Catalysts: IC 2.0 Announcement in OP!

He was puzzled by that last statement. He went back to his room, and he looked in the wardrobe for something. He found a crucifix, and put that around his neck. There was a tapping at his window. It was a pidgeon. He opened the window to shoo it away, only to find a note strapped to it. "Clocks."

She lay back on the bed once more. 'Othello' was playing of all things. She quickly switched it to something else. "No, it was just another way of thanking him for being patient, it means nothing more." She closed her eyes again to sleep, half wishing Ragnarok was there. What she'd do for company right about now.

He lay back down on his bed, but after the recent nightmares he couldn't sleep very well. He began to read again. There was a bad situation with Vroengard island. He'd always liked this series. It was a bit boring, though.

Her mind wandered again, of all things to Kate. Did she suspect what lay before her? Sitting inside a snake womb for over a day, losing her legs but gaining a new body over the following week, emerging as something healthier and stronger than any living human? They could live for almost a thousand years really. Long enough to see the future of humankind unfold.

He went out to sit in the hallway. He turned on his iPod, and listened to some sadder music for a bit. He was deep in thought, really. The little rattlesnake was with him; it seemed to like him. He fell asleep sitting against the door listening to linkin park.

It was no use, sleep wouldn't come. Not even getting up, she dragged herself across the floor to the doorway. Opening it, she was surprised to see Nox sitting there as well. Silently, she slithered through the mist, curling up around him so he didn't have to sit in the damp.

He woke up curled in steph's coils. "Huh? Wha- Oh hello, Steph." This was awkward, for sure. He focused on just petting the small rattlesnake, it's little beady eyes flicking back and forth.It settled in to rest.

She glanced at him for a moment, readjusting so that her body was just under him, not around him. "Sorry, force of habit you see. I had trouble sleeping..." She looked down at the rattlesnake, smiling as it seemed to develop a friendship with Nox. "Kinda weird, knowing that you're technically the mother of so many snakes, when it should be impossible. I like impossible when I think about it."

"The impossible is an illusion. Never trust your jailer, for he cares not of you die. Don't listen to the whispers, for they whisper only lies." A clever little rhyme. The situation was still awkward, however. He got up to go back into his room.

She got up too, remaining where she was. So many things she wanted to say now, but couldn't. Finally, she approached him one last time, hugging him tightly. "I can't tell you how grateful I am for all you've done. I'm just so glad you didn't die after the last time we spoke, I don't know what I would've done without someone I could talk to." She released him and returned to her room, feeling much better again.

He returned to his room, still brooding over Pandora's disappearance and Ragnarok's straying from the revolutionary path. He went to Steph's room and knocked on the door. He needed to talk to someone.

She sighed ever so quietly. It seemed as if this would be a night where neither could sleep. Opening the door, she sat down on the lounge casually, picking at lint on her shirt. "Sorry if it seemed like I was, coming onto you. I think when Ragnarok and I met, it began this primal awakening. And now I'm close to reaching the peak of it." She leaned her head back and relaxed her lungs. "Anything I can help with Nox?"

"It didn't seem like that at all. An I'm jut worried; I haven't heard from Pandora in ages." He sighed, then continued. "So much is changing; we're the leaders of a paradigm shift now. But I'd better go, I don't want to keep you awake."

She laughed slightly as her head relaxed again. "I'm still not sleeping. I guess it's one of those nights, knowing what is to come." She got up and made her way over to the table, grabbing her phone. "I hacked it so that the military can't tap the line. Whenever you're planning another strike, just tell me, I could really use the confusion to grab more hostages." Handing him the phone with her number on the display, she checked out the window again.

He was puzzled at her laughter. He then spoke. "I have a prototype time bomb set to explode at 5AM. It's set in the barracks." He smiled at the thought, then abruptly stopped. They are human like me. If I revel in their deaths how am I better?

She nodded. "That won't give me much time before they wake. But then I'm aiming for teenagers, probably enjoying the sleep ins with martial law and all." She ran her hand along the cushion beside her briefly. "Try not to kill female soldiers, I'm giving them a chance to redeem themselves by transforming them."

"I just chucked it under a random cot." He cocked his head to one side. "Is anything on your mind? You seemed a bit zoned out." He hoped he wasn't probing too much. That could end poorly. Of course, many things do.

She shrugged. "Guess I'm a little doped up over the six down there. There's no pain you see, it's all... feeling." She closed her eyes to breathe in deeply. "You think I'm taking things too far with turning sixteen girls into replica's of myself? Under other circumstances I can see how it would be just pure vanity, I don't know anymore myself."

"Tactically, no. Rule one, there is never enough defense.; rule two, there is NEVER enough defense. From a political standpoint, you've converted them alive. That looks good. New and powerful warriors always make revolutionaries happy. So no, you did a good thing." He took a deep breath as he concluded.

She nodded again, taking his hand softly. "Thanks, Melanie asked me about it, and I started thinking. I needed reassurance like that." She leaned back towards the arm of the lounge, closing her eyes. "If Ragnarok calms down and starts to get bored, just call me. He's probably missing our love time by now if anything."

"Last I checked, he was still babbling about chess. He's gone a bit crazy or something." He then noticed her holding his hand. He gave her hand a little squeeze. "Don't worry; planning too much can also be bad. The movement is relatively successful."

She nodded as her eyes closed. "I hope you find that special someone. I have to hope that mine will calm down for a bit. Guess you can't blame him for having a breakdown over the renovations." She opened her eyes again to watch the play through. "Things will turn around soon enough, I'm sure of it."

"I've found her; I just don't know where in the hell she got off to." He was referring to Pandora. He didn't doubt her abilities, but he worried all the same. "He'll calm down whether he wants to or not. I've made sure of it." At that he returned to his room and began to read again.

She shrugged and finally managed to sleep. It was peaceful now that she had been able to confide in Nox, he was a really good listener when it came to it. The way he had insisted that Ragnarok would calm down made her a bit uncomfortable, but she chose not to question it. It would take a lot of effort to restore his pleasant mood, that was for sure.

He soon returned to his bed, unquestionably tired. He was soon in a deep, dreamless sleep which would most likely last into the morning. Unbeknownst to him, the little rattlesnake was now curled around the lamp.