It's a wonderful life or a terrible one, I can't quite tell. [double exp, Silus]

It began like all instances of sleep were for Hyperion, a feeling of weightlessness, floating through an endless void that threatened to swallow him whole, and within that void he was a small speck. One would have thought this to be disorienting, yet somehow the abyssal one found peace within this void, and then came the waking. Everything began to undulate around him, and within this void came light, he was falling faster and faster, until finally everything stopped and he woke with a jolt. His breathing was slightly accelerated, coming out rapidly as silver orbs lazily glanced around the room, one that he was expecting to be his own, but…it was not. This caused him to freeze, blinking a couple of times as if unsure where he was, and realizing that he had no idea where the hell he was. ”What the hell?” Hyperion muttered, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand as if that would change something.

It did not sadly, and he was still in the same place as he was a few seconds ago, teeth slowly grinding together as he pushed himself to his feet. How the hell had he been moved without his knowing about it and where the hell was he? Normally it would be hard to do so, yet it seemed like something that had been done without any effort. The dull pain however within his chest was….strangely absent, which only made this seem all the more odd, No, it was not the only thing that he was unaware of, as he felt no energy coursing through him. ”You have got to be kidding me.” He muttered with an increasing annoyance, trying to draw upon any energy at his command and finding them having abandoned him. What the hell was going on here?

Maybe he had died and this was some sort of hell made for him by the powers that be or some bull shit. Either way he was not liking this one bit, hell, he would have preferred the slowly dying thing, but then again that suggested he was alive, which had to be tested by pinching his arm. That was followed by a sensation of pain coursing through the limb, reminding him that he was indeed alive, and leading to even more questions as he shook his head drowsily. ”Hello? Anyone here?  Because that would be great if there was someone, because this is like really funny but I don’t have time for this.” It was not funny in the least, but then again he was just falling back on the oh so wonderful sarcasm bit. Helped ease the tension somewhat, or rather it kept him from raging to the possible amusement of some sick cosmic game master.

The die was cast. The sacrifice had been determined, and quite unfortunately the victim was none other than Michael, the brother of Lucifer himself. Under the request and command of their father, The Archon, Silus was to take and show Michael and altered, and warped reality. A reality where he didn't exist. A reality where his entire life had meant nothing, because his life had never been. As the Archon had commanded, so it would be done. Now Michael would be powerless, helpless and estranged to all the world around him. People would pass by, uncaring and unphased by him or his strange speckled silver orbs. He'd ask if this were a jest, to which Silus stood there, unseen and unable to be sensed by his brother, or anything for that matter. Lucifer wished he could say he was joking, but unfortunately this was very real.

Michael was never born...

”Hello? Anyone here? Because that would be great if there was someone, because this is like really funny but I don’t have time for this.” Was shouted out. Silus forced his eyes shut, and in an instant reality would warp. Silus would seem to manifest, the peeling and flaking away at reality revealing the void that he had stepped through. Though when Michael saw him, he did not see him as Silus. He would see none other than the Archon himself. Silus felt a pang in his chest, a dislike for lying to his brother and an overall displeasure to have to put his brother through this event. However Silus trusted his father and his judgement regardless if he liked it or not.

"No, you're right. You don't." Silus said, his voice perfectly the same as Archon's. "Because your time's run out. Or rather it never came to be." He corrected himself as he seemed to explain a little amused tone in his voice and a smirk, having no difficulty with his "son" suffering in this strange and unusual world. "Archon" appeared to be in a heavy black coat with an almost wooly or felt like texture, black pinned dress pants and a business suit on beneath it. In his right hand he held Nuk-Nuk his skeletal cane with the one eye and monocle. Zell was not clean-shaven as he usually was, he looked as he had prior to his liberation from the clutches of the woman in white. He was ragged, tired looking, shaggy black hair with enough shadow and prickle to keep the Grinch at bay.

"Welcome to your world that never was." He said with a soft chuckle and a genuinely amused grin as he stepped back, held his arms out as if presenting the world to Michael.

”Of course its you.” Hyperion muttered with a scoff, rolling his eyes upon noting the Archon materializing from seemingly nowhere. Who else but dear old dad would take pleasure in tormenting him? One thing he noted was that he looked as ragged as he could remember, eyes darting around and taking notice of the people walking around without even a notice of the two standing within their midst. It were as if they had been shrouded from their visage, though regardless it was something that Hyperion found himself wondering over for a few seconds before sighing almost annoyed. Whatever The Archon had done to him to free him of his powers was something he could only wonder about, trying once again to draw upon them and finding that to be another fruitless endeavor. Something was mentioned about his time running out, then amended to it having never began.

