Atlantis: Age of the Guardians

[Raiden]

Desmond Giles

"I hate to rain your parade Desmond, is it? But I do not think anyone would believe us, nor would Phineas allow us to speak of this place for fear of attacks or scientific research on the ancient ruins. And.. I don't think we will be going home.."

Desmond nodded as he looked around.

"Yeah. I doubt we'll leave this area except for fighting. Just wish it didn't have the 'prisoner for life' feel." Desmond muttered.

"I'm only 18, I was a senior at my local high school.. I had a part time job at a photography studio in my local mall, I made edits and helped make the babies smile for portraits and such. Small stuff, but it helped pay for college. What do you do? Obviously.. Well I mean I hope you don't dress like that.. So maybe you're a model or an actor by chance?"

Desmond smiled at Ariana's question.

"Nice thing going for you Miss Ariana. Going to college. I'm an actor for that popular British show 'Professor Whoa'. I'm currently the tenth regeneration of the Professor. I never took these clothing off before we were taken." Desmond said as he looked over each guardian before Phineas called their attention.

"Alright, guardians. I see you've had a chance to get yourselves acquainted with your dragons, and that's good! We will spend more time with them later, but right now we need to split up to do some extra training. As was shown before, most of you don't yet have a handle on your abilities just yet. So we will divide and continue to train in small groups. Ariana, Aria, Alexandra, Flynn, and Achera will go up to the surface and work on their powers. The rest of you will stay here until they are done and get further acquainted with your dragons. Alright then. If I called you, please come with me."

"I guess I'll have to go, Though it was nice getting to know you Desmond. I guess we'll have a lifetime to talk some more, I look forward to it."

"Yeah. You too." Desmond muttered as Ariana hopped off of her dragon and left with the others.

Desmond slid off of Mithrandir himself as he looked around. Duke was hanging with Birch as Severin was hanging out with his dragon. He decided to walk over to Duke before the intercom rang out.

"All guardians must come to the surface at once! I repeat, all guardians must report to the surface at once! We are under attack!"

"So much for their advance technology." Desmond muttered as he started for the elevator. Birch ran ahead of him while Mithrandir stood up.

"I'm coming with you Desmond." Mithrandir stated.

"Wait here. Phineas just called for us." Desmond said before running onto the lift.

A short time later, the lift stopped as it opened to the death of two kids. Oh, he was angry. It didn't take a genius to see that in his face. He looked at the pillars as he saw Ariana and Achera behind one pillar and Phineas behind another. In the air was an army of black being and at the front was a dragon? Desmond didn't take the time to think about it as he exited the elevator. Arrows were shot towards him as the metal from the platform shot up into 2 by 4 metal planking. The arrows bounced off of the metal as the planking reshaped into 10 swords spinning around him.

"Come, Guardians! Where are your warriors, Phineas?!"

Desmond smirked at the woman's taunting.

"Be careful what you wish for!" Desmond called out before the swords pointed right at the woman and shot right at her.

As the swords went flying towards the woman, Desmond formed a shield and sword as well as weapons of various shapes and sizes. He himself grabbed the shield and sword before turning to block some of the incoming projectiles as he shuffled towards Bianca. He saw a few of the shadow things starting to creep up on Bianca as he cut them down with three swipes of his sword.

"Hey, Bianca. You alright?" Desmond asked as he deflected more arrow shots.

 

[WarriorHeart]

Duke finally reached the back of his dragon. He was sweating but felt better after the workout than he had all morning. If it even was morning. It's hard to tell the time of day when you're at the bottom of the ocean. He walked up along the ridge of spines and found a nice little spot at the peak of Spit's skull. He sat down and looked around the massive chamber. Birch's dragon said something to Limba because the ole boy jumped and turned towards Vios so suddenly it shook Duke from his seat. You beat me once but don't forget the four times you begged for your life. Duke fell to one side and wildly grabbed at anything and everything on the way down. The skin of is dragon was sheer and solid so there wasn't much to reach for. He fell towards the ground with a yell that sounded something like 'you mother fucker!' but it was anybody's guess. About fifty feet from the floor, Limba turned up his front claw and caught Duke. The dragon allowed his paw to dip down with the impact thus reducing the force on his guardian. Duke was so ecstatic not to be a pile of goo that he jumped up and hugged one of the massive claws. Limba shook his hand a bit to free Duke's grasp and then roughly set him on the ground. Don't say I never did anything for you, Puke.

"Alright, guardians. I see you've had a chance to get yourselves acquainted with your dragons, and that's good! We will spend more time with them later, but right now we need to split up to do some extra training. As was shown before, most of you don't yet have a handle on your abilities just yet. So we will divide and continue to train in small groups. Ariana, Aria, Alexandra, Flynn, and Achera will go up to the surface and work on their powers. The rest of you will stay here until they are done and get further acquainted with your dragons. Alright then. If I called you, please come with me."

Duke watched them leave, his eyes settling in on one in particular. "Lucky little pyro…" He shook his head and turned back to face his beast. "It's Duke, by the way…" I know. Spit let out something that must have been a laugh but it shook the ground. Duke walked over and kicked his claw. "Keep it up and I won't play any more music, ya ass." The rumbling stopped and Limba lowered his face down next to Duke. Both eyes on the right side were almost level with him and Duke felt very insignificant when being watched so closely by something that could eat him like a tater tot. Hey. You're an ignoramus. I'm an ass. That's probably why we were paired together because none of the rest of these cretins could stomach you. Duke grinned and smacked Spit playfully on his cheek. "Probably…and I doubt any of these goodie-goods would survive very long with you." Duke started to reach for his phone to play some more music when an intercom rang out with Phineas' voice.

"All guardians must come to the surface at once! I repeat, all guardians must report to the surface at once! We are under attack!"

Duke blinked. Did he hear that right? Go on, mighty insect. See what awaits you. Duke took off when he saw the other guardians making their way to the elevator. He crammed in and sorted himself to the back. He needed some ass kicker music. He found just what he was looking for and pressed play. Duke closed his eyes and began to focus. He'd been in so many fights that he lost count and regardless of who, what, where, why or when there was one thing that never changed; it's all about survival.

The doors opened and chaos exploded. There were strange men everywhere on the platform and some of the guardians were already dealing damage. An arrow nicked Bianca and bounced against the back wall of the elevator next to Duke. He looked at it and his chest began to heave with deep breaths. As everyone rushed out, Duke moved more slowly. He flexed and stretched his hands and fingers as he channeled his mind trying to build the poison on his fists. He checked with calm and efficient movements to see where everyone was at on the platform. It didn't take long to see the dead siblings. That did it. His hands exploded in purple ooze that seemed to pulsate and move with a life of its own. One of the creepy dudes ran up on him snarling with his black eyes and swinging with his claws. Duke reached out with both hands and clapped the ears of his attacker and squeezed trying to make his hands touch. The black-eyed being clawed at Duke but not for very long. Between Duke's strength and the acid on his fists, the skull gave way with a sick sound and black goo went everywhere. Duke dropped him and turned to see a red-haired woman flying on a dragon that was apparently made of shadows. She was firing the arrows; the same arrows that killed the cute Asian girl and her brother. One came singing towards Duke but he dipped to the right and swung his fist up and to the left deflecting it away. He had no way to attack her while she was flying through the air. "I'll show you a warrior, bitch."

Duke saw groups forming out of his companions. That was smart since most had probably never been in too many fights. He saw a pair of the creepers heading towards Ariana and Achera's flank. He took a few bounding leaps and tackled two beings from behind palming a skull in each hand. He rolled his shoulders and drove his weight forward in the air. When their faces hit the ground, Duke's hands went clear to the platform. He stood up and saw a large mass forming near the far end of the platform. His friends seemed fine and Phineas was still standing. Duke took his hands and rubbed them down his forearms. The ooze stuck where he placed it. "Sweet." He walked with a steady rhythm towards the fiends running his hands along his shoulders and knees as well. He had about ten feet and took off at a dead sprint. The beings saw him coming. It seemed the arrival of more guardians had pushed them back towards the edge. However, most realized the guardians seemed to be focused on the leader. When they saw Duke coming, their black eyes bore into him as if trying to gauge his soul's resolve.

