The Stream of Time Carries Memories; Farther and Farther Away [Closed-Join With Permission]

"Well," Evangeline said, trying to lighten the mood, "you've got me beat in the tragic history department. Which is odd, since you met the scientists that met me. Not a good bunch of people," she shrugged, and her wings shifted uncomfortably as memories surged through her, most prominent the body of a small girl mixed and matched with Poochyena parts lying dead on an operating table. An ominous dread washed over her, and her eyes closed is silent respect.

She noticed Jonathon's hand reach for the weapon on his hip, and found it just about the right time to change the subject totally from touchy pasts. Arceus knows this kid probably has one too... "So," she started awkwardly, "I think it would be best if we disappear for a bit. Back at the hotel there were some cops taking statements, your rampage," she nodded toward Dark, "and your gunshot," she tilted her head toward Jonathon, "must have made some people panic and call them. And this," she spread her great white wings before pointing to Dark's covered ears, "aren't really descriptions they would have a hard time missing. It would probably be best to head out of the town's main areas."

Dark didn't exactly hear what Evangeline was saying. He kept swiping for a moment before he turned, staring at Jonathan. He saw what seemed to be a glow to him, and it wasn't like his. He started shaking a bit, his ears twitching whilst he began to see the guy as food. He had to act like he was alright though. "H, Hey. Can you step forward a second," he asked.

"Uh..." Jonathon said, looking back and forth between Evangaline and Dark again, not sure what to do. "Uh...I agree with Evangaline, let's get out of here." Jonathon didn't move though, not yet. He wasn't going to move first out of fear that Dark may try to murder him again. That, and the fact that he saw Evangline's aura. It was the strangest thing he'd ever seen. It was there, yet it wasn't. It was foggy and disjointed, like someone tried to blend together more then one aura into a person. The wings were strange, but this was stranger.

Evangeline was all-too familiar with the tone that suddenly overtook Dark's voice. Irritation pricked through her, and as she muttered, "We don't have time for this to happen again," she gathered her power and plunged the air around her into an unnatural cold. Particles of ice clung to her moist breath, and small flakes of ice gathered at her fingertips. Looking toward Dark, she willed for the ice to obey her, and a pair of handcuffs formed around the Dark Aura wielder's wrists. "I told you I wasn't messing around any more," she sighed to him. "Now let's go." She started walking farther up the beach and away from town until a stray thought crossed her mind.

"You know," she said, turning toward Jonathon, " you'd probably be safer if you don't tag along. Nothing against you, it's just," she flicked her eyes toward Dark, "you'd have to be able to protect yourself around us. We aren't exactly the safest people and due to... certain actions we've taken," a smile crossed her face as she remembered the excitement of blowing up the previous lab and hopefully burying her past for good, "we have quite a few enemies around. We never make many friends, wherever we are..." No doubt, these almost seemed like an echo of Summer and Magnus to Jonathon- leaving for his own protection against unknown forces. Though now it was his decision to stay or go.

Dark found his hands cuffed together by ice, him struggling a bit to get his hands free. When he found himself being dragged along by Evangeline, he didn't really protest. Ever since what had happened to them at the laboratory and shortly after, he had gotten it through that despite insanity or not, he was going to follow what she wanted done if it wasn't completely against his wishes. He just looked to her, the last piece of his aura that wasn't drained eventually finding itself going out, leaving him with another lapse and confusion. "Where are we going," he asked confusedly, him looking to the cuffs around his wrists. "What happened? I don't understand Evangeline." He heard her question to Jonathan, him blinking. "Are we running somewhere?" He wasn't sure why, but he saw a bit of frustration on Evangeline's face. "Are you annoyed?" "Why can't I remember the last few moments," he questioned himself mentally. "My aura was drained... At least, I think it is... And why does she look a bit frustrated with me..."

"Wait." Jonathon said, stepping forward and grabbing Evangeline's wrist. "I won't let you leave me. Not like...not like Magnus and Summer did. I came so far with them and they just left me. And...and I've just met you, another mysterious duo, and I'm staying with you. I can handle myself in a fight, I promise." Jonathon then realized he was holding her hand. He let go and blushed a little "Er...sorry. But really, I'm coming with you guys. You two aren't the only people with a traumatizing history. I just don't have anything on the outside to show for it."

Evangeline couldn't help but jump in surprise as a hand curled around her wrist, stopping her from walking. Turning and listening to Jonathon's words, she knew she had struck a nerve. I don't know who Magnus and Summer are, but they must have really messed him up. "Suit yourself," she said to him with a sly smile, "but don't say I didn't warn you."

Then, now directing her words toward Dark, Evangeline just shrugged. "Don't worry Dark, you just had a, uh, lapse in judgement. The cuffs are just a precaution." Glancing around, she noticedthat the main town was just a small silhouette of buildings against the sun. Content that they'd not be seen here, she sat down as the exhaustion of using her power finally became too much. Sighing, she couldn't fight it to let herself back up. "So," she said, trying not to give her obvious exhaustion away, "where do we go from here. Staying at our hotel is, well, out of the question." She chuckled.

