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Private/Closed The Oscillation (RP Thread)

From a moment, Parsia was briefly blinded. She had the maelstrom of wind stirred up by Alex's wings to thank for that. She covered her eyes with her hand, shielding them from dust and debris. The Oscillation had greatly improved her vision and unknowingly she'd become a bit reliant. Instinctively, Parsia screeched to a halt.

In robbing her vision, Allex had effectively and witlessly halted her movements; what that meant for his attack was rather obvious. When the lieutenant finally whipped the hair from her face, her eyes opened to flamboyant orange. She barely had time to scream before the fireballs exploded across her body.

Her altitude plummeted; although curiously, her panic hadn't affected her floating. She came to a halt a few inches off the ground, her agony awkwardly suspended in space. The girl on fire writhed and shrieked, batting the flames from her person. Her immediate panic rapidly diminished; the flames would not hurt her, though the fire might consume her, it could not harm her. Her new instincts assured her of that.

Nevertheless, the flames were still wholly incompatible with her clothing and Parsia herself with incompatible with streaking. She patted with renewed vigor, stifling the flames. It only took moments for the orange tongues to die, but the damage had been done. Her clothes had been burnt in several places, and the once-regal Huma bird now cut a sorry figure.

"I'd wanted to play around a bit more, but you've exhausted my patience, boy."

Flames kindled within Parsia hands, condensing into a single fire-ball, or more appropriately, a fire flare. Parsia released the flare into the sky where it exploded into a brilliant display of light and heat.

======================

Highly sensitive to light, Catherine's eyes had constricted into needles as the improvised flare gun went off. She hadn't been fully blinded, but her vision had blurred slightly as her pupils adjusted to the influx of light. As a result, it was her ears, rather than her eyes, which were the first to pick up on the escalating situation. She could hear them. Tens and tens of them. Footsteps. Loud and quiet; fast and slow; heavy and soft. Footsteps of all types as they were encircled.

The workforce of the gang, its normal members, had come out in droves; armed and dangerous, the thugs toted knives, pipes, and an assortment of self-created weaponry. The Nekomata noted several odd ones, a chain lined with bowling balls, a bat studded with nails, a thick leather shredded by laceration, through which could be seen shards of glass.

Each of the weapons was dangerous in its own right but had this been any other day Catherine probably would've backed down. However, she was changed now. She'd had a taste of that when she'd gone at the snake. She was stronger, faster, more agile. She could probably get through a few petty gangsters with—

"Look out! They've got guns!"

Her shrill warning sounded just before one of the gangsters, toting a pistol, took aim at Jonah.
 
Alex stared in surprise, his attack landing far more accurately than he'd expected. It turned out his wings did a fairly good job at blocking people's vision if he managed to stir up enough wind- something he'd have to remember. However, despite the ineffectiveness of his fireball he didn't expect Parsia to take it without relation, quickly raising up his wings in front of him the second he saw her raising her hand.

The flash managed to seep over the tips of his wings into his eyes, his enhanced vision ensuring that even this small flash blinded him for a second. Once his vision cleared he pulled his wings open just in the to see the remnants of her flare fading away into the top of the gymnasium and the first few gangsters coming through the door.

Alex couldn't help but scoff. These people hadn't even been changed! What chance would they stand against all of these newly powered students, against him?

"Look out, he's got a gun!" Alex heared the catgirl scream as he saw the glint of metal in the gangster's hands.

He moved fast- faster then he thought he ever could. The sorry mess of a Huma bird was less than an afterthought; his only focus was the man he was shooting towards.

Alex barreled into the first man, knocking him off his feet and sending his gun spinning along the floor. The phoenix's feathers lit up in a shining blend of gold and orange, with which Alex quickly sliced through the belly of the second assailant with and left a deep burn mark along his stomach.

The near deafening sound of gunfire rang out as Alex closed his wings, the pistol shots dissipating harmlessly against the burning plumage. However, more were starting to fill through the door, and even he couldn't trust himself to try and take on that many enemies.

Normally he'd tell everyone else to run, but he couldn't let a bunch of humans send them running. No, they had to win this fight, if not at least for Alex's own pride.

"Come on, I can't take the rest of these guys on solo. Everyone, pick a person!" He yelled over the increasing din of gunfire, glancing back at the rest of the students.
 
Like most cats, Aladd hadn't a fondness for getting wet; he immediately set to shake the water from his fur when he was once more but it seemed that getting blind-sided was becoming a very common occurrence as a pale-face boy managed to tackle him while he was distracted. The lieutenant was just about done with shit hitting the fan though because shit was about to go down and all these kids were gonna have to learn to shit sideways.

Leveraging his serpentine neck, Aladd planned to strangle his attacker while their hands mutually kept the other's in check.

==========

"Boo!"

Having taken his eyes off her foolishly, Parsia saw it very fit to punish the bird boy for his arrogance. While he'd been messing around with her henchmen she'd taken aim and dived into a dive-kick aimed straight for his back. Not needing to find any purchase on the ground she could easily launch her kick with both legs.

She had a simple plan, kick the boy and then grab his wings. She'd heard bird bones were often fragile; it was time to test if that applied across the board.
 
"Thank you, I don't know what would happen if she died on my watch." Augustus explained.

"I have no idea who he is, but he saved me." Ashley explained, "I may have an idea as to his Legend or Myth, wings, and healing abilities, equal a possibility of a Phoenix or maybe an Archangel, which one, I may have a clue in your book."

Augustus grabbed the book, and opened to the section about archangels, and found a section on healing Angels.

"With that healing, it has to be Raphael." Augustus realized, "Grab a life Jacket, let's get off somewhere."

The two prepared for more combat, especially with the Fishmen.

"I'm going to concentrate on a very powerful creature, and try to attempt a transformation." Augustus explained.

Ashley had picked up a trident along with her own, and was dual wielding them. She was taking them one by one, when suddenly, Augustus transformed into a grizzly bear. Two fishmen attempted to attack Ashley, only to be swatted at by Augustus in bear form.

"Let's get everyone left to lifeboats as the bear clears the deck!" Ashley called out to everyone on the boat.
 
It felt good to be the one in power.

This was something William was coming to realize, and his dominion was something he very much reveled in. Glancing around the office of his once and former teacher, William saw that little had changed since the last time he'd been here. The walls had been repainted, a new coat layered with primer had returned the whites and blues of the walls to their former glory. The charts containing abstract figures he didn't care about remained in place, and gracing the center of the room was a desk William was confident was older than he was. The desk had been graced with papers and a '#1 Teacher' Coffee mug, but the papers now scattered the ground next to the shattered fragments of the mug. Next to it all was a middle-aged man, groveling on the floor, his head held down in terror.

It had taken a bit of elbow grease to really drive him the situation to his once and former teacher, but after sending the man spiraling to the ground with a well-placed backhand, and driving an arrow through the concrete, inches from his skull, he seemed to have gotten it. He would live an die by William's whims and it would be in his very best interest to please his former student to the best of his ability.

Right now he was doing a pretty good job, the feeling of his teacher's head beneath his foot satisfied an itch William didn't even know he'd had. A man could get used to this kind of power and deference. A manic grin was plastered on the gang leader's face as he drew an arrow, aiming it at the teacher, allowing his hands to quiver uncertainly. Would he shoot, or would he not? That was the question to be. Of course, the answer mattered not to the archer, but the renewed quivering of his captive greatly amused him.

It was getting kind of boring though; he needed to find a new method of torment, something would really eat the teacher up. William's eyes drifted over to the shattered mug.

"Yea...that could work..."

A devious plan slowly came together in William's mind, but his thoughts were distracted when he noticed a flare go-off through the planes of the window.

Had something happened?

A slight frown touched William's lips and he eased himself off his teacher's prized desk, trodding over the man once more for good measure on his way to the door. Half-a-step through the door-frame, William paused.

"I hear the true test of character is what a man does under pressure; if I waged your life against your little precious ones, I wonder which would weigh out? Haha, It'll be a good show either way."

His raucous laughter followed him as he departed. It was about time he went and checked in on his lieutenants. He only hoped they haven't shafted things too badly.

=============================
“That’s great!”

The vulpine’s tail flourished excitedly behind her as she leaned over the cruise’s railings. She was watching the results of her plan in action, Marcus’ efforts with the life vests seemed to be effective as floundering passengers scrambled to grab the nearest life vest. Once they’d managed to slip into the vest, they visibly grew more relieved.

“Now we just need a way to retrieve them…”

Lifeboats. Where were the lifeboats? If she could just drop a few into the water then…

“Watch out!”

Yuying whipped around at the shouted warning just in time to see a fishman bearing down on her, more than ready to impale her. Panicked, she threw her hands in front of herself and shut her eyes. The sharp pain she’d expected never arrived, she had Erik’s skillful interception to that for that, but what had arrived was a blob of golden light that had solidified in front of her. The globule of light appeared to be attached to her arm, moving along with it. That was all Yuying had time to suss out though, as Erik arrived at her side and following him, a procession of fishies.

She glanced over at his weapon and the electricity crackling through it, envious. If she had an ability like that, she wouldn’t have minded fighting either but…she didn’t. Or did she?

