Academy 218 - IC (Act 6: Reverence and Inspirational Misery)

Jake, Gabriela & Jaska Valos.


Jake was certainly caught off guard by the feminine limbs wrapping around him. He jolted a bit, raising his arms... He calmed down after hearing who it was. His voice was so relieved, he was hoping that she was in one piece, "Arianna?! Thank god you're okay! I-I..." He whipped around and hugged her back. Feeling like he never wanted to let her go again. "... I just didn't know what happened to you." He was on the verge of tears. "But, I'm glad you weren't anywhere near there." Jake turned his eyes towards Jaska and Gabe, "It just was that bad, but we made it out alive." He squeezed a little tighter. For once, Jake didn't worry about whether or not she was real. Because this moment, these emotions, are real as they get. Jake was happy to be alive.

Because forcing back the Changeling Unit was a borderline Pyrrhic victory, mixed in with a lot of luck and convenient timing.

Their moment came to a close as Dacious spoke, Jake pulled away from Arianna gently, and took a step to turn around towards the podium. Jake honestly couldn't believe what he he's hearing. His jaw dropped, and he gave Dacious a surprised look. That surprise quickly turned to contempt, "...Asshole." Jake hissed underneath his breath at Dacious. Giving him a venomous glare that was second to only Gabe's. Unlike a few other people, who seemed to believe him, Jake knew that it was an offhand joke - But that only pissed him off even more. "People f*cking died down there... We watched it. That wasn't a trick - As much as I want it to be that way...." People were certainly pissed off. One kid weird looking kid was screaming his anger, like he believed Dacious. To that, Jake had to give Jackson a blank stare as he stormed out of the room. The other person having the more notably reaction was his sister; Gabe. Jake was tired of holding Gabe back. He's just... Tired of everything. Fortunately, Gabe calmed herself as Dacious announced that they're preparing a boat for them to leave on...

... Which Jake thinks is a barrel of bullsh*t served to them on a silver platter.

C'mon... Jake's head whipped around towards his comrades. They can't be serious, can they? Even Jaska was getting lured out of the shadows at the prospect of getting an easy exit. Jake trusted Dacious as well as he trusted the Changeling Unit. Before today, Dacious was at the very bottom of Jake's list of concerns, but now the guy gave Jake all the wrong feelings. Jake didn't know anything about him (Which he regrets, since he was spending so much time on his personal life) but that was going to change fast.

Abe's sarcasm broke him out of his reverie. Jake turned towards Abe, and reminded him of a few things. "... Sorry, things were just so overwhelmingly...." He tried to excuse him forgetting about Abe yet again. Still, Jake had to thank Abe for all of his help. "Thank you, Abe. For all it's worth. I don't think it would have went nearly as well without you." Jake's opinion of Abe had drastically changed, from arrogant asshole, to perhaps a redeemable guy. Only time would tell if these sentiments will stick, but, honestly, Jake could care less about his grudges against the people here anymore. "Three three of us appreciate it." Gabe and Jaska turned towards Abe, looking at him.

"Yeah... Thanks..." Gabe had to say it to him, except she didn't sound very pleased. Despite that, she was thankful for him coming to help. She was just angry at Dacious, and the state of events.

Jaska had decided to come out of the shadows when the talk of leaving the leaving the island came up. He felt a bit more comfortable, willing to come out of the shadows where he felt so safe. He found himself standing right next to Jake, looking up at him. Despite not being present, he heard everything that Arianna, Abe, and his siblings said. He felt that it was appropriate to thank Abe too, "Thanks." After all his mother told him to always be polite.

With that out of the way, Jake thought about the last thing Abe said: about leaving... Which reminded him of his previous issue: he wasn't sure about it. Arianna even shared such sentiments. But everyone was so giddy that they were going to jump on the first boat they see without a second thought. "Look guys..." Jake spoke to his group, trying to grab their attention, but spoke quiet enough not to alert security. He took one deep inhale, trying to get the mental fortitude to say what he was about to say. He knew that not everyone in here would agree with him - Hell, he was sure that they'd call him stupid, but he had to say what he had to. "... I don't think it's a good idea to rush onto the first convenient boat out of here." Jake said it concisely as he could. 

Surprisingly, Jaska was the first person to speak up, giving Jake the puppydog eyes, "Jake, you said that we will get off this island," He paused for a moment. Glancing were exchanged between him and Gabe. "I... don't want to be here anymore."

"I don't want be here anymore either-" Jake said, or tried to say, before getting cut off by Gabe.

"... Then what the hell are you advocating this time...?" Gabe had her arms crossed across her chest. Giving Jake an annoyed glare because of the crap she was saying. But she had to say she's a little curious about what he has to say.

Taking a deep breath in, Jake explained, "You guys need to think about it. We didn't kill those maniacs, they're still out there. Licking their wounds and getting ready for another attack. I mean, think for once. Wouldn't it be too easy for them to sink a boat after it goes out enough? All they have to do drop that big brute on the boat and we're screwed. Plus..." Jake paused as his gaze turned to Dacious and security. "... I just don't trust our principal."

Jake realized that he was being a pessimist. He wouldn't call himself that... He would call himself a realist.

"I'm not trying to be Mr. Negative right now, but I don't think things are good as they sound." Jake was dead serious right now. He cared about these people, the boys and girls he choose to surround himself with, and he hoped that they cared enough to listen. The last thing he wanted to hear was that they walked right into death.


Carmen 'Lily' Santo.


Jesse's response wasn't unexpected, but Lily didn't really know how to respond to him. She wasn't that good at being emotionally supportive, but damn, she could normally do better than she is right now. All she wanted to do was leave here. "Look Jess, I don't think any of us will ever forget that. No matter how hard we try." Her eyes drifted around. "But, if we stay here, it won't be the only time. That's why I'm leaving here," She paused, glancing at Jesse. The emotion that was welling up inside of her was hard to hide. Her face was contorted into a frown, and she felt tears coming on.

But it has to be this way. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay here. Not after that. After all I've been through, I'd rather take my chances going through it all again than ever seeing another member of those bastards." Lily took a few steps away from Jesse, walking towards the exit. Before she stopped, and looked over her shoulder at Jesse, turning slightly, "I'm going to check up on Merry before I get my things." After saying that, Lily didn't walk away. She just found it really hard to just walk away on that note. Jesse deserved more than that. "Just to let you know; you're a great guy, Jess. You and Merry made it worth staying here. It made me feel like I was normal, for once... But I guess it was only a taste..." God dammit, you're making it all too emotional. Lily was crying at this point. Everything here has gone wrong. Worst of all, she has to say goodbye to the only person here she didn't think was an arrogant asshole, or a superpowered psychopath.

Saying goodbye to a friend turned out to be the hardest thing.

Not wanting Jesse to see her like this, Lily started running, she ran through the cold fields of the school. Towards the hospital. She wanted to check up on Merry... Lily was certain that Merry was okay. All she did was exhaust herself a little bit. As far as Lily knows, Merry didn't take a single hit. God, she had hoped so. Lily stepped into the hospital, by then, she regained her composure and wiped her tears. Things in here were calmer than Lily expected. She expected a frantic rush of nurses and doctors attending to the wounded. Though, with the amount of time that has passed, they likely had attended to the wounded. In any case, finding Merry would be quite difficult without a bit of focus. Her ability to sense Meta-humans on a large scale was less than effective in a crowded building full of Meta-humans. With a bit of focus, Lily could pick apart from signature from another. She would need to be somewhere where she wouldn't be bumped into. She skittered into a corner, and focused hard, feeling like everyone here thinks that the weird girl. Lily knew what Merry's power-level was, she just needed to scan every one in the same range of Merry's to find her. What felt like what would be an eternity took only a few minutes of her time.

Gotcha'. Lily thought to herself. Locating Merry's exact location. With nothing else to do, she started walking. Slowly and steady. She didn't want to rush ahead and screw up something important. It wasn't long until she was there, though. She found herself slowing down a bit upon seeing some recognized faces in this hall's rooms. The people who got injured during the fight. While she was in a rush to find Merry... She couldn't help but slow down to silently give her gratitude. They all went down trying their best to survive, if they hadn't fought, many more people would have died. She wished could thank them in person, but there were more pressing concerns. Lily moved down the hallway, towards Merry.

Lily approached Merry's room to see her A-okay. Not a scratch on her like she remembered. She was so relieved to know that Merry is perfectly okay. Though, Lily didn't make herself immediately known. She needed some time to think. How to go about this... Aw, screw it. She's over thinking this a little bit. "Hey, Merry," Lily said, taking steps into the room going towards Merry, "How are you doing, Chica? Everything going well?" She didn't want to start the conversation off by just saying that she was leaving, but she had little option. "I just wanted to check up on you one last time before I... leave. I guess you're going to be doing the same? Everything here is so f*cked I can't even describe it..." Lily felt like she was talking too much, and went quiet, at least until Merry responded.


The Changeling Unit.

Spoiler:

After their humiliating failure in the tunnels, the entire Changeling Unit reassembled in the secret prison underneath the school. It was dark, until the flashes of light announced the presence of the Changeling unit.  

"God dammit!" Heartbreaker shouted at the top of her lungs, throwing her sniper onto the ground, and stepping on it. Her ears had a noticeable stream of dried blood, but her wounds had healed. "I hate it when we lose! Especially when it's to a bunch of stupid kids!"

"It's simple, they aren't as helpless as we hoped they be." Bloodsucker chimed in, with intention of stopping Heartbreaker's childish tantrum. "Besides, we slipped up a bit when their friends located us and sprung their friends." Bloodsucker admitted his mistake in focusing on Abe when the entire Unit should have hunkered together and withered away at the Golem. "You all must remember, however..." His body was steadily reverting back to his 'default' state. He still looked quite bored, "Our job isn't about these kids; it's to get what our employers want from Dacious, and punish him for breaking our contract." He stood straight up, putting a cigarette into his mouth, walking over to Primitive Light so she could light it with a flame. "He started this the second he stopped shipping kids to our boss..."

The Mannequin took steps closer towards Bloodsucker. "We are known. We no longer can work in the shadows like we've done before."

"That's just a reason for us to change the game, yes?" Bloodsucker responded, taking in another breath of smoke. "We no longer have any reason to use subtlety..."

"And what's our change of plan?" Heartbreaker inquired

"First we have to start by making sure that Dacious doesn't have a way to get him, or his mystery invention, off the island." Bloodsucker stroked his beard, before saying, "I also want a spy or two in the ranks of those kids... We'll need a close eye on them in case they try to pull any punches against us."

"We still have our allies within the school?" Count Vicious was the newest person to speak, noting that the Unit already has allies implanted within the school. His metallic shell fell off of his body, right before he spoke, and melded with the prison so seamlessly that it was barely noticeable. "They helped us before, they can help us now."

"Now that you say allies..." Bloodsucker started laughing, once he stopped, he spoke in a sinister manner, "I think we should go on a little recruitment run. I did say at the start of this mission I wanted to recruit some of these kids." He walked to the center of the room, "Because kids are cruel... And if they aren't already, we'll mold them into the perfect Changeling!"

"We'll give them a deal they just can't refuse!" Heartbreaker as she laughed.

"Now's that's true, isn' it!" Bloodsucker laughed loudly. Before he suddenly stopped and eyed three members of his team. He knew it was time to get down to business, "Flashbang, Berserker, Mannequin, with me! We have some business to attend to." Then the three members that Bloodsucker mentioned disappeared into a flash of light. Off to commit more crimes against humanity.

Lights...and voices...but not the sounds of people screaming and the sounds of struggles and battles. These voices were soft, hushed, professional. And the lights were harsh but not in a dangerous way. They seemed sterile. Merry slowly regained consciousness, her head swimming and her eyes not quite able to focus on what was in front of her. Merry let out a groan as her vision became focused on the ceiling above her. She frantically tried to figure out where she was. Merry couldn't remember falling asleep, so waking up was kinda messing with her. Merry groaned again, squeezing her eyes shut as painful memories returned to her. The kidnapping, the fear, the struggle underground. But after that Merry's mind went blank.

What had happened?

Merry's face contorted slightly, her entire body hurt. But at the same time her muscles felt oddly numb. She attempted to move her limbs, only to feel more aches and pains. And then she remembered, the euphoria of being supercharged, the sheer amount of power Merry had felt in the moment that Lily gave her more strength. But it had ended all too soon. Merry wasn't strong enough initially to keep up the stamina to control herself. She had fainted, she was too weak. Merry felt a sudden, and quick, feeling of embarrassment rise to her cheeks. She couldn't believe that she had been too weak to make a difference. Anyone could have stopped the little guys.

Man she really wished she had a video game in her hands and a comfy pair of pajamas on.

She couldn't even find enough energy to lift her head, but she could tell she was in a hospital of some sorts. Merry didn't have much time to her own thoughts, because a much more important voice reached her ears. Lily. Not only her roommate but her closest friend. Merry attempted to sit up, only managing to shuffle herself up a few inches higher on her pillow. Merry looked up at Lily with tired eyes, that were soon filling with tears.

“Lily!” Her voice was in its normal, excited, tone despite everything that had gone down. “Lily I am so glad to see you alive!” Merry took a moment to sniff deeply, feeling too tired to wipe the tears off her face. Merry was about to continue talking, when Lily mentioned leaving. “What? You're leaving?” Merry was about to question Lily's intent, but it was so clear to her. “I...I understand Lily.” She looked away. “I understand why you want to leave, heck I would leave too, but it's a shame to see you go.” Merry looked up at her friend and smiled. She was glad she meant enough to Lily to have her visit her before she left.

Carmen 'Lily' Santo.


Despite everything she's been through tonight, Merry's childlike innocence still brought Lily a smile. A shame this will be the last time they will be speaking to each other for - she guessed forever. "Same here." She said to Merry responding to the 'glad to see you alive' statement. Lily listened to the rest of what Merry had to say, until she threw in a comment of her own, "Yeah, they're preparing..." Lily abruptly stopped once she realized what Merry meant. She wants to stay here. After witnessing all that? "Wait, Chica - Are you seriously staying here? After all of that...?" Lily wondered if Merry had hit her head or something when she wasn't looking. Lily conceded, and sighed quietly, staring at the floor worryingly. "Look..." Lily raised her head, "I don't really understand your reason for staying here, but I wish you the best... Still, a boat's leaving in an hour. You should get on it."

Ending their meeting, Lily walked out of the room. Hoping for the best when it came to Merry's choice. She rushed off to go pack all of her things.


The Students.


Like the Headmaster promised, there was a large cruise ship prepped and ready, waiting for them at the end of the docks. It was one of the many boats used to ferry students on and off the island. The students had gathered all their things, hastily as they could, and weren't wasting time getting on that boat.

However, it would have been more preferable if they had taken their time. A noticeable flash of light appeared high above the boat and faded just as fast. A loud roar filled the ears of the students as something descended fast. It was the hulking berserker, dropped from high up by Flashbang to be used as a living bomb. She was flying downwards very fast. Many of the students ran out of the way, or tried to shield themselves.

Upon impact the boat went up into flames, shrapnel of the boat went flying in all directions and would have wounded the unprotected. The boat sunk into the bay of the island. Seemingly causing no damage to the Berserker.

A silhouette appeared from the flames of the boat, taking more and more steps closer to the students, knives were drawn, and he had an ear to ear grin.

Bloodsucker yet again.

"Hm... Leaving so soon?" His voice ominously roared louder than the raging flames. "Toooooo bad. The game has just started, and we will choose the rules..." Bloodsucker stepped out of the flames, his body was well illuminated by the flames. He turned halfway and pointed an open palm at the burning wreckage at docks.

The Mannequin and Flashbang were playing their part in Bloodsucker's plan to seclude the island. They were inside of the docks quickly planting explosives. By the time that Bloodsucker began his speech, they were done, and teleported away. The large warehouse where the boats in and out of the island - cruise ships included - exploded in a glorious display of flames. The shock wave vibrated the island, and knocked everyone right on their asses. Bloodsucker was unphased by the display, keeping his pose, until he spoke again...

".... You all must play the game. Our game. Have a good night's rest, kids. Because this may continue entirely at our choosing!"

