]

The conversation went faster than expected, but with Caro's emotions helping to even out the usual turmoil, Siena found that she was able to mentally compose herself to at least a reasonable state. The unease still refused to leave. "[color=ff57ff]Y-Yeah, that...does sound like it'd be a safer tactic.[/color]" Though that didn't keep the soft, mocking voice in the back of Siena's voice from sounding off. Relegated to something less aggressive and safely tucked away--[i]wasn't that what she wanted? It was getting hard to tell[/i]--but at least useful. "[color=ff57ff]I think...my biggest concern is that I'm better off when I have preparation. If we get more fights like that first one, I won't always have a good source available. Like...things that can negate our ranged abilities...or worse.[/color]" What "or worse" meant, Siena wasn't entirely certain. "[color=ff57ff]If it's monsters we're talking about, we never know what might happen, right?[/color]"

[color=B0C4DE]"Well,"[/color] Brent replied lightheartedly, [color=B0C4DE]"At least you can keep all your preparations tucked away in a tablet. I gotta carry all my gear with me, and if it turns out that said gear can't be used at all..."[/color]

He tapped the butt of his machete with one finger.

[color=B0C4DE]"...Eh, you can make most of your preparations just through having decent categorization and bookmarks, right, Siena? As far as flexibility goes, there's never going to be a situation where you aren't useful, provided you pace yourself."[/color]

[i]'[color=ff57ff]There's never going to be a situation where you aren't useful.[/color][/i] 

The words hit her harder than she thought they would. WIth everything that had happened in the week, Siena had been trying to set aside the less pleasant memories since her arrival. The shooting, the fight. 

[i]Fangs that tore through flesh as a stranger went down with a scream.[/i]

Not a stranger. Siena painted the best eager smile she could on her face even with the flurry of images trying to overwhelm her. She certainly hadn't been useful there. Hadn't been useful when it meant anything. If she'd been faster, or even picked a name before they had filed out of the truck, maybe Padma would have been training with them.

But still, she smiled. 

"[color=ff57ff]Yeah, I guess you have a point.[/color]"

Ah.

That [i]dislikeable[/i] smile.

His own smile faded as Siena reacted, replied. He had picked the wrong words again, hadn't he? Recall, what was her expression after that battle with not-Menagerie's menagerie?

He couldn't recall, and he suppressed the grimace. It didn't matter if he couldn't remember the details, remember who had been close to the dead. This was like Emma all over again. This was just what Angelic and Aaron warned him about. A whole fuckton of landmines due to a single incident that he couldn't sympathize or empathize with, because he hadn't witnessed any of it.

What could he say here? What would the correct response be? Why did he even care about Siena's feelings? Because he wanted to be on friendly terms with her? Or because she was useful, both finanically and magically?

Was silence the answer? What about brushing it aside? Pretending he didn't notice that obvious shift? Spout off another speech without thinking? Get emotionally involved and then get tazed?

Brent took a deep breath.

[color=B0C4DE]"Sorry."[/color]

God, he was [i]blanking.[/i]

Sorry?

Another swell of panic, and Siena almost wished she could cut herself off from the name she'd used to communicate to Chris. Was she slipping? No, no, [i]no[/i]. She felt the smile falter, scolded herself mentally for it. Everything was going [i]wrong[/i], and all she had wanted to do was prove herself, right?

[i]No, not prove yourself. Train.[/i]

Wasn't she supposed to be good at pretending? That was all that Maya had ever had praise for when it came down to it. [i][color=f7976a]'You'd never guess there's so much going on in that precious little head of yours. Good job.[/color]'[/i] She rationalized it all into a momentary lapse. That was all--she wasn't used to the connection she'd forged with Chris. Not used to having vivid memories that she knew were real. Not used to disconnected numbers and other people.

"[color=ff57ff]What do you have to be sorry about?[/color]" She flicked her braid behind her shoulder, her voice picking up to its typical tone again. "[color=ff57ff]In any case, I think we just have to consider that most of what we'll [i]probably[/i] get pit against won't have detailed files or anything of the sort. Trial and error is a little draining for me, but I guess if Chris is able to keep us at a safe distance, I don't have to worry about all the lights and...[i]other stuff[/i] from my power.[/color]"

A crack in the mask, and Brent knew that his foot was, indeed, on a landmine.

