A new world?

Look at them, those foolish creatures. Living their daily lives as if they've not got a care in the world. Nothing more than the animals they believe they are above. Humanity, how I hate thee. And how I will do anything to...

The sun shone in the sky above New York, illuminating the grand buildings that reached up to the sky. The streets filled with people from all area's of life, from the rich to the poor, from the police to the scum. A place where dreams come true, and no day is ever the same. However, an ominous cloud of darkness was coming closer to this city in the form of a man. Driving a red motorcycle was a man like so few, yet had lived a life that would have killed so many. He stood at just about six foot, with red and white hair reaching down to the back of his neck. Covering him from the elements of the wind was a jacket, matching the colors of his hair. The only addition was the color of black. However, this jacket was unbuttoned, revealing a green shirt that seemed a bit too small as it revealed the bottom of his stomach to onlookers. With a pair of black pants and studded boots, the only other noticable thing about him was a neck band, again following the general color scheme.

Speeding down a motorway towards New York, this man was a man on a mission. He was in debt after moving to America, and he needed to make money, and quickly. But how would a man like him make money? By utalizing the gifts he was given. An Assassin for Hire, known to those of the underworld as "The Black Reaper". Before long, he had entered the general area of New York that was his location. Tossing one leg over his bike after parking it down an alley, he got off, standing tall and examining the location. "The location is two buildings away, and the target is a suited man. Hmpth. It appears some people still believe in their 'Mafia Traditions' ey?" he thought to himself, before doing his jacket up. He then lifted up the seat on his bike, revealing a small compartment. Within the compartment was a mask that would cover up the front of his face to onlookers. It was plain, with no definition other than the two eye holes, perfectly made to fit the face of this young man.

And his name? Methias. He was the man in question, and he went by this name when out with friends he didn't have. He himself didn't know his last name, and was yet to meet anyone who would know it. Yet he didn't care. His life was now for one thing, and that was killing. It was something he was good at, and to be successful, you have to utalize your skills. As he continued through the alley, he leapt at the wall, and somehow seemed to leap upwards to the top of the building. Unlike most in New York, however, this area was covered in simple houses. He was to kill a man from within his own home. Ending up on top of the designated roof, he jumped in through the window, coming face to... Two naked people. A man, the one he was sent to kill, and a woman. Judging by her figure, it would appear he had quite the taste in young ladies. Heck, he wasn't too bad himself. But alas, bad meat just has to be thrown. Throwing a knife that was in his back pocket, he sliced straight into the mans skull, leaving himself and the woman alone in the room.

Removing his mask, he looked over the woman. She was quite petite, around five foot five. Blonde hair, and what a figure. She had everything she needed to put a face on Methias now. "Now, young lady. I notice you haven't screamed yet, so I shall assume you're paralysed with fear. Or drugs, either way enjoy yourself. But listen, because I'm talking now, and it would be for the better if you listen. Now, do you have any family?" he asked, to which she quickly shook her head. "And would anybody miss you if you were to say, randomly disappear?" to which she again shook her head. "Good, good. You're free to go." he said finally, as she got up and began to run for it. But before she had even made it to the bedroom door, Methias had appeared behind her, grabbed her by the jaw and snapped her neck. "It's so much more fun when they ru-"

It was at that point there was a screaming pain echoing through his head. A pain he hadn't felt before, and it almost felt as if his skull was snapping in half. Grabbing his phone was his pocket, he stuck it to his ear. "What the fuck do you want?!"

And everything changed. He was standing in an area he couldn't recognise, an area completely lost of life. But he was in a building, although it was half destroyed. Feeling strangely weak, he began moving through the halls before any of this even sank in. The things he had witnessed meant he could somewhat ignore the oddities, and concentrate on finding a way out. In the first hallway, he noticed many people, strangely enough. They were all looking in a worst state than he was, and he immediately assumed they too had experienced what he just had. But what was this place? Surely time would tell.

