darkSpyro

At any other time, Michael probably would have felt Quake and Vi approaching him. But he was surrounded by the creek’s water now, which acted as sort of a natural barrier against the tide of emotions that rippled from other people, and so he was oblivious to their presence at first. When he finally realized that he wasn’t alone, it was because he had spotted them with his own two physical eyes, rather than sensing them with his “third eye”. He felt a twinge of guilt upon seeing them. He had probably startled them with his abrupt departure and made them feel the need to come looking for him. The empath sighed sorrowfully at this. He didn’t mean for others to feel like they were responsible for him, though he could understand their concern. Of all the superhumans at the camp that had amazing abilities of flight and whatnot, his abilities were arguably one of the most self-threatening. He could easily lose himself to madness if he allowed his mind to deteriorate like that, which often made other people feel the need to watch after him. While he was grateful for their concern, in a way, he also felt like a burden to others, at times.

Shaking himself out of these thoughts, the empath offered a wave to both Quake and Vi, as well as a small smile to assure them that he was alright. The look of horror that overcame Quake’s face, however, made Michael turn to look at what had troubled his companion. What he saw was something he really didn’t wish to see. Jet was back, and he had a predatory grin that was only made worse by his statement that he intended to devour him. Now normally the empath would be able to tell someone’s sincerity from their emotions, but as Jet was in the water, Michael couldn’t discern anything from him. All he could register was his own fear – fear of the older boy who seemed intent on eating him alive.

Unfortunately for the empath, Michael didn’t seem to have a fight or flight response. He never fought back, but he never ran away, either. Instead, he would always freeze up with fear, which was probably the most useless thing that he could do in a situation like this. At least if he ran, he might have a chance of getting away, but no! Instead, his reaction to fear was simply to go completely motionless, like petrified wood. It might have seemed comical to anyone else watching, seeing the boy stare at the fish-boy like a deer caught in headlights, completely unmoving.

Michael’s expression, which was usually like a blank mask set over his face to conceal any hint of emotion he might be feeling, was somewhere between absolute horror and curiosity. The boy didn’t think that Jet was going to literally eat him, though if he’d been able to feel his emotions, he would have known otherwise. So he was left thinking that Jet must simply be infuriated with him… and for what? Bumping into him earlier? As an empath, Michael could usually understand where people were coming from, as he could feel their emotions – and even see through their eyes, sometimes – on a daily basis. So when he wasn’t able to understand why someone was acting the way they were, he was immediately intrigued. Of course, the empath’s first inclination right now was to be scared out of his mind, but a twinge of curiosity was there, too, and could even be seen on his features if one cared to look hard enough.

Kayla takes the piece of paper, glancing at it. She pauses in reading it when he starts speaking. She gives a nod. "Yeah, basically. I'm not very good at it yet, though." She muttered quietly. She closes up her sketchbook, causing the illusion to vanish. She reads over the newspaper article. "No, not really. I, um, don't really think I was around for that. Did it happen here or outside the camp?"



While Vianne didn't see much of a reason to start over with Quake, she wasn't object to the idea. However, seeing Michael at the creek interrupted that thought. She smiled, glad to see that the empath was okay. She gave a wave to him in return. Everything seemed to be fine. Maybe now Quake could finish his sentence.

"Hey, it's not dragging if I come willingly. So don't worry about it." Vi smiled, trying to get Quake to relax. She blinked at his epiphany, but gave a nod. It was something she had known for awhile, mostly because she was considered weak for her size, only to prove others wrong. At least Quake seemed to be learning that now.

The sound of water caught her attention as well. At first, she didn't understand what the problem was. It was just water, right? Why was Quake so concerned? Then she saw a shark fin in the water. "Sooo... Do you guys normally have sharks in your creek?" She gave a nervous chuckle, trying to make light of the situation. Maybe it was just one of the kids at the camp playing a prank. That's when she saw that it was a kid here, but it didn't look like a prank. With that twisted smile, the shark boy didn't seem to be playing around. Not only did his words not sound at all like a joke, but Michael seemed afraid of him.

