[Other FULL] Λtlantis Λwakening [IC] [M]

[SV]

Posting as a Temporary GM, approved by revlis.

To Great Things- Istanbul, Turkey

December 21st, 2012

The whirlwind that James unleashed was mighty gust, likely infused with the combined energies of James' God Mode and the Harbinger Sword. Nathaniel had experienced the blade before, having lost once to it already. As he flew through the sky unable to get anything resembled a hold on his momentum, the memories of the sword rushed into his head. James' power was unreal the last time they fought and while Nathaniel had gotten the upper hand this time around, having mentally prepared for this fight for some time, he had always counted on James' pride getting the better of him. The Harbinger Sword was the reason James won, but Nathaniel knew James would never be able to really count that as a victory. But desperation can change even the best of men, and James was never a great man to begin with.

Nathaniel had crashed through a run down building. The shambles of his frozen form broke his fall once more, but the concrete this time had gotten the better of Nathaniel. He could feel his body resembling the ruins around and the power of his God Mode fading ever so slightly. Forcing his body to move, Nathaniel shuffled over to a door frame and scaled the stairs up to the roof, figuring that James would be able to find him there. Nathaniel wasn't about to run away. No, this fight needed to end. Nathaniel wanted to be found. In due time, Nathaniel made it to the roof of the high rise apartment complex, the Hagia Sophia on the far end of his peripheral vision and the sounds of battle all around them. Undoubtedly, the New Atlantean Order was doing battle with James' Renegades, Delta's force, and every other faction that met their destiny in this city. Nathaniel had caught his second wind, and with small burst of frozen energy, messaged James in his own way.

James slowly lifted himself to his feet with the help of his sword positioned along the ground. He briefly watched Nate's spectacular fall through the air, but lost sight of him in a ruined building. The electrokinetic took this moment to inspect his surroundings. The area was in utter disarray. The streets were cracked and fractured beyond repair. Buildings were smoldering ruins of smoke, fire, loose debris and frozen fragments. It was a catastrophe, a devastation of everything that was established in Istanbul mere days before. It was the commencement of the collapse of human civilization. It was his vision for the future of the earth, one he hoped to accomplish with the Zombie Atlantean. It was, in James' eyes, perfect, and it was accomplished all by himself.

Well, not all by himself.

The electrokinetic watched as a piercing blue energy shot through the sky from the top of one of the large building Nate had crashed into. A sign. It seemed James wasn't the only one who wanted to continue this fight. James was ecstatic. He proceeded forward toward the building with a large grin on his face, undeterred by his aching injuries and broken body. His God Mode had all but vanished from his body, but he confidently marched forward. As he reached the side of the building, he noticed the climb and how much time it would take. Having no intention of wasting anymore time from this fateful, climactic clash, James pointed his Harbinger sword toward the ground beneath his feet and lightly waved it, causing the familiar gust of wind to develop, though at a lighter weight. He suddenly found himself propelled into the air beside the building, with the wind brushing by his face like a cyclone.

He reached the top of the gust and reached out to land on the side of the damaged, open building, close to the top of the stairs. The momentum he had going forward caused him to roll forward before his body came to a halt. He panted a bit, but almost didn't care about any additional damage he may have caused himself during this process. He was borderline delirious. James looked up to see himself close to the end of the set of stairs. He got to his feet and finished the climb.

"Sorry about the wait," James stated as he reached the rooftop where Nate waited. He examined the view into the ravaged city with an unhinged wonder. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It will be more beautiful when it is rebuilt," Nathaniel said grimly, his golden aura barely more than a flicker.

"Maybe, depends how it's rebuilt," James replied back with a brief shrug. He continued to observe the city and felt a cold breeze brush by him. "I've been thinking more often recently that there may not be a better sight in the world than this. Most people don't appreciate the artistry behind Atlantean destruction."

"Can you blame them? We are destroying someone's world to create...this. You can claim that we are superior and this is 'our' world all you want, but at the end of the day, if we act like this...the humans are right then. We are nothing more than monsters. There is no beauty in that," Nathaniel said, his staunch resolve plain to see as the aura strengthened with his belief.

James turned to Nate as he made his speech. The electrokinetic rolled his eyes and laughed. "You should hear yourself. We're monsters!" He repeated mockingly, and let out another laugh. "I can't believe people like you exist. How can someone exist that's so different than me and yet be so f*cking fun? Amazing!" James finished laughing and exhaled satisfyingly. "We're not monsters, Nate. We're Gods. And we can destroy whatever we f*cking please if it gets us what we want!" James own aura had began to surface again following his own conviction. "This right here, all of this, is what I want."

Nathaniel could shake his head disapprovingly at James, disagreeing with most of James' rhetoric as he spoke. As far as Nathaniel could see, James had lost what little humanity he had left. "The Gods I know wouldn't approve of this. Just because we have power does not give us the right to flaunt it. To abuse it. We can do so much more for this world that destroy it because we think we deserve more because of some ability we happened to inherit," Nathaniel said, holding on to his moral convictions yet doing what he could to not sound superior as he often did.

After a brief pause, Nathaniel appeared to disarm himself, pacing around the rooftop of the ruined complex. "I have a question for you, James. How many prophecies did those 'True Atlanteans' spout at you?"

James tilted his head and replied. "A few? One? None? I don't really remember. I kinda stopped caring. Why? What did they tell you?"

"We can almost agree there," Nathaniel chuckled. "I've heard it all. Most telling me I will rise to the occasion. I don't generally believe in prophecy, but one stayed with me. The one I heard in that dream-like world that gathered the World Changers and Harbingers. 'The Future is Cold. Separation is the Key.' That is the prophecy that I assumed related to me. Now, I will admit it made little to no sense when I first heard it, but then I thought about it." Nathaniel sighed and looked at James with a nervous smile. "Humans and Atlanteans can't live together. At least not right now. Otherwise, this happens. And as much as you love it, you know deep down that its wrong. But if we were to separate these worlds and give Atlanteans their own home where they are ruled by their own kind with their own laws...we would have progress. We would have peace. Now tell me, James. Is it that wrong to want to help this world? Because I will tell you one last time that what you want will be stopped. This cannot last. But peace, that can last. That would mean something. If you can cast aside your pathetic little rebellion or whatever you want to call it, you can be part of something far greater than what you could amount to you on your own."

James listened in silence as his rival and friend orated his vision of the future. The electrokinetic seemed to actually be processing that future, imagining it in his head. He quietly put on a thought-provoking face and considered such an idea. A world where Atlanteans and Humans did co-exist in the same world, but where they would be separate from each other, split apart. After contemplating in silence for the better part of a minute, James finally gave his answer.

"Nah," He replied plainly. "That sounds boring."

"I expected as much from you," Nathaniel said flatly. With a breath of cold air, Nathaniel once again mimicked the Harbinger's Sword and fashioned his own blade. It appeared slightly larger with a more elaborate edge. "If you will not join me, I must defeat you and become the World Changer without your help. It is simple as that."

James gave Nate a smile and gripped his sword with both hands. He then positioned it in front of his body and pointed it toward the ice master. What remained of his electricity reserves poured from his palms into the weapon. They bounced across the bronze blade and danced across the sharp edges in a continuous, fluctuating motion of sparks.

The electrokinetic snorted as he prepared to face off against his opponent for what appeared to be a climactic bout. James knew for quite some time now that this was how their stories were going to end up, with them facing off. And he had embraced it. He had come to realize that the feat more worthy to pursue than their clash of ideals was the actual clash of their abilities. It was here, at the pinnacle of their destructive powers, with death surrounding them with every blow, that he felt most alive.

"Try," James urged his rival passionately, as he gripped his sword tighter in preparation for their first clash.

Thrusting the sword forward, Nathaniel unleashed a small gust of wind, laced with shards of ice towards James. The aim was poor, laughably so, but it was merely to cover his advance as Nathaniel lunged forward coming down at James with an overhead swing, as it was abundantly clear that Nathaniel wanted to end the fight quickly, wasting no more time.

James elected to make evasive maneuvers at Nate's coming attack. The gust of wind momentarily threw him off balance, but he recovered quickly enough to begin dodging the ice shards on rapid approach. He veered left and right to avoid their impact, though one did scrape him on his shoulder, drawing blood. He momentarily felt the stinging combination of the cold strike along his warm flesh. But he soon realized the first attack was merely a cover for Nate to get closer. James hastily swung his sword forward, producing a combination of his new sword's powers: a relatively strong gust of wind that would thrust Nate back, along with a swarm of electrical sparks mixed in with the gust to damage him.

Nathaniel was instantly pushed back and felt a loss of feeling in his limbs as the burst of electricity singed his skin. Getting up was hard, painful even but he pushed through. He got good at that, possibly coming from getting used to the wear and tear that James' ability was so skilled at inflicting. But Nathaniel knew that a test of endurance was in his favor. James' ability had at the nasty backlash of affecting his own body just as well, while Nathaniel's had the diminishing effect of exuding so much cold that another's touch was going to be a figment of his imagination in the coming years. But he couldn't dwell on a uncertain future. He got up after a few moments, watching as James recovered, gripping his sword and awaiting James' attack. It was best to let the eager one put himself into a crippling position and seize the opportunity.

James grinned happily at the effect of his attack, but he wasn't ready to stop then. He gripped his sword tightly to prepare for another powerful swing. As he did so, he noticed that his fingers had no feeling along the hilt of the sword. This momentarily loosened his grip, but he chose to ignore it and grasp tightly again. He slung his sword behind his body, then took a few large steps forward and once more thrust a powerful wave of wind and lightning at Nathaniel. Sharp gusts of wind morphed with lightning waves. This created a visibility to the wind, as a greenish-yellow wave was sent at the Atlantean.

Driving the sword into the ground, Nathaniel crafted a massive wall, absorbing the brunt of the of the wind with difficulty. From the safety of his fort, he noticed the wave of energy cracked the foundation and after the raw force had vanished into the air, the wall came crumbling down. Little more than icy dust remained, but it mattered little. Nathaniel has safe and James did not make any headway despite the mass of energy he created. Raising a hand in the air, he gathered up the dust and made his sword that much bigger, far larger than James' Harbinger blade and bolted forward to meet James in a duel.

"Now we're fucking talking," James called out as he saw Nate charging at him with his new, improved weapon. He had hardly reacted to his powerful attack failing to hit the target. It hardly computed with him at this point. Right now, the only thing that he really cared about was the fight he was having with Nate, and how great it felt. He couldn't believe that he had considered trying to kill him a while ago. Why would he ever try to ruin such a good thing?

James charged forward as well, and swung his sword forward at Nate, this time trying to do his best to concentrate on the electrical surges pumping in his weapon to form a barrier around it to keep the powerful gust momentarily contained, so that it would only unleash when the weapon clashed with Nate's, instead of releasing like a ranged attack.

Noticing the surge of energy that beamed through James' weapon, Nathaniel had coated himself in a suit of ice armor, reshaping himself into a juggernaut of frozen energy. Whatever James was considering in his tunnel vision, Nathaniel could easily absorb it now. He swung his hefty claymore, overhead, hoping to shatter James into pieces in one fell swing.

James met Nate's strike with his own, and the two weapons clashed. James immediately felt the superior strength of Nate's swing, given his physical advantage. But he continued to smile maniacally. As the blades clashed, the band of electrical energy concealing both the lightning and the wind broke, which caused the enormous, contained energy to overflow at that moment, and explode in the faces of the two Atlanteans, primarily in Nate's direction. Through the explosion, James could be heard chuckling.

The powerful eruption of energy tore across the skyscraper as it destroyed everything within its range. Lightning streaked across the sky in reverse. It emerged from the center of the powerful explosion and danced across the clouds in an extraordinary sight. James pressed further along his sword, despite the powerful wind and electricity affecting him as well. He laughed loudly as scratched and his own lightning burst around him. He continued to fuel more power into it, more power than he had ever wielded before.

Then he felt... odd. He had felt pain in his body, along his arms and legs. But at one point, he noticed that he felt no more pain. He looked down at his arms. Small, sharp pieces of the crumbling building were tearing across his skin and drawing blood, something he knew would be extremely uncomfortable. Yet as he looked down and examined himself, he couldn't feel a thing. No pain, no discomfort, nothing. Before he even realized it was happening, his arms felt unable to strongly grasp his weapon, and his hands slowly began to give way to the stronger strike from Nate.

