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The Relay The Characters Dawn: {Played by Dream_dancer14, font color Deepsky Blue.} Spike: (Played by Dream_dancer14, font color Tan. } Dark Phoenix: (Played by Dream_dancer14, font color Light Purple. } Brad: (Played by Darkblade, font color Royal Blue. } Gabrielle: {Played by Amazonwarrior7, font color Deep Pink. } Kree: {Played by Celestial_forces, font color Dark Green. } Riley: {Played by Moonwarrior13, font color White. } Atticus: {Played by Dream_dancer14, font color Cadet Blue. } Quinn: Played by Prof_snape, font color Olive. } Veronica: {Played by Pixie_312, font color Dark Gray. } Dark Elf / Oversized Drow {Played by Dantethehalfdemon, font color Yellow. } It was earlier that morning that the announcement echoed across the many ships attached to Amphipolis, announcing that the next event in the Olympics challenge would commence that very night. The relay called for a team to complete the race amongst a number of obstacles.. No shock packs this time, thank goodness…Lacing up some Nikes, Dawn stood, eyeing the crew that had assembled at the starting line of the relay. Alien Races of all sorts lined the track on both sides of the mutant team, and it looked as if all had some sort of tennis shoes on.. How quaint… “Alright, you guys, this is our race.. We’re smaller than most of these guys, and we should be faster! Get ready.. When they start the announcements, man your stations…” A howling voice echoed across the intercom, and after a moment, it became apparent that the one speaking wasn’t in pain, but speaking normally. “The relay shall commence in 4 minutes, 29 seconds…” Riley stood near Dawn and listened to her as she told them to get ready for the race. Riley merely nodded and proceeded to do a few stretches. She was used to Relay races since she had been on the 4 x 100 Relay Team on Track her Freshman year. She wasn't used to running through obstacles though. She nodded once more as Dawn told them to head to their places on the track. Riley had volunteered to go third to last which meant she was handing getting the hand off from Gabrielle and handing the baton off to Veronica. She jogged to her spot on the track and lined up next to aliens of other races. She smiled politely to a particularly mean one next to her and only received a glare. Shrugging it off she waited for the race to start. Running. This was one of her expertise. Of course it would have been, seeing that she would usually run away at any sign of danger when by herself. Yep, after what had happened with her brother, the girl turned to violence as a last resort. She went through a series of stretches, hearing the announcement. “Jeez…” She murmured, reaching her toes and counting to 20 silently. “Okay then, so Riley’s gonna hand me the baton and I hand it to Dawn, right?” She asked the group, tying her hair up in a ponytail then braiding it. This was one of those moments she wished she could just cut her hair off. She sighed softly, wrapping it into a bun. She sat down to tie her Nikes, adding another question. “And has anyone seen the obstacles yet?” ((The long awaited post. XP )) Announcements being made over the intercom system were meaningless to Brad as he slowly got down into a running stance, his right leg stretched out behind him with his fists planted firmly upon the ground. His head was down, his breaths coming heavily with his eyes tightly shut. His whole mind set was upon concentration, focusing his mind upon the task at hand. Yeah, it was really melodramatic. But nevertheless, it was something he needed to do. Brad’s gaze eventually lifted as he tried to see what was in store. Yet he couldn’t see anything but a wide expansion of dirt. Maybe they were only running? That was highly unlikely. More than likely, the obstacles would play off a weakness of each person. That’s what was running through Brad’s mind at the moment. If that was true, what would his obstacle be? He knew he had plenty weaknesses, but none came to mind that could be used against him in an obstacle course. He sighed, trying his best to cloud his thoughts. He needed to be completely focused on getting that baton. Before the countdown had begun, all of the people who were running first were told that they were responsible for retrieving their team’s baton. This added pressure was another thing that ran through Brad’s mind. It was bad enough he had to start off, but why did he have to also be the one to have to get that baton? Well, there was no point in worrying about that now. The order was already picked. And besides, they were about to star- "GO!" The announcement startled Brad, but only for a split second. Instantaneously, he pushed off the ground, running with all his strength straight forward. He didn’t bother to see if he was in the lead or not. His only concern was reaching, wherever he was going, as fast as he could. He sure hoped he was doing that. Just as Brad was starting to lose that burst of energy he had received from starting, something began to come into vision. It was hard to tell at first, but eventually it was clear what it was. Brad was actually happy. He was going swimming. As a child, Brad had always been around water. He had taken to it quickly, learning how to swim at a rather early age. So seeing that pool, though its size was rather daunting, made Brad glad. Perhaps, Brad was wrong about them playing off of weaknesses. As Brad grew closer, he began to realize the object of the obstacle. Tunnel-like structures were set up for each competitor. The tunnels started just at the water’s level, ran down until it met with the bottom of the pool, which was sand, and then came back up. Looked pretty simple to Brad. He didn’t quite understand how he would end up getting the baton, but he figured it would become obvious when the time occurred. Brad ran towards the water quickly, a new pace to his step. He felt like he could actually win his part. He stopped momentarily to take off his shoes and socks, then dove into the water. And it certainly felt good. The water was the perfect temperature. Brad felt as if he was getting off rather easy. Brad swam down, his strokes quick as he made his way down the tunnel. The ground where the tube met the dirt was coming closer and closer. Once he was there he could push upward, making his trek even easier. And in a matter of moments he was there, turning so that he could look upward through the tunnel. He smiled as he squatted down, his knees bending as he pushed off with great momentum. But it seemed this pool wasn’t ready for him to leave. Brad’s feet were off the ground for a short second until he felt a firm grasp around his ankle, yanking him back down. He was in shock for a moment, wondering what had just happened. He then looked down, and was scared stiff. What appeared to look like a group of seaweed was the thing responsible. Though it looked like seaweed, it appeared to be alive. The strands moved around like tentacles, as if looking for prey. One “tentacle” had found Brad’s ankle, and it seemed rather pleased with its catch. Since it was slowly pulling him down into the sand. ‘Oh, no,’ Brad thought, his eyes wide in the water. His body shook with fear, his eyes no longer their faded color. Fear had taken a hold of him. It was that instant when these games suddenly became too real. He now realized that they were up here risking their very lives for their planet. Death was one of Brad’s worst fears. And fear, was his weakness. Brad’s vision was slowly becoming impaired due to the lack of oxygen he was