Vi narrowed her gaze on the shark boy. It seemed like he needed to be taught a lesson. She deactivated her powers and rushed to the creek, becoming increasingly less plant-like with every step. By the time she hit the water, her grass form was completely gone. As she absorbed the new source, the water seemed to almost jump out at her and flow upwards through her. When the transformation was complete, she gave a smug grin.

"Hey, fishface!" She called out to Jet, while her watery form rose up higher, seemingly taking part of the creek with her as her form from the waist down changed into a wave. "Surf's up!" With that, she charged towards him. She made a gap in the water just big enough to avoid hitting Michael, and quickly closed it back up before approaching Jet. She hoped to wash him down the creek, taking him away from Michael.

"It happened outside, the camp. You see, it was this incident that brought about all of this. I still remember it as if it was yesterday. It was a friday afternoon at United We Stand, a special place where great things happened that none would know about for some time. Well it seemed a normal day when suddenly there was a thunderous boom and the whole facility shook. We thought nothing of it until the walls, the ceiling and the whole place started to crumble...A thunderous boom echoes throughout the lab and the front wall crumbles to welcome a tide of searing, hungry flames."" I say as begin my tale.

//Just got a puppy and haven't had motivation but I want to post. It looks like we're gonna have fight here <3 Jet's motivation makes 100% no sense and I should've made it so that Michael made him miss the Butcher because they closed before he got there but eh. //

While Jet's motivations didn't make sense to others, they made sense to him. No one else would be able to understand anyways, it wasn't his fault, he didn't ask to become a monster. Back when Jet was held captive food was a rare sight and now that Jet had become...Whatever it was that he'd become, he only had a taste for meat, preferably fresh, and while him being angry over missing out on some meat was odd, it made sense in his mind. When he was held captive, only the strongest survived, the strongest got better treatment, in Jet's mind if he didn't get the highest quality meat, the biggest and the best, he'd become weak, it was psychological, it didn't matter what kind of meat he had, it wasn't really about that, it was more that, if he got something less than ideal or had to settle, he was no better than the other children who were taken and killed for being weak. It was insane and made no sense, but Jet's mind was warped.

"You made me miss my lunch, I made a special order, and when you made me late they gave it away. Do you know how long it takes to get in what I wanted?" Jet's anger became increasingly more obvious as he spoke. And just before the shark boy was about to lung, Vi came into the fray. "Oh...So you want a piece of me too? Not gonna happen, but I'll gladly have a piece of you for lunch" Before he could he even move the tidal wave hit him, water crashing everywhere and Jet was nowhere in sight. it seemed like he was gone, defeated, but that's when his fin popped up, and so did he. "Have you seen me? I can swim faster than you can run! I sank to the bottom of the ****ing ocean and you think a little shower is gonna affect me?" He lunged out of the water like a dolphin, his arms extended and claws sharp. He opened wide his jaw as he flew at Michael.

Just before he hit the boy, Jet was sent soaring into the side of a large rock in the river. Quake had thrown his hammer, and just in time, and thankfully the hammer landed on the grass and wasn't swept away by the water. "Leave the boy alone!"

"You ain't the boss of me, Goliath!" Getting back to his sense, Jet roared and swam for Michael, all he wanted was one bite, then he knew he had won.

"Vi! Stop him!" Quake shouted as he ran towards the water, taking off pieces of his armor as he approached it, not wanting to get dragged down because while the river wasn't too deep, all the crashing and waves that were flying back and forth could have sent him into the connecting lake, and Quake never learned how to swim.

At Jet’s words, confusion slowly started to replace the empath’s downright terror. He was angry about having missed his lunch? Michael wasn’t sure what to think of that. He wasn’t too sure what constituted as “lunch” for a creature such as Jet, either. For all he knew, the fish-like boy’s diet could be like that of a shark’s. Did he need a lot of food to survive? What happened if he didn’t… get that food? Would he go berserk in an attempt to feed himself, lashing out at anything or anyone that was possibly edible? Is that what was happening right now? He didn’t know. He felt so blind.