Yuying returned her attention to the golden splatter of light that she’d produced, and then turned to Erik.

“Don’t mention it, we’re in this together; and, thanks for the save.”

=============================
I̡ ͟fel҉t͞ ̸m̕y̛self o̶n t͘he͟ edge of ͜t͏he̢ w͡o̸r̢ld͏, p͢e̢er͠in̛g ̀o̡v͢er the ŕi̷m in̵to a ҉fa̧th͘o͞ml̵es͘s͜ ͝c͝hao̶s͢ o̸f͞ e͘te̕rna͏l҉ night.͟ ̕T҉hŗo̡u҉gh͏ m͘y̕ te͞rro͞r r͏a̢n͡ ̡ćùr̡io͠us ͠rem̀i͜niscen͢ce̕s̡ ͢of̵ Pa͠ŕad҉i̸se͟ L̸o͏s̛t a͜nd Sat͢a͟n̵’͘s̀ h̨id͟ęous ͏cl̨imb̡ ͠th͢róug͠h th҉e unf͝a҉sh̷įo͡nable ̕ręa͝lm͝s o̢f̧ ̕da͢r̨kness…

I felt myself on the edge of the world, peering over the rim into a fathomless chaos of eternal night. Through my terror ran curious reminiscences of Paradise Lost and Satan’s hideous climb through the unfashioned realms of darkness…

The disappearance of a few of the lifevest toting passengers seemed to go unnoticed, but the effects of their disappearance would soon reveal itself. Howard was one such passenger. The rollercoaster of emotion, ups and downs, that had occurred in the last hour alone had left the man drained. He didn't even have it in him to resist when he'd been dragged under the billows; he had just lost consciousness.

When he came to, he noticed he was inside a cave, dimly lit by torches, and he wasn't alone. Peering around the jagged shadowy maw of the cavern, Howard could see other humans tied to stalagmites. It was then that Howard noticed he too was bound to a rock formation, helpless to free himself.

Howard turned his attention back to the other passengers. Many of them were still unconscious but in the torch-light, he'd caught the shifty eyes of a woman. She shushed him before he could speak, and wisely so. Not even a minute later Howard could hear the gurgle of...speech? The woman went limp, playing dead, he realized, and Howard saw fit to follow suit. The squelching shuffle of their captors sent chills up the man's spine, and he possumed all the harder.

The hushed gurgles and the horrid scratching evoked in equal parts terror and...curiosity. What were those fish doing? Why had the captured them? What even were they? How was any of this happening?

The churning of his mind unrooted question after question. They seemed unending and the need for answers gnawed at Howard's eyelids. They itched to open, just a smidgeon, to see what was going on. After what felt like hours, but was in truth a mere 15 minutes, Howard gave in. His eyelids fluttered lightly at first, giving the man the squinty vision needed to see the fishmen performing some unearthly ritual the likes of which man was not meant to know. They danced around a bonfire, strange and magnificent golden jewelries adorning their bodies as they called out to something Howard instinctively knew was some eldritch horror from beyond.

As ͢th̡e̛ ͢m̧oon̢ cl͝imb͢ȩd̵ h̨ighe̢r̴ ͞in͟ t͝ḩe ͞sky,̧ ͜Į b̛e̵gan t͡o see͜ th҉at t̕he ̸sl͟op̸eş ͝o͜f th҉e v͏al̢ley w͠e̴re n͡o͠t qui̡t̴e͞ s͘o pe̷rpènd͠i͜cu̶l̛ar̢ a̕ś I͟ h̡a̡d͝ im͟agine͡d͏. ͜L͟e͘dge̛s͢ ̧and ͠ou̸t́cr̸òppi͟ǹgs̡ ̕o̶f͡ ̷roc̛k̀ áff̀o̡rded ͏fa̷irl̡y͝ e̶a̶s͞y ̀f́oo͝t̷h̡ol͜d̛s̕ ̶for̵ a͡ ͠desc͜èn҉t̸, whil͟st aft̛e͡r͞ ̕a̧ ̵dr͠op͘ ͡of͠ ͞a̷ few ̵hu͏ńdr̢éd̀ ̛feet͟,̀ t̸ḩe d̡ecl̛i͏vit͏y͝ be̸ca͝me ̡ve̴r͜y̴ g͘ra̵d͝ua̡l͟.̴ Ur͢ged on ̧by̢ an̷ ͡i͏m̵pul̷śe̕ w͏hi̷ch ́I ca̴n͜no̸t̵ de͟fíni͘t͝e͏ly a̢n̢a̢ly̢ze̡, I͢ sc͘ra͞mb̢le̕d wi̵th͟ ̧dif̧fi͡cul͢ty do̵w̧n̡ t̵he͏ ro̡cks ̢a͞nd̡ s͝to̸od ̨on ̡t̶h̨e͜ ͝ǵen̛tle̶s̀t slo͡p̸es bene̷a̸th͜, ͝gazing ͝i̷n͞t҉o t̵h͢e̴ st̢y͏gi͜a̧n ḑe͏pt͢h͞s wh͢ere no lìg̛ht͝ ̷h̨ád͟ ̨y̴et͏ ̸pe̡n̛èt̛rat̕ed.̷

