Homesick... [Open]

Nyx walked through the halls of Ocean. She had only been on Earth for about a month and it still was something to adjust to. OCEAN was amazing, extremely high tech compared to what she heard about the rest of this planet. But even as a slave there was a technological base that she was used to and Ocean was close to it but still wasn't there yet. She had felt home sick in a past. Mostly when she first was enslaved but when she ran she never felt it. But now that she had found a good place to hide it started to sink in more. The only way she would ever return home would be as a slave or dead. I didn't bug her greatly, she had gotten over stuff like that in the past. But it probably wouldn't hurt to find someone to talk to, it didn't even have to be about her home. Just to be a distraction.

She decided to visit Sai, she hadn't seen her in a while and she could identify with her the most. However when she got to the lab where Sai spends her time she was shocked. A being who she guessed was Xeonix was sitting on his ass on the floor, Sai hovering over him and a chair broken over halfway across the room. "Sai is everything ok?" she asked, looking at the two confused. "D-do I need to come back later?"

Song

The Black Angel sat alone on her unkempt bed, which she'd failed to make for the last few days. She was going through something, hell everyone here was, she supposed to herself. That in a way was what made O.C.E.A.N unique, as it truly was an assortment of characters. Characters who for the moment the Black Angel wanted to avoid, especially as she journeyed inward. Something was happening to her, she was becoming more powerful somehow her body was adapting or evolving, becoming almost like a new version of itself. She didn't know why, or what she was becoming, and knew even less about what was done to her in the Triads "Jade Program" by an army of scientists. To the Black Angel the past seemed like a distant, blurry hologram, with part of the message lost to the sands of time. Truth be told, she was beginning to wonder if any of it had happened at all.

Einstein once said "The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.", and for the Black Angel that illusion seemed to be all around her. It was in the pictures that hung on the wall, the clothes she wore, and the stories behind her buying them. It had all become a mystery, a mystery which she held all the clues to, yet seemed unable to solve. Still she had things connecting her to her past, to her roots, which didn't seem artificial or created, and it was those which she knew she had to cling to as she search for some sense of self in all of this chaos.

One of those solid links to the past played all around her medium sized room, which was relatively bare compared to the extravagance of the O.C.E.A.N Headquarters, and that link was the 1975 Fleetwood Mac epic "Rhiannon", a song about an old Welsh witch, which held a special place in the Black Angels heart. It was a song the Black Angel remembered her mother singing quite often in their Hong Kong shanty, her mothers voice often getting lost among the cool ocean breeze and the sounds of chimes, in one of Hong Kongs poorer neighborhoods. The Black Angel hummed aloud as she cleaned one of several firearms, which she had set about dismantling and cleaning this evening. Her voice pitch perfect, as she cleaned the barrel with a dirty rag. Quite tedious work, which caused a line of sweet to form along her forehead.

The Black Angel looked tired, she been focusing on her memories for hours, trying to determine if they were genuine, or simply something she'd been given when she was created in a Triad test tube. Ultimately she couldn't tell, but she knew one day soon she'd have to. A collision course with her past, her present, and her future was needed for her to move on, for her to truly place herself. It was because more and more she felt.... Artificial.... Everyone needed a past, a history, "Otherwise it was as if you never existed at all..." the Black Angel thought to herself. Being the daughter of a poor, Chinese family seemed to mean more then being the creation of a team of scientists.

She looked quite pretty this evening, though wasn't out of her usual black leather pants, a grey tank top, around her neck was a pair of dog tags from a conflict the world a forgotten years ago, and her long black hair let down. She touched the delicate features of her face, remembering her mother had similar ones, she was certain of it in that moment, despite whatever else she felt. She remembered feeling her mothers happiness, her desperation and despair, and then she remembered felling nothing.... Ending up in an underfunded, overcrowded Hong Kong orphanage a short while later. Their her story which would lead her to becoming Black Angel truly began, though pain, horror, and many other terrible memories were to follow.... As weird as it sounded, the Black Angel hoped they were real, and not just drawn up or imagined.

Deciding to take a break from her work, the Black Angel got up, leaving her small apartment in O.C.E.A.N's headquarters and decided to take a stroll. She'd been acting strangely lately, first Chicago, then again here, and couldn't help but feel her self imposed isolation, along with her physical changes had something to do with it. Stretching her legs would be good she hoped, and if it wasn't, well what was one more incident?

Walking down one of seemingly an infinite amount of hallways, the Black Angel heard what sounded like voices. One belonging to Saileyra, another to that new recruit she'd met in the shower, and one other she did not recognize. Deciding to investigate, the Black Angel made a detour, stepping into another smaller hallway, and then through a door where she believed the voices were coming from. Stepping into the room, which looked like a sort of workshop, the Black Angel found Saileyra, Nyx, and someone she didn't know... The Black Angel then said "Sorry to interrupt... Heard voices and just wanted to make sure everything was okay...". She nodded to Saileyra, then turned to leave, not wanting to interrupt whatever conversation they were having. It wasn't in her nature to be overly curious, she kept to herself mostly, but you could never be to careful she supposed.