[color=B0C4DE][i]Takes one to know one, huh?[/i][/color]

Viewed as a short answer problem, it was fairly clear now, how things went for Siena in that battle. She wielded a highly versatile power, and yet, due to being a [s]sheltered[/s] rich girl, had no real experience in situations as dangerous as the one she found herself in. As mages died around her, she put the blame on herself for being too [i]useless[/i] to leverage her power effectively. And thus, when he had mentioned that she was useful in any situation...

Ah, and now she was faking it. She must have known that he knew, and was now just trying to make sure that Chris and Angelic didn't worry themselves over her state too.

Fair enough.

If readjusting her mask is what she was going to do, Brent had no intention of pushing further. So he [i]smiled[/i] in return.

"Oh, just apologizing for all the expectations I'm piling up on you and how you've been the one who's done the most magical stuff thus far. Was that a bit out-of-the-blue?"

[color=B0C4DE][i]Let's move on.[/i][/color]

[color=B0C4DE]"In terms of the whole trial-and-error thing, we do have a couple of physically durable people as well, to do a bunch of the testing for us. Wasn't Sander basically invincible? And Kusari immortal? Might be a bit macabre, but I'm seeing frontline-backline mechanics myself. Gotta keep our VIP topped up on MP before going for the kill, after all."[/color]

Angel shifted uncomfortably during Brent and Siena’s talk. She felt some kind of… unease between the two. She may not be able to clearly see their blurred face, but she could hear the hesitation in their voices. Oddly enough, the raven-haired Mage kept quiet during that time, letting the two settle what they had in mind. If need be, she would step in, before Brent shoots himself in foot, again.
 
Surprisingly, he fumbled less with his words than before. Maybe he was finally learning to hold back his tongue? Seeing the discussion began to shift towards a more comfortable subject, Angélique stepped in to completely shook off that uneasiness that had built up.
 
[color=9e0039]“I wouldn’t try my luck with those two, to be honest. From what I learned from Sander, he needs to ingest a large amount of blood to reach that state, and you saw what happened during the game and when he went against Shane that night. He lost it, twice. I won’t take a chance of relying on someone who could just as easily forget all parts of the plans we set and turn on us.”[/color] Angel pausing, reflecting on both his old teammate and opponent during the flags match. [color=9e0039]“Kusari may be masochist, but I’d rather want her to sustain as little pain as possible. She’s practically immortal, but I noticed she isn’t impervious to pain. Too much pain can break someone’s mind, as brutal interrogations taught us.”[/color] 
 
[color=9e0039]“Unfortunately, we can’t all be perfectly prepared beforehand. Hell, I’m dreading the day we’ll face a monster capable of completely ignoring sound waves. Only thing to do is to keep our options open and varied.”[/color] Angel looked towards Siena, who had been so far the most versatile Mage she had met. [color=9e0039]“When faced against the unknown, you’ve got to ‘see the bigger picture’, as someone told me before. Don’t prepare names for specific situations. Keep powers that have a broad range of effects, like generally enhancing others’ abilities or temporary healing. If you go for aggressive purposes, think of powers that can generally affect anything. Something like air or earth manipulating powers? Or explosions, because you know, everybody seems to love those.”[/color] Angélique giggled at the last statement, figuring it wouldn’t do harm to bring to light-hearted humor into her matter-of-fact suggestions.
 
[color=9e0039]“Same goes for you. You’re actually pretty much like Siena. You’ve got the same variety, except you work with what you have and can have a more spontaneous approach on situations. With that in mind, keep the gear you have on yourself for a broad range of situations. But seeing what you came up with, I think you already know that. Beside the rollerblades. Those are probably unneeded, as you just never know if the ground on which you step will simply allow you to roll on it."[/color] Angel's gaze shifted towards Brent.

