Ever since his meeting with Sebastian, Paul had continued to do more digging to try and find out more about this man and the church that he had founded. Since he didn't have his own computer and he didn't want to use the public library or entrust this sort of search to Lumen he had instead come to the Sanctuary. He wasn't the most computer savvy person in the world, except when it came to security systems, but he could pull off at least your more basic internet searches. He knew that wouldn't uncover any deep dark secrets but it might give him a few more clues to help him decide what side he was supposed to be on or whether it was even necessary to actually pick a side. Katrina had seemed pretty sure of herself when she had spoken of the coming apocalypse but the man that Paul had met seemed nothing like the devil incarnate. What was really going on?

Time dragged on and while Paul gathered some basic information about the church and it community outreach programs he didn't find much else. On the surface it just seemed to be yet one more religion that was out to make the world a better place. While it would be extremely easy to just accept that and believe the best about people he couldn't forget how Katrina and Jude had reacted to the unicorn.

With more information now in his hands and yet absolutely nothing decided, Paul sent the computer back to the home page and then leaned back in his chair while simply staring at the screen. For a few moments he was lost in contemplation though to anyone watching it might have simply seemed that he was lost when it came to a computer. He did look like an older gentleman after all and there were quite a few people in that age group that struggled with new technology. "What is it about you that makes so many people so excited and so many others so afraid?" He mused to himself, "What is so special?"

Aura found herself in a room she rarely used in Sanctuary, the Library. She did not read much as she normally lacked the time. Her computer skills were roughly average in that she could search for information, but she lacked any advanced computer skill at all. Her Aura surrounded her though it held no specific shape. None was needed but Aura enjoyed leaving her power on whenever she could get away with it, which was most of the time at sanctuary.

Many who lived here knew Aura, others knew her from various news programs stating she was a pretty wanted criminal. Either Way Aura sat down next to a man she did not recall seeing before and quickly logged on. Aura typed furiously as she searched every term she could think of and still no results came up, she let out a sigh. It was to be expected the people would not have built a website if they were so secretive.

The man next to her asked a question and Aura answered before considering he might not even be talking to her. "That i fight for mutant supremacy with a hammer?" Aura asked with a grin, forming a hammer on her fist from her Aura. She let the object melt back into her aura as she realized the man likely wa snot talking to her. "Sorry about that' she said feeling a littile embarrassed at her interuption of the mans thoughts or conversation.

Another voice broke through his reverie, bringing Paul back into the real world and the here and now. Glancing to the side he found himself looking at a young, brown haired woman with a glowing pink... mist around her. At her comment she made the mist turned into the shape of a hammer, apparently gripped in her fist, before it melted back into the rest of the pink substance. It was an interesting ability, especially if that stuff could be hardened instead of simply being the permeable as it currently appeared.

"You don't need to apologize." He responded with a smile, mentally filing away the new information for him to contemplate another day, "If I had any manners I would have said hello when I first sat down. Sorry, I don't believe we've met. I'm Paul McCoy. I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting."

Something about the young woman seemed familiar and seemed to be tickling at the back of his mind. Perhaps he had seen her somewhere without actually meeting. Heck, it could have been on a wanted poster in the post office for all he knew but he also didn't really care. The Sanctuary was a safe haven for mutants of all types which included burglars like himself. Who was he to judge another person?

"Nice color." He offered, indicated the pink with a glance from his eyes, "Does it make choosing an outfit harder or easier?" That was one thing that just didn't seem to change over all the time he had been alive. If a woman had more than one change of clothes then she was constantly wondering which would look better in a certain situation. This young woman would obviously have a little more difficulty unless of course she could turn the pink stuff off somehow.

""I am Aura, it is good to meet you, Paul" Aura said rarely ever using peoples last names if she even decided to recall them. Still her voice picked up. The man was at sanctuary and so obviously a mutant himself. Meeting other Mutants always improved Aura's mood and with her current Internet search going nowhere she pushed the keyboard in with a flick of her fingers, the Pink aura around her body passing through the keyboard without harm as Aura left it intangible.

um thank you, though normally i just toss on whatever has not been trashed" Aura admitted. Aura was far from an average girl and aura had little real idea what normal females did. Aura's long black hair was a mess and though her short and pants were not ripped, still her black top and jeans looked decent enough and for once were even free of wrinkles. Her Aura then seemed to fade from existence in just a few seconds, only to wink back to view around one of her fingers. "I can change it's shape and the hardness of my Aura into various things and a shield" she said cheerfully as sher Aura seemed to expand and move up her arm to her shoulder, once it stopped, Aura formed a sword, an Axe and then n ice cream scoop around her fist and tapped it on the desk to show it was solid now.