Cide ran about Psyren slaying Tavoo. He didn't know what was going on, but he heard that someone had seen newbies running about. Cide would go and make sure nobody got themselves killed. He didn't want to. But he learned that Tavoo were attracted to new sources of Psi Energy, weak people at that, as opposed to the stronger members of Psyren. He used his Strength style Rise to pump energy into his legs and quickly dash across the land. He wore pair of baggy black jeans with several chains falling from them, a black open vest that exposed his well kept torso and arms, and a pair of black fingerless gloves. It was a simple outfit, but Cide liked simple. Killing was simple. And killing is what Cide did.

The sociopath laughed happily as he punched a few Tavoo in the face as he moved. It was so much fun to feel the Tavoo turn to ash on his skin. He couldn't help but enjoy it. The Tavoo here were fairly weak compared to his Rise so using his bare hands was fine. He didn't know where he was going so he had to use a bit of his Sense style Rise as well to listen out for people who just sounded confused. Should be easy enough right?

Regardless of if he found or lost the new kids, he didn't care. It was his day to have the body he inhabited and he would make the best use of it possible. This was just something he did as a way to allow the victims, the Tavoo, come to him. He moved quickly pumping as much energy as possible into his legs. It put a strain on him but he would get over it. It wasn't as if he was pushing his limits, just pushing his patients. Lucky the male was rewarded soon enough as he spotted a group of humanoid figures running away from a building.

Cide ran quickly and effortlessly caught up to them he looked at them and they told him they were here to win the money and blah blah blah. It was a greed story. One Cide had heard already. With a single punch for each boy, he killed them. Cide began his walk inside the broken building and, using Sense, he found the group. Methias instantly caught his eye. He gave a cold smile and pointed at him. "You...You are not like the rest of the weaklings here...You have some skill in Psi...interesting...Come with me if you want to live. Maybe you'll be nice bait for Tavoo." A few members of the group spoke up. They expressed their desire to come too. There was a woman who said she wanted to get the riches, and if Cide didn't take her then she'd do it on her own and sue him for every penny he was worth. She then proceeded to insult him and call him worthless. A big mistake on her part.

Cide turned to look at the girl. "Child you should have died back in the past..." From Cide's back came a black strand with the head of a spear at the end of it. Her eyes went wide and the spear pierced her stomach. Another black strand, this one had a scythe at the end, came and pierced her chest. The final one, a broad sword, came and decapitated her. The other two ripped out of her body, slicing her in thirds. Cide turned to look at others with a bit of blood on his face. "Anybody else want to test me?..."

Continuing to look over the new people that had forced themselves into Methias' life, he quickly realized he didn't care for any of them. Judging from the general chit chatter, they were the typical money grabbing bunch of scum he had spent many a year hunting. They were nothing more than the two he killed earlier. Well, the male. He didn't know about the female, but that was one for him. Grabbing hold of his head, he shook it lightly, in an attempt to get rid of the headache he was still suffering from. He had already came to the conclusion that the pain he felt was linked to this place, as it definately was considerably less painful as of now. However, he couldn't shake the feeling of being quite drained, although luckily for him, he had his own abilities that would prove useful here. Closing his eye's, he listened. Some would call this using "Sense" Rise, but he didn't know of such terms. Instead, he thought of this as detecting. Within his minds eye, he was seeing what could be described as a radar. His abilities with this weren't too great, but he could judge locations of living beings. Someone was heading this way.

Looking upwards, he noticed the newest addition to the people he didn't really care about. This one, a curly haired man, about the same age as him. It was then he was greeted with a smile. A cold smile, but a smile nonetheless. Looking down at the finger pointing at him, he listened as he spoke. Apparently Methias had some skill is Psi, whatever that was. And apparently he would be great bait. Lovely. This man was as much of a prick as he was. Shrugging the comment off, he couldn't help but continue to watch this man. Perhaps this "psi" was the abilities he himself had. And it was likely this man had the same abilities, but he couldn't be quite sure. Atleast, until something happened that truly put a huge grin on his face. One of the money loving women seemed to be having a good old debate with this new curly haired man, although she was doing the majority of the talking. Insulting would have probably been a better word, but Methias really wasn't listening to what she had to say. She was boring.