"Woooooo!" [Rick Flair style!] Duke screamed out as he ran into the midst of them. He began swinging fists, throwing bows and kicking in every direction. He was being scratched almost constantly but most were just that. The beings dropped like flies in smoke and clutched at whatever portion of their body was being eaten away by the acid. A heavy body jumped onto Duke's back and bore him to his knees. The presence didn't stay long as the acid on his shoulders began to burn through flesh. Seeing Duke go down, more piled on top. The scratches became a bit deeper and Duke cursed when one bit his right side. He continued to fight but was being reduced in his movements by the weight of about twelve goons. He managed to pull his feet back underneath him. He thought of Dubbs, the dead Parks and the rest of his guardian brethren [one in particular]. His body heat elevated just when one of the fiends stuck her claws behind his ear and started to pull up. He could actually hear the cartilage in his ear tearing.

Duke let out a roar and used all the strength he could muster to stand up. As the pile rose, slowly at first, Duke began to push out with his arms and then he jumped straight up. He exploded from the pile with several of the beings falling dead but the rest simply dropped and began gasping for air. Duke stood in the middle of the dead and dying with a puzzled look on his face. He turned and checked on his friends. They seemed to be doing fine. He turned back and that's when he noticed a violet haze swirling in a seven foot radius around him. It was a cloud of poison. It slowly began to dissipate and Duke moved towards Phineas.

An arrow struck him in his shoulder and sank in several inches. The impact knocked him into a pillar and he rolled out of the way. The shaft broke as he rolled over it and Duke bit his tongue to keep from screaming. He tried to pull the shaft out but every time he touched it, the acid on his hands ate away at more of it. Lightbulb. Duke shoved his thumb and index finger into the wound growling during the process. He rubbed as much acid on it as he could. He would be sore and need some stitches but at least the purple sticky punch would remove the projectile. Duke clutched his arm and hopped from pillar to pillar until he got to Phineas. Using his powers as much as he had drained him and he needed a breather. "Who's the ginger bitch?"

 

[Adira]

Ariana was working hard to to focus her energy into her hand to form her water balls like before. She looked over to Achera as she ran over to her, barely missing some arrows. "Achera? Y-yeah I think I can, What did you have in mind?" She asked as she aimed at another creature. "Ok I'll follow your lead Achera" She said as the water ball hit and the creature went down. She turned her head to see Duke covering the girls and then rolling away. Ari was happy to he was okay and called out to him. "Duke? Are you good?" She didn't expect a response as the boy charged the army. It seemed like most of the guardians were on the platform and were fighting. Surprisingly the forces were being pushed back and she looked to the others. Her gaze wandered to the dead siblings that had passed on. They were lying in a pool of their own blood and had quit choking for air. Instead they lay still.. motionless. She regretfully looked away. The dead siblings would never get to call home.. never get to go home.. never see another day. It broke her heart, but she turned her attention back to Achera.

Phineas watched the guardians file in and then begin fighting. As Duke ran over to him he made the large man turn around so he could survey the wound. "The ginger bitch? Her name is unknown, though we have been researching her, She is the leader of the Black Eyed Beings... A real hard ass. Hopefully they will see the guardians and start to retreat before we experience anymore looses.." His voice trailed off as he looked at the two siblings that lay dead as the arrows passed over them.

 

[Mundane Monster]

Bianca took a moment in between her ragged breathing to nod vigorously and wave her hand in a 'no worries' type of fashion. "Oh yeah, dude. I'm totally fine. Thanks for..." She breathed in deeply through her nose "asking." She leaned against the pillar that they were taking cover behind and began to regain her composure. Honestly, she had never over exerted herself like that before. When she was a kid, she always got torn between running like a maniac or hiding during 'tag and go seek' and so she was always caught first because she just stood there like a deer in headlights. And when she got older, the only physical activity that she participated in was mandatory and did not require that much effort.

To be honest, it felt good to have fought so hard that she had collapsed and could barely walk. Although in the future, she needed to ration her energy so she wasn't let vulnerable. Thankfully, Danny--Derek? Damien? Dewitt? Shit, she needed to get better at memorizing names. Anyway, thankfully the actor that her mom was obsessed with, saved her.

"You're number two on my mom's 'Celebrity Screw' list." The teen said abruptly as she scrambled to her feet and remained in a crouching position. She surveyed the scene before her, they had the evil creatures and their evil overlord mommy pushed back, but that wasn't good enough. They had to wipe them out! It wasn't as though the guardians were much of a team yet, but if they paired up and worked together, their attacks could get a hell of a lot stronger. Bianca turned to D something or other, with a grin. "On another note, we should totally team up and pull a sick combo move." She suggested eagerly.

Focusing her power, Bianca formed a medium sized stone disc in her hands and held it out to the guy. "If I throw this, I might hit maybe like three evils in a row before it crumbles, but if you use your metal powers, and combine them with my disc, maybe we can make a swift and strong boomerang and take out a bunch of them!" She exclaimed, her eyes glittering with excitement.

 

[TheRealHermione]

Severin looks on as a small portion of their overall number leaves with Phineas, brow creasing slightly as he looks over those remaining in the room. Or he tries to, at least. A cool stream of breath causes the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end, and a voice speaks to his mind. "Whatever are you thinking, Guardian?" The white-haired youth frowns deeply before looking up at Alaph, who had drawn his head just behind his partner's, icy blue eyes looking over the new ice elemental. Severin unwitting looks away from the dragons eyes, shivers plaguing not only his entire body, but the whole of his soul, as well. Whatever had those eyes seen in years past? They seem as though they can stare through a man, envision clearly his motives, values, and beliefs, penetrating his very core and hindering his masculine pride. For who can stand in the prescence of such depthful eyes and not feel as though he is naked, his every secret and sin exposed as he trembles under the insistant gaze of a being far more holy than he.

"Guardian? Whatever is it?" Severin pushes his thoughts from his mind and turns his full attention to Alaph. Something doesn't make sense… "First off, just call me by my name, Alaph. Titles make me uncomfortable. Second, if you can place your voice into my head, can't you hear what I'm thinking, too?"

The dragon makes a sound in the back of his throat, a sound Severin quickly associates with a deep, rumbling laugh. "That's hardly how it works Guar– I mean, Severin. Indeed, I can detect your emotions, but the deeper your thoughts, the less of an emotion they give off. It makes a person almost like a stone wall, deep thought; they hardly feel anything, they just think." He lets out a thin breath, a few ice shards falling to the ground. "And you, Severin, are about as close to a wall as I have ever seen."

Giving what he hopes passes as a passive shrug, Severin responds without looking at his partner, resisting the urge to think about the words the great lizard had just uttered, the urge to seek their full meaning, instead returning to studying each of the other Guardians. "I was merely marveling at the fact that we all come from somewhere… normal, yet these people… They expect extraordinary feats from us. I wouldn't be surprised if someone cracks under the pressure."

Alaph follows Severin's gaze, letting out another icy sigh as he does so. "I think I understand what you mean, Severin. You humans all have difficult, trying times ahead of you. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if-"

"All guardians must come to the surface at once! I repeat, all guardians must report to the surface at once! We are under attack!"
The white dragon jerks his neck away quickly, flashes passing somewhere behind his eyes as he fixes his gaze on Severin. "You must go!" Panicking visibly, Severin looks around rapidly, suddenly unable to process anything, which is, indeed, quite a feat in itself. "But-" Alaph pushes the young man away from him with his tail, causing him to stumble slightly. "There's no time! Just follow the others and let your instincts take over!" Mouth dry, Severin forces himself to return to his usual emotionless state, calm washing over his face despite the battle raging within his soul, a battle between fear and sensibility, a set of angels who cannot exist without the other, yet must remain balanced lest a being implode. Severin lets out a breath between his teeth, giving Alaph a slight nod before starting off in the way the others had left from.

By the time Severin steps a foot into the trouble area, the battle is already raging, two human bodies laying still in the middle of the melee. Cool sweat mats his forehead, and Fear begins to push aside his brother, causing Sensibility to almost cease to exist. But somehow, the weakening angel manages to reignite his power, taking over Fear just enough to allow Severin to think straight. The voluminous battle suddenly mutes as he lets out a breath. Everyone and everything seems to move in slow motion, and his face hardens as all thoughts leave his mind. Jaw set and brow knit together tightly, Severin strides into the melee. He doesn't run, he just walks without a single thought other than keep moving, keep moving.