receiving. He tugged and tugged at the creature, yet it seemed it would never let go. Brad wiggled around violently, trying to loosen the being’s grasp so he could get away. Yet his attempts seemed useless. ‘I gotta get out of here!’ he thought, his eyes closed tightly as he swam in all different directions. ‘Think, thin-Wait… They’re using fear against us. So obviously, the only way to win is to not be afraid…’ Brad suddenly stopped wiggling as his eyes opened, now looking down upon the thing that held him there. His eyes were back to their white hue, his gaze scanning over the dirt. It was then that he saw. He couldn’t believe he had missed it. A stick-like object, colored to have a camouflage effect, sat inside the creature. It was the baton. Smiling, Brad yanked it out. Having that baton gave him a sense of relief. Especially when he realized that apparently, the key to stopping the seaweed-like thing was to remove the baton. It quickly released its grip from Brad, it suddenly losing its animated motion. And with that Brad bent his knees again, pushing up towards the exit of the tunnel. After a matter of moments Brad was making his voyage away from the pool, with no one in sight. Either they all hadn’t gotten out yet, or had already passed the obstacle. Brad didn’t really care, though. He was just glad to be alive, and able to pass along the baton to Gabrielle. “Here,” he gasped, handing it to her quickly as he keeled over. “A relay, “ Gabrielle stated to herself, amusement replacing the nervousness that accompanied the news of another trial. There wasn‘t much to do at the moment, but think.. Think and stretch… Simple tasks helped keep her mind at least somewhat clear of troublesome thoughts. “It seems easy enough, doesn’t it…” In fact, that was one of the things that struck the blonde as being odd. The events.. Though they were to test the strength and will of those who were participating, the trials themselves were surprisingly easy… Her reverie was cut short at the commencing of the race. Snapping to a ready position, the young woman watched as Brad emerge from the water from which he had been under for a frighteningly long period of time. From the looks of it, he was alright, at least.. There would be time to make sure of that later, though. As Brad came down towards here, baton in hand, Gabrielle, too, took off down the track sprinting, giving her just enough of a jump start to kick it fully into gear after finally grasping onto the rod. Her feet dug into the ground below her, her long legs propelling her onwards swiftly forward. Blue eyes remained fixed in front of her, only at times would her gaze slip to the side, just to check to see how much distance there to her opponents. It was not long before the young woman was only a feet away from the obstacles that had been aforementioned. Until this point, they had been vague in detail in regards to how difficult they would prove to be, simply for the fact that they had been a fair length away. But the intricate nature of the devices soon became clear. The first set seemed simple enough: a few long, cylindrical objects extended to transect the track, the goal obviously being to dodge the moving pieces, while at the same time avoiding running into another lane. Using her flying ability to help flip over the obstacle all together, she landed hard onto the ground, sending up a column of dirt as she again took off. It appeared, for the moment at least, that Gabrielle had an edge on those who were now far behind her. She had, quite literally, left them in the dust. But the next turn changed that. Hastily dodging into a wide array of erratically moving mechanical arms, Gabrielle’s left arm was grabbed forcefully while trying to maneuver through them. The blonde’s first instinct was to blast the machine, and that’s exactly what happened. But sending bolts of electricity time after time to it’s base had the opposite affect of what she had intended. Instead of releasing it’s grip, it’s sharpened edges slowly dug in deeper into her forearm, sending a stream of crimson liquid down onto the track below. Time was of the essence now, as the competition drew ever closer. Precious seconds had been wasted in attempt to shoot her way out of her predicament. Ignoring the pain, and yanking as hard as possible, she ripped the piece of equipment from it’s anchor. Free from it’s restraint, Gabrielle hurriedly ran towards Riley; a welcome sight indeed. As Brad had done before her, Gabrielle extended her arm, offering the baton to her teammate before her, just hoping that everyone else would have better luck than she… Riley had been staring at the track behind her, waiting for Gabrielle to come and hand off. She was concerned though as she saw the Gabby was possibly injured and it delayed her start. Riley took off running with her left hand behind her as Gabby came close to her. Feeling the cool metal on her palm, she closed her palm. She kept her gaze straight ahead and picked up speed, fearing that if she glanced to either side, she would see people passing her. She rounded a corner to find herself at an obstacle. It was a giant wall that she had to climb over and then get back down on the other side. She ran up to it and stopped. She put the baton in the pocket of her pants and grasped the rope. She pulled herself up slowly having little upper body strength and finding out that the wall didn't really help all that much. She grasped onto the edge and barely managed to pull herself up so that she stood on top of the tower. She suddenly felt sick as she realized how high she was. She had forgotten that she had a fear of heights in her adrenaline rush. She slowly looked down and found that she now had to climb down a ladder and that some aliens were already ahead. "You can do this." She told herself. She slowly lowered her body so that she began to climb down the rope ladder. She stared straight at the wooden wall as she slowly climbed down. Feeling her feet touch the hard ground, she allowed herself a quick smile and pulled the baton out of her pocket. She took off sprinting again seeing Veronica just ahead of her. She pumped her arms harder and forced herself to go faster. She quickly came upon the moment of hand off and passed it off to Veronica. “Son of a…” Veronica murmured in awe, looking at the beginning of the obstacle course she was assigned to. She looked back behind her, spotting Riley a few feet yards away. Taking a deep breath, she stood in a stance with her hand outstretched, waiting for her teammate to hand off the baton. It felt like a million years just standing there, not sure when plastic stick was to reach her hand. But soon enough, it did. She set off in a full sprint, slowing down slightly as she began to run up a slope. If she were to run at full speed, she would get tired and that was bad. The first task was a bit hard. The path ended abruptly at one point, only to leave a 7-foot gap to a lower land spot where the path continued. If she were to miscalculate how far she jumped, she would end up swimming with the fishes. Literally. Seven yards away from the cliff, she began to pick up speed again, wanting to get as much air as she could. Reaching the edge, she placed a foot at the rim, pushing herself up and jumping at the same time. Instead of doing that “I’m King of the World!” pose as so many others did when in the air, Veronica took a sort of diving stance, flipping a full three hundred and sixty degrees around. She did that only to land on her feet in a tight crouching position. Seeing that she still had full momentum, she