[center][h1][color=silver][b][u][i]Tyler Blackmore[/i][/u][/b][/color][/h1][/center]

[center][hider="The Dream"/The Enigma Deepens"][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMHetasNWZU[/youtube][/hider][/center]

[center][i]Black smoke above his head,
with cracks of sky; not blue, but red.
Beneath his feet: the scorched earth
Plagued by the fiery dead.

Atop ruined scrapers of the sky,
He could hear the screams as people die.
Not of they, but of mullet barrels
as legions of bullets pass him by.

Behind him amassed a faceless corps,
Their bullet-ridden bodies piling upon the faceless floor
Gave way the path to their faceless batallion;
A familiar face lurking at their core.

He turned again to his front,
An army of faces on the hunt.
The Faces battled the faceless,
as his own face took the brunt.

He looked down to his feet of clay,
His hands of stone burning and decayed, 
Artillery thunder heard in the distance,
and he aims it at the fray.

Then he heard the voice of Nate,
Then he heard the cries of Kate,
Then he heard screams of his own,
And screamed himself with all his hate.

Never again, and again he meets his fate.[/i][/center]

[hr]

[center][hider="The Hermit"/"In the Devastated City"][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy5lQBvG7n4[/youtube][/hider]
[i]Evergreen Accomodations, Tuesday Morning[/i][/center]

His whole body made a jolt, as if it was shocked with electricity as his eyes shot open and his shirtless upper body bent upwards, gasping for breath in a cold sweat. It took the dirt-silver haired boy about five seconds before he realized what happened.

[center][color=silver][i]It was a dream...[/i][/color][/center]

[center][color=silver][i]It was [b]that[/b] dream...[/i][/color][/center]

He took a deep breath and sigh that the worst was over now. ...How long has it been since that dream haunted his nightmares still? After a while one would think they'd be used to it, but Tyler envies the insomniacs; unhealthy as it is. If not for the fact that his body and mind are always in need of slumber, he'd drink cups of coffee every night. The very thought of closing his eyes and then being forced out of mind - or pulled too far inwards, depending on how you look at it - and into a realm beyond your understanding or control is terrifying enough as it is. But when that dream is the same nightmare over and over again, those same sights and sounds that plague his mind ad eternum, it's enough to consider forcing insomnia upon himself anyways, health be damned.

With another deep breath, and wiping the sweat from his face, he took a look at the time.

It was early, [i]too[/i] early, the clock didn't even make the alarm yet. Part of him wanted to drop back down and get some more rest, but the last thing he wants is the possibility to go back to that dream again. Deciding it was best to just stay up, he rubbed the sand from his eye and got off his bed - wearing a dark-green pair of shorts - giving himself a good stretch before looking outside his window. His room was a small one-bed suite with, for the most part, no decorations or anything particularly unique to his room, save only an framed picture on the counter beneath a flat-screen TV.

The picture itself was a happy memory of smiling faces when he was a kid, that of a small him wearing a green camo cargo jacket over a white shirt, unbuttoned to show said shirt, having both his brother and sister, both identical twins by the looks of their faces - the boy with short brown hair, a black T-shirt and brown-jeans and giving off an energetic grin to his right and the girl with medium-length, a rose-colored dress and  wearing a lighter and softer smile to his left - wrapped by the neck around his arms and giving off a large grin and a wink of his left eye. Behind them were his parents - a lady in her late-thirties with a modest build and fair Caucasian skin, dressed in a nurse's outfit with brown haired wrapped in a bun under a nurse's cap, and eyes of emeralds as radiant as her smile, and a man looking around the same age as the woman with a moderate muscular build, short black hair and blue-eyes, a commando-green beret in his hands as he gives a restrained smile of his own - and his uncle, relatively older than his father by a few years, his face starting to show early signs of age and having a larger build than him with hazel eyes and a large bushy black mustache nearly covering his mouth completely and hiding a less-subdued smile, the same commando-green beret on his head hiding a sleeked head of medium-length black hair. Both his father and his uncle were wearing a decorative green military uniform, both with some medals attached to the lapel - and his uncle having a number more than his father. This was a photo taken from one of his parents anniversaries, not that he remembers which one. It should be noted that the glass case has a crack near the bottom of the frame, likely due to accidentally dropping it while moving into this room.