That could have been taken different ways, one of which being that he had never been born to begin with, though if that were the case then he was likely in a realm where he…had never been born. Well, it was either that or he had somehow made it to where Michael just had never been born, which was not something that Hyperion could complain about. Soon enough, perhaps he would fade away and then the torment would not even matter. ”I shouldn’t even be surprised at this point.” Another sigh, followed by massaging the bridge of his nose while glaring at the Silus disguised as The Archon, considering where exactly he was. ”So what is this? Some sort of hell of your making meant to torment me or something? Because honestly that wouldn’t surprise me at this point.” Why the bitterness one could wonder, but then again no one liked being ripped from the comfort of their palace.

A gilded death bed of course, but then again Hyperion was always one for pointlessness. Fingers would run through his hair, a few streaks of grey shockingly apparent in the midst of dark brown.

"It's not like I enjoy this. Now be a good kid and don't make this any harder than it has to be." Silus said as he rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. He began to walk, using Nuk-Nuk as a crutch as he wandered about the snow-covered streets. Their breath could be seen and the chilled atmosphere was nothing less than uncomfortable, even for a cold individual like Michael. With a flourish of his wrist a series of glowing colorful liquids would escape his fingertips an slosh together before he would flourish his wrist again and the colors would vanish. A solid object now remained in his hand. A perfectly folded and fashionable black leather jacket. "For Prince Nothing." He commented a glare at Hyperion after he commented about it not surprising him is Zell made some form of Hell.

Silus was bitter at Michael, for many reasons. The first one that came to mind was the fact that Michael believed that their father had it out for him or something. It wasn't the case to be sure. The Archon didn't like the Abyss, he disliked the foolish denizens within it as well, but that didn't mean he didn't love them or protect their existence. Especially after everything their daddy had done for them... how could you think he'd want to torment you? Silus shook this off and then sighed, trying to quickly think about what their daddy would say to Michael.

"It breaks my heart that you still think, after all this time, that I'm your enemy. Why can't you just suck it up and deal with it?" He asked before he continued on walking before he brought him to a bus stop. "This will be a good experience for you." He sighed, leaning back and relaxing.

”Keep telling yourself that.” Hyperion sighed, rolling his eyes and shivering, perhaps realizing now that is was uncomfortably cold wherever they were. His breath was visible in the chilly atmosphere, escaping outwards in a semi-visible cloud and fading away. While The Archon was so kind to provide a jacket, the accompanying statement was enough to make the gesture seem almost hollow in delivery, but then again expecting anything else would have been foolishness. He even ignored the glare as he took the jacket, fitting an arm through each sleeve and zipping it up to the extent that a jacket could be. He would examine the area once again, yet nothing about it rung a bell with him, leaving Hyperion at somewhat of a loss as he returned his attention back to the perpetrator of this whole charade.

”That’s like saying a man doesn’t hate a cancer eating at them. Afterall, that does describe me oh so well.” Hyperion said rather matter of factly, taking notice of the buss top they were approaching, though why they needed a bus was something that he questioned. Couldn’t the Archon just do the whole teleportation bit, or did he feel like forcing him to weather the pleasure of his company for a little longer. If this whole thing was an experience building exercise, then he should be saving it for someone that would actually be learning something from it, or rather had the time to actually make use of the experience. As for time, Hyperion had little of that these days, and even in this limited form he could feel that.

”So dear ol dad, where to now?” Hyperion questioned with an even tone, crossing arms over his chest and waiting for some kind of answer.

"That's not what I'd call you, but I suppose the analogy works for one who thinks so little of himself." Silus said, eyes closed as he leaned back and closed his eyes a little, waiting for the bus. Sadly he needed the bus for things to move on, and as long as the bus didn't how up he'd have to sit here and listen to Hyperion hate himself. Unfortunately for Silus he was unaware of Hyperion's limited life force, and his impending demise. Archon himself may have fully been aware of Hyperions rapid decay, however Silus was still oblivious, and ultimately it was not able to be calculated into Silus' mentality as to how he approached his brother with certain things...even though he was pretending to be other people. God this was confusing.

