Aberrant: Children of Heaven - Chapter One: All Together Now

[The Story Guide]

The shadow man glanced in surprise at Eddie, his eyes black pools of nothing, just before the manga creator grabbed him and pulled him up off the floor. The gun clattered to the floor as he flailed in the Eddie's hold, throwing both their centers of gravity enough to twist Eddie's throw: instead of throwing him against the wall and then being able to pin him, the shadow man's wild movements wrenched the toss into the center of the room, chucking him against the edge of the strange hole that the others were ducking through. For a moment it looked as if he'd just slam against the side of the portal like a wall, but then he began to scream and split against the edge of the tear in space. It only took a few seconds for him to die as he fell into two pieces, one in each location.

John had made it through with Moira, leaving only the half shadow-man and the Asian intruder on the other side. Those already in the goth teen's bedroom were just noticing the warm glow of morning sunlight seeping through the curtains that draped the windows in the room.

***********************

It was just a little after six in the morning when Xavier got his first call on his new phone. Well, his first text. It was a curt message:

Wake up. You were to be with her already. No more games with counter girls. Go to this address. An address followed for a house in Tacoma; if he left now he could be there in twenty minutes. It was pretty clear that he was to leave now.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Eddie's unusual calm shattered at this gruesome reaction to his throw manifested itself. He froze, his eyes going wide at this scene. A second later, his brain took over, propelling him through the portal and after his quarry, the red-headed woman.

On the other side, he stopped again, quite lost. "I kilhed him," he said in his accented English before his legs gave out and he sat down on whatever was underneath him.

[Adrian Moss]

"Okay asshole," Xavier muttered, "If you weren't paying me so much I'd tell you to stuff it."

More muttering and cursing followed as he headed down to the garage. Being told who he could and couldn't play with was deranged thinking in his opinion. Besides, it wasn't like he was going to be playing the bad boy on this assignment. Damn the girl, but she would probably expect monogamy and single partner sex. How pedestrian and unimaginative.

'Well,' he grinned. 'Maybe he could change her too. With his newfound abilities maybe he could twist her around so that anything was possible. All he had to do was find her sweet spot and go from there.

The car roared to life, dreary beat that it was, and Xavier took off down the highways. He drove fast enough to make the drive less than monotonous, but not so fast as to draw the attention of law enforcement. He didn't want to be rising up on anyone else's radar right now.

Not having any onboard navigation (he had been poor), Xavier had to stop by a gas station, fuel up, and get a map to this burg and pinpoint the address. Then he had to drive there, which was a hellish trip into the suburbs much like he had run away from. He found the street and rolled up to house, looking for any lights that might be on ... say something that might show that anybody was home.

Xavier got out of his car and looked around, down the street, and back to the house, studying it. He needed to make his move now, less he fall back asleep in his car and she found him. He preferred having the advantage.

Click to reveal..

Perception+Awareness (17:33:04) ChatBot: (Adrian) rolls 5d10 and gets 9,2,8,8,5 = 3 successes!

[Zoey Black]

Zoey nearly threw up as half a ninja came flying through her gateway and landed on her bedroom floor oozing blood all over the rug. Only the thought of having to explain to both her parents and the cops why there was half a dead guy in her room kept her from freezing up. Instead she did the only sane thing possible in this insane situation. She grabbed a bundle of towels and tossed them at the pooling blood to keep it from spreading. Freakin hell, how do I get off this roller coaster?

She wanted to stop the blood before it could stain something else, but when she got closer to the corpse to wipe up the blood it was too much and she ended up throwing up onto one of the partially blood soaked towel. The smell of the man's insides was more than she could take.

[The Story Guide]

Standing outside the house Xavier caught the barest hint of movement from an upstairs window. Other than that, the house seemed absolutely still and silent; that was odd in and of itself. Other houses in the neighborhood were starting to stir, soccer moms and cubicle dads rousing sleepy children for school and retrieving morning papers.

[Adrian Moss]

Fortune favors the bold.