jumped up a little again, somersaulting at the same time to come out in a roll, end up on her feet and run off the extra momentum towards the next part of the course. Veronica did this all in one whole fluid motion. The teenager was lucky enough to have made the jump, but even luckier to still be carrying the baton. A few poor fellows had to jump down into the water, or whatever liquid it was, fetch the baton, climb up the side ladder and continue on. A sly smirk played on her lips, shooting small glances towards her opponents. “Bloody hell…” The words rolled off her tongue, the other part of the course coming up. Snapping back into reality, Veronica securely placed the baton in her mouth and bit down on it. Again, it was a sort of jumping course with a Tarzan theme to it. Reaching for the rope hanging down, Veronica took a tight grip and pushed herself off the edge towards the other rope extended a few feet away. She hung onto that rope for a few minutes, already on her third swing towards the other rope. She extended a hand to reach for the rope, but instead she missed it by an inch. Apparently, they had some sort of “swinging limit” seeing that as soon as she pivoted for the fourth time, the rope snapped and fell downwards into a large pool of what seemed to be mud. This caught her by surprise, giving out a small scream and letting the baton drop from her mouth. Plunging into the dark substance, Veronica took a deep breath once more not wanting to breath in any mud. Resurfacing only a few moment later, the girl opened one eye as she wiped away the sludge form her face. She quickly reached for the baton’s tip before it had any chance to sink down. Muttering a few curses under her breath, she pushed herself towards the ladder and climbed it, careful not to let baton fall once more. Dawn reached out, snatching the baton away from Veronica, and taking off without offering a second glance back. The element of the track changed to a steel running track, reflecting the glow of the stadium lights. Out of all the races that she could see without really turning around, a select few were about two steps behind her. No time for mistakes. No time at all.. Her feet pounded rhythmically against the metallic, steel surface that they were running on. The beat of her heart pounded violently in her ears, though it didn’t manage to drown out the cheers and howls of the spectators to the sport. Something snapped in her senses, alerting her of an upcoming challenge.. A deep whirring noise stirred beneath the steel running track as pillars about six inches in diameter emerged, about one hundred feet in front of the runners. Several ceramic plates, looking much like clay pigeons, shot from different heights of the pillars, each aiming for their respective track competitor. Dawn shattered the first few mentally, but then realized the extra concentration on the plates was slowing her ever so slightly, but again, there was no time to spare. The next two plates were below knee-level, and she easily leapt over them. When one reached a certain point, the pillar seeped back down into the track, and Dawn reached that point, after rolling under it’s final plate… Dawn’s icy blue eyes had begun to lose their color, fainting ever so slightly as she pounded down the track. The steel track did nothing for the comfort of the one running, and though Dawn was equipped with running shoes, her feet were aching.. Her body was aching… Every part of her was pulling for the finish line… She was SO close! The ground shuddered again as a gap opened a mere ten feet in front of the finish line. Her knuckles were white around the baton as she pounded towards the gap, ready to leap. Dawn hadn’t the slightest clue what was in the pit, nor if it the drop ended. The leap seemed almost impossible, but then it became clear to Dawn that there was a very small plank of wood that spanned the gap.. One merely had to keep their balance. Her heart was beating wildly, as the wooden plank was nearing… Dawn was in the lead, but not by much. And after winning the first event, the mutant force was revered and respected by so many. Then again, they were looked to as a threat and a force to be reckoned with by a select group of others.. A force that needed to be taken down a notch or two. It seemed as if the entire set-up had been premeditated, for one of the small alliances that had formed had select members along side Dawn and a few others competitors that were racing towards the finish line. Dawn slowed and began to balance herself on the beam as she took the first step out from the track. It wasn’t as hard as it seemed, and with the momentum she had built up, she was doing quite well. That was when the drastic measure was made. As Dawn trekked across the beam, her sole concentration on her steps, a competitor leaned out from the ledge, shoving her with such a great force it propelled her from her prop. The thrust sent her all the way over to the next beam, and she desperately tried to claw the bar, but failed.. Her body fell to the bottom of the pit, which wasn’t that deep at all, but was filled with an array of rubble. There was little light, and Dawn could barely see when her eyes fluttered open just a moment after she landed. Raising her head slightly, a stream of crimson trickled down the side of her face, fueling the fire within. Fists clenched in the dirt as she began to painfully push herself up, but faltered. A pain shot through her left leg, signaling that –something- was wrong, perhaps a broken bone.. Dawn was physically exhausted, and mentally struggling.. And then, she felt the Phoenix… “It’s been a while…” She thought, welcoming the entity as her skin began to heat to a fiery blaze.. But it stopped… The baton dropped from her uncurling fingers, and the Phoenix was forced down, once again… It was forced back when Dawn heard the trumpet call, signaling that the race had been finished. She had lost… Dawn had LOST! The thoughts flooded her mind as hot tears streamed from her closing eyes. Her body went limp and slowly slumped to the debris once again. Senses began to shut down; Dawn didn’t feel anything anymore.. She had been defeated… In the back of her mind, she could hear someone calling.. Calling to her… “Dawn, get out! It’s closing up!” Since the relay consisted of five members, Spike consented to not participate in the race, but to watch. Following his team, a smile crept across his face when he watched Dawn near the finish line. And he saw the one that attacked her from behind.. He had –tried- to call out to her.. He tried! But unfortunately, he was a good distance away, and his warnings didn’t reach her. And then she was gone… Shoving his way violently through the spectators, Spike dashed onto the track, dodging those that were still finishing up. “Dawn!” He called, just as her body sunk back to the wreckage that was in the pit below, “Bloody ‘ell, Dawn, get up!” Why wasn’t she listening?! Trails of blood slid off of her chin, forming a quarter sized puddle just under her face, “DAWN!” Kneeling down on his knees at the edge of the pit, Spike prepared to climb down and retrieve the girl.. Then the walls shuddered violently, sending Spike back on his back.. Hastily crawling back over to the ledge that shifting, Spike leaned in, extending his arm as far as he could into the cavity, “Dawn! It’s closing up! Dammit woman, wake up! Give-me-your-hand!” Something in his words must have sparked the last bit of consciousness that Dawn had, for her hand lifted up, but nothing else. That was all he needed. Spike wrapped his