He'd have a perfect view of the London sunrise, from his room if not for the tall buildings. However, based on the darkened colors of the current sky, it was still VERY early in the morning. With that in mind, he grabbed a bottle of iced coffee - he could have kept it in the lounge fridge, but... people have a habit of taking whatever he puts in there, and besides that, it's far easier to have it near his bed to just wake up, crack open and drink - and drink it he did. He immediately went to take a shower afterwards, needing to prepare for another day of school while washing the cold sweat off him. It was also a good time to wash away the thoughts of his dream, putting his focus entirely on what he was studying last night for his psychology class, and recalling what still needed to be done for his Philosophy class.

By the time he got back out, rays of golden light from the morning sun was shining through the window, as a part of the sun has risen enough to break through the London buildings and give light to his room; must have been in there for quite a while. As he got dressed up in his what he chooses as his uniform, his grey pants, sky-blue T-shirt over a white dress shirt and complete with a yellow tie, a towel still on his silver hair, he walked over to the window to take a good look at the courtyard and academy.

...Only to come across a peculiar sight happening just below him. It seems a lot of students were gathered around a single tree in the courtyard. Why? Well, upon close inspection it seemed there was a kid who climbed atop it and won't get down...Wait, he recognizes him by his signature.

"[color=silver][i]...Hat?[/i][/color]" The boy thought. Yes, it was indeed the new kid Hakoda on top the tree, or "Hat" as Tyler simply calls him, he seems to have a similar Japanese nickname, and is never seen without that hat on his head, therefore "Hat"'s as good a name to call him as any. Still, what was he doing up there? More importantly, ...Why was everyone stopping what they were doing to just stare at the hatted boy? Sure, a boy up on a tree is unorthodox at best, but with a small crowd this particularly interested in a boy on a tree, one would assume a car crashed into it, or that the Hatted one shot a gun in the air or something. Was this really worth the attention it was getting?

Even more bizarre, some of those faces he could see were very familiar ones. There was the bookworm Laurence who was sitting by the very same tree, reading his book as if nothing's happening. There was Merja and her college friend Ava, and as if by clockwork, eventually that scary guy, Alex, showed up and...seemed to be talking, no, more like arguing with Hat, ...and getting more and more frustrated at him by the second. Just when things weren't odd enough, in comes a face Tyler recognized as essentially the "Golden Boy of St. Paul and Evergreen", Philip Leonhart. What in the world was [i]he[/i] doing around here? The courtyard connected Evergreen and St. Paul, so at first glance, it didn't seem like that big of a deal. But it looked like Phillip came from the direction of [i]Evergreen[/i], the school he already graduated from. He also noticed students like Alistair who just looked at the situation and decided to walk away... the [i]normal[/i] response to something like this.

Needless to say, this sparked Tyler's curiosity, and looking at the time on his alarm, it was just about time to head out to class anyways. So he placed his materials in his bag and walked out of the room. By the time he got outside though, it seems the whole scenario resolved itself and everyone was heading to their classes. At first Tyler was somewhat shocked, his eyebrows raised as he blinked a couple of times, before he gave a smile and a quick chuckle to himself.

"[i][color=silver]Story of my life...[/color][/i]" He thought. Without a word, he walked towards Evergreen, ready to begin his day like any other.

[hr]

[center][i]Evergreen Library, Thursday Afternoon[/i][/center]

Tuesday and Wednesday were essentially normal, not much happening outside the norm. The rest of Tuesday nothing spectacular happened, and on Wednesday a few bullies decided it was a good day to start messing with him again, most likely because they had nothing better to do. Still, he steeled himself and as usual let them have it on him until being helped up by a certain someone.

