Rivals in the Sky [A Maximum Ride RP]

"Ah, well, it seemed longer than that; oh well," Fawn said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. "And yeah - he somehow got separated from the group, but we found him. It was great to find him also."

"Uh.... do you mind helping me find my bag? I dropped it while we were fighting a group of Erasers. And did I mention that we were attacked?"

"That would be partially my fault. Talon told me to get you all outta there, and I sent the message, but I didn't stay long enough to make sure everyone got it." Edge said, frowning and crossing her arms. She lifted an eyebrow at Fawn's words, "You were attacked?" She knew she shouldn't be surprised, but still she wished she'd been there. "And yes, where was it that you last remember having it?" the avian teen asked.

Gamer continued to munch on his burrito, as he walked through the forest. "Uh, should I call out to them or something? There might be other Erasers nearby..."

He stopped to think about this for awhile, then directed to his attention to his burrito, and took a huge bite out of it. Definitely not calling them. he thought, and kept moving.

The avian was completely lost. The shrubbery and trees all appeared to be the same to him. Staying calm was easy, as he had plenty of burritos and taquitos left in his bag to keep him satisfied. Then, he saw another bag between two tall maple trees.

"Hey, that's Fawn's bag. Good, she can stop freaking out now or whatever." Gamer said as he walked over to the bag. "Henh. She won't notice a few tacos missing. That Eraser totally ruined mine anyways." the winged teen thought with an evil smirk. He added some of Fawn's food to his bag, and then went back to searching for the others.

(GAH! I am so so so Sorry you guys! I've been rather distracted the past little while (what with plague being down and all) Anyways, I've been cooking up some good schemes and the like, so my 'absence' hasn't been totally unproductive. And once again I am so sorry for not posting!

Anywho, onto the post!)


Talon snorted, nearly chocking on the pizza she was eating.

Jeez, this guy’s possessive of his fruit.

She coughed, thumping herself in the chest with a hand, before swallowing hard, making her eyes water. She blinked quickly, before cramming the remainder of her pizza into her mouth.

Okay…next up, shower, clean up these clothes and then… She swallowed, her steely eyes flicking between Merlin and Rift. A barely audible sigh escaped her lips. And then I need to decide what the hell to do about Rift.

The flock leader pushed her chair out and stood, a determined expression fixing itself on her face.

“Okay, I’ve had enough to keep me going for the next little bit. So, the next most pressing matter for me is a shower and getting these,” She gestured at her grimy, torn up, bloodstained clothes. “cleaned up.”

She shifted her weight, before focusing her gaze on Rift. “So I’m gonna need bandages, towels and for you to point out your bathroom.”

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Akia’s smile only widened at the sight of the whitecoat on the screen.

“Everything went as expected. Epsilon performed exceptionally well. The Prey stood no chance, and there is the likely possibility that they are down one member. However, I was unable to confirm this, as my orders were to observe the fight then report back to you.”

She glanced back at the recombant they were speaking of, her predatory eyes gleaming in the dim light.

“All in all, I believe Epsilon is ready for the Hunt.”

{S'okay. As long as the schemes are really cool and stuff...and involve us getting to the city soon...also, could you PM avatardestiny and make sure that she's actually watching this topic please?}

(Dun worry, my friend, they can get to the city soon as we wrap up some stuff with Rift(Is very important to the schemes). And aye, I can do that.)

((I'm here! I'll try not to rely on those darn automated emails and check here regularly. Thanks for the heads-up Shadow!))

It wasn't until Talon mentioned showering that Merlin realizes how filthy he felt. It wasn't a new sensation, of course; he was used to going weeks feeling like he had a second skin made of grime. But that didn't mean he enjoyed it. Anytime he got a chance to shower with real, blessed running hot water, he would pounce on it.

But, he reminded himself, Talon needed it much more; for medical purposes, not just relaxation and cleaning. The terrible wounds she'd gotten the other day needed to be rinsed off or they could get infected, no matter what pharmacy goop they put on them.