hand tightly around Dawn’s, ignoring the pain from the heated skin as he began to pull. The walls were nearing each other.. His teeth clenched, grinding as he tried talking Dawn out of her seemingly unconscious state, “You’re.. not.. going.. to die here! You’re not going to DIE!” Stirring lightly, Dawn looked up, sight tainted by trails of blood, “Of course not, silly…” She managed to choke out, bringing up another hand to aid in her escape. Just as she pulled her feet up to her, the pit closed, crackling as it’s crease diminished. She was so weakened, and her leg useless, but somehow, Dawn felt herself being lifted up.. Growling softly, Spike hauled Dawn onto his back, careful not to harm her any further, as he began to walk towards the finish line. Bloody monsters, the lot of them.. The games were thought to be respectable, but this was barbarous. Blood that Dawn had been shedding was running down the side of his face.. It was heated far past the degree of normal blood, and the cause was obvious.. Again, Spike thought nothing of it.. He just trekked on, crossing the line to face all those that had finished before Dawn. Kneeling down, Spike let Dawn sink to the ground before he raised up again. He’d wait until the team was here, someone to watch over Dawn, and then he’d go find the one that apparently didn’t want to finish these games… Once Brad had finished his portion of the relay race, and had gained his air, he had began to make his way towards the finish line in hopes of being able to see Dawn cross the finish line triumphantly. But as he neared the line, it wasn’t quite as he was imagining. Mainly with Dawn covered in blood. “Dawn!” he called, running towards her quickly. He stopped abruptly in front of her, his brow furrowing. “Wha-What happened?...” he asked of Spike, though not really expecting him to give her a response. His mind was already running. Something about this didn’t seem right. Some kind of interference must have occurred. Otherwise, Dawn would have won. Brad blinked back hot tears as he lips set into a kind of frown, his jaw set in anger. His eyes moving over all the competitors, in hopes of finding the person responsible for this. As she picked herself up from a sitting position along the track, Gabrielle’s eyes had never left the members of her team, and silently, she had been watching each one, cheering them on and hoping they could overcome their obstacles. While no one’s was easy, Dawn’s was surely the most difficult of all the legs of the race. The final one. Without even knowing it, the young woman had started to walk towards the finish line, where the victor would be decided. Her progress was slow, as it was made only a step or two at time, for her focus was still on her friend. A smile had been slowly working it’s way over her face, as she realized that Dawn was just moments away of winning for the mutants once again. And then it happened. Shouting her friend’s name in horror, Gabrielle ran as fast as she possibly could to where Spike had gently placed her injured form on the ground and kneeled beside her. “Dawn?” She asked, worry and concern inscribed upon her brow, and she made no attempt to hide it. Searching for injuries, perhaps the most glaring evidence of how badly Dawn was hurt was her leg… Gabrielle placed a hand over her mouth, swallowing hard to keep her tears at bay. “Riley!” Came a yell, forced out loud enough to surely catch the attention of the girl, as the young woman finally looked to where she had once been standing, “Riley, help her!” Gabrielle's eyes turned back to her friend. "Help her.." Riley had slowly begun to walk towards the finishline, exhausted from her leg of the race though it hadn't been that hard. I gotta start jogging in the mornings again. She thought somewhat disgusted with herself because of her exhaustion. She started to speed up as she saw that Dawn was pushed off the beam and had fallen into the pit. Seeing that Dawn wasn't crawling out Riley sped up a bit more. She started to sprint soon enough though despite her exhaustion as she watched Dawn being pulled out of the pit by Spike. Riley could tell from her vantage point that Dawn was injured. -Looks like I might be needed.- She thought absently as she reached the finishline. She heard her name called by Gabrielle before she actually reached the group huddled about. She was vaguely aware of who was there as her vision honed in on a bruised and bloodied Dawn lying on the ground. Riley dropped to the ground next to her and surveyed her wounds. It appeared that the worst was a broken leg and cut on her head. Riley took a few deep breaths trying to clear her mind of anything but healing. She placed her hands over the broken leg and Dawn's head and closed her eyes. She focused completely upon healing and felt the power flow from her finger tips. She didn't dare open her eyes to see the results of her work because she could already tell what it would look like. Feeling Dawn's wounds were healed sufficiently, Riley removed her hands and opened her hands. She tried to stand, but stopped. She had forgotten the dizzy feeling that came as an after effect. She finally stood up after a few moments. "Okay guys. I've done what I can for her physical ailments. I can't do anything if she has any mental injuries over this race. She might be a little sore when she gets up also." Still, Veronica lay there on the same spot where she had been minutes ago. “What’s happening?” She asked out to no one in particular, everyone that had competed walking rather fast towards the finish line. She rolled over onto her stomach, squinting her eyes to slits, straining herself to see further. She stood up slowly, dragging herself towards the rest of team. It seemed as if they all had gathered there and were looking at something. It wasn’t until she was only a few feet away that she saw Dawn. “Oh. My. Goodness… Is she okay?!” She pushed through the other beings there, finally getting to the group. “What the hell happened?” Hazel orbs darted from teammate to teammate, waiting for an answer The after effects of the subsiding Phoenix began to disappear; her skin was cooling, and her color was coming back to her. Thanks to the healer, the dire wounds began to lighten, the skin slipping back together, sealing with a quiet ‘squish’… Blue eyes fluttered open, admiring the faces that were in above her a moment, and then, tears surfaced again.. “I lost…” She choked, raising up on her elbows, “We were winning… And I lost it all…” Though the wounds had been healed thanks to Riley’s help, Gabrielle was still concerned for her friend.. She had never witnessed a healing power in action before, nor was she sure that the injuries would be completely healed. It just seemed too good to be true. Always a skeptic, the young woman was going to keep an eye on Dawn for awhile, just to be sure… “No, Dawn.” Gabrielle replied, relieved to hear her speak, “You didn’t loose, you were cheated out of that win..” She smiled weakly, “We’re just glad you’re alright…” Gabrielle turned to face Riley. The entire time the girl had been fighting along side them, it was rare to hear a remark from her.. Much less a demand for gratitude which she so rightly deserved for helping Dawn. “Thank you, Riley.” Gabrielle said, after hearing her modest, yet true comment. “We owe you a lot, I think.” She shook her head slightly, not wanting to think about what would’ve happened without the girl. “I know we do.” Upon hearing Veronica’s frightened words, Gabrielle’s suppressed anger had finally surfaced. “Dawn was set up.” She spat the