"This is a world where you were never born. So I'm here to show you what the world would be like. Starting with the utter destruction of the Abyss, saving our realm from total annihilation." Silus said, wishing that he could grab his mouth. He was taken aback by this to be honest. When Zell "gifted him" with this task, Silus didn't realize that Zell was going to make Hyperion miserable like this. Granted it wasn't like Hyperion would care, but still. It's depressing to know if Michael had never been born something good came out of it. The bus approached rather quickly, but rather than stopping it swerved and actually capsized, falling on top of Michael and "Archon". The next thing they knew they were in the sand in an oh so familiar place. The Ethereal Isle, the sandy shores with- wait there was nothing else here. There was no immaculate forest or anything like that... it was barren. The Ethereal Isle must not have been maintained after Ouroboros' death because Michael wasn't able to become king.

"The Ethereals also integrated themselves with mortals. Taking jobs amongst them and managed to actually blend in rather well. Huh....well how about that." He said, genuinely surprised by that little detail.

”A world where I was never born? Sounds like a paradise.” Hyperion noted with a roll of his eyes, though he was just not feeling like trying to be civil. Seemed more like The Archon being aware of his imminent demise, and sort of gloating almost. So he was right in the tormenting department, that was the intention of the omnidimensional bastard. The first of the many gifts that his father was kind enough to provide was the destruction of The Abyss, something that for some reason happened because he had not been born. ”And we’ll be having a repeat of that little incident soon.” Hyperion noted almost off handidly before noticing the incoming bus However, instead of stopping it would swerve and capsize, on the way to crush both of them yet before he knew it, they were both on some kind of beach.

Waves lapped up against the shore of the beach, going about with that eternal ebb and flow the ocean always had going on. ”Well how about that.” He scoffed, realizing that perhaps if he rolled his eyes anymore they would pop out of his skull. ”So, what’s this about you not being my enemy? Because so far, seems like you’re just trying to show me how much of a mistake I was, and if so, mission accomplished. Congratulations, you paragon you.” He paused for a moment to mull something over. ”But I have a feeling the fun has only just begun.”

Silus didn't understand what was going on. All the things Archon wanted Silus to show him were wonderful things. It's not like Archon really wanted him to see this, did he? No, because that wasn't like Zell. Zell loved Michael, he loved Lucifer and he wanted everyone to be happy. He even went as far as to sacrifice his happiness to do so. Silus looked up to Michael and rolled his eyes in response to the eye rolling. "This is based on what YOU'VE done, don't blame me that YOU'VE messed up. I'm trying to show you to give you an oppertunity to change it. To start over. To escape your fate." He snapped, glaring at Michael. It was quite apparent that even Silus was irritated with Michael. He had the audacity to complain that this was Zell's plan. "I can understand you hate me. But I love you. This is what YOU have done... don't you dare try to blame me for it." He turned and walked off.

Silus snapped his fingers and they were in the middle of the dark, the rain pouring down. Zell stepped out of a shop in his coat. He was with Rozmer and a red-headed man. They were both seeming to badger him, Silus and Hel were sitting on park bnches, Hel tinkering with a machine of sorts and laughing with Silus, joking with him as Abra sat there helping Hel tease her adorable twin. "Well, Mike. I've given you everything I had. I can let you go knowing I was a good father. I know that I died for you... I tried to help you pick up the pieces. But you wouldn't accept it. I loved you, but you wouldn't take it. That's not on me..." Silus said as he stepped back and seemingly faded from reality, leaving Michael in this world to see what life without him would have been like. Silus began to hurt, churn and feel terrible. Albeit he would come to stalk his brother in silence to observe that which he observed, witnessing the world without him.

On and on he went, something about trying to help but they knew damn well what was happening, that he was doomed to die, to decay and suffer every second. No, it didn’t seem that was enough for The Archon, no, he had to wipe his goddamn nose in what could have been like some sick sadist, all the while playing as if he were some saint. ”You wouldn’t know love if it bit your fucking face off.” Hyperion muttered, though by then he was alone, rain pouring down and beginning to drench him. ”I guess the plan was to leave me here to die, powerless and alone.” he noted to himself, burying his hands into his pockets and simply surveying the area around him. ”Oh well, I guess it’s time to see how happy everyone is if I didn’t curse this world with my presence.” So with that oh so uplifting statement, he was off, walking along the sidewalk slowly.

Unfamiliar faces were everywhere, but then again that was how the world worked, so many people he didn’t recognize. There was one face that he did recognize, though of course he would recognize it, Silus on a bench with some female tinkering with a machine. Well, that and someone with them, everyone looking happy as could be and something about that was….painful in a sense. Of course, he had known from the start that he was the problem, despite all this talk of love, in the end he was nothing but a mistake. Of course if he turned his head slightly, he would see that bastard, talking to two others that he had no idea the identity of, though one thing he could tell was that they were…..happy. ”I really hate when I’m right.” he sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose, choosing a park bench and sitting down on it, not even noticing the rain now.