Bloodsucker and the Berserker disappeared in a flash of light before they could be caught. It obviously meant this isn't the last they've seen of the Changeling Unit.

What was really the problem here was that they were trapped on this island. There were no means of air transport, and every boat on the island was destroyed. Trapped. With all hopes of an easy exit ruined... The students had no choice but turn back to the school that has forsaken them.

Dacious watched the scene from his office, he stared at the burning wreckage of a boat in the darkness. Holding a phone up to his ear. Speaking to a mystery person, "... We have to accelerate progress on Project Re-genesis. Use as many students as you need."





4:31 Pm


It has been a week since the abduction of students, and the battle with the Changeling Unit. Exactly what happened in the tunnel network is the talk of the school. Rumors and other stories were slung around left and right - Between the students, the teachers, and the staff, essentially everyone who weren't there. However, those who seen it, know exactly what happened. Every last detail of it. School has been changing quite a bit since the school is effectively isolated from the rest of the world. People have been getting jumpy, more aware of their surroundings, paranoid of the Changeling Unit. It has been recommended that nobody goes anywhere alone.

At the suggestion of Adam Blackmore, a funeral is to be held for those who fell deceased facing the Changeling Unit.

It will be held at the Garden.


Jake Vin Valos.

Spoiler:

_____________

Hello, I am Jake Vin Valos, son, lover, and many other things I will omit for the sake of brevity. Seventeen days ago, I came to this island with my twin-sister Gabe, and younger brother Jaska. Because Gabe was becoming more trouble than she was worth with her anger getting the best of her, and Jaska has a problem that we were hoping this school would be better equipped to handle. Me? I was sent here with them because I was the best at holding them back when their 'problems' got the best of them. Seems simple, right? I came to this island looking at the positives: the island was beautiful, the people were great, the women were better, and I honestly thought I might like it here.

I wish I could go back and punch my past self in the face for thinking that.

I mean, I met some great people here. Arianna, Ene... But the more I remained here, the more I realized this place is like prison. You got sh*tty security, super-powered psychopaths, rapists, and ego-strokers who will take their first chance to use you to prove themselves a bad ass... You can understand why those don't mesh that well. Especially when you're a scrawny teen that just wants to bide his time. And that's just talking about the students!

Almost a week ago, Jaska, Gabe, and many of the students, including my friends, were kidnapped by the Changeling Unit, a conglomerate of the worst of the worst. They were honestly some of the most vicious, vile, evil, people (If they could even be called that!) I have ever laid eyes upon. How causally cruel they are... I honestly can't keep them out of my head. Everywhere I look, I see flashes of them, like they're stalking me, always watching me. Maybe it's because I'm not supposed to forget about it... I veered off point quite drastically, yes. I gathered a team to head down into where they were being held, the Tunnel Network. My girlfriend Arianna, Abraham Gene, Jesse Sutur, Claire Sparks, and we were even joined by Jasmine Cheng. Together, we were able to give everyone else a chance to escape, and a fierce battle ensued. One that was basically a pyrrhic victory, but it could have been worse. Many of us made it out alive. What's really bugging me here is that I think our Headmaster is acting so causal about what happened. Like he isn't concerned about us. I think he really does have something to do with this.

I honestly want nothing more than to get off this damn island. Get Gabe, get Jaska, get Ene, get Arianna... Leave this island and we'll all be sailing into the sunset drinking fine wine.

So this is my dairy journal I made to log my life. So, even if I die, even if Dacious tries to cover things up, I will make sure my story gets told... By hoping THIS book survives this ordeal of fire.

_____________

Jake closed the book on his journal. He took a good hard look at his surroundings. He was at the Plaza, the so called center of the school with a fountain, sitting on one of the benches as people went about their day. Either preparing for the funerals, or just not giving a f*ck about it. Jake looked at himself. He was criticizing other people for not being prepared, and here he is! He was wearing a simple jacket, with a t-shirt under it and some cargo pants, he was wearing no hat today. It's as causal as it gets. It's time that he gets prepared, he doesn't want to be late for this funeral.

The book was carefully put in his armpit as he began his causal stroll. The day looked so somber. Like underneath this facade of peace and calmness was something ugly. That's how he saw the school now. A faded image of what it was, or what it could be. Academy 218 was nothing more than a miserable pile of secrets. What Jake had written in his journal was as truthful as it gets about this school. It was the ugly truth, but it was better than the best dressed lie. Still, bad as this place is; long as Jake never saw the Changeling Unit again, he would be just peachy - Oh god, no, not again.

It was the delusions that were plaguing him more and more lately. They've come back to him. To give him another show. The sky went blood red, and everything appeared as a shadow of itself. Jake was on top of someone... who was a familiar silhouette that kept changing body types to people he was very familiar with. He forcibly wrapped his hands around the person's neck, choking the life out of them. Very violently. Jake bashed their head against the concrete - Until, well, whoever was dead. Three silhouettes watched him, he recognized the shapes. Bloodsucker, Heartbreaker, and the Mannequin. And they were all laughing at him as he did the act. Not the mocking kind of laughter, the kind of chummy laughter that's shared between friends. Before Jake started joining them. Except he started laughing like a psychopath, looking at his blood covered hand, and the person he just 'murdered'. No matter how hard he wished to stop, he kept going on and on with it.

Quickly as it started it was over. The illusion disappeared, and he was no longer trapped in his mind. The reality hit him hard that he was on all fours, in public, gesturing like he's strangling someone, laughing like a madman to top it all off. The implication that he recreated the exact motions that he did in his vision. Embarrassment, among other emotions, swept over him. Jake awkwardly rose to his feet, looking like a deer in headlights. He wasted no time in leaving. Going... Anywhere. Anywhere that wasn't there.

I'm so f*cked up.


Gabriela Mya Valos.

Spoiler:

"Oh Gabriela..." Gabe gave herself a dry stare in the mirror, wearing nothing but her underwear. She even removed her eye-patch, showing her the eye socket she's long burned closed. "... What are you doing to yourself?" The center of her attention today was the new scars that have been added to her body. From getting attacked by a panicked Jaska, to Bloodsucker's blades getting ran through her arm. All burned shut and hideous as ever. She ran the tips of her fingers down all of them gently - They still stung like hell if she pushed down on them with the right amount of pressure. She continued staring at herself in the mirror, before her gaze turned to her right. A bottle of Rum. Oh the joys of underaged alcohol.  She snatched it as she turned towards the exit of the bathroom.

Things were quite lonely in this room since Ariella was bifurcated.  After Ariella died, her belongings were cleared out from the room rather fast, and just like that, the room was just about empty. Like no one was here. Gabe would have appreciated the privacy. Gabe could walk around in the buff, and drink all the alcohol she wants, but still it felt like there was something missing here.

Ariella's former bed was where Gabe had rested her dress for the funeral. It was a black and very conservative dress with sleeves, unlike the other dresses she owns for clubbing. Went down to her shins, and didn't show too much cleavage. Neatly stacked top of that were long black gloves (To cover her burnt hands), black high-heel shoes, and a black hat with a funeral veil. Along with assorted pieces of jewelry such as ear rings. Gabe took a moment to stare at her new outfit before she started to put on her outfit piece by piece. Starting with the dress itself. By the time she was finished putting on her dress, she returned to the bathroom to brush her hair.

There was a knocking on the door which warranted to a curious look.

"Gabe? It's Jake, you there? Can we talk?"


Jake & Gabe Valos.

Spoiler:

Huh? Gabe knew Jake's sudden arrival was certainly strange. Both of them were supposed to get ready for this funeral then meet at the plaza. Not at Gabe's room. Something must be wrong here. Gabe didn't a waste a second of her time going over to the door and opening it slightly to get a look at Jake. He's not even close to being bloody ready! What is the meaning of this? "Yeah?"

Jake looked a bit nervous, scratching the back of his neck. "... I've..." He dragged out this word, "... Had those visions again..."

"... The one where you find me and start talkin' in cliches?" Gabe snarks, showing a lack of interest in Jake's 'problem'.

He gave Gabe a narrow glare, "C'mon, this one was different."

"Well, we'll talk 'bout it in my room, but don't take too long, you need to get ready too." Gabe took a step back, opening the door wide enough for Jake to step through. Immediately shutting it once he stepped through. Gabe retreated back into the bathroom to finish combing her hair in the mirror. While Jake sat on the edge of Ariella's bed. "What was so different about this hallucination of your?" Gabe blankly says, combing her hair.

This was where Jake felt a bit nervous. Ever since the fight against the Changeling Unit was when his delusions changed to downright murder fantasies. The problem was that he never told anyone about them, and would have been content with keeping it a secret. "It... Was about me killing someone." Jake told it as it was.

Gabe almost dropped her comb. "What?" Her head turned towards Jake giving him the most venomous glare she could.

"It... hard to describe. I... choked someone to death, while the Changelings looked on, like they were congratulating me...." Jake slurred the last word "Felt as real as anything else."

This was easily something that Gabe didn't have a lot of experience in: being empathetic. She means... She could knock in the skulls of anyone on this island, but fell short when it came to the feelings of herself and other people. "Look Jake, only three Valos ever took a life," Gabe starts off, as she walked over to the bed that was opposite to Jake. Firmly planting her behind onto the bed, looking up at Jake. Before she gave some examples, "Father, Johnny..."

The twins exchanged glances before they spoke at the same time.

"... Jaska."

Gabe closed her eyes like something pained her. Opening her eyes to comfort Jake, "... We don't need to add another murderer to that list. You know?"

"I understand..." Jake affirmed, but that wasn't all of what he had to add, "... But, throughout my life I've courted both boys and girls. Hoping that everything we do together is real." He trailed off yet again, "This is the one thing I'm hoping isn't. That it's just nothing. But, in this life, you never get what you want." He smiled at the end of his statement.

"Look, we'll get over this, I promise." Gabe said in the most comforting tone she could. "Let's just... bide our time. I'll go get Jaska ready, and you'll go to get your suit on. We'll meet at the Plaza, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

The twins went their separate ways yet again.


Carmen 'Lily' Santo.


Like everyone else was, Lily was getting herself ready for the funeral, staring at the mirror in her bathroom. Which she promised she'd attend.

There were a few minor problems with getting ready. Well for starters she didn't have a dress! And she didn't have a lot of clothes for funerals either. That sucked, but fortunately Lily could improvise well. She had her outfit set up for her. A black button-up blouse with sleeves, a black long skirt, gloves to cover up her hands, and dress shoes. Carmen had everything she needed. It didn't take her too long for her to get all dressed up. With her entire outfit looking quite good on her.

Lily strolled out of the bathroom all dressed up. She felt good, for once ever since the battle with the Changeling Unit. Still there's that cloud of fear looming over her. The school was not safe anymore, and the fact that they're trapped here didn't help anything. Despite the fact that everything was all clear, Lily knew that the Changeling Unit wasn't the only thing she had to fear. She stayed on her toes, looking over her shoulder constantly. Praying that this will end soon, that she'll be anywhere but here.

But in the the end it was all just the calm before the storm.

"Hey Chica," Lily flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling for a few moments before turning her head towards Merry. "Are you ready for this funeral...?" She asked, trying to start a conversation, only to realize she wasn't saying what she meant. "You know, forget that; are you really comfortable going to this funeral? I mean it feels... Odd going to it when..." She paused for a second, realizing that she sounds like she doesn't know what she's talking about. "... When you've watch the deceased die like that, you know? Just... Doesn't feel right."


Drake & Adam Blackmore.

Spoiler:

"... Patient has a severely damaged shoulder. One large wound that has gone straight through soft-tissue, muscle and bone... He's not going to be using that arm like he used to. He's also has many broken ribs, and suffered damage to his back, neck and minor damage to his spine. On top of that, he has suffered severe blood loss. If you hadn't got him in when you did, we would have been measuring him for a body bag-"

"Ugh!" Drake loudly shouted, he felt like he was forcibly awoken. Another flash to that night, eh? He would scratch the back of his neck but with his back in the state it's in, he wasn't sure if he could reach it. Drake relaxed his head back down on the pillow. His upper body was covered in bandages and casts, and he was told it would be years before he can stand up straight again, and then he was told that he wouldn't be walking right for the rest of his life. Perfect. Drake let out a sigh and slumped his head onto the pillow. Went down fighting for his life, and he was so close to being dead. That was something he had to contemplate.

All he could do for the last week was feel pain, and think. It was the thing that's killing him.

Someone entered the room, which caused Drake's vision to peer towards the entrance. It was obviously Adam. Well dressed in a matching black suit, shoes, and a black coat thrown over it because of the cold. He was likely going to a funeral... Drake heard of such an event going down, and he would .

Adam stood by the door, his hands were folded behind his back, "How are you doing today, Drake?"

Drake's eyes wandered down towards his injuries, snarking, "... Is that a trick question?"

"No." Adam sharply replied.

"Well... Sh*t, it feels like every bone in my body is broken, and I had nothing to do but wait until I can walk again. And..." Drake was about to say something but cut himself off. "Nothing."

"What is it? If you have something to say..." Adam pressed onto the subject.

"Look, Dad..." Drake admitted, finally realizing that there would. "I made a f*cking mistake back there by starting that damned party, and people got killed because of it! I feel like sh*t...." Underneath it all, Drake blamed himself for the Changeling Unit grabbing so many people. It was that stupid party he started made it too easy for them to hunt down the students, and he just wasn't strong enough to defend the students, and stop those four people from dying while he was down there. "... I wasn't strong enough to stop them from getting hurt either."

Adam paused for a moment, dropping his hands to his sides. Trying to think of what he has to say next. "I understand that." He stated blankly in a matter of fact tone. "But, you have to move on, you can't keep mulling about what happened. What you need to do is realize that you are growing up. That all things you do have consequences. And that you aren't as powerful as you think you are."

"Yeah..." Drake agreed, with all of it. Maybe he isn't as strong as he believed himself to be. The reason why he's in this predicament is a testament of that.

"Now that this has been settled; I am heading to the funeral now. I have requested that a healer, Elisha Vaughn, to come help your wounds...." Adam took a step out the door, and turned his head towards Drake, "I hope to see you there."

Drake rested his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.


Dexter 'Rush' Chertok and...

Spoiler:

"... Booting up: LQ-84i. Run-mode: Test. " Rush spoke in his cold and mechanical tone. He was knelt down in the Ruins, the very place where boys and girls feared to tread. Rush didn't have anything to fear. Science will protect him. Carry him to his goals. It always has, and he has no desire to let it stop anytime soon. He was examining the machine that he had tirelessly worked on since the first fight with the Changeling: The Eye that he stole during the blackout. He needed it in tip top condition. This was easily the most challenging device he has ever worked on. It was weaved with nano-machines, like the rest of the Eyes. Something that Rush couldn't normally work with. However, with time, Rush has converted it into a platform that he could use. Upgraded it with weapons, a superior operating system, and an AI... The AI part needs a bit of testing.

Upon activation the Eye floated up, and faced Rush. His master came him a command, "Repeat code name. Operators. Orders..." Rush grabbed his chin and looked at the Eye dramatically, "... And purpose."

A light or two flashed inside the Eye, before it spoke "Designated code-name: TEACHER. My operators are: Dexter Chertok (Rush), Ray Drager, and Mina Cheong. My orders are to obey the operators orders. And my purpose is to serve the operators."

"And..." Rush said, "Not sole purpose."

"Scanning memory banks..." TEACHER spoke, "Requested information not found."

"... More work must be done. Will make changes. And run more tests. Yes..." Rush slanted his head, feeling annoyed that he hasn't perfected TEACHER yet. "TEACHER: Return to home base-" Rush was cut off by the scampering sound of something approaching from around the corner.

Rush didn't know what it was, nor was he going to take any chances. To his right was a weapon, very similar to a shotgun in design. It had one large tube-like barrel, big enough to fit a grown man's fist. On the opposite end had a device that could only be described as a spring. He had lazily engraved 'THE CATAPULT' on the side with a blade. He grabbed onto it, and put one of his circular grenades down the barrel, and pointed it at the corner.

