Private Roleplay~ IOD

asi • 11 March 2013 at 5:04 AM

Even though he'd had the smarts to clamp down hard on his ears early on, the Power was still rendered incapable of hearing anything for several minutes and missed the latter part of what she'd said, but got at least the general gist of it from the first sentence.
When it seemed safe, he lowered his arms and crossed them stiffly to his chest, wondering how long it would be before he was forced to kill her, tapping a foot to the ground impatiently. He didn't let her touch him; freaking out when she went for his hair (his hair! Oh no, she was not touching!!), he used his ability to slow down her movement and replaced the distance by quickly scooting away. He'd give her a little time to seriously answer before going for the kill. Really, it was Two's fault, not hers; she was just the object, and for that, he pitied her. She must have done something pretty bad in a past life to get Two's attentions in this one!

"Here."
Xela looked him evenly in the eyes, searching for the slightest sign of dishonestly or harmful intent. Finding nothing in those warm, brown, oh-too-innocent orbs, reluctantly she trooped on into the room.
She had to admit, it was nicer than what Alex had got back at the Falchions'. The beds were plush and at least queen-sized, and each littered with enough silky cushions to make a second. The walls were the standard white, but the carpet was black and fluffy, and looked like heaven to sink one's feet into. They were even given two sets of drawers and a large writing desk, plus there was a curtain to divide the room into two if they so wished.
"..." Xela took all this in her stride, not willing to read any more into it than the face value. She'd been roughing it for weeks, and she was tired of it, but she wasn't going to go all weak at the knees. She turned back to her host. "Now talk."
He gave an exasperated smile, obviously amused at her refusal to show appreciation. "O-kay then. Hi!"
"What's your name?" Guithe asked him, already over her shyness of the large room and claiming a bed by testing out the bouncy factor, having neglected to discard her travel-worn shoes first.
"Different people call me different things, y'know? Mmmm..." He stalled with a hum. "... Lich, you can call me Lich," he said finally, when Xela's glower became too heavy. "Ah- but most everyone here calls me Septa; that's my rank among the Glaeroes."
"Lich? That's a funny name...." Guithe stopped bouncing and stared.

taffy789 • 11 March 2013 at 12:14 PM

The fit of giggles lasted several minutes. It only started to trail off when Eight realized that the Power still stood across the room, staring crossly at her. She noticed him, proceeded to have a staring competition, and after she lost that, her demeanor seemed to tighten up, if ever so slightly.
"Spike-y..." the girl started to say, but then paused, as if thinking. Her eyes narrowed, the fog slightly dispersing from her eyes as she struggled to find the right words. Finally, she continued, finding a train of thought.
"...Well, I know he hurts people. But he has... never hurt me. "
Every sentence was spoken with hesitance, an unsurity similar to a small child reading "War and Peace" outloud and not being positive if they were pronouncing the words correctly.
"Also, he never yelled at me." Eight added, and followed this sentence up with a small frown in the Power's direction, as if accusing him with, "But you did."
"Also, we are friends~. I know that friends talk to each other, right? Well, he talks to me, and nobody else really does! So he's my friend then..." She nodded as she spoke, re-affirming her words to herself.
"Besides, if you are who I think you are..." the Leader trailed off, and began staring at the Power again.
"My memories say that ferals are bad, very bad! They kill your friends and make the users inside them sad. Bad memories with them. Very bad."
Eight was really talking like a child now, using simplistic terms while showing her aversion to ferals by pouting.
"Bad memories with ferals. Well, there are bad memories with Two too, but he has never hurt me..."
There came another pause, as if the girl had to verify this claim in her mind.
"Yes, he has never hurt me at all~."
It began to become hard to tell if Eight was still addressing Spike's Power as she spoke. After a while, her speech had become less aimed in his direction, as if she was now simply talking to herself.
It slowly became more and more obvious that the Leader had possibly drifted off to her own little world long ago.

asi • 12 March 2013 at 6:56 AM

The Power's eyes were as black as ever, and his tactics switched from retreat into advance. Throughout Eight's revelations, he had recoiled as if stung, disbelief radiating off him in waves. She, this tiny little girl, actually thought of Spike as a friend. He wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry at Two's luck. But he didn't hesitate in his course of action.
"Oh, but the term 'Feral' sends the impression that the power in question is resisting their user," he quirked an eyebrow. "That's not me. You think a power like me couldn't overpower Spike, any time it pleased me, if I so wished? He could as much fight me as you could a raging fire with bare hands. If I wanted to take over, I certainly wouldn't have needed to wait for some drug to knock him back," the Power looked to the ceiling. This discovery had been pure chance; he'd trusted Spike not to make this mistake. He was here now only because Two was out and at the worst time... Speaking of which, that was now; he'd better get this wrapped up.
"No. Though I may be all for killing his friends and making him 'sad'... To be fair, we had a deal there. If he didn't make any friends, I would not have to kill any, now would I? But do not worry- there won't be any 'bad memories'. He won't remember a thing. It really wouldn't do any good if he heard those touching words of yours," he shook his head. "He'll wake up and understand what happened here was his fault! Because he can't have you and achieve his goal! The goal we've shared for seven years... I'm not letting him choose you over that!" he gave a low hiss.
"Your friendship with Spike? It's killing him," the Power said bluntly. "Literally. I had to do this-"
He drew his sword from it's sheath and for a moment admired the way the light reflected off the blade. Then he would freeze her in time, rendering her unable to escape, then run the sword through her chest.
"I had to..."
Simple, clean, quick, and most importantly; deadly effective. The Power personally liked that more than Two's rather nasty drawn-out methods (and he definitely hadn't the time for in any case). But then, he didn't share the same aptitude for pain with his user.

taffy789 • 12 March 2013 at 9:08 PM

The Leader seemed to listen as Two's Power spoke, despite her head-in-clouds rambling.
After he'd finished speaking, Eight tilted her head to the side, in a fashion similar to that of a puppy, as if doing so could help her comprehend what she'd just been told a little better.
"...Killing...him?" the girl questioned, making a face and obviously puzzled by the Power's words.
However, this look of confusion turned into surprise as the shining sword was drawn from its sheath.
Apparently, she'd understood enough of the speech to know what the sword meant- that the Power was going to fulfill his promise of her death.
She took an instinct step backward, slightly bumping into the desk behind her.
The girl did not want to look up at Spike's face, in fear that the image of it with murderous intent would invoke the forced remembrance of a sadistic smile and what usually happened afterword.
That wouldn't be good, it was never good, but it would be especially bad now, since Eight firmly believed that your last memories should be of happy ones.
Well, at least she had a lot of those.