"Don't waste all the hot water," he told her teasingly, taking advantage of her leaving the food to commandeer the last pieces of pizza. He wasn't taking any chances on running out of calories anytime soon, not with the danger of that monstrous thing lurking out there. Then he realized that if Talon was going to shower, he was going to be here alone with Rift. That couldn't be good, he thought darkly, and somewhat nervously.

IC: Rift

Tossing the apple up in the air, Rift cast Talon a casual glance as he caught the fruit once more. "Bathroom?"

Inserting half of the massive apple into his mouth, the bat hybrid easily tore it in two, and proceeded to swallow the half he had chosen to devour. "S'right there, angelcakes." He gestured to the door, as he popped the second half of the apple into his mouth, and sent it on it's way to his stomach.

Talon frowned, a tickle in th back of her mind making her think she was forgeting something important.

Probably nothing. You're just tired still, that's all.

"You two play nice while I'm gone."

She paused momentarily to grab the bag of banages and the other medical crap that Merlin and Rift had left in the main room the previous night before heading off to the bathroom.

She shut the door behind her and dropped the bag on the counter, giving her self a quick once over in the mirror.

Well...here's to hoping the shower helps, becuase right now I look like I was mauled by a bear.

She sighed and shucked her shirt, dropping it to the floor.

"Okay..." She set her teeth, knowing that it was going to freakng hurt when she ripped the bandages off. She grabbed the edge of the first one and set to work.

Every few moments a loud curse could be heard coming from he bathroom, indicating another bandage beig ripped off.

Lily landed on the outskirts of town and folded her wings in. She looked around and cursed herself for being so impulsive.
"Dammit, i forgot to think of how i'm actually going to find them, i cant just go around knocking on doors and asking for mutant birdkids who call themselves Talon and Merlin. How am i gonna find them?" She asked herself, but nonetheless she began wondering around the streets, trying to look like she knew where she was going.

Merlin winced sympathetically at Talon's muffled cries of pain from the bathroom. He resisted the urge to go and make sure she was okay; Talon would definitely not thank him for helping, especially if she wasn't clothed.

To take his mind off her injuries, Merlin thought about the rest of the Flock. It killed him to think that they were stil hunkered down in a dank cave somewhere, waiting for he and Talon to come back. Sure, they were all competent kids, but they needed leadership...they needed to be whole. They were a Flock. Were they getting enough to eat? Were they getting along? Were they hurt? Were they even now being hunted by that monstrous flying disaster machine?

Merlin drummed his fingers uneasily on the tabletop. He was thinking like a goddamn father...but he couldn't help it. Being a part of this Flock had aged him prematurely...he found himself wondering about the safety and welfare of a bunch of avian-hybrid kids when most guys his age concentrated on cars and girls, video games and college. He kept his eyes on the table, unwilling to look at Rift. He didn't really feel like starting a conversation. And then, that one thought that kept going around in his head. How is this guy ever going to be one of us, if he doesn't seem to give a crap about anyone other than himself?

Then he thought of something fairly simple that seemed a safe question to ask Rift. He was so desperate by now that he was willing to take the risk. "Do you happen to have any books?" he asked the bat-hybrid.

Rift glanced over at Merlin, his redish eyes dull. "No. I have better things to do with my time than read a stupid book about someone who never existed." Stretching in his seat, he yawned lazily. "Christ, haven't been up this early in...ever. You guys need to be quieter in the mornings..." Standing up from his seat, the hybrid slipped away into one of the rooms.

Emerging a moment later, Rift held a strange guitar in his hands. It looked like a battle-axe, and the neck seemed to be the shaft. It's edge gleamed in the morning light, making it look as though he had actually taken the time to sharpen the thing. Casually tuning the guitar, he took a seat on the far side of the room, and looked to Merlin. "Learn to play an instrument, kid. It's more productive, and you can make a crap-load of cash off of it."