Only to watch a dog walk around the corner and give him the sad eyes. Rush raised an eyebrow at his intruder. He didn't know what breed it was... It was big and somewhat like a Great Dane, likely a mixed breed. What was strange was that a dog was just wandering around the island. He didn't have time to be playing around with dogs. "Shoo! Shoo! Work to do! You're... In the way." Rush loudly shouted at the dog, trying to make noise with his weapon to scare the dog off. The dog looked at him like he was crazy. "Disgusting creature! Shoo!"  

What the dog did next surprised him.

"... Is that any way you'd talk to your real teacher?" The dog spoke, looking at Rush, taking steps towards him very ominously. The voice was quite familiar with Rush. He knew exactly what it was once it's shape started to change. The dog's skin turned into a liquid-metal like substance. Forming a brand new shape. A brand new person. Megan Jervious. Wearing a red dress shirt, and a tan skirt that went down to her ankles. She had her glasses on as always. She tilted her glasses and looked at Rush with a dead serious look, "Deary, we have to talk."

Rush slid his goggles off his eyes, onto his forehead, asking, "... How did you find me here?"

"Oh..." Megan looked to the side with a cheery grin on her face, "I might have stalked you here, and I might have been watching you for hours on end without you even knowing about it!" She paused for a moment to get Rush's reaction... Which was a skeptical glare directed at her through his goggles. "... Might... Key word... But that's not important!"

Rush didn't take his hand off his weapon for a second. Megan was certainly acting odd today... Well, she acted off every day, but today was different. He had no choice but to probe for information. "Continue."

"Well, you know that things are changing well. Oh! Things went from normal to absolute catastrophe in the span of a day! New record!" Megan laughed as if it was nothing. Her change to a more serious demeanor was abrupt as it was strange, "I have noted that you have stopped communicating with the school as you should. Locking yourself away? Scared? Grief-ridden? You haven't been seen with that companion of yours...."

Ray. Now that was a grey-area for Megan. Rush sharply replies, "Do not mention Drager." Balling his free hand into a fist, and clenching the CATAPULT even tighter.

"Oh? Did I hit a sore area?" Megan says very teasingly, she took a step closer to Rush, before continuing, "You know, Chertok... You can't hide from your problems, your emotions, eventually they'll all catch up to you and start eating away until you're a hollow wreck." Playfully poking him in the chest as she spoke. "So, it'd best to face your problems, instead of locking yourself away with your little inventions," Megan's eye peered towards TEACHER, "No matter how hard you try, they will never have souls, and will always be a jumbled mess of zeroes and ones."

She has a point... Rush had to admit. He hasn't really spoken to anyone ever since that incident. He was dodging every opportunity to talk to someone in favor of work on his inventions. "Very well." Rush concedes. But quickly snaps back with a, "Is this all? Much work. Needs to be done."

"Ooooooh well, I was just coming in to check up on my super secret agent. The one who will overthrow all the tyrants in the lands! The one who I contacted more than two weeks ago!" Megan threw a few blatant hints in the direction of Rush of her intentions.

"You're..." Rush was quick to catch on.

"... The Man in the Mirror? The person who helped you get started, and has been working in the shadows to help you ever since...?" Megan laughed, "Then yes, I am in fact."

"How... Why...?"

"How? I'm a shapeshifter deary, no one can truly track me, and I contacted you using a few secret terminals that would never be connected to me. Why... Well, I know a few things... Things that people wouldn't take kindly to once they got out. I couldn't have done it myself because it was sooo obvious that I would be behind it..."

"Why choose me?" Rush had to ask.

Megan gave him a stare like he's a complete idiot. "... Because you are one of the greatest technopaths I've ever seen, and one of the more intelligent students I've seen!" She started laughing after giving Rush her praises. "But, all of this isn't the point. Despite all the... outside intrusion, I do expect you to continue with my mission. You were doing so well..."

"Megan," Rush had a blank face, he looked at his feet without moving his head. Despite that robotic exterior of his, he was clearly a bit nervous. "Priorities changed. Dacious no longer possess highest threat threshold. Now shifted to Changeling Unit."

"Look sweetie, I'm going to give it to you straight; the Changeling Unit definitely aren't the only threat here and you know it. The real threat is in the heart of this school. Dacious, he's just as ruthless as the Changeling Unit. I'm not entirely sure of what he's planning, but it's not going to be good. Not for you. Not for any of us. And right now, you're the only person who's truly capable of stopping him. The other students might be strong, but they lack that special skill you have. Intelligence. Tact. Skill. And the determination to get it all done." Megan gave Rush her speech. Every word was voicing wisdom and opening up windows into Megan. There was a brief silence before Megan continued, "... And you have to remember that we're trapped on this island. Removing Dacious would be as beneficial as removing the Changeling Unit."

"Acceptable points. Have to admit." Rush said... Megan was right, Dacious could be as big of a threat as the Changeling Unit, and, fortunately, Rush could take him out of the picture before he becomes a problem. "Campaign against Dacious will be continued."

"Alright then, I must be off before someone notices I've been gone!" Megan turned around and started shape-shifting back into a dog. After her change was complete, her head whipped around and turned to Rush. "You know, if you tell anyone we had this conversation; I'll have to break your legs!" Megan spoke with the usual amount of nonchalance and glee she usually does. "See you later, darling! Make sure to come to the funeral." Before causally strolling out of the room.

What a strange woman. Rush had to say to himself. She was strange, but she was definitely helpful. A useful ally, albeit sociopathic, that seemingly had the students at heart... Seemingly was the key word. In either case, she did have a point; locking himself out from the world to deal with his grief over what happened to Ray won't solve anything. He would solve nothing by doing that. Rush packed up his things and left for school campus.

To find Mina, Eric, anyone.


Sage Lucas Pimm.


The winter winds snapped Sage Pimm back into reality.

Sage was standing on the various walkways in between the buildings of the schools. All dressed up for the funeral that they had no choice but to attend. Usually Sage wore gender neutral clothes for such an occasion, but today Sage wore something a bit more feminine for the funeral. Sage wore a black frilly dress, a black sunhat, and black dress shoes. Black was not a color that they were seen wearing often. But today was a special day, and they won't have to wear it for long.

They had heard about what happened in the tunnels... Not a accurate description of it, but they had enough information. It might have sounded selfish, but Sage was happy to not be apart of it. They're one of the most selfless and kind people in the entire school, but fighting for their life... Is something that they would do anything to avoid. Sage shuddered at the thought of even bloodshed.

The funeral won't start for a little while and Sage needed to bide a little bit of their time. Sage found a bench and sat down on it, sitting modestly with their hands on their lap. The massive Garden was in view, so it wouldn't be a long walk there once the actual funeral starts. Sage pulled out a flute, and began playing it. Playing a somber, yet beautiful song. Sage played two instruments, the flute and the harp, and while Sage played the harp way better, the flute was easier to carry around.

Abraham Gene

Crazy ass bullshit, this is. In so many ways. Abe looked dead center at the mirror mounted upon the wall and over his dresser, getting ready for the big night. As a kid from a wealthy family, he had a suit. It was practically expected of him, and not having a nice one would put you on the level of the low-middle class; or you would at least be seen prancing around like one. His jacket was well-fitted, and black and pin-striped, with matching dress pants and shiny leather shoes. That was told to him as the distinction between a successful businessmen and a maître d' - the pinstripes. Abe always found it pretty stupid. But he did seem refined, regardless of his thoughts, but his lack of experience in suits had shone through as he struggled to properly align his bow-tie. A pair of dainty hands came up from behind Abe and draped over his shoulders, brushing away Abe's mitts from the delicate bow and expertly adjusted it to fit his color. Abe turned around, to see the smiling girl in the cocktail dress he had invited over to his dorm. Her bronze Latino skin was nigh unblemished, and her black hair fashioned into side ponytail.

"What did you do that for? I had it." Abraham objected, his voice indignant. The woman appeared unconvinced.

"The funeral will be starting soon, mamom, can't leave you here jerking around with your tie all night."

"Whatever you just called me better be a compliment." Abe muttered under his breath as he checked his tie and his suit. He turned around a couple times before loosening the collar. "Man, I hate funerals."

"You don't intend to pay your respects?" The woman asked inquisitively. She layed her hands upon her hips, her brows furrowed, and cherry red lips curled inward. To this, Abraham turned around and slacked his head to the side and stared at her with the blankest stare he could muster.

"My respects were paid when I tried to save their lives, and I don't wanna revisit that. I've been to enough funerals in my life."

"Oh?" She inquired. "And how many would that be?"

Abe jumped on that question instantly. "One. And that was enough."

The woman fell silent and looked away, crossing her arms. Her hard look was in-between judgmental and sympathetic. Her lips opened for a couple moments, as though to look for the proper words to say. "So what do you plan to do now?" She asked.

Abraham walked over to his desk and zipped open a backpack. It was full of thins such as medicines, blankets, bandages and some tools in one part, blankets in another as well as other, smaller toys. They appeared rather infantile in Abe's hands, notably a very tiny teddy bear that would fit in the palm of his hand. "Well..." he started, thinking about that question carefully between packing. "I'm gonna pick up squirt... go see how Drake is handling... and after that I'll probably be at the viewing."

"Better add to that cleaning this room," she said as she kicked an empty Pepsi can on the ground, "the place is a mess."

"Uh, no, Sandy." Abe retorted back to her as he effortlessly picked up the bulging backpack and set it on his shoulders. "That ain't no job for a man."

She shot him an entirely unimpressed glance as Abe walked along the ground and made a beeline straight towards the door. She swiftly, howe'er with unmatched subtlety, sweeped a high-heeled foot out in front and across the bottom of his legs and catching his own feet. Abraham's vision was abruptly turned from normal and forward, to falling into the door. The wooden door, as thin as it was, broke and splintered beneath Abe's weight and inertia, and his head was sticking out into the hallway with wooden splinters and shards littering the ground everywhere. The door pulled off of its hinges and was stuck around Abe's body. He groaned, and touched his face with his hand. The bottom left side of his face stung like hell, and was warm and stuck. Below the cheek and right next to the chin. "Ugh..." He groaned, trying to pick himself up from the mess. "What... what? What the fuck was that for you crazy bitch?"

Sandy's face appeared quite proud, and she shrugged as she adjusted her dress. Abe rolled over on his back to see her smug expression for himself. He said, "you better plan on fixing this God damn door!"

Her face went from proud and smug, to a look of innocence and naivety. "Who? Me? Uh, no, Abe. That ain't no job for a woman." Abe narrowed his eyes at her in confusion before she stepped across his chest and down the hallway, her figure swaying side to side. "Chupame la polla, cabron. I'm breaking up with you."

Abe looked incredulous as his eyes chased her down the hall. "What?" He cried out from the rubble. "You mean again?"

A couple minutes had passed since then, and Abe got out from the pile of wooden shards and crawling out of the hole he had made in the door, which was around him. Though he was still picking out small pieces of debris from his good clothes and trying his best to break the snags that had occurred on them, trying his best to hide them. He went back in his room and glanced at the mirror. What the fuck. A huge piece of the shards of wood was shallowly embedded in his face, and it stuck out prominently. He swore. Taking a deep breath and touched the massive splinter. His face lightly stung. Damn. Alright, countdown. Three... two... one...

Abe grabbed the piece of wood and ripped it straight out of his face, with a rush of blood following it. He shouted aloud, "FUCK!", the swear carrying its way along the halls. His hand shot towards the side of his face, plugging the wound and covering his hand in his blood in doing so. God damn it. He can fight the freaking Changelings without a scratch, but of course, that whore is the one that makes him bleed all over his room. Slowly, his skin turned to stone. His hand, as well as the side of his face. It was just for a brief moment though. In little time, his face returned to normal, and he slowly removed his hand from the side of his face. Not a scratch. Damn, I'm getting better at this. There was, however, the very faintest clue of a scar. It was no big deal, it wasn't noticeable. Thank God or whoever that he doesn't scar easy. Besides. It looked like an old one, and he participated in the arena, so who would suspect otherwise?

Damn bitch.

How many times was that? He could have swore he already broke up with that girl half a dozen times already, and how many more times is this gonna happen? He had to admit, he felt she was a little crazy sometimes - like seriously, what could have have possible said wrong this time? - but she was fiiiine. But was serious getting tiring. It had to stop. That's it. No more Sandy. That was the last straw. He took a deep breath and looked back at the mirror; from his face and to his bow-tie.

Well, it was time to go. Abe walked out the door once more, looking both ways into the hallway. Of course, there was a couple of looks in his direction. They were probably wondering why the door looked like it was attacked by a wood-chipper, and probably some unease. Of course. The Changelings. This was nothing compared to that night. The night where they all fought. The night where so many died. Those to whom this funeral was for. It was also the night he was supposed to leave. But that boat... they planned it all along. Of course, it seemed too good to be true. He was fortunate to get out of there in time. Some kid yelled some noise - it was enough to give a second of warning. Drake was too busy in the hospital, and Ari was being held back by Jake. Speaking of Jake, that asswad was acting pretty weird lately. Probably the fight that broke out. Not everyone is equipped to handle that.

He turned a corner and looked around. Right. Left. No, definitely right. That's right. Abraham went right. But as if everything that has happened that day wasn't enough, Abe was still punished for his "reckless behavior", dubbed so for going in himself instead of getting help. In which the time it would take to get one of them, more people would have died or been tortured. So he was sent some place where he could help. The infirmary, namely. He was given the duty of looking after and taking care of one of the patients. Like a chaperon, so to speak. The patient turned out be a miss Merry Bennet. A regular girl. Really tiny for her age. She was one of the ones that was incapacitated during the kidnapping, and ran the risk of post-traumatic stress and severe anxiety attacks, though the cause of injury was unknown. Either nobody knew why, or nobody volunteered information. He was stuck with her all week. She was really freaking shy, but damn, if she doesn't warm up to someone quick. And a really freaking weird power. He could have sworn he felt himself light headed or floating and falling on more than one occasion... and heights. She seemed to like heights. The amounts of piggy backs on his shoulders he gave, and wasn't allowed by the school to refuse... God, he hated babysitting, but it was starting to be a regular thing. He was getting used to it. And she weighed as much as a feather most of the time. Even when she wasn't used her power.

Now where was the door... here. Right. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door rhythmically. He announced himself. "Alright Bennet, I'm here. I got to stop by somewhere real quick before we join the viewing, let's make it fast."

He honestly hope it wasn't her roommate that answered the door. Swear, there's been an entire handful of times he got the lecture from this... what, "Lily" chick? An entire handful of times he got the lecture from her about keeping Merry safe, and to not try anything funny, and how she has her eye on him, or how if he tries anything she'll "dale el a madre"... her and Sands should go on a date or something.

---

Jesse Sutor

Jess has only ever been to one funeral in his life, and man, it was pretty weird. It was his grandmother's, so he wasn't completely apathetic toward the whole situation. He did love his grandmother after all, even as little as he actually knew her. But the rest of his dad's side of the family? Barely a thing. And if you ever seen a room full of sad Italians, you'd want to butterscotch hard candy and evacuate in the nearest isolated room. So many strangers hugging each other, and each stranger hugging you at least a good four times, he had a flu by the time the whole funeral was over. And honestly, as good with people as he was, he wasn't quite sure how to comfort distant family members over the death of the queen bee herself. The fact that the family was entirely religious made it that much stranger to him. All the prayers he had to make was pretty alienating.

But still. Jesse was there when all these people died. He could have had the chance to save them, even. He felt obligated to, even though he never actually knew them in person. Rumor says even the headmaster's daughter Amimoore perished... sure, they weren't friends. But he never wanted Ami to die. God, what a horrible way to go.

He looked at his dorm's mirror. He didn't have very many dress clothes, but he was glad he brought was he did. A grey button-up, black dress pants, and his belt would have to do. And his cheap dress shoes, they were pretty uncomfortable. He had to pull his hair back into a ponytail too, right? Ugh. He hated that. I won't have to hug very many people again, right? I really don't want to get sick again. He looked around his room for a brief moment and grabbed a hair tie, and rolled it onto his wrist. He'll put it on later, before he gets to the viewing. He sure hopes they won't be doing the viewing with open caskets. Some of them were bisected, and that would be really disgusting. Was that insensitive? Oh, no, no... it'd be insensitive to use open caskets. They were dead for God's sake, and mutilate for that matter. There isn't any need to disgrace them by showing everyone their humiliating state. There are so many better ways to go.