[color=B0C4DE]"Please,"[/color] Brent laughed, [color=B0C4DE]"Just wait until I can start turning rollerblades into hoverblades."[/color]

Angel rolled her eyes over with a sigh. [color=9e0039]"Better get to it fast instead of borrowing other people's boots. Who knows, maybe I could vanquish my fear of heights with those kinds of flying wear."[/color]  Angel laughed in turn.

[color=B0C4DE]"Long as you don't mind having pieces of my ear taped onto them."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Gotta stay positive man. One day, maybe you will finally be able to Overclock stuff without having to keep a grip on 'em."[/color]

For the rest of the afternoon, the quarto of Mages continued on testing out their potential. For a while, Brent had been throwing questions and speculations to Siena about her powers, to which she simply gave vague answers and negative replies. While they were testing out some things to ease up the brunette’s way of selecting her names, Angélique and Christopher were seen fooling around the buildings of Ground Zero. Despite not being able to see all that much, Chris was diligent enough to help her navigate around and test out their combined powers. It turned out, sonic waves and a fiery breath didn’t go along well. The scream either dispersed the flame in its area of effect or altered its range. However, for stunning and burning imaginary citizens to a crisp, they worked well enough together as long one didn’t get in the other’s way.
 
Seeing they weren’t going anywhere at this rate, Siena had proposed Brent if he could Overclock melee weapons. Finally things seemed to unblock as the amethyst-eyed youth demonstrated his power on his own machete, turning the edge of the weapon’s blade into a vicious chainsaw blade. Seeing how both were adepts at using bladed weapons, the two Arbiters concluded they should meet up on another day for knifing lessons.
 
Shortly after Angel and Chris came back from their rampage across town, the training session was about to be brought to an end. The raven-haired rockstar was covered in bruises and dirt from having tripped on too many times because of her poor eyesight, despite Chris’ many attempts to catch her as she fell. Brent and Siena were awkwardly silent as whatever they tried to bring up ended in creating more unease.
 
Just as everyone were saying their goodbyes and were about to leave, Allison showed up at the reunion of training Mages. The girl’s messed up schedule apparently was the cause of her arriving so late at the training Angélique has suggested her to come. Obviously concerned by her friend’s pitiful appearance, Allison offered to bring the blinded Aberration back to her room. 
 
Siena was quick to follow in taking her leave, then Brent. Only Chris was now left in Ground Zero. Figuring out there was still time until he would return to being Human again, Chris resumed his earlier training, before he had joined his classmates.
[/hider]
[/hider]

[hider=Friday, September 11th]
[hider=Chapter XI: Studying With a New Friend]
[center][color=9e0039]
[h1] 𝒜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓆𝓊𝑒 𝐿𝒶𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 [/h1]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/Fb1UXSA.png[/img]
[/color]
[color=silver][hr][center][color=silver]𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟙, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕌𝕊𝔸ℝ𝕀𝕃ℕ 𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕥   / /   𝔸𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝔻𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕤 - ℝ𝕠𝕠𝕞 𝟛𝟘𝟘   / / 𝟙𝟟𝟛𝟘
 [/color][/center][hr][/color][/center]

This morning was quite uneventful compared to the other days. Having been left along to do her daily routine, Angélique returned to her room after coming back from Ground Zero, late in the afternoon. Today, there had been some additions to her room while she had been away for the day. As soon as her door opened, she was greeted by the lovely sound of a bird happily chirping. With a look of glee, Angel entered her room to find a bird inside its cage at the corner of the room, next to the window. It was so small, yet so lively and fluffy-like. When the black bird saw the young woman approaching the cage to greet it, it approached in turn from its perch and let out a few seemingly happy chirps.

Immediately, the singer’s heart fluttered to hear something so lovely inside her room. She could already feel a degree of added liveliness and happiness inside her bleak room from the small thing’s singing. As the Aberration turned around to make sure everything was closed, she noticed there were a small black case and an envelope left on her desk. Curious, Angélique opened the envelope, finding a handwritten letter inside:
[color=f7976a][quote]Good afternoon, Ms. Lachance!

