Catalysts: IC (Oh the thread is slowly dying...)

Even in the dark, Winter was able to navigate the subway tunnels with a fair amount of ease. The occasional drip of water or scuttle of some unseen creature, swathed by the blackness, startled Winter every so often as she progressed through the wide, dilapidated corridors.

Eventually she arrived at her goal. The yawning mouth that had long ago collapsed seemed darker even than the air in the subway, and thus Winter was able to avoid tripping into its depths.

Fancying that she heard a noise behind her - a larger noise - Winter turned about, but could make out nothing in the darkness. She shuddered and pressed on, descending into the depths of the sewers, praying that the police knew not of this route.

Navigating himself fairly, as a decently sneaky person when cloaked in shadow, capable of taking the audible element out of detection from his own person, he took caution to overstep the puddles from slowly cascading flows before they reached the maw which lead down into the sewers. He had become wary of these things from the sounds of Winter clashing with them along the way. He knew he wouldn't be able to come back the way he came but.. Ever since over-charging Winter he couldn't help but feel worried for her.

I hope this is worth it...

He moved after her, climbing slowly into the dark depths of the sewers. He could feel in harmony with her; he felt the pain of being alone, of almost no restful nights...

There was a blinding flash of light, and when Nox opened his eyes there was a shadowy humanoid figure gripping him. He screamed and tried to kick it off, but the kicks just passed through it. It opened its mouth, glowing stark white, and uttered a screech of indescribable horror. There was another flash of light, and there Was Nox, curled into a fetal position and rocking back and forth.

The sewers had long since been rendered into disuse - this branch, at least. Thus, the waste had solidified partially into a gummy mass that sucked with revolting noises at Winter's feet as she trudged through.

The smell was worse - it was all she could manage to avoid emptying the meager contents of her stomach. Though Winter was quite hungry by now, she wouldn't be eating until she could next wash this outfit, that was certain.

She kept on wading through the slush, following her mind's mental map, until she realized that there were more than one pairs of feet displacing the muck.

Winter spun about, grabbing at her blackjack. "Who's there?"

He could hardly bare the stench; a strong stomach was NOT one of Ragnarok's traits by far. When she spun about he sighed, giving up hope to sneak up on her. He put up his hands slowly and shook his head sighing.

"Right, I suppose this makes me a hostage to convince the others to follow your plan...? I surrender. I'd rather not fight you.."

Oh it’s almost that time, my babies! Oh, this is so exciting, I even got a suit picked out for this occasion, and it looks very dashing if you ask me. I know how you hate the feeling of constriction, but perhaps maybe this one time? Oh, I knew you would understand. It’s a 1970 black vinyl wool tuxedo, yes, I ordered it online. And I even got a matching pair of pants and shoes! Now, I know you’re not used to this, so we’re going to have to practice! Maybe we should start learning a little swing dance or—oh, yes, yes, right. I forgot. Dancing probably won’t be on today’s schedule. Then let’s work on something practical, like fixing our tie! Every gentleman who you see fixing their tie always looks sophisticated. Oh my goodness, look at the time! We’re going to have no time to practice. Let’s get started then, shall we?

Damon looked over at a pile of black fabrics that was tossed in a corner, with a couple of bee’s covering it. The entire building was an old, dry-rotted, moldy, wooden structure. He was upstairs where there was an old blue couch with a spring protruding from it, also riddled with bees. The only other thing in the room was a broken shelf and a dusty old radio that received a lot of interference. But back to the pile of clothes – they were rather clean, compared to the rest of the building. But putting that on was bound to be a challenge, he didn’t think his brothers and sisters would enjoy it very much, but it would be dark and cozy, he reassured them. Dark… and cozy…

He paced over, and picked up a pair of fancy dress pants. Oh, he hasn’t worn pants in a while! What was it like again? He instructed the hive to left a leg to insert it through one of the pant legs. That went better than expected. Then he instructed them to lift the other leg into the other pant leg. Wonderful, he was a natural at this! And in no time at all, which was fifteen minutes, he was dressed, and was fixing his tie like a true gentleman would! Of course, the hive was a little agitated, but it was rather easy to get adjusted to. And for the first time in what felt like three days he was to leave the house, and for the first time in years, he would face the public, whether it be for good or otherwise.