Nyx was honestly scared when Sai punched another chair halfway across the room. She never knew how scary her friend was until now. Usually she was in a good mood but today it didn't seem like it. Nyx was bracing herself for a punch when Sai began to turn around. She hated to say it but it was something she had gotten used to in the past. But Sai acted calm and collected when she turned to Nyx so she relaxed more. A confused look appeared on her face when Sai mentioned that she had a gift for her. But once she saw it she instantly remembered what Sai said about making her something for her skin tone. But she never expected it to look so beautiful.

"Oh wow..." said Nyx in awe, trying to hold back tears. "It looks so beautiful." Her voice cracked slightly and small amount of tears were forming. It wasn't much honestly, but it was hers. But not just that, something made especially for her. Part of her had expected for Sai not to be serious about what she said. Again it was something she was used to. She pulled Sai into a hug, practically bawling at this point. "You don't know how much this means to me." said Nyx between her tears. She hugged Sai for not much longer after. She regained her composer and walked a few steps back and excitedly put the necklace on. The change happened as soon as she locked the clasp on the necklace. Her skin color changed to a simple olive color and the sclera part of her eye turned from black to white, matching that of a human as well.

"Oh wow..." repeated Nyx again, this time looking at her hands. She pulled up her sleeves a bit and stared at her arms. "They look just like a humans now..." Nyx turned her attention to Angel who showed up shortly after her. "How do I look Angel?" asked Nyx, her eyes still puffy from her crying eariler.

The Black Angel nodded as Saileyra said "Everything is fine Angel. Just some stupid argument with Xeonix. I need to let him cool off..", then said "Say no more Sai... Just wanted to make sure no one was getting into trouble. Glad I'm not the only one who gets into stupid fights these days!", as she winked at Sai. It was true, it seemed all of O.C.E.A.N HQ was on edge these days, if not from one thing, then another. She'd yet to work with Xeonix. However, she imagined with both he and Sai coming from the same time... Essentially being trapped here, things could at times get.... Frustrating... For lack of a better word. The Black Angel viewed this as a private matter, so she said "Well I'll leave you two to it then....".

However, just as she was going to leave, she saw Nyx in her new skin, quite literally. Instead of looking from.... Some place else... Nyx now had an olive complexion, white.... Very human eyes... She looked almost Middle Eastern or Mediterranean with her coloration now. Nyx seemed very immotional about receiving this wondrous gift from Saileyra, and why shouldn't she be? Fitting in, in this world is practically half of everything.... Human's clearly weren't ready to accept Meta's, so did that mean Nyx couldn't walk the streets of human cities? It was only natural for any humanoid, meta, or human for that matter to need social interaction. Now, thanks to Saileyra, Nyx could go outside the walls of O.C.E.A.N HQ and feel secure in knowing that no one was looking at her any differently then the rest of the operatives.

Once Nyx said "How do I look Angel?", the Black Angel smiled, saying "Beautiful! But.... You always have been.", and gave Nyx a hug. She didn't know Nyx that well, just had a few brief run ins with her. She was Saileyra's friend, which meant she had the Black Angels instant respect, and as such the Black Angel was certainly happy to see she was fitting into this world a little more. Our bodies were truly prisons, and it was unfortunate that Nyx even required such a device.... But such was the world that existed, however the Black Angel hoped one day that would change, and the world would look on how much good Meta's have done, as opposed to turning in fear.

When Mako arrived in the Philippines, he was unfamiliar with the surroundings. So many people, walking back and forth in their villages. It was as if nobody knew what to do. In total of the expenses that Saileyra gave Mako from their encounter, Xander was left with a few to get a local transportation. He used some of the money to get airfare and fill out visa forms to enter the Philippines boarder. The other portion, he used to finally build his dream ship. He knew another rogue Atlantean that had surfaced a couple months prior to his arrival on the mainland. The guy was a wiz artisan, and a heck of a mechanic. The project was difficult, but he knew how to get it down, especially with Sailyera's humble paycheck that she gave him. Who could blame Mako, he was like his namesake, a Shark and a Mercenary. He remembered asking his buddy to airlift the finishing work of art to the coordinates Sailyera gave him. He also made sure that the guy damaged all traces of those coordinates; he didn't want his family pressing against old classmates to try to pinpoint his location.

Mako payed a local ferryman to lead him towards this secluded location. Mako began to take in the environment as he would watch locals stare at him in curiosity. They had never seen a person of his kind. Poor villagers didn't even know his capability. Mako noticed a whale shark approach their boat as the crew members and captain halted to gather their weapons to try to strike. Mako would intervene them as he went down to talk to the shark. They began a telepathic conversation for a while and quickly grew a bond. The crew members just stood their in bewilderment. They could not tell if Mako was like a god or more than a man. Nobody rarely stood near the creatures without being attacked. To Mako, they were merely just distant cousins and relatives that were passing by.