When Dark heard Evangeline stagger one word, "uh," he knew that she wasn't exactly telling him everything. He decided to leave it be, him turning his head to stare back at the town when she did. When he saw her sit down, he noticed it was a bit different than she typically did.

"She's tired," he thought, having come to know her just as much as she knew him. He had ignored Jonathan's response to her, and he just sat down beside her. He knew the cuffs weren't going to be melted any time within the rest of the day. "I think we could just stay here," he told her, him setting his cuffed hands down in his lap again. "As always, I'll stay up to watch things... Not like I sleep during the night anymore as it is..." "More like I can't," he thought to himself. "It's so difficult to... It feeds me to some extent, more peacefully than killing someone. It's really calming."

Jonathon thought back to Summer's little house. He hadn't seen all of it, but he figured it'd have at least one more bed room besides the one he had woken up in. "I know a place we could stay." He piped in. "It's a little ways down the beach, but it's out of the way and it's empty." He said, looking off towards where it was. "It's just an idea."

"I'm fine with either," Evangeline replied with a wide yawn. Her exhausted eyes were becoming heavier and heavier, and she couldn't fight it forever. It was the one downside of her power, and why she didn't use it often. She hadn't used as much as it would take to knock her out for a day, so she would be fine after an hour or so nap. "It's up to you two if you want a roof over your head or not. I have a portable roof, so," she yawned instead of finishing her sentence, and turned her wings so that they sheltered the rest of her.

"I lived in nature a while... I don't care about a roof," Dark told Jonathan, him sitting back against the tree whilst he kept thinking to himself. "If you want to head to wherever you think is best, you can... We've pretty much already settled down." He then stared up at the sky and kept thinking, and if Jonathan was still capable of seeing aura, his would be gaining back strength from it.

"Oh...Well, unless you two have a better idea. I'd rather have a roof over my head. The only other place around here I know that's secluded is the lab." He stopped himself quickly. The lab, while mostly abandoned, was still kind of private. It was Magnus's and Jonathon had no right taking people there...did he? If they wanted to go though, he figured now he had to take them.

Upon the word 'lab', Evangeline's body involuntarily flinched. A surprised panic set in her eyes, and her head snapped to look at Jonathon. "Lab?" she asked, taking a deep breath in order to calm herself before continuing. "Is it still operational?" she was doubtful that the lab Jonathon mentioned was connected to that of which produced her, but it was better safe than sorry. Knowing all she could about this lab was better than knowing nothing. "What exactly went on in it?" she continued, "how do you know of it?" She shook her head to herself, I thought I was done with labs...

Dark twitched his ear upon hearing the word mentioned as opposed to the flinch he noticed Evangeline went through. He leaned his head down, him remembering the bad experience he had had with Evangeline and their old company. He looked to Jonathan, him disapproving of seeing Evangeline flinch from what the guy was speaking. he stood up and walked over to him, him baring a couple of teeth protectively over Evangeline. He was partially a wolf from his experiment, and he was loyal as one towards Evangeline after what they had experienced. He was trying to maneuver the cuffs from his hands, keeping his eyes on Jonathan whilst he stayed silent. He had clearly positioned himself to block Evangeline from Jonathan's view. He lost his sense of relaxing upon the mentioning of a lab as well. "What lab?"

"Well, it's kind of run down and the last time I was there i was getting chased by an absol. I didn't really see much of it besides some broken computers. There was an evil organisation that had gone through before I got there. They aren't an issue anymore though." Jonathon thought back to watching the leader of that group die, it was partially his fault... "There might be some more stuff there, I never really looked. If you're interested I can take you there."

Evangeline noticed the protective stance of Dark, and she shakily got to her feet. "It's fine Dark," she said, putting one hand on his shoulder, both to calm him and support herself to stand. "And I would like to check it out if it's not too much trouble," her mind wandered a bit, imagining what she may find inside. She was doubtful of any connection to the lab that created and tormented her, but it didn't hurt to check. She still doubted they were rid of those scientists for good, and if they had any connection to whatever bad guys Jonathon mentioned, it would be worth a look. "If it's fine with Dark, lead the way." She looked to Dark to see how he felt about it. He had been put through an ordeal by the scientists as well, so surely he'd want to make sure they couldn't hurt anyone too. Then again, she thought, it is Dark. He can be... unpredictable sometimes.

Dark didn't really seem to have any issues with it since it seemed that Evangeline wanted to go. However, he did protest slightly, turning his head from Jonathan and right to the angelic girl. "But Evangeline," he told her. "Can we really trust him? We just met him, and I've practically tried tearing his throat out twice." He did have his point, him showing a bit of concern. It was towards the fact they had just met Jonathan, but his expression showed a bit more concern towards the fact his aura was regaining its strength, and Evangeline taking them there had the potential to result in an issue. "Remember what happened last time? What if a leader is there? Remember that collar, that stuff they did?" He was referring to when the older scientist group had him serve them, even if it wasn't for long. "What's to keep this guy from taking us into a trap!"