Damon strutted down the sidewalk of back alleys, having drones scout ahead in case there is anyone around or trying to sneak up on him. As much as he wanted his voice heard, it would be so much better if it were more of a surprise. The back alleys were clear, and what would be the best place to have your voice heard? The radio station of course! And didn’t they also have live shows and broadcasts? This made it better. And what would make the situation even better and exciting? This alley had a back entrance to the building! If this wasn’t euphoria, what was? He placed his hand on the doorknob and slowly opened it, while sending forth a squad of bees to scout forward, to assure that nobody would see him pass through the building. There were a couple people there, and waiting until the drones reported that nobody was around, and he slinked through unnoticed and his body dissolved upward, through an air vent, and hid there until people came through. He saw two men walking through the hallway talking to each other.
“Oh, Derrick, so I meant to tell you that the boss wants you at the sports desk live at eight, you might want to make it there soon.”

“What? And he didn’t tell me himself?”

“Hey, the guy looked pretty busy. But yeah, he probably should’ve told you himself. You’re supposed to be at B2 on the fourth floor. I recommend you get there right away; you’ve got some reports to study. Not everything should be read off script you know. They’re already broadcasting.”

“Yeah, yeah… on my way.”

Ooh! A live broadcast! How terribly convenient! On the fourth floor then? Brilliant.

Damon watched as the one man kept walking and the other went towards a nearby elevator to proceed to the fourth floor. Without hesitation, Damon swarmed down and swept through the hall, invading the elevator before the door closed. The man inside looked at him wide eyed with terror, speechless, and simply dropped to the ground.

“What shall we do with him my dearests?” Said Damon, his voice echoed and warped, “Oh, you’re hungry? Of course, how could have I possibly forgotten?”

The body of Damon broke apart, breaking the man’s screams which echoed throughout the entire elevator shaft as he coated his entire body in a one inch coat of bees, insects simply swarming around him, and a couple crawling into his mouth; his face growing swollen, pussy and red. After all of his vital signs faded away, he reformed back into place and looked down at about slightly more than a dozen bees littering the ground. A tear would’ve been spent for his fallen family members, but they died protecting the hive, honoring the hive. What better way to die? More bees will come. From what he has heard, a queen bee moved in and started mating! How wonderful. Even her will shall bend to his catalyst powers. He turned around to face the door, and fixed his tie. Aw man, he just loved doing that! The door opened greeting him to an open hallway and he started walking down what he imagined in his mind as a catwalk. This was wonderful. A woman looked over to where he was, and instantly started screaming, alerting the entire form. Many others looked over and join in on the panic. Damon didn’t mind though. They were narrow-thinkers.

He invaded the main news room, and the people inside were silenced by his presence. He walked over to the desk in which the cameras were pointed, and two people rain off, but the main news reporter, the woman, was frozen like a deer facing headlights. Just as he walked up, she acted on instinct and threw a punch at his abdomen, but her arm sunk right through the other side of his body, hardly even damaging his form. She was swept aside, and was held in the air, while his other arm poured bees down her throat, stretching the esophagus wide. Damon left her gagging, unable to beg for air, and unable to scream in agony. She was tossed aside and died quickly as the poison swiftly traveled through her body, and her throat swelled up to such massive proportions, she was unable to take in any oxygen. Damon turned back to face the camera and sat down at the desk while fixing his neck tie once more. So much swag.

“What’s going on?!” shouted one man. “Quick! Turn everything off as fast as you can!”

“Hello, New Suffolk.” Damon said into the mic, staring at the camera. “My name is Damon Vicous. Do you remember me? Do you remember the lost, lonely boy in the alleys? Abandoned? Alone? The boy that you ignored? Mocked? Feared? I was all these things. I was home to a family of what I first thought were wretches, heathens, and invaders. This may not be the case now.