asi • 14 March 2013 at 12:59 AM

....
The Power paused, considering, for a moment, whether he should take the sword or leave it where it was. Leave it, he decided, knowing that probably only Two himself would be able to recognize that blade... Hopefully that would really break him.
So he left her there, sword through the chest, and literally frozen in time.
Now that 'saving Two from himself' was crossed off his list, he moved onto the next item; 'saving Two's kind from HIS kind, and foiling their plans in general.'
Funfunfun.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Lich shrugged, not at all bothered.
"... Septa? As in the seventh strongest person in the Glaeroes?" A high ranking like this wasn't exactly unexpected by Xela, but she still didn't like it at all. Why would one of the people in charge help them?
"Seventh?" Lich made a face, though it wasn't clear if he thought the number excessive or lacking. "I wouldn't say that. The ranking here is very, I mean VERY messed up. Still, so long as they worship me..."
But Guithe hadn't anticipated this at all. "Wh-what?" she squeaked and hid herself behind Xela, also grabbing the latter's arm and trying to pull her away.
"Relax, I don't intend to place you back with those knife-happy morons," Lich rolled his eyes. "Trust me."
"Why should we?" Xela's face hardened.
"Oh, I don't know.... But it'll be funner that way," he shot them a wickedly playful smile, and Guithe started to calm down, seeing that he didn't seem intent on harming her, though it had exactly the opposite effect on Xela, causing her to stiffen and look even less trusting.
"You're not into fun, though, are you?" he teased the tiresomely uptight power. "We could do a trust test if you like. I trust you'll catch me!"
She merely frowned, like, really? "What makes you trust US?" she then tried.
"Well, that's easy!" Lich answered with a silly grin. "Redheads don't tell lies!"
The other two facepalmed simultaneously. This guy....!

"So we'll all meet back in room six-nine. You have fifteen minutes to prepare, then we're leaving. You know the drill, the TELI's set so there's no waiting for stragglers. Dismissed."
The group of powers diffused. The Snow Leopard waited until everyone was gone before heading off on his own way. He was all ready, but he wasn't going straight to room six-nine. Zan wanted to visit the prisoner before he left.

taffy789 • 14 March 2013 at 1:07 PM

While she wasn't sure which qualified as being the worst problem at the moment, losing one of the serums or losing track of Two, Annabell decided that they were both perfectly good reasons to plague her with headaches.
After retrieving the antidote and rushing back to where she'd last seen Two, the girl discovered that asking him to look for Eight might've not been the best idea she ever had.
Despite the fact she kept wandering around through the hallways in search for the Leader, the guy seemed impossible to find!
To make matters worse, searching the endless maze of corridors had gotten Annabell utterly, completely lost. Now, she felt exhausted, was fighting a light headache, and had know clue as to where she was at the moment!
With a sigh, the ex-spy paused in her stride, rubbing her temple in annoyance. She couldn't help but to think that this moment would be a perfect time for someone to exclaim, "What else could possibly go wrong?", and then be surprised when something in fact DID, like on those cheesy movies she may never see again.
A quiet growl vibrating down the hallway behind her signaled to her that a feral happened to be approaching.
"... Really?" Annabell groaned, head turning to look up at the ceiling in complaint to the heavens, " I didn't even say anything outloud..."
While she could whine to her deity later, she had to run now, and that was exactly what she did.

asi • 16 March 2013 at 6:52 AM

His face was twisted into an animalistic snarl, the sound that issued from his mouth didn't sound even remotely human.
"That's not scary... That's not terrifying in the least," their cornered prey muttered, twisting their head back to see how much space was left before his back was pressed up against the door, sealed shut. "You aren't scary at all. I've seen things, a lot scarier... I mean, is that weird grimace the best you can do, really? Come now, you really don't have the fangs for it..."
The feral paused, and it's face grew slack with confusion. Why did it's would-be victim insist on making such annoying noises? It really wanted this person to shut up!
"Okay, okay, no scary advancing necessary, I take that back, you have really nice teeth," the person blabbered, obviously not thrilled with the situation. He ran his hands through his short cropped blonde hair, desperately trying to think up an escape before he became his next patient, or worse. He wished he'd thought to bring some kind of weapon, or at least changed out of his geeky, movement-restricting white lab-coat, instead of just stupidly rushing over the minute he'd got the call. Bliss regretted that now.
Still, as bad as his situation was, his scientific mind couldn't help but be fascinated by the specimen before him. He'd never seen a wild feral up so close and personal, and while he'd heard accounts, those didn't at all compare to reality. This feral really didn't seem to understand a word he said...
Actually, most people didn't, they claimed his british accent was far too strong.
"... Pleasure to meet you too," Bliss gasped out when the feral decided he was very sick and tired of the strange prey, grabbing the older person's neck and slamming hard him into the metal door, the feral's grip tightening as he began to choke the life out of Bliss. Immediately the latter's hands flew to his throat and he tried to rip the feral's off him, but it was no use; the feral, while several years younger, still just a kid, was physically a lot stronger than Bliss, trained for fighting and now possessed by power.

taffy789 • 16 March 2013 at 11:55 PM

Being able to escape the clutches of yet another feral battle, Annabell flashed out of sight as soon as the feral rounded the corner of the corridor, effectively avoiding being seen.
She let out a sigh of relief as she sped away, all to happy to avoid further blood shed. Not to mention, ferals in general simply... terrified her. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that she'd bore witness to the unfathomable destructive forces of not-so-animalistic, sadistic, blood-thirsty, capable powers in command...
A whole base full of powerful people in danger of turning into complete monsters... Even worse, an army of "rebel" powers, armed with a drug to, as Raven described, allow the power to take control... Theentire situation seemed almost nightmarish.
However, the antidote in Annabell's possession provided some hope... If not for the fake that she'd lost the person in power she was supposed to give it to, and the second problem that a certain crazy Leader had most likely stolen the second one... Really, the blue-haired girl acted so flighty and insane, it was a mystery as to why Eight hadn't been stabbed by some angry, annoyed person at the base by now!
A sight in the corridor just ahead of Annabell caused snap out of her thoughts and screech to a stop before her foot falls gave her position away. Just a mere three feet away from the girl, a feral pinned some...man against the wall, and was proceeding to choke the life out of him.
Unlike some of the others at the base, Annabell did not think herself as a completely heartless person. Training kicking in, she moved quietly, stealthy sneaking up on the feral, preferring a direct attack rather than the much easier throwing knives (she was out of practice with them anyway).
She managed to get a foot away from it, thankful that it was too preoccupied with turning the young man blue to notice her, before lunging towards the monster and striking a fatal blow to it's side with her knife.