"Come on." Jonathon said, starting to head towards the direction of the lab. "It's not a trap, by the way. At least...it shouldn't be. Last time I was there it was abandoned. Magnus and Summer are gone and so is the organisation that destroyed the computers is gone. It's safe." Jonathon said, being totally honest with the two. "If you'd rather not come Dark, that's fine."

Dark's words were like a bucket of water to Evangeline- uncomfortable, but necessary to wake her up. "It's fine Dark," she finally said after contemplating what to do, "I still want to go. If it is a trap, I can handle myself. I'd like to believe Jonathon, so I'm still going to go." She let go of Dark's shoulder and supported herself on her own two feet again. "Lead the way," she told Jonathon, then looked to Dark, "are you going to come?" She wasn't sure if it was wise, with Dark's edged words, but it would be a comfort to have him around, especially if his words were true. Two fighters were better than one, especially with her in her exhausted state.

Dark didn't want Evangeline to even go, but did he really have a choice? She wanted to go, and he certainly wasn't going to let her go alone. "Fine," he muttered to himself, him just walking to Evangeline's side. His hands were still frozen together with cuffs, so even if he had chosen to stay, what good would it have done. Referring to what he had said earlier, he began to think about things again whilst Jonathan led the way. He didn't completely trust him yet, just as much as he was sure Jonathan didn't trust him back. "Evangeline," he asked whilst they walked. "What if it is a trap? What if someone is there to capture us? What happens if they separate us? You're exhausted and I don't exactly have control of the one thing that's gaining more strength overnight."

Jonathon heard what Dark said, but figured trying to convince them it wasn't a trap for a third time, so he kept leading. The woods were slowly looking familiar to when he first started his journey and he came to the lab for the first time. Stepping through the last bit of trees he saw the familiar structure. It was a bit more overgrown then the last time, but almost the same. "Alright, this is the place." He said, opening the door. "You coming?"

Evangeline only hesitated for a moment, before turning to Dark and finding comfort in his presence. She knew if this was, in fact, a trap, she'd be able to find the strength to fight with him around. He gives her something to fight for, and with that, she could get through anything. "Yes," Evangeline replied to Jonathon with a nervous sigh. The facility didn't seem big, and that gave her some comfort. Much easier to escape. "Lead the way," she said to Jonathon, motioning forward before shooting a nervous glance toward Dark. Ready? she mouthed silently to him, asking it both for comfort for herself and him as well.

Dark had been feeling a bit of discomfort towards heading to the facility. When he finally got view of it, it was strange. "I... I feel strange here," he thought to himself, him looking down. He noticed that he had stopped momentarily, and he caught up quickly yet silently. He sniffed the air lightly, the scent numbing his mind to the point he couldn't even keep track of his thoughts temporarily. "I feel like I could find something here... But at what cost?" When he saw the doors open, he caught scent of the inside too, and it only made his thought more important to him. "I feel like we should prepare a bit more, but it doesn't seem like this 'Jonathan' or Evangeline want to wait on that..." He then turned his head to Evangeline hearing her question. "I feel discomfort here," he told her quietly, "Yet I feel something of importance is here..." He was afraid of what they would encounter or find, yet intrigued as well. Anyway, even if the facility looked a bit overgrown on the outside, it didn't really mean anything; danger could still be there. Add that to his earlier thought to himself about finding something, and he perked his ears up and shook the bandana from his head, and hopefully into Evangeline's hand. "But just to be sure a bit," he told her quietly. "Maybe I might get a bit of a memory jog from this... Who can tell what we forget with years of life? Evangeline might learn something about herself too... So it might not be all bad, I guess..." His opinions seemed to be beginning to change on the lab.

"It's not just you." Jonathon says to the two of them. "I felt something off here the first time I came too. Sure, there was also an absol that was trying to get me to leave prowling. She's not around this time though, I'm fairly certain of that." Jonathon hoped that the Evangaline he'd come to know, the absol, wasn't here. Then he might wind up chasing after Magnus again. "I never checked out what was this way last time I was here." He said, heading down a hallway that was new to him.

Evangeline followed close behind Jonathon and shot a curious look toward Dark. Something was... off about him, as if being in the lab was causing some sort of reaction. That's odd, she thought, I imagined myself as the one who gets a reaction from this place, not him. She turned her head and saw an aged door to her right. Curious, she stopped following Jonathon, turned the handle, and yanked the door open with a little effort. Without taking a look to her other companions, she stepped inside and examined the room.

It wasn't as exciting as she'd thought it would be, just looked like a ransacked library of files. She had no clue as to what experimenting went on here or if it had malicious connections to the lab that haunted and created her, but surely one of the files would give her the answers she sought.

Sitting down next to a scattered pile of files, apparently whoever had gone through them had deemed then not what they wanted, Evangeline grabbed the topmost file and began scanning its contents. Finding nothing understandable or interesting, she set it down and grabbed another. She continued this, working down the files while the others did... whatever it was they were doing.