Those simple words become something of an internal battle cry as the mayhem envelopes him. Keep moving, keep moving. He barely registers any fear as a group of the odd beings start toward him. Keep moving, keep moving. As they charge, he doesn't break stride, as he thows out his arms as though to embrace an old friend, ice shards joining together to for solid walls that stop the pursuers in their tracks, save an unlucky few who run into it. Keep moving, keep moving. His gaze never wavers as he freezes some arrows to their corresponding bows subconsciously, rendering them unable to be released to pepper the air. Keep moving, keep moving. He doesn't even realizes it as something sharp cuts and grazes his left cheek, blood dripping. Keep moving, keep moving.

Finally, he stops his onward march as he stands over two of the other guardians, lying in a pool of blood. The siblings from before, he recalls. He shakes his head, in his mind's eye seeing Arabelle's face on the girl before shaking away the vision. No; this is different. He looks over them, over their morbidly growing puddles of blood. There's no way they're still alive. But still; it's not right to let their bodies get damaged even more; it's quite immoral. Shaking his head, he allowed the ice shards from his hands to form a dome around the bodies. Somebody would come back for their bodies after the battle ceased, surely. And Severin turned away, burying himself in the myriad once more, wound still bleeding openly. ​

 

[Many Faces Many Names]

As the corpses of two guardians cooled on the platform, Lilit began to withdraw from the battle. Her minions kept up their onslaught against the newly minted Guardians and she kept firing from above, as Tiamat merely watched as a ghostly spectre against the night air. As more and more people appeared on the platform, she saw her forces dwindling down and the earth was growing moist with the oils that ran in their veins.

She dodged and twisted around the many projectiles aimed at her; swords, fire, ice... Everything in imagination and she began to truly realise the scope of what they would one day become. As teamwork grew and friendships becomes strong in their circle, they would be a great force to deal with and once again, she heeded to the ancient way of her people.

A talented hawk hides it's claws.

Her people continued fighting, down to the last woman and man. They fell like wraiths but they would emerge once again. After all, the attacks were merely grievous but not deadly. Her army began to retreat, carrying their fallen and injured to be returned into peace in their halls of stone. They had fought bravely and two of their number were down, they were weak and childishly hopeful. Well, hopefully they had learnt a powerful lesson.

But her heart hurt. She thought of her own children, burning in death throes but she cast it from her mind and out of thought. This was neither the time nor the place for such pondering.

"Guardians, you will never survive this! Your friends lay dead and more will find themselves on the same hard floor, as blood pools around you as it did my entire world! You shall all burn!"

She turned then, on the transparent back of her closest friend and together with her army returned to their stronghold, leaving the children she had ripped asunder to mourn and be mourned.

The wind was colder that night than any other.

 

[Lilpuff]

All around her, there was utter pandemonium. Left and right, black arrows were flying, and two had already lodged themselves in the bodies of the twins, whose names she couldn't remember. Aria ran over to them and knelt, glad to see they had a dome of rock-hard ice laying over their unmoving bodies. Locating Severin fighting against the beings, she whispered a silent, "thank you," then stood up. Turning back to the battle, she looked all around her at the chaos. Bianca was blocking some arrows with a rock suit she had accumulated, Duke had a full covering of the purple ooze he was covered in earlier, and the others were all using their own powers to fight the mist and it's red-headed leader. Right away, Birch...was it Birch? came up to her and asked him to cover for him as he attacked. Aria nodded, summoning all the energy she could muster and concentrating, letting her powers run through her like they had before. Only this time, the effect was much greater.

A huge swirling storm of air was accumulating around Aria, and she found she could direct it by moving her arms. Stretching them both out towards the mass of black mist, she shot her air, blowing away the some of the thick darkness so the Birch and the other guardians could see the enemies clearer without being blinded by the dark mist. It seemed to be working a little bit and Birch was able to attack, but soon she didn't need to keep up her wind storm, as the leader ordered a retreat, as well as a warning. "Guardians, you will never survive this! Your friends lay dead and more will find themselves on the same hard floor, as blood pools around you as it did my entire world! You shall all burn!" the red-headed being shouted, then she turned away and left, her hundreds of minions following her. Aria stopped her windstorm then, collapsing onto the platform feeling exhausted. Her stringy blonde hair lay askew and wind blown all over her face. She felt light-headed and dizzy from using her powers that much at once, but she was still relieved the battle was over. She looked over at Birch, a weak smile on her face. "Nice job." she said to him.

 

[Raiden]

Desmond Giles

"You're number two on my mom's 'Celebrity Screw' list."


That statement caught him off-guard as Desmond turned to look at Bianca. It just so happened that one arrow slammed into his sword shoulder, focusing his attention to his now throbbing shoulder.

"I'd be more pleased if that statement didn't come up during times like these Miss Bianca." Desmond stated as he deflected a few more shots before Bianca said something as she formed a flat rock disk.

"On another note, we should totally team up and pull a sick combo move. If I throw this, I might hit maybe like three evils in a row before it crumbles, but if you use your metal powers, and combine them with my disc, maybe we can make a swift and strong boomerang and take out a bunch of them!"

"It's a nice start. Let me add a little addition into your plan. Also, so you can remember, my name is Desmond Giles." Desmond stated as he dropped the sword.

The sword melted and quickly reformed around the rock disk. The edges of the rock encased metal grew jagged as it became more of a saw.

"Now that should take a few more enemies out. One of metal's biggest weakness is it's size to weight ratio." Desmond muttered as he focused on the enemy. The rock metal saw rose up and buzzed it's way to the enemy fliers, eliminating five flyers before a voice cried out.

"Guardians, you will never survive this! Your friends lay dead and more will find themselves on the same hard floor, as blood pools around you as it did my entire world! You shall all burn!"


Desmond sighed as the words echoed around the area, silence soon claiming the place as he leaned against a way. He felt the metal tip of the arrowhead in him as he reformed the metal outside of his arm, letting the arrow shaft fall to the ground with a clatter.

"I wish I could say good job. But we just have more work ahead of us." Desmond sighed out as he clutched his wounded shoulder while some of the words that the enemy commander said bothered him.

But now was not the time to discuss it.

"Phineas, where is your medical personals? Some of us could use stitches and maybe a glass of your best wine." Desmond muttered.

 

[TheRealHermione]

Severin sees the odd warriors retreat before he hears the uttering of the voluminous phrase that would prove to test his drive, his confidence in his own emotion-smothering abilities, and the entire stability of the world in general. Quite simply put, a threat of the likes that he had never once expected to hear, not in his entire life. Words threatening not only he himself, but also countless others whose lives had, in all intents and purposes, only just begun. Yet at the same time, they bring a weakened sense of security and comfort, at least for the time being, for they seem to imply an end to the battle... Or at the very least, a temporary stalemate that would surely prove to be a trying threat in itself.

"Guardians, you will never survive this! Your friends lay dead and more will find themselves on the same hard floor, as blood pools around you as it did my entire world! You shall all burn!"

Setting his jaw, Severin turns to face the suddenly vacant battleground, the melee of battle gone, leaving only puddles of blood throughout and his dome of ice. Cheek still bleeding profusely, and pants torn from who-knows-what, he trudges toward the dome without looking at any of his fellow survivors. He shuts off all inner and outer feeling to the fullest, face stony and gaze intent. His legs move like lead, his head aches, but he forces himself onward. In mere minutes, Severin stands over the dome of ice, expression grave. Surely the others already know of the inflicted devastation, he decides without much thought. But still... In the midst of battle, had it really sunk in? Had anyone really, truly realized that from now on, until further notice, the fate of the brother-sister duo would hang over their heads, a fate that could very well become their own? Perhaps even now, the Angel of Death looms above the remaining Guardians, waiting to snatch them away in her greedy grasp. And with each lost -- for surely this is not the last -- it would be harder on them, because they'd know each other more.