"What's going on?" Silus asked himself, still unable to be heard or interact with Michael. He honestly didn't know much what to say about this situation. Everything looked so happy and fine. Pristine and all was well with the Atterrius family. But that's when it clicked for Silus. He was just showing Michael the best of it, that's all Mike was allowed to see. It didn't sit right with him. It really didn't. Silus didn't doubt Zell loved him or Michael, and he didn't doubt that whatever Zell had planned was only to help Michael.... but Silus couldn't leave Michael to "suffer" through seeing a supposedly perfect world where he wasn't born. Michael probably didn't even notice as Silus suddenly and stealthily suddenly just "was" on the park bench next to him silent as the dead.

"Boo." Silus said half heartedly as said to the Michael who was rubbing his nose. If he got a little jolt from him that would make Silus giggle a little, if not then he'd still smile at Mike. "What's up, Chuck?" he asked as he leaned back on the park bench, his hoodie jacket still two sizes too big and his glowing indigo eyes fixated on Michael as he let out a little yawn and stretched. He wasn't able to just sit on the sidelines while a stupid vision ruined his brother's day...if he really cared that much. Silus believed that there was a chance, even when logic and history said there wasn't. Silus still refused to give up on that little light, even after all this time.

Hyperion found himself hoping that perhaps some meteor would fall down from the sky, and smash him like an insect, rather than this idyllic nightmare going on. Well until he heard a rather familiar word from an equally familiar source, jerking softly while opening his eyes and turning to what looked like Silus sitting beside him. Why was he bothering with this strange of all things, rather than going about in that supposedly perfect life that was going on. ”Life.” he noted with a shrug, and an almost amuse chuckle. ”Could be much better, but….eh. Complaining does no good.” Could have been a hell of a lot better than this, but then again death was coming to…death, so yeah.

”So.....what’s up with you little guy?” One could question why he was making conversation, but then again his ire was directed at The Archon, and taking anything out on Silus would have been painfully fruitless. Hyperion sighed, playing around with a small circular locket hanging around his neck, the cold metal pressing against pale flesh, though it was not really the trinket that had importance, as much as what it held.

"Not much...oh, don't be mad at daddy. He's not real. Well... that ones not real. Ours is real...if I'm real. I dunno...if I'm not real I don't think it would like...matter to me because it's kinda in your head then." Silus said as he blinked and then shrugged. The possibility was there that it was in fact just a hallucination of sorts, triggered by Hyperion's subconscious that was in turn using particular figures to relay particular points to teach certain lessons. "It looks really good with you not having been born huh?" Silus asked. The poor little guy was so innocent and nonchalant about saying it too though. Of course Silus was able to do so because he knew what he was going to say next.

"But I've always been in your corner. 'Snever done me any good... but I've always been in your corner. So that's not gonna change now." Silus said, mouth shifting off to the side and his eyes wide as he nodded and shot up off of the park bench. He snatched Michael's wrist and began to march off. It would only be a few steps before they literally turned upside-down and then...they were on their backs, on a tree looking up at the sky. "Our dad's aren't a thing anymore. Gone, done. Their separate ways. Ouroboros killed Shael and because I didn't have my brother motivating me he stayed that way. Shael didn't get the chance to save the world from Hellshrike, and because of that Hellshrike possessed Niall. Niall and Brandon not being a thing only increased the tension between the Hale family and Zell...Sean didn't get along with them either after everything that transpired. Without you Shael is dead, Hellshrike is running loose and our dads aren't together." He said as he looked to Michael from his branch.

"Oh, and The Lych killed Jordan and now it's just Hel and I. Don't let the laughter fool you, she's still mean. Lych cursed me too... took my power like Ouro wanted. In five years time...I'll die. Then Lych will march on Hellshrike and one will be consumed by the other. After that you have abut ten years before the US is destroyed." Silus shrugged as he looked up to the night sky once more, though now the scenery had changed again. They were standing in the middle of the desert, a small oasis around them, a coule nomadic styled tents thrown up.

"Three guesses as to what this is." He said with a childish smirk.