All a҉t͡ oņc̀e̵ my͝ a͡tten̡tion was cap̕turéd by a͢ v́a̸st̷ ͢an̡d̸ ͠sinģu͜lar o҉bje̸ct on t̷h̨e͝ opp͢os͞i͟t̴e͡ sl̛ope ẁhi͠ch҉ r͞o̴se̛ st͜e̢epl͘y ̛ab̨o͢u͟t̸ a h͜u͢n͞d̷rȩd yards ahe͡ad̴ ̀of҉ ͞me.̀ ͘An o̡bj҉e҉ct̶ ̕t̢ḩat gl͢ea̴m͡ȩd̨ ͜w̛h͠i̡telý iń ̛t̀he ̷neẁl̷y ̷b҉es̴tow҉éd̸ rays of̴ t͟h͢e ̴as̸ce͘n͢d҉ińg mo͝o͏n̡.͟
͠
That͡ it͏ w̷a͢s̀ meręl͢y a͢ gi̢ga̶n̴t̷i͢c͝ ̕piece̴ o҉f sto̧n̢e ̕I̛ soon ̡as͝sur͝ed m͏y̡s̀ȩlf͡,͢ ̴bu̵t͜ ́I̴ w̧a͢s c͝o̕n̡sci̢oưs ̷o̕f ́a͘ d̢i̴s͟t͡i̶n̛c̶t ͏imp͢r̕e̡s͜sion tha͜t ìts cont͟ou̷r̴ a͟nḑ p̀osition̸ ẁer͡e͟ ̵n̡ot͡ aĺt҉o͢ģe̛th̷er ͘the ҉w͘or̕k óf̴ ̴na͢t͞urè. ̸A̢ cl̸ose̛r̷ ͟sc͢r̛u͝t̡iny͟ ̀f̷ìl̡led̶ ҉me s̡eńsat͠įo̕n͡s̕ ̕I ca̕nnot͝ e̴x̵p̨ręs͏s͝,̵ f̕or ̧d͘es͘p̧i҉te̡ i͜t̢s ͘e͢no͢rmo͟u̸s̛ ͏m͟ąģnitud̷e, and̀ i͢t́ş p̡ositíǫn̸ ͜i͞n ̕a̡n ͢a̧byss̛ wh҉ic̢h́ ͝h͞ad ya̧w̶ne͢d̷ a̵t the͠ bo͞tto̵m̛ ͜of҉ t͠he se̸a͏ ͠s̛i̴n̡c̷e̸ ͘t̀h͢é wo̧r͢ld̡ wa̧s͘ ́y҉oung, ͜I p͠e͜r͏ceiv͠e͏d bey̶ón̶d̀ a ͠d̀o͝ub̷t th͜a͠t͡ ̴th͘e str̡a̸n͢ge ͡ob̀je͝c̢t wa̸s̵ ̵a͏ w̛el̀l͠-͜s͢h͢aṕe͢d m͢o̷no̴lith̸, ͘wh̨os͜e͡ m̵ass͏i͞ve b̧ul̵k ̛ha̡d̸ k͜n͟o͢w͟n͝ the w͜o̸rk͝man҉s̀hip ͠a̵nd ҉p̢ęrhaps̀ ̷t́h̕ę ̵w͜oŕship͏ of ̵l͞ivi̴n̵g͠ ̨a̵n҉d ̡t̷h͘ińkin̛g͞ ̷c͡r̶e͟atu̴res̸.͝
͞
͏D͞a̷z̕ed̴ ̢an͜d̀ ͜fr͠ighten̸ed, y̴et҉ ńot̨ ͘with͝out̴ a ̨cèr̕ta̕in a̡ ͜t́h̡r̶íll̀ ̴of ţh̶e̷ ̷sc͏i̵e͜nt͠is̸t͠s̸ ̡o͝r͜ a̷rc̡h̵aeo̵l̴o͠gi͟s͜ts̴ ̕deli͘g͠ht, ͏I͜ ̀examíned̢ m͢y̴ ͜sur̢r͡ou̶nd҉in͜gs mo̧re̢ ̨c͠l̕o̴se͠ly.͡ The moo̷n͝ ̡ņow ̶n͏e҉ar the͠ ̶zen͟i͢t͟h ͘shonè we͝ir͟dly and̸ vi̸v̷idļy ͞ab̢o̵v͢e ̵the ̀to͠we̕rin̛g ́s͞teep̕s t̡ḩa̢t ̴he̛m͢ḿȩd̸ ͞in̕ ̶th͢e ̨c̡h͢a͘sm and rev̡ea͟le̸d the ̀f͘act̡ ̵that͟ a͟ fa͠r-̡fl̸un͏g ͞bo͢dy ̸o̕f w̡ater fl̶ow͘e̴d͝ a̡t ̨the̸ ͟b̨o̧ttom̛, win͏din̷g ou̧t͠ o͝f sight ͞i͟n͘ b̶ot̴h ̢d҉ire̢c̷tio͜n̕s ͠an̵d̵ almos͡t͞ la̛p҉pi̴n͘g àt̷ my ̨f͝ee̢t a̧s ́I ̧s̛to̷o̕d ͝o̕n the sl̸o͜pe.͜
͘
͝A͏cr̡o͝s̕s ţhe ̷c̕h͟a̴sm͢, ͞the ͞wàv͘e͝l͞et̵ş wa͠she͠d͡ ̷t͡he ͞base o̴f͞ t̛he̛ c̕y͝c̡lope͢an̸ ̧mòn҉o̵l̡i̛t̴h on̡ who̸s͞e ̧su̕rfa̛c̴e I c̀oưld҉ n͝ow ̴tra̡ce bot̸h́ ins͞c͝ripti̶o҉ņs ̛and ͢c͏ŕưd̛e s͢c̛u͟l̀ptųre҉s. T̢h͏ę w͏ri͝ti͞ng͟ w҉aş in̷ a̷ ̕s͠ys̛teḿ of͠ ̀hi͠er҉og͟l̨yp̀hics un͘kn͠ówn̛ to ͝me,̢ an̡d ͝unl͡ike ͞an͢y̴th̢in͏g I̵ ͝ha̵d ̷e̢v̢er s̸een in boo̕k͠s̕.͝ ͘C̕onsi͘st͡įng͢ for҉ th̵e҉ most par̸t ̨óf͠ ̀c̶on͢v̵e͢ǹtíonali҉ze̕d̴ a̡qua̧tic s͝y͘m͏bols s̴uc̢h ͡a̕s ͜fi̕sh̕eş, eelş,͞ o͟ct̛o͘pi̡,̛ ͢cru͟s͘t̸a҉cea̶ns̵,̛ ̧m͢ol͢l͘u̸s͠ks̕, ̀w͞h́ale͟s ͏an͡d t̶h͠e like,͟ se͘ve͝ral ҉c̀h́a͜ract̸ers̨ ͝ǫb̶vi͞ous̢ly͠ ̡r̀e͟p̡rese͞nted̵ mar͘in̢e ̶t̡h͝ings̸ ̵u͟n͠kn̵own t̴o ͡th̵e͝ m̸o̕de͘r͠n̕ ̸wor҉ld̷ ̡but͞ ̧whos͠e deco̷m̵pos͏i͝n͜ģ ͠form͡s̵ I ̷hád ͢o͏b͝se͘r̡v̸ed̢ ͡on̡ th̶e̶ ́oce̶a̛n ͟r͘is̨eņ ͘p̷l̨an͝e̛.͏
̡
̢It ẁas̡ t͟h͞e p̴ìc̷t͟ơr͘ial c̢a̛rvi̕n̸g̶ ̢hòw̵ev͟e̢r ̷t͟h̷at ̷did͜ ̶mos̴t͡ ͢t͞o ho͘ld ̶mę ̸s҉p͘e̛l̷lb͠o͜und͠.̷ Plain̸l̶y v͡isi͞b́l͠e àc͏ro̕s̛s ͜the͘ int̨e̡r͜v͏e̢nin͘g w̢a͟ter̛ ͜on acc̨ou̡n͡t of t̸heír eno͟r͟mous̸ si͜z̀e w҉ás҉ ąn ̕a̧rr̛a͝y ͜o͘f ͝b́as̢-r̀el͏i͞efs̕ wh̨o͢se sub͘jects w͝ǫul̵d ҉ha҉ve e̷xc͘i̶te͜d́ the̛ en̵vy̢ ͞o̵f a ̢d̡oor.͢ I͏ th҉i̷n̷k̛ th͠at these tḩi̧ng͜s̛ wer҉e ̶su̕pp̕os̵ed to d̴ep̡i͝ct͝ ͡m͢an̶. ͘A̡t ͢ĺe͘as̢t͡ ̷a̕ ceŗt̵aìn̕ ҉s̨or̕t of͘ ma̶n, t̷ho̸u̧gh t͠he ̕çre͟atu͏r͞es͘ ͞w̴e̕r̨e s̵hown d̢isportin̕g ͟li҉ke fi̵shing ͝in ͢thȩ wa͘t̴er͜s̀ ̶o̷f ̛s̀o̸m̧e m̀a̧ŗi̕ņe gr̀o͘tt̕o o̷r ̷payiǹg̸ ͝h͝om̷ag̸e͘ ͘a͠t́ soḿe ͠m͟o͜nol̷ithìc̨ ̸sh̢r͘i͝n̸e͏ which a̕ppeàr̴ed̕ ţo͡ ̵be̡ ͟u͡n̕d҉er ͠t͡he͜ ͢w͢aves̶ ̛a͞s͠ ͞wel͝l̛. ̧Of҉ ́t̡h̀e̶ìr͟ ͘f̨ac̕e̡s̨ and f̨o͝rms,̨ I ̛da͢re ͟n͏o̷t̀ spe͠a̛k̡ ̴in͢ de͠t̕a͜il,͏ ͠fo͝r̢ ̢t̀hȩ ͘m͡ere̕ ̕ŗe͞m͢e̷mb̷ra͏n̢ce m͞a̧kes ̵m̶e ͏g͢row͠ ̢fa̸int̶. ͏Grot́e҉s̛q̀ue ̶b̸e̛yo̧ņd҉ th͏e̸ ̡i̧m̴a͝g͝in͜a͘t͏ion ̨of̷ ͠a͠ ̷Poe͡ ͜o̡r̷ ͢a ͢Bulw͘er, th̸ęy͟ ̛w͟ere ͘d͢am̛na͢b̕l̴e hum͢a̴n͠ ̕in̛ ̷g͡ene̶ràl ̶ou̷t̸l̕ine ́de̡s̡p͜i̧te w͜eb҉be͞d han̨ds̨ ͟ąnd̡ ͏fe҉e͠t͢, ͢shock̶i͏n̛gly̷ ̴w̛i͞d͏e ͠an͡d҉ ̧f̶lab̛by͝ l͞ip͠s͟,̵ glass̨y͠ b͝u̴l͜gin͢g͘ èy̛e͞s ̨a͡nd ͜ot́her ͡feaţure͜s le͝ss p͜l̷e̛aşan̕t ̧t͝o ͡rec̷a̵ll͠.
͏
C̵u͡rious̨ly ͠en̕ơųg͢h́, ̴t҉hey ͢s̷e͜emed t́o͠ h͝a̷ve ̧be̢ęn̴ c̛his͏ęled̨ b̵aḑly͡ ̕òu͝t ͜o̸f ͏p̀rǫpo͟r̢t҉ion ẁith̵ t̴he͝ sc҉e͠ni͟c ̛b̸a̶ck͢g̴rou̴n̢d͏, ̶f̢or ̨one ̀of ͜t͟he͞ ͞c̢re̕atu̵r͟es͡ ̵was ̴s͢hown i҉n͘ t҉h͞e a̸c̢t̀ of ̷ki̸l͟li͜ng̢ a whale re҉p͡re͟s͏ent̨e͘d ͘as bu͏t ͡lit̕tl̨e l̛argȩr̷ ̛t͜h̡a͞n͜ hi҉msel͝f.͞ ͞I r̡emarkèd as̸ ̴I s̶ay ̧t͢h̨eiŕ grot̶esq͡uen͏e͟s͞s̨ ͏and҉ ͞str̶a̶nge si͟ze̕,̢ but in͡ ͟a ̵m̡o̶me͟nt͝ ̸de̕c͠id̀e̸d ͢t̨h͢a̵t̷ th͜e̵y ̕wer͏e ̸m̸er҉ely̸ ̶t͞h͜e i͠ma͡gi͜na̷ry ͟g҉ods͘ ̕of ͟so͟m͡e ͜p̶r҉i͠mìti͢v͞ȩ fi͝shin̵g̛ ͘o̵r s̨eáfa̷r͢i͢ng͘ ́t̡r͢i̵be͡.́ ̶Sǫm͏e ͘tr̨ib̷e wh́o͘s͏e ͢l͡a͠s͡t deśc̛endant͢ ̢ḩa̧d̛ pe̛r͏i̷sh͞e̶d ̵e͏r͟as ͢b̧ef̧ore ̧t͘he ͏f̢i҉r̷st ͟a̡n̕cest҉o͝ŗ ̨of t̢h́e̛ N̸èandȩrţh̛al̷ ͘man was born.