Normally, Michael would be completely glad for any break from the constant exposure to other people’s emotions, and right now really wasn’t an exception; the empath by no means wanted to experience Jet’s animalistic rage for himself. But he did want to understand. That’s what empaths did, isn’t it? While he didn’t like having to endure other people’s emotions, he did like understanding other people, knowing where they’re coming from. So being surrounded by the creek’s waters protected him, but it also hindered his ability to see the world the way he normally could.

His thoughts on what was going on in the other boy’s mind were immediately interrupted by Vi’s sudden appearance. While a sliver of him wanted to understand what was on Jet’s mind, the majority of him very much didn’t want to endure whatever Jet had in store for him, and so he was very much grateful for Vi’s intervention. He tensed slightly as a sudden wave – wait, was that Vianne? – came at him, but relaxed when it went past him and instead rushed towards the fish-like creature. Her display of powers had surprised him, for he hadn’t known she could change her form in such a way. He had assumed that her abilities were plant-based, but evidently, he had been wrong. And he was certainly grateful he had been wrong, for if it wasn’t for Vi’s abilities, he could’ve very well been attacked by Jet. He’d certainly seemed intent on doing so earlier when Quake had had to put a stop to him.

Michael’s relief at the fish-like creature’s disappearance under the surface of the water was immediately crushed and replaced with fear again at Jet’s reappearance. Even if he’d had the courage to move from his spot on the rock, he probably wouldn’t have been able to move fast enough to escape the wide, open maw that was now hurdling towards him. In that split second where Jet was leaping at him, the severity of his situation finally seemed to strike the empath. He hadn’t thought that Jet would literally try to eat him. He had just assumed that the fish-like boy was trying to intimidate him, and it had certainly worked. But now, in that fraction of a second, Michael finally realized that Jet was serious.

He was going to try to take a chunk out of him.

This sudden realization and subsequent panic was momentarily interrupted by a hammer crashing into the very creature that was so intent on devouring him. He snapped his head to find the source of the projectile, and wasn’t too surprised to see that it was Quake. He looked back rather warily to where Jet had landed, scared of him getting right back up and lunging at him again, and also worried that he’d been seriously hurt. Jet terrified him, but that didn’t make Michael want to see him hurt. All he ever wanted was for everyone to be safe, but apparently safety wasn’t always assured when you group hundreds, if not thousands, of people with strange and unique powers together in one little society. These sorts of things are bound to happen.

Regardless of its inevitability, that didn’t mean the empath liked the situation one bit. He just wanted this all to stop, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. So when Jet was momentarily stunned by Quake’s attack, Michael finally worked up the courage to try and make a dash for land. He wasn’t certain that getting to solid ground would actually stop the fish-like creature, but he hoped that it would at least slow him down. So he half hopped, half ran – for it’s very difficult to run through water effectively – towards the grass, knowing that a predatory creature was right behind him.


Still atop the roof of a distant building, keen eyes were watching the scenes unfold. This individual was very much aware of Digby’s need of medical attention, as well as the danger that the people at the stream were in, but they did not move an inch. It was a ninja’s duty to merely observe, after all.

"Yeah, sure, try eating the water. That'll work out swimmingly." Vi said with a sarcastic tone while she gave a smug grin. She knew her water form was immune to physical attacks. Her confidence faded slightly when she felt him swim away from her wave. So much for carrying him downstream away from Michael. Her plan wasn't to hurt him, but just wash him away to where he can't reach the empath. She had just underestimated how strong of a swimmer he was.

Vianne was about to intervene again, when Quake stepped in, hitting Jet with his hammer. Maybe that hit would get the message across to the shark boy. However, he didn't stay down for long, and was soon after Michael again. Vi groaned in frustration. "He just doesn't get the message, does he?"