asi • 17 March 2013 at 1:56 AM

Just as Bliss' vision had started going all static, the pressure around his neck vanished and he slumped to the ground, gasping for air. It seemed his contrary luck hadn't run out; it always seemed to be good, bad, good, bad. Bad that an important surgery had been interrupted and nearly ruined by a psychic call. Good that he'd finally got a call from a friend he hadn't heard from in three years. Bad that the friend seemed to be in trouble and wanted him at the Falchion's base ASAP, and had been extremely vague. Good that he'd found a teleporter, bad that he'd found the base in lockdown, he'd no idea where his friend was, and immediately a Feral had found and nearly killed him. Good that he'd been saved, embarrassing that it was a girl who looked about five years younger than him...
"Thank you," he said to her with genuine gratitude, as soon as he'd recovered enough air. His throat was going to be seriously sore for a while, but he could live with that.
It seemed like his friend hadn't been kidding when he'd said trouble, but it would have been really nice if he'd been more specific, especially by explaining how Bliss could possibly help! Bliss looked around him, sighing at the general mess around him. "Please don't tell me this is all about feral powers again," he said aloud, to no one in particular. He wasn't aching for a repeat performance. His friend had told him they were done with the cure, not to worry about it any more.
Bliss turned to his rescuer. "... My name's Bliss." It didn't really seem like a good time for introductions, but he said it automatically anyway. Maybe this girl could give him some pointers in the direction of his friend. But he really ought to help her and repay the favor first.

taffy789 • 17 March 2013 at 2:34 AM

Annabell flashed visible upon rescuing the man, and curiously watching him regain his breath while slumped against the wall.
He looked older than a lot of people she'd seen around the base... and it wasn't as if the life expectancy of IOD was exactly long either.
"... I'm Annabell." The greeting was spoken with no overall emotion to it, just as a formality. She nodded her head in recognition of his gratitude before continuing.
"Sadly, yes, this is about ferals... and, may I ask, again? Something with ferals... happened before? Also, you aren't from here, are you?"
Being able to get a better look at Bliss, without the feral choking him to death, Annabell noted that the lab coat basically screamed that he wasn't where he belonged, if his age didn't already give it away.
Another strange thing she noticed about him was that he seemed to have a slight accent... something she wanted to peg as British, but just wasn't quite sure yet...
All in all, Bliss didn't seem like a threat, and obviously had a reason to be here, considering the coat and his words... She decided to wait to see what the man would have to say next.

asi • 19 March 2013 at 7:13 AM

"So many questions," Bliss replied without really answering anything, but to properly explain any of those probably take time, and after being very nearly suffocated, he didn't fancy lingering just here. "You could say that," he said to all three of them, and then added, "I'm a healer."
Pointedly, he anxiously glanced down each ends of the corridor before continuing. "... By the general atmosphere, I'm deducing that perhaps this isn't the best time nor the best place for a tete-a-tete... If you want to talk, we can find somewhere safe (if such a place is to be found), but I assume you are out here for a reason?" he wondered.

"Still here, huh..." Zan remarked, setting down in his usual spot. A strange lull had settled over the girl's delicate features, strange in that it was very peaceful. She appeared merely asleep, though her face lacked healthy color and she looked extraordinarily thin. Did this mean the suppressor was finally taking over, or did it mean it was wearing off? He really had no idea, and not the time for idle speculation. Zan supposed that was some motivation to make it back from the Falchion's base today, to find out.
Angel was so strong, beautiful (in a softer, quieter way than Alex, but still stunning) and most importantly- and he just knew it from looking at her- kind; all the things he admired in a girl, or at least, all the things Blaine had. But that wasn't why Zan continued to visit her at all. He wasn't quite sure what it was. He thought it might be that she felt like a friend, when all the rebel powers he had to tiptoe around like landmines, one wrong move around one and they'd set off a chain-reaction and ALL blow up in his face...
Yes, it was nice to imagine he had one friend in this place, even if she was unconscious the whole time, because in this place, for the first time in his life without Blaine, the ice-power had never felt so alone.

taffy789 • 19 March 2013 at 7:52 PM

"I suppose you're right." Annabell admitted with a shrug. Even she had to admit it wasn't the best of ideas to linger in a hallway when there were dangerous ferals on the prowl. She helped the older man up to his feet, also glancing around the corridor to make sure they were safe.
"If any ferals come our way, I can get us away from them, I have invisibility." the girl shortly explained, "Also, I'm searching for the base Leaders, any of them, at this point, because I have something important I have to give them..."
Annabell wasn't sure if she felt comfortable telling the strange man about the power-repressing drug, for multiple reasons, She figured it would stay her best interest if something important as the drug stayed quiet... Then again, if that was the main concern, Eight knowing seemed to make that reason completely moot. The main problem actually was that she simply wasn't sure about the man yet, however, hopefully a Leader could clear both the problem with the antidote and the strange accented fellow.
"...You can tell me why you're here as we walk."
Annabell didn't mean to sound forceful, but she realized that the statement may have sounded more like a command as soon as it left her mouth. She didn't bother to correct herself however, and started to start back down the hallway, at a slower-than-usual pace so the two could still talk.

asi • 20 March 2013 at 5:08 AM

"Invisibilty, huh..." Bliss sighed, unable to help himself from thinking just how cool it must be to turn invisible. It was this incorrigible fixation of his which had landed him at IOD and in that whole mess so long ago... Had it been worth all the bad, he still wasn't sure.
"Okay. Actually, I'm looking for someone too, a friend. The problem is, I don't know where to find him..." he frowned. "I don't know his rank or what he calls himself these days. It's been three years so I can't even give a description," he confessed, smiling slightly at his predicament. "The message was the vaguest thing, just saying there was trouble and could I please come to the West Gate. I hope he's alright..."
Bliss looked searchingly around the base as they walked, reacquainting himself with its halls. Suddenly he stopped in front of what looked like a section of ordinary wall; though anyone who'd been around would know, thanks to Eight's impressive set of lungs, that this was Two's office. He pressed a hand against the door.
"I can sense a strong energy signal inside- and by strong, I mean ridiculously, crazy, gives-brute-force-a-whole-new-meaning... Explosive," he described decisively. He thought he might have felt this power before, but he'd have to get closer to know for certain.
"Something's wrong though." While he sought information inside he also examined the door carefully to see if it would open, and shook his head. Annabell didn't look like the type who could bash it in either, unfortunately. But if the people at IOD could break them, there wouldn't be much point to heavy metal doors, now would there.
"Whoever it is, I don't suppose they could be of any help paralyzed like that..." Bliss swiveled around and looked down a side-corridor.
"That way, there's another; weaker, but much sharper..." He felt a little like a metal-detector or something. "Mm, a mental type, this one..."