It was that strength and endurance of Nathaniel forced the numbing James off balance. As the building began to collapse under the raw force of the two battling Atlanteans, an explosion of energy was unleashed as lightning and ice fused together. The explosion tried to bridge the two auras, but failed, becoming a mix of yellow and blue, with the golden auras of their weakening God Modes fading in and out of the blend. The explosion knocked the two away, as the tumbled through the dying structure.

James' body flew away from the explosion and slid across the destroyed rooftop like a ragdoll. He finally collided near the end of the building, dropping onto his back and facing the direction of the explosion. Smoke and dust swept up the entire area, causing James to cough as he scanned his surroundings. Nothing seemed to be present. No organic sound was heard. The electrokinetic glanced at his hand and tried to raise it up. Two of his fingers twitched, but they didn't react beyond that. James chuckled lightly and coughed, then once more scanned around.

Nathaniel soon breached through the smoke, ice covering the ground as he walked. A closer look revealed that he formed something of a platform and a bridge to break his fall and secure his gait. The armor that protected him was in tatters as was much of his body, but he endured the explosion better than James did, even if his face was drenched in blood from a gash on his head and his clothes a pale remnant of what they once were. He stood over James proudly, appearing to claim victory over the weakened Atlantean, brandishing an ice spear in his right hand. With a small gesture, he drove into James' left shoulder, securing his opponent onto the crumbling rooftop. "Now you can enjoy the view while I take care of other business," Nathaniel said, turning away from James soon after the words left his lips.

James grunted from the stab to his shoulder, but oddly enough it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. His body must have still been in a relatively strong state of shock. But he knew the damage was done, severe damage even. As he examined the wound, he saw blood flow out from it. Yet instead of reacting much to it, James turned back to Nate and chuckled again. "I guess this is the end then, huh? Hey! Wait up, aren't you going to say good-bye to an friend, for old times sake?" He asked and laughed again, which was followed by more coughing. As he did so, he noticed blood mixed in with the couch, as it splattered along his chin and chest.

"A friend would stand down if I asked him nicely. A friend would help another save this world," Nathaniel retorted, barely looking over his shoulder. "You are no friend. You are just another Atlantean would thinks their way is the right way without even considering the ramifications of flaunting their abilities. So please, don't waste your breath spouting more lies than you already have."

James chuckled again in between his bleeding coughs. "Come on, Nate. You know we've always had a different kind of friendship. Ever since we've met, we've always been against each other. We've never seen eye to eye!" He coughed again as he attempted to reach up with his hand to the spear stuck in his shoulder, but his hand barely moved a few inches. "You say A, I say 1. You say right, I say wrong. We're always on opposite sides... but that's why this thing works so damn much! You remember when we had that drink in the bar close to when we first met? We didn't agree on fucking anything we said, but wasn't it one of the best talks you've had with another person? I know it was for me!" He explained with another cough in between his ramblings. "I think... I think it's because we're so different, that yet somehow deep down we're exactly the same. The same passion drives us. The same strong-headed nature. We're the perfect opposing forces! There shouldn't be a world where we both don't exist in it, together. It's like I said before... I think you and I are meant for great things."

Nathaniel walked over to James as he spoke, listening intently with his step. Did James mean what he said? He couldn't tell. Nathaniel doubted that even James really knew or believed what he spoke about. But that was then and this was now. In a matter of months, both men radically changed. Their respective views on everything did not drift dramatically, but it revealed the core of their characters. Nathaniel was motivated by a desire to bring change through order and belief in justice. James was motivated by a unquenchable thirst for power. At least this how Nathaniel, the presumed victor of this duel, felt. Fashioning another ice spear in his hand, he looked down at James, as he often did.

"To great things..."

And then he brought the spear down.

​

 

[Retro Bug]

Posting as a Temporary GM, approved by Swolligator.

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

December 21st, 2012

A struggled ensued once Delta felt the dark matter constrict. The strength of the dark matter tendrils that found themselves bound around Delta was like nothing she had ever felt before. Feelings of rage and frustration bubbled inside of her. First, Ice Boy had successfully out maneuvered her and land another attack and now Thayne had her stuck. It was time to make them pay. Concentration allowed Delta to manipulate her crystal wings into sharpen versions of themselves and lashed out at the threadlike matter that kept her held in place. The pinions of the wings shattered but there was enough material for Delta to reconstruct the outer edges.

In no time at all she soared higher into the midday sky and looked down at her prey. One of which it seemed had escaped along with James Hazen. If it was a battle between Ice Boy and James Hazen there no doubt in Delta's mind she had seen the last of Ice Boy. All that was left was Thayne, leftover crystal from previous attacks rose from the ground upwards toward the only other World Changer in the vicinity. Her right hand reached around and clamped around the hilt one of the two crystallized bone sword that had been carefully strapped on her back. She sped toward Thayne with determination spread across her face.

Thayne stared at the oncoming barrage of attacks, angry at his poor awareness. He should have known that Delta wouldn't rely solely on what she was currently creating. Thayne quickly backed away, finding a better position to combat the threats. It took mere seconds to create several of his own projectiles in an attempt to shoot down the crystals below him. There wasn't any guarantee that he would destroy all of them, but it would definitely be easier to dodge less of them.

Turning his attention to Delta, the young man attempted to think through his options. He was losing time as she sped towards him, but he wouldn't stand a chance if he merely counterattacked without a plan. It seemed that he had found himself in a horrible spot. Of course, finding another position could help him immensely. Soaring higher into the sky, Thayne made an effort to angle Delta between himself and her projectiles. Making a shield in front of him, Thayne created several more tendrils that shot towards his opponent. Hindering her was the best possible option.

The Syndicate allied Atlantean was resourceful Delta had to give him that. As for his intelligence, well, she knew that was still up for debate. Her wings beat as she launched herself upwards with a groan toward her opponent that had elevated himself. It was a clear effort to dodge the pieces of crystal Delta had sent his way. As if to add insult to injury Thayne had tried to move skillfully in a manner that would align Delta with her secondary (or was it technically her primary...) attack as if she wouldn't notice and fall victim to it. That was one more thing she would add to the growing list of retribution. Out from her hand fell her treasured bone sword as she had little time to reattach it to her back. A strong burst of will and determination permitted Delta to fashion her only other option of attack into a new sword.

Plans she had already set in motion long before she set foot in Istanbul relied heavily on those two swords and to allow them to shatter upon impact with a dark matter shield was an injustice. She swung her newly crafted sword in an arch only for it to be broken on forceful contact with a tendril. More of them erupted from around the Erebokinetic. An aerial battle would never be in her favor and the continued appearance of the tendrils were bothersome. As fast as Delta's ability allowed she reformed the sword from the shattered crystals pieces only for it to break upon another tendril. It was the only chance she had at rebuffing them and to stay away from their grasp, an experience not worth repeating. Below her the crystal column that had brought her into the sky began to totter back and forth, to and fro. What better way for Delta to break a shield than a five meter rock solid pillar of crystal?

She allowed for a tendril to wrap around her arm and constrict as it would take more than that to break her concentration. A consequence of a tug from the other end would only result in the breakage of the attack and damage to her arm because Delta had crystallized it long ago but the jacket she worn separated the two clashing materials from touching. Enough focus allowed for the column to become airborne but at that point another dark matter whip had restricted her other arm and a leg. No matter, Delta carried forth with her attack until it launched in the direction of her opponent who was doing god knows what behind that shield.

Thayne watched the woman extensively from behind his shield. His own attack seems to be doing much more than she could manage. Unfortunately, it seemed that with each broken sword, more and more power was put into her thrusts. So much for their truce. Nonetheless, he seemed to be accomplishing the job. Taking most of his attention away from the aerial battle below, the Erebokinetic molded some newly-created matter around him, forming a makeshift set of armor. It was a solid form of protection, but even that was limited against Delta's crystal. In one hand, he formed a sword of his own. If they were to get close enough for such combat, it could save him a lot of hassle.

Having finished preparing, Thayne watched as Delta's pillar moved closer towards his shield. Using his free hand, he grabbed the large tendril that had grabbed his opponent and backed out of the shield's protection. He pushed the defensive screen towards the large projectile, hoping that it would at least slow it down. He took the chance to once again move out of the way before homing in on the Crystallokinetic. With as much power as he could safely waste, Thayne pulled Delta around in an arc heading straight for her own attack. He was lucky that it took much less power to move her in comparison to her large construct.

Exhaustion settled in nicely, though Delta would call it anything but nice. Her chest heaved up and down, bringing that damn pillar up from the ground had burned through more energy than she wanted to use. There was no way in hell she was going to allow Thayne to get away with simply by dodging or dragging Delta along for the ride. Plenty of fights were taking place beneath them and Delta couldn't risk the pillar falling on one of her own. A sizable crack appeared after the column passed through the defensive screen set up by her opponent and that was enough for Delta to crack it in half with ease. The tug of the tendrils pulled her around the sky toward her attack. Clearly, Thayne hadn't learned from his previous attempt of trying avoid her attacks by having her run into them. A laugh erupted from Delta's mouth, things were about to get interesting.

One piece of the now broken column was rocketed upwards and Delta slammed into the second and final piece. In the parts of her body that Delta had already crystallized she never felt pain, crystals didn't have pain receptors. Damage was still done, but she never felt it, which gave her an advantage in a fight but also made her wary. Delta's wariness subsided some after she received the power of Crystal Manipulation, which allowed her to mend almost any wounds sustained in her crystallized form. It was a trick Delta didn't want to use until much later on in fight but Ice Boy had forced her hand with the temperature drop then his attacks and Thayne with his tendrils. To remain crystallized, crystallize her surroundings, and manipulate both crystal material around her and repair her body took a lot of effort, strength, and energy. She hadn't even taken any of the other World Changers out yet, which infuriated her.

The column Delta smashed into it broke into pieces but those pieces formed around Delta like they had found a new and better home. Soon all the crystal shards fit together until they formed an armor set almost identical to the one that her fellow World Changer had made. The leftover fragments fused into a long pole with a sharp, pointed blade at the end otherwise known as a glaive. Swords had their time to shine but now Delta felt like experimenting, though was it really experimenting when she had spent at least a month training with this moment? While all her manipulating and crafting was impressive Delta was still aware that her number one concern were the vine-like things wrapped around her appendages.

A rather forceful swipe with her weapon released the hold of one single thick thread of dark matter, however, it also broke the blade into bits. That didn't matter much to Delta as she had well enough material still left to transform it into another deadly weapon of her choosing. Above her the broken half pillar she had sent into the skies above was descending faster than she intended. She gritted her teeth and sent the column like a missile at the armored Atlantean. Delta dealt with the remaining restraints by grabbing hold of the dark matter with her hands and poured her concentration into it. Usually, it took no more than a thought but for some reason this substance was harder to crystallize. Eventually she made it work enough for her to snap herself lose from the binds and shake the rest free.

Thayne felt the giant slab of crystal collide fiercely with his body, a painful grimace appearing on his face as he felt the outer shell of his armor. As much as the armor helped in lessening the blow, there was no way it would completely protect him. Even one of his wings had been destroyed upon impact. Using what energy he could manage under the circumstances, he quickly reformed the wing before pushing himself out from under the falling crystal. He struggled as he brought himself down to the ground. The three months that he had spent training had definitely helped him, but he could already tell that he had expended quite a bit of energy.

The factions that had been below the aerial fight were lucky that Delta had managed to push the crystal away from them, even if it meant hitting him. He knew he could take the hit, but he had no idea if any of the others actually could. By now the casualties were likely large in number. Part of him wanted to try and stop the fighting, but he knew it was too late. The most he could do was hope that his friends and allies could hold up against the others.

Catching his breath, Thayne rose once more into the air as his armor fixed upon his command. "So much for waiting until the very end," he called to Delta as he readied the blade in his hand. He could see that she was moving towards exhaustion as well, though it was obvious that she was trying to hide it.

"You're lucky I even stuck to that ridiculous pact after Dom died," Delta cried out in anger. Where had Thayne been? Dom left with him to The Syndicate and somehow Dom was the one who ended up dead. Thayne needed to carry the burden of Dom's death.