And with a few swift movements, she was sliced and diced into dog meat. Now, this man had Methias' interests. His abilities were definately odd, but what could Methias say? His abilities weren't exactly normal, to say the least. Making his way towards this man, he placed a hand on his shoulders as if they had been friends for years. "Test ya? Nah, I don't think that's neccessary. But you could improve your technique a little. She was a stupid slut, should've made her suffer." he said, before letting out a light laughter. This man, he liked. Atleast liked as much as someone like him could. Today was already interesting, and now things just got fun.

Cide looked at a few of the remaining people. A few of them vomited, the others looked pale. Only Methias stood there unaffected by the death. Cide snickered at the male's comment. "Why should I have wasted my time on vermin like her? Only the strong deserve a slow death..." He turned his back on them all and moved to the telephone. He pressed a few buttons to bring up the map. He didn't know what they would see or what they would hear. They weren't his business. They weren't his goal.

He gave it plenty of time and looked to Methias and company. "Wanna get out of here? Follow me. I have the only map out of this place. And I'm not about to babysit you lot...Slow me down, and I will kill you. Simple." He turned around and walked the path to leave the building. Finally he got out and began walking along the sand. His skin crawled with goose bumps as he awaited the Tavoo to arrive.

Cide slowed his pace just enough so that he could walk near Methias. His bright blue eyes looked the male up and down. "What's your name?" He asked in a hushed voice. He kept his Sense style Rise up and aware. It gave him a bit of a headache, but he'd live. He wanted to know when they were going to be attacked BEFORE the attack.

Looking towards the new arrival, he continued to laugh harder as the man made his righteous speech about the strong deserving a slow death. This man was a bit of a freak, but god knew that Methias could relate to him atleast on some level. That being said, Methias didn't often kill for no reason. Infact even the female he killed was for protection. He killed those who killed others. He also killed those that annoyed him to the point they deserved today. Perfectly good reasons. Cide escaped his grip and moved towards a phone box. The box then gave him a map to where they apparently had to go. How bloody convenient. From what he could see, he had a general idea of where they were going, but the landmarks truly meant nothing to him. However, he had figured out this man was one of them, and he had been here before. There best hope of getting out of here was definately with this man, and what a hope that was. Being led by someone more homicidal than Methias, with a big bit of crazy going on.

He then said the thing Methias was expecting to hear. If they wanted to get out of there, they would follow him. He did have the map, afterall. Finishing his comment with a death threat, Methias simply clapped to indicate his support. Cide then left, leaving the rest to follow them. Looking over at the people not being able to move from the floor, he shrugged slightly. Truth be told, if they couldn't handle this, they weren't going to escape this area anyway. Taking them would only slow the pack, and that meant more danger. "You heard him, people. If you can walk, walk. Ignore everyone else, otherwise we increase our chance of death out there in that desert. If you help them, the rest of us won't be helping you." he said, before turning around and making his way towards Cide.

Hitting the desert, Methias looked up at the sun. It was bright, and more than capable of penetrating the eye's. Turning away as it only seemed to make his headache worse, Methias carried on walking. Before long, however, Cide and slowed down and was walking with him. Apparently the man had taken a keen interest in Methias. He could tell by the simple fact he asked for his name. "Methias... Just, Methias." he said, assuming the man would introduce himself afterwards. However, introductions were about to be cut short. The ground around the two began to move, almost vibrate beneath them. "Oh great, it looks like something's here. I wonder how long you've known about that." he said, a grin forming on his lips. As it formed, a huge worm-like creature burst from the ground, its mouth atleast ten times the size of Methias. As it did, something strange appeared to be happening. The wind began to become visible around the creature. If it stayed there for long, who knew what would happen? Methias' grin turned into a smirk.

Cide had indeed sensed the worm before it's appearance and the vibrations, but he hadn't known about it long. He did have an apperance to keep up though so he settled for a knowing grin at Methias. His bright blue eyes looked at the worm as it came up. Worms had a habit of doing this, randomly popping up to surprise unsuspecting Drifters...or any member of the Resistance for that matter. Nonetheless, Cide was not newbie. He knew that worms traveled in packs. There was at least one more. However his Sense wasn't so great that he could listen for it when it was well below the Earth's surface.

