-Aizaru is walking through London, browsing stores, going to restaurants... Stealing. He hasn't been caught yet. That's because the Darkrealm is extremely convenient for thievery. That's how he stole the Blackbird they got here with, after all (it was Gwen's idea.)-

-He's sorta excited about this mission. He'll soon have to go scout out the facility where the disease is being produced... Alone. So, because of that, he negotiated how Manifold will pay him. They landed on Manifold giving him some advanced S.W.O.R.D. tech and weaponry (non-lethal. He gets why, but he's a bit bummed). And Manifold will write a letter to Rogue that sings his praises. That works for him.-

-Manifold told everyone to come back by 8 PM. Is Aizaru gonna do that? Well... Maybe. It's possible. He very well may not. He likes being out past dark. He's wearing casual clothes and has a dagger at his side, since he's pretty sure carrying a gun around just like that is illegal in the UK. He's also wearing a necklace. He recently made it. What for? Well, all the "crystals" on it are hollow and filled with Void. He tweaked the formulaa bit so it works even if you ingest it. You can never be too careful.-

-He goes to buy a sandwich and teleports to a nearby roof to eat it. He summons a can of Monster too.-

(Ooc: Those in the Teleporter Division are free to interact.)

-Ren's soul awakens in Limbo. His head hurts so much... Well, everything hurts. Z stands before him, chuckling. It has that oh-so-familiar evil grin on its face.-

"Wait... A-am I dead...?"

"Nah. But you did fail."

"No..."

"Yes."

"W-what about the others?! Matsuda?! Selene?!"

"They're fine. I promised you they'd be safe."

"But-"

"Shut up."

-Z takes a deep breath.- "Look, Ren. I'd... Prefer if you stay alive. You're a good vessel. But I have a reputation to maintain. I can't bail you out of EVERYTHING."

"... So? What's the catch for you bringing me back?"

"You know how one of the conditions of our deal was that I can't take control of your body without permission?"

"No..."

"Yes."

"But-"

"You're in no position to argue, Ren. You die if I don't help you. And when I say 'die', I mean 'your soul gets eaten by X'. This is a once-in-an-eternity deal."

"..."

"1 and a half hours per day. That's the hard limit."

"But... Why...?"

"I like having a physical body. And I'm unfortunately bound to you."

"So... You need my body? You can't just make your own?"

"Exactly, you dimwit. Now change the damn deal."

-The contract appears in front of Ren, alongside a Phoenix feather.- "Chop chop."

"Wait... This says something about being your champion...?"

"Oh, it isn't important. It just means you can tap into more of my power... And I can rip you out of this universe and into whatever other universe whenever I like."

"Why...?"

"Because I need your body to be able to handle me."

"... Uh-huh."

-Ren takes a deep breath, them starts rewriting the deal. Then, before he can react, his body wakes up... But he isn't in control.-

"Z-"

"No. You clearly aren't cut out for this. I'm handling X. Cry about it."

"... Okay."

-Z rushes at X, immediately chokeslamming them into the ground. Then it shoots a volley of fireballs at them. Z laughs maniacally as it whales on X.-

"Oh, I have MISSED having a body! C'mon, X! Isn't this a fun reunion?! Don't you love seeing your old friend?! Hahaha!!!"

"Z... You coward..."

-20 times.-

-That is how many tendrils pierced Aizaru's flesh during the mission where Hisako was rescued and Nuclear was defeated. 20. He was stabbed 20 times in the torso, arms, and legs. He is also glitching. His arms and legs hurt from almost being crushed. And he cannot see well. His stomach, arms, and legs are bandaged thanks to Grey.-

-He asked himself the question: "How am I still alive?" And in truth? He has no idea. He's now sitting in his room, head in hands, thinking about what to do next/praying to whatever entity may exist to give him a break. He doesn't believe that it'll do anything, but it's good to try. Or so he figured.-

-He takes a deep breath and summons a can of Monster, wincing slightly. Using his power right now hurts. A lot... But pain doesn't mean anything at this point. The mission went well enough. Nuclear is in some containment sphere in space. Hisako is safe... But not everything is okay. Things never are.-

-Aizaru feels like he didn't do enough. Colin got stabbed in the stomach, broke an arm, and broke his back. Onyxx got eaten and pummeled. Grey lost a foot. Even the King of Thieves was beaten... He could've done more. He should've done more. He's still weak. He's still useless. He's still a coward... He tears up a bit. It looks weird. Tears flowing out of his void-black eyes. He wipes his tears and chugs the Monster.-

-He takes a breath, puts on a jacket, and sits at his desk to start modifying his EMP cannon and pistols. The door is slightly ajar. He doesn't notice though.-

(Ooc: Open for interaction.)