Turning his head away from the dome and clenching his eyes shut defiantly, Severin grits his teeth. No. He won't feel the pain of losing someone close ever again, not if he can help it. He'd just have to remain distant from the other Guardians, forcing himself not to attach to them emotionally, even in the slightest. He'd cooperate with them, to be sure, but mainly in order to preserve precious life, a gift that most fail to realize until they see it stripped away before their eyes cruelly, leaving a scalding, gaping wound, never to be mended even slightly. Such is the manner of life and death, something that none can ever dream of escaping.

Placing his hand on top of the steadily melting dome without so much as a tear, he speaks out in a low, echoing voice. "Godspeed, my friends. Best of luck to you both." He moves his hand swiftly before he can add a phrase too morbid to speak. Say hello to Arabelle for me.

Severin turns and walks toward the assembling Guardians, speaking out loud to no one in particular. "I trust that these two will be returned to their family?" He gestures toward the dome, voice far more bitter than he had intended it to be. "The ice should thaw enough to break through it in a few minutes or so." He stops speaking, closing his eyes as he tries to block out his headache and fatigue. He sighs softly to himself.​

 

[Pyralithia]

Porn star version of Electro, blue

Ash nods to Ariana, glancing to Duke she gives him a grateful thumbs up as she charges the enemies with reckless abandon 'Well I guess we have some things in common...' focusing her attention back on Ari she lifts her electrified hands up. The electricity wasnt the normal white/light blue like before tho, now it was blood red, it seemed to change with her emotions. "Okay lets hope this works, remember dont touch it." She says to Ari a few moments before she sticks her hand into the ball of water, wincing slightly as the currents rebound back into her body causing her hair to stand up slightly but it didnt effect her like it would a normal person. The red electricity crackles through the water within the orb but stays contained in it. Pulling her hand back out the electricity is now gone 'Well that sucks...' her azure eyes go to Ari "Alright give em your best shot Ari, lets show them what happens when you piss of a lioness!" She says confidently pumping her other still electrified fist into the air with a grin.

"Guardians, you will never survive this! Your friends lay dead and more will find themselves on the same hard floor, as blood pools around you as it did my entire world! You shall all burn!"

Achera's eyes narrow on the redhead archer 'What is she talking about?' clenching her jaw she flicks a stray lock of hair back "Pff, big talk for the one getting her butt kicked by abunch of newbie Guardians. Dare her to say that to my face." She nearly shouts angrily, as the shadow army retreats she stands up out of her crouch beside Ariana, holding out her hand to the blonde to help her up before walking over to the rest of the group. Seeing the ice Guardian 'Steven? Sever?' she couldnt quite remember his name since he didnt stand out much. But his actions did catch her attention along with his words, gritting her teeth against the wave of pain that laced through her heart. She didnt know the siblings well but their deaths were untimely and unreasoning, suddenly the electricity flickering around her turns pitch black

Earth, green

Earth, green

Birch nods to Aria as the young girl creates a pretty violent windstorm 'Note to self, stay on wind lady's good side' he thought to himself before charging forward into the enemy line his vision clear now thanks to Aria. With a thrust of his wood clad hand he shoots out the wood spikes floating around him into a number of the Black Eyed beings before wielding his wood sword. It didnt look like much but that wasnt true as it sliced the arm off one with ease, he'd condensed the wood so much that it was as hard as steel, the edge sharp as any average sword.

He danced through a large group of enemies slashing and thrusting his sword whenever he found an opening. Birch felt a couple blows against his makeshift wood/vine armor but arrows but it didnt hurt at all. 'Guess you shouldnt underestimate the power of earth' He saw Duke charging in similarly tho the poison he wielded had a bit more....Gruesome results. His attention on Duke for a moment he didnt have time to block the set of deadly claws heading straight for his back. Crunch, the claws pierce through his wood armor but stop when they reach the thick vines, only managing to give his shoulder blade a nasty scratch.

Twirling his sword around he thrusts the tip of his sword back piercing through the Black Eyed being's chest, the enemy crumbles the claws falling away from his armor. 'That was close...'

"Guardians, you will never survive this! Your friends lay dead and more will find themselves on the same hard floor, as blood pools around you as it did my entire world! You shall all burn!"


Birch's head jerked up at the annoying screech the archer bitch yelled out above him, his fiery emerald eyes glare up at her as they start to retreat. Releasing his sword it floats beside him, raising his hand up he makes a throwing motion the sword following his motions before shooting through the air at lightning speed straight for the redhead. The sword misses its target which was her back but grazes her arm, at least Birch thought it did but he couldnt tell from his position.

Growling low in his throat Birch walks back over to Aria, seeing her collapsed on the platform he rushes over to kneel beside her worry creasing his brow. "Hey are you okay?" When she smiled up at him with a "Nice job" he relaxed seeing she was just exhausted. Sighing heavily he releases the wood and plants wrapped around him, they fall to the floor leaving him much more humanoid looking rather than a mini tree trunk. Running a hand through his somewhat shaggy hair he smiles back at her. "You had me scared there Aria. I'm far more impressed with that windstorm you created, you blew through the enemies like they were paper. Remind me never to underestimate you." He says half teasing but confidently.

"I'm sure your running on empty after that, if I tried to carry you would I get slapped?" He asks lightheartedly. If Aria agreed Birch would lift her up in a bridal position, one arm under her knees with the other under her back, and easily carry her over to the others. If she didnt he would stand up and offer her a hand to help her up before going over to the rest of the guardians and resuming his "silent mode"

​

 

[Adira]

Ariana watched in amazement as Ash worked up a ball of intense and static defying electricity. Ari quickly focused on making her own elemental ball. She held her hands together, almost like she was praying and closed her eyes. She pictured a tiny drop of water, focused on it growing and growing until it few to the size of a basket ball, and when she opened her eyes to her surprise there was a basket ball sized water ball floating in between her hands. The water was a blue-ish gray, not like normal water, and it bounced from side to side as if it was excited for something. She held her hands out to Ash as she reminded Ari not to touch the electricity. She looked up slightly at the girl as if to say 'Are you crazy?' But quickly looked back down. The ends of the girl's hair stood up from the electric current that bounced back and forth in the water. She could hear the buzzing of the atoms as they bounced around in her ands. It scared her, but she didn't have time to think on that fear before she nodded and aimed at the fleeing army. "Oh no you don't!" She said as she pulled her hands back and then pushed them forward as she released the water ball and it went hurling into the fleeing army. The black beings fried into nothing as the ball exploded in a red and blue explosion of light and power. It even shocked Ari, but not as much as the next part.

"Guardians, you will never survive this! Your friends lay dead and more will find themselves on the same hard floor, as blood pools around you as it did my entire world! You shall all burn!"

Ariana's body shook, whether that was with fear, or anger, or post fighting energy, she wasn't sure. Her head pounded and she looked to the center whee the others had begun gathering and she joined them in the middle. She turned to Ash and gave her a thumbs up "Great job Ash, who knew you were so electrifying" She said with a smirk, as they neared the group. "I second the wine" She spoke smoothly, as she avoided looking at the siblings.

Phineas had gathered in the center of the broken pillars. He leaned down and touched the ice that encased the two siblings. He stood up after a moment of silence, in memory of the two brave guardians. Of course new guardians would have to be selected, and quickly, now that Lilit was on the attack. He straightened up as he addressed the guardians as a group. "I've called for back up to take care of our fallen guardians, they will be returned home in the morning after there elemental blood is taken and their wounds are cleaned." He said calmly as he turned on his heels and motioned for the others to follow him down to the medical unit floor. "Let's go address these wounds as we talk strategy." He said as he pushed the red cross button on the elevator as it sped down hundreds of floors and opened onto a busy floor with several people running about in white coats and dresses. "This is the medical floor, if you ever need something medical you come here, they will treat you immediately." Phineas says as they walk down a few halls and into a large white room with a few beds. Doctors entered and began to address the wounds of the new guardians. Coral, laid in a bed in the room, her face relaxed and sleeping, and her face and neck had begun to under go plastic surgery, she was recovering quickly now. Phineas ordered the doctors to treat wounds accordingly, and to bring the heroes a few bottles of Atlantis' best champagne.