Merlin looked away, annoyed. Great. Do I have anything in common with this guy? And he'd actually hoped for a second that he might feel the reassuring touch of paper in his hands again. He liked music too, but he wasn't about to get into a discussion about it with Rift when all the bat-hybrid had for him was snide remarks.

And then there was that guitar. Merlin had very good reason to be wary of Rift holding an instrument of any type. This one had the charming quality of looking like a freakin' weapon to boot. And in Rift's hands, Merlin knew it could be a weapon; attacking and manipulating the mind and emotions. He fidgeted involuntarily in his chair. He really wished Talon would hurry up...everything about Rift; his power, his music, his red eyes, his razor features, his teeth; was totally unnerving. His very presence made all of Merlin's already hyperaware nerves ratchet up a notch.

"Productive..." he muttered, accidentally voicing aloud his thoughts about Rift's comment. When he realized he had spoken, Merlin knew he couldn't let it go at that. Deciding that he couldn't go on slinking around Rift, trying not to speak to him, he went on boldly. "Productive how? For making people do whatever you want? That's a great reason to learn an instrument."

Rift's eyes narrowed on Merlin, as his fingers casually finished tuning the impressive guitar. "Really now?" The bat hybrid leapt from the chair with savage grace, before slamming the edge of the guitar into, and through, the coffee table infront of him.

It was rather sharp.

"I play music, because it's what I'm good at, kid. Everyone is put on this fucking rock for a reason, and mine is to make music. I don't control people unless they bloody deserve it."

Merlin would have dearly loved to launch himself over the shattered table and claw his way out the nearest window at that moment. A couple things stopped him from doing this. First and foremost, he would not leave Talon. He would rather fight Rift than abandon a wounded Talon, especially to this freak. Second, as he stared at Rift with his light-lashed eyes open wide with stunned shock, he realized something. Rift had yelled at them quite a lot. He had glared and snarled and spat and shouted blistering curses, and now he'd slammed a very unpleasant looking instrument/weapon of destruction through the table. But he had made no move to lay a hand on them. He hadn't thrown a punch, or even tried a shove. And it had been the table that was broken, not Merlin's head. Granted, his musical ability was strength enough, but now Merlin had to wonder if Rift was more bluff than bite.

Now he held his hands up in the universal gesture of "Chill out."

"First off, I wasn't dissing your musical ability; you basically just brushed aside my hobby, my talent. What if I told you I was put on this 'rock' to understand what people are trying to tell us about life by writing books? No, wait, you'd just spit in my face." Merlin brushed his blond hair fiercely out of his eyes. "Second, I'd like to know how the hell Talon and I 'deserved' to be on the recieving end of your musical talents. Seems to me you do that 'cause you like to mess with people's heads. You like the power. Believe me, I damn well know about that."

Quivering a little inside, Merlin stood up and funneled a savage burst of heat into his left palm. He watched the air around it ripple in a heat haze, the skin glowing like woken embers. "You think I didn't walk around setting trees on fire, icing them into frost, when I found out what I could do? It was crazy. I was drunk with it. I loved having that power over nature, over people. But then I realized how bad it could be, how out of control it could get. I stopped playing God. I stopped using my power to make myself feel good." Merlin stared straight into Rift's terrifying red eyes. "I can tell you one thing, Rift. I don't know if I believe in God. And I won't preach to you and I sure as hell won't try to understand you. But I don't think we were put on this rock to play God."

Merlin sat down again in the chair, staring at the wreckage of the table. "By the way," he said, as calmly as he could, "Do you always break your own furniture just to prove a point?"

(*pants* This is, officially, the longest post ever. And thank you, Plague for your help!)

With a final curse, Talon ripped off the last bandage and let the bloody bit of tape and cotton fall to the floor.

Okay, now that you’re good and bleeding again, lets get in the shower and see if soap in these will make my day even better…

She growled softly to herself as she shucked the rest of her tattered and blood encrusted clothes, hissing as the movements made her freshly opened wounds twinge. She squinted at the mirror one last time before turning the water on and stepping into the shower.