Still somewhat bruised from yesterday's scuffle, he decided to use today to study up for Psychology and Philosophy classes, since the mid-terms seemed just around the corner. Not wanting to bother anyone else nor [i]be[/i] bothered by anyone else, Tyler walked up to the second floor of the Library - an area not normally used for studying compared to the first floor - to do his work.

Little did he know that despite his effort to go away from distractions, another big distraction was happening just below, as he heard a familiar voice coming from the first floor...a voice and its lack of subtlety he recognized anywhere... It'd be fine, he'd have consider it another normal case of him doing his usual "search-and-retrieve" mission across the campus, if not for the mention of a "Finn Girl".

"[color=silver][i]Oh no...[/i][/color]"

Tyler got up from his chair and walked towards the balcony of the second floor, and looking down at the others. Much to his dismay, it was exactly as he thought: Mikhail Chekov - or "Mik" as Tyler knows him by - was trying to talk Merja into helping him on his mission. Tyler knew all too well what Mik was trying to have people do for him, and also knew what his [i]true[/i] intentions were for the antidote and poison he was talking about. This was nothing new; he's been at this ever since the school year started, and never had much luck with it, which was to be expected considering just how much Mik was asking for. 

What was particularly embarrassing in [i]this[/i] case however... was that Tyler couldn't help but wonder if him heading for Merja was [i]his[/i] fault. For just yesterday, Mik was the one who helped essentially swat away the bullies that were harming him, and he, as usual, was asking Tyler afterwards if he had someone in mind who could help him out. It was Tyler who pointed Merja out to him, but that was only to help him find better help among those she knows, since she had an entire study group for A-level Biology, and certainly would know friends in Chemistry. He didn't think Mik would actually have [i]her[/i] be the one to help out. He must be getting either really desperate, really impatient, or both. He even went so far as to explain to her his life story and provide "proof" for his efforts.

"[color=silver][i]Oh no, not the Tabloid again...[/i][/color]"

Yes, Mik's story was very far-fetched, like something out of a spy thriller, and Tyler understands that that Tabloid was the only picture proof he had for it, the only thing he had to prove that it's real. But the pulps had an infamous reputation for having ridiculous stories that were unbelievable and just documented for the sake of baiting unsuspecting buyers. Thus, if anything, using it to prove his case makes his story even [i]more[/i] far-fetched and unbelievable.

That said, Merja seemed to take it far better than everyone else he tried this with, it even looked like she legitimately believed him. ...It's just a shame how easy it is for Tyler to see that Mik was indeed manipulating her as a means to an end.

Sure enough like Tuesday with the tree-hat incident, the conversation were drawing familiar faces in like moths to a flame, albeit significantly less than last time. This time it was just Laurence - who of course would be in a Library at this time, it only makes sense for a bookworm like him - Romani this time - who came in apparently looking for Laurence - and Al-... Uh oh.

In one corner, there's Mik, someone who these days is known to be relatively aggressive and hostile towards people who don't believe his story in the slightest...which is not a very hard thing to do. In the other corner there's Alex, someone who Tyler knows is hostile just from his attempted conversation with him. Like two tsunamis, these two aggressive waves just came into conflict and has begun to crash into each other, with poor Merja, Laurence, and Romani right in the middle, about to be flooded.

Sure enough, Alex called Mik out like Tyler thought he would, and Mik responded as Tyler thought [i]he[/i] would. Laurence seemed to try and make things easier, and Romani, who apparently was looking for Laurence, made the smart decision to stay out of this, giving Merja a cup of coffee as an apology.