She had to think of a way to keep Jet away from Michael, and fast. At least the empath was heading for the grass now. Maybe that would slow the shark boy down, but he could still probably catch Michael before he reached the grass.

Vi began spinning rapidly, quickly turning into a watery twister of sorts. Any hint of her humanoid form was completely lost in her new twister form. She sped towards Jet, spinning faster as she traveled, increasing the strength of the twister. She hoped she was strong enough to scoop him up and contain him in the twister, giving Michael enough time to get away. Even if he managed to get out, hopefully he'd be too dizzy from the spinning motion to do anything.

Groaning and bleeding from the mouth, Jet snarled as he rubbed his temple with his claw-like hands. "You son of a bit-...Hmm?" As Jet directed his attention back to the rock he noticed that Michael had vanished, now on land, Jet would have to give a great chase and he knew that he would never catch him, especially with his freakish body. But then when he noticed that these two people clearly cared for the boy, a large brimming smile appeared on the shark boys face. It wasn't this often that Jet was in a fight that he could enjoy, all his fights were over before they could even happen, and with Michael there was no challenge, no hunt, just a meal. But with Shark instincts, he enjoyed the hunt.

Jet turned his head to the side and spat out a few teeth, blood dripping from his mouth making his look terrifying. His eyes grew smaller and his fangs extended even more. All he could do was laugh at Vi's display. She cared so much, but knew so little. "Go on! Soak me! Soak me with all you've got! If ya didn't know, I can swim so fast that waterfall's can't even keep me down! GIVE IT ALL TO ME, BABY!" Jet was so confident that he swam towards Vi in her giant tsunami state. In fact, he let himself be carried all the way to the top just to show himself off. It was like a flash of lightning, he was at the top of Vi's tsunami, then he was gone, he'd dived down and shot out of the tsunami in the middle. He soared through the air, the blood that had washed off him now spinning around what was Vi.

"You can't beat me in water! This is my dojo, baby! This is my ****ing domain! Water, water everywhere, Let me bite you if you da-ACK"

Quake had pounced over the river, his fear overwhelming him as he was above the shallow stream. As Jet was mid-air, Quake had leaped and tackled him to the grassy ground. "Then we'll just have to get you away from it." Quake swung his leg back, and then forwards, making contact with Jet's jaw and sending him tumbling. "We need to subdue him but we can't do that if he's near water!" Quake yelled to Vi.

----

Elsewhere, in the forest. Digby laid unconscious. Of course his regenerative abilities were much higher than others, it still took him awhile to heal, and even if he'd fully healed, it wouldn't fix unconsciousness. All Digby saw was trees falling upwards as he fell, all that went on in his mind was "I failed." And then blackness and nothing else. If Digby couldn't be woken up it didn't make if his powers were healing him, something needed to shock him, to wake him from his coma.

When Jet went soaring out of her tsunami, Vianne stopped spinning. She stood in the creek, watching the scene unfold while she tried to rinse the blood out of her system. It was hard to wash out with her whole form being water. She ended up having to deactivate her powers to remove it completely. The water appeared to drain out of her and return to the creek, taking the blood with it. It was no big loss, though, since her water form clearly wasn't working. Still, she hoped it could at least slow him down or keep his attention off of Michael. She wasn't actually trying to hurt him. However, everything backfired horribly, as the water seemed to help him more than stop him.

Now she needed to hurry up and get a new form. She didn't know how long Quake could hold the shark boy down. So she looked around her, trying to find something she could use. Grass? No, too frail, not good for fighting. Wood? No, she mine as well wear a sign that says "Bite me." Piece of metal? Wait, piece of metal? Oh, that was Quake's armor. Her eyes widened with a smile. Bingo.

Vi rushed over to the closest piece of armor to her. It didn't matter which part she ended up with, she only needed to touch it. When she found a piece, she knelt down to it. She didn't stop to examine it or anything, she just immediately reached out to it. Soon her form had changed, mimicking Quake's armor exactly, even the color and design of it. With a wide grin, she pounded her fists together with a clang.