*Time Skip 3 Days*

Ariana awoke in a screaming fit again, most people had trouble sleeping now a days, ever since their first day on the roof. Ari's body bolted upright in her bed as beads of sweat formed and began to run down her face. She was panting hard as her eyes and mind adjusted to where she was. In the girls side of the Guardians underground bunker. Her sweat and breathing had disappeared as she calmed down from her nightmare. In her night terror she had been burning, burning in a fire as the black eyed beings laughed and sliced at her. Her water couldn't help her and she has screamed and screamed but not in had saved her. Maybe Lilit was right, maybe they would all burn.

She made her way out of the room and walked the distance over to Darmith who lay snoring in his bed. The early rays of sunlight began to peak from behind the Atlantic's waves. The sea looked calm today, maybe even calm enough to learn how to fly on their dragons, the last few days had been meals, powers practice, and sleepless nights. Phineas had walked the Guardians though almost every inch of the lost empire now. Though Ariana still only found comfort in Darmith or her fellow guardians when she was scared and so she sat on her dragons large clawed hand and stroked his face lovingly. Her dragon stirred slightly and his large blue eye opened as it took in her presence. "Ahh, Ari, what are you doing up so early? More night terrors?" His voice echoed in her head. She nodded slightly and broke into tears as she cried into her dragon. "Darmith it's terrifying here.." She mumbled though her tears as her dragon comforted her. Ariana wouldn't lie, Atlantis felt like home now, but she missed home, and her father, and friends, and even school.. her normal life. Darmith would calm her again and again until Ari would suck it up and learn to accept her destiny. As she calmed down and began to fall asleep on Darmith she heard the doors of the elevator open and Phineas stepped out. "Ariana?" He asked. "wake the others.. the new guardians are here..."

 

[WarriorHeart]

Duke was breathing hard. He wished he could have eaten something or even had a glass of water before undertaking all of this. The last thing he drank was some kind of whiskey vodka Jager bomb thing. His stomach gurgled loudly while he listened to Phineas describe how the Atlantians knew nothing about the red-haired opposition leader. Duke put up with being 'mothered' by Phineas. He jerked his arm away a bit. The wound hurt but that was to be expected. Duke looked down and realized he was going to need new clothes. His shirt was little more than strands of bloody cloth and his shorts and shoes were essentially rags. [You would be too if you'd been soaked by huge water balls, throw across a giant room by a dragon and nearly beat down by a small army of soul sucking aliens.] The bite on his side felt strange. He pulled a few strands of his shirt back and saw the jagged teeth marks. The wound had some kind of black goo coming out of it.

"Guardians, you will never survive this! Your friends lay dead and more will find themselves on the same hard floor, as blood pools around you as it did my entire world! You shall all burn!"

Duke looked over the pillar and stood up taking a few steps towards Lilit. "That's right, bitch! Run on home and tell your folks! All yinz fuckin' dead!" He shook his fist at her and then flipped her off. Duke's head hurt. He reached up and winced as he touched what was left of his ear. He looked down at his fingers and saw the sticky blood, now half coagulated. He wondered if the super awesome technology of Atlantis would be able to fix it for him.

Duke walked over to where the ice dome protected the fallen brother and sister. He knelt down and put his hand on the cold, smooth surface. He bowed his head for a moment and closed his eyes. He said a silent prayer. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the frozen blood that surrounded the Parks. "You bled for us. They'll bleed for you. I promise." Duke clenched his jaw and pressed his palms to the ice. He wished he could close their eyes. The shocked look of horror and the pain of death filled their faces. It's a sight that Duke swore to never forget.

Phineas had been speaking to the others and head back to the elevator. Duke got up and followed behind. He piled in and rode down in silence. He just stared at the wall. When they got to the infirmary, he was mugged by staff members who began examining him. Duke seemed very uncomfortable. The doctor led him over to a bed and pushed him down on it. She studied his ear and motioned to another heath care professional to come over. They conferred softly and then turned to Duke. They quickly cut off the remnants of his tank top and began examining his scratches. Duke looked over at Coral when he got the chance. She seemed ok.

Band-Aids here, ointment there; the staff worked their way along his body quite efficiently. One spent a decent amount of time on his arrow wound and the other dug some black good from his bite mark. She stored it in a petri dish and set it aside. She traced some deep scratches in his right thigh. Duke snickered. The doctor looked up at him with a straight face. "Remove your pants." Duke blinked in surprise. "Ain't ya gonna buy me dinner first? He chuckled again but was cut off by a confused look on the woman's face. "Aaaaaand you're serious…" Duke rolled his eyes and took off his shoes and socks. Then he stood and took off his shorts revealing his boxers. They were all blue and had the Superman logo in the middle. He sat back down and set his shorts next to where he was sitting. He thumbed through his phone while they finished dressing his wounds.

The staff insisted on throwing away Duke's clothes. He was rather grouchy about this but wasn't given much of a choice. They brought him some simple grey garments to wear. The pants were a soft but thick material very similar to Ripstops with multiple pockets. The top was basically a long sleeve UnderArmour workout shirt. Everything fit tight but at least it was long enough. The shoes looked like something from the 70s but were actually quite comfortable. Duke got up to leave when a small hand grabbed his. It was Coral. Duke went to pull away until he saw her looking up at him. Not knowing why, he held her hand and gently cupped his free hand over top of hers. She moved her mouth as if to speak but no words came out. Duke leaned down and bent his head close to her mouth.

Coral's words were nothing more than the sound of a small animal's feet scraping against the concrete. "I'm sorry."

Duke stared at her with a confused and almost hurt expression in his dark eyes. "What? Why? I hurt you." Duke protested though he never released her hand.

Coral forced a weak smile. Her eyes indicated she would pass out anytime. "I should've have shown more respect for you."

Duke felt like he could die. "I…" He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I…uhh…" He didn't know what to say. It's not like he'd ever apologized to anyone, ever.

Coral squeezed his hand. "You and your friends will save us. I believe in you." Her eyes closed and she drifted back into her mini-medical coma. Duke just stood there for several minutes staring at her. His head spun with a zillion thoughts at a hundred million miles every single second. Duke thought his head might actually pop off. He placed Coral's hand on her tummy very carefully and walked away.

Once he got outside the infirmary, he walked up to the nearest wall and pressed his forehead against it. Duke could not wrap his head around the situation. He sighed and started walking. He needed some food and water and rest.

+++++

A day of recovery and rest passed rather quickly. The second day after the battle, Duke got up and put on his new clothes. He looked around his sterile little apartment and wondered if this was supposed to be his new home. He walked out the door to find Coral waiting for him. He nearly jumped back inside. She had been off to the side and when the door had come opened, she leapt in his path.

"Good morning, Duke." She smiled. "Come with me." She turned on her heel and headed off down a tall, narrow hallway. Duke followed and tried several times to say something but only managed to open his mouth and close it when the words escaped him. She stopped by a door and motioned him inside. Duke peered in and saw the funeral trappings for the Asian kids. He didn't go in the room. He just looked at his feet. Coral nudged him forward. "It will help to see them one more time." Duke looked at her and realized he had no idea how old she was. He listened to her and walked in and stood between two 'bubbles' that served as coffins. He looked at the kids' faces and did feel better. They both looked very peaceful. It was nice to have this image to replace the one on the platform. Duke sighed in relief as some of his mental burden lifted. He turned and walked back to the door he came in but Coral had gone.

Not having anything else to do, Duke put some music on and started to jog. He headed down a hallway he didn't recognize and just kept going. He ran for quite some time. If he came upon a dead end, he would just turn around and go back to the last fork. After forty minutes or so, he was starting to get tired and very thirsty. He rounded a corner to find a fountain. He jogged up to it and stopped. He tested the water with his fingers and tasted a few drops. It seemed fine and so he drank quite a bit. Once he got his fill, Duke started down the corridor but heard a sound that made him stop.