taffy789 • 20 March 2013 at 5:40 PM

"You can sense energy?" Annabell questioned Bliss, glancing in the direction he'd said he'd felt the weaker source come from.
While the paralyzed person most likely needed help, it wasn't as if she could destroy solid metal walls, and she knew that Bliss didn't expect her to. Besides, dealing with an explosively powerful user during a mass feral takeover didn't seem like the best of ideas.
Since checking out the first energy-reading was out of the question, that just left the second one.
Annabell followed the corridor that the man had motioned to, investigating the area.
After barely a minute of walking, the girl became surprised to discover a trail of loose papers. Curious, she picked one off the ground, and examined the official looking text.

" Filing Cabinet Placement: O-S
Topic: Octopus, Killer
Sub-topic: Dangerous animals; Queries; Myths.

From the desk of the assistant of the Eight:
An agent from sector four has reported being attacked by a killer octopus while traversing the region of A-L. Information has reported this claim to be false, for such fauna does not exist in the swamp lands. It was proven that the agent, 409653, and his team had simply been attacked by a Glaeroe team, one of which had a user who could invoke madness and/or illusion ability. The agent was sent to the mainland hospital but is not making much progress. "

"..." Annabell wasn't sure what she should think about the paper.
Instead, she crumpled the strange piece of text up in her hands, and threw it aside before continuing to follow the paper trail. At the end of the trail of weird documents, the girl had a funny feeling Eight would be there, as weird things usually followed one another.

After another minute or two of tracing the papers, Annabell finally came to the heavily dented metal door leading into Eight's room. Sighing at the fact that Eight most likely caused more damage to the base by smashing open doors using her cabinets than the ferals have, the beyond exasperated girl entered the Leader's room.
"...Oh holy-! Crud!" Annabell stepped back in horror, her eyes widening upon seeing the frozen-in-time Eight with the sword sticking out of her vitals. She had been expecting a lot of things upon comforting the hyper girl again, but most of them had involved long speeches about desserts, not... not this-!

asi • 26 March 2013 at 4:41 AM

"Likely I did not necessarily need to kill them," he considering the mess before him. However there was no regret in his eyes for the dead- those weaker than himself- only disdain.
"But locking them would only drain me of even more energy, and non-lethal... Restraint is obviously not my thing. Killing them... It's just easy."
With a simple twist of his hand, he snapped the last Feral's neck and let them fall to the ground in a heap.
"And fun," he added thoughtfully, stepping over the broken body. Being completely in control, he couldn't help but enjoy himself.
"At least my user and I have such things in common- I mean, I can not empathize exactly, but I pity their situation; if MY user was so boring-" the Power went on, until he noticed another person, not a Feral, but a user still, backed into a corner and staring at him with pure horror.
"Oh, don't give me that look," he growled. "They started it."
He stalked on off down the corridor; the user wasn't even worth the energy of raising the one finger it'd take to kill them.

"Any healer worth their salt can," Bliss replied absently, his mind elsewhere; he was focusing on the leader ahead. "That's weird- everything about them is frozen again, but it's not the usual kind of paralysis, if that affected your internal organs, you'd be dead. It shouldn't be possible for your heart and lungs to actually stop like this and you still live, so why does it seem like this person-?" he stepped into the room.
Bliss didn't pause for a second but was at Eight's side immediately. His eyes darkened as he examined the damage. His hands closed around the hilt and he tried pulling it free, but it wouldn't budge. He frowned; he wasn't that weak, so maybe it was being affected by whatever was freezing the leader up. "The sword needs to be removed before I can try," he emphasized the uncertainty of last word, "healing her properly."

taffy789 • 27 March 2013 at 12:15 AM

Annabell hushed silent as she noted the uncertainty about healing Eight in Bliss' voice. Even if the Leader was... completely and utterly insane, that didn't mean Annabell wished death on her! Not to mention, that wound looked deadly... no, it WAS deadly. If the crazy girl hadn't been frozen, she would have certainly died.
The blonde turned to Bliss, not positive on what she should say. "...So you're baffled by Eight's sudden statue-like form too?"
Wow, Annabell realized, small talk really wasn't her forte.
Instead of pulling herself into the rather dreary conversation about the Leader's current state, she walked up to frozen girl herself to check out the new form of paralysis.
As she glanced over the suspended-in-time girl, Annabell felt the need to admit to herself that a petrified Eight wasn't the weirdest thing she'd ever seen. Zombie Riley still took that award for that one.
Really, she did not even want to THINK about that, not now, not ever. Part of her even wished that Eight currently wasn't stone so she could erase that memory.
However, it seemed to Annabell that Eight might not be able to mess with memories ever again, once that sword was pulled...


Meanwhile, across the base, Zach silently slept while practically slumped over in his chair, having drifted off to slumber-land during the extremely short time that was Raven's turn. His cards laid face-up on the table, revealing that he had been, in fact, bluffing. Not that the reveal would make much of a difference anyway, since Zach was still beating Raven thirteen-to-six in terms of amount of favors.

asi • 28 March 2013 at 8:56 PM

Something had caught his eye, nothing about Eight but instead the sword, more specifically the hilt. He hesitated. "Actually... I recognize this sword- and this power, too. Your friend's been locked in time."