-Aizaru is in the Danger Room. What's he doing? Well, he's 'destressing'. What does that mean for him? It means making the most realistic simulation possible, grabbing spiked vambraces and push daggers, and going crazy on the enemies. This particular scenario is a jungle base of terrorists.-

-He's been at it for 20 minutes now. Enemies just keep spawning in, and he hasn't been hit once yet. He laughs maniacally and drives one of the push daggers into an enemy's throat. He's covered in the (simulated) blood of the enemies.-

-He thinks of Hisako being taken by Nuclear. The plan seems clear enough: go to where Nuclear is, get Hisako out, let Colin buy time for Chairboy to build a containment unit by distracting Nuclear (Aizaru'll help out when he can), get Nuclear inti the containment unit, and put that sucker into the Darkrealm. Simple enough...-

"Ah, I'm supposed to be destressing! Not thinking of my worries!" -Aizaru shoves the spikes of his vambrace into an enemy's gut, then slices an incoming enemy's throat open. He is having a... Well, let's say concerning amount of fun with this. But it's probably better than him doing this sort of stuff in real life.-

(Ooc: Interactable for anyone who wants to see Aizaru be... Insane.)

-Ren has been fighting against X for... Probably a day or two. The adrenaline hasn't let him think clearly. Ren hasn't done much damage, and X most definently has. He dodges a beam of fire from X and jumps back, trying to make enough distance so he can think clearly.-

"Z... How do I-"

"I don't know!"

"Fuck you mean you don't know?!"

"You're the heroic god here!"

"Whuh-" -A beam flies at Ren, he narrowly dodges.-

"I thought this guy was supposed to be, like, sly! Not a powerhouse!"

"You can be many things at once!"

"Stop bickering and FIGHT ME."

-X keeps shooting beam after beam at Ren. He narrowly dodges all of them. He hasn't landed a single solid hit against X, and one hit against him is probably enough to destroy him... Speaking of.-

"Ren. Attack X."

"Do you WANT me to die a gruesome death?!"

"Well-"

"I said stop bickering and fight me!"

-X shoots a beam at Ren... And this one hits. Tears straight through his torso. He collapses onto his knees.-

"Oh... Gods... Z..."

"Ren. Don't you die."

"H-help... M-me-"

-Ren collapses, only hanging on by a thread.-

(Ooc: btw, sorry I haven't been active. I've lowkey been busy with Xavier's Mansion... But this place is still goated. Love y'all! ❤️❤️❤️)

-Aizaru is in the Danger Room, training, as one does. He's armed with 2 pistols. He's running a simulation of a hostage situation in the winter. He's still shocked by how realistic the simulations in the Danger Room are. They get everything right, down to the criminals being all cocky and confident until one of their friends gets a bullet in between his eyes.-

-He's gotten all the "hostages" out, leaving only him and about 25 armed thugs in a 3 story building. He's currently pinned behind a pillar by constant gunfire. Moving would be a death wish... He notices a gas line... He throws a knife at it and toxic gas starts pouring out. He coughs a bit and summons two masks. One breathing mask, one to cover his eyes and the rest or his face. He takes a breath and moves in.-

-He shoots 5 thugs, all headshots, and throws a knife into one incoming enemy's eye. 1st floor clear. He teleports to the next floor and immediately jumps into action, shooting 3 enemies dead where they stand. Then teleports behind a wall to avoid gunfire. He waits for them to empty their mags, then shoots. 4 dead. 2nd floor clear.-

-By his estimate, the 3rd floor should have about 12 enemies. Light work. No problem for him. He teleports up to the 3rd floor and starts blasting. He counts the enemies. 11 dead. But where's the 12th one... Then he feels the barrel of a gun press against the back of his head. His guns are out of ammo as well.-

"Aww, the kid is out of ammo? Only two guns?" -God. These Danger Room simulations are infuriatingly realistic.- "Not quite..." "Hmm? What was that?" -Aizaru ducks down, pulls out a third gun, and shoots the thug in the gut 5 times.-

"Tch... Much too easy."