It was the sound of impact. The beat was irregular and each blow was slightly different from the last. Duke's face perked up. "That's a two piece and a biscuit if I ever heard one." He was referring to boxing, of course, and followed the sounds. Duke walked into a massive room with all sorts of exercise equipment and several sparring mats. Off to the far side was the source of the noise. It was Achera beating on the tall bag. Duke grinned. He moved across the room in an arc that gave him a bit more time to watch her. His eyes followed her actions with keen observation. He noted her posture, stance, foot work and striking form. He chuckled at the duality of 'striking form'. Duke moved around to the adjacent side of the mat from Achera. He leaned against the frame for a speed bag and folded his arms over his chest. Duke loved to work out but for right now, he was enjoying watching Achera. After a few more moments, he stood up and walked towards her. He picked up some wrist wrap and began to bind up his hands, fingers and forearms. He did so with such a natural grace that one could easily tell he had done the exact same thing hundreds if not thousands of times. Duke called out to her in a playful tone. "If you're done beating on that bag, could you beat the hell outta me next?" Duke was sporting a bandage over the ear that had been shredded and repaired but other than that, most of his wounds seemed to be healed. He finished wrapping his hands. "I could use a little blood, sweat and pain to get my mind right."

 

[Many Faces Many Names]

Neela Bell was not a happy sheila. No, she was bloody furious. One guy had just walked in and chucked a wobbly, right in the middle of her class. He was half an hour late and really, off his head. He was generally a good bloke, just with a lot of problems and she could understand the drink, but going berserk in her class while off his face really pissed her off. He was flat out like a lizard in the sun now, snoring his head off and she just sighed, hauling him into the waiting room. "Hey, Moira. There's another one with the wobbly boots on. He's drunk as a skunk, so keep an eye on him won't ya." The receptionist just sighed and rang the booze bus, a number she knew fairly well. This wasn't the worst neighbourhood but it wasn't the best by far.

"Alright, guys! Listen up!" She stood in front of her class half an hour later and bowed slightly to her class. "Begin seiza!" As one the class conducted the final departing farewell and bowed firmly lower than she herself. "Alright, thanks for today guys! And don't be harsh on ol' Andrew, he's going through some tough shit at the moment so keep that in mind! Now rack off!" Her class left with grins and smiles, talking animatedly about the class and the new moves that had been taught that lesson. With a grin, she turned back to the room and then selected a weapon to work with, wanting to just relax and practice the art she had chosen. With two sai in hand and her breathing steady, she began to flow through the movements of the nicho sai and yakaa no sai, each flowing smoothly from memory, both muscle and memory.

Utterly relaxed, and with time to spare before her next class, she settled down in the corner for a short nap but as soon as she opened her eyes, she knew that she wasn't in the dojo. There was a cold stone floor below her and no breeze touched her. She was in a stone hallway but that detail was glossed over as a young woman with blue hair and startlingly green eyes exited from a nearby door. "Neela Bell. 19 years old, Female. Future Guardian and Light elementalist. Please, follow me." As she followed the bluenette down the stone halls in mute disbelief, they eventually ended up in a large circular room, where an enthusiastic, well dressed man with bright GOLD hair was awaiting her. "You are in an underground tunnel in our city!" He threw his hands up in a welcoming gesture. "Welcome to Atlantis!"

(Sorry it's so short... no muse at all =_=')

 

[Mundane Monster]

Bianca woke up encased by gloom. As horrible as it sounded, the source of her bad mood didn't come from her dead peers. She hadn't known them that well to really feel their loss. The true reason for her unshakable gloom was Desmond. Her stupid randomness had gotten him hurt. Sure he had been attended to by the kick ass Atlantian Medics, but still. She had caused that. Because she was an idiot. A complete and utter idiot.

Sliding out of bed, Bianca washed up at a tortoises pace and assumed the pace of a sloth as she exited the female dorms. Her stomach growled but she wasn't actually hungry. She hadn't been for the past few days. She hadn't starved herself of course. Atlantian food was too interesting to not try, but she hadn't tasted it. She'd just shoved her meals down her throat without enjoying every bite.

She'd even tried to get out of her funk, by visiting Halvaor, but even his presence and witty attitude couldn't sway her. Her mood was even affecting her powers. every time she tried to create a shield or a chest plate, the stone produced would turn into dust within moments of appearing. It sucked.

Realizing that she didn't want to continue on her journey to the cafeteria anymore, Bianca came to a stop and laid face down on the floor and began emitting pitiful groaning sounds.

- -

"Tyler please! I'm so sorry!"

Rage coursed through the young man's veins as the words tumbled from his mother's lips. By now he knew not to let his anger get the best of him, but it was still hard. He hated how she was looking at him. She had that pitiful look on her face and tears were threatening to spill from her large brown eyes. Still, he knew not to fall for that charade. Being around her was bad luck. If he went back to live with her and Ana, he would just end up in jail a few days later, and they wouldn't do a thing to help him out.

"My parole officer, advised me to live by myself." Tyler murmured, pulling his mother's hands off of him and walking past her and Ana. A taxi was waiting for him outside and it would take him straight to the one bedroom apartment on the outskirts of town. There he would live for two years, checking in with his parole officer every week, seeing a therapist who specialized in anger management, and working as an online editor. It wasn't best life, but other that prison, Tyler didn't know of any other kind of way to live.

"Tyler please!" His mother called after him, but Tyler was already opening the door to the cab and hopping in. He saw his mother take a few steps toward the vehicle before the driver peeled off and left her in the dust.


The ride was quiet, but Tyler soon found himself irritated by the odd musk wafting out of the AC vents. "Hey can you turn that off? It smellsh...weird." Everything went dark and when he opened his eyes again, Tyler wasn't at his apartment, in a cab or even back at prison.

Instead he was slumped over in a room with metal walls. Leaping to his feet, Tyler lurched forward upon seeing that he wasn't alone. A blue haired girl--No, the taxi driver from earlier, stood before him.

"What's going on?" He asked warily. "Who are you? What did you--

"Tyler Gregory, 24 years old, Male, Future Guardian and Fire Elementalist. Come with me."

Seeing that his questions would not be answered anytime soon, Tyler jogged after the taxi driver and followed her into a room where a fancily dressed man was standing there with a blond haired woman.

"You are in an underground tunnel in our city." The man said, spreading his arms out in a 'welcome' gesture. "Welcome to Atlantis" ​

 

[Raiden]

Desmond Giles

Desmond woke up with a start as his aching shoulder throbbed a bit. It has been a couple of days since that battle with the crazy bow and arrow lady. After the battle, the medics managed to stitch the wound close and reduce the pain that ran through his shoulder. At least it was his shoulder that was stitched up and not his forehead on the way back to his place. The doctors has warned him to not move that shoulder too much, lest the wound reopens. Desmond took heed of that information as he got out of his bed in the apartment like room. His stomach growled as Desmond dressed himself back into the Professor Whoa outfit. The nurses wanted to get rid of hit, but he made it very clear via daggers appearing around the clothing that it was not his when Coral and Phineas took him. Never the less, he did ask for their tailor to modify the outfit so that it would be more comfortable so he can fight in it. The outfit came back just last night as Desmond was about to sleep. Regardless, he left his room and started to follow a path.

The path led past the dragon's area where he saw Ariana crying to her dragon. Looking past her, Desmond saw Mithrandir yawning as her head moved to see him.

"Good morning little one." Mithrandir said simply before resting her head back down to sleep again.

Desmond smirked as he shook his head before walking on. After a few minutes of walking, Desmond heard a groaning sound just past a corner. He rounded the corner to see Bianca laying on the ground making the groaning sound. He had a rough idea why she was like that. While he did take an arrow to the shoulder, it wouldn't have been there if Bianca's statement had not distracted him. Desmond sat down on the ground beside her and sighed a bit, ready to play counselor.

"There's a Chinese proverb I like. [BCOLOR=transparent]You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.[/BCOLOR] Yes, I'm injured Bianca. But I'm still alive. So don't let the past bother you. After all, Yesterday is History. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why they call it the Present." Desmond said as he placed a hand on Bianca's back.