"Right, everyone." Chase addressed the rebels assembled inside the Falchion's base loud and clear. "We're splitting up into small groups, 2-5 per team. Make sure you have someone who can deal with the doors; this place is in complete lockdown and they have some seriously thick metal. Your objective is to grab as many new recruits as possible- those the repressor hasn't workedon, either avoid or kill, just make it snappy. Hale, Voeing, you're with me- we're going after Leader." By the time he'd finished, he was left with only the other two and Zan.
"I'll just-" The snow leopard started.
They all looked at him and he looked back.
"Yeah, you can just... Go, do what you like, Zan," Chase scowled at him, not at all bothering to mask his dislike for the outcast ice-power.
Zan wandered reluctantly off along the corridor, but couldn't seem to resist throwing back over his shoulder to Voeing a suggestive; "Hope that means he'll give us a little 'alone' time later! Until then, beautiful..."
She managed a only wobbly smile in reply. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her hair a tangled green birdnest, as she had barely stopping crying since they'd lost Sest. In this state she was hardly 'beautiful' material, but Voeing knew he was only trying to cheer her up, in his own way.

"...it's a power which is constantly draining, therefore he could end it at any time," Bliss muttered, internally revising each step of healing he'd have to use the minute Eight was unlocked and the sword freed. "Do you know anywhere I could find some ice?" he questioned Annabell.
"... You're looking for some ice, huh..."
Bliss snapped his head around to find a figure silhouetted at the entrance. The person stepped into the light. He was wearing a thin cotton v-neck shirt with a snow-leopard print, navy trackpants and dark shades pushed back into his tousled black-streaked-tawny hair. His eyes, framed by remarkably dark eyelashes, were the very palest blue.
"He's a Power," Bliss recognized instantly from the way energy just emanated off this guy. "But not a Feral."
"... Yeah," Zan acquiesced quietly, "That's right." Then his gaze flickered upwards to rest on Annabell, and his expression brightened immediately. "Long time no see, princess!"
"... Princess?" Bliss blinked distractedly.

taffy789 • 28 March 2013 at 11:37 PM

Annabell flipped around as soon as the voice behind her spoke, startled.
It was an understatement to say that she felt merely "surprised" by this new development.
"Blaine?!" The shocked word that flew off her lips was quickly accompanied by a hundred questions exploding in her mind. She hadn't seen the guy since the mission to France, and now he re-appears, under control of his power?
Great, that seemed to be happening to EVERYONE she knew now-a-days, wasn't it?
This surely tied in with the rebels somehow, but she couldn't really focus on thinking-up theories at the moment, since the power could still be deadly.
"...I mean, Blaine's power, I suppose." Annabell managed to fight off the oncoming headache from the massive question tornado in her mind, and calm herself down. "...What are you doing here?" The question was open-ended enough, left free for Zan to answer however he chose.
The best thing to do, she decided, was to compose herself, begin a quiet and delicate conversation with the ice-power, and then oh-so-ever-serenely beat the ever-living snot out of him if he dared to attack her or Bliss. The powers were unpredictable, and she couldn't let her guard down, lest in meant her death...



Perhaps it was the fact that the Leader was walking, alone, in a completely empty hallway, or maybe it was the voice echoing in her head, but Seven couldn't help feel... a bit frazzled.
Okay, so she was a strong believer in the whole "some people act like their power thing". She believed this simply because the saying extended to HER- like the wind, she prided herself her own key traits, and acted aloof, breezy, passive. However, the Leader knew it went without mention that a pounding sensation crushing your brain and a disembodied voice crackling evilly in your mind was enough to make ANYONE lose their cool. Not to mention, their mind.
Which happened to be why, despite her previous unpleasant encounter with her new co-worker, Six, the girl headed towards his office, seeking mental help, advice, a slap in the face, ANYTHING that could possibly aid her at the moment.
Of course, upon arriving to her destination, Gale found Six's door to be locked, as hers had been also. Luckily, anywhere air could possibly squeeze though, she could also, and Seven spied a small crack just near the base of the door...

asi • 1 April 2013 at 7:23 AM

"Well..." Zan gave it some deep thought, and as he did so, wandered casually closer; "Nothing much, really. Team 'Freedom'- who are, incidentally, behind the surpressor in the water supply- are invading and nicking all these shiny new ferals of yours... On the bright side, they won't be your problem anymore- or at least, for now," he gave an elegant shrug.
Bliss took a second to digest all that. "And aren't you one of them? There aren't any Feral's here, by the way."
The ice-power stared at the healer like he'd just spoken in a foreign language. Turning his gaze to Annabell, Zan stage-whispered; "Did you get any of that? What's with his... Accent?" He looked so totally confused.
Bliss sighed. He ought to be used to this by now.
The snow-leopard's attention wandered here, and at this point he finally noticed Eight.
"Uhh, what?" He started. "That's... None of the rebels' work..."
"It was me," Bliss told him, pokerface on.
"... You're a horrible liar," Zan told him with much amusement.
"Yeah. I am," Bliss sighed. "What a fail."
"Especially since I'm still not understanding a word you say," Zan was patting him on the back comfortingly, at which point Bliss only just noticed how close he'd gotten. "But it's okay, 'cause I really don't care..."
Bliss' feet wouldn't move back; in fact, he couldn't even feel them. They were frozen to the ground!
Zan turned to Annabell. "Don't worry. HE'll be fine. As in, if he gets hurt, he can just heal it, right?" he gave a lazy, arrogant smile, needing no confirmation that his guess was spot-on. "But you, 'Aurora', will be in serious trouble if the Mooks catch you," he spoke with genuine concern, and while he was speaking, he often glanced anxiously over to the door as if expecting powers to come calling any second. "They will not hesitate to kill you, and enjoy every second of it... So you don't need me to tell you twice, do you? Don't get caught. And don't go near your Four. That's who Chase- Ren's power, one of the strongest and the second-in-command- is after..." he muttered darkly.
"Hey. Let me go!" Bliss demanded, not caring at all for the power's display of torn loyalty but just wanting to get his feet defrosted.
Zan understood that much. "Nuh-uh. You're safe from the powers, and I don't have to fetch Ferals or raise the body-count; it's a win-win. Besides," he glanced over at Eight. "Didn't you mention wanting ice? I am so your guy." To Annabell, he said; "I'll look after things here. Go."

taffy789 • 1 April 2013 at 11:21 PM

Annabell's eyes drifted from the ice-Power to the frozen-footed healer, as if she was scoping out the situation. There was a short pause before she spoke.
"...I get the feeling that 'Team Freedom' is more like 'Team Mass Genocide'." the girl finally sighed, rubbing her hand against her temple. "Then again, I suppose that title could easily go to every team on this danged isle..."
The blonde started to feel more anxious than she already felt, which was really saying something. The rebel team were in the very base, which meant evenmore loose-cannon Powers, who were deadly and, well, power-hungry- no pun intended.
All in all, Annabell felt her stomach start to twist and turn into tiny knots...
Taking a quick, deep breath to try to bring the color back into her face, the Falchion turned back to Zan, not ready to fully trust him, or anyone for that matter, given the current situation.
"I should go, because you'll look after things here? You know, I'm not so sure how I feel about that, considering you're already freezing Bliss' foot solid." Her face toughened, almost turning unreadable, but conveyed a message loud and clear: she wanted a better reason to trust the Power, and fast.
It wasn't as if Annabell had anything better to do anyway, the only other thing she had to do was find Two, or Riley, going against Zan's warning to warn the Leader, but she had no idea where either of them were...