Xavier strode up the walkway to the door and rang the bell. No matter who opened the door, the young charmer was sure he could talk his way inside. From there, he would locate the lady with the blazing red hair and win her confidence. He had just the plan. All he needed was the right opportunity and if one didn't arrive, he would create one.

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira let out a little noise of fear as half of the body fell through. She could feel a surge of nausea well up in her too, but she fought it back through sheer force of will. After the girl had finished throwing up, she set the book down on the bed and pulled her back gently, away from the body and the smell, as the Asian man came through the gate.

"It's alright lass, we're safe.. I think. Are ye' lads okay? Is anyone hurt?"

She glanced around at the two teenage boys, John, and the Asian man who had come through after them, her eyes flickering back to the still open portal.

"Is there anyway ta' close that thing, Zoey darlin'?"

[Zoey Black]

Zoey released the gateway as she collapsed into Moira's arms starting to sob. What was she going to do. Her parents might still be home and if they heard all this racket they would pound on her door demanding to know what on Earth was going on. She could hear her mother's shrill voice in her head saying the worlds and imagine her father's disapproving stare, and that was without even considering the dead body. It took an effort of will to swallow down the bile that tried to rise up again. She didn't want to embarrass herself any more than she already had. Holy crap, she had to get the dead guy out of here. Someplace where the cops wouldn't find it or if they did they wouldn't come here looking.

She pulled away from Moria's comforting hug and tried to forget the circumstances for a moment and concentrate. It took a moment but she manage to open another hole, this one somewhere out in the middle of the pacific ocean. She swallowed hard again and tried to look anywhere but at the body. "Someone please push that thing through and the towels and rug too. I... I can't look at it right now." She couldn't look at any of them at the moment. How could she ever look Sebastian or Valentine in the face again after loosing her lunch in front of them like that.

And then the doorbell rang. "Holy shit, I hope it's not the cops. There's no way I can explain the blood! Who would be ringing the bell at this time of morning?!?" She was about to do it herself anyway despite her aversion but Eddie Izumi, holy crap how'd he get into her bedroom? He disposed of the body. The floor was stained a bit and it would take some serious chemicals to get the blood up but for now she could always say it was old from when she had messed up on a piercing. Yeah, that might work. In the mean time she grabbed some clothes from the hamper and threw them on the floor over the stains and let the new hole disappear.

"Uh, I don't want to answer the door. What if it's not the cops but more of those bad ninjas?" Even as the words came out of her mouth she knew she'd just made even more of a fool of herself. *Ninja's wouldn't ring the doorbell you idiot!* She took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure. One thing was for sure, she wasn't answering the door.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Silently, Eddie moved to clean up his mess. With effort, he rolled up the body in the rug it was lying on, trying to think of it as a piece of meat and not a half-a-human. Slowly, he pushed it out the hole Zoey had made, rolling it sideways to fit through the round gate. He sopped up the blood with the towels and tossed them through as well, then realized he'd dragged the sleeves of his shirt in the blood. Oddly, it was this that nearly cost him his control; he nearly vomited at this violation of his person. Silently thankful that he'd worn a t-shirt under his dress shirt, Eddie stripped the soiled shirt off as well and tossed it into the ocean.

With that done, he turned back to Zoey and nodded. "Someone should get the door," he said hoarsely, swallowing back bile. Looking up, he glanced at those gathered. "Do I need to do it?"

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira shook her head slightly, and took a deep breath.

"Nae.. I got it. Finish cleaning up the mess as best ye' can. If ye got ammonia and detergent, use some o'that. Blot up what ye can first. Use white towels. Then try the detergent an' a brush.. brush from th' outside in. Then use some ammonia an' let it sit fer a minute, lass. The more ye get up now, th' better. I'll see who's at th' door.."

She glanced at the Asian man, and took a breath.

"Ye seem ta know how ta handle yerself lad.. come wit' me, but stay outta sight, alright? Just in case."

With that, she headed out the girl's door and down the stairs, trying to stay calm.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Hai." Eddie nodded and shakily followed her. "I have a strange question," he said in awkward English, wishing that these people knew Japanese. "Are you named for bitterness?" He was sure that he had the right woman, but he required assurance. Things were mad right now; he had to know that he was at least in the right place.