When it came to this fight Delta wasn't sure how much more she could handle away from her element. The flap of her wings once had been rapid but it had slowed enough that she unknowingly started to lower. Things would be a lot more advantageous if her proximity to the ground was closer. Her gaze slipped from the pitiful excuse of an Atlantean to the battlefield below. Plenty of close combats fights, a style of fighting that Delta dearly missed. The distance between Delta and the ground became shorter the more Delta looked on.

Enough was enough, Delta needed to dispatch Thayne and figure out where in the hell the rest of the World Changers went so she could finish this. It would taken longer than necessary in the state she was in, but that was easily changeable. There was one state of being Delta had properly trained in that would aid her. An ancient Atlantean technique that would allow complete control over the abilities she had in her possession. Twice had she seen the meteor man in the state, it was called God Mode. When Delta formed her attacks she would no longer exhaust herself by using extra energy. There was a trick to it, the person who was trying to access such a useful and helpful ability and that was pure, full-hearted conviction. In this world there wasn't much Delta believed in, being quite the skeptic since she was a teenager, but there were two things she knew in her heart to be certain. One, Delta believed in herself, her power, her strength and two, because of that she would win this World Changer business.

Her wings elevated Delta to a height that was meters above of Thayne in case he got some bright idea to launch into an attack. It also allowed her to center herself by breaking away from all the noise that came as a consequence of battle. Her eyelids were already heavy, which made it that much easier to close them. The height she had taken wasn't high enough it seemed as screams of terror reached her. Delta opened a single eye to scan the landscape below to locate the distraction and what she saw she couldn't place. Whatever it was it seemed like an automaton in appearance, but its movements were more fluid, more human-like than a machine could manage. Interest caused Delta to open both eyes and squint to try to get a better look. Was it... someone wearing armor? Who in the world would wear armor in the middle of -- Oakley. In the months that Delta spent with the young, naïve girl she had never seen Oakley's armor cover more than her a couple of appendages. The real question was why was it, Oakley, speeding in their direction like a freight train without brakes?

​

 

[Retro Bug]

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

December 21st, 2012


The last words Oakley heard before everything went quiet echoed through her head. 'Kill them all.' James had said to her. She couldn't focus on anything else except those words. What did they mean? She couldn't make sense of it. And slowly, her world around her began to blur. She could hear, but what were those sounds? She could see, but the faces that looked back at her were just blurs. Her legs were moving, but where was she going? Who were these people? Who... who was she? She couldn't remember. Only those last three words. She tried to scream out and shout for help, but her mouth wouldn't open. It was all getting too hard to concentrate, to hard to try to remember. Maybe she should just go to sleep...

On the outside of the armour, Oakley's attempted screams only came out as a metallic sound, like somebody had shouted gibberish through a steel pipe. The body moved on its own though, targeting the closest person to it: Thayne. As the armour closed in, it leaped through the air and dived for the shadow-covered boy, right arm out to tackle and force him to the ground.

Thayne stared at the large mass of armor as it made its way towards him. Oakley immediately came to mind as he watched the behemoth of a monster. It was... Strange to see her in such a way. He could barely stand the loud, guttural noise emanating from the beast. It may have been using Oakley's body, but that was definitely not her mind controlling her actions. His battle with Delta would have to wait.

Sure, Delta was a problem and she would need to be handled, but she was able to control herself. She had her goals and knew what she was doing. This... Armor, on the other hand, was pure rage. It was only going to attack anything in sight if it wasn't stopped. Anyone could get hurt. He wanted to protect these people. His friends, the innocent, and even a few of his circumstantial enemies. He believed that he would need to defeat this monster in order to do that. He believed that he would need to, and would, win in order to always protect those whom he wanted to. In a way reminiscent of the attempt by the Crystallokinetic, Thayne focused his power and changed into God Mode, a technique that not only required focus, but also intense belief.

Upon seeing the monster jump into the air, Thayne lifted his hand and created a shield around him seamlessly. Thanks to the power of God Mode, Thayne had no problems using his powers.

Shock registered on Delta's face as she observed Oakley soar into the air toward Thayne like a rabid predator. The whole thing was rather fascinating as Delta had never seen Oakley display this much of her ability. Something... was off. It wasn't the strange, almost eerie sound being projected from the armored Atlantean that made Delta feel as if her blood was curdling. Oakley wasn't a fighter, hadn't been since the first day Delta met the girl, along with Agnes and Will, back before they became Cooper's pet project. Only in defense of others did she ever strike back such as the moment of the boat when Devon went all primal instincts on them. Yet here she was, attacking Thayne as if he had slaughtered her dearest friend.

A familiar golden glow enveloped the manipulator of dark matter, Thayne was succeeding where Delta had failed. His success only confirmed what Delta knew inside, how powerful she was. She had achieved strength that not only rivaled, but surpassed anything that her former comrades had to offer. The sole title of World Changer should have been handed over to her at the moment this pathetic prophecy began. So far Delta hadn't been attacked, why should she intervene in a matter that would ultimately help her in the end? When Oakley took care of Thayne Delta would thrash Oakley. This time, however, she had a promise to uphold, their match would be over when Delta cleaved the younger Atlantean's head clean off her shoulders. A hue of gold surrounded Delta, spreading across every inch of her body. A smirk developed on Delta's face, she liked the feeling of God Mode.

Shield up or not, the armour collided with Thayne, taking him and his shield to the ground with it. With one hand on top of the shield, it forced it down with all its strength, attempting to shatter either the shield or the boy inside it.

Thayne's shield cracked as soon as the armor put pressure upon the large sphere. Pushing it into the ground, the armor shattered the shield, leaving the young man open to assault. In a swift flurry of attacks, Thayne found himself flying through the air. While damage was done, he was lucky that God Mode's heightened dexterity saved him from death. He quickly corrected his wings in order to stabilize himself. It packed a punch, but Thayne was confident that he'd be able to defeat, especially if he had Delta's help.

The armour turned to her other opponent without hesitation, and jumped. Higher than armour that heavy should, above Delta and aiming to land straight on her, legs pulled to the armour's chest ready to thrust down into the cement below. Inside, Oakley's head continued to spin, unsure what was going on entirely. She recognised these faces that were blurring in front of her, but where were they from? They were a memory from a far off place, like a childhood memory that could only be seen in flashes. What were their names again? A pain hit her head like a migraine, and the memories seemed to get further and further away from her to grasp.

"Please, please help me!" She tried to scream, but again, only the harsh metallic sound could be heard from the outside. The armour roared her words as she came down on top of Delta. Roaring, crying and wailing, as if the armour was feeling the same pain she was.

Somehow, even with all that armor, Oakley reflexes were faster than what Delta could keep up with. She felt the weight of it -- was this even Oakley anymore -- on her shoulder send her spiraling toward the ground. The impact if Delta were to crash into the ground at this speed... she'd be more fucked than Humpty Dumpty. Power washed over her, a control over her newest ability had been established. From various locations on the ground erupted, where Delta had previously crystallized, thick whip-like structures made purely out of crystal. In an instant they honed in on their target, Delta, and wrapped around her and pulled with such force that she was able to escape Oakley's death grip. The crazed Atlantean would find herself crashing into the ground all by herself.

At an impressive rate, Delta's crystallization skills extended beyond what she was capable of mere moments ago. In every direction, a wave of crystal rush over the ground covering every square inch for meters. From the crystal sea rose more crystal vines, of all sizes, some seemed to be as thick as Delta's body, others as thin as her arms. One thing was for certain they all had one target and was rushing toward her with incredible speed. They latched themselves onto every limb and body part possible. They were like chains trying to restrict the movements that Oakley could make. While it seemed excessive Delta knew that they would only delay Oakley for a few seconds.

Delta thought the sounds she had been hearing when Oakley bared down on her were from her, but they were coming from Oakley. If Oakley really wanted to participate so badly, then she would get that.

The armour stepped forward, but the tendrils of crystal held it back. The faceless mask was fixated on Delta and the harsh, metallic noise returned. It screeched and began to lurch forward, the tendrils snapping and shattering from the armour's force. Slowly, it took a step forward, stomping and cracking the crystal underneath it. Then another foot, more tendrils breaking. It roared once more then pulled on the tendrils on its arms, thrusting them forward and breaking them all at once. Pulling out of the reformed tendrils, the armour charged again, slightly slowed thanks to the crystal at it's feet. It wasn't enough to stop it, as once the armour had reached Delta, it clamped an enormous hand around Delta's arm, and pulled her up out of her own crystal ropes and whipped her back down to the ground, a mighty crack filling the air just before she was slammed into the ground. The armour slammed a foot into Delta, kicking her away from it and turned back to Thayne, its roar returning, but alternating between the harsh, metallic sound and a familiar scream from underneath the armour.

A string of swears rolled off of Delta's tongue and filled the air around her. It was the best she could do to stop the pain from driving her to tears. One glance at her arm confirmed that it was broken, its position was at an angle that no bones could naturally be. Pain throbbed nonstop, the feeling was almost unbearable as if someone was penetrating her skin with a knife over and over again. Delta had never broken a bone in her life, fractured some, but that didn't match this continuous wave of pain. The transformation of her arm into solely crystal was enough to cease the suffering that had been afflicted upon her. A quick manipulation of the crystal allowed for Delta's arm to be set back into its original position. If by some mistake Delta wavered in concentration and let her arm shift back into flesh all of the pain would rear its ugly head as her arm was technically still broken.

Delta stood on her own two feet, after one failed attempted and a woozy second that is, she faced the creature that bared no resemblance to Oakley. The sound of glass shattering at her feet caught her attention, her eyes followed the noise and instantly widen in shock. Fuck. Located in her torso was a jagged hole that went all the way through. Her body swayed and more small bits of shards fell from the gaping wound. Delta had underestimated the power that Oakley possessed and she wouldn't make that mistake again. The sharp, slivers of crystal elongated and started swiftly connecting to one another, rapidly reforming and regenerating what had been lost. Soon the hole was no more, but there was still evidence of it from the circular tear in her black tank top.

The next thing Delta noticed was her lack of wings, Oakley's attack had most certainly broken them to pieces. To don a new pair would be perhaps the easiest recovery Delta had to do thus far, but the ground was Delta's domain. There was enough crystal around that it practically engulfed the battlefield. In the air she couldn't conjure up as many attacks as she could now.

Thayne on the other hand, who had already fashioned a new pair of wings, was dominant in the air. His ranged abilities would do him well, particularly at such a large target. This... Thing that the pair of Atlanteans were fighting was a monster. He had no idea what had happened to the shy girl whom he worked with in the AUP, but there seemed to be nothing left of the girl she once was.

Without hesitation, the Erebokinetic rapidly flew higher, the additional speed from his God Mode allowing him to quickly reach a suitable position for a counterattack. He focused a large amount of energy into the space around him, creating several large pillar-like spears with their tips pointed towards the menacing armor. Motioning his hand in the same direction, he sent his creations at the target.

The armour watched Thayne rise higher, and didn't even flinch as the spears came hurtling towards it, some piercing the armour while others bounced off it. It pulled the struck shadow spears out of it, throwing them aside. The spears clattered against the crystal below it, the green and the blue reflecting brilliantly off each other. The armour then jumped again, displaying the same anti-gravity-like strength it had shown before. It very quickly gained on Thayne, reaching for his leg with its hand, and arm outstretched. The metallic roar echoed throughout their battlefield, but Oakley's screams underneath them seem to reverberate louder, a harsh harmony to whatever melody this armour was singing.

In a matter of seconds, Thayne had created even more spear-like pillars. With a flick of a wrist, he sent them flying towards the oncoming creature, aiming for the wounded areas his attacks had already hit as well as any other soft spots that he could manage to find. At the very least, it would hopefully knock the beast out of the sky and away from him.

Eager for payback and to test a theory Delta aimed a cluster of barbed crystal needles, like the ones she used on Wyatt, at the back of both of Oakley's knees. There was more Delta could've done to help at out Thayne, but as of this moment that wasn't in the cards. At this point all she wanted to do was stop that horrible sound emanating from the suit of armor.