Seven materialized in Six's office, rather reluctantly too, as using her power was starting to give her mirgranes.
The first thing she noticed about the office?
Nothing, it was way too dark.
To be honest, Gale didn't think the young man to be the "brooding in the dark" type, but she had been wrong about things before... Now, where was a light switch...?
Upon finding and flicking the needle in the haystack, the new Leader's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the lit office.
The desk, filing cabinets, and other pieces of decor were all smashed into bits of their former selves, and scattered across the room like fallen leaves. The walls, made of complete metal, had long, jagged scratches down them, as if some one had tried to carve their way though the solid material. Behind her, the door looked as if it had been roughed up in a boxing match.
The girl nervously cleared her throat, her eyes scanning the area. There seemed to be no ferals about, and they couldn't have possibly broken in to do the damage, with the door still intact... Where was Six?

smilies • 2 April 2013 at 12:19 AM

"So," Lich flopped down on Xela's new bed, much to her obvious distaste. "You gonna tell me why you two lovely ladies wanted to sign up on Team Glaeroes in the first place?" He eyed them up and down searchingly through dark lashes.
Xela crossed her arms over her chest. "No," she said candidly.
"Then I'll have to guess... How about, protection?" Lich speculated. "Those power-guys were really hounding you, right? And if they got their paws on little missy here..." his gaze lingered on Guithe, who was already snuggling into bed. "Well! She IS a weapon of mass destruction~."
"Don't you know this already? Why else would you let us in, unless you thought we weren't a threat to you?" Xela frowned. "You're kidding yourself if you think I'll believe for a moment you haven't been spying on us for weeks to make sure."
"Aah, you're too suspicious- and too smart," he acknowledged when she responded with a tired, long-suffering expression. "So you know you can trust me, because I know exactly what you're doing and then some, and I know I can help you without any harm to me or mine~."
She shook her head. "No, I know you know you can trust me to do what I intend to do, but I don't see what you'd gain from this at all."
"Maybe~" Lich began, sitting up suddenly. "I think you'll change your mind."
Xela arched an eyebrow inquiringly.
"About this place," he continued, his smile angelic. "You are safe here, after all."
She raised the other one to match.
"And about me. You'll come around," Lich said knowingly, his smile changing, now his signature playboy smirk was on his lips.
"No dice," the power replied coolly, oblivious to his mindgames and allure.
"You've met me before- in passing," he said suddenly changing tack; "At your brother's funeral."
Xela stared. Of all the things in the world, she'd never expected anything like this to come up here, now, at IOD, and from the Septa of all people. Past life was supposed to be just that. What relevance could it have in a warzone? And with him? What could she and the mysterious leader possibly have in common?
"Your user's name was- is?- Alexandra Diaz, right? The truth is... I allowed you to come here, so that you would talk to me; about your family. In particular... Your father." The Septa's eyes, normally seeming endless and dark, now appeared a soft, deep brown filled with some strange emotion. What distant memory was it stirring in his eyes? "Please."
Xela sat down next to him on the edge of the bed, eyes wide with surprise.

asi • 2 April 2013 at 12:58 AM

"You're right," Zan agreed plainly. "Those powers, they're crazy! They may have more control over themselves than ferals, but they're no better; this just means that they can think, scheme, plot. They still hunger only for destruction and revenge against their users," he sighed. "So, you see, we don't really get on all that well. Blaine was my friend- ergo my only friend, but it's not like I have more friends now I'm in control." He rolled his eyes, then continued, with intense honesty; "I just want him back- then I'll be able to go back to being lazy background-voice guy, with none of this insane drama to worry about..." he gestured vaguely around, implicating all the feral-rebel-Falchion-Glaeroes war.
The snow-leopard looked a little sheepish about Bliss's frozen feet. "Uh, that's so he can't run away- I mean, so it 'looks' like I have him captured. I need to stay in the rebels' good graces, otherwise they'll kill me- forget about finding a way to bring a user back."
"I never met a power who liked their user," Bliss said dubiously.
"Well, Einstein, that'd be because people generally don't care to subjugate others if they like them, 'kay?" Zan easily replied. "And some of my oh-so friendly 'friends' can sense users, so you'd better not go all sleepy on us now, Annie."

"Be careful with that," Chase instructed Voeing as they proceeded down the deserted corridor. The object to which he was referring was obviously causing the green-haired girl great difficulty, despite her strong wiry muscles, as she lugged it behind her. It was polished enough that it slid without too much friction along the metal floor, but occasionally made annoying squeaks- it was the fact that she couldn't get a proper grip that really strained her. It was wooden box, rectangular in shape, quite long and much less wide, and weighty but not excessively so. She found it reminded her unnervingly of a coffin. She didn't ask what it was.

taffy789 • 2 April 2013 at 9:13 PM

"..." Annabell silently considered Zan's words, her eyes drifting over to the smashed in door of Eight's office.
If what the Power said was true... who knows when the rebels were going to pop up. Also, if they were heading after Four... Riley was in trouble. Despite the fact that she only /kind-of/ knew the undead teen, she still considered him a FRIEND.
However, could she trust Zan to make sure nothing happens to Eight or Bliss? He seemed to have conflicting loyalties, and claimed to actually wish for Blaine to be back, but...
...She had to admit, the thought of Powers actually liking their users was a nice one, even if it was partly out of laziness, like in the case of the ice-Power.
...If only friendly Powers were the majority, then she wouldn't ever have to deal with takeovers like those of Leon, or even...
"... Okay, I'll leave." the blonde sighed suddenly, flipping around to face the doorway. She shot Bliss an apologetic look from over her shoulder, then, upon recalling something, called out one last piece of advice to the healer, "Umm, Bliss? A word from the wise... The frozen-in-place girl? Watch out when she wakes up. Really, be... prepared. If you have sedative, use it. ...And don't make eye contact, really, bad idea..."
Annabell slightly frowned as she spoke, and shook her head, wondering how the Leader would act if she woke up...
Not having time to ponder that wild situation, the girl shook that thought from her head, faded from view, and took off down the hallway.