As the moon climbed higher in the sky, I began to see that the slopes of the valley were not quite so perpendicular as I had imagined. Ledges and outcroppings of rock afforded fairly easy footholds for a descent, whilst after a drop of a few hundred feet, the declivity became very gradual. Urged on by an impulse which I cannot definitely analyze, I scrambled with difficulty down the rocks and stood on the gentlest slopes beneath, gazing into the stygian depths where no light had yet penetrated.

All at once my attention was captured by a vast and singular object on the opposite slope which rose steeply about a hundred yards ahead of me. An object that gleamed whitely in the newly bestowed rays of the ascending moon.

That it was merely a gigantic piece of stone I soon assured myself, but I was conscious of a distinct impression that its contour and position were not altogether the work of nature. A closer scrutiny filled me sensations I cannot express, for despite its enormous magnitude, and its position in an abyss which had yawned at the bottom of the sea since the world was young, I perceived beyond a doubt that the strange object was a well-shaped monolith, whose massive bulk had known the workmanship, and perhaps the worship, of living and thinking creatures.

Dazed and frightened, yet not without a certain thrill of the scientist's or archaeologist's delight, I examined my surroundings more closely. The moon, now near the zenith, shone weirdly and vividly above the towering steeps that hemmed in the chasm and revealed the fact that a far-flung body of water flowed at the bottom, winding out of sight in both directions and almost lapping at my feet as I stood on the slope.

Across the chasm, the wavelets washed the base of the cyclopean monolith on whose surface I could now trace both inscriptions and crude sculptures. The writing was in a system of hieroglyphics unknown to me, and unlike anything I had ever seen in books; consisting for the most part of conventionalized aquatic symbols such as fishes, eels, octopi, crustaceans, mollusks, whales and the like, several characters obviously represented marine things which are unknown to the modern world but whose decomposing forms I had observed on the ocean risen plane.

It was the pictorial carving however that did most to hold me spellbound. Plainly visible across the intervening water, on account of their enormous size, was an array of bas-reliefs whose subjects would have excited the envy of a door. I think that these things were supposed to depict man. At least a certain sort of man. Though the creatures were shown disporting like fishing in the waters of some marine grotto or paying homage at some monolithic shrine which appeared to be under the waves as well. Of their faces and forms, I dare not speak in detail, for the mere remembrance makes me grow faint. Grotesque beyond the imagination of a Poe or a Bulwer, they were damnably human in general outline despite webbed hands and feet, shockingly wide and flabby lips, glassy bulging eyes, and other features less pleasant to recall.

Curiously enough, they seemed to have been chiseled badly out of proportion with the scenic background, for one of the creatures was shown in the act of killing a whale represented as but little larger than himself. I remarked as I say their grotesqueness and strange size, but in a moment decided that they were merely the imaginary gods of some primitive fishing or seafaring tribe. Some tribe whose last descendant had perished eras before the first ancestor of the Neanderthal man was born.

The churning of water, and its eventual splash, followed by the hiss of the bonfire drowned the cave in darkness. Though the darkness seemed no solace as the sight of what to come. Yet it was not the sight that first alerted him; it was the stench. Horrid and indescribable, the smell hit him like a truck of bricks. Howard reeled at the sensation, his eyes widening and falling upon what appeared a glowing pit of water, where the cave connected to the ocean. From unknown depths a single tendril emerged, its own luminescence giving Howard all the light he needed to make it out.

And he wished he hadn't.

The tendril was a fleshy mass of rawness, littered with eyes formed and unformed without any semblance of order. Between the eyes were mouths chittering with noises of "Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!" and from the mouths emerged new fleshy masses shaped vaguely like arms. There was nothing that could've prepared Howard for this glowing monstrosity, and as the tentacle crawled towards him Howard could feel new wetness in his pants...


Awes͟tr͝uck͡ ̕at ́thi͘s ųǹe̴xp̵ect̢ed͘ g͢li͝m҉p͢s͏e in̕tǫ a͢ ̡pas̷t ̕bey̨o̸nd̷ ͝the ͏conc̶eptio͞n̵ of͡ ͏t͟he ̸m̨o̕st d̛ar͠i̷n͢g̵ a̷n̛th̕rop͠o͡log̵i͠st, I s͜tood ̛musing, ͡w̡h̛il̨st ţhe̢ mo̶o̵n͟ ́cast͘ q͢ue͞er ref̨lec̷tion͜s̕ ͘o͜n̢ ͘t͠h͟e s͏i͏len̴t͏ ch͢annel ̶before m̢e.͘ The͟n, su͢d͡de̛nl͝ý, I ͡sa̷w it̢.̴

̴W̶íth͟ ̢o͝nly҉ ͟a ̕s̕li̵ght c̡h́u̷ŕnin͝g͏ t̛o ̧ma͏rk͝ ̷it̸s r̴i̛se t͡o͟ t͞h͞e̛ s̛ur͝fa͘c̶e, ̡t̷h͘e t̨hing͞ s̶l̛i͠d i̴n̵t̸o͝ v̢i͡ew҉ a͢b͞o͟v̶e the͢ ̴d͝a̵r̕k waters̀.͞ Va̶s̛t͠ ͢P͞o͝l͘y̛p̨hemu̶s̨-̢like ͟and̴ l̶ǫa̶t͢h̵so̵m͜e҉, ͞i͏t͜ ̷dar̡t҉ed ̶li̶ke a͡ ̷st͝u̵pe̢ndou̢s͟ ͟mon̕s͠t͠er̡ of ni͝g̡h̸tma̵re̴s̴ ̸t͠o ̧t͡h҉e̸ ̛mo͏no̕l͡i҉th ͡a͞b̧ou͢t wh̀íc͜h̨ ́i̸t ̀f͠lu͡ng҉ ͏i̡ts ̕g͢i͠ga̵nt̨ic ͠sc̸a͟ly͘ a҉r͜ms th͡e w̵hi̢l̡e ̴it̶ b̵o̷wed it͡s ̵hide̡òu̷s ́heáḑ ͢a͢n͡d͝ g͘a̡ve v̢en̸t̡ ͘to cer͡ta̷i̢n m҉eas̡ure̸d ̡s̢ou̷n̨d͏s.͡ I t̡hink I w͟en͡t̀ ̀ma̶d ̡thȩn…

O҉f́ my̴ ̡fra̸n͘tic ͡a̕sc̸eņt of҉ ͞thé ͡s͏l̶ope a̕nd ͏c͠li͟ff̛ ànd̸ óf m̢y ͏d́e͠l͞irio̴u̵s̶ ̶j̕o̕u̧rn͏ey҉ b̛ac̷k to̡ ̀t̡he͝ ͝st͠ra͜nde҉d͏ boa͢t, I͞ ͝r͏e̡mem͢b͘e̴r͟ ̧l̸įt҉t̷le.̢ ҉I b̢el͢iève ̀I҉ sáńg a g̛reat ҉de̷a͡l ́a͘nd͘ la̡ughed od̢dly ͡w̢h̀e͞n Ì ̶w̶a͏s u͝na̕b͠l͘e̕ ͜to sįng̸. Ì ͠ha̷ve ̴in̡di͘s̷t͜inct͜ rec͞ol̡l̵e̴c̸t͠i͜on͝s ͠of̡ a gr̵eat ͡s͡torm soḿetime ̕ąfter͜ I ̢re̕ach͡ed̸ ̨t̴he̸ bo͞a̧t.̴ A̴t́ ̡anỳ rat̶e,͘ ̷I ̷k̀new҉ ͝t͡h͠a͏t͢ ͠I ͢hear̴d p͢e̛a̵ls ͘o͘f͠ ̡t͜hu͠nde̶r ͏and oţh͟er ̀t̷ones͘ wh͏i̴c͡h́ ͝N̡a͝tu͡r͜e utt͡érs ̴only͘ ̷in̛ ̛h҉e̡r̀ ͟w̷i̸ĺdes͏t m̧oo͢ds͡…

Awestruck at this unexpected glimpse into a past beyond the conception of the most daring anthropologist, I stood musing, whilst the moon cast queer reflections on the silent channel before me. Then, suddenly, I saw it.

With only a slight churning to mark its rise to the surface, the thing slid into view above the dark waters. Vast Polyphemus-like and loathsome, it darted like a stupendous monster of nightmares to the monolith, about which it flung its gigantic scaly arms the while it bowed its hideous head and gave vent to certain measured sounds. I think I went mad then…

Of my frantic ascent of the slope and cliff and of my delirious journey back to the stranded boat, I remember little. I believe I sang a great deal and laughed oddly when I was unable to sing. I have indistinct recollections of a great storm sometime after I reached the boat. At any rate, I knew that I heard peals of thunder and other tones which Nature utters only in her wildest moods…
 
Just as Orm was about to bite down on Parsia, he felt someone tugging on his tail. The physical contact didn't stop with just tugging though, as someone had the immense physical power to slam him into the ground. Coughing from the immense impact, he pulled himself together after enduring the earthquake and faced the third gang member, the one who let him meet the floor with his body. "You, I'll enjoy tearing you to shreds! No one attacks me and gets away with it!" Hissing loudly, the boy with the powers of Jormungandr slithered towards Samson and began encircling him as he prepared to constrict the gang member.
 