Fortunately, both Alexander and Mik were essentially on holy ground, the Library where such things as conflict is not tolerated, and he could hear the voice of someone he didn't recognize, step out from a study room Tyler couldn't see from his angle he was in, and essentially stopped the fight from happening. That's when he heard Mik mention the name of the voice, "Philip Leonhart". The boy genius is here in Evergreen [i]again[/i]? Not that he believes that Philip isn't welcomed, but surely there must be a library of some kind in St. Paul that's better than this one. Maybe smaller, but probably with more stuff to his liking he'd imagine.

By the sound of things, as soon as Philip stepped out, he could hear Mik talking to him about how he wanted his help. Tyler made a sigh of relief; it seems Mik stopped putting focus on Merja and instead on someone who might actually be eligible to help him. ...Too bad Philip didn't sound like he was having any of it. He could tell by the tone of the genius' voice that he was getting really irritated at Mik, shooting him down with logic after logic before seemingly walking away. Mik walking away as well in a huff.

"[color=silver][i]Ambition without knowledge...[/i][/color]" Philips words, unbeknownst to Philip himself, hit home with Tyler as well. Albeit in a different, if not outright reverse way. He returned to his chair, thinking about the conversation, thinking about that last line in particular.

If Ambition without knowledge is like a bird without wings, then what's knowledge without ambition? Just the wings of a bird. A bird's wings are often wanted by many, but hold them in your hand and they still won't let you fly, not like they would for birds. Wings are useless without the bird to make them fly. Knowledge is useless without a goal, without ambition, without [i]purpose[/i] to give it shape. 

...Was that why Philip came here? He's renowned as a genius so he has plenty of knowledge, so could it be that he's looking for ambition of his own? If so, they may not be so different in spite of Leonhart's superior intellect. ...Tyler, too, has knowledge but no reason to use it.

...Not anymore...

Tyler felt pressure in his frontal lobe as he thought about it, his vision distorting; his mind was trying to remember, and it was enough to make him press his face against his hand, clenching it as if in pain. He closed his eyes, the landscape of his dream in his mind's eye, the echoes of the past in his mind's ear...

He shook his head, even slapped himself a few times, and eventually the feelings subsided as he put his focus back into his books, reading profusely from it, studying every page.

Eventually he took a deep breath and sighed, before grabbing his stuff and returning back to his room, ready to call it a day.

[hr]

[center][i]School Accomodation hallway, Thursday Afternoon[/i][/center]

After the Library debacle, when he felt it was time to leave himself, he took a walk back to the accommodations, weary of anyone trying gunning to attack him yet again. Good news was, no such thing happened this time around, he was able to walk from the Library to the Dorms without any hassle.

Bad news was that none other than Alex, Merja, and the rest of their Biology Study Group was hanging out in the lounge performing their studies. It must be for the Midterms, but this presents a problem either way. Tyler was already made clear that his pacifistic (or cowardly) ways is enough to get on Alexander's bad side. Moreover, Mik irritated him just an hour or so ago in the Library. Who knows what'll happen if he winds up walking anywhere near Alex's line of sight. Sure, his friends might tame him, but he'd rather not have them perform such a struggle over someone like himself.

Thus, not taking any chances, he decided to walk around to the opposite side of the accommodations in order to reach the stair well without getting into contact with the Biology group. Making a quick dash around the building, he walked in, and indeed headed for the stairwell and was heading up. ...Or at least he was going to, but he then overheard the study group in the lounge. Nothing particularly of note, but just... the fact that they were enjoying themselves. Hearing them, with a gentle smile on his face, he quietly put down his bag so as to not let them hear him, and sat down on the step. Well, more like laid on it, lying his back on the wall and a laid his leg on a part on the step he was on, while the other leg was on the floor. Then he simply laid his head gently on the wall, eyes closed and that gentle smile still on his face, cathartic and relaxed as he listened to them. He knew the others have likely gone back into their dorms or aren't coming back for a while, so he hopes he has the luck to not encounter somebody who wants to get up or down the steps and ask him to move, blowing his cover.