I hope you had a refreshing time at Ground Zero. Rosa managed to get your request all squared away on time, as I'm sure you've noticed. Unfortunately she's feeling a bit under the weather, so the task of writing a chipper letter full of sunshine and rainbows has fallen to me! As you can see, I've attached several of Rosa's stickers to the parchment. Only the best for our resident rock star![/quote][/color]

Indeed, Freddy had attached several vibrantly colorful Lisa Frank stickers. An array of smiling blue pug puppies, pink cats, rainbow unicorns, and butterflies decorated the entire lower half of the letter along with words and phrases like "You're awesome!", "Cool!", and "Party!"

[color=f7976a][quote]
You didn't specify what type of bird you wanted, so after several hours of rigorous research, we've obtained an American Singer breed of canary just for you. They said it was brown, but it looks black to me. I'm sure you'll like that. Seems like your style, eh? 

I wanted to get the one named Angel. I thought it seemed appropriate since birds are generally so noisy, but Rosa didn't like that. Something about the name being too common. There was another one named Rose, but she didn't like that either-- something about it being a terrible name for a canary. No, she was quite insistent that we get the one named Pavarotti. Even though it's a girl. 

Anyway, we were told she has a very friendly temperament and, because she's still young, she'll be really receptive to learning all sorts of new things. She already seems to recognize her name, though I've learned she also responds well to 'Pav'. She's awfully cute, I have to admit. Even though she did get poo on my suit.... Take good care of her.

Also, your contact lenses have arrived. You'll find them in the little black case. Dr. Spencer included a pamphlet on how to use and care for them properly. Don't fall asleep with them on! Wouldn't want your eye balls to fall out, now would we?

Only kidding.

Have a nice weekend, Ms. Lachance!

Sincerely,

Fredric Francisco 
[/quote][/color]

Simply by reading the first few lines, Angélique had a foreboding feeling about the letter. The way she was addressed as “Ms. Lachance” brought an annoying smiling jerk to mind. The more she read on about the letter, the worse her frown was becoming. The happy child-like stickers felt somewhat insulting to her when combined by the wording that was referring to her. Were they testing her patience by treating her like a toddler?  It only got worse when the sender throwed an obvious jab at how noisy she was. By that point, the Aberration was boiling in fury deep inside. Then came the bird’s name.

[color=9e0039]“Pavarotti!?”[/color] The small bird chirped jolly in its cage in reply. [color=9e0039]“Who in their fucking mind had the idea of naming a canary after a dead opera tenor? I swear to god, this got to be a fucking joke. Assholes casually taking turn in fucking around.”[/color] 

The part about the bird taking a crap on Fredric’s clothes however did feel like justice. Even if poor Pav got a weird name, the raven-haired rockstar already felt a connection with the bird. Too bad they didn’t give her something like a parrot though. Angel could already imagine teaching words to the bird like “Fredric is a dick”. Well, maybe if she tried hard enough, Pav could perhaps sing something close to that. Maybe that’s why they didn’t consider giving her a talking bird in the first place.

Confirming it was Fredric’s letter when reading the signature at the end of the letter, Angel crumpled the paper in her hands before throwing it in the bin sitting next to her desk. Would it kill the guy to simply write a formal letter with plain details, instead of trying to get under her skin? She swore to God, that guy surely MUST have a grudge or something against her. She can’t believe someone to be such a jackass to everyone in here, else he would’ve got something happening to him all the time. Well, now that she was thinking about it; perhaps that was the reason he is always surrounded by guards whenever he’s out. One day, he’ll get what’s coming to him…

Removing her new shades she had the use ahead of time because of losing her old ones during yesterday’s training session while air-riding Chris with Brent and Siena, Angel opened the black casing to reveal a small container shaped like the number eight and a folded paper. There was one round part labeled “R” and the other labeled “L”. Unfolding the paper, Angel was surprised to see a printed schema of how to put contact lenses the correct way, along handwritten side notes. Who knew the optometrist would be so caring as to provide her with that? Remembering the discussion they had by the end of their meeting, she should’ve known that the old man only had his patients’ welfare in mind. Once more, she was grateful for being considerate. 