She began transforming her arms into chains, making them thick and tightly linked. She morphed her hands into cuffs. She opened and closed them like claws, making little clanging sounds. "Let's see how tough you are when you're all tied up." She said as she headed for Jet, extending her chain-link arms out to him.

Aileen stood back as Oliver brought the paramedics, allowing them space as they checked Digby for any irregularities in breathing or heartbeat. She followed them as they carried the boy to the outskirts of the forest, which was not far away, thankfully. The ambulance was waiting outside, and they quickly set him on a stretcher.
"How is he?" she finally asked, focusing on where he laid with intensity.

Michael managed to make it to land, no doubt entirely thanks to Quake and Vi’s intervention. Even when he reached the grass, he still kept going until he reached a tree, finally stopping to take cover behind it. Peeking out from around the trunk, he saw that Jet was still putting up a fight. He winced at the blood that was leaking from the fish-like creature’s mouth and cascading down his chin. The empath was a rather squeamish when it came to blood or any other sort of injury. The years of unwillingly tapping into people’s sometimes not so pleasant memories has exposed him to images of blood and gore before – for his mind has touched upon war veterans’ memories on occasion – but Michael was by no means desensitized or used to it.

Being an empath, it was nearly impossible to become desensitized to others’ emotions or pain. He would always understand others’ torments as if he was experiencing them for himself. There would never come a time for Michael when he would look upon a devastated warzone – or in this case, a bloodied boy – and think nothing of it. His exposure to such things didn’t make him immune to the sorrow such scenes brought, nor did his heart ever harden. So while he was certainly not ignorant of or innocent to the horrors of the world, he would never grow accustomed to such things, despite his constant exposure to them through other people’s emotions and memories. He was an empath, so he would experience a person’s memory the way they had; there really was no steeling oneself against such horrors when it really isn’t even you experiencing it.

Michael shook his head, trying not to look at the blood in Jet’s mouth and trying not to let the crimson liquid remind him of fragmented memories he has seen in the past. Part of him wanted to run, to go get help, but another part of him was frozen in his spot behind the tree. Maybe it was just simple fear holding him in place, or perhaps it was a sense of guilt, as well. The empath felt that he had started all of this, so running away – even to go get help – just felt like abandonment to him, like he was leaving the people who had been so willing to defend him. Whatever the reason, Michael stayed there behind that tree, not at all sure what he should do.

//So sorry I've been away! Drobotmewtwo (oliver) hasnt been on in days so he may not come back, therefore I guess Aileen can just assume he ran off, I can continue as the paramedics.//

As the paramedics examined Digby they talked betwixt eachother before taking out a large needle, and if Digby had been awake for this, he would have punched them in the face and ran away and never would have came back. But they stabbed him straight in the shoulder, and as they removed the pen he shot up, gasping.

------
Jet writhed in Quake's grip, biting and thrashing but he couldn't get a nip off because of Quake's superhuman grip. "I'll rip you to shreds, you ugly son of a *****! I'll kill you and your famil-" Before he could even finish, Quake's boot made contact with his Jaw and sent him flying, and toppling to the ground, rolling around in the grass and dirt. Even more bloody than before due to the cuts and wounds he'd endured, Jet grew even more rabid, the smell of blood excited his instincts and he was overtaken by the overpowering scent.

At the sight of Vi's transformation, Jet didn't even flinch, he didn't care one way or another, his teeth could bite through nearly anything that anyone could think of. "You think a little scrap metal is gonna bother me?" He lunged voluntarily at Vianne's leg. "I'm the king! I can bite through anything, your attempts are worthle-" His teeth hit the metal. "MOTHER****ER" He squealed and fell backwards, holding his hands to his mouth, rolling around on the ground. If it hadn't been for his heightened immunity to pain he would have been incapacitated. "You crazy *****!" Quake's armor was made of the strongest metal known to anyone in a respectable perimeter around the country, and while some may think it overpowered, the actual strength of the metal was only as strong as the wearer or wielders energy level, and thankfully Quake was pumped.