 

[Lilpuff]

Brushing the hair off if her face, Aria looked up at Birch, who had a bad looking scratch on his shoulder. Concerned, she replied. "Thanks, but it looks like that scratch might need some attention." Aria picked herself off of the ground, wincing in pain when she stepped in the ankle from before. Looking down, she lifted the ankle of her jeans and discovered it had gotten worse. What before was just a twisted ankle had grown in intensity when she fell on it the second time, now taking on swelling and nasty shades of red, yellow, and purple. She looked up at Birch, who was a good foot at least taller than her, and smiled weakly. "If you can though, could you help me walk inside? I guess I need to work on my landing." She said, the pain occasionally pulsing from her ankle. She looked back down at it, grimacing. Yep, it's broken. She concluded silently, hobbling inside with the aid of Birch, trying to avoid putting pressure on the limb. Suddenly, she was swept off her feet by the man, feeling the pressure on her ankle disappear as she was lifted up into the air. Holding onto the Birch's neck, he carried her over to the elevator and down to the medical bay, where he dropped her off onto a bed and spoke to a medical personel, who also tried to usher him into a room for treatment. After politely declining, he left quietly, without even giving Aria a chance to say thank you. Smiling slightly, she watched him leave. She liked Birch. He was a gentleman, and people as polite and caring as him were hard to come by these days. Then, she was injected with a painkiller and anesthetic, and she drifted off into a deep sleep, the doctors getting to work on resetting her ankle.

--------------------------
​

For the third night in a row, Aria couldn't sleep. And so, she made her way over to the Atlantian library once again. It was a bit hard to find at first, mostly from the fact that the underwater city was so large, but when it was discovered, she was astounded. Hundreds upon hundreds of shelves full of books lined the tall metal walls, small portholes providing a murky view of the deep water outside. Aria spent most of that first night in the hospital, but since she had awaken she had been exploring the vast underground city, finally finding the library a few days ago. Now, she was out again, and used her insomnia as an excuse to return to the grand room to acquire some more reading material. Stepping off of her bed, she looked down at her ankle to make sure the brace was still bound tightly, then walked lightly out of the room. After she had awoken in her hospital bed after the battle, the medical team explained that she had broken a few bones and needed to wear a brace for a few weeks. Thankfully, she didn't need crutches, so her hands were free for practicing her powers. At first, all she could really do was project wind in a specific direction, although it was largely unpredictable and shaky. In the past few days, however, she had been practicing with Rafale to gain more control on her powers, and had even successfully found a way to use her powers to flip the pages of the books she read.

Not paying attention and lost in her thoughts, she ran right into one of the metal walls outside of the library, hitting her nose. She chuckled slightly and checked her nose, hoping it wasn't broken. Reassured, she turned the corner into the library and was met with the chuckling of a tall Atlantean male with stunning blue hair and glasses, who was sitting in a light blue chair and reading. Aria blushed, embarrassed he had seen her be so air-headed. "You couldn't sleep either, I suppose?" he asked her, gesturing to her attire, which was the generic white sleeping clothes of Atlantis. She nodded. "Yes, my thoughts kept me awake again, and I needed new reading material." she replied, walking over to the Atlantian history shelf and picking a few books. Her arms full, she nodded and smiled at the man, leaving the library and walking back to her room. Before she returned, she was stopped in the hallway by Ariana, who had a mix of excitement and worry in her eyes. Aria smiled. "Hello, Ariana. What can I do for you?" she asked politely. The blonde girl leaned in, as if telling a secret, and whispered, "The new Guardians are here. Phineas said come to the dragon room."

 

[Pyralithia]

Electric, blue

Ash felt numb, everyones voices around her blurred together in a distant hum as her azure gaze stayed on the ground. Taking a deep breath she releases the electricity surrounding her arms/fists, a sudden wave of fatigue hits her hard causing her to sway unsteadily stumbling forward. At the same time she felt a stinging pain on her side that throbbed something fierce, looking down she saw the left side of here tank was dark with blood from a semi-deep gash on her ribs. 'Shit...where did that come from? Guess the adrenaline masked it till now.' Grimacing she places her hand against the wound as she follows Phineas with the rest of the group to the medical floor. She didnt really pay attention to what he said as a couple nurses ushered her away to a bed, she followed numbly letting them take her tank off after closing the curtain and stitch up her side. It hurt like hell even with the painkiller that made her feel loopy as hell but she didnt make a sound, only gripping the sheets and gritting her teeth against the pain.

Once they were done they ordered her to stay there and rest till tomorrow, she just watched them blankly but didnt argue. They left her in peace but she could hear faint whispers between them. 'Hm....they think I've lost it huh?' she didnt care what they thought right now. Suddenly she was brought out of her dark thoughts when she heard a familiar male voice in the bed next to her behind the curtain. "Ain't ya gonna buy me dinner first?" Ash arched an eyebrow at that looking at the curtain that separated her and Duke "Aaaaaand your serious..." Her lips twitch threatening a small smile at his deadpan tone. Before she could think better of it she calls over toward him "You better play nice Dukie or they might misstitch something you value!" Her tone was playful and teasing. Closing her eyes she lets the Morphine do its job, within moments shes in a drug induced sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (2 days later)​

Thump, thump, thump thump. Ash could feel the impact but she couldnt hear the sound as she beat on the heavy punching bag with music blasting in her ears from her MP3. A image flashes through her mind of the dead siblings, clenching her fists tighter inside the black fingerless gloves sparks of electricity sizzle around her fists as she punches the bag with even more intensity not caring about the pain in her side. 'I couldnt...' Thump 'save them...' Thump 'Why...' Thuthump 'Did they have to die!' Spinning she kicks the side of the bag with enough force to send it swinging. Suddenly sand starts pouring out of the bag from a large slit exactly where she had just kicked. During her spin she caught a glimpse of someone approaching her.

Ash stops pummeling the bag panting lightly her cheeks a bit flushed, she looks to the blur she saw before. Seeing Duke she straightens up pulling her earbuds out and tucking them in her black jeans pocket. Her brown/auburn hair was tied back in a pony tail, a few loose whisps framing her face. Her black spaghetti strap tank clung to her hour glass figure nicely as she turned to face the man that seemed to beckon for trouble. "Hey Van Gogh, you sure about that? I dont wanna hurt your very large pride of anything." She teases lightly absently rubbing her gloved hands​

G[/COLOR

i̱ Guardian, green]

Birch shrugged off Aria's comment about his scratch the motion not helping the stinging pain any but he was use to it. "Its nothing, I've got worse injuries working construction." He says nonchalantly. Seeing the wind guardian hobbling in obvious pain struck a cord in him that he couldnt ignore. Suddenly hes behind Aria gently but smoothly sweeping her up off her feet and into his arms, one arm under her knees the other under her back as he carries her with ease. 'Jeeze shes light...' "Sorry but slap or not I cant let anyone hobble around in pain when I can do something about it. Now lets get that ankle checked out, it looks like you re-injured it if not worse. Maybe once you feel up to it I can help you with your landing." He says softly but his emerald eyes were determined and held no room for argument.

Birch carried Aria into the elevator, he held her gently but his grip was strong, he made sure to keep some space between hers and his body so she wouldnt feel as uncomfortable. Once they reached the medical floor he carried her to a bed before stepping aside so the physicians could take care of her. His expression was unreadable as he lingered for a minute not sure what to do next, when a nurse asked to see his wound he waved her off saying he was okay, he wasnt a fan of hospitals. Feeling a bit out of place he slips out of the medical floor and into the elevator.

Birch takes the elevator to the floor where they met their dragons, once the doors open he sprints toward Valia. The large green dragon was sleeping but as soon as he stepped foot into the room her head snapped up to look at him, relief could be seen in her big golden eyes as he ran to her. "You made it little one, I was beginning to worry." Her deep soothing voice reverberates through his mind making him feel warm inside, the sensation surprised him since he barely knew his dragon. Yet she really did seem to care about him.

Feeling lost he hugs her scaly leg tight hiding his face from the other dragons. "V....We lost the fire and light guardians...' he spoke to her in his mind, not wanting the others to hear. He could feel her tense for a moment then relax as he tucks her soft wing over him like a shield. "Oh Birch im sorry you had to see that so soon....Whats this?" Craning her head back to take a closer look at him a low rumble sounds through her chest, Birch had no idea what she meant until she spoke. "Your injured! Why arent you getting treated?" She scolds him like a child.

He grumbles something about overprotective mothers and she thunks him on top of his head with her wing. Scowling up at her he sighs heavily "I dont like doctors or hospitals, I'll be okay V its just a scratch." The earth dragon shakes her head at him before leaning her head down beside his shoulder. Frowning Birch watches her curious and somewhat nervous. Suddenly a forked tongue slips out from her maw to lick his wound.