Tyler never really liked parties, but he liked being in one. He didn't like taking parts in the festivities, but he loved observing others enjoying it from afar. Perhaps it's the sense that he thinks himself not worthy, or maybe it was just his uncle's teachings that echo in his head. Maybe it was both, causing a sense of perpetual anxiety, but either way, he can't ever truly bring himself to be a part of a group of people that are not a part of the family that he knows. Even so, something about listening to others, about others having a good time even if it's without him, makes him feel good about himself. It felt relaxing; listening to other people laughing and making jokes was akin to listening to music. It lets him...keep to himself while enjoying the joys of social activity, a positive sense of invisibility that creates the best of both worlds. It's something, he feels, would be the mutual feelings of an ever watching guardian angel.

In particular, he was happy that the Library incident from earlier today was all but forgotten by Merj and Alex. Of course, the very thought that the scary man was hanging out comfortably with people and possibly enjoying himself was enough to satisfy him. Even someone like that has people he can be around, friends with energy, humor, and kindness. Even if he himself doesn't seem like he's enjoying their company, maybe, just maybe, they're just what someone like him needs.

Once he felt the Study Group was over, he quietly grabbed his bag, slowly getting up and quietly walking up the steps to his room without raising suspicion that he was ever there.

After what's happened to him yesterday, after the shit that happened in the library, he [i]needed[/i] this...

[hr]

[center][i]Evergreen Grammar School, Sociology Hallway, Friday Morning[/i][/center]

Today felt like quite a busy day for Tyler. He needed to go to his classes, prepare for Midterms, (PE's gonna be a bitch, he just knows it...) and even before that, it seems Vice-Principal - or rather "Acting-Principal" if he heard the news right - Ashcroft wants to go through some kind of mid-term evaluation of particular students. Most likely, it was to check up on them and see if they're still doing what's needed to stay in this school. 

It wasn't all that surprising for Tyler; this IS a private school for selected individuals of particularly advanced minds, after all. It made sense that they'd need to evaluate the students every now and then to make sure they were still qualified to be here. That said, it [i]is[/i] questionable that he's only evaluating particular students as oppose to the whole school. It'd make sense for someone like himself to be needing evaluation, since he feels he's not doing as good lately as he feels he should be, there's definite aspects of his learning and himself he feels he needs to improve. It'd also make sense for people like Mik or Hat to be evaluated, considering the attention their actions unwittingly made. While he completely understands Mik's desperation, and it's likely Hat only wanted to have a little fun, and probably isn't too used to the way of things here since he's a transfer student, in the end, they [i]have[/i] caused a disruption of the student body.

But Laurence was to be evaluated later on? [i]Laurence?[/i] He's not exactly a social get-together type, yes. But to Tyler's knowledge, he's an upstanding student and does a remarkable job, if Philosophy class is anything to consider. If Mr. Ashcroft was going to pick select students, why pick [i]him[/i]?

Before he could think on it anymore, he spotted yet another event that just happened: Firstly he spotted Ashcroft as he walked past a boy and taking a turn towards another hallway, it seems his own evaluation will have to wait. Just then, however, it seemed Mik bumped into the boy Ashcroft passed by, a junior student by the looks of it. To make matters worse, he was then about to punch the boy in the face. Tyler was about to step in at that point to stop him, but it seemed Mik hesitated and instead got him right back up, Tyler sighing in relief at Mik suddenly coming to his senses. He then noticed Philip once again. He's [i]still[/i] here? Plus he seemed to be speaking with Dr. Brower, the Philosophy teacher...that is, until the incident with Alistair and Mik, in which case he once again stepped in.

...He seemed to be doing that a [i]lot[/i] lately. First, he was there when Hat was in that tree, then in the Library he was there to tell off Mik, and now here, likely about to tell off Mik once more. All while being a St. Paul student as oppose to Evergreen. He knows that the two schools are connected and even neighbors, but it's still very peculiar how often he's seen the boy genius here as oppose to the college. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with that, but it did honestly spark up curiosity in Tyler's mind for the rather enigmatic genius.