The armour ignored the spears which clung at its hide, the tip of its fingers brushing past Thayne's foot. But as one of the spears shot through the darker, soft skin at its neck, the shrieking pierced the air around them, the being crying out in pain. When the needles penetrated the back of its leg, the armour gave out another loud cry before it fell back to the earth, smashing the crystal beneath it. Gripping the spears tightly, the armour roared as it yanked the spears from whence they had penetrated it. Thick, black blood oozed from its gaping wounds like oil but the armour seemed not to notice until a large globule of blood dropped from its neck and splattered all over the ground. Seeing this dark, oozing liquid, the armour let out another aggressive roar before it lobbed two of the spears back at Thayne then pelted forward with fist raised ready to strike Delta down. This time though, the armour was noticeably slower as its leg felt the strain following Delta's needle strike.

Thayne covered his ears in an attempt to cancel out the horrible shrieking of the armor, to no avail. They needed to put an end to this monster as soon as possible.

It didn't take much for him to move out of the spears' trajectory. He didn't hesitate to immediately fly towards the Crystallokinetic, he would need her if they were going to fight this... thing. He was lucky that the beast was moving slower than it had been before as it gave him an easy opportunity to do something about its approach. Raising his hands, he watched as dark matter was created around him, shaping itself into several large tendrils in a somewhat spiderweb-like fashion. As soon as the creation was completed, he sent the tendrils flying at what used to be Oakley. If things went as planned, she would hopefully end up trapped.

The armour roared, dashing out of the way of the tendrils, though wasn't fast enough to dodge it completely, its left leg becoming entrapped and gluing it to the ground. The armour pulled at the tendrils, but they were stuck fast. It became increasingly frustrated, grasping at whatever was around it -- rocks, debris, broken crystal -- and lobbed it at its attackers, all while pulling at the tendrils, a few of them snapping. The armour was stuck, but it wouldn't be stuck for long.

The sound of pain that erupted from Oakley caused Delta to smile, success always did that. With a weakness now known it was time to exploit it to the highest extent. The sight of Thayne coming her way was more than enough motivation for Delta to manipulate her arms into large crystallized blades. After all, the best defense was a good offense, right? The shimmer of golden color that seemed to emanate from her body still surprised Delta. It was time to show this hunk of junk the true power of a God. Heighten abilities allowed Delta to launched herself toward the berserk being via two pillars of crystal. A thud was made as she landed on the ground mere centimeters in front of Oakley somehow managing to dodge the projectiles. As strategically as possible Delta began to aim her bladed arms at the soft spots whenever they were in range.

The armour's wails became deafening as the blades came in contact, embedding into her elbow, palm and pits. The black blood spat from the initial contact, covering Delta though it didn't stop her. The blood smelt of metallic and rot, as if something had died close by, and the armour and Oakley underneath screamed in unison louder and louder. It pulled harder and harder at the tendrils trapping it, enduring Delta's blows until the force was too much and its leg broke free, sweeping around to catch Delta's legs and force her to the ground. It grabbed Delta by the legs, the thick blood oozing from its palm dripping down onto her. With another sweeping motion, it slammed Delta into the pavement and debris below before lobbing her at its other attacker. The armour 'wheezed' in a way, the armour from its left arm slowly receding to reveal a skinny, limp, bruised but familiar arm. The wails grew less metallic, the screams of the girl inside growing more and more prominent.

The deafening, metallic roar of the beast only became louder with each strike from the smaller combatant. Had Thayne been as close to the monster as his circumstantial partner, his hearing would have been gone. However, the roar still shook the young man, at least long enough for the armour to make its move. The impact of the Crystallokinetic not only caught him off guard, but took Thayne's breath away as she collided into him. He could feel his ribs break with an audible crunch as the pair plummeted through the air and towards the ground beneath them, only to sustain more damage in the form of a few cuts and tears. There was probably more internal damage, but the adrenaline pumping through his system made it feel like nothing. If he had been normal, it would have been highly likely that he would have died then and there. He pulled himself up with a huff of pain before extending a hand to help his friend, or whatever they were now, up.

"So how do you say we go about this?" He asked Delta, staring at the beast. It finally seemed that the beast was regressing back into the girl that it was before the change. They would definitely need to keep fighting it if they were going to pull Oakley out.

At the speed that Delta was launched it wasn't surprising that she landed into Thayne with a crunch as their bodies forcefully met one another. Pain soared throughout Delta's body culminating in her arms, she shifted to one side breathing heavily. A single toss had interrupted her entire concentration and reverted her crystallized ribs into its previous state, broken. Her breath eventually steadied allowed for Delta to regain her focus. In time Delta placed her palms on the cold, hard ground beneath her that crystallized upon her touch and pushed herself up so that she was positioned on all fours. To add insult to injury, Thayne had recovered at a faster rate and was now offering his hand to her. It only strengthen her resolve, the only reasonable response Delta could give to that was a scoff and continue the process on her own. A wince here and there was worth it if Thayne understood she had the situation handled.

Every time that fiend had unleashed a direct attack on her the more damage she sustained. Despite facing her fellow Atlantean Delta couldn't hear a single word that left his moving lips. Alesina had taught her how to read lips noting what a useful skill it would be in the future and it appeared she was correct. Delta pressed her index finger into her inner ear then moved it in front of her face, a bright red substance had been smeared across her skin. Another check confirmed that not only had the injury been inflicted to both ears, but the blood was traveling from her ear canal down her neck. Delta breathed out through her nose in anger, an emotion that dictated Delta's next actions. In a swift manner, she lifted up her hands and that triggered two rather large walls of pure crystals to erupt from the earth on either side of Oakley. The interior of each wall was lined with jagged spikes, their sharpness evident from even where Delta stood. The land around the younger Atlantean never stopped trembling, tossing fragmented pieces of crystal and dirt in its wake, as Delta erected another identical pair of walls. Upon completion it formed a square (or rectangle, Delta wasn't sure if her measurements were exact enough...) and emerged a triumphant feeling within Delta.

"Salt the earth with her blood," Delta said with a spat, as if that was a cue the walls fell down one by one ready to crush the armored girl beneath its ruins.

"Killing probably isn't as good an option as helping her," said the Erebokinetic. "Oakley still has to be somewhere in there." He stared at the falling walls and thought for a moment. What if they couldn't?

"Still as naive as ever," Delta muttered, still reading the lips of sane Atlantean next to her, "Certainly not a quality your father taught you."

The armoured body moved its head around, watching in panic as the crystal walls formed around it. Its movement and gestures seemed less and less robotic, with emotion as if this suit of armour had thoughts and feeling. It itself did not, but as Oakley gradually emerged from her Chaos mode state physically, so did she mentally. However, without her memories to guide her judgement and the armour still guiding her thoughts, she acted on impulse, and panic. And the armour acted with her.

The first wall fell, and the armour caught it with its arms, carefully catching it by the spikes so that it wouldn't pierce any part of it, armour or skin. The second wall fell and the armour attempted to use its other arm to grab it, only realising that now it was unprotected and vulnerable. The armour quickly shuffled itself, letting out a screech as it caught the second wall on its shoulder, blood seeping from the soft spot and knees trembling under the pressure. The third wall fell, and the armour could do nothing but let it fall on its back, crying out again as the spikes heaved against the armour, pressing underneath some of the plates. The black blood oozed, dripping and forming a puddle at its feet, and when the fourth wall fell, its legs buckled and the walls crashed on top of it.

There was no silence as the armour felt the pain underneath the walls, screeching and wailing, Oakley's screams reverberating underneath them. It went quiet for a moment before letting out a deafening roar, one of the walls skittering out from underneath and suddenly flying towards Delta and Thayne. The armour dragged itself from underneath, battered and on its last legs. The armour had receded again, Oakley's pale neck now visible and cuts from her human arm dripping blood, the red a sharp contrast against the black. The black blood was everywhere, as if their battlefield was a canvas and the artist had poured buckets of paint over everything the armour had come in contact with. It was unnatural for such a thing to lose so much blood and anyone, human or Atlantean, could see that this battle for Oakley was very close to over.

Brimmed with glee and widen in excitement Delta's eyes absorbed the scene of the bloodied Atlantean who struggled with her crystal creations. The feeble attempt suited its feeble attempter, the walls came tumbling down and Oakley fell along with it. In haste, the partially crystallized Atlantean sped forward without hesitation. Invaluable was an opportunity to eliminate a foe who was this powerful and there was no such telling when the chance would present itself again. Soon Delta towered over the fallen girl, she felt no pity for the Oakley who was decorated in cuts, bruises, and whose skin was stained with tar-like blood.

Some time ago Delta had made a promise to Oakley and she planned on honoring it. With Thayne's moral compass Delta sensed he would have every intention on stopping her. Quick to action, she swung her back then forward with as much forced as possible. The crystallized limb crunched on its impact with Oakley and the strength behind the kick lifted her body out of the puddle of blood she stewed in and into the air. Relentless in nature Delta instinctively carried on, before the descent of Oakley could finish a jungle of crystallized vines emerged from the ground that had been transformed with Delta's ability. Like hungry animals they covered their prey's flailing limbs and bare skin, consumed the damaged body in a sea of crystal, and lifted her further into the sky. The vines arced backwards in a semi-circle then flung forward with vigor, releasing the girl in a sharp downward spiral, whose blonde hair fluttered in the forceful toss. A dent in the ground had been formed from the mere collision of Oakley's body and the ground. Ruminants of the landscape scattered in the air, the bits of crystal in the air were crafted into needles that rained down on the impact sight. Delta surveyed the area for movement once the dust cleared from around the Atlantean. Enough games had been played, enough attacks had been delivered, it was time to end it. Now.

However, Thayne was ready this time. In seconds, he had barely managed to get to the blonde girl before the needles began to rain down. He couldn't tell if he managed it through sheer luck, the power of God Mode, or his need to protect the helpless girl. With a mere movement of his hands, he had created several barriers in order to protect himself and Oakley. Had he planned a little more ahead of time, he could have potentially done more to help, but for now he could only hope that his barriers would shield the pair efficiently.

Unfortunately, he hadn't anticipated the number of needles that rained down above them. While his dark matter had managed to stop a few of the needles, many managed to break through the first layer. His let out a cry of pain as the second layer was destroyed as well, causing several needles to enter his body. He felt as if he was being torn apart as the needles managed to pierce through his left leg and several areas around his sides. He winced as he hoisted himself up. If all he did was try and defend him and the armour Atlantean, he would surely lose.

He dissipated what remained of his barrier and quickly formed it into a rapier-like sword. He looked at the girl beside him and attempted to shield her once more before looking through the dust cloud that surrounded them. This was as good a time as any and he would use it. With a burst of speed, he rushed towards the general direction of the Crystallokinetic, breaking out of the cloud with his sword raised.

Delta swore loudly when Thayne's silhouette emerged from the dust. Her prediction had been right on the nose. In an effort to conceal herself Delta collected the crystal scattered across the battlefield and fashioned it into a wall. Around her the wall began to stretch becoming a hollow pillar with Delta placed squarely the center. Beneath her feet the ground was transformed into a crystallized version of itself that seeped deep into the earth due to Delta's power, God Mode allowed her to extend her power at a faster rate than before. On the outermost part of the wall branches of crystals sprouted, the ending of each branch had sharp and jagged formations while thorns covered the rest of it. The creation resembled a tree, thick like a giant sequoia and tall like a coast redwood. Its branches cut through the air with astounding speed, their aim on one individual target, the Atlantean that brandished a sword.

Thayne had misjudged the distance of his target, giving her the time to create a counterattack to meet his before even managing to get there. The light of his god mode flared as he stopped in his tracks, creating several tendrils of dark matter to combat the onslaught of crystal branches. The attacks met several meters in front of him, resulting in a sound of crunching crystal. His own attack had managed to combat the majority of Delta's, but one of the branches broke through, hitting his already hurt side. Had the Erebokinetic been any slower, he would have possibly been dead. Again.

In the midst of Thayne's onslaught Delta had ceased her focus on him. Below her the ground that she had previously crystallized shifted and eventually collapsed forming a hole about two meters deep. The only source of light was the God Mode glow that flicked around her body. Delta brushed herself off once she had regained her footing before she realized it wasn't necessary because all around her was pure crystal, her powers had penetrated deep into the earth. She placed her palms on the cold surface of the wall of crystal that stood ahead of her and almost instantaneously the wall reacted to her touch and bent to her will. A circular chunk of the wall pushed itself forward, which created a tunnel for Delta to walk through.