Adrian's behavior was easily mistaken for that of a starving animal, he watched as Aladd began to move his neck in an attempt to constrict the young vampire, while Adrian's mind constantly tried to order his body to dodge the attempted choke... something in the very back of his mind wouldn't let him.

"Blood!"

The voice echoed through Adrian's mind as both of his hands grabbed on to Aladd's neck, his claws slowly began to dig into the flesh just as Adrian opened his mouth wider than possible, his fangs protruded from his jaws and he shot his head forward as if to headbutt only to bite down on the lieutenant's neck not just with his fangs, but almost every tooth in his mouth began to dig in to his flesh. The second he bit down, the taste of blood began to cover his tongue...

...and it tasted extremely delicious.
 
"FUCKER!" Alex yelled as the previously forgotten Parsia buried her feet into his back. He slumped forwards, but quickly perked back up as he felt hands on his wings. The pressure began to increase on his left and he began to panic, funneling energy into said wing in instinct and quickly raising its temperature to a searing heat comparable to a grill.

At this point Alex feared his wing would crack and abandoned rational thought; frantically flapping his wings in an effort to shake her off, which hopefully combined with the new heat would be enough to shake them before she could cause any real damage
 
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Nukas

Previously Kid_Nukas
Sam had been lying low, waiting for the best moment to leave. It all kind of escalated before he had a moment to think, his teacher was killed, the kids who were fighting each other were now fighting these gang members. This dream was starting to feel way too real. Once the flare went off, it seemed like a good time to make his escape. Most everyone was distracted by the stuff going on with the snake, cat, and bird, that they wouldn't notice if one student snuck out in the confusion. Luckily Sam was already pretty close to the door so he slowly went out into the hallway. Once he was past the doors, he made a break for it.

He knew he had seen someone who looked like Windie come into the gym for a second earlier. If it was Windie, then he was probably looking for Sam. He figured talking to Windie might finally clear this up in his head. It had to be a dream... right? There's no way any of this was actually happening. He didn't turn into a girl, bird, thing. There was no weird giraffe/leopard/serpent dude attacking their school. There was no way Mr. Whiteford was actually dead...

As this was all swimming through Sam's mind, he paid no attention to what was going on around him. He didn't even notice the man walking toward the gym as he ran into him. Sam tumbled to the ground and Sam's immediate instinct was to apologize before realizing he had no idea who this guy was. While he could have just been another student who had been changed, he seemed older. If he was with those two from the gym, then Sam might've been in trouble. "Sorry, I didn't see you there, I'm just looking for a friend, I'll get out of your way."
 
It was biting him.

The filthy miscreant was biting him.

A hiss of unabated fury rushed from Aladd's lips; it was mixed with mitigated pain. The scales covering his neck had done what they could, but evidently they weren't enough to completely protect him. He'd have to move fast before the kid got anymore purchase on his neck. Aladd tucked his limbs in, his claws extending for grip before he dug them into the kid's body and prepared to throw him off.

============================
"Yowch!"

The rising temperature of Alex's wings seemed to go beyond what Parsia's natural heat-tolerance would allow her to mitigate. She was forced to let-go and retreat after only a few seconds. However, determined to get the last laugh, the woman had chosen to rush forward rather than backward as she fully intended to take the opportunity to stomp on Alex's head as she escaped his range. After all, it was only right that the boy be beneath her foot.

=============================
"Hmmm..."

William's brow furrowed as what seemed to be a small, feather girl slammed into his chest. Her frame hardly carried the necessary power to make him falter, but her words most certainly did. If she was looking for her friend then in all likelihood she'd be very vigilant as she went down the halls. By extension, he had to assume that she would notice some clues about his latest deeds. That wasn't exactly in his best interest; it would almost certainly ruin a particular plan of his...

William stepped to the side, blocking her once more.

"You should take another route, this hallway is off-limits."

 
Alex's new vision was finally put to use as he saw Parsia lean forwards in preparation of lifting her foot up to bring down on his head, giving him ample time to roll to the side and out of harm's way. However, seeing an opportunity, he made an attempt to grab her leg before it touched the ground and returned her stability and pull it outwards instead, while simultaneously lashing out with his left wing to send her other leg from under her. If all went to plan, she would meet her rightful place on the dirty gym floor- after all, someone that flies without wings should be on the ground and if physics wasn't going to oblige, Alex would be happy to take its place
 
"Don't mention it," Erik responded, a grim but as-friendly-as-he-could-make-it smile as he turned to look at Yuying. His curiosity had been piqued by the bright blob of golden light that now stuck onto the girl's arm, but Erik quickly disregarded his fascination as the fish-men that had been following him continued to lumber toward the duo without hesitation. Tightening his grip on his trident, Erik closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before opening his eyes and finally plunging into the fight.

First, he lunged out and ran his charged weapon through the fish-man at the very front, taking a few others with him as he pushed forward to the other side of the ship; he then sent a huge surge of electricity through the group of creatures, electrocuting the mob to death. With a blast of wind, Erik sent them flying off the deck and back into the water before redirecting his attention to the others.

While a handful had followed him during his charge across the deck, several still had their attention on Yuying. Narrowing his glowing eyes, Erik began to fight his way back, cutting some fish-people down with his trident or "wind-blasting" others. As he fought, he remained oblivious to the massive shadow under the surface of the waters, slowly but surely lurking toward the cruise ship.
 

Nukas

Previously Kid_Nukas
"Oh ok, I'll just go this way then, I don't really need to go down that hallway anyway. It should be fine."
Sam was trying to stay cool as he talked to the man with the Bow. He had to refrain from asking too many questions because if he was correct, this guy was with that gang from the gym. He decided it would be best to end the conversation here and find Windie. While this may have all been a dream, he still didn't want to do anything stupid. He started to run the opposite way of the man with the bow to continue searching for his friend once more. He went down another hallway when he finally saw him coming down the hall.

"WINDIE! Ok, I'm really happy I found you. There are these really weird guys in the gym. They seem to be a part of some kind of gang. There was this weird giraffe slash snake–leopard thing, a floating girl, and a huge muscular man. They're fighting some other students in the gym. I came looking for you after I saw you come to the gym and I ran into another guy with a bow. He seemed like he was protecting something. They killed Whiteford. He-he's dead." He paused for a moment before continuing, "To top it off I seem to have wings now and there was this voice that said I'm some sort of Siren? Oh and not to mention the fact I'VE BEEN TURNED INTO A GIRL! Please, I need you to tell me right now, this is all a dream right?" Sam was not usually one to yell or get worked up, but everything that has happened was starting to effect him and his emotional state. He was really hoping this talk with Windie would fix all of his problems. Windie would assure him it's a dream and he'd wake up in Literature and Whiteford would be there to scold him for falling asleep in class.
 
Parsia had been slightly surprised by the boy's sharp reactions, but his decision to stick close rather than gain his distance was something she planned to make him regret. He seemed to believe he could throw off her stability by yanking her leg, but unfortunately for him, she remained perfectly stable; her body floated and rotated along with his exertions, but the woman in question was hardly bothered by them. Seeing him bat at her with his wing, however, made her smile.

"Well, don't mind if I do!"

She made another grab at his wing, this time more prepared for the burn. Then, with the same leg he'd tried to bat away with said wing, she prepared to drive her knee into the bone of the wing. She had wishful fantasies of snapping his wing over her knee, his wing a batman to her bane.
 
Windie’s search was abruptly brought to a halt by this strange girl who had stopped him in his tracks. At first, he stood there listening, annoyed that this vaguely familiar girl he probably had a class with years ago was confiding in him. However, as the droning continued, Windie slowly began to draw similarities between the girl and Sam until suddenly she confirmed it.

“Hahahaha that SUCKS!” Windie suddenly burst out laughing, kicking his head back and forming small tear droplets.

“You? Sam? Bwahahaha this is perfect! Thank you for cheering me up. I guess I needed some perspective.” The giggling continued for awhile until a few deep breaths allowed Windie to calm down.

“Whew. Sorry.” He panted, suppressing the smallest of laughs underneath a not-so-concealed grin.

“But I guess it could be worse, at least you’re not flat.” He joked, nodding down towards his friend’s new bust.
 

Nukas

Previously Kid_Nukas
Sam just stared at his laughing friend for a moment, everything coming into focus. That laugh confirmed everything. This was the real Windie. He had really been turned into a girl. The school was really under attack, and Whiteford– Whiteford was gone. The situation was all compounding on him, and he couldn't help bursting into tears. Maybe it was the new female hormones in his body causing him to be more emotional than usual, maybe it was the fact that his best friend was laughing at him because of his new appearance, or maybe it was because he had thought it was all a dream and therefore didn't do anything to help Whiteford. Whatever it was, he couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

"Dude, what the hell? I just told you that our teacher is dead, and the school is under attack and all you can do is laugh?" In all fairness, if the situations were reversed, Sam probably would have been laughing too, but the emotions just seemed to be overwhelming him. He started to calm down. "Listen I think we need to get out of here. I can't take on those crazy guys and I don't want to see anyone else get die. If we escape right now, I don't think anyone will notice, I only saw one gang member outside of the gym and he seemed pre-occupied. I don't think we'll have another chance later."
 