At first it stung and burned causing him to wince but soon the pain started to fade until it was completely gone. Blinking in surprise he looks back at where the scratch had been to see it gone now, his skin slightly pink but only by his torn and bloodied shirt could you tell he had been injured. "Wow, you healed me?" She nods seeming pleased

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(3 days later)

Birch had spent most of his time with Valia these last 3 days, he was never one to sleep for very long so he would explore the underground sitting at odd times throughout the night while V was sleeping. He'd explored pretty much every inch of place that he was permitted to go but still he felt restless. He was on his way back to the dragon den when he saw Ariana and Aria 'Jeeze those names are too similar, somebodies gonna get them mixed up sooner or later...' he thought as he approached the 2 blondes with a small wave.

"Hey there ladies, whats up?" He asks casually, curious of why they were up so late in the night. Ariana repeats the news to him much the same way she did with Aria "The new Guardians are here. Phineas said come to the dragon room." Tilting his head slightly to the side his eyes spark with interest. "New fire and light huh? Guess we should go greet the newbies." His tone his light tho his eyes showed caution

​

 

[WarriorHeart]

Duke watched with a growing amusement as Ach wore out the body bag. He lifted an eyebrow once the sand started to pour out. He hid a grin and bit his lower lip. He brought his right arm across his chest and hooked it with his left forearm then pulled back. He held it for a ten count and then swung his arms out and reversed the position. Ach seemed to have some decent hand speed and a bit of power behind her kicks. She was going to need both.

"Hey Van Gogh, you sure about that? I dont wanna hurt your very large pride of anything."

Duke rolled his eyes while he stetched and clenched his fingers. "I don't rock Vans." He smirked. "Hell yes, I'm sure." He winked at her and allowed a charming smile to cross his face. "My pride ain't the only thing that's supersized." He stepped onto the mat and bounced on his toes for a moment to test the surface and stretch his calves while rolling his head and shaking out his arms. He stopped and shoved a hand into his pocket. "Ooo, don't want you to bust this." He pulled out his phone and was about to set it down then stopped. He lifted his deep brown eyes to catch her gaze. "How about a soundtrack to your first lesson?" He flipped through some menus with his thumb then set the device off to the side. "You should make the first song your theme music."

As the music began to play, he twisted his hips slightly allowing his right side to drop back from square. He circled to his left making precise and well-practiced steps. He hands stayed in constant motion but never moved much. The left hand remained up near his face while the right hung in the vicinity of his right obliques. Duke's movements started slow but began to gradually pick up speed until his steps were light bounces off of the balls of his feet. "Alright, Sweetness, let's see whatchya got."

Playlist

Born This Way - Thousand Foot Krutch

Lights Go Out - Fozzy

URALAYA - Tech N9ne

Breaking Skin - Nonpoint

Coconut Dracula - Islander

 

[TheRealHermione]

The days following the eventful arrival of the eight new Guardians (and death of two) went by in a blur. Severin had insisted upon helping out with the bodies of the Asian siblings regardless of being told numerous times to go rest, that the Atlanteans would take care of it. But that didn't feel right. Indeed, it felt all around wrong, evil even, that the race who had more or less called these two innocents to their deaths would even be involved with taking care of their remains, even if those remains were only a pair of empty, deathly-still shells that would never again be assaulted by the terrors of the live they had been called into without a say, forced into a dangerous slavery without being allowed the right to decline.

But then, Severin supposed, who would volunteer for such a death chore? Mind, he gad always been a slight pessimist, but not so much that it tarnished his ability to at least conceive what others feel. At least... he rather hopes not. At any rate, he couldn't really blame the Atlanteans for resorting to coercing people into this life in desperation to remain secure. Who wouldn't like the safety of knowing that they're being watched over and protected? For is security not a rare jewel, one most spend their lives searching for? At least somebody knew the feeling. Because if nobody knew how security felt... Well, then who could say that it wasn't merely a myth, a fool's hopefuls?

Now, as Severin lounges in the rafters of the dragon room, he gazes down at the congregating Guardians and dragons, the low hum of chit-chat an almost morbid tune, testifying to the inner conflictions and the outer pain that the entire gaggle had to be feeling on this day... The day that the dead are replaced.

Severin looks over to Alaph, who had just flown up and perched a few yards away at the crook of the crossbeams, surely the only place sturdy enough the hold the small -- yet still somehow big -- dragon. The dragon's icy blue gaze watches the young man carefully, a hint of unconcealed curiosity shining in his pinpoint pupil as he cocks his head to the side. Still, Severin says not a word. Like himself, he had learned in the past few days, Alaph would only speak when he was ready to, and no one could change that. Finally, a questioning voice that is not his own infiltrates his thoughts. "I have never seen nor heard of a human enjoying heights in this way."

Eyes closed, Severin shrugs.

After a brief pause, Alaph continues. "Do they know you are here?"

Severin shrugs again, eyes still shut tightly.

Another, longer pause. "I heard word being passed around that the replacements have arrived."

At this, Severin opens one eye, agitating the healing wound on his cheek. "Really? So soon in the day?"

The great dragon bobbed his head, gazing down at the filling room. "Apparently. That is why the others are gathering here." He pauses momentarily. "We must join them now. They soon shall know your hiding spot."

Sighing, Severin opens his other eye, scrambling to his feet on the narrow beam. "It's not my hiding spot, Alaph. I just like time alone to think, and no one else has discovered this spot yet." He frowns, considering. "At least, I don't think they have."

A rumble that sounds like a laugh sparks from the dragon's throat. "If you say so." He hunches down, spreading his wings just enough to leave a space at the place where his neck meets his body. "Now mount. We must greet the newcomers directly."

Severin says not a word, but strides across the beam purposefully, keeping his strides normal. This is not over-confidence, but strategy when venturing across such treacherous terrain. As long as he maintains a falsehood of normality -- in this case, walking as though he'd walk on the ground -- everything should work out fine... He hopes. Sighing slightly to himself, he climbs up the scaly staircase that Alaph had provided withhis neck, settling in the crook before the young dragon steps off the crossbeams, wings out just enough to ensure that the pair do not crash. As is, Severin almost tumbles off of the scaly roller coaster with the landing, but he manages to right himself and dismount -- face red -- quick enough. He considers striking up a conversation with one of the other Guardians, but quickly thinks better of it. Not yet.​

 

[Mundane Monster]

Bianca lifted her body slowly, so that she was resting on her elbows. She gave a little sniffle, and her eyes widened in shock. She hadn't realized that she had started crying a little. Ugh, she hated crying. Crying made you look like a punk and prompted awkward interactions. People always went "Oh my gooosh! You're crying? Why are you crying? What can I do to help?" And as their voices rose higher and higher you suddenly get the feeling that they're only trying to cause more drama. It was terrible.

Though she doubted that Desmond was there for the drama, it was still awkward. Especially since the guy that her mom had weird fantasies about, had his had on her back. Even more so, because sometimes Bianca had little fantasies about---Aaah! Aaah! No! No! We are not going there! Not now, not ever! No! The teen thought forcefully.

Sitting up quickly, and wiping her eyes and nose with her sleeve, Bianca gave Desmond a nod, an awkward hug-chest bump attempt and scrambled to her feet. "Yeah, thanks, man. I think I heard that on Kick Flip Panda once. The present thing. Thanks for the understanding--Y-your understanding. Yeah." God, she was an idiot when she was embarrassed! "So, I think I heard something about the new guardians arriving today. We should go meet them. In the dragon room." Sweeping her left arm forward, she gestured towards the hallway, then retracted the offending limb immediately. "Not that we have to go together! Not that we even should!" She blabbered and began walking backwards down the hall, waving her arms in the air like a madwoman. "I'm going--See you, t-there man. I'm going the elevator way, and there's not that much space for both of us. Usually there would be, but not today...hehe... so yeah." And with that, Bianca wheeled around and dashed down the hall.

What in the hell was wrong with her?

On one hand, she was happy to know that Desmond wasn't mad at her and that her gloom had left her. But on the other hand...Seriously! What the hell?