When Delta arrived at what assumably was the correct spot she pressed her hands on the ground above her to solidify any parts of it that weren't fully crystallized. In order to breach the surface Delta manipulated both the crystal above and below at the same time and that was a breeze due to her addition power control. Light flooded in the tunnel as Delta removed the block of crystal that separated her from the surface soon her feet were touching the surface. Her guess work had been a little off, the subject of her underground adventure laid up ahead. Delta took off like a bullet toward Oakley, without Delta actively manipulate the branches they would cease and Thayne would cut through her tree trunk and realize it had all been a distraction.

As she raced to Oakley Delta saw a man descend from the sky, it wasn't Gabriel, but his presence brought on a chilling effect sending shivers up her spine. Whoever he was, he was powerful and he was a true Atlantean. Effortlessly, the man scooped Oakley up in one arm and with the other sent a blast that extended in all directions. It felt as if an elephant had rammed right into Delta and sent her flying backwards. Delta's body bounced several times off the ground until it skidded to a stop, her body felt as if it was on fire. Pain flared to life, every pain receptors that hadn't been crystallized announced its presence.

The aura of God Mode dissipated and in its place was a thin layer of dirt and grime that coated her clothes. Sprawled out on her back Delta watched as he ascended into the sky, his actions were akin to someone who wanted to save and nurture the pathetic girl, much like a father would. Sound had managed to return and filtered in from the surrounding area, Delta craned her head upwards -- even a small movement such as that resulted in a wave of pain -- to see that she had landed much closer to the infighting between the Atlanteans each of the World Changers had brought.
​

 

[Retro Bug]

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

December 21st, 2012


A streak of red against the duller background colors seized not only Delta's attention but her heart. Aoife fought with such diligence and poise that put Delta's brute style to shame. Their eyes met in a gaze that caused Aoife to stop dead in her tracks. Horror flourish on Aoife's face and her feet reacted first, bringing her closer and closer to Delta. To be wrapped inside the arms of Aoife was all Delta desired at the moment, to drift away to sleep listening only to that sweet voice of hers. Instead of all that Delta simply shook her head, which was a signal they had decided on prior to arriving in Istanbul. The pain was showcased on Aoife's face but she halted her movements though refused to shift her eyes elsewhere so Delta did first because it hurt too much.

Thayne managed to make it to the outside of the tree trunk like crystal with ease after the first barrage of branches. It didn't take him much to destroy the barrier, but he was caught by surprise. He hadn't expected to find nothing but a hole in the ground. The boy cursed loudly as he turned around to find the Crystallokinetic racing towards the injured girl that Thayne was trying to protect. He berated himself as he began running towards the pair, but he knew he wouldn't be able to make it in time.

Of course, he didn't need to. In a similar fashion of an Angel, a man descended from the sky towards the limp body before picking her up. He held her in a fatherly fashion before aiming a hand at Thayne and Del. A powerful blast emanated from the appendage, sending the pair of Atlanteans flying through the air. He was lucky he wasn't as close to the man as Delta, though he did take some damage from the attack. Unfortunately, the blast seemed to have the side effect of removing the power from their God Modes.

He cursed once more as he looked in the direction of Delta, who had landed farther away. She had landed closer to the fray of battling Atlanteans who had followed the World Changers. He attempted to look past the Crystallokinetic, hoping to see Mel fighting the others. He groaned as he picked himself up, knowing that he wouldn't be able to see her from that distance. However, Melissa was a strong girl, she always had been. She had never needed Thayne to protect her, even if he wanted too. She's alive, he told himself as he made his way closer to Delta.

"You know..." He said as he got to what he considered a safe distance away. He had already remanifested what armor he had lost and here, he would have enough time to react if he needed too. "I didn't let Dom die." He shuddered, remembering the lifeless body that he and the Syndicate had found. "He left on his own. He wanted to leave this all behind."

A groan pushed it way passed Delta's lip as she noticed Thayne's presence. His arrival did not threaten Delta so she didn't bother to remove herself from the spot where she had came to a stop. Each second varying degrees of pain racked her body and it wouldn't allow for any movement without pain as a fierce rebuttal. All around her were shards of crystal, enough to buy time if that's what was needed. Some of the words that were spoken by the other Kinetic Atlantean made it to Delta's ears but she had to rely on reading his lips to fill in the blanks. The way he casually brought up Dom as if he needed to rid himself of the guilty that was his burden to bare.

"Is that the excuse you're using to absolve your guilt," Delta snapped, the pieces of crystal shards that surrounded her all seemed to turn their sharpest point at Thayne. She dragged her arm, scraping it across rocks and other debris, toward the battle of the other Atlanteans, she flung out one finger and her aim roughly landed on an area where a black-haired girl in a tussle with another Atlantean. "Too busy with that," Delta paused to let the disgust in her voice and in Thayne's actions be evident, "to notice your friend needed you, I see."

"You act as if I had complete control over what he did," Thayne replied, holding his side. He didn't even try to defend himself from her accusation. "And trust me, I'm not trying to get over the guilt. If I had been there, maybe he would've survived. Maybe I would have died in his place."

He could tell the woman held the majority of her animosity toward him for their friend's death, albeit the fact that he had no way to stop what had happened. He blamed himself enough for the death, but it was James who was to blame.

"The point is..." He held his breath for a moment, trying to find the words that needed to be said. "I thought over his death for a long time. I haven't let his memory leave my mind since. I just thought that you needed to know how it happened." He thought about his words for a moment before continuing. "He was your friend too after all. He tried to leave this life. He tried to leave behind all of this business of Harbingers and World Changers behind. Yet he was murdered in cold blood, and that man is here, now." He pointed in the direction that the other World Changers had left in. "You protected him, simply because you wanted to be the one to end his life, even now things could be going so much smoother now had you not made such a ridiculous decision."

"What exactly is it that you want from all of this?"

"The death James Hazen deserves isn't a death you can provide," stated Delta. "Have you even taken a life?" She questioned, her eyes stayed on the sky above her watching the clouds creep across the bleak backdrop. "Thought not, and you expect me to leave a task like that to you? I left Dom with you and look what happened."

"Tell me something, Thayne. Why are you asking me questions you yourself don't even know the answer to?" Delta asked, she let the question hang in the air.

"I'm done being caught up in the schemes of others, I have no time for that. I cannot fathom having any power given to Ice Boy. He essentially built an army to take down one man. His actions are so engrained into defying James Hazen's ideology that he's lost who he is, rather, who he was. All he is now is what James Hazen lacks, he thinks he is his foil. The truth is James Hazen is his foil."

"I wonder if Ice Boy can survive killing James Hazen? Can he kill a piece of himself, a piece of a soul? How will he return from that?" All the questions Delta asked were rhetorical, she knew that Thayne hadn't the answers. "Trick question, he won't. Without James Hazen there is no Ice Boy. He will have no purpose, he will become lost and weak because everything he has ever been, everything he has ever done has been shaped by that electrical man. Nathaniel Calaway doesn't exist with James Hazen. After all, what is a hunter without its prey?"

"And, you, Thayne. You dare to stand there as if your decision is the deciding factor. I don't need to ask you want you want because you don't even know. You'll give some generic statement, to protect your family and friends, I bet. Tell me, who doesn't want that? Who wouldn't do that? How exactly are you protecting them by being over here? What are you doing for them? How are you going to do that for them? Your actions are so unsure and your words have no depth."

"Believe me, none of the rest of the World Changers are suited for it. To do what needs to done," Delta said coldly, by this point she had shut her eyes finding comfort in the darkness. "Step aside, step down. Give up. I'll finish this for the both of us."

"Do you think I just let him leave?" Thayne snapped at the girl. His eyes were filled with guilt. "As soon as we realized he was gone, I went after him. I was the one to find his lifeless body and carry him back to the Syndicate." He sighed. "After that, it was like the news played it back constantly. They continuously told the story of the fire and electricity that had erupted outside of that train station in Pau. I was constantly reminded of the moment he left."

"And I have no doubt about Hazen or Calaway. Hazen is a monster. I don't see him as an Atlantean or even a human being. After all, I've been looking for him ever since Dom's death." He stared at the fighting that stood before the World Changers. "Calaway's army has no reason for being here. He brought them to fight Hazen and be done. I doubt he cared about much else."

He pointed out several of the fighters before turning to Delta once more. "Aoife is here for you, isn't she? You probably did the same exact thing as me and Mel. You told her and the others to stay. You told them how this was your fight alone, and yet they came anyway. You're right when you say we all want to fight for them. They're our friends, our loved ones, our family."

"And that's where you and I are different from the others. Calaway lost his way in his pursuit of James, and James' only aim is to rid this world of humans and anyone else who gets in his way. That is why they must lose this battle."

"I want to protect these people, and as generic as that is, it doesn't mean that that logic couldn't be expanded. The Royal Family were a bunch of idiots, but they had the right idea. We Atlanteans needed to know who and what we were. We needed to come together with the humans and make things work. They did it wrong. Now, I may not know the right way to go about it, but its a start."

"For awhile, I honestly thought you were the next best option. I figured you had sort of the same idea. You're all about force, but I knew you'd never go as far as James and exterminate a species. But you seem to be after so much more, and I have no idea how I feel about that. Call me as naive as you want, but I had hoped we'd be able to work together for this. Now? I don't know." The fighting around them only grew harsher as time went on. "What is this more that you seem to be after?"

"The truth," Delta spoke so softly that she wasn't even sure that she said the words out loud. "We've been pawns in the hands of others since we awoken our ancestry. Now, we're pawns in this World Changer business. They're watching us, we're their entertainment." Delta pointed to spot in the sky where that man, Oakley's father, had descended from. Pandora's words rattled in the back of her head, Elpis was still in their possession. "This has been going on for centuries, several millennia. Our blood shed for their benefit. It's time we take our own fate back."

"They have Elpis, and if the only way to get her back is to win, then that's what I must do. No matter what the cost or how many lives are sacrificed in the end."

Thayne looked at Delta, surprised by the softness of her voice. He should have known they would take Elpis. It was the Librarian that first made them find her after all. He could still remember when he last saw the young girl. She was happy, full of life. And now? Was she a prisoner? Was that why Delta was fighting in the first place?

"If its time to take our fate back,"Thayne began with a sigh, "then why do we continue to sit here and fight amongst ourselves?"

"Because of right now, our fate is in their hands!" Delta shouted, the softness in her voice had grown cold.

Delta's fists clenched a handful of whatever material and scraps of previous attacks lay underneath them. She grew weary of idol conversation, the sole type of exchanges she preferred were those that involved her fist smashing into another person. All of these questions weren't of importance, all that mattered was that Delta had a plan. The first phase, disregarding minor goals such as the death of two particular Atlanteans, was to end this meaningless conversation.

Delta continued on her voice shifted into more of a neutral tone. "Absolute refusal isn't how you win this one, not when we're dealing with beings of this magnitude. Didn't you listen to The Librarian earlier? You have to pretend, go along with what they want, and in the end take from them what you want."

"In the end, it feels like that is still just playing into their hands." Thayne knew Raphael was his father, but that didn't mean Thayne had to like him. He was one of those "angels" that started this whole mess. Hell, he had even let James, his half-brother go crazy with out a care.

Thayne sighed, considering the options at their disposal. Honestly, it seemed as if all they could do was continue this pointless fight, and hope that Elpis would be returned safely no matter who wins. "If this is a simple game that they have, then you should know they're taking bets on us. They won't let one of us just quit so that the other moves on."

"I know," Delta laughed, as much as she enjoyed laying on the ground she also had ulterior motives. Little by little all the slivers of crystal had migrated from the surrounding area to residing beneath her. That wasn't the only thing Delta had in store, her contact with the ground had crystallized it. The whole process would've gone a lot smoother had God Mode still been in effect, but Delta made do with what strength she had.

Her primary ability came into play to minimize the consequences of what the actions Delta was about to take. Not one to waste time Delta got to her knees and made a spectacle of flaunting the newly manifested pair of crystal wings on her back. The beating of the wings eventually elevated Delta to new heights, but not so far that Thayne couldn't hear her when she spoke.

"I hope you've said your last goodbyes," Delta said then with a flap of her wings unleashed a shower of needles in Thayne's direction.

​

 

[Retro Bug]

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

December 21st, 2012

Fortunately, Thayne had been ready. Delta was always one who had an extra trick up her sleave, and this situation was no different. He had already made sure his armor of dark matter was manifested before talking to the ferocious Atlantean. Of course, he didn't have much preparation besides the armor.