[Moira Fitzgerald]

She stopped and glanced back at him in surprise. After a moment, she let out a breath and nodded slightly.

"Aye, lad. M'name is Moira.. it's Gaelic for "bitter". My Ma' was gonna name me Mary Kathleen, after me mamó.. m'grandmother, that is. But bless her, she died th' day afor' I was born in an accident, an' never got ta' see me. So it was a bitter day fer me Ma', an' she named me Moira Kathleen instead."

She hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth to question him just as the doorbell rang again.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

The man nodded, as if he'd expected her to say exactly that. "You should answer," he said softly, moving back so that he was just on the other side of the corner. So it was true, he mused, pressing himself against the wall and waiting to jump forward at the first sign of trouble.

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira nodded, and continued down the stairs. When she reached the landing that overlooked the front porch, she drew in a sharp breath of surprise.

Sweet Adonis, it's the last man from the drawing. An' don't he look like him, too? Adonis, that is.. Christ, hold it together girl. This ain' th' time ta' care about good lookin', now is it?

She took a nervous breath, and hurried the rest of the way down the stairs. She stopped at the front door and smoothed out her hair, trying to look calm. Her palms were sweaty from fear and adrenaline, so she wiped them on her skirt slightly before unlocking the door and opening it. She looked at the man levelly, arched a brow at him, and spoke.

"Well, ye'll be the last of 'em, I hope. Come on in, lad.. we've been waitin' on ye, I suppose."

The world has gone mad. Or I have.

[Wa'ne]

If he hadn't been present at the slaughter of animals on the farm, he probably would have lost his lunch right next to Zoey. As it was, he went into mute shock at the gruesome display and just stood there and stared at the 'half-man' as the warm, sewer-like smell wafted through the room.

When the 'remains' were finally disposed of, he finally snapped out of his daze, tears welling in his eyes. I just want to go home.

Just as Moira and the new arrival went downstairs, Sebastian finally took a look around at everyone. "Was that Eddie...Eddie Izumi!?" he blinked and shook his head in disbelief. Was he in the picture?

The turmoil of emotions were setting the boy off into a frantic state, this was far too much, far too fast and the flood of water was seeking the easiest outlet.

Click to reveal..

Weather Alteration

(23:27:10) ChatBot: (Skins) rolls 4d10 and gets 4,9,7,6. [2]

Escalating weather towards a storm 2 levels

"I WANT TO GO HOME!"

Sebastian's yell was heralded in with a crash of thunder that sounded far too close for comfort.

[Valentine Cormack]

Valentine had tripped over the carpet in Zoey’s room the moment he literally jumped through the warp. Unfortunately it sent him directly into her dresser where he bumped his head and lost consciousness for the briefest of moments.

When he came to he had missed half of the drama that had been going on in Zoey’s room. He only saw Sebastian and Zoey in a half state of shock and suddenly felt very displaced. Surely it was all his fault and maybe he’d be better off if he left. His dark thoughts got interrupted by Zoey’s breakdown though. He couldn’t leave her alone and it broke his heart to see her so distressed.

He slowly approached his new friends tilting his head to the side and making a sad compassionate face. If Zoey let him he would place his hands on her shoulders – he was incapable of saying anything since the situation overwhelmed him.

[Adrian Moss]

He stepped into the hall and shut the door behind himself.

"Worth the wait," he whispered then realizing he had spoken too loudly, Xavier added, "You. You are well worth it meeting you in person. Before they could say anything else.

"Let's meet the others. I only know of you."

Following Miora up stairs was a burden he would bear, and beat yet again, as often as he could chase it ... the opportunity that is. Nothing hear had yet to suprised him, thought. If he could keep things moving he would still keep the momentum going.

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira looked at him curiously, and for the first time since this whole craziness had occurred, it dawned on her to wander exactly who was orchestrating all this. If the man in the visions had to speak to her through the visions, then who had gotten the book to her? Who had informed the others? From what she had seen, Moira knew the teenagers had just come to her because she'd known them. Her thoughts were interrupted by a clap of thunder and a shout from Sebastian upstairs. She flinched slightly, and ran a hand across her face.