“Time has not been friendly with you, New Suffolk. And we have no sympathy to give to you. You mock us and fear us without reason. My family is very, very angry with you all. We have a voice – one you cannot hear. Or understand. One that wishes to express itself… We are no longer Damon Vicous. You are now to refer to us as Lieo. And we… we want all of you… to die!” Damon’s maniacal laughter interrupted his speech, echoing, seemingly warping the air around him. Across the city, people’s spines were chilled.

“YES, TO DIE! OH DO NOT WORRY, BAHAHAHAA! IT IS A GOOD, JUST CAUSE! ONE THAT MY KIND HAS BEEN WAITING FOR! FOR CENTURIES! LIEO WILL STING, AND BURN, AND BITE, AND TEAR EVERYONE SINGLE ONE OF YOU APART UNTIL YOUR RED, PUSS FILLED SKIN BURSTS! NEW SUFFOLK IS NO LONGER SAFE; EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU WILL DIE! AND A WARNING TO ALL OF THE OTHER CATALYSTS THAT WOULD DARE—“

Lieo was interrupted as the station was finally shut down and cancelled due to the efforts of the workers, unfortunately for New Suffolk however, the message was still sent. Lieo screamed with rage, and an the entire room filled with bees and the pile of clothes dropped to the floor. It looked as if one would be watching static on television, but if someone were to look carefully, a skull floated atop a bed of bees. Eyes that were still in their sockets stung red.

NEW SUFFOLK WILL BURN UNDER OUR REIGN! BURN, BURN, BURN, BUUURRN!

Shocked to hear Ragnarok's voice emanating from the darkness (though relieved that the speaker was someone familiar), Winter paused a moment before replying.

"Are you kidding me? Why the devil did you follow me?" She crossed her arms with exasperation, even though she knew very well that it was too damn dark for him to see her do it. "I don't intend to fight you or take you hostage, and I don't think either of those activities would convince your... friends to work towards my goals."

Aran sat up, seeing the fetal positioned Nox. Raising an eyebrow, he wondered if Nox was like this most of the time. But he had to help him, he could not just leave him there as he did with the rest of the people. Those who treated him like he was someone different...Not even a living, human being. He knelt over next to Nox, and put a hand to his shoulder. Aran could feel the tense muscle...But what was it that made him like this?

"Hey...Guy...Come on...Get up.." He said quietly. He began to shake his shoulder, perhaps a feeble attempt to snap back towards reality. Aran did not know what was happening, his excommunication with human interaction left him with nothing to know about what to do to a person.

"Come on...I think...Your name was...Nox?" He said a little bit louder, seeing if Nox would react to his voice. Perhaps a little bit louder would have worked.

"Friend. Singular. I only have two people I can bloody trust in this world, one of whom feels angry at me and is no doubt putting her hand on her hips. I.. Look.. Just let me tag along okay? I can really, REALLY help.. And I'm sure Nox has enough new generation catalysts to help attack the next base when he's healed.."

He took a single step towards her, though didn't follow through with his other foot, gauging her reaction.

Nox heard someone speaking his name. He turned around, still disoriented. "I.. I think I'm okay. Who are you, good sir?" He hoped that had only been a hallucination. It was terrifying. The being of pure shadow... He shook it off. He muttered to himself, repeatedly, for no other reason than nerves. Or so he hoped. There was now a persistent ringing in his ears. His head ached behind the eyes. He began to repeat to himself in scarcely a whisper: "Madness is but new clarity..."

Of course he knows I've crossed my hands. Damn empaths...

However, Winter softened a bit, though she still harbored a palpable degree of suspicion. "You've threatened to kill me before for going through with my plans. Why do you want to help me now?"

Aran slowly arose up, and he looked at the one called Nox. "My name is Aran. And I believe yours, from what I heard, if Nox. Am I right?" He smiled softly, as if trying to reassure that it was safe, and okay, for now. Hopefully, that being would not return for some time..

"Are you okay?" Aran offered his hand to help Nox up.

He moved his other foot forward and put his hands up sighing.