words, as if they had turn rancid in her mouth. A cold glare turned upon the direction in which Spike had set of too, knowing that he sought answers just as much as the rest of the mutant team. And if there was one being that was not to be messed with, it was Spike. Dawn, don’t worry, Hun…” She kneeled down next to her, the caked on mud crackled slightly as she did so. “All that matters is that you’re okay.” Veronica gave her a warm smile. It was the least she could do at the moment. “Who did this to you?” She looked at her for a few moments, then back up at everyone else. “Did anyone notice? Spike? You were watching… did you see?” This was what she hated the most, seeing friends in pain and need. She had to get back at whoever did this. Her vow to never fight unless necessary was long forgotten. Riley gazed at Gabrielle for a moment as the girl thanked her. Riley shook her head. "I don't deserve any thanks I was just doing what had to be done. You all would have done the same if you had been in my situation." She said in a voice loud enough to be heard, but not to much louder than her normal voice. She smiled at Gabrielle slightly though, knowing it was a bit inappropriate for the current situation since their fate at the moment was unknown to them. She dropped her smile after a few moments and assumed an expressionless one, waiting like the others to hear their fate. The majority of Dawn’s wounds had been healed; minor scratches and bruises were far past her. Her leg was stiff, but what could be expected? It –had- been broke, after all. Though, in a way, Dawn felt she deserved the pain. Hearing Gabrielle’s words, Dawn raised up a bit more, bringing up the sleeve of her shirt to dab away at the blood that remained on her face. She was set up? You know.. It all happened so fast, she didn’t feel a hand on her… Turning to Riley, Dawn slightly bowed, tears brimming in her eyes once again, “Thank you.. Thank you so much…” Shaking her head lightly, she faced everyone else, “Don’t be like that, guys.. Don’t feel sorry for me…” She mumbled, struggling slightly to rise to her feet. Once she was standing relatively straight, she turned cold on herself again, “I should’ve been expecting something like that to happen.. And I wasn’t prepared… You all know what this means…” As if he had been listening to Dawn’s little spill, an Olympic operative made his way over to the crew. Dawn turned her gaze to him, scowling.. It seemed that the operatives overlooked cheating advances, for this was the second time in two games that something along these lines had happened. The man didn’t utter a word, but only beckon to the crew. “This is our first loss,” Dawn sighed, following behind the guard, “Two more and we say our good byes…” Brad stood, his back to Dawn as he gazed over the crowd, his eyes wide with anger. His eyes were fading into a solid white as he muttered curses towards the person who had done this.He was already plotting ways to get back at them. “We’ve been nice for too long…” he muttered, his gaze casting towards the group behind him. “We should have realized something like this would happen during the first competition. This is our planet we’re talking about. I think it’s about time we start fighting back…” Riley followed Dawn's gaze to the Olympics operative beckoning towards them. She sighed lightly wondering what was going to happen, what words were going to be exchanged, what actions were going to be chosen to take. Riley hadn't really moved since she had healed Dawn and she started to follow after Dawn, she had stopped for a fraction of a second. Her powers had physically drained her more than running ever could have and she found it somewhat hard to walk. She grimaced slightly, but forced herself to keep going behind the others. She forced herself to also keep an emotionless face, so as not to betray how exhausted she was. Riley glanced over at Brad as she heard him say something about fighting back and she shook her head. "Violence only begets more violence." She said softly. -We shouldn't fight back not the way the want us to. We should fight back mentally. Psych them out, make them realize no matter the physical abuse they make us endure we will prevail. Watching as the operatives neared, Gabrielle arose, fists clenched feet planted firmly in the ground. “You know someone cheated,” She snarled, using every ounce of self-restraint to keep from blasting them where they stood. But as the seconds went by, that prospect was seeming even more and more welcoming, as her anger was getting harder to control. The young woman didn’t have to ask if any penalties would be given to those who lost; for that was a matter that had been clearly expressed to the team prior to their entry. Reluctantly, Gabrielle followed shortly behind her friend. “This isn’t right,” She scowled again, wondering why they should just accept whatever punishment awaited them. “I can take them, right here, right now..” The tone in her voice would lead no one to believe that sweet Gabrielle was merely jesting as she frequently did. This was serious. “Jeez…” Veronica muttered softly, sitting down on the ground. She really wasn’t sure what was going to happen. But she also figured the rest didn’t know, either. She thought it was best not to ask at the moment. She nodded in agreement with Gabriele. “Yeah… thanks a lot, Riley. Dawn! You don’t need any help?” She jumped up on to her feet, but seeing her walk by herself, she sort of just pulled back. Veronica bit her bottom lip, unsure of what to do now. She cringed slightly, tasting the dry mud on her lip. Sighing softly, her eyes cast on the ground. “I should have gone last…” She glanced around, not seeing the platinum blonde anywhere. “Where’s Spike?” She asked the closest person, in this case, Brad. “He just disappeared…” “And if we try to fight right now, we’d have a stadium full of little green men all over our butts..” Though, the concept did bring a smile to her face, “Let’s wait ‘till we feel a little better, then we’ll try bustin’ up the place…” Atticus had briefed her once about consequences of losing a game.. The first loss is isolation in some sort of gas chamber.. Nothing to worry about, he said, it’s mainly one of those ‘awkward sensations’, you just feel uncomfortable and such… After losing a second time, the consequences are much more serious, and painful.. “It’s not going to be bad,” She sighed, forcing herself to look to her friend, “Not this time…” Hearing Veronica’s worry, Dawn turned slightly to look back at her, offering a small, but weakened, smile “I’m fine, but thank you..” And she was, really.. Just a limp… Continuing to walk behind their guide, Dawn let her eyes close a moment, searching for Spike.. ||Don’t get yourself hurt..