He barely managed to create a thick shield in that time. As per usual, a few of the needles managed to break through, though what meant his armor only cracked it while the rest pierced the ground around him. "You're getting rusty Delta," he told her before repairing what was left of the damaged wings on his back. "I feel like you would have done a lot more damage earlier."

Once again he formed a rapier from the dark matter before looking at the woman above him. In an attempt to be as tactical as he could, Thayne sent several tendrils at the woman before lifting himself into the air and flying at her. His sword raised, he prepared to swing it at his target.

The memories of the air leaving her lungs as the filaments of dark matter compressed her tighter and tighter until the intensity left her insides numb came flooding back. It was not a moment worth repeating. Delta disregarded the comments in their entirety, she'd only make him pay for it with blood later. She turned herself away from the other Atlantean and flew into the middle of fray, where blood and sweat poured equally, which was happening further up ahead. Her dive into the battleground garnered the attention of others but no appeared foolish enough to attack or distract themselves longer than necessary.

A tall man with short blond hair had swallowed all of Delta's attention. His rugged good looks might have been enamoring to others but only unfiltered hatred filled Delta to the brim. She lowered herself in front of the man, teeth and feet clenched, but did not let her feet touch the ground. It was enough to halt the fight the blond man found himself embroiled. A look of annoyance swept over the man's face once he had recognized Delta. The two exchanged glares, as if it were a battle of the daggers each of them possessed in their eyes instead of traditional form of combat like what carried on around them. Toward Delta came the man's opponent with his arm out wide with a sword in his hand. Without missing a beat and taking her eye's off the blond man, Delta lifted one hand and opened it wide and a sword flew into it moments later and in the next through the man's throat. He collapsed clasping at his neck for air, for his life, all to no avail.

"Delta," said in the man in his thick Australian accent.

"Kieran," Delta hissed, she hated the word on her lips.

"Sweet sword, I like what you've done with it," Kieran stated with sarcasm dripping from every word. His eyes broke contact with Delta's in favor of the sword that clattered to the floor in front of him. Kieran strolled forward with confidence, there wasn't an ounce of fear or hesitation in his movements despite what he had just witnessed. One after the other his fingers had found their way around the hilt of the sword, carefully tracing over the fine details etched into it. "Where's the other?"

Delta waved off the question with her hand. She had fashioned both of her crystallized swords from the bone blades that once had jutted out of Kieran's arm after it was revealed he was a mole for James Hazen. The crystal that made up the sword bled down the hilt and enclosed itself around Kieran's hands, a simple trick of manipulation. A struggled ensued but it wasn't of any practical use, the amount of pure physical strength required to free oneself from the constraints was an ability Kieran didn't possess. Delta knew that Kieran could not resist reuniting himself with those bones no matter what form they presented themselves in.

Thayne clenched his fists as he watched the woman fly away. He couldn't understand what was happening. Delta had never been one for running away, yet he had no idea what else could be happening. It was smarter to let James and Nate tire themselves out more before she went in there. She was too smart to get into that earlier then she needed to. What could she possibly be doing?

Thayne gave a disgruntled sigh. It was hard enough that they needed to fight in the first place, let alone that he would need to find her in order to continue. He lifted himself into the air, his black wings pushing him farther up. He sped towards the direction his opponent had gone, above the large area that only consisted of fighting Atlanteans. He peered through the crowd, checking on his own people and friends. Unfortunately, he managed to find Delta before the others. Delta and a man whom she looked to destroy.

One thing Delta had hoped for was begging, perhaps an apology, something that would show an ounce of remorse from the Atlantean who was forcibly trying to free his hand from its crystal confine. The panic expressed in his eyes and body language grew substantially as the crystal elongated itself to cover more and more of his arm. A constant stream of swears leapt off his tongue. Unsatisfied with the lack of pleading Delta caused the crystal to pierce his skin like a thousand angry bees, but these stingers twisted and turned their way inside of Kieran's skin. He bit his lip, writhing in suppressed agony. Tears had welled up at the corner of his eyes but he still refused to call out in pain, a feat Delta admired.

She tugged on the invisible string that gave her a direct connection to manipulate the ever-growing substance of crystal on Kieran's body. It gave her the ability to drag him forward toward her without her moving a single centimeter. She had no reason to gloat or antagonize because there wasn't any words left to say. Kieran might have had some, but by the time he reached her he was already dead. She glanced at the body that was still erected due to her power, the blade of the second crystallized bone sword protruded from his chest, which caused blood to ooze from the wound and splatter on the ground. Kieran's death hadn't brought Delta any comfort but it also hadn't brought her any discomfort.

The arrival of Thayne signaled it was time for phase two. A manipulation of the crystal blades forced both swords to attach themselves to Delta's back where they had been located before everything else has occurred. Delta hasten the crystallization of Kieran until it consumed his very fiber on his entire body. He had one last use after all it seemed. A single motion threw her hand forward and so went Kieran's body toward the newly present Atlantean. Into the sky she flew and from there she locked onto a particular spot on the battlefield and landed there. A girl with black hair embroiled with the battle around her took little notice of her until she did a double take and steeled herself.

The duo had spent a little time together in the Atlantean Unification Project but Delta never cared to get to know her, regarding her as the sole conquest of one of her former comrades. She was effortlessly intelligent, her Atlantean ability allowed her to be, but it wasn't enough to save her from death. Delta deconstructed her wings into finite pieces of crystal to use as weaponry. At any moment her pursuer could crash the party and this was one party Delta didn't want to rush. Delta ran and swung a fist at the girl who managed to block it, they both had received the same basic defensive physical training. Unfortunately, for this Atlantean Delta excelled at physical combat as it worked well with her primary ability.

The girl threw a punch at Delta with the arm she didn't use to block Delta's punch, but Delta caught it and held it in her hand as it crystallized, this only served to boost Delta's strength. Delta exerted enough strength and bent the hand down at an angle that forced the other Atlantean to her knees. With her other fist Delta repeatedly pounded the face of the Atlantean with it, which left it a mess of blood, swelling of the bruises that had yet to show, and what Delta assumed was broken bones but she didn't have time to check her handiwork. The crystal from earlier plunged deep into the body of the girl practically making her the newest Atlantean pin-cushion.

"How's that for damage?"
​

 

[Retro Bug]

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

December 21st, 2012

Blood went through the air as Thayne cut through the crystal in which Kieran inhabited, knowing that it was too late for him to attempt an escape. Delta hasn't hesitated in encasing the Atlantean in her crystal, but she had avoided changing the man himself. However, it was obvious that Delta was yet to be done. In the time that Thayne had dealt with Kieran crystal, Delta had set her eyes on one target: Melissa. The Erebokinetic's eyes widened as he witnessed her struggle in the hands of Delta. It was almost as if a switch turned on in his head as he stared at the sight. The form of Mel's seemingly lifeless, bloody body threw the man into a rage.

His body felt the all too familiar power spike of God Mode, yet, something was off. It started out with a dark aura, not too different from that of God Mode. The first major difference, however, started with the blackening of his eyes. He could feel it as his body began to change, slowly merging with the dark matter that he had accustomed to. He could feel his blood rushing through his body. It took somewhat longer than the change into God Mode, but this transition was much longer. It wasn't a simple change in his aura and strength, but a complete change into something much different. Within seconds, Thayne lost himself, and a monster came forth.

The battle had changed into phase three the moment Thayne entered a frenzied state of complete emotion. A hysteric mode that only affected Atlanteans, as Oakley had been earlier, and Devon had done once upon a time. It was uncontrolled, unfiltered action solely focused on the subject that catalyzed the event, in this case Delta had fulfilled that role. As Thayne's appearance was devoured by the dark matter Delta took the time to alter her own.

Down from her arm rippled the shift from skin to crystal. It covered her arms to her chest spreading down her torso all the way down to her feet. At the base of her neckline the transformation slowed itself but failed to halt. A moment like this was exactly what Delta needed to push her to overcome this constant nagging fear that tugged at her every time she thought of crystallizing her head. She swallowed a mouthful of air with some hope that it would sustain her. The crystal engulfed her head and Delta felt fine, no sudden blackout, no death. In its entirety the process took seconds to complete.

The monster was humanoid in appearance, not much unlike the Armor that was in control of Oakley's body, though smaller in scale. Its skin was made up of dark matter, with spikes covering the majority of its muscular body. It was now a creature of pure emotion and its sights were set on Delta. From its chest, sprouted several rope-like constructs that raced towards the seemingly defenseless target in an attempt to subdue her. It moved towards Delta with incredible speed, raising its large, clawed hands at the woman.

The time necessary to adapt to her fully crystallized form was over within seconds. Her body felt strange in terms Delta couldn't quite describe yet, but the manipulation of it was stranger. In order to avoid capture Delta levitated herself and with a bit of a slow start took off into the air sans wings. She zoomed upwards as the dark matter tendrils trailed behind her. All around them were people fighting for their lives and the beast that Thayne become would put all their lives in danger... Except Delta felt numb, there wasn't any sympathy shouting out at her, no sense of compassion or care for them. They were of little importance to her and a distraction from the mission.

Delta tossed a glance over her shoulder only to see that she was within the grasp of the dark matter. The speed of dark matter was like anything Delta had seen, heavily increased from what she had witnessed earlier. A tendril coiled around her leg, its power of it all too familiar, resulting in Delta's flight to stutter. No matter how hard Delta pulled it was to no avail as the dark matter only constricted like a snake who had its prey. Cracks formed at the origin where Delta was held, more of the dark matter reached out to grab a further hold onto her. Without sparing a moment Delta maneuvered a crystallized hand and cleaved off her trapped limb. She took off with a wobbly start, her balance clearly thrown off, but Delta was not willing to risk another entanglement. Delta zigged and zagged trying to keep herself ahead but she made the fatal error of looking behind her instead of what was in front of her. She face a wall of concrete when Delta twisted her head back and discovered half her body was dug into it. It wasn't a small impact either as a collision crater had formed evident of the fact that Delta was going full speed. Somehow her level of awareness had plummeted, causing into buildings and not noticing it would certainly lose her this fight.

Delta tried to inhale a breath of air, as a technique to dull the onset of pain that was sure to come in continuous waves, but soon realized she had never let go of her breath she held from the moment she first crystallized her entire body. The pain failed to come and confusion settled in where pain hadn't. If Delta had not been directly looking down at herself she wouldn't have believed she had sustained any injuries. Chunks of crystal were missing and the impact had caused cracks to fissure throughout her body. Oddly, Delta felt none of the various injuries she saw on her person, there was a severe lack of pain. Soon the crystal recovered to its original pristine condition void of the countless imperfections. Her skills with crystal manipulation lacked the same focused training as her primary ability. In the span of time since Delta had been gifted with it she had surpassed the level of control she had with crystallization in that same amount of time due to her reckless but rigorous onslaught of training sessions. Both of her legs were now fully intact, however, she had lost a boot in the removal process, a fact that might have angered her at one point. Aesthetics aside, she watched as the enemy encroached on her location.

Had Thayne's mind been in it, he would've used the opportunity to formulate some sort of plan. Unfortunately, his mind wasn't exactly active at the moment. All that was left was pure emotion. Desperation, anger, loss, and everything else that he was feeling was fueling the monster that currently flew towards his target. It was like a bird of prey attacking a rodent, predator and prey. There was nothing left of him that would have made the monster pulled its punches or considered the people below.

The dark matter attempts at grabbing its prey as it hoped didn't exactly go as planned, it would still work in its favor. With his prey cornered, the monster rushed in for another attack. The tendrils that came out of its body changed, developing a point at there tips in order to pierce Delta's crystal and hopefully trap her. With a simple thought, the spearlike tendrils flew straight towards their target, Thayne right behind them. He wouldn't give her any chances to fight back.

The effects of Delta's collision with the building had spread farther than she initially thought. She peeled an arm off to wall to revealed that a layer of crystal underneath with only bits of concrete visible. It was far more than the crystal fragments that had broken off Delta's body. Not once was it was a thought that crossed Delta's mind, but since it had already begun she saw no reason, want, or need to stop it from continuing. Power pulsated off of Delta's body, the crystallization spread through an object's contact with Delta body and with her body practically merged with the wall it appeared as if someone had started painting the building with a crystal brush.