As she grabbed the soap, her mind turned to another matter entirely: Where had she heard that name before? Far as she could recall, she had never heard it before. Yet, it sounded really freaking familiar.

Maybe you took brain damage or something when you were attacked. She set the soap aside, exchanging it for the shampoo. Or maybe the School fucked with your head so much that you’re blocking memories.

She frowned staring at the shower wall, her forehead creased in concentration.

“Angelcakes…” She muttered, running a hand down her face to momentarily clear it of water. “Where have I…”

Grey eyes widened and a floodgate opened.

Rough hands on her arm, hauling her forward so fast that she kept tripping over her feet. She was shaking, knowing that the whitecoat was dragging her off for more pain. More needles being stuck into her, more tests.

But she didn’t know why they had cleaned her. Or dressed her up in the dress. It had to be part of some cruel test, it must be.

All of a sudden, they stopped and she stumbled. The hand steadied her. They were standing before a door. One she’d never been through. The whitecoat punched in a code on a keypad next to the door. A soft beep sounded, and the door swung open. She was pushed forward into the room, and before she could do anything the door shut and the whitecoat was gone.

The toddler looked around, her grey eyes wide. Not with fear this time, but with curiosity and amazement. The room she was in was huge, full of colorful toys and stuffed animals. Soft music served as background noise, only adding to the wonder of this new place.

And at center of it all sat a young boy, playing with toy piano. He seemed to be trying to mimic the music. He wore a pair of overalls. He was unnaturally pale, even for the experiments that were locked up inside all their lives. A small flap of skin connected his arms to his body, and his overlong fingers danced across the toy piano’s keys. A grin spread across his features while he joyfully played.

And he had the biggest ears she had ever, ever seen.

She took a step forward into the wonder filled room. “H-hello?” Her small wings twitched nervously, half unfolded from her back. “D-do you live here?”

The steady tune of plinking was interrupted by a loud and harsh deep note, and the young boy's ears twitched. His head whipped around so fast his ears looked like they would come off, and his tiny red eyes focused on this strange new person. "No. I don't. Who're you?"

She jumped, her wings flaring out, startled by how fast he moved. “ ‘m Victoria. Who’re you?”

He blinked at her for a moment, before a grin came over his face, little fangs gleaming in the light. "Morgan. My names Morgan."

Talon put a hand to her head, falling against the wall as the memories continued to assault her.

”Check.”

She glared at her companion, her grey eyes narrowed. “You’re cheating, Twitch.”

He sighed heavily, moving his red eyes from the chess board to her face. “You can’t cheat at this game, Angelcakes.”

A small smile lit up her eyes as she chuckled. “You always say that!”

Talon’s eyes squeezed shut and she slid down to the bottom of the tub.

The door slid open and she ran in, leaving the whitecoat behind her grasping thin air. A smile lit up her face as she ran the short distance to her friend, only to stop short.

She frowned. “What’s that?” She raised a hand and pointed at the large purple bruise that surrounded his right eye.

He was quite for moment, as if in deep thought, before responding. “It’s nothing.”

“Are you…?”

He gave her a half-hearted smile. “Come on Angelcakes, lets play something.”
The water pounded on her bare back, but she didn’t feel it.

She was limping, being pulled along by a whitecoat again. Everything hurt. She was practically swathed from head to toe in bandages. Her eyes appeared sunken in, dark circles underneath them. Her eyes were dull, lacking their usual spark. But, she was getting to see Twitch again, and that was all that mattered.

The whitecoat stopped before the door and punched in the code. When it swung open she was pushed in, hard. She fell, unable to catch herself. She bit off a cry, and picked herself up, wincing with each movement.

There was an eerie silence to the playroom, as Twitch sat quietly in a small chair near the center of the room. His red eyes were cold and unearthly dull. There was barely a flicker of life in their crimson depths. "You okay, Victoria?" The voice was weak, as if it was a struggle just to from the sentence. "Didn't mess with you too bad, did they?" His head lifted slowly, revealing twin black eyes.