"Ah'm gonna give the lad a momen' with his friends, an' hopefully they'll calm 'im down a bit. Otherwise I might hav'ta give him a good slap - he's nearly a man grown, an' he's actin' like a wee bairn."

She motioned in Eddie's direction, indicating that he should show himself.

"Now.. how did ye two lads know ta' find me? It's not like we've ever met b'fore. I know ye' from the book, but neither of ye' seem ta' have one o'those, now do ye?"

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Again, Eddie wished that she spoke Japanese. With the conflict over, his natural shyness was reasserting itself. "I was given a picture," he said, bowing, "and a riddle to find you."

[Zoey Black]

Zoey was startled out of her shocked state by Sebastian's shout. "Jeez Sebastian, chill, can't you see there's some heavy duty shit going down? And you are just as much a part of it as I am or any of the rest of us. Or didn't you notice the big bolt of lightening just now. Calm down and get control of yourself before someone gets hurt." She glanced at the pile of clothes hiding the blood stain on her floor, "Someone else anyway. Something bad is going on and we're right in the middle of it, our best bet is to stick together not go running off alone. Take a few deep breaths and talk to Moira when she comes back and if you still want to go home after that I'll make a..." She paused a second to try and decide on what to call her openings. "...A warp for you."

The outburst seemed to pull her out of her funk, and she gave Valentine's arm a squeeze as she moved past him to the bathroom to get some cleaning products. She came back with some bleach and a couple other cleaners and another couple towels. Once she began cleaning she was happy to find that the highly polished floors made the cleanup much easier than she was expecting. The blood had stayed on the surface thanks to the floorwax, and once she was done with the cleaners she didn't think anything would show up under UV light or that anyone could find any DNA evidence. She had seen her share of the True Crime shows on TV since her boyfriend, ex-boyfriend that is, was a petty criminal. More than once her own caution had kept him from getting caught, and she wasn't going to have CSI locking her away for being sloppy.

Moria, Eddie and an new guy, a really really hawt older new guy entered her room just as she finished and tossed the towels through yet another gateway into another part of the ocean. She really needed to find a convenient volcano that had open lava... that would be the perfect evidence disposal location.

She used some hand sanitizer and washed her hands very clean a couple times keeping the bathroom door open to hear what was said.

[Adrian Moss]

Xavier walked in and looked around at the chaos. No one was in charge here. No one knew how much thier lives had changed - not really - and no one knew how to handle the situation. He reached out and gave Miora's hand a squeeze.

"Okay?" he whispers, Letting the question lie.

Xavier looked around the room trying to make eye contact. If someone even attempted to give one back, he smiled brightly. If they were unmoved, he nodded seriously and moved on.

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira's sharp observational skills didn't miss the fact that the man hadn't answered her question, but other concerns were weighing too heavily on her mind for her to pay that fact much mind at the moment. She followed him upstairs, not really objecting to him when he took her hand. When they got inside the girl's room again, she squeezed back slightly, and glanced around at everyone.

"Good job, lass.. it looks good as new in here."

She turned to Sebastian, and she looked tired and distraught, but sympathetic.

"I know you want ta' go home, lad.. I do too. But they just tried ta' kill us at my home.. or me, anyway. Maybe they were after all o'ye, too. I'd send ye' home without battin' an eyelash if I thought it was safe.. but I'm afraid that whoever just sent those men after us might follow ye' there. And that would'na be safe fer ye' or yer family. If ye' want to go home, I can't stop ye. But we're all here now.. all of us from the pictures in the books, anyway. So let's at least try ta' figure out what the hell is goin' on before we start jumpin' th' gun, alright? Are ye' all goin' ta' be okay with that?"

She waited patiently, glancing between the three teenagers for their response, and giving John a little reassuring smile.

[Wa'ne]

"Fine." he said, sitting down on the bed and crossing his arms as he glowered. It would be pouting if he didn't look so mad. "Let's talk."