”Well you look pretty real to me.”  Hyperion stated after blinking a couple of times, surprised that this Silus actually recognized him of all people in a world where he was not supposed to have been born. Then again, this was just part of the whole experience if he could believe it anyway, perhaps this was just a hallucination sent to torment him or simply to annoy him. The manner by which he said the world looked better without him was almost whimsical, but then again he had plenty reason to be happy in a world without a Michael. Something about the kid being in his corner followed that, though the sincerity in the statement was enough to almost make him wretch.

Aside from taking some mannerisms from his mother, Shael was similar to Silus in that respect strangely enough, atleast when he chose to take that age. ”Yeah, though why has always been the big question.” Hyperion noted, not even fighting against the tug that pulled him from the bench and lead him along like one would have lead a dog. He was sort of lost within this new world, even if it might have been something that his mind fabricated, a strange thing for sure, but then again it was not beyond the realm of possibility. Within a matter of seconds, they were leaning against a tree, Michael looking up to the sky which was almost beautiful in all its majesty or something like that.

”So they’re both dead.” He muttered, sounding almost…was distraught the word or perhaps genuinely surprised. The fact that Silus did not resurrect Shael because he was not around confused him, as Hyperion had expected that to not change simply because Silus was that good of a person. Why had that changed because he was not in the equation? No, even his parents weren’t together, and he had to admit they looked pretty happy together, even though he had not seen much of the dynamic. So much had changed and it seemed that the country would be destroyed soon, though both of them had timers ticking away. ”I guess that makes two of us, though you have a little more time than me.” He noted almost as a passing thing rather than something important.

Brushing over the fact that he would be bringing around billions of living things with him as well as just his own fading, not that the Atterrius family of his realm would notice. In the end, the only one that lost was him and the Ti’taen, and who cared? Another scene change, though they were now in some kind of desert. ”Ummm….a desert, a puddle or a camp of dirty people.” Hyperion noted not even trying to guess, as he had no clue.

"You're looking at the Alai's. Their entire village was destroyed, so was the Alai crystal. Dr. Alai was killed, Naadir died with the Abyss and without you Yancey, Shael and Fera were never born." The voice of Zell said as he stepped forward and stood on the other side of Michael. "I won't live either. Grandpa kills me on accident. Niall is gonna get killed by Hellshrike too." Silus added before suddenly vanishing, fading away so to speak.

  "You want to know why Sius and I still have hope for you? Look at how much good you've done just by existing? Shael and Jordan survive because of you. You pushed Silus to be a bettter person. Hell, at the time we'd never have known it but you killing Abra was a good thing too. You've done so much good...and all you did was be born... now think of what you could do if ya just stopped and actually listened. If you actually bothered to learn and try." Zell said as he sighed and looked at the little Amir who was working, almost slaving to collect the rocks from the sand. The scene changed again and there was something people probably did not expect. Silus and Hel, a broken and battered hero in front of them. Hel finishing him off and Silus not even flinching as his "older" twin sister did so.

 "Without you, everything falls apart. I'm still not a Hero yet. Hel wins and even if Grandpa doesn't, she kills me when I defy her. Zell kills her and goes into a deep depression. So you're not all THAT bad I guess" Silus said with a little giggle as he smiled looking up at Mike.

Alai, now that name struck a faint chord, though how much of one he could not quite tell, though it did surface within his memory. One thing that did catch his attention was that it wasn't Silus' voice, but the sound of The Archon's, not that he wasn't expecting him to stay out of this. He would have appeared on the scene eventually, but the fact that it was now of all times was an interesting one, as Hyperion lazily kicked a foot in the harsh and gritty desert sand. The question however was why him not existing of all things caused so much to happen, why was the question and it was something that he found himself mulling over multiple times while his brain tried to come to terms with the whole mess. Of course the whole point of this seemed to be that his birth wasn't all that bad, but he was still so wrapped up in minor issues really.

”All of that because I wasn't born.” He noted to himself, considering the male slaving away with the rocks within the sand, wondering why they were even doing that of all things. Life was a mysterious thing, but then again he should have known that much by now. Something was mentioned about him actually learning, though sadly it seemed he had the stubbornness of his shorter parent. Yet the scene changed, revealing a rather interesting scene with the same female and Silus, standing over a battered and defeated metahuman; likely of the heroic variety. He had expected what came next, the dark haired female striking them down, but seeing Silus not even blink was something that he found himself not used to. To see a paragon of virtue watch death without even a flinch was something that indeed did shock him.

”I'm the reason you're a hero? I hope not, because that's a terrible reason.” He noted with a smirk, ignoring the giggle as the former image was enough to turn that morbid. ”But i'll take what I can get.” he shrugged, patting the image of Silus on the head.