Putting the lenses were however easier explained that done, for a novice like her. It took some time to actually put them dead center on her cornea, but she managed. She felt like an annoying itching as she blinked a few times, but she was warned that it would take some time to get used to it, much like someone wearing glasses will adapt to the feeling of the eyewear poking their nose ridge and their ears. Afterwards, she replaced her shades onto her face, letting the comforting darkness shield her eyes from the harmful light.

Already, she could see much clearer, even better than before. Finally, it seemed as if a burden was lifted off from her eyes and her brain. Needless to say, new eyewear was much overdue for her. Being rushed from one place to another as a successful musician, she had neglected her eyes care for too long. 

Returning to the desk, Angel sat down and took one stack of papers that had been left there untouched ever since Wednesday. For quite some time, she had thought of finally getting to read what everyone thought of that fight and the suggested improvements to be made, but she never got the chance to sit down in a relaxed state and review the whole thing. Perhaps, now that she was at ease, she could get down to it?

Retrieving her phone from her jeans and setting it on the table, the late teen musician listened to the jam of guitar riffs and drums beat while reading over what her peers had to say about this match.

Overall, as she expected, self-control was the most common theme used to describe the second battle. She felt somewhat ashamed though when she read over the last part, about her not being able to deliver her evaluation. But what was there more to say than “Learn about self-control. This fight was a mess.”? At least, she had put her thoughts about both games into her own personal files, even though those noted were for her eyes only. Perhaps it would’ve been best to at least try to find and give some constructive criticism? She blew up big time by acting like a child, Angel finally admitted.

However, interestingly, lack of teamwork was the main issue in the first matchup, the fight she was part of. Some praised the strategy of combining Grant’s ability with Sander’s to take down Callan. She felt humbled by those opinions. She was the one who had ordered Grant to help Sander in taking down Super Girl, but it was their execution that made the thing possible. But as much as she was glad that her strategy-making ability was honored, she felt disappointed in herself when faced against the comments of how poor of an idea it was to go and fight alone. After all, if it wasn’t for being patched up, she would’ve died of fighting against Chris, potentially lose even if Chris wasn’t so mindful about getting her flags without injuring her. 

If there was one thing she learned from all this, it was to stop being so damned reckless. It was the second - maybe third time - ever since she got here that she put herself in the face of danger to pull out efficient but dangerous maneuvers. If her gamble wouldn’t pay off, she’d be gone. She realized she had to stop doing that, for both her sake and her teammates’. She needed to be able to see the bigger picture, with herself included in it. She was good at managing resources, a skill she had picked up from working so often with her manager the past. But what good would it be if she was lost in the process? What good is the girl with the plans if she ends up killing herself? She can potentially jeopardize missions if she kept putting herself in harm’s way.

After coming to this analysis, Angélique neatly stacked the papers back in order and set it aside on her desk. It would be a good reminder in the future.  With nothing else to do, the ex-rockstar decided to take the rest of the day off. After a quick shower and dinner, she’d whip her guitar out and play and sing melodies next to her new pet, music that was far from what she’d been known for in her career.
[/hider]
[/hider]

[hider=Weekend (Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th)]
The weekend had been quiet for Angélique. She kept on working out in the gym after her morning jogging, then go to Ground Zero for keeping her stigma under control and train with the use of her abilities. By then, she exactly knew the limits of her power, how they affect her surrounding, and even managed to separate the physical-affecting knockback aspect of her power from the brain-affecting stun effects. Angel found out it all came down to pitches. Deep sounding pitches like “o” helped in producing knockback, while “e” pitches were better used for stunning, and “a” combined both. This was a very useful knowledge about her power usage, something Angel was proud of having learned.

Throughout the weekend, whenever Angel was in her room, it was common for the residents of the Aberration dorms and the students passing by under her open window to hear the girl singing in a soothing and melodic voice. It wasn’t anything hardcore like how she used to. Instead, they were mainly melodies, folkloric ballads and softer-toned music, as if she was a bird singing to another. Eventually, her singing was followed by some chirpings, imitating parts of what Angélique had been playing or singing. 