“Hey.”
Thunk
“Snap out of it. I’m not gonna coddle you just because you’re a girl now.” The sound of Windie’s finger flicking Sam’s forehead abbreviated his speech.

“Look.” He stated firmly. “Obviously this day has been a shit-show so I’m really not that surprised by anything you’ve said. You can either suck it up or laugh it off like me, but you gotta find a way to deal with things.” Windie continued with his stern tone, it was clear Sam was close to collapsing so he knew it was necessary to stand as a strong beacon for his friend. “Tough love” as it is called.

“If people are dying we gotta go help. There’s a lot of people who didn’t get powers as great as ours that could get hurt. You said there’s one guy outside the gym? Let’s start by dealing with him. You lead with the seductive feminine charm siren’s are famous for. With or without powers, those will work on any guy.” Windie smirked, trying to lighten the mood with a joke as he gestured at Sam’s new body.

“Besides, if that doesn’t work I’ll be here to back you up. I’m getting used to these powers and I’ll die before I let somebody hurt my best friend, much less a damsel in distress.”
 
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Nukas

Previously Kid_Nukas
Sam thought about what Windie had said and knew he was right. It wouldn't right to just leave others as they died just because he couldn't cut it. Just because he couldn't see the damage doesn't mean it wouldn't happen. He needed to steel his resolve and man up, or... woman up. He was ready to help, but then he heard the first part of Windie's plan.

"I mean, I can try. I think he might have already gotten to the gym though. I ran into him relatively soon after leaving the gym. He seemed to be guarding something in that hallway I met him on. I bet we could go try and sneak a peak? It might be something we are able to use against him. And if he tries to stop us, I can maybe try using that 'feminine charm' like you said." Sam realized he knew the exact type of feminine charm Windie was referring to. Throughout the day, he'd been noticing guys stopping to look at him and they seemed interested. He had tried not to pay any attention to it because he had thought it was all a dream, but looking back, it seemed like a lot of people had been staring. It might even work on the guy with the bow if he tried hard enough.
 
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In a reaction of pain, Adrian only bit down harder on Aladd's neck as it still did the work of draining his succulent blood little at a time, some of it managed to cover his lips. As he felt the force of his 'meal' try to throw him off, he tried to counter and apply his own claws on to the man's flesh. Despite how he felt himself slowly lose his grip on the delinquent, he made sure his claws tore against his flesh, but his bite showed little sign of being removed, not unless the chunk of flesh the vampire bit down on came off.
 
Aladd growled in rage, thoroughly don't with this vampire kid's antics.

"Someone light this kid up!"

His hiss elicited a scramble of movements from that gang, and even as Aladd dug his claws in further to keep a good grip on Adrian, the other members of the gang began chucking Molotov. Aladd himself made no attempt to get out of the way, he was confident in himself and his gang members, but he wondered how the kid would fare.


==========================

With the girl taken care of, William continued his trek. He arrived outside to a scene of chaos, members of his gang brawling with mutant children, who were, surprisingly, holding their own quite well. That was...troubling. Streaking a hand through his hair, the gang leader decided it was about time to end this farce.

"Aright, listen up you twerps!"

His thunderous voice cut through the fighting, and he stepped out into the open, his bow already in hand. He pulled the power the full draw and a blindingly brilliant arrow burst into existence, already nocked. He aimed not at any of the fighters, but instead, at one of the school's classrooms, where a score of children, unchanged by the Oscillation, had been watching on in shock.

"Here's how it's going to go. You're going to surrender quietly before you hurt someone."
 

sSoul

Previously Swirled
With a resigned sigh, Jonah decided to look for a new target among the White Vipers. It was apparent to him now that he couldn't put Parisa's flames out with his water blasts, despite what cartoons would have one believe. Therefore, Jonah opted to observe his surroundings to see where he could best involve himself in this conflict. The giant snake guy seemed to be involved in an intense dick measuring contest with the White Vipers' resident brute, so getting involved there would be an unfourtunate mismatch at best and a tragic death at worst. The cat girl seemed to be taking a break from fighting Aladd, but another kid seemed to be picking up her slack. Just as was about to give up on being involved, some guy entered the room just to establish his "dominance" on the students.

Who the hell does this guy think he is?

A part of Jonah was hesitant in attacking the new arrival, but a larger part of him wanted to knock the guy down a few pegs. The Ryūjin took time to tighten his focus, plan what he was going to do, and muster bravado in doing it.

"I see the merit in what your proposing, but there just one key problem," As Jonah began, he moved his hand to summon a pressurized geyser underneath William's feet with the intent to send him upward, "You're gonna drown above land before that happens,"
 
Adrian's eyes turned to look at the newly gathered small group of thugs who seemed to carry molotovs, this sparked something in Adrian as he immediately let go of claws and fangs alike to try and escape, although Aladd refused to let him. As the burning bottles were chucked in Adrian's direction, he struggled wildly like an animal to try and escape, the next second he knew, he somehow 'phased' through Aladd's arms and the molotovs and the sounds of many bats filled the room. The bats swarmed together into a human being and seemed to become Adrian once more, as he got his claws ready to maul on one of the thugs, his attention turned to the newcomer who seemed to threaten a group of unaffected students if everyone didn't stand down.

"We'll feast on him before that happens." The voice roared in Adrian's mind, but unlike before, he didn't respond to it. "No..." Adrian thought to counter the voice. "No?! But he's a-" "Quiet!" Adrian tried to keep his voice under wraps, although he could still taste the blood in his mouth just as it covered his lips like a messy eating toddler.
 
"Well then, lead the way." Windie smiled. He refused to let the gravity of the situation weigh him down and instead decided to display a happy disposition, contrary to the emotions of fear and concern he was actively repressing.
There isn't anything I can change. Just gotta work with what I've got. He reminded himself, fruitlessly hoping that he wouldn't have to get in a fight.
 

Nukas

Previously Kid_Nukas
As Sam led the way to where he met the man with a bow, he decided to catch up with his friend since this was his first time seeing him since the... change. "So it looks like we both got wings from this transformation, but I don't think yours came with the same side effects mine did... what are you even supposed to be, Hawk man?" Sam was being careful to look for any of the gang members as they went through the hallway. He was hoping they could get whatever this thing was the guy with the bow was protecting and get out.
 
Marcus laboriously staggered to his feet, wincing in pain as his sore body seemed to fight against his exhausted brain's commands. He looked around the deck as the chaos died down, watching as each skirmish came to a close. He watched the girl whom he had just healed spring to her feet and wade back into the fray, cutting down fish after fish alongside her shapeshifting companion. Marcus had barely registered the boy's thanks, but the girl's words struck him like the flashes of lightning from the guy across the deck.

The hissing whisper returned to implore, "Smell the stench, it wafts from the water." His exhaustion had numbed most of his senses, but Marcus' nose suddenly detected a faint hint of something not just putrid but...sinister. The angel looked to the healed girl just as she slew the last of the fish-creatures surrounding her. "No lifeboats!" He called out. "We'd be sitting ducks down there!" Marcus gestured to the guard railings as the surviving fish-creatures dove over and into the water. Without waiting for a response, Marcus took off flying.

The angel drifted upwards slowly, and as he broke through the slowly dissipating localized storm clouds he felt his strength begin to return. For the first time since his transformation, Marcus took in his new appearance. He had bulked up slightly, gaining (by his own estimates) twenty five pounds. He also seemed to have gained a little bit of height, but the possible two inches or so were nothing compared to his new wingspan. Six feet long at the tip and about a foot in height from top to bottom at the thickest point, the white plumage was the most striking change. "What happened to me?" He wondered aloud, marveling at his new appendages. After taking stock in his new appearance, a now-familiar calm washed over him.

Whatever happened, he thought, I don't think I had any control over. So it's not something I have to worry about right this minute. Alongside the calm, a sense of purpose flooded into Marcus' subconscious. "But there is something I have control over." He whispered with finality. The angel swooped down towards the entrance to the ship, alighting in front of the pirate girl's skeleton with a little stumble. Striding past the skeleton before the whisper's bloodlust took over, Marcus spotted the pirate girl a little ways down the hall. If we're gonna survive, Marcus thought, we're gonna have to make a plan. And so far she's my best bet.
 
"Wow very observant." Windie teased. He had always been someone annoyed by the statement of unnecessary or obvious facts, but now with the mentality changes brought on by inheriting a god of wisdom, Windie found himself unable to remain to resist growing irritated by such stupidity even if it was coming from a friend.

Stupidity? That's not fair. Cut it out, it's Sam.

"Sorry about that. I'm just a little on edge I guess." He apologized, shaking his head to clear his thoughts and regroup. "I'm supposed to be Quetzalcoatl I guess. Seems like a hassle."
 