It was soon enough that Mako reached his location. The ferryman would depart with a warning. He began to talk about how the land was cursed, and nobody that walked into the land came out. Mako just smiled and gathered his things as he stepped out of the boat. He studied his copy of the coordinates as he continued to walk in precise directions until he finally arrived in a giant citadel like infrastructure. He would continue to look around the building until he reached the entrance. He began to knock, hoping that someone would come to let him in. His heart quickly skipped a beat, drawing his hilts, as a robotic security system greeted him, requesting his Identification. Mako would stand in curiosity for a second, before realizing what the artificial creation actually meant. He held up a temporary ID card that Saileyra gave him along with his other things. It didnt possess his picture, but he hoped it would be good enough. He smiled in relief as the robotic system began to give him a couple instructions...

Welcome Marc Jackson to O.C.E.A.N, which stands for Opportunity to Conquer Eliminate, Actualize, to Neutralize. In review, upon accepting to join you agreed to do the following:
To Do Anything to Eliminate the Enemy Threat.
Discipline and the Willingness to Serve.
The Realization That Sacrifices Have to Be Made For the Greater Good.
You Are An Operative, A Specialist: No Mistakes Will Be Made.
Everyone On The Team is An Equal. No Disrespect Will be Made Among the Fold....

It went on about more rules and regulations a OCEAN member needed to do. Then it went on about his rooming and assignment
Based on your screening, you have show talents to provide support to this team from afar; and have therefore been placed under the Ranged Squadron. You're room location is located between the mess hall and the Hanger.
Great. Now Mako could get a quick bite and mess around with his ship faster. After discussing other information, Mako greeted with a warm thank you as the citadel doors opened for him. He went in.. now what?

Nyx's smile was huge, she couldn't help looking at her new skin, even if it was a temporary illusion. For her it was freedom, even though if they had DNA scanners she would be noticed. But freedom none of the less. She smiled at Angel's and Sai''s comments. She spun around happily, in her own little happy trance. She had been kinda of interested in this planet. Even though she wouldn't of been surprised if Sai never came through. She couldn't read this language still but she looked through the Library and just looked for pictures of places in her free time. Which in all honestly was most of the time considering she had to fight with someone to tell her where the cleaning supplies were or something. Honestly people here would turn stuff down. It confused her but to each their own.

Suddenly however Sai broke out in a run past Her an Angel. It broke her out of her trance and she looked confused at Angel. She decided to run after Sai. She wondered if Angel would follow.

The Black Angel looked at Nyx with a confused look on her face. As she went to talk to Nyx, to see if she had any idea why Saileyra seemed to be chasing something, or going somewhere in a hurry, Nyx suddenly turned to run after Saileyra as well. The Black Angel stood alone for a moment, saying to herself "Should I stay? Maybe Saileyra just needed some fresh air? Or maybe O.C.E.A.N HQ's getting attacked? Maybe she wants some space? And I didn't leave my room to get up in peoples business after all....". The Black Angel could hear the patter of Sai's and Nyx's footsteps getting further away. She looked down the hall, the two becoming tiny shapes.

The Black Angel looked at the metallic floor, contemplating her next move.... She then looked up quickly at the shapes far at the other end of the hallway, saying "Fuck it....". The Black Angel then gave chase, running quickly to a spring. Her steps sounding like slams, which echoed through the narrow hallway. It was then that the Black Angel realized if this was an attack she'd be in trouble. She only had one sidearm, with only the chambered round, and loaded clip. A couple of throwing stars and.... She was down to her bare hands.. Not that finding a weapon at O.C.E.A.N was particularly hard. But, no one would attack O.C.E.A.N without some serious hardware, or serious powers.

The Black Angel began closing the gap to Nyx, as she was running at full steam. The question of why Saileyra was running persistent in the back of her mind. She'd certainly feel like an asshole if Sai just needed to get away for a moment. The metallic walls, artificial enclosure, and lack of sunlight could certainly do that to a person.... Making them feel like they were trapped inside some white walls or something. The Black Angel just hoped this wasn't an all out an assault on O.C.E.A.N..... Because while she could deal with personnel and emotional issues at the moment, she was wholly unprepared for prolonged combat....

Mako began wandering around in the HQ. The place was like a citadel, but it was more marvelous. He'd never seen such fantastic structuring since he was in Italy, and for a HQ located in the Philippines, this was top of the line. Then a figure approached him finally. He didn't know who the guy was, but the person seemed very angry about something. "Hey." "Welcome to OCEAN. Your going to love it here.". He didn't know what to really say, since the guy was really more built than him. He just motioned a, "Thanks...I guess," as he began to move on to find his designated location of lodging. Mako had to adjust to the randomness, because it seemed that this group was just going to be anything but normal.

Well Sai was fast, a lot faster then her. Just as she was about catch up to her she flew past her. She followed Sai best she could but this compound huge and half of the time she was guessing where her turns where. Eventually she got to the Hangar, or at least it looked like one. By the time she got there Sai was on top of Xenoix holding him down. She ran over to them and tried to get Sai off of him but she couldn't move it. "Stop it you two!" said Nyx desperately, still trying to force them a part. "Why are you two fighting! You two are really close to each other!"