"May i ask what you can do? I enjoy seeing and hearing about others Mutations. Each one seems to be unique and beautiful" she said with a smile. It was true that once aura had gotten over her shyness when she first arrived at sanctuary she came to realize it was a pretty common question among Mutants.

"Im not in this room much" she admitted, recalling only a handful of times in over three years that she had been in the room.

Aura... sounded like a code name. It obviously fit with her mutation but Paul had never quite figured out why people cared about having some sort of code name. Of course as often as he changed names it was no wonder that they held little meaning to him but for another person it would probably mean more. Perhaps she was trying to cut ties to her old life or maybe she just liked the name Aura. Either way, it didn't really matter.

Without even having to ask, Aura began to tell him about her mutation as well as demonstrate how well she could control it. It was interesting just how open she was about it all but maybe she just felt secure when she was within the sheltering walls of the Sanctuary. Paul was just a little more jaded and not quite that trusting. He wasn't about to go describing his ability to just anyone but since she had approached him and was acting quite friendly, he didn't seen any harm.

"That's pretty useful." He commented to her demonstration of an ice cream scoop. The sword and axe weren't as impressive to him but the fact that she could scoop ice cream out of a carton without looking for that one important item that always seemed to be missing from the drawer carried some weight. She was probably awesome at ice cream sunday parties. "I'm an immortal actually. My mutation keeps reviving me when I die so I'm still here. That's actually how I ended up finding my way to the Sanctuary. Lori killed me."

He was interested in seeing what sort of reaction Aura might have to those words. Did the idea of death shock her, was it something she was completely comfortable with, or did she fall somewhere in between? Did she see Lori as someone that could do no wrong or would the idea of her killing someone throw doubt into the young woman's mind? It was always so much fun to test people and now would be no exception. "I originally was coming here with plans of revenge but after chatting with her I decided that this was just to good to mess up. Where else would I find people that accept me so readily?" Other than at home with Lumen of course but that didn't need to be said which was exactly why he didn't.

"Immortal huh? That a beautiful power" she said with interest though her eyes narrowed as he mentioned Lori. "Your quite the forgiving man then and a wise one" Aura said but she made a mental note to keep an eye on this one. Lori was quite capable defending herself, but so had Syn and Miracle and both were six feet under. If Lori was trusting him to stay at Sanctuary then their was little Aura could do unless he made a move.

"I agree, an all Mutant environment is great. I despise Humans personally" she said bluntly. "I Live here myself, have for a few years actually. So many mutants come and go, but a few of us, this is just home, a place where were safe and we can be who we really are she said. Aura took great pride in sanctuary and further pride for those who had made the place their permanent home.

"Why did Lori Kill you anyway? The idea of that and that you had revenge in your mind upon coming here bother me a little, as well, though it sounds like you worked things out with her" Aura said honestly. She was glad he had likely found some agreement with Lori, but she could not discount that he might try again.

No matter how she felt on the issue if Lori, let the man be here she could do nothing but accept it and so she moved on. "I ended up here after human's gunned down every one i knew or cared about, until i reached Sanctuary she said. It was a vastly over simplified version of events but accurate. "I can still here their screams in the back of my mind sometimes" she admitted, leaving out it was actually quite a bit worse then that. Like leading her on voyages to an Asian country.

Paul had to chuckle at Aura's comment and shake his head ever so slightly. "Forgiving... not really. Wise... perhaps." He answered through his laugh

And then it was time for more memories. Aura wanted to know the story behind his death at Lori's hand and since she wasn't immediately trying to kill him herself, he guessed she deserved to know. After all, if he hadn't wanted to talk about it he shouldn't have mentioned it in the first place.

"I was out jogging one day and I saw something odd. A blond woman was chasing after a man that was running from her as fast as he could. I thought he must have snatched her purse or something so I started running after them. Eventually I caught up with them in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. I looked in and there was the blond being attacked by either five or six guys... I can't remember the exact number. I thought she would need help so I ran in to fight. During the fight she revealed her ability to manipulate metal. At the end, after both of us had killed several of the men, she and I were the only two left. I spoke with her about how it was nice to meet a fellow mutant but apparently she didn't believe me so she threw a knife into my chest."

That had actually been a pretty painful way to go, though he had been able to speed up the process by pulling out the knife. And then it had been time to focus on revenge.