The sound of rain beating on the roof and against the windows only added to the atmosphere of his mood, making it quite clear, if it wasn't already obvious, that he didn't like how things were going.

[Valentine Cormack]

Valentine was slow to catch up on the events. He was still too confused and caught up by his performance. Maybe he was making things up and had lost his mind? It wouldn't surprise him anymore after all that happened in his life.

Even though he was in denial he couldn't ignore the facts - something was going on. They all had changed or something has changed them. He didn't notice how he subconsciously projected the image of the falling meteors and their spectacular light show on the ceiling of Zoey's room as he quietly murmured to himself in a melodic voice - almost as if he was singing.

"Look at the red red changes in the sky

Look at the separation in the border line

But don't look at everything here inside

And be afraid, afraid to speak your mind"

Click to reveal..

Echelon - 30 Seconds to Mars

There was a brief hint of a song playing in the background that matched the lyrics Valentine just sang. Suddenly he snapped out of his trance and looked at Moira. "Excuse me, what did you say?"

Either he was nuts or he simply didn't pay attention.

[Zoey Black]

Zoey sat down on her bed now that things had calmed down. Apparently her parents were already gone for the day having left early, or they had never come home the night before neither of which would have surprised her. "So, uh, you said something about us all being in a book Moira?"

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira sighed wearily, and nodded. Then she walked over to the bed, and picked up her book again gently. She glanced up at Adonis and the Asian man before realizing that she didn't know either of their names.

"I suppose ye' two should be takin' a look at this too.. after all, yer in the pictures. By the way, what should we be callin' ye? M'name's Moira.. an' ye?"

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Eddie was completely shocked into shyness. Fortunately, he remembered his bags and that jerked him out of self-absorption. "My bags!" he cried, then felt shame because there'd been people in the cop car. "And there were injured people in the cop car!"

He turned to the young woman with the bright blue eyes, and said, "Please... make your traveling hole again. I have to go back and help them!"

He needed his bags, too, before someone stole his sketchpad. He'd had that happen once. It had devastated him then, before he was an artist. Now, he wasn't sure it wouldn't be worse, this time.

[Adrian Moss]

Xavier watches the Asian man explode and follows along with what he's saying surpringly well. The guy looks so much like ...

"Moira," Xavier repeats, letting the name melt like sprakling honey off his tongue.

"I'm Xavier."

He moves up beside her and sits down playfully.

"What's this about the pictures?" he asks her then raises his hand for a moment's pause. He looks up at Wakiki,

"YOu know", he addresses the frantic man, "you look a whole lot like the artist Wakiki Izumi. Has anyone else ever told you that?"

Mind you, the guy looked a little too buff to be the man he was thinking about. Unless ...

The pools of his eyes turns back to Miora,

"Pictures you were saying?"

[Zoey Black]

Looking at Eddie, again wondering how he had gotten involved in this, "Uh, we just told Sebastian he should stick around until we talked things over. Seems like we should talk before splitting up again, and back there is where the crazy ninjas were. Wouldn't be fair to let you run off if we won't let Sebastian go."

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Eddie blinked at her, surprised that she was being so pedantic when there were people's lives at stake. For the first time in his life, he got angry, and not the kind of angry that he could suppress. "One porhice officer. One woman. Both unconscious in a car, rheft by those assairhants." His voice rang with the hard tones of samurai ancestors as he shouted for the first time in his life, "Their rhives are in danger! Open up the portarh! Nohw!"

[Zoey Black]

Zoey shrank back a little but looked to Moira to make a decision. Moira had just said they should talk before going anywhere and opening up another gateway to where the ninja's were without discussing it sounded like a bad plan to her. "You said they were unconscious, they are probably safer if we stay away from them. Call in an anonymous tip to the police and let them do their jobs. If you go back there now they will start asking questions about why you didn't call when you first saw them, and why you didn't help then. That's how they do things, then we could all end up in trouble. And don't forget there's another half ninja whose blood is soaking into Moira's floor, if the police start poking around she could end up in trouble. And please don't shout, what if my parents are home?" She made her little speech in a quiet and insistent if fearful tone. It was obvious she thought a great deal about avoiding trouble. She still looked to Moira for a decision.