"Woah—"

William was caught completely off-guard as a geyser of water erupted beneath his feet. The Legend kin found himself tossed through the air but, thankfully, the geyser didn't seem to do much else. The newly gained altitude had given William a bird's eye view of the battlefield, where he could see the children tearing through the members of his gang like wolves among sheep. He spotted a small feline girl tackle Parsia off some bird boy, and he could also spot Aladd furiously patting away flames along his fur. The serpopard had a bloody wound on his neck and William traced it to the swarm of bats that seemed to congeal themselves into the figure of a boy. Samson was slugging it out with one ugly bruiser of a serpent, who seems his match in strength.

"This is disgraceful..."

The gang leader shook his head in disappointment; they really shouldn't have had so much trouble dealing with mere children. William's grip tightened around the body of his bow. It was time for a demonstration. While gravity did its thing, pulling William back to earth, the incarnation of the legendary archer steadied his hands and drew his bow into a full moon. A dazzling arrow notched itself onto the bowstring and William pointed it right at the school.

As a legend kin archer, his eyes were nothing to scoff at and their acuity allowed him to see in surprising detail. He could easily count the number of students glued to the classroom windows, watching with awe at the carnage taking place in the schoolyard. He could even read their expressions, filled with wonderment as they noticed his dazzling figure. He could see that very wonderment falter, and become horror as he took aim at them. Horror became desperation as students turned from the window, making vain attempts to flee the classroom— but there was no way they'd outrun his arrow. His lips curved with sadistic glee and he loosed the arrow.

Falling Moon, Sinking Star!

The activation of William's strongest skill caused the arrow to redouble in resplendence. It was like a meteor descending from the sky, a flash of light that vanished into the classroom and released its payload. A miniature explosion rocked the school; it released blinding light and a deafening boom that shattered windows.

Although William couldn't confirm the effects of his shot, without a doubt, most of the students in that classroom were dead. The skill was immensely draining, but its might was the real deal. Powerlessly, the archer fell from the sky, where Parsia quickly swooped in to catch him. With her assistance, William floated back down to the ground where he turned his gaze to the more rebellious students.

"I think I've made my point clear. GIve up, you wouldn't want any more people to die because of your reckless actions, right?"
 
Orm raised his head to the new arrival and increased the pressure on Samson. "And who do you think you are? Some kind of herald who thinks they can just swoop in and order people around? You have a lot of guts to order us around like that!" He bared his razor sharp teeth as he glared at William, he embodied everything he hated in his lone body. Just because he has some fancy bow work he thinks he can order everyone around like they're more important than anyone else, not to mention he looked like a know it all. He wanted nothing more than to tear the flesh of that cocky little so and so, but he knew that his current target would just slam him into the ground again. Plus this pipsqueak, somehow, had something intimidating about him. He decided to stay put and constrict Samson first before ripping and tearing Archer Boy over there to tiny morsels.

-------------------

Iris felt nauseous, seasickness? It couldn't be, was there no end to this day of suffering? Shaking her head in resignment, a scent of something worse than dead fish in the sun penetrated her nose and activated her gag reflex on the spot. Dropping the trident and clutching her abdomen, the scent caused her to throw up for the second time that day. Her stomach protested heavily against the horrid scent that reminded her of old sneakers mixed with some rotten eggs, dead fish with just a hint of skunk fumes and some rotten meat tossed into a barrel and left to sit in the sun for a couple of weeks. Her vomit was nothing but stomach acid and water because her breakfast was tossed over the edge during the transformation, but it didn't feel any less horrible because of it. Wiping her lips, she clenched her nose and grabbed her trident again before looking around. Noticing the angel she met previously, she made her way over towards him. "My god, this stinks! What's happening out there?"
 
Adrian's eyes widened as he watched a bright light fill the room only to fade and reveal most of his fellow students were now dead, at first, his breathing became a lot heavier at the sight of so many innocent people gone in a flash! Adrian turned to the man responsible for this needless genocide and gritted his teeth, he knew that he had to stay put if the rest of the students were to survive... but every fiber of his being screamed out for the lives of those lost, he wanted to kill William as brutally and painfully as possible, he wanted to make him plead for the merciful death he would never receive, he wanted to drain every last drop of blood from his body and devour what little remained of him.

"Kill him Adrian! Kill him! He is weak, his blood is ours for the taking! Worthless murderers like him deserve to be devoured and remain alive to feel every last bite." The voice in his mind demanded. Adrian's breathing became heavy, but his aura seemed terrifying to look at, a mixture of fear, hunger, hate, guilt and sadness. The slightest provocation seemed enough to make Adrian lunge out once more as his claws protruded out by themselves.
 
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Alex felt hands on his wings and closed his eyes, expecting a sharp pain. He felt nothing, and turned to see the catgirl from earlier lying getting up and Parsia lying on the floor. The phoenix was in a sorry state, clothes half burned up and dust covering her clothes from the gritty gym floor. He climbed back to his feet, about to thank Catherine before something in the air caught his eye. With his inhuman sight, he had a perfect view of William taking aim at a classroom and firing a single arrow. He saw his lips move and the arrow burst into a shaft of light before it flew through the window and exploded.

Alex went numb. He knew some of those students, those whose faces he picked out seconds before William's arrow obscured them from sight. He saw Parsia slip away from behind him, seeing her catch him shortly after, but his focus was purely on the Legendkin. Alex rose up into the air, the air behind him rippling with heat. He wasn't sure how he was doing anything, nor did he care. All he was interested in was shoving the growing fireball in his hands down William's throat. Words flickered in his mind, Alex saying them almost automatically.

Flame...

His wings were a beacon of heat by now, the air behind him a shimmering cloud, but Alex felt none of it. All he felt was a pure, fiery rage. Under his breath, he muttered-

Boost

The edges of his wings burst into flame and he shot forwards, faster than anybody could have seen him coming. Only flying a few meters above the heads of the fighting students, he rolled to the left to avoid Orm, subjecting himself to forces no human should've been able to survive. A few singed heads later he dipped down to the Archer's height, having reached around 90 mph by now, aiming to slam both himself and the basketball sized fireball in his hands into William's head.
 

sSoul

Previously Swirled
In truth, Jonah had nothing to determine his expectations of his surprise attack. Sure, it caught William off guard, but it did little else. At the end of the day, the archer still shot his arrow and ended up bringing the poor souls who were stuck in that classroom to a short end. On top of this, he had the audacity to act proud of what he had done.

This smugass motherfucker...

The Legendkin stood dumbfounded at what he had just witnessed, frozen out of a mixture of rage and fear. Of course, before he had the opportunity to do anything within the realm of attacking the leader of the White Vipers, someone beat him to the punch.

I suppose it's for the best, considering that making people wet is all that I'm good for right now...
 
"A stubborn one..." William grimaced.

He'd thought his massacre would've inspired fear and subservience, but he'd miscalculated. That miscalculation had cost him. Rather than cowering in fear the children seemed incensed...they were a tough lot. After that last attack, William was too weak to deal with Alex's reckless charge. Only one thought bubbled up in the gang leader's mind, 'I need to get out of here...'

By a stroke of fortune, the one next to him, who shared that same thought and in-the-moment-desperation was Parsia. William would have found himself in trouble If this had been any other member of the gang, but as fate would have it the Huma bird was next to him. Panicked as she was and desperate to escape the flighty woman had tapped into, and awakened, one of her skills —Shrouded in Myth. The duo vanished; their figures disappeared without a trace.

As elusive as it was flighty, the Huma bird was a myth notorious for how rare its sightings were. To catch no more than a glimpse and nothing more than its shadow, that was the fate of those blessed by luck. It was a feat said to bring the witness life-long happiness. Shrouded in mystery was a manifestation of this aspect of the Huma's myth and while its duration lasted a short three seconds, its effects were precious —invisibility of the highest order.


To Parsia the skill took the form of thinly-veiled clouds mists that concealed her and her surroundings, and as instinctive knowledge of the ability was fed to her mind by that still mysterious voice, Parsia held tight to William and dodged out of Alex's way.
 
"Where the fuck did they- invisibility?" Alex, with his newfound reactions, made a split-second choice as he watched Parsia grab Will and disappear, pulling his hands apart into two equivalent balls of fire. As he swooped through the now empty space he pinched these fireballs in his hands and threw them on both sides of him. Everything happened in less than a second, giving them no time to react the fans of fire arcing out in the hopes of catching the archer and though he now knew Parsia was impervious, Alex still intended to do some damage to her ally. Half the fireball's original strength wouldn't be enough to kill him, but it sure as hell would burn him enough to stop him dodging twice

His new plan executed, Alex angled himself into the air and twisted round, preparing himself for another dive as he quickly scanned the area for any signs of a hit.
 

sSoul

Previously Swirled
The Legendkin took interest in the battle between Alex and William, the latter getting an assist from Parisa. Jonah's first instinct was to to fire an aerial blast of water to help out the flying juggernaut, but it seemed that said juggernaut had other plans. Seeing as there was no reason for the transformed high-schooler to get involved, he took this time to question the events that were transpiring.