Unfortunately for the two, Jet, even though being in excruciating pain and having a few chipped teeth, he was resilient and he was adamant and he was stubborn and he refused to give up as he lunged towards Quake's face, which at the moment was unprotected as Quake had lost his helmet while jumping over the stream. Jet had made contact, not much, but he drew blood on Quake's neck before being pried off and thrown to the ground as Quake screamed in pain.

Aileen watched the paramedics work on Digby with an intensity uncharacteristic of her. She remained perfectly quiet and still, which was normal, but she was tense. She flinched slightly when they jabbed the needle into his shoulder, as carefully as one could with such force. She breathed a sigh of relief when Digby shot up, but stayed put. She didn't want to interfere with the paramedics' work until they were done. However, she thought vocal recognition could help his senses return. "Digby," she simply said.

Name: Khloe Jillian Lowinthal, likes to be called Demi
Age: 13
Personality: Demi is sweet, innocent, bubbly, naïve and smart. She pretends to be a idiot so she won't be killed.
Appearance: Demi wears a dress resembling Kyary Pamyu Pamyu in the Mondai Girl music video.
History: She was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and at the age of 7 she discovered she had a power where she was super smart and she has a IQ of 1000. She was so smart that she was moved all the way up to the 11th grade at Mercedes High School. She was sent to the camp for the summer but she will go back to Las Vegas for her 12th grade year.
Power: She has a super power relating to her being super smart. She also has fire power similar to Smolderdash from Skylanders: Swap Force but she doesn't know about it.

Quote: Lunarz

//Okay, first of all, I'm not accepting someone who's 11, and while it's not explicitly stated in the rules, it's kinda self explanatory.
Second, IQ isn't really a super power, it just means she's smart, and I'm p sure if a human had an IQ power of 1000 they wouldn't be able to function and they'd skip more than to the 11th grade. And finally, you realize your character would be hunted for and killed? (which considering her power is just intelligence it doesnt make any sense anyways) She couldn't leave the camp, she'd be killed 100%//

reserved for my next post~

I'll add to two years to her age. I also added that she pretends to be dumb and that she has a fire power that she doesn't even know about.

//Bump~ Waiting on Wylrin and Cynder now only after my three month absence~//

Digby had shifted back to normal, and minus some dizziness, he felt fine, or at least as fine as someone could feel after falling out of a tree and smashing there head on the hard ground.

As the paramedics began to retreat to their ambulance, most likely not staying around due to needing to head to another emergency, one small medic came over to Aileen. "Keep an eye on him and don't let him sleep until tonight."

Digby looked from the paramedics to Aileen. "You're such a *****." he said sternly and waited a beat before explaining himself. "I wouldn't have done that if I didn't think you were gonna catch me" he finished with a smirk

"Thank you," Aileen simply replied. She looked down at Digby. "I couldn't have caught you either way," she stated impassively, clearly in no mood to be joked with. "Why would you do that? You could have easily died," she added, her voice a little more strained. While he wasn't dead, at most only having a minor concussion, it was obvious that she was very unhappy about his stunt.

Vianne had tried to wrap her chain-link arms around Jet to stop him, but she didn't react fast enough to his movements and she ended up missing. She couldn't stop him from biting her leg, but she was relieved to see that Jet couldn't bite through her new metal form. Since he was now injured with chipped teeth, she thought he might stop attacking now. Maybe he had finally learned his lesson. So even though she had the perfect opportunity to tie him up, she didn't take it.

Her eyes widened as Jet lunged at Quake. Once again, she had been proven wrong, the fight still wasn't over. "Quake!" Vi cried out, seeing that Jet had drawn blood. Her chain-link arms formed back to normal as she raised her hands to cover her mouth. "Oh, ****." She muttered to herself. She felt a mix of worry and guilt now, and perhaps even a bit of fear and panic. If she had only been more helpful and stopped Jet sooner, then Quake wouldn't have gotten hurt.