|| She warned him mentally, seeing as he was sifting through the crowds for the ones who cheated in the event, ||And thank you…|| Stopping in front of the door that they were directed to, Dawn turned back once again, “I’m really sorry you guys.. I hate it that we have to do this…” A devilish smirk crossed her cracked lips, “And Spike’s taking care of some business…” With that, Dawn shoved through the door, eyeing the blank room. Sitting in a corner, she let her head rest against the wall, waiting for the gas to seep in… “I’m so sorry…” Riley followed Dawn in and followed her example, choosing a seat on the other side of the room in a corner. She had started to be less of a recluse, but she still clung to a few of her old habits. Upon hearing Dawn's words again Riley glanced over at the injured leader of their crew. "You shouldn't despair. It only makes the cheater's victory all the more sweeter to him. You've got to keep your hopes up. Its the best kind of defeat you can deal to him." She said softly more to herself as a reassurance that she shouldn't give up just yet, that they still had a chance at these games. Glancing around the room, Riley was a little unsure of what was going to happen. She tried not to worry about it though, tried to take everything as it came and not worry about the future. Gabrielle too, followed into the room, but did not posses the same outlook that Riley did about the punishment. In fact, she was still quite angry, but if Dawn and the others would subject to the Olympic Rules without a fight, then so would she. Deciding against standing, Gabrielle stood a few feet away from the wall, arms folded across her chest. "Let the damn gas in already and let's get this over with.." Sighing softly once more, she caught up with the group, entering the chamber. “Jeez… it’s World War 2 all over again…” She muttered, hiding a smirk. After all, it /was/ a gas chamber. She shrugged it off, picking the middle of room as her resting spot. She sat down and began picking away all of the mud on her skin, not really caring about her clothes. She yawned, the fatigue finally taking a toll on her. With a soft smile she gave up, lying down on her back. “Nighty night, everyone…” She murmured, closing her eyes and hoping she would be in one piece by the time this was over. The so-called torture that the mutant force was constrained to was awful; nine hours of scratching, tear gasses, nauseating smells… And it would only get worse if they lost another event… Snapping around, Dawn scratched at her shoulder, feeling as if something had bit her. But, when nothing was found, she sighed, disgusted, as she continued to scratch at her left arm. Popping a finger at the panel that opened her door, Dawn exited her private room, shielding her eyes from the light of the metallic corridor. It was time for her to visit her favorite lookout spot on the ship.. From there, she could see the stadium, but could care less about that at the moment. She was looking out for Spike, for as far as she knew, he didn’t rejoin the ship that previous night. In the process of making her way towards the large window, something caught Dawn around the neck, choking the breath right out of her. Raising a hand frantically to feel around her neck, Dawn felt nothing… The force pulled her down slightly, then turned her to face one of the mirror like, metallic walls. Her skin was so pale.. And her veins had darkened significantly, showing through her skin. The roots of her hair began to deepen in color, varying until an intense shade of violet shown, and then it seeped through the rest of her hair. Icy blue eyes clouded to a dark black with traces of purple around the pupil; her fingernails elongated, sharpening at the edge, and changed to a painted black color… The invisible hand that had wrapped around her neck moved to her the left sleeve of her jacket, ripping it off at the shoulder. Dawn stood in horror as little clinks of metal echoed through the hall… Her arm had been mechanized, her body, altered… Dawn’s lips pulled into a devilish smirk, her head cocked to the side, and then? She cackled.. “I’m ba-ack…” Well… So far so good… Of course, even that was hardly any good at all. But what good was it complaining? That did a whole lot of good. While the rest of the ship might be sleeping-or at least trying to sleep-another unhappy abductee was simply muttering to himself in a nearby corner. He was… Quite strange-looking, compared to the standards of everyone there. He wasn’t human-looking enough for humans/mutants to think he looked acceptable, and yet he was just human-looking enough for the aliens to find him repulsive. But why was he here? He didn’t seem to have any trace of a team with him, and he hadn’t been seen in any of the games so far… At least, he wasn’t sitting near anyone that looked remotely like him. He was humanoid in the basic sense… A biped of about 7’2” and decently muscled to match. Okay, so he was a might bigger than your regular human. What set him apart slightly more was the dark, bluish-gray skin that he had, and the white shoulder-length hair. His ears were oddly pointed… If one was familiar with fantasy literature, they could recognize almost immediately that this being looked like an oversized Drow, or Dark Elf. His facial features would actually make him quite handsome from a human standpoint. His clothing was a bit off, as well. It appeared like… A lightly armored black robe of sorts. One of his ears twitched, and he raised one brow annoyedly, peering directly at Dawn, “Eh, shut it will ya? Some people are tryin’ ta think,” he snarled in an annoyed, yet somehow calm tone. A snicker escaped him, and he continued, “Oh, and stop complaining. It may have bothered you for a while, but anything yer feeling is almost 100 percent placebo. The gas got shut off early so you only got about half the dose you were expected to,” he paused as if in thought, “I guess it does take a bit to get out of your system, though. For Miks, anyway.” Miks? What? Elsewhere a similar creature was having an equal amount of no-fun. This one was, however, female, and much closer to the height of your normal human girl. Her hair was very fine and long, extending down to almost her knees. The garb was similar, although incredibly form-fitted against a small and lithe, yet surprisingly curvaceous body. This was the one that had caused the last game’s little “accident,” and as a result was now trying her best to stay low-profile while at the same time hacking a system… Not easy, you’d know, if you’ve tried it before. Smirking in disgust at the difficulty of this particular task, she tried a few more tricks. After a few more minutes of sighs, foul language, and the occasional light-bulb, the odd being was quite happy with herself to have opened… Something. Her victory was… Short lived, however… ((*Coughhinthintcough*)) Riley's head was leaning against the wall and she was busy trying to find a way to kill the boredom that had unexpectantly crept upon her brain. She hadn't really thought she would ever be bored since she had planned on reviewing the aspects of a book she had read before coming on the trip. It had taken her all of about 20 minutes and then she had lost interest. She hadn't gotten any sleep once they had been put into the chamber due to the bad smells and stomach ache. She had been forced to just sit and stare after she had run out of stuff to think about. To her that was the worst form of torture. Not really knowing if it was night or day, she had actually lost track since they came to space sleeping when she felt like it, she stood up and took a moment to stretch her stiff muscles. She hadn't moved in quite awhile and her muscles ached with each tiny movement. Exiting the room, she walked down the hallway adjusting to the lights as she walked. She walked slowly past a mirror and only made a passing glance to see how disheveled she looked. She continued walking past, but soon stopped. She slowly back tracked and stared into the mirror. Her hair! It was different instead of its usual black it was now brown with orange tips! She couldn't believe it! How had this happened? She couldn't think of a reason for it. As panic began to reach a point of her screaming she tried to think of a brightside to this. Her hair did now have an interesting look to it and she would be able to stand out in a crowd...sorta. Dawn, a.k.a. Dark