"...Six?" the Leader hesitantly called out, starting to make her way across the rubble. "...Are you in here?"
Once she stood in the middle of the moderately-sized room, she got a clearer view of the space, and was now able to see a figure huddled in one of the corners of the office...
Proceeding carefully, Seven made her way to the figure, ever slowly. She was so close to the boy now, that she could see that the Leader's brownish-blonde hair had turned a dull, gray color...
"Dylan?" Gale questioned as a deadly sickle swung into her torso.

asi • 4 April 2013 at 5:20 AM

"... And then there were two," Zan intoned.
"And a half," Bliss added, glancing at the motionless Eight. He had to admit to being unnerved by Annabell's caution note, though the power in the room clearly wasn't, casually whistling to himself as he took at seat on Eight's desk.
There was something Zan had said earlier that was bugging Bliss. "You said you were looking for a way to bring back a user?" he asked, confusion written all over his face.
Zan leaned back and looked at Bliss strangely, giving the said person the discomforting impression that he was being considered some kind of zoo animal. Bliss understood this cryptic look a lot quicker than the power deciphered the former- a feat so incredibly easy to beat, that Bliss had virtually all the time in the world to solve this one.
"This, 'I can't understand that accent' gag is getting old fast," Bliss commented.
Zan frowned. Why did this person keep making these weird gibberish noises? A big neon sign reading, 'Does not compute' flashed overhead.
The healer sighed and settled on talking to himself in a dramatic monologue. He just had to hope those on the other side weren't as thickheaded as this pretty boy numbskull here.
"It's as if this power believes his user has been properly removed. That shouldn't be possible, not unless..." His eyes fixed on the sword hilt, then slowly moved upwards to focus on Eight's frozen face.
He resumed his obscure musing; "This all has to be your doing. But who's in command? The user or the power?" Bliss questioned the empty air unhappily. "You said you had everything under control, you idiot..." Then another thought struck him.
"But then... Why would you call me?"
It seemed like Bliss conveniently enjoyed talking to himself, however, in normal society this would be a cause to him being locked up, as he failed to properly explain himself and ended up making everything sound like nonsensical ravings.
Zan was still whistling, which was incredibly annoying.
Bliss was struck yet again by a thought. If this was going to happen often, he was going to have to formally request for a less painful manner in which to receive these new ideas. "Five minutes ago, didn't he respond to my doubt about a power liking a user?"
The ice-power looked up. "Of course not, Einstein," he quipped, lobbing a filing cabinet at the healer.
Who'd forgotten that his feet happened to be iced to the floor...
"Ow!"
These were the things the eighth leader had used to smash through thick metal doors...

taffy789 • 4 April 2013 at 10:13 PM

Annabell stood in the hallway, still invisible and trying to remember how to get to the Four's office from Eight's. She racked her brain, a crude map of the Falchion's base forming in her mind...
...Even though the girl barely knew where she was going, she decided to go left.

-


The feral growled in anger, pulling his weapon away from the empty space wherethe sickle WOULD have pierced Gale's torso, if she hadn't materialized into wind at the last second.
(Happy late April Fools? X3 Hehe)

The feral Leader quietly stood up, his dead, but also somehow fierce-looking black eyes scanning the room for any sign of the girl. An animalistic air surrounded what used to be known as Six, and the thirst for blood and a kill drove him once on a mad hunt for the evaporated girl.
Unknown the the feral, Seven was far out of the beast's reach, as wind was something rather hard to harm. However, with her power acting up like it had been, maintaining the form started to drain her strength, and her head started to feel as if it would explode...
Suddenly appearing yet again in air behind the feral, the girl dropped to the floor, shocked about the sudden lost control of her power. Seven was left completely powerless against the wave of fierce mental blows pounding her head like the surf pounds the beach during a hurricane.
To make matters even worse, the Six-feral turned to face her, a murderous looking gleaming in his wild eyes...
Gale's hands flew to hold her head as another volley of mental attacks ravaged her mind. Her brown hair began to shift color, becoming a more transparent, almost white, color...
Just as the feral was about to swing his sickle at the girl again, she was gone.
Immediately afterwords, a wild, swirling vortex of air slammed into the metal door. The strong steel began to bend and fold under the sheer pressure of the cyclone, until the hinges cracked and the door was sent flying across the corridor and into a wall.
The gust of wind dispersed as quickly as it picked-up, and seemed to take off, blowing down the hallway.
The feral grinned as it saw it was freed from captivity, and started to make its way down the hallway as well.

asi • 6 April 2013 at 6:36 AM

It had been several minutes since Two's power had last encountered a Feral. He was in what should have been, judging by what he'd seen of the complex layout, one of the busiest parts. It was far too quiet. His eyes narrowed; as his spider-sense was definitely tingling, the others were here already, he guessed. The oh so righteous rebels. He needed to find Four quickly, before it was too late.
"..." With caution he proceeded along the abandoned corridor, until a voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
"It's been too long..."
To call him surprised would be an understatement; the Power's eyes widened and slowly he turned and faced her. He'd known that there would be strong powers on the Rebels' side, but it was hard to believe that his luck could really be so impossibly bad... "You are-" he began, struggling with denial.
"Inverse. You recognize me, good." She smiled with vicious satisfaction.
"I was going to say, alive," he frowned. It looked like he might finally discover what exactly her ability was, at the very worst time. He couldn't help but feel the trepidation. The girl was worrisome enough without any.
'Verse gave a short hiss of fury at that. "Yes, imagine my surprise when I finally escaped the prison in which you left me and find how much time has gone by. Do you have any idea how long you locked me up in there for?"
He rolled his eyes, trying not to reveal his own anger rising. "Yes, letting you free after you tried to kill me was a very tempting option."
"Only after you stole from me!" she accused him.
"And you would not have done the same," he stated sarcastically.
"Give it to me, Locke," Inverse growled at him, raising her own and pointing it threateningly at him.
"All this time and you are still after-" the Power known as Locke began in bemusement, then stopped, stunned for the second time. "How did figure out it was me?"
"Easy. Your emotions. They're all over the place. So unbecoming of a power, and of your strength..." she shook her head in feigned disappointment. "Knowing it's you and seeing you in such a pitiful state is the only reason I haven't killed you and extorted my revenge already!" she taunted and charged at him. "Locke! Tell me where it is!" Inverse demanded.