That grabbed her attention. Twitch never called her by her real name. She glanced up, concern written all over her face. “Morgan…?” Her own voice didn’t sound much better than his.

That's when she saw them. Horrible, gaping, some still bleeding wounds littered across his frame. His white fur was a sickening mixture of red and brown, his body vainly trying to stop the bleeding with clots, only to have them slip out of his wounds and get tangled in his once beautiful fur. It was hard to imagine that this had been the boy she'd grown up with. He coughed roughly into his hand.

Her own hurts were forgotten in an instant. She rushed to his side, limping as fast as she could. “Wha..What did they do to you?” She raised a hand, but stopped just short of touching his face. Her fingers were trembling, her eyes wide with horror and glittering with the first touches of tears.

"Hell if I know..." He sputtered, wiping the blood dribbling from his mouth. "...but that's not important right now...look, I just...just wanted you to know..." His hand slowly rose up, and clasped the side of her face. "...I'm...I'm glad I've got to know you fer so long...and...and I'm proud to be able to call you my friend..." His hand fell, and made a small waving gesture.

A tear slid down her cheek, confusion adding itself to the slew of emotions that twisted in her eyes. “Morgan… We’re..We’re gonna see each other again, right?” Her eyes searched his frantically, desperately wanting him to say yes. He was what made life bearable, what kept her going in this God forsaken place.

Behind her, the door swung open, and the sound of feet crossing the room announced the whitecoat coming back. Hands grabbed her arms, hauling her to her feet. The whitecoat turned, dragging her with him. She looked over her shoulder, craning her neck to keep her eyes on Morgan. “Right?”

A ghostly smile spread across his face, as his eyes watched hers. "Goodbye, Angelcakes."

The doors slid shut.

Talon’s eyes flew open, and she pulled herself to her feet.

“GOD DAMNIT YOU SON OF A BITCH.”

She ripped aside the shower curtain, and jumped out of the tub, almost slipping on the tile in her rush to get to the door.

However, she paused, her hand wrapped around the door handle. She glanced down at herself, then back at the door. “Right.” She turned and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around herself.

Once she was sure it was securely fastened about her, she threw open the door, causing it to bang against the wall, and dashed out.

Rift was about to respond, when Talon's shout echoed through the apartment. "Oh great, she's angry." He muttered, although a pleased grin was spread across his features.

Pulling his guitar back into his lap, Rift watched as she burst through the door clad only in a towel. He whisltled loudly, and his grin grew into a smile. "Damm, Angelcakes. You filled out quite nicely. And here I thought you would be as flat as a board your entire life." His eyes seemed to be rather alive for the first time that day, as they flicked up and down her barely clad form. Causally, they drifted over to Merlin.

"She deserves it, cause she fergot her best friend in the whole wide world. You were just collateral damage, plus, it's fun to make you angry. It's as easy as lighting a fuse on a cannon." Winking at the teen, he looked back to Talon.

"Miss me?"

"You..." Her eyes narrowed and she jabbed a finger at Rift.

She took a menacing step forward, a dark shadow cast in her eyes. "You son of a bitch. You..."

In the next second, she crossed the distance between them and crushed him in a hug. "God Damnit, Twitch, I thought they had killed you! I thought that you were dead!"

Her shoulders shook, but she gave no indication of crying.

"God damnit, I though they had taken you away..."

(Woah...did not see that coming. Props to both of you for coming up with that unexpected backstory. Way cool.)

Merlin felt the heat in his hand fizzle like a blown candle. There was no way he could sustain that heat when he felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over him.

Talon had screamed. She had run out here...totally naked. Merlin stared fixedly at Talon's left foot to deal with that particular detail. And Rift had said...best friend? Forgot? Talon had screamed...like she knew him. Like she had suddenly had a revelation.

Miss me? Twitch? Taken you away? What the hell was this?