Delta kept her eyes trained on the rapidly approaching threat. Every beat of Thayne's wing delivered him closer to her and Delta needed him to come a smidge closer. All Delta's energy shifted and instead poured into launching herself toward her former comrade turned creature. From the walls came chunks of crystals that followed her, they themselves were spinning into their own creations upon Delta's request. A body made purely of crystal gave her limitless possibilities in the realm of manipulation except there was only one Delta put stock into. Her arm's thinned, the edges grew sharp, the changes of her limbs continued until they resembled the blades of a machete. The time to run was over and now it was time to carve into the belly of the beast.

By the looks of it Thayne was made of dark material the exact same way Delta was made of crystal, they were not simply coated in it like some sort inferior form of armor, no, they had become it. Surrounding Delta was the familiar glow of God Mode resurrected once more. The golden aura flickered around Delta embracing her with its power, bestowing upon her a god level of focus and control that she had not achieved without it. She raised her arms around her head, each of the blades touched at the tips and with her power of manipulation Delta began rotating her body into a spin, a crystal drill ready to cut through the belly of the beast. Ahead of her sped the large blocks of crystals that had spun into weaponry that resembled shurikens. This battle had become a clash of titans, each aided with ancient Atlantean powers.

One of the large shuriken plunged itself into the monster's abdomen, sending liquid dark matter everywhere as it went completely through him. The dark liquid that escaped its body quickly made its way back to the original body. For the most part, it made it appear as if the being was unfazed by the blow. Thayne, or the monster, had felt nothing physically, as Thayne's pain receptors had turned into dark matter just like the rest of his body. The shuriken succeeded in angering the beast more, fueling his emotion-driven attempts at Delta's life. The monster let out a high-pitched roar as several more appendages came out of its growing body.

The constant generation of dark matter that made the beast grow larger made it more dense as well, making him much more durable and stronger than he had been before. The monster quickly sent its newly-made appendages at the spinning crystal that was Delta in an attempt to grasp its target. It lunged forward, looking for an opening to hit the woman.

A feeling of suspicion ate away at Delta until she hastily brought herself to a stop, a move that was a lot harder than the movies portrayed it to be. Instead of a bloody Thayne Delta was met with The Hulk except he was made out of dark matter and twice the size and width. If that wasn't enough Thayne sent out more tendrils of dark matter to grab ahold of her. The thought of if this really was Thayne crossed Delta's mind, after all Thayne was weak, pathetic, and overall not that impressive, this thing so far had left an impression on Delta. No matter, Delta had no plans on ending up in its clutch.

As hastily as her abilities allowed her Delta pushed herself backwards. The dark matter had already closed most of the empty space between the warring Atlanteans. There was one move Delta had been saving for last, a guarantee to win the battle, but since her earlier plan had gone array this was the best of her limited options. Delta had not choice so she called to the partially crystal structure that once held half her body. Resistant was met in a force Delta hadn't felt before, though she also hadn't tried to move something this large. She didn't care for the consequences. Delta flew upwards, higher and higher into the sky until she was hovering right above the building. It shook all over, concrete crumbled as the upper half, the crystal half, tore itself away from the rest.

Her concentration had to widen she was already stretched paying attention to both Thayne and retaining her form. The glow of God Mode flickered into focus and served as a reminder to Delta, she was a god and gods did not struggle. With her sights set on Thayne Delta aimed and launched the building on a trajectory toward Thayne. One good thing happened, Delta had managed to toss a building over a substantial distance, and the bad thing was... it missed. Fuck. There was one thing left to do as Delta descended from the heavens, it was a tactic taken right out of the pages of the most cliche handbook ever (most likely something Oakley would say), if you can't beat them, join 'em. Well, in this case Delta was joining Thayne in his physical increase in size to beat him. Smaller pieces of crystal swarmed Delta, they were much easier to call forth. They attached themselves every which way until she commanded them into place piece by piece.

Bigger wasn't always better but at least this would help Delta if she happened to take any damage. Delta flew directly towards Thayne, his presence nothing but a glob of dark matter. She forced herself forward, not into him, over him, closer to the building and inconsequentially the larger in-fighting Atlanteans. Several branches of dark matter reached to take Delta hostage, none of them managed to succeed with Delta constantly maneuvering and evading their grasp. Delta fired off a stream crystal chunks from her body in order to delay them, if not, trick them into believing she had fallen into their grip. Before long Delta found herself landed on the ground, to continue this fight she needed more of her resource and it had yet to master non-contact crystallization.

Had any sane part of Thayne been conscious at that moment, part of him would've laughed at Delta's seemingly terrible aim. Another part of him would've chastised her for large loss of life that probably occurred when the building hit the crowd of Atlanteans. Nonetheless, the monster inhabiting his body gave chase after its target. It only took seconds for it to catch up to the chunks of crystal that Delta had released. Its anger at finding itself tricked was unmatched at that point.

It hurried in its chase of the Atlantean, landing just outside the large battle. It looked at its target with a sense of hostility and hatred. Thayne let out a roar before sending more tendrils at the being standing in front of him. It didn't care if it missed and hit the people behind Delta, as long as she was eliminated. It followed close behind its tendrils, claws drawn. Sure, she was covered in that armor of hers, but how long would it hold?

The ground rippled into it became crystal underneath Delta's feet. She tuned out the noise of the fighting that was happening only a few meters away. What really mattered was taking care of the beast that Thayne had become. A single crystal column rose from newly crystallized ground and Delta grabbed hold of it like it was a handle. She took off to the skies and forced the crystal underneath the column to rip away from the dirt that surrounded it. Her weapon looked like a very misshapen hammer, but as Delta sailed through the air it reshaped into axe. It wouldn't take long to lodge it in Thayne's skull and be done with this nonsense. Victory at last. A smirk grew and grew on Delta's face as she eagerly sped forward.

Caught up in her thoughts Delta missed the sudden appearance of a vine dark matter that had marked her as its prey. It cracked like a whip and slammed right into her with such force that Delta's flew backwards twice the distance she had come. Her body collided with several others along the way until it came to a stop. She laid in the middle fray of Atlanteans that she previously stood in front of that had an ample amount of bullets and blood every way Delta turned. Delta gritted her teeth before she came to the realization that there wasn't any pain coming. Certainly a perk if Delta could ever think of one. The areas where the dark matter had impacted, her stomach and legs took the brunt of the damage, was cracked and had managed to peel away her extra layers of protection.

An overwhelming sense determination sent Delta into the skies before she had finished "healing" herself. The aura that swallowed her presence was at least a good sign, Delta had retained God Mode through it all. Thayne succeeded in a cheap shot. Congratulations, but Delta would succeed in the final shot... to Thayne's head.

Tendrils of dark matter shot from various places only to initially miss its intended target, they curved inward and chased after the female Atlantean as she neared closed to their source. From tendrils sprouted more tendrils, they zipped through the air with astounding speed. As fast as Delta wanted to be she wasn't, even in God Mode her power wasn't at that level. The dark matter latched onto her feet then climbed up to her legs until it consumed her entire body dragging her to the face of what was Thayne. The creature bellowed in victory while constricting its hold on the prey it had finally captured. Delta squirmed, but it wasn't any use. Even with the ability to cut through dark matter the sheer amount that surrounded her was too copious.

While Delta didn't feel the cracks that were forming she knew they were happening. Her rapid regeneration of self wasn't enough to stop the pressure that Thayne was forcing onto her. She would break apart piece by piece. Delta stared into the what she assumed was the eyes of Thayne, though frantic and wild with movement they still bore through her. All its focus solely on her and that was exactly what Delta wanted. If she allowed herself to be captured then Thayne would lose sight of the outside world. So much so he hadn't noticed Delta channeling each ounce of God Mode provided strength to reassembling and rebuilding crystal building she had tossed in this very direction. It hadn't taken much for Delta to lure him over here. The irrational and emotional parts of Chaos Mode dictated Thayne's mind, which made it easier for Delta to manipulate in order to achieve to her goal.

A refracted light notified Delta that she raised the building tall enough. It floated over them like a mythic pyramid, purely formed from the labor of Delta's abilities and ever bit as beautiful. Its crystal substance refracted the light that passed through it from the setting sun. Hues of various colors beamed down onto her illuminating the entire battlefield with colors that danced. All her concentration pooled into this act, so much that she could start to feel bits of her body returning to flesh the pain started to radiated. The large crystal structure finally hovered over the two warring Atlanteans. It would crush her too, however, it was a price worth paying. Dark matter enveloped Delta's entire being, making her succumb to its will.

The large crystal construct dropped, its appearance wasn't gone unnoticed for long but at that point it was too late. The creature formed of dark matter looked up as the was inches above it. Dark matters shot upwards to stop its descent but it had gained too much momentum and its weight bared down onto the dark matter until it gave way. Several tendrils of dark matter pierced through the crystal but never made it to the other side. They began stuck and on instinct were tugged on and that only resulted in the pyramid to fall faster until it landed on top of it.

Game over.
​

 

[Retro Bug]

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

December 21st, 2012

Or not.

Chunks of crystal exploded into the air from the vast pile that now occupied the arena in front of Hagia Sophia. An Atlantean stood up with another person in their arms. They took a step and another step until they reached ground. The clash of the titans was over. A winner had been announced. Phase four complete. Onto phase five...

Delta laid Thayne's bruised and bloodied body down on the floor. Her crystal form had faded, leaving her in her regular attire that had obtained several holes and covered with dust and dirt. She wiped her brow then proceeded to wipe it on her pants. Her breath was short, but Delta knew she was lucky to even be breathing. Delta stared at Thayne and watched as his chest rose and fell, he was still alive. Her hands reached into the contents of her jacket pocket and pulled out a knife.

It twirled between her hands reflecting the light with every twist. She placed its sharpest edge onto Thayne's throat. One slice, one movement of her hands that still were trembling and she would end his life. It was part of her plan. There was a risk involved in letting him live that went long passed the details of today. Delta applied pressure then felt a touch on her shoulder.

She looked over to see a head full of curls and smile that almost stopped Delta's heart. "Elpis," Delta scooped the little girl into her arms ignoring the pain that reacted to her action. It had felt like forever since Delta had heard Elpis roar with laughful as she was doing now.

When Delta set Elpis down, lowered herself to her level and asked, "What are you doing here?" Elpis pointed to the knife in Delta's hand and a serious look overcame her.

Had Elpis been watching her? Delta didn't spot the Librarian nearby, had Elpis come on her own? Or did the Librarian arrange this? The questions were endless but even if Delta asked them Elpis wasn't able to answer them. The language barrier still existed and it took longer than a couple months to go from the ancient language the Atlantean spoke to English.

Delta set the knife down on the ground but scouted a little closer to herself once she realized how close to Thayne she had set it. One could never be too careful in situations like these.

Elpis grabbed ahold of Delta's hand and smiled, her way of saying she had made the right choice.

Phase five failed and weirdly enough Delta was happy about that.
​

 

[revlis]

Istanbul, Turkey

December 21st, 2012

Raphael and Lucifer latched onto Michael's arms, each restraining their brother in mid-air as he struggled to free himself. Having seen Oakley fall in battle cut Michael deep as he saw the same thing happening to his daughter now as what had happened to his wife many years ago. All he wanted to do was to fly down to the battlefield, scoop Oakley up in his arms and take her far away from all the fighting.

"Let me go!" he roared as he pushed, pulled and kicked at his siblings.

"You can't do this, Michael," Raphael spoke calmly as the voice of reason, "none of us can interfere with this battle until it is over." Raphael looked over at Gabriel but the younger brother simply shrugged.

"She's my daughter!" Michael pleaded, his voice straining alongside his body.

Raphael scoffed, "Thayne and James are my kin too, and you don't see me running in to save either of them. If either of them are too weak to win this battle then they are no children of mine." He simply gripped Michael's arm harder almost to the brink of breaking it. "You've always been weak when it comes to your offspring, Michael."

"They're all I have after that bitch Raguel killed my wife!" Tears had started welling up at the corners of his eyes.

Lucifer rolled his eyes, "Brother please, she got her just desserts. Wasn't it your son that put the final bullet through her head?" He smiled at the demise of his older half-sister who had made him a target for her anger as much as she had Michael.