-Aizaru is running through the rooftops New York City, knives in hand, patrolling. He's masked, of course. He's patrolling to clear his head, and to stop any possible evildoers. He's trying to be non-lethal with the petty criminals. Call it going soft, but he doesn't want to kill the petty criminals. Not anymore... Maybe being part or the Young X-Men really HAS changed him.-

-He sees a bank robbery and chuckles, teleporting in. There are 6 criminals, 10 bystanders... He can do this. He just needs the criminals to focus on him. He throws one dagger into criminal 1's leg, then teleports behind criminal 2, hitting him in the neck with the pommel of his dagger. He jumps at criminal 3, kicking him in the face, and summons the dagger from criminal 1's leg and slashes criminal 3 in the arm.-

-3 down. Three to go. The would-be-robbers snap out of their daze and open fire on Aizaru. No big deal. He weaves through the gunfire and summons a bola, throwing it at criminal 4 to tie him up easily. Criminal 5 runs at him with a knife and gets some solid swings at him. No hits. Aizaru is too skilled to get hit by the likes of this riffraff. He sweeps criminal 5's legs from under him and kicks him, knocking him out. Then...-

"Let me go or the girl gets it!" -Aizaru turns and sees that criminal 6, seemingly the leader, has taken one of the bystanders hostage and is holding her at gunpoint. Aizaru grits his teeth. The second he tries to move his dagger, criminal 6 presses the gun closer to the woman's head...-

"Let her go and I won't hurt you!"

"Hah, as if I'll believe that! Let me go, or she gets it!"

"Damnit..." -Aizaru wanted to do this without killing, but... This guy is clearly a seasoned criminal. He's so calm... God damnit... He grunts, then, faster than the criminal can react, Aizaru throws a dagger into his throat.-

-He runs over to the woman, who cowers away from him... Figures.- "Hey... I won't hurt you..." "S-stay away from me!" -Aizaru sighs. People always fear him... Maybe it's the mask. Or the teleporting. Or the void-black eyes... Or maybe just his aura. He ties up the unconscious criminals, takes the dagger from the criminal leader's throat, and teleports away.-

-He takes a deep breath, continuing his patrol. He's tired. He should be resting right now... But he isn't. He can't rest. Not now. Not after failing like he did...-

-Aizaru sits in his room, staring at his dagger. His mind is racing. He's a part of the Young X-Men, like, offically. Manifold appointed him as the team's resident teleporter... He's okay with that. It'd be nice to be getting paid though. But of COURSE not, since he's just a student. Though, after hearing the feats of the others in the Teleporter Division, and even in the Young X-Men, he feels a bit inadequate...-

-He recently confessed to Yami... Well, 'recently'. It was about a week ago. He got rejected, but he assumed he would. It was good to get it off his chest, even if it didn't go anywhere... They're never speaking of that again, probably.-

**-**He wipes his dagger down with a rag. It's already clean. He just wants to keep his hands occupied with something. He killed his parents with this dagger. He can't get that out of his mind...-

"Was it worth it...? I mean, it obviously felt good. But did it feel good enough to justify 11 years of devoting my 'life' to finding and killing them? That I don't know about. I made so many enemies in that time... I hurt so many in my quest for survival, and ultimately, revenge..."

"Some idiots say revenge doesn't help. Or it doesn't feel good. Or something else along those lines. They're idiots. It's euphoric. And it does help a bit... But not much... Was the Manor raid worth it? My eyes are still black-as-void and even more sensitive to light than before. The Darkrealm has been weird since that day. And I got a bunch of scars..."

"... Maybe it wasn't worth it. Especially since I see my parents' horrified faces in my dreams... Well, nightmares. But they're the same thing at this point. I don't know what I feel about them... I hate them. Yet, for some reason, I feel something close to guilt... They were beyond changing. They had 11 years to change, but they only went further into their evil."

"Ah, why am I even thinking about this? What's done is done. The important thing is that I keep moving forward."

(Ooc: Interactable for anyone who wants to check on Aizaru.)

-Aizaru had been working on a new suit. Both because the old one was starting to break, and because it's symbolic of his new start... Or something like that. He finally finished it. He feels proud of it.-

-Ever since he came back and resolved to change himself, he's felt like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Like something he was missing suddenly appeared to make him whole... Why'd no one tell him it feels this good to be open with people? Everyone told him to do it, but no one said why.-

-His eyes are still black... Maybe this is a permanent thing now. Maybe he'll live with void-like eyes for the rest of his life as a reminder to never get too reckless... Or maybe it'll pass. Who knows?-

-He's been thinking about this schism between Emma Frost and Cyclops. He believes both sides are honestly kinda stupid. He sighs and sits down on the roof of the Mansion, thinking.-

"Emma's approach doesn't work because it needs time. Something we mutants don't have. It relies on everything going perfectly and us being able to withstand humanity kicking us while we're down. We just have to take it. We just have to place our faith in the few people cunning enough to take control of the world through diplomacy... That doesn't work."

