[INSIDE MICHAEL BLOCK'S LAB]

The hum and bubbling of chemistry equipment filled the lab as Michael was quietly studying his documents. He sports a puzzled look on his face, thinking of the person he encountered within his travels to pick up more equipment for his anti-corruption research. Pondering, he peers at a CCTV he set up to monitor the person from a safe distance.

• Michael - Hmm... she did seem like she was in dire straights with all the injuries she had. Though, by the time I brought her to the lab, it seemed like she healed up pretty significantly. Maybe I was hallucinating... head was killing me on the walk back home. It felt like... I was experiencing my corruption taking over.

He shook his head in disbelief and went back to his studies. Michael peered through the windows lost in thought as the lab was bathed in the afterglow of the sunset. The fatigue was setting in, and was his cue to turn in for the day.

• Michael - *YAWN*. I'll start running some tests tomorrow. There's a lot on my plate to worry about, and the last thing I need is to make a mistake to set me back. The quicker I can get rid of this corruption, the better.

Unbeknownst to him, the strange woman was starting to wake up. In a sheer panic, she started to thrash around on instinct, as if she felt like she was restrained. She looked around her surroundings before turning her attention to her discolored hand. She clasped her hand as pain started shooting through her left half of her body.

• ??? - Where the hell did I go? Where the hell am I?

She got up from the gurney she was laying upon and started looking for a way out. Fortunately, the door was unlocked. Unfortunately, the pain was beginning to intensify. The corruption started to exacerbate at an alarming rate, with her hand becoming more and more monstrous as time progressed.

• ??? - I have to get out of here. I must... *strained* get to him. I need answers before... I lose myself.

The corruption was slowly encroaching with a mind of its own within her, but the stranger exhibited a strong enough will to fight it off. However, there was a strange magnetism that steered her on a collision course with Michael. Despite not knowing where she was, it almost seemed like second nature in tracking him down within his lab. It was at that moment that a simple turn around the corner became a snap encounter between her and the tired Michael Block heading to bed. In a swift motion, she snatched him from around the corner with her right hand, deliberately avoiding her left, corrupted hand that mutated into a calcified claw with cybernetic tracks running up her arm. Her breathing became increasingly labored from the sheer pain of resisting the influence of the corruption. Michael, however, surrendered easily to the influence.

• Michael (Corrupted) - My, you poor thing... can't seem to tame the one within? Certainly, a vessel of your capabilities should be able to resist further just like he did, but you are merely struggling with a fraction of that.

• ??? - S-shut up... I need to... find a way out... of here... I need to meet... my other half.

• Michael (C) - Come to think of it, you have an eerie aura going on about you. It's almost as if I am speaking to Otsdarva right now. Perhaps someone took a page out of my book just like how I made Michaela. I'm sorry... HE made Michaela.

He points to his uncorrupted side in jest.

• Michael (C) - I have my reasons to watch over him. It's just not fun taking over without a challenge. He must become strong for the days to come after all. I'm just along for the ride. Riding shotgun, as humans say.

The woman hemmed Michael up against the wall. This time, her patience was worn thin. The claw she hid behind herself was now aimed towards his head.

• ??? - Exit... now.

• Michael (C) - If you're looking for a way out, just follow the signs to the main foyer. But... if you are looking for a way out of this dimension, I can't... exactly help you.

She put her claw away, and set Michael down. Though she wasn't happy, there was a sense of satisfaction from the answer she obtained. She proceeded to the main foyer with little to say other than:

• ??? - More than enough. I'll... take it from here.

As Michael watched the woman walk away into the darkness, he couldn't help but notice something peculiar about her.

• Michael (C) - *cough cough* My oh my... aren't you a potential troublemaker in the works? It'll be interesting to see what type of corruption you have. And I hope for his sake, he'll be ready. Noooot that I would have my hopes up *chuckles*.

​

Main Foyer

The quiet foyer was filled with the lone footsteps of the stranger. Heavy steps and labored breathing filled the silence. What accompanied her was also a strange hum emanating from her claw. She grabbed her hand as a shooting pain caused her to reel and kneel to the ground. She could feel a sense of self being lost, only to feign the influence. As a sign of attrition, she punched the ground with her claw in a closed fist, leaving a significant fissure onto the ground. However, that attrition proved to be for naught as her left eye and arm glowed with such intensity, that it lit up the foyer. In a long, diagonal swipe, the stranger cleaved space itself, creating a rift.

• ??? - Mark my words... you will not have your way. I'm... more than happy to make you work for it!

She tore into the rift, maiming the very fabric she tore and entering it. There was no telling where that rift would take her until she reached the destination. From that point onward, it was a one-way trip that only she was willing to take a chance in.

​

In Delphinium's Hangar