The week was entirely stressful on everyone. Jesse realized they wouldn't be getting off this island soon. And there were psychopaths here. So he spent the week learning as much as he could from the apparitions. Still, there was no progress on their identity. They didn't self-identify, neither as individual beings or even as a race. Not like how humans do, in any case. They found most labels... redundant, to put it as best he could. Rather, the psychic or psionic "aura" having its own trademark "code". Is emanated from people's minds and most living things. These weren't the exact words, of course, since English or even human language didn't have the words to describe it. "They" don't even have much of language. They communicated via telepathy and, rather than expressing words, they "implanted" ideas. Ideas and concepts. And they understood one another that way. But they themselves were still as much a mystery to him as they were the first week. But his connection with them was, at least, improving. There was clearer communication. A larger understanding of capabilities. He didn't have the psychic powers of, say, Amimoore, for instance. But these apparitions... they acted as his psychic power. But even that doesn't make sense to him. He'd have to think more about this later.

How was Lily and Merry doing? Apparently Merry had Abe watching over her since she was hospitalized, and Lily seemed to take thins pretty hard. Sure, she seemed a lot better since then, but still supposed she still felt a little... disturbed. Who could blame her?

Jesse snatched his phone and wallet and placed them in his pockets before stepping out the door and into the hallway. He'd take a brief walk before joining the viewing. Maybe he can meet up with Lily and Merry there. Anyways, where was Valery? His roommate. Jesse wasn't sure if he was feeling okay since everything that had happened. He was in a team with Abraham and Drake, right? Those two were there and Valery wasn't. He hasn't said much, but one can only imagine what he must have felt. Or what he is feeling, if that is the case.

---

Damon Viscous

Damon turned himself all around through his office, spinning about in several circles, stretching all the fabrics before stopping. It's been a while since he dressed in formal attire. The swarm hated it - restriction. Restrictive clothing. Christ, it took so much energy to try to contain them. They were just itching to get at his clothes. To burrow and dig holes through the fabric to allow easy passing as they did. They'd want to move freely. While he did have complete control over them, there was one priority programmed their hellish little brains that made it hard to assert his will upon certain things: for the good of the hive. Ugh. Demon-spawn. He wanted to keep his clothes nice. Just this once. He had a nice black suit with matching pants, no pinstripes, a mustard shirt underneath, and a black tie that went down his chest. Perfectly symmetrical - God knows that is not going to last forever, so he wanted to make it count this one time. For the children. He wasn't able to help protect them, he was stuck in the damn terminal room. He loosened the collar around his neck for a brief moment. He looked back at the mirror. Just a few of ugly holes were littered over his neck. Disgusting, gruesome looking. Even Damon cringed looking at them. He opened a drawer and grabbed a black bandanna with white print, much like his white one - in fact, the difference just seemed to be an inverted color. He wrapped it around his neck, hiding all of the gruesome, fleshy holes.

He was a trypophobe's greatest nightmare.

Still. Before he makes an appearance at the viewing, there is an important phone call he has to make. Picking up his cell phone from off the desk, he hit a speed dial button and pressed the phone against his cheek and listened to the dialing. Ever since that night, everything was weird. Dacious was more peculiar than ever. His own daughter perished and he tries to pass it all off as a test with a smile? Ge prepares boats and they're all destroyed by the Changeling Unit. Sure, it seemed like a Changeling ambush, but something was really off about it. Dacious was already against students leaving the island, and if anything, that attack seemed like nothing more than an...

"Hello Megan." Damon said as the receiver answered the phone. "I need to ask, is there any progress on... oh? Good, yes. Good. Does Chertok understand what needs to be... good. That's good to hear."

Damon turned around to face his computer, taking a sip from the cold coffee coffee mug that was sitting next to it out of pure habit. He felt his insides jitter as he did so.

"Put those machinations Chertok is making to good use, those Eyes are useful. It'd be nice to have a mobile camera down in those ruins. Big man's the priority, of course, but those Changeling bastards are dangerous too. We can't have them lurking about and threatening the children either. Yes, I know, I'm trying to get it done, but I have my neck being breathed on. Yes. Yes... look, I know that. I'm trying as fast and steady as I can, but--"

Damon rolled his eyes and spun in a circle.

"Okay. I understand, Megan. But do you know what my job is? I have to take the stick that ever-so-firmly wedged up Dacious' ass, sniff it, and tell him that his shit doesn't stink. Even I have private security watching me, and the only thing that makes this call possible are those diuretics I slipped into their lunch."

He pinched bridge of his nose.

"Now's not the time to be flirting-- no, stop that-- ugh. God smite the man that made my last name 'sticky'... listen, I promise. It will get done. I'll have more progress the next time you see me, and who knows, maybe we'll be ready. Okay. Okay. Sure, I hear you. And hey, listen Megan. Be careful out there, okay? What? No! Don't patronize me. Just-- just be careful."

Click!

God damn, what a juvenile woman. I hope she turns out okay.

In any case, he ought to leave now. He stepped out of his office and locked the door behind him. The halls were a little crowded. A lot of the students wanted to pay their respects and, perhaps, probably felt more comfortable with the rest of the herd. Really, truly, he pitied these students. They were trapped on a strange island with numerous terrible accidents happening, who wouldn't be afraid? There were a couple fighters, sure, but in the end they were all just children. Their powers were just a second puberty. Damon remembered what that was like. He was a little more obvious than other metahumans, so he got the brunt of the prejudice. He had to admit, he still felt a little disdain for the outside world for what they have done to him, and what they had led him to. But now he was here, and he had something to protect. That alone should be worth powering through life.

He followed the current of students toward the viewing, where numerous caskets were presented in the garden. Snow fell ever so lightly, like powder. He stuck his hands in his pockets to keep them from getting cold. He stepped near the front, looking at all the caskets presented in front of him. To think there were so many lives ended so short. For what purpose? The Changelings were ruthless, and him and a few others suspected that Dacious was the root of it. Why? Why would he do such a thing? What could be so important? Would Dacious dare show his face tonight, or would he rightfully hide away in shame? All he could really do was impatiently wait until then. He couldn't help but wonder how many other teachers were aware or were at least suspicious of Dacious and his activities. Or the school in general. There were, perhaps, some of the students. Chertok was proof of that. He sincerely wished no more students would have to get hurt because of a bunch of stupid adults and their stupid decision making. They weren't apart of this.

He again felt his inside writhe slightly. They didn't like the cold.

Despite her outward appearance, Merry quite liked dressing up. It felt good to pamper herself once in awhile to wear makeup and a dress. Over the years she had gotten pretty good at applying her own makeup, but she still had to ask for Lily's help when it came to putting on eyeliner. Merry was too scared of poking herself in the eye and making a mess of her face. Eyeliner could be a b*tch to get off, especially if Merry was to start crying or something. Merry looked over to her roommate as she flopped over onto the bed. Man, Merry was glad to be out of the infirmary. It had taken her awhile to ger used to moving around again, as well as use her powers. And for whatever reason, Merry often felt this horrible dread that she just couldn't shake off. But it seemed to go away whenever she was around other people.

Speaking of being around other people, Merry had also been assigned a student to help her get back into the swing of things. Merry was going to reject the offer, when she found out who would be watching over her. Abraham Gene. Merry would be lying if she said she wasn't both intimidated and amazed by him. He was pretty famous throughout the school as being strong both inside the arena and out. Merry practically idolized his strength. She always made the cautious effort to stand a little bit taller and feel a little tougher with him around. He seemed to keep both anxiety and any potential bullies at bay.

Allen wrote:

"Hey Chica," Lily flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling for a few moments before turning her head towards Merry. "Are you ready for this funeral...?"

“I...I'm almost dressed!” Merry called out from the bathroom, a clear struggle in her voice. Merry was getting dressed for the funeral, a long black dress that almost seemed too large for her. It didn't do much for her figure, seeing how she was practically swimming in the black fabric, but it almost made her seem smaller and cuter, much to her disliking. Merry struggled with the zipper for a moment, until giving up, exiting the bathroom, and asking Lily for some help.

Allen wrote:

"You know, forget that; are you really comfortable going to this funeral? I mean it feels... Odd going to it when..." She paused for a second, realizing that she sounds like she doesn't know what she's talking about. "... When you've watch the deceased die like that, you know? Just... Doesn't feel right."

Merry frowned, turning her head to see her roommate. Once her dress was secure she turned to face her. “I...I don't really know what to feel about it. I've been to funerals before, when I was very little for relatives I barely could remember. This just feels different.” Merry crossed her arms infront of her stomach, looking away. “Like...these were our classmates. They were young? And with the island on lock down, are their parents even aware of what is going on? Do our parents even know what is going on?”

Her near panic induced rant quickly came to an end by a knock on the door and a familiar voice.

Husbando wrote:

"Alright Bennet, I'm here. I got to stop by somewhere real quick before we join the viewing, let's make it fast."

“Oh!” Merry exclaimed, not expecting Abe to be at the door. “I'm coming!” She called out, moving quickly to leave, excited to hang out with Abe for a little bit before the viewing. With her hand on the doorknob she turned back to Lily, a concerned look on her face. “You can...you can come too Lily!” Merry knew that Lily wasn't all that close to Abe. “Or we can call Jesse!” Merry slowly opened the door. “I promise I'll sit with you during the funeral! And we can play video games together later if you want!” And with that Merry opened the door the rest of the way, looking up at her escort of sorts. He had to be at least two feet taller then her.

“Ready to go Mr. Abe!”

Carmen 'Lily' Santo.

Dragonbud wrote:

“I...I don't really know what to feel about it. I've been to funerals before, when I was very little for relatives I barely could remember. This just feels different.” Merry crossed her arms infront of her stomach, looking away. “Like...these were our classmates. They were young? And with the island on lock down, are their parents even aware of what is going on? Do our parents even know what is going on?”

"I..." This was a question that not even Lily considered. Did the outside world know what the hell is going on? Was help going to come anytime soon? There was the feeling that nothing's coming and the students were to fend for themselves for now on. "... Can't tell you that to tell you the truth. I get the feeling that we're all on our own for here on in." Lily sighed quietly underneath her breath. She closed her eyes and faced the ceiling for a little while longer. She felt like she was being pessimistic here. "But I'm sure, you, me, and Jess can make it out of this hellhole alive." Lily said in the most convincing tone she could. Deep down she was fearful, and unsure of whether or not all of them were going to survive this.

Her thought train was interrupted when someone knocked on the door, she got up from her lying position and took a sitting position. Introducing himself as Abe... It was quite obvious that Lily didn't trust him. She knew that he was doing this for self-gain, and once he gets what he wants, he'll leave her sad. Lily tried to tell Merry that, but she was getting too attached to the guy too fast. Either way, Lily would stick with Merry no matter what potentially terrible decision she made.

Lily did nothing but finish adjusting her outfit as Merry and Abe chatted. When Merry offhandedly suggested that Lily comes with them. An offer that Lily would have to refuse, since she wants to head straight to the viewing to go find Jesse. "Nah..." Lily said, "I'm going to go straight there to meet with Jesse," Lily then walked by both Abe and Merry, looking at her friend, saying to her, "See you there."


The Funeral.

Spoiler:

Since the school lacked a cemetery, or a church (Since any deceased students were sent back to their parents) they had to improvise. The garden was the best place to bury the deceased students. It was beautiful, and had many places to bury the fallen.

The funeral was being held in the center of the Garden. The specific area was a circle clearing carved into the land, basically a hole, that had stairs leading into it. The were walls that surrounded the clearing that had pathways around, lined with iron railings. Making it obvious that this area was for viewing the contents of the clearing. Today both the clearing, and the walkways, that overlook them were littered with wooden chairs for the mourning to attend. Hopefully to give everyone a place to sit. So students could either sit on the walkway, or sit in the clearing and get a front row seat to the viewing. This clearing was full of flowers of many different species, it was a very colorful sight.

Inside the clearing they had everything set up. A makeshift wooden podium with a lectern on. Six caskets were placed side by side behind the Podium two rows of three. In order, they belonged to. Amimoore, Felina, Bre, Ariella, Trace, Thorn. They were closed caskets, what happened to them when they died was beyond inhuman.

The area quickly filled with mourning students.


Adam Leo Blackmore.


The first to take the Podium was Adam Blackmore. He stepped onto the podium causally, and tried to maintain a professional demeanor. Under it all he was remorseful about it as anyone else. He cleared his throat, and spoke, starting off the eulogies,

"I invite you to honour the memories of these six fallen students. Breanna Wallace, Thorn Caraway, Ariella D’Angelo, Travis Clay, Felina and Amimoore Dellamorte." Adam paused for a moment as everyone expressed surprise at the revelation of Amimoore's death. "I never had the pleasure of personally getting to know the deceased, but I can say they've lived satisfying lives even though they were cut short. They dedicated their lives to something worthwhile. Their education, athleticism, the school, or other people. All of their deaths were a great tragedy to befall this school, and all of our lives. A light has gone out without so much as a flicker, and all we have left is a memory. A memory that will not be forgotten."

Adam nodded his head. "I invite the few that were close to them; give their eulogies as well." He walked off the stage and sat down onto his seat.

As more people took the stand to tell good things about their fallen friends.


Jake, Gabe & Jaska Valos.


Jake was at the funeral first. He opted out of sitting down. Instead he was leaning on the railing on the area that overlooked the podium, with his elbows on the railing and his behind out. He rolled his eyes, wondering where the hell Gabe and Jaska were. When he's been ready and dressed up. He dressed formally as he usually does. He wore an all black pinstriped suit with a black tie, black dress shoes and, black leather gloves. For once, he didn't wear a hat, he choose to show his smooth slicked back hair. All top of the line, all expensive. Jake was fiddling with his pocket watch, while people were telling their eulogies, until he heard two people walking up to him. He stood up and turned his body towards them, knowing who they are.

Gabe, she was holding onto Jaska's clawed hand (Who was looking quite somber). Gabe was wearing the outfit she set up for herself. Jaska was wearing a fancy pinstriped suit (With red stripes) and a red tie. The suit was notable because it had holes for his wings specially tailored. He wasn't wearing any shoes, since razor-sharp claws shoes don't mesh that well. He looked quite cute in his outfit despite how he really felt on the inside.

The first thing Gabe did was apologize, "Sorry, I had to find him." Gabe and Jaska traded looks, with Gabe appearing more annoyed and Jaska feeling more sorry. "Then get him dressed up."

"It's fine." Jake quickly replied. He returned to his previous position of leaning up onto the railing, with Gabriela doing the same thing next to him. Quietly paying their respects.

"Felina?" Jaska heard the name of the cat-lady he met over a week ago. He hasn't heard from her since they've met. And he's also certain that she was killed. "Does that mean...?" He says worried.

Personally neither Jake nor Gabe knew of Felina's death, as they didn't know her. As likely as it was that she was a victim of the Changeling Unit, it's best that Jaska doesn't know about it. Since these caskets are closed. Jake was the first one to speak, "C'mon, don't think like that, Jask," He put a hand on his brother's shoulder, trying to reassure him, "It's likely not your Felina."

"Okay..." Jaska wasn't convinced, "I hope."


Carmen 'Lily' Santo.


Lily made her way through the crowds of people as soon as she arrived. She was already looking for Jesse, but there were way too many signatures here to pick him out from the crowd. She stopped to shrug. Her eyes work just fine, and Jesse was definitely a sight she'd recognize. It wasn't too long before she found Jesse. She wasted no time in commencing interactions with him. "Hey, Jess, nice to see you here." She tried to force a smile, but in such a gloomy setting, she just couldn't. So Lily listened to the eulogy of Adam, until a particular point got her interest. "Amimoore?" Lily hadn't heard from the girl since Amimoore's little blackmail plot two weeks ago. Jesse set her straight... But is she really dead? Where the hell is her father then? "I know what she tried to pull on me, but...." Lily looked Jesse straight in his eyes. "I'm not cold enough to say she deserved to die for that."