"****, what do I do now?" She wanted to help Quake, but she couldn't guarantee that Jet wouldn't attack again. She had been wrong about him so far. She couldn't stop Jet and go get help at the same time, and she wasn't sure what should take priority. She knew injuries had to be tended to, but if Jet wasn't taken care of, then things could only get worse. However, what if Quake needed help right away? She wasn't a doctor, she couldn't tell how bad his injury was, especially from a distance.

Vi wasn't sure what to do, but she knew she had to do something. Standing around certainly wasn't accomplishing anything, so she hurried over to Quake. "Oh, man, how bad is it? Should I go get help?" She asked quickly. Vianne was so worried that she wasn't focusing on Jet at the moment, and she didn't stop to think that she wasn't even sure of where the medical center was.

Ooc: Don't forget about Kayla, Cynder. She and I are talking.

Still just barely peeking around the wide trunk of a nearby tree, Michael watched, not at all unlike a deer caught in headlights, as the confrontation between his two rescuers and his attacker continued. Though he was out of immediate danger of being torn to shreds, the battle transpiring not far from where he stood was finally taking its toll on him. In all honesty, he was rather surprised it hadn’t happened before now; anger radiated from Jet, he burned like a sun in that regard. It was only a matter of time before the empath began to soak that all up like a sponge.

Perhaps it was his own overwhelming fear that had kept the murderous man’s hatred and rage from seeping into his mind. Or perhaps the empath was getting better at keeping others’ emotions out of his head. Michael’s usually expressionless face actually twisted into a scowl at the thought, Jet’s anger no doubt being the cause for this sudden agitation. It was a laughable concept – in the empath’s currently compromised state of mind – that he was actually improving in his ability to control how others affected him, that he was getting stronger.

How could he – or anyone?! – hold back the tide of others’ own selfish feelings each and every minute of his existence? There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide from the waves that threatened to engulf him, pulling him down into their depths until he finally drowned. No, there was nothing he could do but to put up a hopeless battle, each and every day and night of his miserable life! There was no hope to be found, no precious ray of sunlight at the end of the tunnel. His constant companions were pain and misery, who oh so loved to have someone’s company, and who better to cling to than the boy who had no choice but to embrace them regardless of any pathetic resistance he might scrounge up? He would never know true happiness; he would only ever experience whatever was forced on him by those around him. The only way he would ever truly be at peace was if everyone around him would just simply die.

Michael’s jaw hurt. Whether this was because he was clenching it so tightly in both his – Jet’s – anger and his attempt to try and keep that rage out of his head, or because of the shark-like boy’s physical pain that the empath could sense, it wasn’t certain. What was certain was that the younger boy was fighting a battle that he had fought so many times before, and that no outside force could help him reclaim his mind. The latter was actually proven wrong, however, when the shark-like creature lunged towards Quake in his rage.

Quake’s scream snapped Michael out of his adopted anger, the agonized sound seemingly immediately calming the storm within the empath’s mind and returning him to the realm of lucidity. That face once horribly contorted with anger was replaced with sudden surprise, which quickly turned to fear and worry once he laid his eyes upon the injured man. It would seem that the empath’s concern for others’ safety overrode any feelings of hatred or anger, for he watched with a terribly concerned look in his eyes as Vianne was seemingly trying to decide what to do.

For several moments, Michael was paralyzed, as he often became when shocked or simply too terrified to move. Like Vianne, he wasn’t at all sure what to do. Unlike Vianne, however, the empath didn’t really have a decision to make. Vianne was torn between subduing Jet and helping Quake. Michael knew he was useless when it came to the former choice, so that left him with going to get some form of help. He felt guilty for a moment, both because he didn’t want to leave the people who had come to his aid and because he knew logically that he should have gone to get help the moment this all started. Well, he hadn’t had the mind to go get help then, but he would make up for that now. Resolved, the empath darted off as fast as he could. It was time to put this whole disaster to an end.