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira's face blanched at the thought of people injured back at her home. She pressed her temples to her forehead with a sigh, but shook her head and turned to Zoey.

"Damn, yer both right. If people are hurt, we canna just leave them there. But we don' know if there were more, or if we'll be walkin' inta another trap, either."

She hesitated, stepping over to the window in Zoey's bedroom to glance outside. Somehow nature always seemed to soothe her when she was frazzled, and calm her mind. That was part of the appeal of her faith. And it did the same thing to her now.. it calmed her down enough to realize exactly what she was looking at. She turned back to them, and her pale Irish skin, though it didn't seem possible, was paler than before.

"It was dark when we left, wasn't it? No later than eight.. maybe nine o'clock? But now it's daylight..."

She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, and glanced at it briefly before looking back up at them.

"It's been almos' twelve hours since we stepped through the portal.. good gods."

She sank down onto the bed, looking a bit dizzy.

[Adrian Moss]

"Lean forward", Xavier whispered into her ear. He began to work on her shoulders, warm fingers kneading tired muscles and oppressed temples.

"People," he counciled, "better we take council about what we know, who we are, and what we do. Without knowing we are playing into the hands of our enemies and trust me, we have enemies."

"Stop reacting and start acting."

His eyes pierce those of Wakiki,

"People may need help, but we need to put things in context. Who here do you know? You are asking these strangers to risk themselves without knowing who you are. Is that really wise?"

[Moira Fitzgerald]

Moira shook her head, and shrugged off Xavier's hands from her shoulders. His touch had sent a warm shiver through her, and having that kind of reaction to a man who she'd only just met - and who seemed to know far more than any of them did - made her a bit uncomfortable.

"It's not even a question of puttin' ourselves at risk.. if it's been that long, whoever attacked us is most likely gone. But surely someone's noticed the police car.. if he hasn't called or reported in, they woulda sent someone after 'im. They might 'ave even foun' the body by now, or what's left of it. Shyte. Ah'm probably wanted fer murder or somethin'. It was in my apartment. An' how the hell did a few seconds turn inta' nearly twelve hours anyway?"

She took another deep breath, trying to stay calm.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

Eddie swallowed, feeling sick. It was all probably long gone. He tried not to think about the lost work; the impact to him was dizzying and he sat down. As his face paled, he remembered his manners. Turning to Zoey, he offered a surprisingly graceful seated bow. "My apologies for shouting. I was overwrought."

[Zoey Black]

Zoey shrugged, "It's no big. I understand. Maybe we should go back if it's been that long. See what the situation in Moira's shop is and get rid of the evidence if it hasn't been discovered. I'm kinda concerned about the time issue on my gateways. We could have driven there twice over in the time we lost. This time around I'll try and concentrate on time and see if I can make it instant travel." She looked questioningly at Moira.

[Wa'ne]

"My parents are going to be sooooo pissed." Sebastian said, his head falling into his hands. "I need to be home yesterday."

[Valentine Cormack]

"There are no coincedences.", Valentine suddenly said. "There never was. I think this all has a meaning but I don't have a clue why."

He looked at Zoey and Sebastian feeling more lost than ever. "Why us? We haven't done anything - it's more like things have been done to us..."

Valentine felt like he wasn't making any sense and wished he was far away from all this. Maybe he'd wake up and found himself being in Coma for the last 15 years or so and he was just reliving this again and again until he found a way out.

"Must find a way out...", he quietly murmured to himself.

[z-Wakiki Izumi]

"Perhaps, first, we should rhearn who we are," Eddie said softly. His eyes went around the room, going from the three teens to the three other adults. It took him another moment of observation to realize that one adult was like a child. It was an odd symmetry.

"I am Izumi Wakiki," he said with a nod to Adrian, acknowledging the man's earlier speculation. "My frhiends call me Eddie." He bowed again, and waited for the next introduction.

[Wa'ne]

"Sebastian Knight, or Skins as you know me Eddie." he said through his fingers, where his head still rested.

The rain continued to pour, thundering on the roof in an attempt to drown the house.