His attention was brought back to the enemy at hand as he saw what was going on. His face remained neutral and he watched whatever was happening harm the beast without an ounce of pity or guilt. He looked to Methias and assumed it was his doing. For one, nobody in the group had awakened their abilities yet. Secondly, there was no resistance member around. That left Methias to be the controller of this attack. Cide smiled as he spoke. "I wouldn't recommend usage of powers just yet, Bait...Your body still hasn't gotten adjusted to this atmosphere. You have abilities yes, but your brain was only focused on a single portion of your full potential. Now that your brains sleeping abilities have been awakened, all at once nonetheless, using your powers now will only put a bigger strain on your body than need be...And if you die now then you're worthless to me." That was when Cide heard it.

The muffled roar from about two miles under them. He turned around and the spear came out of his back again. From Methias' point of view he could see that it didn't sprout from his back as much as materialize there and was just attached to it. The spearhead looked at the sand and slithered along it. "Noir...Flame." Cide said these words and what can only be described as a blue flame, but was really just unstable Psi Energy, surrounded the blade. No sooner had that happened then did the worm come up. Cide pointed at it. "End it's miserable existence my love..." As he said it a smile crept upon his face. His voice seemed softer somehow, but that didn't make it less threatening. If anything, it made him more dangerous. The worm let out a bestial sound and the spear head was accompanied by the scythe and the sword. Ciro held his ground though and the other weapons were infused with the same energy.

The weapons all arranged themselves so that they crossed Ciro's chest. Two pointed to his left, and one to his right. The worm dove at him and he grinned. Noir flung out, the weapons causing an arc and the combined effort of all the weapons crafted a beautiful, but deadly, burning blue arc of fire. The arc was wide enough to reach from side to side on the worm's mouth, and that's just what it did as it sliced through the beast. Due to the worm's curved nature the entire thing wasn't cut in half, but a large portion of it's top half was cut. One could now see inside the worms mouth and look down to see into it's stomach and various other organs. He turned back to looked at the progress Methias was having with his worm. Somehow, Cide didn't think Methias would take his warning to heart. At best, he might tone it down a little, but he doubted Methias would just roll over...and he kind of hoped he wouldn't either.

Methias continued to watch as the air around the creature continued to distort, his attack clearly about to initiate. However, before he could continue and destroy the vile creature, he heard Cide speak. His knowledge of this place was making itself quite apparent. His body wasn't use to the atmosphere, and even more power was being awakened. This indicated to Methias that the reason he had a headache was because this place was affecting him in a huge way. Using his most powerful attack would surely exhaust him at this precise point, or worse. As such, he himself decided it would probably be a good idea to stop the attack before he put more stress on his brain. As he stopped the attack, the distortion seemed to disappear in a flash, the worm making a lunge for Methias.

"Guess i'll do this the old fashioned way... With a twist." he said as he jumped up and down on the spot, as if he was warming himself up. Many would consider this stupid, considering the fact the worm was making its way towards him at some speed. However, the moment before contact, he leapt into the air, before stopping just above the worms attack pattern. He was apparently levitating in the air, but that wasn't the case. His abilities lied with the manipulation of the very air that people breath. One could say he held the key of life and death, the power to take life in an instant. However, he was capable of using any oxygen he could absorb to enpower his muscles and blood, and as such, he almost had unlimited potential. A fighter who could keep on fighting for hours. However, right now, he was simply using his power and not gaining anything back. He had to attack, and quickly.

Moving to a crouching position on the air, he looked over the creature, in an attempt to figure out any weakness. While most of it was quite plain, there was an orb. From what he could tell, this orb was likely the weak point. Potentially somthing used to control or to give power to the creature. Smirking once more, he positioned himself to attack. Pushing off with his feet, he sped towards the creature, hitting it with a relatively strong punch to the side. The punch was of such power, it managed to make the creature move. With that, he created another platform in the air, which he then leapt from instantly. Using the so-called "Rise", he literally circled the giant worm. He circled it at such speeds he was almost appearing to be a blur to onlookers. The creature was clearly trying to attack him, but all attempts were doing nothing more than moving the sand. And then, with one swoop, he appeared above the creature, slamming his heel into the orb that was located on its back. With that single blow, the orb shattered into hundreds of pieces, the creature weakening before death.