Megan Emma Jervious.


"Excellent!" Megan said into a phone that was long hung up. Damon was quite the charmer. Intelligence, funny, has a strange power - but Megan's power is just as strange. He was the perfect partner for her, since Adam and Leon don't believe what she's telling them... Tis' a shame, but they'll see the light soon enough. Either way it was time to head to that funeral. Megan had already turned back into a human being, dressed up bright and cheery like she does every day... When she needed to be dressed up for a sad occasion. She started walking, but as she walked, her clothes changed. Clothes turned to tendrils, and tendrils rose straight up, before coming right back down. Forming a brand new outfit. A black dress, high-heeled boots, and a hat with a veil. Megan was ready. She made her way into the funeral crowds, and stood there. Searching for Damon, Rush, or another person of interest.

Fortunately Dacious didn't appear to be here.

Valery Arsov

A few minutes after Drake's father left, Valery hurriedly (and Valery had seriously hurried maybe three times before in his life) slipped inside and eased the door shut, listening to see if anyone was there.

"Whew. Not to throw you under the bus, but I'd rather none of the accom..accompl...I'd rather nobody involved with the party be talking with your dad, eh?" Valery, with the casual rudeness friends have, pulled up a chair without asking if Drake wanted to rest or anything silly like that. He propped his feet up on the bed where Drake's feet weren't, then very pointedly turned his head away from Drake and removed his eyepatch. A faint silver light scanned one part of the wall, then another, and then Val slipped the patch back on, turning back to face Drake.

"...have to be sure, now, after all that happened." Val flashed a forced smile at Drake and looked him once over, his smile fading away. "Put you through the grinder, eh? I...I am sorry about that." Val hesitated for a moment. "I..." He paused, a look of conflict-no, something that Drake likely hadn't seen on his face up until that point-remorse-flashing across his face. "Sorry. Figured the least I could do was come keep you company for a while-" Keep you company, make sure I'm actually there to help if another fight goes down....same thing, really... "Assuming you want it, that is." Val glanced at the air conditioner, which had dropped several degrees since he entered. Grunting with annoyance, he got up and flipped it to auto-regulate, then sat back down. In theory, it would even out and stay at room temperature, but if Val stayed anywhere long enough, it usually wound up getting pretty chilly. Val was normally a social butterfly, navigating the waters of teenage interaction with ease, but he was drawing a severe blank now-even around a good friend. It was...the school wasn't...he'd been here for years and something like this had never happened.

It felt really, really wrong.

"You okay?" Val asked lamely, trying to pry deeper than the obviously-not-okay exterior of Drake, but not quite knowing how. Val closed his eye and rubbed his forehead for a moment. With the greyed hair and a shadow across his face, he looked far, far older than he was.

Arianna Madrigal

Arianna was looking through the clothes she had brought for funeral attire-this doesn't convey the difficulty of finding a singular set of clothes out of the great multitude she had brought. This was akin to saying "Columbus was looking in the ocean for the path to India" or "I was looking through Nickelback's discography for that one good song of theirs".

She hadn't planned on going to a funeral. Who the hell would've?

The fact of the matter was that no matter how many coats she put on, she felt naked. All her perfumes smelled like smoke-because when you blow up an entire fucking boat, you can smell it across campus. And her dreams? Christ, those were even worse. All dark tunnels. She would run and run for help and never get out.

She was down there forever. Her dreams would be days and days upon end, even when she knew it was all on her head. Singing and playing had lost its normal charm, too-the Symphony was too mournful for her to really put her heart into playing anything helpful.

No...no, part of that's not true. She didn't feel naked all the time. She felt totally clothed when she was in her suit. Arianna had taken into it almost religiously, fixing it up and tinkering with the practice suit. There had been plenty of free time since the terrorist attacks, and Arianna had been working her ass off. A very real fear of dying is an excellent motivator, and Arianna had progressed exponentially. Every time her arms began to tremble with fatigue, every time the plastic katana (that felt like an extension of herself by this point) began to slip from her fingers, she'd see Jake eviscerated because she was too slow, or Ene being torn to shreds, or any of her other classmates.

Somehow, her arms felt a little stronger after that.

Arianna realized somewhat vaguely she'd been staring at the clothes rack in her closet (which was sagging under the weight) for about ten minutes straight now, and broke herself from her trance. She decided on something simple, wearing a black coat over the darkest color dress she had. Arianna didn't think it was truly appropriate for a funeral, but it was better than nothing. She slipped her feet into black shoes and then tucked a roll of piano wire into the small handbag she had with her.

Arianna didn't seriously think she could stop one of the Changelings with it, but the weight was comforting, and it was better than nothing. Beyond that, it felt...poetic. The same way a sword that whistled as she struck the target felt right. Put a lumberjack in an arsenal and he goes for the axes. A sniper, to the rifles. Arianna, to whatever is beautiful to listen to. It unnerved her how that worked-more and more, the Symphony seemed to sound like rhythms of gunfire, brass-knuckle punches, screams, in perfect, ungodly harmony...

The cold slapped at her she left the building, but it wasn't really bothering her. She hunched her arms across her chest and made her way to the funeral, walking with a group of people she didn't know and didn't need to know. There was strength in numbers. I hope nothing happens at this funeral.

When she arrived, she scanned the crowd for someone she knew-which essentially meant Jake. Arianna wasn't the codependent time, but she, along with everyone else on the campus, was undergoing some pretty serious trauma. The previous strains of their relationship were entirely forgotten in the wake of outside fears: she realized holding a taken-too-far prank and his illusionist nature against him was beyond foolish-if Jake was a monster, he'd be with the Changelings. Simple as that. When things had gotten bad, Jake had rushed into the fray to help people. Bad guys don't do that.

...right?

Jackson

Is this what my life is going to be now? Funerals and constant fear of death?" Jackson stood in the thick of the crowd wearing a black longsleeved collared shirt with tan pants (it was the nicest thing he owned)he looked on as eulogys were told and tears were shed. He no longer wore his disguise of normalcy he decided it wasted to much energy and left him drained,and if he was going to be stuck in this place than he'd need all the energy he could get. When they blew up the ships Jackson considered a few different options swim away was one of the first he realized of course that even if he could make it past the Changling unit there was no guarantee he would survive the frigid waters or in any case find and land.The island was isolated in somewhere far away he'd die of frostbite before he made a mile. Another option was suicide this was one Jackson spent many hours considering he was so terribly sick and tired of his life. His family was dead or incarcerated,he had no friends and he was sick and tired of everyone dying all this horrible horrible death and pain and fear. But it was that reason that he didn't want to off him self he didn't want to be another tombstone in the garden,another terrible reminder that this place was a slaughterhouse and he was just another pig.He made a decision in the end he would become stronger,better and a force to be reckoned with that way if this ever did happen again he would be ready to fight,to win,to stop all these senseless deaths. In his right hand he held three lillies they were for Niza. She was one of the few that had actually seemed to genuinely care about him and he would miss her.

Ene
-

Ene fought tears as she joined in the thick of he crowd at the funeral. She wore a black dress with a silver belt, where leggings, and her brown boots. She wore a black jacket over it all, keeping her frail body warm. She scanned the crowds of people, noticing a few familiar faces. She didnt care about most of them right now, however.

Her mind swam with thoughts full of mixed emotions- all of which were negative. Among the dead was Niza. The one person Ene had actually hung out with the majority of the time was dead. She had died in the exact same room she was in. What if she could have saved her?

The thought made Ene wince, her stomach twisting into knots from anxiety and sadness. Sure, she may not have trusted Niza completely... But the girl ha helped her in a strange way. She had spent so much time with her that she had slowly forgotten about the pain from her mom's death. Now it was as if she were reliving that pain, only worse. She now had two deaths Ene believed she was responsible for. Two people she could have helped that had died. Two people she had come to care for... Gone.

Her eyes began to sting and her shoulders tensed up as tears began to uncontrollably roll down her cheeks, leaving an icy trail. She wished she could forget at times- even erase everything and restart al her memories. Of course, that wasn't possible. She could only regret it all.

-
Kynan and Jaylin
-

The two wore black slacks and dress shirts- Kynan in dark red, Jaylin navy blue. Their grim expressions matched each other's as they walked, steps in sync. Len had refused to come- they didn't blame him, of course. He had been trying to act stronger since Bre's death, along with being more sociable, but this was something that they both believed he wouldn't have been able to take. He never had been one for being a pessimist in front of his brothers.

The twins winced in unison as they listened to the names called off. Bre and Amimoore were the two names that stood out to them, but they also were sorrowed by the deaths of the others, of course, as anyone would be.

The two dodged passing people as they walked through the crowd, trying to find someone to speak with. While Len secluded himself to deal with his mourning, the two find it better to converse in such hard times. Of course, they noticed Jaska. Most animal metas seemed to stick out in crowds, and so noticing him helped the twins brighten a little, seeing him as a friend.

"Hey," Jaylin sadly smiled as he approached Jaska and his siblings. "Glad to see you're alright."

Jaylin's attitude had changed, as well- he had become less rowdy and more wary of others. When he approached, there wasn't the same excitement in his voice as there had once been. While the two could read thoughts and overall shared most of their emotions because of the phenomenon, they didn't know psychology and so seeing his brother in such a state in such a way worried Kynan to no end- he was hoping it was just a way of dealing with the previous catastrophic events- a grieving period- but he wasn't sure entirely, and if it was... How long would it last?

Kynan smiled at Jaska, Jake, and Gabe, nodding in acknowledgement.

Jake, Gabe & Jaska.

Spoiler:

The funeral wasn't the place where the Valos were expecting any interactions. They were going to pay their respects, leave, and go on with their lives. But since they're such social butterflies, conversations came to them. Kynan and Jaylin had approached them, and Jake spotted Arianna in the crowd. Jake raised his hand in the air and waved to try to get Arianna's attention. "Hey, Ari, over here!" He tried to yell over the crowd, loud enough that it might catch Arianna's attention, but quiet enough not to disrupt anything.

For once Jaska didn't notice Kynan and Jaylin approaching. He wasn't paying attention, and a large and densely packed crowd like this would hinder his enhanced senses. In truth, Jaska was caught up in his own thoughts, that he barely paid attention to the outside world anymore. The moment he was addressed, he turned to the twins. Definitely not in his usual cheery upbeat demeanor that he usually has on. "Oh hey guys..." He felt awkward talking to them now. Like these were strangers instead of his two best friends. He was honestly unsure of whether or not they survived - Since he hasn't seen much of them ever since the fight, and he was fearing. Thankfully their names didn't pop up when Adam was announcing the fallen. "You... Too." He didn't. "Have you two been doing... alright? I mean it's gotten very scary." That was just glossing over how hard it's gotten to simply fall asleep.

Gabe reacted to them with a bit of apathy. At this point Gabe could care less about the fact that the twins could probe into her mind, or that they're alright. That was something for Jaska to concern himself over, not her. The only thing that they'd get out of her head was, well, the obvious. Other than briefly turning her head to them to acknowledge their presence, Gabe ignored Kynan and Jaylin and continued leaning on the railing. Instead she turned to Jake, the person whom she really felt close to here.

((Assuming Arianna comes over - If not, then fuuuuck))

Jake stood straight up, trying to force a smile... Honestly he couldn't even hope to smile right now. So, his expression remained neutral. "Nice to see you here..." He scratched the back of his neck. He kept eye contact with Arianna at all times. He was wondering how she felt about things. But he didn't want to talk about it right off the bat. Wouldn't make a good conversation. "Heh, I'm not too good at funeral talk, eh?" He managed to crack a smile at that. "How are you holding up after all of that? Cause' if you need anything, I'm still here."


Drake Deltori Blackmore.


Adam left and Val came in. Perhaps Drake will finally have someone to talk to, as not a damn soul came to visit him except for Adam (Do they even know I'm in here?). Drake almost smiled. Almost. Ugh. So many things keeping him from enjoying life as he usually did - Drinking, womanizing, kicking ass in the arena, it all seemed so pointless now. Look at him now, top dog feeling as if it's all worthless. Drake was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't really pay too much attention to what Val was actually saying. Only catching the end when Val asked if he was alright. Damn that phrase is starting to piss me off. He snarls underneath his breathe. "... Is that a trick question?" Drake snarks yet again. He let out a deep sigh of exasperation, as he tried to raise his head the highest he could, to go a clear look at Val. "If not, I'll give it to you straight; I feel like sh*t." Raising his head even slightly was hard, so he dropped it on the pillow. "I hate to b*tch, but I've been confined to this damn room for a week straight, I wanna smoke, I'm in pain, I got my ass handed to me by those bastards, and no one visited me. Oh, and I have this enormous ass hole in my shoulder. Wanna take a look?" Drake jokingly unraveled a bit of his bandages.

Abraham Gene

Ah, great. Merry was the one that reached the door first this time. Blessed he be! The girl yanked open the door and met him with her usual wide-eyed face and gleaming grin and addressing him with the usual "Mr. Abe". He responded in the usual way, saying "hey there squirt", a nickname he had adopted for her. Which was suitable, given Merry's height and stature. Her roommate, Lily, followed the squirt out and made some passing comment about how she will see Merry "there" - "there" presumably being the viewing at the funeral service - and Lily ignored Abraham entirely! There might just be a lord!

"Alright-y then." Abe chimed, trying to fake a positive attitude. "We're gonna drop by the infirmary a real quicky before we set off for el funeral. My ol' buddy Drake hasn't been feeling too hot... funny! The guy was always talking 'bout his flaming dragons."

He had to admit, the thought of the team's little phoenix not feeling so hot sounded like a joke. And he had to throw in the Spanish bit. Honestly, he has about had it up to here with Spaniards and Latinos and whatnot. Back to Drake, Abe felt a little bad about not visiting, but it wasn't even allowed half the time. A guy getting impaled? That is some E.R. shit right there, and all ought to be grateful to be allowed to visit a guy as sick as him. The other half, he was pretty busy what with watching over the little Merry Bennett. Did she know Drake, or knew about him? He and Drake were on the same team after all, and Drake was admittedly a little better at handling people. He was flashy. Valery was a much more passive fighter, but he was somewhat of a bear and was as tall as even he. Val could probably fight a lot more personally if he bothered to, but he had such a laid back and relaxed personality, he doubted that'd ever happen. Drake and Abe though, they were at the center of the whole Changeling business. That'd do something for publicity alright. If Val were there, those assholes wouldn't have had a chance in hell! Unfortunately that wasn't the case.

The walk wasn't that long. And the infirmary was a place he became pretty familiar with, since he had to visit Merry there the first couple of days. The door was blocked by a couple of students. Presumably fans? The way they turned their heads in Abe's direction as though they had a sixth since suggested that, along with a couple looks of familiarity in their eyes. They let Abe and Merry pass through the door, one of them perhaps shooting Merry a look of envy. When Abe first poked his head in, it became clear. Down the hall was Drake's room. Val was there with him. Oh, so two people of the same team congregate, and people like those outside flock. Funny. He walked down the hall keeping Merry at his side, as was his responsibility. Walking into Drake's room behind Valery he looked down at Merry with a smug smile on his face. "Hey squirt, check it. The whole gang is here!"

He didn't make the intention of patronizing Drake what with his wound and all.

"Nice battle scar, Cap'." Abraham snickered. He looked at Valery with a welcoming grin. "You shoulda been there Pops." That was a joke on Val's wish to be referred to as Father Winter. "Bad guys. Everywhere. You would have loved it there, we'd have been kicking ass."

Insensitive? Maybe. But that was how Abraham coped. Abe saw people die before, he wasn't as affected by it as others. But still. Those deaths were more gruesome than the ones he has seen. And death has a way of touching people, and this was his way of ignoring it. He figured that brothers-in-arms would understand where he was coming from.