[hider=Chapter XII: Writing Down the Stigma]
[center][color=9e0039]
[h1] 𝒜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓆𝓊𝑒 𝐿𝒶𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 [/h1]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/Fb1UXSA.png[/img]
[/color]
[color=silver][hr][center][color=silver]𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟛 , 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕌𝕊𝔸ℝ𝕀𝕃ℕ 𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕥   / /   𝔸𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝔻𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕤 - ℝ𝕠𝕠𝕞 𝟛𝟘𝟘  / / 𝟙𝟟𝟛𝟘
 [/color][/center][hr][/color][/center]

On this Sunday afternoon, Angel felt a bit under the weather all day long. Sure, she wasn’t feeling as bad as she was before she went to Ground Zero for a good fix of blowing up doors and windows with her voice, but she was somehow a bit tired of having to deal with this issue by visiting Ground Zero every day. Actually, it sickened her deep inside. She felt like a junkie needing her fix, before doing anything she’d regret later on. It was infuriating, to not be able to keep her head up high and confront this Stigma with simply sheer willpower. 

Ernest was right, in the end. She couldn’t play the act of being that strong-appearing figure. Already, throughout the whole week, she showed multiple signs of weakness and lack of self-control. She was getting better by the day, as she got to meet new people and hang out with them. But still, there were those voices in her head that kept harassing her. It mentally exhausted her. There were times she’d just want to yell at people, like Ernie who kept poking her Tuesday or Brent who was seemingly trying to test her limits. Angélique was glad she still had some restraint left deep inside. Things would’ve turned out worse than how they were right now if she completely caved-in to the burden of her Stigma.

The black-haired Aberration took more time in the shower today. As the warm water rained on her body, she was lost in thoughts. Music filled her mind. That same strange and unknown rhythm she kept hearing in the visions she had before; the same melody that she had strangely tried to reproduce on her guitar. But today, it wasn’t only a rhythm she was humming. There were lyrics, or at least a random assembly of words Angel tried to piece together. 

Eventually, the light-skinned Mage came out the shower and headed to her room swiftly. She pulled out a chair from her desk and a blank sheet from her one of her drawers.  For a few hours, Angélique busied herself with writing down a song that came from her head, skipping dinner at the same time to work some more onto that song she began to be obsessed with. There were a lot of words crossed, arrangements, edits, arrows indicating which verse should be placed at some point in the song.

After quite some time, a few hours before curfew, the musician was finally done with her newest creation. It was handwritten down neatly on one of the few blank pages she hadn’t scrapped.
[quote]
[i]
I hear voices in my head
They council me
They understand
They talk to me

You got your rules and your religion
All designed to keep you safe
But when rules start getting broken
You start questioning your faith

I have a voice that is my savior
Hates to love and loves to hate
I have the voice that has the knowledge
And the power to rule your fate

I hear voices crying
I see heroes dying
I taste blood that's drying
I feel tension rising

I hear voices in my head
They council me
They understand
They talk to me, they talk to me
They tell me things that I will do
They show me things I'll do to you
They talk to me
They talk to me

I see darkness rising
I hear voices calling
I feel justice fading
I see faith has fallen

I hear voices in my head
They council me
They understand
They talk to me, they talk to me
They tell me things that I will do
They show me things I'll do to you
They talk to me

I hear voices crying
I see heroes dying
I taste blood that's drying
I feel tension rising

I hear voices in my head
They council me
They understand
They talk to me, they talk to me
They tell me things that I will do
They show me things I'll do to you
They talk to me
They talk to me
[/i]
[/quote]

Sitting down with her guitar in hands, Angélique tried to play along the rhythm stuck in her head along with the song she had just finished writing down. Oddly enough, both rhythm and lyrics strangely fit well together, although there were parts she was still unsure of. Mostly because what she was playing was from an unknown memory, by instinct, and the musician girl knew the thing wasn’t quite completed. Be it the guitar rhythm or the lyrics, something felt amiss. 

But those additions would have to wait. For now, Angel had no idea what else could be done about it. Right now, she felt sleepy, and went to bed early that evening.

[/hider]
[/hider]