"During the riot... I saw innocents getting killed by some bombs.. Children, mothers, the old, the sick, the young, the healthy.. They didn't discriminate; I don't want pain I want balance. And thus far your plan seems to be the best way to do it peacefully."

"I think. Just hallucinations. Speaking of, ever played Dead Space?" Nox laughed. Some things were more fun when you could tag team with a buddy. Nox booted up the game again and chose "New Game." Good jokes were everywhere in this game. He crossed his arms at an angle and tilted his hands towards each other to make the prayer gesture of Unitology.

"It's been awhile, but I'm pretty good at it." He laughed along with Nox, feeling a bit of warmth as he would when he was with animals. Perhaps he had gone somewhat insane. Maybe he's just getting on the verge of being sane. Aran sat down next to Nox, and looked at the screen. It had been a year since that incident...Or was it years? He could not remember what date or time it was.

"What, you mean the riot that you caused?" Winter threw her hands up, once again an act of exasperation. She sighed. Ay ay AY.

I suppose it is possible the man's had some change of heart, but... She composed herself. "Look. I'll be honest with you, even I don't fully know what I'm doing yet. The reason the police were after me in the first place was because I was street-preaching about nonviolent protests."

He sighed and walked closer, close enough for the visibility to lighten up some between them. Then, he pointed at his scar over his shoulder and spoke quietly, just barely loud enough for her to hear.

"This is from me saving a child from a VERY pissed off dog... Later found out they did animal testing before creating human catalysts and well; lets just say getting bit by a Wulfsung isn't all that fun.."

Resisting the urge to backpedal, Winter peered at the indicated wound. Either the fuzzy cloak of darkness was playing tricks on her eyes, or the scar Ragnarok bore was made by no natural dog...

She shuddered and looked away, meeting Ragnarok's eyes. "I knew you had some good in you. Like I said, we both had like intentions - but what makes you want to choose peace over war? Surely you'd want to avenge those who died at the Government's hand...?"

"The best way to avenge them is to make sure their loved ones aren't dead, and the government is slowly disbanded so that their deaths are not in vain. Hell, I'd just like it so that they don't judge people like me with disorders."

He crossed his arms slowly and shivered, dreading the smell inside of the sewers. He spoke up slowly, half coughing.

"Is there somewhere else we could go..? Somewhere better smelling perhaps..?"

Nox laughed a bit more, than went to tweak with the lights. He turned them up a bit lighter. There was no need or reason for more paranoia fuel. He settled in to watch the misadventures of Isaac and Kendra.

Winter was silent for several moments, scratching her scalp in thought.

"Uhh... yeah. Yeah. I've got a shitty little hovel aboveground." She led the way into the blackness...

What am I doing.

He followed after her, waiting to go up above ground and out of the horrid sewers. He couldn't help but wonder why he felt so.. so.. defensive.. so affectionate over this person who has fought against him every step of his plan..

What... am I getting myself into..

With an anticlimactic "Ding" the last of her explosives finished, and Pandora gathered them into her pockets, except for a large quantity of TNT, which she hid in a cupboard with her last timer, set to explode in the middle of the day and hopefully shut down the university.

She then jumped from a window, and landed on the ground below with a sickening crack, gritting her teeth as her bones knit back together. Now, time to find a military armory to raid...

After an hour or so of walking, treading, wading, moving through the crusted, slimy extract of the city's collective, Winter and Ragnarok arrived at what seemed to be a viable exit. And about time, too. I don't think I could handle much more of the smell...

No, wait. I couldn't handle the smell forty-five minutes ago.

Aforementioned exit presented itself in the form of a rusted ladder, leading up to a manhole - the cover, however, appeared to have been paved over and would not budge. "Damn. It's sealed."

The entire trip was painfully horrid smelling and he could hardly stand the squishy feel of the slimey, viscous liquid as he drudged forward. When the cover was found seemingly paved over, he sided and motioned for her to move aside so he could attempt to bust through; he wasn't very strong, but Winter was shaken, and he was highly intent on leaving the fucking sewers.