"Have more respect for the dead," Jegudial chimed in as he tried to ignore his younger brothers' spat with one another. "We all lost a sister the day she died. No matter how regrettable her actions were, she was still of our blood."

"Parental love is such a beautiful thing," Gabriel patronised, his attention still caught up in the ensuing fight below; he hadn't even bothered to take his eyes off the excitement. Once things had slowed down he turned to Michael, looking the Atlantean directly in his pleading eyes. "Oh fine, go ahead." Gabriel motioned for Raphael and Lucifer to let their brother go, "It's not like my poor niece is in any condition to fight anyway." He turned to Raphael, looking his brother in the eye with a smug look.

Michael thanked Gabriel before turning around to give his brothers an antagonising glare. In a matter of seconds he had begun descending to the earth below, moving gracefully between the fighting like some sort of wraith. When he arrived at the scene of Oakley's defeat, he immediately blasted away any Hybrid within the vicinity of Oakley's body. Picking up her slumped body he slung her over his shoulder and held her still with one hand, the other ready to fend off any stupid Hybrid that would have a go at him. As soon as he had descended, he began ascending, taking her away from the fray.

From above, Michael had trouble spotting the Galata Tower. As he descended over the famous Galata Bridge, the spiral tower-turned-restaurant loomed closer between two tall buildings. Spotting his younger sister seated at a window table he made his way down to the wall next to her, phasing himself and Oakley through and into the cool, empty restaurant. Michael smiled as he noted how Gabriel had seated her down at a two person table. Seating Oakley opposite Selephial, Michael lay a soft kiss on her forehead before moving away. His siblings may be able to get over the fact that he rescued his daughter but leaving the battle at this moment in time would directly defy the rules set millennia ago. Without another word he left the two unconscious Atlanteans to their own devices.

* * *

Wyatt, Daemon and Pyrrha were long gone by the time James and Nate and converged in the broken down church. Wyatt's screams of anger and pain had subsided once James had turned his attention to Nate having lain still on the ground, whimpering at the darkness that was now his vision. At first his body twitched in fear as Daemon placed a hand on Wyatt's shoulder, but once Daemon spoke Wyatt knew he was safe. A couple of moments later and Daemon had dragged Wyatt to where his sister was barely standing up against the door frame of the church..

"Guys," Wyatt whispered in a hoarse voice, "Can you walk?" He could feel a chill seeping up from the ground which worried him

Pyrrha spoke up for her brother and herself, "We're fine, a bit weak, but fine. You?" They both eyed the encroaching sheets of ice on the ground as they stopped to within a couple of inches of their feet.

Wyatt tightened his fist until his fingers began to feel like they were digging into his palm, "I can walk, but I can't see." His hand brushed against Daemon's neck as Wyatt tried to stand by himself. In that brief moment he inhaled a quick gasp as his vision seemed to flicker into action.

Hearing this Daemon reacted, holding Wyatt upright thinking he was about to fall. "Stay close, my friend." He told Wyatt.

"It's not that," Wyatt stopped, the gears whirring into action, "I thought I saw again. Let me try something..." He trailed off, moving his hand up Daemon's arm, over his shoulder and then grasping the back of Daemon's neck. Immediately the world he had thought he had lost burst into his vision. Casting his mind back, Wyatt remembered the similar way in which his father had tricked him into finding Oakley. Through physical contact Wyatt could see from Daemon's perspective, and while it wasn't quite the vision he had before, he would suffice.

Looking like a bunch of war victims, the three of them limped, shuffled and slowly made their way away from the church, across the Galata bridge, and over to an apartment complex opposite the Galata Tower. In one of the apartments looking across at the Tower, Daemon had left a scoped sniper rifle kit hidden in one of the bedrooms the previous night. As they made their way over, they faced little in the way of Turkish Zombies, their main plight being the arduous crawl up several flights of stairs.

* * *

Oakley's eyes flittered open, her vision slowly blurring into view. She couldn't see much around her, only a dim light gave her any kind of sight, but her concern was more for her mind than what was around her. And right now, she was confused. Where was she? How did she get here? And... what was her name? Who was she exactly? She knew something had happened before with two people and that she was hurt. Pretty badly, as she tried to raise herself up. She was sore all over and she barely had the strength to raise her arm, let alone get to her feet. She cringed, then sighed, lowering herself back down, looking at herself. The armour on her right arm -- somehow, she understood it was a part of her. It was cold, her fingers told her that as she weakly touched the smooth metal. She had no idea why she had armour though, or why she wasn't freaked out by it. Only she perhaps felt more comfortable with it. More safe. Like it was protecting her.

"I've been waiting for you," a hushed voice said to her, calling Oakley from the other side of the table in front of her. She lifted her head as best she could, the light catching on the other's face. She was older, much older than Oakley was. Her face was not familiar at all. "Your eyes are open, you must be awake."

"Who... who are you?" Oakley wheezed out. She knew how to speak, at least.

"Who am I? Who are you?"

* * *

Sitting on the floor of a derelict room, the trio of Syndicate Atlanteans rested after their treck across Istanbul and climb up the staircase. Breathing heavily, the three took a break to catch their breaths and be thankful that they had made it here alive, broken down, but alive. After their rest, Pyrrha was the first to rise, heading into the large wardrobe and retrieving the black case Daemon had stashed in the back of a drawer. Opening up the case on top of the bed, her ability kicked in and she thoughtlessly pieced the rifle together in several fluid motions.

Once she had it pieced back together, Pyrrha moved the rifle over to the window and aligned it with the tower opposite. Gripping the handles tightly, she heaved the slightly stuck window upwards and a cold breeze brushed over them. "Do you want me to shoot for you?" She asked Wyatt knowing full well that he could no longer see properly.

"No... thank you," he added, "I need to do this." Wyatt edged closer to the gun, using his hands to feel the area around him. Pyrrha and Daemon both tried to give him a hand but he waved them both away.

On their climb up the stairs, Wyatt had to break contact with Daemon so the both of them could crawl up. By the second or third floor, Wyatt began experimenting with his own vision and ability: if he could still use his ability through anothers eyes, then perhaps he could still use his own. By the seventh floor he had managed to partially activate his own Infra-Red vision and operate it at small intervals until it felt like his eyes were beginning to burn.

* * *

"I'm... not sure." Oakley breathed.

"We never truely understand who we are." The older lady stared whistfully out the window and Oakley followed her gaze. There was a city outside, but not much of one. Buildings had been torn apart and her mind told her she should expect cars or people, but instead she saw discord and disaster. "I've met you once. Don't you remember me?"

"No. I'm sorry. I don't remember."

"Why would you?" The lady turned back to Oakley. Her face was aged, but her eyes seemed young. "I've seen this fight a thousand times. A millions times. It plays in my dreams." Her eyes began to glisten. Was she sad? "It is my longest memory. I saw it before they tried to ascend. Before the waves washed us away. And now it will be the last thing I see." She turned back to window, and Oakley squinted at the view. There were two people, and glows of green and blue.

"Are you going somewhere?" Oakley asked. She slowly raised her arms, resting them on the table in front of her.

"Yes. I've always wanted to go. It's the only place I've never seen. It seems so scary to go alone."

"Did you... want me to go with you?" Oakley shook her head slowly.

"No." The lady replied. When she continued to stare, Oakley continued.

"I'm so lost. I don't know where I am. Or where to go." Oakley's eyes moved to her armoured arm. Why was this one metal and the other one wasn't? She understood it was unnatural, but she knew the metal was odd, but not unfriendly. "I don't even know my name."

"Even if I told you, would it mean anything?"

* * *

With rifle sitting comfortably up against his shoulder, Wyatt lowered his head to rest just above the gun. Unlike his assault rifle, the sniper rifle had an attached scope which Wyatt would definitely be using. Steadying his breathing until he had it under control, he opened his eyes up and activated his ability. Through the scope he could see two stationary heat signatures, both running too hot to be normal humans.

"Pyrrha, can you have a look and tell me what they look like?" Wyatt rolled over on the bed until he was lying on the soft lumpy pillows allowing Pyrrha to lie down and have a look through the scope.

After a few seconds she rolled off the bed, letting Wyatt role back and get settled with the rifle again. "Blonde girl on the left, old woman on the right."

"Thanks," Wyatt said without registering who was on the left; the old woman was the one he was after. The Blind Prophet had adamantly informed Wyatt that he was to be the one to take out the Oracle. Apparently her abilities of foresight were a detriment to the Syndicate and Wyatt had been hired as her assassin. "Wait, did the girl have a large arm?" Wyatt asked, his breath now losing it's rhythm and his heart beginning to race.

"Possibly, why?"

"Shit," He cursed loudly, trying to drown out the thumping in his chest. If that girl was in fact Oakley, then he was going to kill someone right in front of her. As much as he wanted to protect her from such a horror, this was going to be the only time they would have such a clear shot at the Oracle.

Taking his position and again nestling his head down, Wyatt concentrated on the right figure, the one Pyrrha had identified as the old woman. The Oracle. "I'm sorry, sis." Wyatt muttered under his breath over and over again like a miniature prayer.

* * *

"I guess not." Oakley breathed. She began to clench her hand, closing it into a fist and opening it. She watched the colour drained from her hand and reappear, the pink, fleshy colour mixing with her pale skin. Slowly, her strength was coming back to her. "I'm just not sure what to do."

"I have a gift for you." The woman said, turning away from the window to face Oakley. Her eyes were perhaps a grey, maybe blue. It was hard to tell. They certainly looked sad, but for what reason? Oakley wanted to ask, but instead she replied to the woman's statement.

"A gift? What for?"

"For being here. With me." She gave a small smile. "The only thing I have to give. Would you take my hand?" She held out one of her frail hands, trembling gently in the light. Oakley looked at it cautiously.

"What are you giving me?"

"Knowledge."

* * *

"I'm..." he let his breath out.

Wyatt's finger squeezed down on the trigger as the gun made a small 'pft' as it fired. His mouth began to mouth the word 'sorry' as he watched time seem to slow down in front of him. As he remained focussed on his target, Wyatt saw the heat signatures waver and move like they had swapped position: the one he had come to know as Oakley moving into the line of fire.. In that split second Wyatt realised what he had done.

"...sor- OAKLEY!" He screamed out once he saw the bullet connect.

"OAKLEY NO!" He screamed, Daemon and Pyrrha jumping up to restraing him.

* * *

Oakley looked at the hand for a moment longer, then weakly and slowly reached out with her left hand. She trembled, almost as much as the woman did, but when she touched hands, she felt warmth and stability. She gripped the hand and the woman smiled, placing her other hand on top of Oakley's. For a moment, all she felt was the trembling fingers of the woman, but then suddenly warmth, light and an unusual feeling flowed through her, from her hand to her heart. She looked down at her hand, then back up to the woman, who continued to smile though her glassy eyes finally gave way, a tear escaping down her face. The glowing died down and suddenly, images flashed past Oakley's eyes. The woman in front of her smiling with her eyes closed and another tear trailing down her face, then suddenly a bullet embedding into her skull and killing her instantly. The images disappeared and the woman was in front of her again, once more.

"Finally. Peace." She said, closing her eyes and letting go of Oakley's hands, another tear trailing down her face.

"Wait, wait just a moment." Oakley widened her eyes as the scene played again in front of her. There was a smash, a high pitched whistle and the woman's smile lit up as a silver bullet pierced the side of her head and sent blood splattering, splashing across Oakley's face as she jumped from the sounds. The bullet exited on the other side of her head, flying across the room and tinkling as it smashed through something else. The woman flopped in the seat, her body going limp as if she had quickly fallen asleep. Oakley stared at the woman and the scene in front. She felt adrenaline set in and her breathing rose, the armour tinkling up her left hand.

What world had she woken up into?

* * *

All the blood seemed to drain from his face as Wyatt became paralysed by what he had just done. He just couldn't believe that he had shot and killed his own sister. Still yelling and screaming, Wyatt gave up fighting the other two out of sheer exasperation while they dragged him away from the scene. As the remaining World Changers fought and transformed the landscape of the city, Daemon and Pyrrha dragged Wyatt into the back of their get away car. While Daemon restrained Wyatt in the back, Pyrrha jumped into the driver's seat and began flooring the car out of the city.

With tears streaming down his face, Wyatt could do nothing but watch the cityscape slowly dwindle behind them as they got out of Istanbul, heading further into the central Turkish region.


​