"Cyclops's approach doesn't work because us attacking the humans not only proves them right, but it also begs the question: when do we stop? What limits will we go to? Will we wipe out all anti-mutant bigots? Even those that simply don't know any better? And even if we did, that'd only create more bigots. Do we subjugate them like they do to us? No... I'm all for killing anti-mutant extremists, but... No. That doesn't work either."

"Hypothetically, the only way to stop this bigotry, would be to wipe out all homo sapiens... But then new bigotry would be created. Humans and mutants are similar in that regard, aren't they? A new strain of mutant would probably pop up, then they'd get subjugated by us "normal" mutants... Heh... This is exactly why I only follow myself."

-Aizaru stood in the forest outside of the Mansion. He has to do this. He can't keep living this half life where he both is and isn't here. His friends are here. His home is here. His heart and soul are in the Mansion. So... Why can't he take the step? Why can't he walk in?-

-Well... It's because he doesn't want to let go of his mobile lifestyle. The life of moving place to place, never staying still too long or forging any serious bonds... That life is easy, but Lycan was right. It isn't a good life. It isn't fulfilling. It isn't real. He sighs and starts walking.-

"Am I really doing this...? God. This'll be awkward. But... I can't wait to see them again. Actually, really see them. I have to do this... I thought I'd be free after running. But that isn't true. The only way I can be free is by facing myself. By facing this."

-Aizaru takes a deep breath, removing his mask, shoulder pads, hood, cape, and even putting his weapons into the Darkrealm. Nothing covering his face. No weapons to hide his emotions behind. Just him. Just Aizaru.-

"No more hiding. I must face it all.**" -He thought as he pushed open the Mansion doors. He won't run from this.-

-Tartarus was different. Much different. Tartarus was nothing like Erebus. While Tartarus was actively malicious amd clearly wanted anyone in it dead, Erebus was more cold and uncaring. It didn't care what happened to you. As long as it got you out.-

-That's almost scarier than Tartarus, because with Tartarus, you know failing is natural. That's not the case with Erebus. If Ren were to fail, it'd be entirely his fault. Z is almost cackling at these thoughts as they fly through Erebus.-

"How long now?"

"Maybe a day or two if all you do is fly."

"But I'll be taking breaks..."

"Then maybe 5-7 days."

"Damn it... I thought this'd be easy."

"Nothing ever is."

"Gods..."

-Ren can't help but think back to the last time he went to a different realm for a quest. He lost an arm, an eye, and probably his will to live there. But he's over that now. Mostly, at least. Sometimes he wakes up and feels an itch where his left arm should be, then he realizes it isn't there...-

-He hopes his allies can keep up. He does not want to be alone in Erebus with Z and whatever X is supposed to be... Wait...-

"Why's their name 'X'?"

"Cause I didn't care enough to say their whole name. It'd take 2 weeks to say."

"What is it with you interdimensional freaks and your long names...?"

"Oh, shut up! You don't even have a surname! You're just Ren!"

"I do have a surname! I just don't remember it."

"Just focus on flying, idiot..."

-Aizaru sits on the roof of some random abandoned building where he's been staying for a bit. That experience in the Darkrealm really shook him. He can't help but wonder if it was actually real... That maybe there's someone or something in the Darkrealm... That's a horrifying thought.-

-He sighs, chugging a can of Monster as he leans back. He wants to return soon... He doesn't want to stay away, yet he somehow does... He takes a slow, deep breath and calms himself.-

"I miss when I didn't have emotions... It was easier back then. I wasn't attached to anything. Nothing was tying me down. I could leave whenever I wanted after robbing my 'allies' blind without a shred of guilt... Now look at me. I can't sleep because of some fluke in the Darkrealm, and I keep thinking of the people back at the Mansion.."

"Why do I even keep going back? It's idiotic. I should either commit to living there or not living there. Not both... Why do I keep thinking of everyone...? Lycan, Colin, Onyxx, Shatterstar, and... Yami. God... What do I do about him? I mean, I know I'm... What was it? Bi? I probably shouldn't have given Jean Grey permission to check my mind... Kind of a stupid move by me..."

"God... I'm getting sloppy..."

(Anyone who would/could logically find or stumble upon Aizaru can interact.)

"Hero work never lets us rest, does it? Well, I knew what I signed up for."