I think it's time to face some facts: this battle is getting us nowhere. In fact, all it's done was allow that bastard to kill a bunch of Innocents. Any attempt to stop them has led to nothing, my surprise attack probably helped that archer to make his shot better. Perhaps things would've been better off had we surrendered earlier...
 
Luck, Luck, Luck, he seemed to be banking on it lately. William was more than thankful for the mighty geyser that had erupted from the ground not even 5 minutes ago. Now that bird-boy was trying to burn him alive, William found the cool water soaking his skin a welcome defense and the large puddles of water—which still soaked the ground—welcome safe havens. He was of course, most thankful for Parsia, who intercepted the brunt of the fireball with her body and fire manipulation abilities.

Parsia divided the arcs of flame and created a corridor with walls of fire; William rushed through, relying on his slick, watery coating to protect him from the heat. He rushed for the water-laden ground where the geyser had once been, diving for the muddy puddles. He cut a sorry figure while doing it, but it was better than burning in the flames.

William's mind raced for ideas, wondering what he could do to turn the situation around. If only he could—

« Boss! »


"Huh...Tahlia?"

« Boss, listen. I have a plan... »

Although William was skeptical, as Tahlia laid out her plan the smirk on his face grew deeper and darker.

"Let's do it."

-----------------


Hidden inside the school was the final changed member of the gang, Tahlia. She wasn't much of a fighter and she wasn't that handy with a weapon, so Tahlia had taken a back seat for this operation. However, with things going south she decided to step up. She quickly formed a telepathic link with William, Parsia, Aladd, and Samson. Then she laid out her plan.

In simple terms her plan had steps:

1. The lieutenant would fight the students, providing a distraction while she gathered a few of the gang's gunners.

2. Parsia would set fire to the school's ground floor.

3. Tahlia would lead the students and teachers to the school's roof to escape the fire. She would pretend to be one of the students contacting them through telepathy. During this time the gang's gunners would slip to the roof as well.

4. Profit!

If all went according to plan the students and teachers would turn into critical hostages held at gunpoint. Although the students were rash, she didn't believe they were ruthless enough to let all their teachers and classmates get shot to death.
 
Marcus kept his stride, passing by the pirate girl and expecting her to follow. "The fish-creature-things retreated," he explained without looking back. Marcus' feet squished as he walked on the thinly-carpeted floor, and while he usually would try to keep his shoes from getting wet he had long since abandoned them after some bone fragments from a fish's skull had ripped a hole in one of them. "But I don't know for how long. Oh, and I'm Marcus. I don't remember introducing myself." After about two minutes of walking, they went up one deck and reached the rows upon rows of passenger cabins.

"So anyways," Marcus began as he turned the handle to his room, "I have a feeling that the group of fish that attacked us was just a..." Marcus rummaged through his designated dresser as he searched for the word. "...probe. A probe. There could very well be a much bigger group just lying in wait." The angel tossed a fresh black muscle shirt onto the bed, and ripped off the tattered t-shirt that had been struggling to cling to his torso. If he had been looking in a mirror, he would have been shocked by how much his lean muscle had bulked up. Marcus folded in his wings and slipped the muscle shirt over them through the arm holes, so that the back of the shirt that otherwise would have covered his shoulder blades was stuck between his plumage. Marcus turned back to Iris and continued his spiel, saying, "If I'm right, and this was a probe, then the whole ship needs to get moving or evacuate. And only one man can make that call."

After walking for a couple more minutes and a few more flights of stairs, Marcus and Iris reached the doors to the navigation room. He knew that the pair would be a strange sight for the captain's eyes, an angel and a ghostly pirate waltzing into his navigation room, but he needed the captain to know his fears, and to heed his warning. He opened the door and stepped through the threshold, quickly spotting the captain standing nearby with some of his colleagues. Marcus strode forward to meet the captain, keeping his wings folded in as to appear less intimidating. The angel smiled a dazzlingly white smile and stuck his hand out to shake the captain's. He had noticed the captain's worried expression, and hoped that the simple introduction would be enough to put him at ease. "My name is Marcus Kosika, sir, and I think we should talk," he said, beginning a more streamlined version of his ranting to Iris.
 
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The Captain turned a hard grimace to an odd sight of what appeared to be an angel and some sort of green ghostie girl. As the angel introduced himself a crewmate whispered something into the captain's ear. The steel in the man's jaw loosened as he stuck his hand out to offer a handshake.

"Marcus was it? I'm Captain Celain, pleasured to make your acquaintance."

Truthfully the crew was rather pressed for options. They had a number of problems they needed to deal with, and a duo of freaky passengers was the least among those. Had it not been for their actions on the ship in rescuing passengers and fighting off their fishy invaders, the crew would've turned them away at the door. However, given the duo's contributions to the safety of the ship and all on-board, the Captain wanted to afford them as much courtesy as he could spare.


"You have my thanks for saving my passengers, we're in dire times but the least I can do to repay you is hear what you have to say."
 
As Samson grappled with the snake, he felt it begin to constrict around him. Samson had met his fair share of pythons in his time growing up in the Everglades, and he had never met one that he couldn't unwrap. This'll be a piece of cake, he thought as he planted his feet and braced his arms out horizontally. As the snake's sides met Samson's palms, he immediately felt the immense power of his opponent. All the better to use against him. As the pressure increased, Samson bode his time and waited for the right moment to strike.

Let's see if Thalia was right about the water, Samson thought as he stomped his foot. Immediately, the ground began shaking with the intensity of a magnitude six earthquake, but the snake was undeterred. Samson counted on it. He closed his eyes and focused on an image of water breaking through a dam, and as he did the ground erupted with geysers that pushed the snake up by a mere inch. The brute slipped a hand under the snake and gave a massive heave upwards, with the intention to fling the snake upwards and off of him.
 
"Squeeze, squeeze the life out of that miserable excuse for a human!" In any other circumstance, voices that desired violence inside of his head would be a huge red flag for Orm, but he was turned into a giant snake and there were some people who needed their ego curbed, so he decided to listen to it. Increasing the pressure on Samson, he felt something touch him. Water? It couldn't be, where would that water come from? Despite how much he denied it, there was definitely water underneath him and it allowed his target to get rid of him in a less than flattering way. "Put me down, noooooooow!" After everything that happened today, Orm thought he'd seen it all. He was sadly mistaken when he was thrown into the air like a bag of flour.

Sailing through the air, the boy tried to land on his feet, only to realise he no longer had them. Curling up into a ball in an attempt to mitigate the damage, he crashed into the floor and began squirming like a very pissed off worm as the earth began to shake every time a section of Orm slammed into the ground due to the flailing. He had bitten down on his tail with closed eyes, desperate to vent some frustration. His tail didn't hurt as he kept biting down, though his new fangs never came down from the roof of his mouth.

-----------

"Nice to meet you Marcus, my name is Iris. We can skip the pleasantries until later though, there's something more urgent going on right now as you can see." Swallowing down her bile, Iris followed Marcus to hear his thoughts on the whole situation, kicking a skull aside in the meantime as she stayed vigilant for any potential attacks. "A probe? For what? Who or what would attack a ship? The Kraken or something?" She asked in disbelief as she waved her trident around, silently approving of Marcus' physical condition in the back of her mind. Seems like the transformation didn't do any harm to his appearance, he should be in quite a good condition for fighting. Shaking her head to stay focused on the current situation, Iris followed Marcus to the captain. It wasn't like she had anything else to do now that everyone was either safe or presumed dead.
 
As Marcus started telling the captain his plan, he unconsciously folded his arms over his chest. "I really appreciate you hearing me out," the angel began with a dazzling smile. "Like I was telling Iris on the way up here-" He gestured to his companion. "-I think this attack wasn't the simple 'fish creatures attack a cruise ship that is full of people with anomalous abilities' shtick. It seemed to me like some sort of...probe, or like taking over the ship wasn't their goal."

The angel ran his fingers through his hair, his hands passing through the faint golden halo. He recrossed his arms, and continued, "Obviously you're a smart guy, captain and all. I'm sure the first thing you would have done when the ship started being boarded would have been to radio for the coast guard." Marcus stuck a finger up to emphasize his next point. "But, if that had worked then they probably would have been here by now." Marcus' eyes swept over the different screens and buttons that dotted the navigation room, and had the suspicions that had begun brewing in his room confirmed. "So that means you didn't get in touch with the coast guard. Because the ship's electronics were fried somehow." That wave didn't come until a couple minutes after the attack started, so it couldn't have done the job. Marcus imagined his wings and halo and, without breaking eye contact with the captain, thought, Could it have been whatever did this to me and the others?

***

Samson gave a hearty chuckle as he watched the snake hit the ground. He had broken numerous records for deadlifts back in high school, but throwing the brute was in a league of its own in terms of personal achievement. He watched it writhe for a moment, before Thalia's voice entered his mind. The Viper gave a small smile at his cohort's cleverness, and turned his attention to the only kid so far who seemed like he'd be able to but a stop to Thalia's plan.

Samson's eyes landed on the kid from earlier, the one with the grotesque fish-like appearance. I'll make an example out of that one, Samson thought as he strode over to the kid. And take out the biggest threat to Parsia's fire.
 
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