Jumping from its back, he landed back on the ground before immediately lowering to a kneel. He was definately more powerful here, but he felt the price of that power already. That man was right, he wasn't use to the atmosphere, and it was making sure he knew it. His hands then grabbed hold of his head as a shooting pain flowed through it. However, as fast as it happened, it disappeared once more. Shakiing his head, he moved back up to a standing position. He was tired. Yet he was still in a much better shape than the majority of the other people who had found their way here. The only person who looked fine was Cide. Tilting his head to the side, a loud crack echoed through the air. "Well, that was fun..."

Cide watched Methias and smiled. He enjoyed watching the male fight. Cide was a sadist. He loved watching people or things getting hurt, but only in a combat situation. He loved watching the attacker move, and in this case, he loved watching Methias move. His icy blue eyes tracked each of Methias' movements. Cide wasn't romantically interested in Methias, not in the least. But the boy held a special place in Cide's eyes. The way each of his movements had a purpose, the way he clearly calculated every step. The way he skillfully read his enemy. It all dragged Cide deeper and deeper into the person called Methias.

He used the spearhead Noir to provide him with a seat. The cord touching the ground and the flat of the spear as his "seat" He watched Methias and he had to admit that the worm's confusion and suffering aroused him a bit and he even had to adjust himself. He looked back at the other newbies. It seemed they lost three already leaving two left. They looked terrified as they watched Methias fight. It caused Cide to grin. They looked like they were watching a horrible care crash, but their eyes could not be pried from the scene. Cide enjoyed it. It was that look that he would strike into the hearts of enemies. He would be feared, and that was that.

He looked back at Methias as he spoke. "You look like shit. Take it easy..." Cide slipped off the spear and began walking again. Of all the three forms of Noir he loved the spear the most. Probably because it was the first one to materialize. The scythe and sword were tied for second. But the spear he adored. Noir as a whole was his lover though, and nobody could ever replace her. He looked at Methias. "I suppose I should give you a history lesson...or a future lesson as the case may be...Time is such a cruel mistress. Nonetheless, where did you come in from? Somewhere in New York given our current position...Right?" The Drifter kept walking not bothering to slow for Methias in the least. He could keep up just fine, and if he couldn't then he'd be one of Cide's bigger disappointments in life. But that was life, full of give and takes...

Methias listened as Cide spoke, his choice of words being something that Methias himself would come out with. Smirking at his comment, he replied with a simple line. "Fuck off, I look fantastic and you know it." A laughter left his lips after he spoke. Watching as the man continued to walk away, Methias simply shrugged off the strange feeling he was experiencing. Cide was right, he wasn't taking it as hard as those who hadn't been gifted with "PSI" abilities. But he was still experiencing it, nonetheless. He had to be careful with his stress levels, atleast this time. Sure, in time it would become less of an effort, but as things stood, using his abilities too much would surely end in a premature death. Letting out a long, drawn out sigh, he made his way towards Cide. His movement speed hadn't been affected at all, and before long he was walking beside his new 'comrade', if he could be called that.

As silence loomed, Methias continued to gaze across the nothingness that was this place. It looked like a desert, but even then, deserts seemed to have more life than what was here. It was just a desolate nothingness. The only creatures that stirred the ground were those that were apparently created for defence, but the defence of what exactly? He couldn't be sure. However, atleast one of his questions were about to be answered. Cide spoke once more. He said about a 'future' lesson, and mentioned times cruelty. Simply starring at him, Methias continued to listen as he said about where he had just come from. New York. This man knew. Placing the pieces together only led to one explanation.

"...So, what you're saying is, this is our future? And we're in the exact location I apparently left the past in? That's a bit shit aint it.." he said, the reality of the situation sinking in. Normally, he wouldn't have believed such a piece of information, but considering what was going on today, he would believe almost anything. "So, how did this happen? Infact, you haven't even given me a name yet..." he asked, before looking into the distance. They were coming up to a building.

Cide listened dully to the male. His opinion of the situation didn't really matter all that much. Cide didn't know him, never met him, never even saw him before today, and thus anything that this guy things will mean jack shit. He nodded though and continued to move in the direction they needed to go to. Cide dropped back and pointed to the building. "Keep going...I'm going to check on the last two..." And that's exactly what he did.