And oddly enough, despite the hundred thousand questions that were suddenly boiling through him, Merlin realized that there was a sluggish fury racing through him too, like the undertow of a river. Rift had practically been leering at Talon. Merlin felt his wings give that weird little shudder that they made when he was deeply angry; like an involuntary twitch, or a pulsing neck vein. And Merlin had the strange feeling that it wasn't just the sense of heroism and chivalry he had absorbed from books that was making him feel like this. Quite suddenly, he wanted to dismember Rift in the most painful way possible.

But now Talon was hugging him. Merlin felt utterly out of his depth. Maybe this was a dream. Maybe Rift's pizza had been moldy or something, and now he was hallucinating.

"Talon?" he managed weakly. He didn't even know if she'd hear him, she seemed so overwhelmed. "Should I...should I be confused here? Because I am."

(Thanks! We worked hard on it.)

Talon let go of Rift, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh! Merlin, I'm sorry." She ran a hand through her dripping hair, raking it back from her face.

"This, err...Rift. He's Twitch. I used to know him back...back before I escape. We were best friends for a long time. But he up and vanished one day. Not too long after, I escaped. And..."

She frowned, scratching the side of her head. "You ever read anything on...I dunno, people blocking memories? Because...I think..."

She glanced to Rift, then back to Merlin. "I think that's what happened to me..."

Rift sputtered, taking several depth breaths. "Still have a vice grip, I see. Christ, you haven't changed a bit..." He glanced at Merlin, and smirked. "...well, except your taste in men, but who am I to judge?"

A light hearted snicker rolled from his lips, as he flopped back into his chair. "Nah. Dear old dad wouldn't have gotten rid of me. Not after all the time he wasted on me. I got out myself. Quite the adventure, might I add. I figured you woulda followed shortly after, but, I never got wind of you, so I moved on."

"You know him?" Merlin burst out. Talon was actually smiling. He had thought he had an ally in not liking Rift...and now she was suddenly all over the freak?

"Hang on..." Merlin closed his eyes and tried to process this. "You think...the School repressed your memories? Yeah, I've read of it. They hypnotize your brain into forgetting things...it's like they, or you, build a wall over certain stuff. And then only specific triggers can release them. So...he was your friend? Back then? You're sure?" Merlin didn't know why, but he almost wanted to think this was some trick.

"Um, not to be rude or anything..." Merlin looked fixedly at Rift. "But if she was your friend, why did you act like a complete ass to her...us...? You thought she forgot you on purpose? Or is that just your special way of showing affection?" Merlin didn't know why he was angry. Talon had just realized Rift wasn't actually a nasty freak, he was a long-lost friend. That should be a great thing; it should make things a thousand times smoother. But he didn't feel like it was.

"Saving her life, giving her and you food, letting you sleep in my house, and generally tolerate your cranky ass..." Rift casually listed, counting them on his fingers. He raised an eyebrow at Merlin. "The music control thing was hilarious, wether you two got it or not."

Placing his foot on Talon's rear, the bat gave her a push towards the bathroom. "Might wanna get dressed before you send the poor guy over here into a coma with your half-naked, glistening wet body." Winking at the avian boy, Rift slouched further into the chair.

"We can catch up once we've found your buddies."

Talon pressed her palms together, attempting to calm herself down.

"Okay, yeah. I think I blocked the memories or something." She shook her head, feeling overwhelmed.

"I thin-" She was cut off rather abruptly, stumbling forward after Rift pushed her. She yelped, her towel starting to fall as stumbled. She snatched it up, grabbing it before it could fall to far.

She shot glare at Rift over her shoulder, clutching her towel to her.

"I'd love to get dressed, but, I just got clean and my clothes are filthy. Got anything I can borrow until they're clean?"

Sighing heavily, Rift motioned towards his bedroom door. "Take your bloody pick. I don't need any of the shirts, so go freaking ape shit." The bat hybrid looked at Merlin, and grinned. "You're free to raid my closet too, if you need some new threads, cause those kinda stink, and have seen better days."

"As for me...I need a beer." Rising from his chair, the hybrid headed straight for the fridge, his smile staying strong.