Phoenix, a.k.a. don’t-mess-with-me-if-you-want-to-keep-your-head super bish, cut her deadly gaze to the one that had spoken to her.. No respect, no respect at all.. Raising her mechanical arm, she cocked her head to the side, observing it closely, then, a sharpened point emerged from the tip, about 2 inches wide. Without looking to the man, she spoke, her voice oddly warped, “You there.. Were you speaking to me?” Atticus, who had missed the relay the night before due to some meeting that had been set up for the escorts of the Olympic teams, had just been told of the fate of his team hours before. Having been briefed on the blood tests that Dawn had underwent about a month previous to this, he had a strong suspicion that something was going to go wrong with this. The gasses, while safe for those accustomed to the different atmospheric conditions and chemical alterations of this galaxy, the solution would be much more potent when it came into contact with the mutant bodies.. It’s effects would vary person to person, depending on their genetic structure… “They’ll have to be observed before something happens…” Dashing onto the ship, Atticus made his way towards his room, in search of a tranquilizer in case a change had been made already… Nine hours after being placed her own gas chamber, Gabrielle finally emerged. While there were no physical differences to the young woman, a single glance at her composure would tell the story. Before, even though the team had just competed in a grueling trial, there was an air of defiance about her - her very demeanor suggested that she was no worse for wear. But now? The young woman found herself taking shaky steps out of her room and into the brightly-lit corridor. Something was wrong… When there had once been a sense of readiness and vigor, there was now nothing, save for exhausting toll that her body had taken since their arrival on the ship. Being a girl of fair reasoning skills, and knowing that the energy the thrived off of was directly related to her powers, the young woman used one hand to brace herself against the metallic corridor wall, and opened the other. The arcs of electricity that had once danced in between the gaps in her fingers were absent, and no amount of concentrating even offered a clue as to it’s presence. “It’s gone…” Gabrielle mumbled softly, a feeling of confusion, and perhaps even fear claiming the blonde who struggled to walk swiftly down the hall. Other doors that her friends had occupied now lay open, suggesting that they were somewhere nearby. Immediately, the blonde’s mind raced, wondering if her teammates had similar reaction the gas as she. “Dawn…” Gabrielle did not have to travel before seeing some sort of activity before her. The odd, yet feminine figure did not even seem remotely familiar until she was but a few feet away. Ignoring the other being, the young woman‘s gaze narrowed in, but suddenly widened in realization. “Dawn?” Dawn’s ears perked as she heard someone speak the name of her human form.. A small cracked across her purple lips, revealing the clashing white teeth, “Ah, Gabrielle? Feeling the after effects?” Looking away from her severely altered arm, which was still raised in front of her, she smirked, “Me too…” "In fact.. I feel like I just woke up..." Keeping one hand on the wall to her side for support, Gabrielle nodded in agreement with Riley’s statement. Though she had yet to see how the others were affected by the gas, it was probably safe to say that Dawn had gotten reacted to most violently to the punishment.. Listening to her friend speak, Gabrielle was at a loss for words.. Odd hair coloring she could handle, even the mechanical arm.. Put there was more of a change than just her appearance.. -Dawn- had changed.. And Gabrielle recognized the tone of voice; the one that demanded respect and somehow seemed to reflect just how much power that entity had. “It’s the Phoenix..” She muttered back towards Riley, knowing the girl had yet to see Dawn in this state. Riley glanced from the strange being in front of her and back to Gabrielle, who Riley realized was looking rather exhausted. (Riley decided to attribute that to lack of sleep.) -The seem to know each other. I wonder how, though this stranger does look a bit familiar.- Riley glanced over at Gabrielle, who had yet to come out of her state of shock. As if on cue Gabrielle explained with one word who this being was. "The Phoenix..." Riley repeated, trailing off as she finished the name. There was a loud shriek coming from one of the rooms, followed closely by a couple of curses. Not even her mother would have believed that very mouth had kissed her. Alas, it was clear that Veronica had seen herself in a mirror. “That bloody gas! I’m gonna kill those bloody aliens!!!!” She screamed, the door to her room didn’t really muffle anything. It sounded crystal clear. She stormed out of her room, obviously she was little mad. The girl had altered a lot through out the period of time she was in the chamber. Waist-length brown hair was exchanged for ankle length platinum blonde. It wasn’t even blonde. It seemed as if someone had just erased all color and left it as white as a sheet of paper. And alarmingly bright purple and green eyes replaced those hazel eyes of hers. Something not commonly seen. That wasn’t all. She seemed to have also shrunk a full 8 inches, now being only a mere 4 feet and 11 inches off the floor. Her skin was still the same mocha color, except for a little silver symbol in the middle of her forehead. Although, there was a good thing about all of this. Her powers did alter some. But, it was good. It gave her even more freedom with it. She was now able to make some sort of liquid diamond. If she had turned her skin into diamond before, she would have been left immobilized till she returned to normal. Except now, she could turn her skin into liquid diamond but be able to move. And if something hit her, it wouldn’t do much damage. It was still rock hard. Spotting the others not to far away, Veronica took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. “Hey…” She greeted them, forcing a smile upon her lips. Raising a shapely brow as she observed them, she sighed with relief. “I guess I’m not the only one who changed here…” Head tilted back, and a sadistic, but silky voice echoed through the corridor. After a moment, Dawn looked back at the girls, blackened eyes dancing like mad. “Bingo..” She mused, voice warped to sound like a mixture of Dawn’s normal voice and.. something else… “We have a winner…” The spike that had pulled from her arm began to spin, “Two, in fact..” Seeing the horrendous change that Dawn had underwent, Atticus raised his pistol, firing a tranquilizing dart at the back of the young woman’s neck. He watched as she stumbled slightly, in case he needed to fire another.. But he didn’t.. Dawn crumpled to the ground, skin returning to its natural complexion, hair and nails doing the same. Stepping over her, Atticus cast a glance down, then back up at Gabrielle and Riley, “More than likely, she won’t remember a thing.. The gasses have changed you,” Eyeing Riley’s new hairstyle, Atticus smiled slightly, “As you can tell… I don’t know how it effected Dawn in that way..” And he didn’t, for Atticus was never let to know about the entity within.. “It shouldn’t have altered her persona…” Kree forced her almost leaden eyes open, a slight wince her only expression. She could have screamed. In fact, a quieter, but yet exceedingly horrified version of it seemed to echo forever in her mind. She gasped, looking at the