---

Jesse Sutor

What was the best way to pretend you aren't desperately looking for somebody? Well, for one, come to grips that you are never really looking for somebody when you are constantly surrounded by a mind-reading alien race that only you can see, and when you're clearly thinking about a person, they have the bad habit of becoming quite intrusive and try to help by looking for that person for you. So when you hear that person's name - "LILY." - like so (Jesse was practicing the application of labels attributed to each person according to their mental ID and physical description for clearer communication),  you begin to realize there are people, or "people", around you that are reading you like a book and you suddenly become quite flustered. Jesse abruptly turned around red-faced and embarrassed before finding himself confronted with Lily herself, who was attempting to force a smile during the funeral service. She couldn't. He, on the other hand, could force a smile... it came with the experience of having been to one before. What he has seen from last week downstairs desensitized him from everything just slightly. Jesse was fairly confident he has seen everything now.

"Hey. Nice dress." He said in return to her. She looked a little disturbed by hearing the news of Amimoore's death. Jesse shook his head. "I don't know how or when it happened. It had to have been that same night though. I have the suspicion she wasn't necessarily... alright the night she messed with you. I don't know."

Jesse tapped his head with two fingers, perhaps as an indication that it was a hunch, or that it might have been something that his apparitions were noticing. It was something that Jesse didn't know for sure personally, but didn't feel was a baseless suspicion. Since Jesse had first came to academy, he noticed the luminosity of his eyes had grown a little stronger. It has to be due to the strengthened connection to the apparitions, but he wasn't quite sure what his eyes had to do with his power. Especially if it was a mental connection.

As good as the academy was for helping him come to terms with his own ability, he still wanted to get off this island. Desperately so. But ever since the ships exploded and ravaged, there wasn't anything for him to leave on. And to think Lily's teary-eyed farewell had gone to waste. Jesse was pretty good at saying goodbye to people, he did that nearly all his life. He usually met them again anyways. Sad farewells wasn't exactly in his repertoire. He laughed softly to himself in the memory of it. He looked at Lily.

"Hey, you remember last week?" Jesse asked, trying to change the subject. Perhaps he could make something about the current situation a little more light-hearted. "With the whole leaving and stuff, I mean. The whole... boats going kaboosh thing kind of blew your goodbye out of the water, huh?"

He couldn't help but make an amused smile at the thought of it. A little deranged, sure. He was trying to find all the humor he could out of it. "You know, I was a little confused when you started saying goodbye." Jesse admitted. He reached his hand deep into his pocket and pulled out his phone - something that unfortunately couldn't reach back home. "Maybe I'm just good at saying goodbye or something, I don't know, but I mean, we wouldn't necessarily have fallen out of contact. You still would've been my friend."

---

Damon Viscous

It was one hell of a party alright - not the funeral - rather, trying to keep the swarm under control. It was cold, which would make one think they'd be fine huddling up inside a warm, fleshy hive. But it was a little noisy, and they were itching to patrol. To which Damon would steal a quote from Game of Thrones and say, not today. He wanted this suit to stay nice. But while he was here, he did get to meeting a couple of students and making proper introductions for the first time. It was odd how little he actually stepped out from his workplace. Even a couple teachers were wondering who Damon was and was asking for his identification. A standard protocol that was set in place since the Changelings... a protocol that Damon suggested, and here it was, being used against him. It was humorous and annoying at the same time. He stood among the crowd, his arms at his back and his posture was proper. It was a poise that Damon didn't practice often, and it showed how tall Damon actually was. And he was clean and wearing clean clothes, and while he wasn't remarkably noticeable himself, he was significantly more handsome than he was in his standard ragged clothing. When Adam finished his speech, he looked to him with a approving nod. Clapping wasn't something that would be deemed "acceptable" at a funeral.

A familiar face inched closer from the corner of his eye. Sort of. It was hidden by a veil, an off sight among the crowd which did its fair share of catching his attention, and Megan's face underneath it was enough to confirm that it was indeed her. Damon paced his way by her side, but averted keeping eye contact with her. When he was right next to her, he raised a fist and coughed into it. "I hope you understand when I said, 'when you see me next', I didn't mean here and now at the viewing, right?"

Of course, joking here and now as also probably not the best thing to do, but he really wanted to make sure he and Megan were on the same page of the same chapter. Though occasionally, it wasn't always clear if they were reading the same book. Damon knew his fair share of the current suspicions surrounding Dacious, but he always did suspect Megan knew more or suspected more than she truly let on. Attractive, cunning, and at first glance a ditz? By God, she was born to be a spy, of course he suspected she knew more. But risks, risks. Perhaps it'll be made clear in time.

Drake Deltori Blackmore.


All the sudden, everyone became interested in Drake. It almost made him sneer. His team mate Abe came in, escorted by a familiar looking girl. He knew he saw ... Merry Bennet. The chick from the poker night that he met on his first night here. Heh. He hasn't seen her since the first night. It was pretty funny seeing her having hooked up with Abe (Apparently). "Hey, haven't seen either of you in a bit." Drake greeted both of them the second they came through his door.

What Abe said caused Drake to scowl.

Abe was talking about the whole thing like it was one of the arena fights. It definitely was not friendly arena fight - Nor was it a game. It was a kind of hell that wasn't going to get out of his head anytime soon. People died - And it wasn't the 'suffer-a-fatal-injury-and-say-any-last-words-before-passing' kind of thing. It was bloody. It was gruesome. Someone nearly got tortured to death while Drake was forced to watch. Hell, even he was two seconds away from death himself. To say the least, Drake didn't exactly appreciate what Abe was saying.

"... It wasn't a game, Abe." Drake sharply replied, looking at Abe, speaking in a stern tone. Abe was his friend, but Drake definitely wasn't the type to let things like this slide because of friendship. "People died during that and even more would have if we didn't get help when we did. You're acting like it was all one big joke...." Drake tried to move, he tried to change positions. He wanted to get up onto a sitting position, one where he could more comfortably speak to Abe. "... I don't appreciate-"

The pain of trying to move was enough to quiet him for a moment. Ugh.


Carmen 'Lily' Santo.


"Not really a dress," Lily looked at her improvised outfit (Since she didn't have a real dress), "But, thank you." Lily offhandedly laughed, trying to hide her nervousness underneath it all. When Jesse replied to what she said about Amimoore, Lily just spoke, "I just hope it wasn't bad as the others...." Lily wanted a subject change, as she didn't want to discuss Amimoore anymore. Lily wanted to let go of what she did, and forgive, but she felt like she was still holding on it.

Fortunately, Jesse was pretty quick to change the subject, to something that embarrassed Lily, slightly. About her goodbye going to waste. Okay, admittedly, Lily jumped the gun a bit in hindsight. But at the time, there was so many emotions whirling around inside of her, she couldn't think as sharply as she usually does. "Yeah... Jess, but... It kinda would have been a goodbye." She spoke to him rather nervously, like Jesse was treading on something Lily wasn't comfortable with. However, she was open enough to tell Jesse a few things about her past. "Well, I doubt we would have been able to keep in touch...." Lily trailed off, "Leaving this island would have meant going from city to city, looking for a place to sleep, that kind of stuff...." Lily leaned on the railing, with her shoulders on it, "... Again."

It might have sounded silly for Lily to rather give up the privileged life here, but anything sounded better than ever encountering the Changeling Unit again.


Megan Emma Jervious.


It wasn't a surprise that Damon found her in the crowd. She had already noticed him, and would have gone to him, but she couldn't make even that easy. "Greetings, Mr. Damon." Megan said to him, grinning slightly, it'd be hard to see underneath her veil. In response to Damon's joke, Megan laughed. "Don't worry, my little sidekick-" She said that for no reason other than messing with Damon, "We have secret lairs, and other hideouts, where we can discuss." She said in her usual playful tone. An eavesdropper unfamiliar with Megan would be suspicious, while anyone who's been around her for two minutes would pass this off as normal behavior. Hopefully.

There wasn't much conversation to be had here with Damon. She turned her head, quite literally, her head wasn't restricted by silly concepts like bones, so she was capable of doing a full 180 turn with her head. Megan saw enough, within the crowds of people mourning, there were a few kids talking - Do you really this is just another social event? - But one guy caught her attention. Freakishly tall, covered from head to toe in heavy clothings, wearing a gas mask. Yup. Grade-A freakazoid. Megan couldn't help but comment! "Hey, look at that weirdo eyeballing us." Megan blatantly threw a thumb in the direction of Henry. "Wouldn't you fit right in with him?"

Quote :

"Hey, look at that weirdo eyeballing us. Wouldn't you fit right in with him?"

Henry directed his attention away from the funeral and to the voice. It was feminine, and sounded haughty, british, and annoying. Just what he wanted to deal with. It wasnt that there was anything upsetting him, it was just that he didnt like to deal with these types. He hadnt been looking at them in particular, they just happened to be in the general direction that all the movement seemed to be at. He mumbled profanity under his breath. Now attention would be drawn to him. Just as he had congratulated himself on not being noticed so far. Murphey's Law. Now he'd have to blend in.

He camouflaged himself inside his clothing by habit. He wanted to simply disappear at this point, but he couldnt do that. No, his clothing kept him blatantly visible. He couldnt exactly strip down right now anyways. He could go naked fairly easily. As a reptile his gender was hidden at the base of his tail for both males and females, but he couldnt do that now of all times. It was cold after all. Any other situation he would've been gone with the wind, like he had when he attempted to escape animal control. He had to blend in now. Otherwise someone might think he wasnt a friendly and a Changeling or something. He couldnt have that. That would've been absolutely terrible. He'd have to run out, and that was easily possible for him, but he didnt want a bounty on his head.

So, he played it the only way he knew how.

He pushed himself off the wall, and took a strike toward the girl to talk to her. He didnt care about her, really. No, this was so others would know he wasnt going to kill them in their sleep, even though he'd probably be very good at doing just that. He took his first few steps in their direction, his steps were very large and few between. He covered the distance between himself, Megan and Damon, within a few strides. As he got closer, he recognized them. These were teachers. Insulting other students at that. He would have chuckled, but instead simply clicked to himself a few times as if making a mental note with his voice box. He couldnt help but stare at the owner of the voice through the darkened lenses that were the eyes of his mask. He was human at one point, and was still attracted to other humans. Meta or not. He knew that finding a girlfriend would most likely never happen at this point, and that he'd never get laid either unless they were blind of had taken excessive amounts of alcohol into their system. He was going to have to forget his own sexuality at some point or another, or at least have one really long ass dry spell. Neither were fun. But he had to admit she was extremely attractive. Those that are extremely attractive turn heads and make their marks in memories. He knew her. He had briefly taken art under her. Her name was Madison Jervious or something. He knew her last name, but not the first. Oh well, not that much of a loss.

He towered over fifteen inches taller than Damon, and was quite literally a head, shoulders, and some torso taller than them. He was going to use his size to his advantage here for a more intimidation effect. He had done a little bit of art with Megan here and a had seen Damon around. "I'm surprised you'd be so willing to call one of the students a weirdo, Miss Jervious," He said. He didnt actually know her first name, but now he had the element of surprise at the fact that he knew her. "Especially in a place like this, at a time like this, and with a history us... specials have. We're here to escape the prejudice." And now he had the moral high ground.

"So," he said, finishing his condescending rant, and extending one of his huge gloved hands to her. His hand alone could wrap around a good portion of her head. "I am Henry Olin. It's a pleasure to meet you outside of the classroom." He said, and turned to Damon. "I think I've seen you around somewhere. You're the technician or something right? It's nice to meet you." He said, much more genuine this time. He hadnt been called a freak by this man. He assumed they were friends. So, he would play nice until given reason to otherwise. Being called a freak wasnt exactly THAT new.

Valery Arsov
Who had to write this post twice and apologizes for any drops in quality that result from this new damned computer eating my posts

"Wait, you have an asshole in your shoulder??? That does not sound good! Drake, I do not
want to see that, please keep your bandages o-"

Val's confusion of Drake's obscenity was interrupted by Abe's entrance, which brought a hollow smile to Val's face and a falling feeling in his gut. He'd heard the Golem and Drake had done the lion's share of the fighting down in the tunnels, kicking ass and taking names...he'd been passed out on the floor. Then Abe commented if he'd only been there.

Val, who normally didn't bother with things like introspection or contemplating what he'd done, suddenly felt very, very woozy, and very, very sick. "I...I think I need a drink of water," Val murmured, standing up and walking out of the room rather hurriedly. He closed the door behind him, feeling as if something in his head was screaming to get out and yet the rest of him was very, very silent. In a rare display of actually hurrying for something, Val power-walked down the hall, a thin layer of rime building up on the walls as he past, white mist rising from his lips as he exhaled. Val almost kissed the water fountain when he reached it, letting the water (which turned into sluice as soon as it touched his lips) fill him up for a minute or two. He finally stopped, leaning back against the wall, and held his face in his hand for a moment, eye closed.

Why? Why now? Val...Val never...this wasn't...was everything just catching up to him? He'd always thought of himself as the unshakeable, easygoing guy, the one who got along with everybody and just had fun. But Christ, this place had been nowhere near fun this year. There were how many students dead? Drake had been attacked outside in the snow, and then the whole thing in the tunnels...and he hadn't been able to help. Hadn't been able to stop it. Val thought of himself as a higher-tier power, combatively. He may not have been able to fight as quickly as Drake-he couldn't call up lightning in an instant, nor could he take as much of a beating as Abe, but...but he could work on a far grander scale than either of them. This entire damned school was blanketed in snow and ice, the air threatening to freeze in place...

...yet Val had been too damned drunk to raise a hand against the Changelings when they were butchering kids. He may not have had the precision to keep the students safe from it, but surely he could've called down a blizzard, frozen the air in the tunnels, forced all those child-killing bastards to leave or risk slicing off their fingers and toes later. Val felt a kind of detached fury rising up inside of him: at himself, at the Changelings, at the school as a whole. It was the first time in a long while that Val had felt this...motivated. Driven to actually do something.

Val opened his eye and noticed that snow was falling around him. He took a few deep breaths and steadied himself: losing control outside would be one thing, but inside the infirmary, he could burst pipes, freeze IVs, give people frostbite. Val hummed the first song that came to mind-his national anthem-to himself for a moment, his mind settling itself down with routine and familiarity. He walked back to Drake's room more slowly and calmly than he'd left it, entering with a faint smile (that was totally devoid of happiness) on his face.

"Merry-it is Merry, yes? Listen, I do not wish to be rude, but could you give the three of us a moment or two alone please? There is something I need to discuss with them. I am sorry, it will not take too terribly long."

Arianna Madrigal

It didn't take long for Jake to catch Arianna's eye: she'd become familiar with his Song, and it was subsequently much easier to pick out of the Symphony. She maneuvered through the crowd of mourners, issuing lots of "I'm sorry"s and "excuse me"s before she made her way to his side. Arianna embraced him for a moment-not so much a public display of affection as much of a "I just need to hold somebody for a minute". She let him go, feeling more...stable (no one should feel anything better than that next to the corpses of children), but kept one of his hands in hers.

"I'm doing...well, not okay, but not horrible. I..." she closed her eyes, not wanting to break down in front of everyone at the funeral. There...there was a lot going on. She didn't think anybody would blame her if she did, because nobody should've been in their right minds after all this. "I don't want you to worry. Thanks." she gave his hand a little squeeze and looked up at him. "Are you okay? Maybe after this we could go somewhere quiet and talk or something." There was no subtext to her offer, no not-so-subtle hint of going and making out. She meant it, just being somewhere alone and soothing, away from the horrible discord that was the Symphony right now.

Abraham Gene

Woah, so much backlash all of a sudden. Apparently the guys weren't so understanding as Abe thought. Val had a moment where he said he needed a drink of water and had what appeared to be an anxiety attack starting up as he walked out the door - though Abe was perhaps exaggerating. Drake on the other hand was busting a nut. What's going here? Little big man was giving him a lecture? Where did that come from? Regardless, it wasn't something Abe was going to take lightly.

"Yes, I know that." Abe responded in kind, with a hint of condescension. "I was there. I was fighting those bastards when they split them right down the middle. I saw it all."

Abe gave himself a moment and turned around a quick moment to take a deep breathe while he clutched his fists. He absolutely saw people die. People he didn't like, people he did like - Abe wasn't a stranger to it. That did though leave him with a morbid coping mechanism, he had to admit. Drake, it would seem, is a case experiencing death for the very first time. Whether this was a fortunate or unfortunate case was very much subjective. The first was always the hardest. And this time, the first was an entire handful of people. It wasn't something Abe could entirely grasp, but he did at least understand its supposed significance.