In any case, everything looked like it was about to go through the same thing that happened yesterday all over again... Then, something happened Tyler could never have predicted. Mik looked towards another corridor, seemingly distracted, by something Tyler never noticed.

[center][hider="Suspicious worries/Dark clouds"][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urTlIknMmgk[/youtube][/hider][/center]

When Mik's focused on something, it takes a lot to pull him out of that focus. Yet now he looked ...[i]off[/i]. It was like Mik saw a ghost or something, and without a single word, he just... ran off all of a sudden, like something over there caught his attention. Worried, Tyler made a run for the path Mik was on.

"[b][color=silver]Sorryabouthimbeinglikethathaveagreatdayandhiprofessor![/color][/b]" Tyler said quickly to Philip and Alistair, and a quick greeting to Dr. Brower, as he ran off to where ever Mik went.

However, by the time he got to where Mik last was, he was gone.

...Strange...This area was basically the closest thing this school has to a dead-end. It was an open area so he might have went somewhere else, but based on how fast the two were going, he should have at least seen him in the distance.

Hopefully he isn't getting himself into trouble, but unfortunately there's not much he can do right now but hope for the best. Besides, it's Mik, or at least this present-day Mik, he's confident he can get back home safely. With that in mind, he walked back the way he came and headed for the Vice-Principal's office to start his day, hopefully Ashcroft's already back at his office by the time he gets there.

[hr]

[center][i]Downtown London, Friday Afternoon[/i][/center]

[center][hider="Exploration"][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVo4yKqdEPk[/youtube][/hider][/center]

After school, Tyler decided to take a walk into the great city of London for a bit...He just needed to be away from it all for the moment, especially after his own meeting with Ashcroft. He couldn't even focus like he should have when he was in classes because of that.

If one was to take the conversation they had out of context, they would say that it went exceedingly well. Ashcroft praised him for his hard work, as well as his lineage, being the son and nephew of two war heroes and a skilled nurse, and he seemed worried about him, what with the bullying. But something about the way he spoke, the state of his room, how he seems to refer to other students as an infection, or treating them as non-citizens, ...everything about what he said rubbed him the wrong way, and by the look in his eyes, he was serious about all of it. Even the concern for his well-being felt less because Ashcroft cared about him, and more like he's a fancy trophy on a pedestal that he didn't want to see get broken.

Did Laurence have this same feeling when he got in there? Did Mik? No, by how he sounded, he definitely treated Mik horribly in there due to his Russian nature.

Speaking of which, what happened to Mik? He still can't wrap his head around that reaction he suddenly made, and now he still couldn't find him anywhere. Where in the world could he have gone?

As he thought about this, he looked up for a moment. Sure enough as it so happens, there was Alistair, the boy Mik collided with a while ago. Part of Tyler wanted to essentially turn the other way and walk somewhere else, not wanting to actually interact with anyone. ...But no, Mik and him collided together, and worse still, Mik was about ready to punch the boy in the face, ran off without apologizing, and now is nowhere to be seen. ...It was up to [i]him[/i] to apologize - ACTUALLY apologize this time unlike what he did this morning - in his stead. After all, the least he could do for Mik was make sure there's no hard feelings. ...While he's at it, he should probably find Philip, and do the same...hard as that may be.

But no, he must first focus on the now! With that, he strengthened his resolve, and walked over to the boy.

"[b][color=silver]...Umm, Hello there. You're a student from Evergreen, yes? ...My name is Tyler Blackmore, an upper sixth at Evergreen as well. I...umm, I'm sorry for coming up to you out of the blue like this, but that boy who ran into you a while ago was a friend of mine. I wanted to apologize about that incident in his stead. ...I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him. He... he wasn't always like that.[/color][/b]" He said to him.

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