visible portion of her hair. From what she could see, it was now in fact, a gleaming white. An new horror arose. What had befallen her friends? Kree knew that a simple hair-color change could not be the extent of what happened to her. Running, the girl forced back tears. Now was most not the time for emotion. Unknowing of the cold and calculating look her face had now taken on because of the inhuman green shade her eyes then had, Kree looked around. "Gab... Dawn..." she whispered, catching sight of Gab, and she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes again. It was only a dream, surely, none of it was happening... The silent prayer went unanswered. A stifled yawn escaped from Brad as he crawled out of the bed he was sleeping in, stumbling to his feet as he rubbed his eyes. He faltered slightly, not quite able to gain his balance. Blaming this on just waking up, he thought nothing of it. Sighing, he opened his eyes, and was rather alarmed. He was seeing from a height he hadn’t before. “Wha?..” he murmered, his eyebrows raising in confusion, he looked down at the ground, confirming his thoughts. He was taller! About five inches, to be exact, making him just shy of 6’ 3”. His mind instantly went back, trying to make sense of it all. “It must’ve been that gas…” he decided finally, shaking his head slowly. “And if this happened to me…That must mean the others have changed as well!” he said, his voice full of astonishment. “This is unbelievable…” He walked towards the doorway of the room he was staying in, about to exit when he heard familiar voices coming from outside his door. Though faint, they seemed just right outside. “What’s happened to uh-“ he started, suddenly stopping himself as he entered the hallway. No one was there. Yet he still heard the voices. “Wha?” he said aloud. “Ugh, this is just too weird…” Walking around slowly, he peeked around each corner, trying to find the owner’s of the voices. He could clearly hear them; they were of his friends. Yet he couldn’t find them. Sighing as he came around yet another corner, he ran his fingers through his hair, shaking his head with a roll of his eyes. Until he saw his reflection in the metallic wall in front of him. His brow furrowed as he stepped closer. Due to the gas in the chamber, his physical appearance had changed drastically. His body much was leaner, mostly due to his taller stature. Yet his muscle tone was much more noticeable, making it clear he was much stronger. His skin was of a slightly darker hue, despite the fact he was fairly tanned in the first place. He soon noticed his, once green eyes, were now of a dark blue shade. Soon after, he noticed his hair as well. The roots of his hair were dark blue, the exact same shade as the color of his eyes. He stared at his reflection with awe, barely believing the changes. It was just unbelievable that a simple stay in some gas chamber ended up changing his physical appearance so drastically. He shook his head yet again, now wondering if he would stay this way. “Now I really need to find the others…” he muttered as he continued his trek in search of his fellow mutants. “There you all are!” he called as he turned a corner, jogging towards them. Yet his eyes soon moved to an unconscious Dawn. “What happened to… her?...” he asked of anyone. All this was becoming a little too much to take in. Kneeling down to check on Dawn, Gabrielle gently removed the dart from her friend’s skin. Tossing it aside, she shook her head slowly, not knowing exactly how to answer Veronica’s or Kree’s question. “The Phoenix surfaced..” She replied, almost whispering, hoping that if she refused say it, nothing really happened.. And it was all some horrible nightmare from which they all could awake from… Finally making eye contact with Atticus, Gabrielle motioned back towards the crumpled figure on the ground below her. “That’s not Dawn’s persona.” She sighed, eyes cast downwards as she continued, “It’s the Phoenix, an entity, a real bish.” The young woman rose to her feet carefully, “I wish we had some way of knowing if it’ll come back when she comes to.” Riley listened to the warped voice with horror as she realized at last that Dawn was that creature, the Phoenix she was called. ((Riley's a little slow on the uptake today...lol)) She glanced over at Gabby now knowing why she had been so shocked before. Riley wasn't given much time to mull over this shocking discovery though as suddenly Dawn crumpled to the ground. Riley stared at the body for a moment and then looked up to find herself staring at Atticus. He apparently had been the one who shot the dart due to the gun in his hand. She glanced behind to the door and found that Kree and Veronica had woken up as well. Listening to Gabby talk, Riley felt a question come to mind and shocked herself by voicing it. "So this creature has surfaced before?" She asked her voice still somewhat quiet, but not as quiet as it had been. "This isn't real. This isn't happening!" The denial of the facts weren't really helping, but it was all just an overload for Kree. "The Phoenix." she said, as if it was final. Turning away, she looked upwards, not knowing what sort of monstrosity she probably looked like. Gab, after all, was drained, which most definitely pointed out something bad. Testing her power, a comet appeared weak, and fizzled away with a slight pop after a moment. She tried it again. It was even worse. "Then what... is happening?" she muttered. “Mmmhmmm…” She sighed, sitting down against the wall and bringing up a knee to lean on. “I hope Dawn’s okay, though.” She looked up at everyone else. They all seemed like giants compared to her. She rolled her eyes momentarily, before they landed on Kree. “AAH!” She squealed with excitement, jumping up from the floor. “MY TWIN!” She made a dash for the girl, wrapping her arms around her. Poor Veronica… being short didn’t just make her look like a child. But also ACT like one. Well, when she wasn’t in her right state of mind. “The Phoenix?” Atticus repeated, quite taken aback by the title given to the one that he had shot with a tranquilizer. Sure, he had read stories.. and he had heard rumors, but such a thing existed? And in –this- sort of manner? He had always read of the Phoenix being Light, and, above all, justice… “We’ll have to strap her onto a table in the med room, then observe her when she awakens…” Turning to observe the rest, Atticus winced, seeing that all seemed shocked of the changes they had all underwent, “You’re bodies couldn’t handle the chemical make-up of the chamber last night. Your, a-hem, alterations may be permanent, then again, they may fade with time… Anyway, I'll take her to recuperation center.." “It’s surfaced before.” Gabrielle replied, images of the last few times the entity had appeared flashing before her eyes. All of those times, however, it had been only during battle, and even Dawn managed to suppress it.. “Enough talk for now,” She snapped, hardly in the mood the revisit old times, “Sorry to disappoint you all, but if the Phoenix makes herself known again, straps won’t hold her power. Not even for a second.” She turned to face the others, knowing that they were all worried about Dawn’s well-being. “But Dawn is strong. She’ll pull through. And until then I want you all to keep a close eye on each other. We still don’t know exactly how we all were affected by the gas.” Omitting the part about her own power vanishing, Gabrielle offered a slight, somewhat reassuring grin before disappearing around the corner towards the recuperation center. |X| To Be Continued |X|