"Look, Cap'." He started with a sigh. "I get that it's hard, but listen. Learn how'ta fake a smile. It'll make life easier on you." Abraham flashed a bright-eyed and toothy grin as an example. "It'll make life easier to bear. Trust me, brotha', it's easy! I do it all the time."

It was convenient that Valery came in at that time. That is good. A good distraction the good man was! Now there won't be any questions. On top of that, Pops came in looking a tad bit chipper than he did before. Now that was a face he could recognize! Smiling on the outside, hollow on the inside. Gotta wonder what put mister cheery's piroshki in a twist. But, er, one problem. It being Merry, and not that Merry was specifically a problem, but there was a certain bureaucratic wrench that lodged itself in the gears of every plan.

"Uh, about that..." Abe said with hesitation, and probably cringing just slightly. "I... kinda have to keep watch over her, so... squirt's gotta stay."

---

Jesse Sutor

Suppose some people weren't into that sort of thing. People handled travelling differently than others. Having traveled much of his life, city to city and state to state, it was a life he had gotten very much used to, but it was something he certainly didn't miss. He was grateful to be in one spot and in one secure home that didn't balance on a set of wheels. And he still kept contact with people. Then again, the life he led was very much different than most people he knew, and that maybe Lily didn't have as secure a place with set goals in mind. So it was safe to say, that not knowing much of his friend's prior life, Jesse was fairly ignorant and confused as to why she might have some difficulty. It was something she didn't seem very happy about, and he didn't want to upset her, but he wasn't sure what to say without more clarification.

So he shrugged. "I don't understand." Jesse said simply, as much as it can be said for a pair of eyes that has seen death, innocently. "Why not? You aren't just walking from city to city, are you? Where're your parents?"

---

Damon Viscous

Damon laughed gently to himself at Megan's comment. "Heh, wouldn't you know."

He did check out the towering figure out of the corner of his eye. He had to say, the man looked quite threatening and... inconspicuous. However, being inconspicuous to such a degree came to be a detriment. It was overplayed. The man stuck out like a sore thumb, and honestly, seeing him disguised like that and watching the crowd from a corner made Damon a little nervous. Not out of fear per se, rather, concern. This was a funeral dedicated to the victims of the Changelings. He looked to be a stranger. A stranger whose head had turned at the notice of Megan's comment, and who cut through the crowd, towering above every student and teacher on his beeline towards him and Megan. Damn it Megan.

He made a quick glance at his compatriot. "Be prepare to evacuate the students..." He murmured in her direction before he turned back at the stranger. He stood much higher than even Damon, and his posture appeared to be emphasizing that. As concerned as Damon was, he didn't appear intimidated. In fact, his posture had hardly changed from his hands neatly tucked behind his back and rolling on his feet from heel to toe, back and forth.

"I'm surprised you'd be so willing to call one of the students a freak, Ms. Jervious," said the stranger, "especially in a place like this, at a time like this, and with a history us... specials have. We're here to escape the prejudice."

Damon frowned at the man's denial of Megan's statement. She was indeed harsh, and he was relieved by his claim that he was in fact a student (or perhaps suspicious - he certainly didn't look the part). He truly didn't want to doubt his word, but standing in the midst of a ceremony of those whose memory invokes also the memory of their killers, he had to remain open to the possibility of this person not being a friendly... and prejudice. Damon experienced prejudice. Boat-loads of it. It left him a little timid and a little hateful, but more timid than hateful. How much prejudice did he go through? How did he escape it with such a sense of... entitlement? Oh, of course, he was certainly entitled to freedom and freedom from prejudice and stereotypes. Damon only wished he came out of that pit with such a sense.

The stranger continued. "So. I am Henry Olin. It's a pleasure to meet you outside of the classroom." Henry then turned to Damon. "I think I've seen you around somewhere. You're the technician or something right? It's nice to meet you."

Damon looked at Megan and raised his arm in front of her, suggested that she allowed him to speak to Henry. Not to say that Megan wasn't capable of fighting her own battles, he just figured it'd be better for him to back her up and to assure the student with a faculty member he wasn't upset with. Damon cleared his throat.

"Hello, Henry." He said. "I am Mr. Viscous. And no, I am not the technician. I am the head network manager, and I don't get out often. You must have seen someone else."

He put his hand out to shake Henry's giant mitts, mostly unfazed.

"Please forgive Ms. Jervious, these are troubling times. However, behaving and dressing inconspicuously as possible runs an inverse variation... plainly put, you stick out like a sore thumb and you look highly suspicious. Wearing masks - gas masks, no less - will do that. You could have been one of... the assailants of our dearly departed, for all we knew. It's a counter-intuitive concept, really. As for being a freak..." Damon paused for a moment, before he briefly dragged the bandanna wrapped around his neck a couple inches, where it exposed some of the fleshy holes on his neck that was prevalent upon his body. A chilly breeze brushed past, and Damon's body behind the flesh seemed to quiver, but what his body had hid remained unexposed. He pulled the fabric back up to where it was before. "...don't you worry about that."

Drake Deltori Blackmore.


Abe countered what Drake said with a few statements about how 'He was there' and that Drake should 'learn how to fake a smile'. This only caused Drake to roll his eyes. It doesn't mean that Abe should go talking about it like it was some big joke. Drake was certain that he wasn't the only person who felt this way... This sentiment was all but confirmed when Val more-or-less suffered a panic attack - Though Drake didn't get a good look. When Val walked out, Drake personally had to wonder what was going through Val's head right now. And whatever it was, Drake hoped for the best in regards to his Russian friend. "Look here, Abe, you ought to know something..." He said with a - actually real - smirk, "I don't fake anything." Drake is all there is of the most real.

A change of subjects came when Val returned. Looking slightly more upbeat than he used to be (I know that's a fake smile). It was annoying as hell, actually. Everyone here was clearly touched by that event, but everyone has their own way to cope with it. But no one else is used to it, and it's causing a bit of a clash between Team Headstrong. Val asked Merry to leave the room, to which Abe countered by saying she has to stay. Personally, he'd rather have Merry leave, because this is a bit of a personal conversation between them. "It's just going to be for a few minutes, Abe. She'll be fine." But it was nice to see that Abe is dedicated to protecting her.


Jake Vin Valos.


The display of affection (At least, Jake thought it was) from Arianna was certainly appreciated. Jake returned the favor, and held onto her, until she let go.

Arianna then told Jake how she was holding up... He could easily tell she wasn't holding up too well. Neither was he, nor the rest of the Valos. But Jake felt like he was doing worse than both of them. He was wondering what would cause him to snap first; the Changeling Unit, the school itself, or the fact that there's seven kids in those casket. It made him smile in a morbid way - The subject (In his head of course) changed when Arianna asked him if he was alright. It would be so easy to say that he isn't, and is veering on a heart attack. For her sake, he was going to act like everything is fine.

"I'm fine... Sort of." Jake said. "I'm trying to move on and cope with all that... Instead of... Mulling." He let out a sigh. Arianna mentioned going somewhere else to have a chit-chat, after the funeral that is. Someone silent and peaceful. Where could they go that doesn't have a crowd? The cafe, the lounge, and the Plaza were immediately out of the question. Perhaps the lake? Crowds tend not to form there. "Maybe we could go talk at the lake. It's relaxing, and no one goes there."

Another question entered his head as Jake turned towards Gabe and Jaska. How are they holding up? Gabe seemed to be apathetic to everything, and Jaska was still talking to the twins, still not the cheery little child he used to be (No matter how hard Jake wanted him to be). They weren't intruding upon their conversation, they were minding their own businesses.


Carmen 'Lily' Santo.


Jesse didn't understand what Lily meant, which makes sense since she hasn't told him her past. Something that she thought that she would be leaving behind here - But now she got herself into a whole another mess of bullsh*t. Lily didn't have the privilege of having a normal life, and it seems like there's no way in hell she'll ever get one. For now, Lily would have to break it to Jesse, somehow. "... It's..." Lily trailed off, trying to find the right words to say. "... A long story, yes. Not one I'm not willing to tell you..." She took a good hard look around her. She's in a massive crowd of people, with any number of power that could be used to eavesdrop on her at this very second. Not the kind of environment for sharing dark and tragic pasts. "... Just one I don't want to tell here." Lily topped off her points with that. "How about we talk about it in my room after this funeral?"



Megan Emma Jervious.


As Dragonfly lectured her, Megan was unmoving, she was quietly humming a song. It was just a mere student who thought he'd feel superior by telling off a teacher. Something that Megan had to deal with when even unprovoked. Henry spoke as if she was being prejudiced. Heh. Funny. Megan was only speaking about the weird kid dressed up like he was some god damn terrorist. She had no intentions of replying to what Henry said once Damon spoke. A little thing she liked to do. See how people react to different situations. In fact, he handled everything dashingly, she had to say. After Damon and Henry stopped talking, she stepped in, "Oh, sorry if I've... stepped on.... any toes, Mr. Olin. I was just trying to make conversation, you know." She said with a giggle. Before sharply replying, "... But do you really think the animal types are the only metas that are discriminated against?" She twirled some hair. "Telepaths, illusionists... Shapeshifters, they all got a prejudice against them over something they had no control over. You might be saying to yourself by now; 'that's different'. But is there really?" Megan laughed.

Megan knew that it was ultimately not Henry's point that animal Metas are hated, but she only wanted to see what his reaction would be to what she just said.

Jayla

It was an unusual morning. This was the day of the funeral. A figure walked down the steps and into the circle. Female, it seemed. Long, black hair that trailed down to the middle of her back. She had a decent skin tone and eyes the color of a pond, but slightly pushed towards a bluer tint. Her skin and hair were both uncannily soft, and were clean and smooth. She had a slim, curvy body structure and sported an ebony dress that was slightly revealing, simply so her skin could see sunlight, although it was enough to keep her warm. There was an aura of difference today, and this girl had decided to note that. She was Jayla. A recurring student who a been in the Academy for the past few years, yet never seemed to do much. It was just until today that she decided to be social and pay interest in the others around her. She never knew these people that died, but she still payed her respects, for she knew that somewhere in the school there were people that did.

It was noteworthy that when she walked, there was no shadow trailing behind her. She stopped in the circle, scratched behind her neck. There was a long scar on her shoulder and her right hand. She looked around awkwardly, wondering if it had been a waste of time to come here after all. Maybe not. It wouldn't have been nice to disregard the fallen, but she had two goals in coming here. In short term she wanted to pay her respects to the deceased, but in long term she needed to meet someone new. Living so long here without anything new happened, without very many people to talk to, had finally gotten to her. Jay needed something new.

She noticed a group of figures talking. An incredibly tall man with a gas-mask on, who spooked her as she accidentally sent her gaze in that direction. She then realized it must have just been another student. She wasn't sure if going over to talk was such a good idea. What would they say? Would they welcome her over and include her in the discussion? Or would it be one of those weird encounters where she tried to get involved, yet it ended up just making her look weird and unwanted. She wasn't sure, but she had nothing else to lose. She took a shot.

She approached cautiously at first, then emerged herself into the situation as she drew closer. When there was a pause in the conversation, Jay introduced herself to Henry. "Hey there," she began, "you're awful tall! My name is Jayla, but people call me Jay. Who are you?" she asked, a bit nervous, but doing alright.

Valery Arsov

A flicker of irritation flashed across Val's face. "...I...I don't think she can be in here for this." Val paused for a moment then turned to face the door, very pointedly making sure that none of the other room's inhabitants were in his way, and removed his eyepatch, once again bathing the door to the hospital room in that silvery light. He scanned the wall and then, apparently, closed his eye, shutting off the silvery glow. He slipped his eyepatch back on and turned to face the group, looking as if he'd just stepped off a roller coaster.

"Nothing is out there but nurses, Abe. This will not take very long, I promise." He glanced down at Drake, bedridden, and then took a deep breath. "It is nothing personal, Merry, I just need to discuss something with my teammates, yes?"

Assuming that Merry steps out of the room, if not I'll edit this.

"I will cut to chase, to keep Merry from waiting..." Val paused. Heh. He remembered the first few times he'd asked out girls, back when he still got nervous and jittery, and there was that mental wall you had to clamber over just to push the words out of your mouth. This was like that. But he was not asking either of them out, because that would be gay, and Valery Arsov was too red-blooded, overwhelmingly-heterosexual to be gay. "I..." he paused once again, mulling over the words. "I think...between what happened in the tunnels, and the boat...and the mess earlier with the dead student...I think that there is more I can do than just stand around. With my eye, if I can get close to the bastards, I can figure out who they are, how to kill them. So, I have been doing some thinking, and, to make up for not being there the last fight...I think I want to join up with them. You know, like a double agent. I guess tonight I'll head off into the snow and wait until one of them finds me, I can wait in the cold as long as it takes. I do not know if they are taking recruits, but I have been at this school for a long time, and I can make the cold work for them. I think I am decent candydit. Just, you know, in case I don't have a good poker face, I wanted somebody to know, that, uh, I...I hadn't really, you know..." Val's voice trailed off. "I don't know. I'm not asking you to join up with me. If they attack again, I think Team Headstrong is best suited to fight them off-but I think maybe somebody should be there to stab the assholes in the back. As I find stuff out I can relay it back to one of you. But I guess you can't tell many people, or they'll figure out what I'm doing pretty quickly." Val shook his head, scratching his short-cut hair. "I haven't planned this out very much. Don't think that I can. But, if things-I think the expression is 'go south', which I do not understand at all, just wanted you two to know, eh?"

There was a moment or two of awkward silence. "So, yeah. Guess this is goodbye for little while, eh? You two keep the bitches satisfied and the liquor flowing until I get back, okay?" A little of Val's old self came back into his voice towards the end, and one got the feeling he had a sense of...purpose. A smirk stretched at his lips. "Oh, and if you see that spider bitch from the Arena, go ahead and slap her really hard for me."

Arianna Madrigal

Arianna gave him a soft smile. "Yeah. That sounds nice." She closed her eyes for a moment, listening for the Symphony's little nuances-it was a morbid, morbid thought, but to her, the funeral seemed the perfect place for the Changelings to strike again. That many kids, all grieving and off-guard? They wouldn't get a shot like that again. But she couldn't tell what the little group of psychopaths wanted from the school-they seemed to have no qualms with killing and torturing kids, but killing them outright would've been really easy. I mean, lying down, camouflaged in the snow, with a sniper rifle or something? You wouldn't need to be a master assassin to do that. So...so they had to want something else, right?

The piano wire in her handbag felt like it was coiling up out of the bag and clinging onto her wrists.

"Do you know when this is going to start?" Arianna murmured, looking around. "I..." she chose her words carefully. "Never mind."

Abraham Gene

"Look here, Abe, you ought to know something..." Drake said to him with a smirk, "I don't fake anything." To this, Abraham could do little else than give him a half-assed smile and a roll of his eyes. Everybody had to fake something! That's how people were. Lots of folks can't handle other people's truths. Or maybe some people faked some truths to hide their weakness. Whatever the reason, nobody was honest. Ha, that was something he learned from some old fart on the street back in Boston. It was absolutely true, too. Everybody he ever cared to talk to had something to hide. It was an ugly truth. But it had to be embraced. The streets of Boston weren't kind, and Abe wasn't the type of boy to run back to his daddy's big mansion.

Not everybody lived that way, of course. As much as it'd be better if it were the case (naivety, what an inexcusable weakness!), it was another ugly truth. There was the sheltered, like Merry. And she was subsequently dumped into the hell that was the underground tunnels. And then hospitalized shortly thereafter, and then put upon Abe. Beside the responsibilities that was forcibly placed upon him by the clinic, he did feel some sympathy for the little girl, or perhaps some duty or responsibility - the girl had slightly grown on him... though he'd never admit it. So when both of his comrades suggested to him that she would be alright, he resigned to their pleads and let Merry walk past the doors. What was up with Valery? The dude's has been weirding out on the two of them as long as he's been here.

Abe sighed. There they had it. "So, what is it?"