He walked up to the two males and they froze in their place. They didn't know what to expect but the look on their face was one of pure terror and one that Cide drank deep from. "Do you boys wish to live? To get stronger?...Do you boys really want to continue this journey? It's okay if you don't. Nobody can blame you. All these monsters, you being incredibly sick...It's not a fun life..." The males looked at each other and then to Cide. "I know a way out..." They looked hopeful and inched closer to him. Cide's smile went from friendly to a deadly blizzard in the dead of winter. The boys took in some air, but the spearhead pierce both of their throats at the same time. Cide didn't feel bad about killing. Not in the least bit, and that bothered Ciro...

The bodies turned to dust rather quickly and Cide turned on his heels. Once him and Ciro had a chat about killing. Cide said that it was like putting out a flame. You just did it. You don't think about it. You don't dwell on it. You don't look back and wish you could have let it keep burning. You just throw water on it and walk away. Cide truly had no feelings about killing, except joy, and that was how it was going to be forever. Cide didn't care about the lives of others. He only cared for himself, and that's why he was still alive and saving Ciro's ass.

He happily rejoined Methias and led him to the phone inside the building. "When you get back to the real world you and I need a little chat. So head to Central Park, and meet me there tonight at nine. Insert your card and pick up the phone, that's how you get home." He smiled and looked Methias up and down. "Not totally my type...but you may worm your way into your own category yet, Methias." He playfully squeezed Methias' rear and used his Strength Rise to run out the building in a blurr.

:: EXIT ::

Moving his hands behind his head, Methias leant his head backwards, looking up at the dull cloudless sky once more. Above where the clouds should have been, the blueness penetrated the eye's of all the onlookers. The whole two of them. It was truly a strangely magical place, and it almost felt like home. A home where he should have been born. With the two of them, it almost felt like pure freedom. Smiling a real smile for the first time in years, he looked up to narrowly dodge the wall standing infront of him. Turning around, he noticed a distinct lack of the man who was escorting him. Apparently Methias had ignored his earlier words, and carried on to the building alone. The things people did while day dreaming. However, he wasn't too bothered. Not much did bother him any way. He just wanted to know more about this place, and what it was that bought him here.

Looking around the building, it was a bit too similar to the building he was in before. A wreck. Nothing was worth looking at, to say the least. Shrugging, he had no idea what he was looking for, so he moved to a seating position. It was time to wait. His eye's continued to scan the area, hoping something interesting would pop up. Nothing did. Typically. Dull and lifeless. As if the world was standing still. Not even spinning. It was facinating, but Methias knew one thing. If this was the future, he sure as hell was going to stop this happening. He may have dislikes humanity, heck, some could say he even hated it. But he wasn't going to let the world die because of his kind. Yes, he was smart enough to reach this conclusion so quickly. It just made sense. The world could have only been affected by someone of considerable strength, and to have that much strength, then the secrets must have lied within "PSI", and potentially Exile.

However, before his mind could wonder adrift much more, the man who was previously with him had made his return, although there was something different about him. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was definately a difference there. Perhaps it was his sense PSI noticing the difference, or perhaps he could just tell. He didn't know the answer. He didn't really care. Moving from his seat, he got up, and made his way towards the man. Without a word being said to oneanother, they made their way to a phone box. He then spoke, and oddly, the way he spoke seemed different aswell. Less profanity, and a bit less murderous intent in his voice. He gave him the instrutions on how to get home, and to meet him at nine that night. Making his way towards the phone, he felt his rear being squeezed, before the man disappeared in a blur. "Ooo, easy tiger." he said, a smirk on his face. With that, he placed the card into the machine, and picked up the phone.

And then the world went blank. For a few moments, there was nothing. Then there was something. He was in a tower block, used to home those who couldn't afford a proper house. Looking around, he noticed how the halls were decorated with white paint. How things would change. Even the carpet was destroyed in the future. Shrugging, he moved towards the entrance. As he approached the way out, he noticed a clock. It was five o'clock, he had four hours to kill. But firstly, he wanted his bike. That meant a nice journey back to his starting point, then to make his way to central park when the time was right. But first, he needed something to eat. Luckily, there was a café near by. Dinner, bike, meeting. He would sleep well tonight.

:: EXIT ::