taffy789 • 8 April 2013 at 12:39 AM

A full fifteen minutes passed as Annabell wandered around the base, lost for what felt like the millionth time, before she arrived to a place at least the tiniest bit familiar to her- the mess hall.
She sighed with relief upon discovering the landmark, as her mental map easily centered around the formidable space, and could help her figure out how to find Riley's office.
This relief soon turned to pure horror, however, as the screams of terror and the wafting scent of death both coming from the locked area signaled to the girl that many had been trapped in the cafeteria at the time of the lockdown.
The pitiful screams for death ringing in her ears, Annabell's first instinct over came her, and all previous occurrences of the night were forgotten during the rushto the locked doors.
She ferociously jiggled the handles back and forth in a vain attempt to go and help the trapped Falchions, but to no avail.Minutes passed, the loud pleas continued, and the door still would not open.
Another minute ticked away before Annabell finally pulled away from the doors, reluctantly giving up on breaking into the room.
How weak did she have to be, she realized, that she couldn't even help those who were just a wall away from her? And what was she left to do- leave fully knowing that the people in the room were going to die? Linger in the corridor, just listening to the destruction without being able to do a thing?
...But she couldn't do that.
The ex-agent knew it to be true.
The people were beyond her help, and they weren't even her real concern in the first place, warning her friend about the Rebels was.
...
The screams of pain still echoed off the hallway, but they no longer invoked horror in Annabell upon reaching her ears. Instead, she recognized a new emotion spreading throughout her body- one that could only be described as the dull sense of faded feeling one gets when they no longer feel anything at all.
She put her back to the cafeteria, remembering that, even if she could've helped, it could have been at the cost of her own life, and maybe even Riley's.
Really, she needed to remind herself to worry about the things she could control, not the things she couldn't.
With that small bit of self-assurance burning in the back of her mind, she sped off in the direction of the Four's office.

asi • 17 April 2013 at 6:51 AM

Four's office, now void of all battle-worn (and obsessively polished) relics from his predecessor, was a huge, empty expanse of a hall made bigger by the reflective properties of the glass cases lining every inch of wall. On the floor, too, one could see one's own image staring back as clearly as any mirror. On a normal day, a normal person would find this room vaguely disconcerting. In the early hours of a very definitely atypical morning, a person with a somewhat debilitating fear of open spaces was now having a mental breakdown. To be fair, his power was attacking him.
The double Rileys were staring at him. He put his fist through the glass with a resounding shatter. It wasn't safety glass, and so it broke badly, he couldn't help but gasp in pain as sharp shards sliced his hand open. This produced exactly the desired effect, sharpening his physical senses into focus and so dulling the major someone was taking a jackhammer to his skull migraine. It had been a desperate measure, however, and it worked only temporarily, as the loss of blood made him feel...
Slightly...
...Dizzy...
His check hit the floor covered in broken glass, but he was already much too out to feel it.
And when he opened his eyes, his face wasn't pressed up against cold metal but lush, blue-tinted grass. All of the pain was gone too. Riley sat up and looked about himself. Though he had never seen a place like this ever before, he knew instantly where he was. This was the world inside his head.

taffy789 • 18 April 2013 at 7:30 PM

Relief once again found Annabell as she reached Riley's office without running into anymore ferals, or worse, the rebels.
Better yet, the door to the room still stood intact as well, which the girl figured wasboth a good and bad development. The good thing, she thought, was that it meant the rebels had not gotten to Riley yet.The bad was that there was no way of getting into to help the Four if he needed it.
Hopefully, if she did a good job of keeping away the attacking rebels, the boy would not need her assistance.
Even if the door hadn't been blown of its hinges, Annabell still felt concerned about Riley's current state. Tentative, she knocked on the metal, waited, and her uneasiness only grew when there was no answer, or any sound at all coming from the other side.
She shuffled back and forth for a bit before deciding that the Four most likely was okay, and her worry was unnecessary. What her concern should be directed to was the rebels... they could pop up at any moment, and, according to Blaine's Power, they could sense users...
Annabell knew she had to be careful, even if she was invisible, she had to be vigilant.

asi • 20 April 2013 at 6:42 AM

He couldn't help but feel that she was right, and his eyes darkened, though still it didn't resemble the hard, cold, almost inhuman black stare of his user. Inverse could see that Locke's eyes had traces of light not seen when the leader was in control.
The power stepped backwards warily, aware that he was completely lacking a weapon. The ferals had been child's play to take down barehanded, but this opponent was something else. The barren hallway presented no remedies to this, and so he did the one thing he could; he bended time, slowing down 'Verse's incoming knife slash, to enable him to dodge it with ease. He had briefly considered freezing her still, but he didn't want to stack another weight on the already draining burden. Not for the first time, he found himself wishing he weren't so utterly incapable of multitasking, when suddenly 'Verse's fist flew towards his face at double the speed. His body recoiled instinctively and Locke managed to stumble out of the way, through no merit of his own, but saved by his user's extensive training.
How had she done that? It was like his time had no effect on her at all. He switched tactics, instead slowing the time in the air around her; but it had the opposite effect; she sped up as she passed through the timelock. Inverse slashed at his chest, only for the blade to pass through thin air. She hesitated just for an instant, and he reappeared, grabbing her wrist before she could land a hit, and twisting it until, growling in pain, 'Verse was forced to let the blade drop to the floor with a loud clatter, but kicked and sent it spinning away behind her before he could get it. She gripped his own wrist, intending to throw him, but again he vanished, sending her stumbling backwards, only to reappear in the exact same spot moments later- but this time she was ready, and had already slipped a knife out of a sleeve and thrown it. Locke saw it coming and immediately tried to stop it in time, but this only accelerated it and destroyed any chance of him dodging. Looking down, he saw with grim relief it had missed anything vital. He gritted his teeth against the pain as he pulled it out of his stomach and glared at the rebel, who, grinned and said, "More proof you're not Spike- he'd have enjoyed that." Her eyes fell to the blade, and her smile turned... insane. "Mmm," she purred, breathing in heavily, inhaling the scent. With her sensing ability, she could 'taste' the exposed power leaking from the wound.