"I will cut to chase, to keep Merry from waiting..." Valery started. He paused briefly. "I... I think...between what happened in the tunnels, and the boat... and the mess earlier with the dead student... I think that there is more I can do than just stand around. With my eye, if I can get close to the bastards, I can figure out who they are, how to kill them. So, I have been doing some thinking, and, to make up for not being there the last fight... I think I want to join up with them. You know, like a double agent. I guess tonight I'll head off into the snow and wait until one of them finds me, I can wait in the cold as long as it takes. I do not know if they are taking recruits, but I have been at this school for a long time, and I can make the cold work for them. I think I am decent candidate. Just, you know, in case I don't have a good poker face, I wanted somebody to know, that, uh, I... I hadn't really, you know..."

Oh. Oh, this was completely different than what Abe had anticipated. This was game changing. Honestly, Abe was a bit concerned for his buddy here. Walking into the hornet's nest wasn't something to take lightly. Hell, even he was feeling overwhelmed by the very end. There was so many. And if they didn't decide to let the guy speak, what then? But they were cunning. Maybe they would suspect something more was up. For once, Abraham stayed silent. He had no witty remarks to say, or playful jabs, or insults to sling. He just remained quiet and let his teammate continue talking about his plan.

"I don't know. I'm not asking you to join up with me. If they attack again, I think Team Headstrong is best suited to fight them off - but I think maybe somebody should be there to stab the assholes in the back. As I find stuff out I can relay it back to one of you. But I guess you can't tell many people, or they'll figure out what I'm doing pretty quickly. I haven't planned this out very much. Don't think that I can. But, if things - I think the expression is 'go south', which I do not understand at all, just wanted you two to know, eh?"

Aha, clever boy. Abe had to admit, as out of it ol' Val seemed to be at times, the Russian was the real brains of the team. Drake could do a whole bunch o' things, but he was public face. People just liked him, really, it's hard to put a finger on it. Himself? He was a bruiser! The skeleton, the backbone! Full of himself? Absolutely. But his defenses were absolute! And he knew he was strong, there's no arguing it. Pops was the one feeding the two information all this time, and the one who was coming up with ideas. Like now!

Abe shot Valery a shit-eating grin, clearly not bothered by Valery's suggestion. "Hell yeah, man! That's genius! Stick it to 'em!"

And absolutely, don't be a stranger. Abe thought. His mind went back to the streets of Boston. Just because you're pretending to be with somebody doesn't mean you have to be a stranger. Val could absolutely stick with the team and tell those Changelings that he's acting as an agent. All they have to do is not talk about it when they're together. Abraham looked to Drake checking to see his expression on this subject - no doubt enthusiasm, of course! What could go wrong?

---

Jesse Sutor

"Sure." Jesse smiled, and that was it. He didn't intend on bringing it up until then, but he was somewhat concerned about what could be keeping her from saying anything now. Well, no, that is wrong. It was clearly personal and this was a public place. Jesse's real concern, he realized, was how personal that personal thing Lily wanted to tell him, and how much it bothered her. She wouldn't be able to stay in contact with him it sounded like and she was going from town to town. Payphones and motel phones would work. Or a cheap cellphone. Still, he had to admit he was also concerned for her well being. But for right now, he kept a clear and happy face. Hopefully to reassure his friend. As little fun as one can have at a funeral, he did intend on making sure his friend was comfortable.

"So, when this is all over..." Jesse proposed thoughtfully. He paused a moment and looked up while holding his chin. "And, uh, I mean when we're standing here being sad for the next half hour, and when we go back, we watch Netflix or something. And I feel bad for saying this here, but I'm also a little hungry. Food, then Netflix? I mean, only if you're interested or in the mood to do that or something."

He really was scared of this place, or at least a little bit. He wanted to be warned of the Changelings before they even got within five hundred feet of him. They could be jumped anywhere for all they knew, and Jesse was one of the ones that came in to help the people who were trapped. So they'd no doubt be pissed at him. But he also didn't want to force himself into sad or negative situations and he really didn't want to be here at this funeral. He already paid his respects, he already knew what he felt about it all, and he didn't want to be here longer than he had to. But it was expected of him to be here. Really, most of what he could do to ignore the cloud of doom and gloom that hovered above the funeral was the memory of his step-nan's corn bread. Crispy, fluffy, and buttery... mmm...

---

Damon Viscous

Damon laughed gently to himself as Henry finished the rest bit of what he had to say to him. The boy sure had a lot to say, that was for certain. And it looked like he thought himself a Martin King rendition! Not to say this was a bad thing, at least some of the students were looking to make a stand - but among his own kind was pushing it. Still, perhaps it was good practice once he returned to the real world. But "fear"? Heavens, no, Damon had seen many things since he has first come to the Academy. He didn't fear Henry at all - he was initially cautious of him, yes, and perhaps he feared his intentions - he feared he was a Changeling on behalf of the student body. But as for what he really, physically was beneath that suit? Not at all.

Megan stepped in with a brief apology, followed by a defense. A defense that challenged Henry's claim regarding discrimination. Oh boy, here she goes.

The sequence of events that followed were interesting at best. Henry took what Megan had said quite seriously, and again set down some strictures of what he believed in the realm of prejudice. At some point, the boy even made a jab at her over being a proper role model for the students here. At this, Damon inconspicuously turned around to view the crowd of students and the caskets behind him. This was, of course, a guise to hide the smile that had creeped on his face. He wasn't quite sure what was funny - if he should say, "well he got you there, Megan!" or at the righteousness of the student's argument. He'd be tempted to choose the former, if anything, to defend the students among the body. That's who he stood for, after all. He regained his composure and turned around. In doing so, he saw a newcomer. A teenage girl, pale, and wearing a revealing dress. He by no means wanted to judge any of the students, but what did he intend on doing here? Meet some boys? At a funeral?

But, oh, of course. Introductions. "Hello miss, I'm Mr. Viscous! Head networking manager. It's so nice to meet you!" Damon told her with a smile. He noticed Henry moving away from the conversation. A good cue. Damon looked at Megan as the student did with a slight smile. He figured she'd understand - he figured she was on the same boat with him. Animal metas? Maybe, just maybe, but there were so many types of powers one can't clump some in with others. Animal metas usually inspired questions in most cases. Damon figured Megan would understand where he found the humor in it. Damon was by no means an animal class meta-human, but the prejudice he received in the real world with out of the ordinary. Even among "his kind", though, Damon was a freak. People usually weren't open to the idea of a man being littered with holes and hiding a swarm within his body.

Jayla smiled as she was greeted. She shook Henry's hand, and then came the hello from Damon. Things seemed to be going well. She was relieved when she felt the sun on her tan, smooth skin. The sun felt different to her than to most people, when it hit her skin. Her skin darkened more easily and was radiant with certain... effects. One would simply note that it was almost inhumanly smooth and clear, without blemishes or dirt. Cleared off and with such simplicity. She felt self conscious for a moment, trying to see if anyone had noticed her lack of a shadow. Luckily no one had yet, but she knew that that bridge would be crossed soon enough.

"It's such a pleasure to meet all of you too. I, I'm a bit new. Well not new, I've been here a few years, but I've just not really been up to anything. It's nice to finally talk to someone," she said giving a relieving sigh. She then reminded herself that she was at a funeral and shouldn't be acting so happy or excited. She inwardly calmed herself down.

"So, I hope none of you mind me asking, who... who passed away?" she asked in a hushed voice, keeping quiet. She hoped she hadn't already offended. "I didn't know them, I just... wanted to pay my respects. I was just wondering," she said to back up the fact that she wasn't working to insult.

Drake Deltori Blackmore.


The second Merry left, Val shared the room his grand scheme.

What Val was talking about was certainly... Intriguing.

Joining the Changeling Unit as a spy, a double agent, someone who would double cross them in an instant. Hell, this could save lives, and everyone could be prepared when the Unit decides to make their move yet again. Drake was, at first, all for the idea, as Val could be the person who could get to the bottom of this nonsense. Still there was a heavy risk behind this plan. One that could spell the end of their Russian friend if he makes the slightest slip up. There were risks a plenty, but the thing that Drake was more worried about than anything was Val crossing the line, and becoming the mask. The last thing Drake wanted to do was to put down a treasured friend.

If they don't immediately cut him down the second they find them.

Unlike Abe, who seemed to be all for it, Drake was conflicted about the whole plan. There were risks... Drake just realized something; why the hell are risks mattering to him, now, off all times? When he first got here, he had that 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' attitude, but now... He felt like he was starting to worry about things. Is that Adam rubbing off on him, or has he finally realized that it's time to act like an adult? Ultimately, it all came down to Drake, who knew that he would have to place his trust in Arsov. Trust him not to become a monster like them, and trust him not to die.

"That is a good plan, but it's not without it's risks," Drake started off, staring off into the ceiling. "I won't waste time going over all of them, since they're as obvious as they get." He quickly replied. Honestly he didn't want to bog them down with all the negatives. Drake gathered himself, before he made up a big speech, "If you do join them, just don't lose your way, Val. They may make you commit atrocities, they try to turn you into one of them - But you mustn't cross the line." Drake was being dead serious right now when he said this; ".... Because I don't want to be the one who has to put you down."

"Because you either..." Drake felt the morphine kicking in, "... Die... die... a hero or... be... come... become... the villain..." Before he faded into unconsciousness, he managed to hiss, "F*cking morphine..."

And he's out, folks.


Jake & Gabriela Valos.

Shade wrote:

"Do you know when this is going to start?" Arianna murmured, looking around. "I..." she chose her words carefully. "Never mind."

An odd question, since people were giving their eulogies, and showing grief, about the fallen. "It already started, I guess." Jake said blankly, shrugging. But, he felt that something was bothering Arianna, he couldn't put his finger on what - Okay, he could put his finger on exactly what; it's... Everything. He didn't even need to repeat it. Jake leaned on the railing, putting one elbow on it, looking smooth, "C'mon, Ari," Jake tried to coax Arianna out of, "What's wrong?"

While Gabe was silent, letting the conversation between Jake and Arianna go on, that didn't mean she didn't have anything to say. It was getting grating as this funeral went on. Barely anyone was giving Ariella any respect, it was all going to Amimoore and that Niza. It was like an insult, like she wasn't important enough. Favoritism at it's finest. It caused Gabe to roll her eyes. But it quickly dawned on her that she was doing the same damn thing that she was criticizing these people for doing. It appeared that she was the only person who cared, so why not do what everyone else seemingly can't? Gabe got up, and started calmly walking through the crowds, towards the podium. Without saying a word.

Jake's vision chased Gabe as she walked down, innocently asking, "Hey, Gabe what are you...?" Getting no reply. Dammit, Gabe. What the hell are you up to?

Not a soul raised an objection when Gabe took the stage, standing at the lectern. Finally, it came to Gabe, all these eyes looking at her. "I've come here to speak for my friend, Ariella..." Things quickly took a turn for the worse as Gabe came to realize; F*ck, I don't know this girl from the dirt she stood on... Piles of problems began piling up. She was never particularly close to Ariella. Which was something she regretted, since she missed the chance. Nor was Gabe ever the best public speaker. A recipe for disaster, if anyone asked her. "Um..." She was now at a loss for words, standing there like a fool, without a da-

".... Follow my lead, and repeat after me."

Jake had relayed his message to Gabe from where he and Arianna were standing. With a little bit of inventive power usages, of course. "'Cuse me for a moment." Jake put up one finger, an obvious gesture. He could pull this off a little better if he didn't have to juggle talking to Arianna. Eulogies were hard to pull off, since Jake has only been to like, one funeral? And one was enough for him.

"Thank you all for coming to help us celebrate Ariella's life and share our grief at her passing. She had a good life. Volunteering as a nurse, and using her powers to help as many people as she could. In her last moments, she spent them helping others. Giving them a second chance they wouldn't have had otherwise. I have talked to her fairly often, she was a kind and pleasant young girl, I regret not getting closer to her. Her education, her hobbies, her passions; she put forth an admirable amount of effort into all of them. I know it'll leave her family heartbroken once news of her demise reaches them, but I hope for the best in regards to them. And it'll make it easier knowing that their daughter was helping people."

And Gabe repeated after him, trying to hide the fact that someone else is feeding her information.

... Or the fact that it definitely wasn't the kind of thing Gabe would say.

Okay, Jake shared the same problem as Gabe since he didn't know Ariella at all. Unlike her, he was better at thinking, improvising, and managed to hide that lack of knowledge, and at the same time, spoke well of her. Maybe he had to throw in a lie or two. Didn't matter. Unless someone called her out, then the Valos will be fine.

Gabe causally (and quickly) walked off the stage, and joined her brother in leaning up against the railing. Going off the smirk, she was maybe feeling a bit better. "Thanks, that was real nice of you." She expressed gratitude towards Jake.

"I didn't count you as a master of the eulogies," Jake smirked warmly, "So I decided to give you a hand."

"I just needed to say something for her.... It was getting on my goddamn nerves how everyone was disregarding her." Gabe says, sinking down further.

Jake turned towards Gabe, giving her a bit of a smile for showing a side of herself that she lets few see. "What do you think of Gabe's little speech, Ari?" He put empathize on Gabe, almost like he was being sarcastic. "Not the best, but I'm great at improvisation, you know?"


Megan Emma Jervious.


"You got me there." Megan conceded with cheerful laughter, almost like she was playing a game. Henry responded to her little statement quite well, basically putting her in a metaphorical corner. She could argue against Henry further, but Megan was getting bored, and Henry wouldn't play her game forever, so she stopped here. However, she cheerfully inserted, "I have one more thing to say, before we move on; you have a lot to say." She said, devoid of any malicious intent, "Perhaps you'll help someone here. Animal-meta, or not. Who knows. Not everyone here will see you as a freak." This wasn't meant to be a continuation of her argument, merely a way of saying that someone, different from him, will see him as friend.

Dropping that conversation was fairly easy. A little girl had waltz her way into the conversation. Hm... Caucasian, average heighted, wearing a revealing dress (C'mon, this is a FUNERAL after all). Megan let the conversation go on for a bit, just to get some information about this female. Jayla. Going off of her demeanor, Jayla likely think this isn't a funeral and more of a social gathering. Hell, Jayla was likely not even paying attention when Adam announced the names of who died. Such foolish children these days, zero respect. Regardless, Megan introduced herself, "Hm... Megan Jervious. Art teacher, and Power Instructor in regards to the students that transform and Shapeshift. You know, that kind of silliness. Niiice to meet you." Before Megan decided to poke fun at the fact that Jayla didn't know who have fallen. "You might need a lesson or two in attentiveness deary. Their names were already announced during my lovely friend Adam's opening eulogy." She giggled, before continuing, "In case you need a refresher... Breanna, Thorn, Ariella, Travis, Felina and Amimoore. I haven't gotten to know anyone other than the Headmaster's daughter Amimoore, but I could tell you that she was a swell girl..."

At least until she went a little yonkers, but never speak ill of the dead, right? Megan met Thorn, and Travis. Though, the former was wandering through the halls in the middle of a blackout, while Travis found a kid mutilated. Not much to speak about them.


Carmen 'Lily' Santo.


Lily gave Jesse a dumb smile. "We're at a funeral and you're talking about food? Get out of here." She playfully elbowed him, softly laughing at her own joke. "But, sure. I'm getting hungry myself." She looked around for a bit, after realizing she's at a loss for subjects to talk about. Realizing that Merry isn't here yet (Or she can't detect her), Lily wasn't in too much of a rush. She wanted to have one talk with her, before they go their separate ways for the afternoon. "Um... So... Mer..." Lily was just about to bring up Merry when someone else took her attention. Gabe. Giving a eulogy, in a manner that Lily thought Gabe would never do. It was definitely surprising, though Lily thought that testosterone, horniness, and anger were the only emotions that Gabe could feel.

Lily wasn't convinced. "Hmph, I didn't know a girl like that had the capacity for remorse." Lily said, sardonically, "In the span of a week, she went from stealing booze and acting like complete ass, to giving emotional speeches." Then again, perhaps what happened down there hit Gabe as hard as anyone else. Lily quickly added, not to sound a cynical asshole, "But then again, stuff like what happened changes even the hardest people."