"I've killed people before that killed me so when I resurrected I started down that path. I had no idea Lori was anything special, just some woman that had made a bad decision. However, when I arrived at the Sanctuary I began to realize that there was something different about her. After talking with her I decided it was wiser to be her friend than her enemy."

Ending his story, Paul stood up from his chair and stretched, trying to work out the kinks in his back that had started to build up after so long. "It sounds as though the Sanctuary here has become your adopted family. I can't say I've gone quite that far yet. I enjoy my time here and enjoy the people but I haven't established the sort of trust and connection yet. Maybe in the future."

"I likely would have done the same, though my abilities are more easily verified then your own, and i would imagine quite a bit less painfully" She said considering the fact that Lori had killed him, she had to wonder on just what could kill the man off for good. An opponent that could keep getting back up could be annoying, fortunately it seemed this one was not in the mind to try and attack them and with lori's ok to be here, his being here was no issue.

She could also hardly fault the man for trying to kill someone who had essentially tried to kill him and would have probably done the same herself, or at least tried for a fair fight. "I honestly can't fault your logic for wanting revenge. However i am happier you have chosen not to pursue that course of action, as it means we have no need to dance" Aura said as kindly as if she were offering muffins.

"Sanctuary grows on you, the lack of humans was most appealing to me. My own family abandoned me after my powers emerged and left the humans to cage me. In contrast Sanctuary protects me as i protect it. I am glad you like it here though and i can only hope that connection will build. Sanctuary is more then a home it is an ideal, worth fighting for and one i believe mutant kind would be better to adopt" she said honestly. Aura felt that if Mutant kind could unite the war would be over swiftly, their was littile way the Humans would stand a chance.

"I made a mistake years ago, and 178 people died for it and so i ended up here as i had no ware else to go. Before this city i had no idea so many Humans actually existed, i had an idea numerically of course, but it's different seeing it up close" she said with a grim smile.

"Yes, my ability does have a down side when it comes to verifying that I really am a mutant." It had taken a while for Paul to get used to both the blessing and the curse of his ability and though he still wasn't completely at peace with it he had mostly accepted it. Really he didn't have a choice in the matter. It was his, whether he wanted it or not, so accepting it was his only choice. "Thankfully the damage is minimal though not particularly enjoyable."

No need to dance? Was Aura truly that good of a fighter or did she simply have an over inflated sense of self-worth? For all Paul knew she might even be an enforcer for Lori. He had learned not to underestimate someone just because they were female. Lori herself had proven just how deadly a woman with a strong will and strong power could be.

"I've seen the worst of humanity over the years. Wars over trivial issues, starvation, disease... but thus far the mutant community hasn't proven to be much better. There is so much in-fighting between us that we pull ourselves back down to their level. What we need is a unifier... a leader that can bring all the mutants together to push for the future we want. Maybe Lori will prove to be that person or maybe that person only exists in the distant future." Aura spoke so honestly about her own issues that Paul saw no reason to hide his own dreams. Whether she agreed or disagreed with his assessment was of no consequence. This was his mission to pursue and from the vision he had gone on with Alister's help he knew that eventually he would find the person.

There was something a little bit off about Aura when she spoke. She was obviously a young woman but she spoke about humanity with so much malice and contempt and tossed around fighting and death with a casualness that made her sound like a war torn veteran. What had happened to her? Where had the innocence gone that normally lasted at least through the twenties or thirties?

"New York City has grown a lot, though it was pretty close to this size when I first came. If I remember the numbers... maybe a million less people. I stayed maybe ten years before heading to the west coast. Life is different out there. Not as fast paced as here."

And then the death of his love and the acceptance of his mission had led him back to the East. It seemed like so long ago even though he had only returned a little less than a year before. Pulling out his cell phone, Paul glanced at the time and then slipped it back into his pocket. It was still early enough that he saw no reason to head back to the apartment just yet. More than likely Lumen was still out on her investigation which meant that he still had time to try and gather more information.

"So how did you meet Lori? I'm sure it wasn't as exciting as my first meeting with her." Though the smile was small on his face it was still obvious in the tone of his voice. He wasn't afraid to poke fun at himself especially if it distracted his subject long enough to let them provided information that they might not under other circumstances, "Was she already running things back then?"

She let the man Finnish before she began her reply. "Well I am unsure what your power's limit's are but had it been me, i would have likely aimed for a vital organ or a beheading, either can be fun"" she said, the evidence in her eyes would show almost anyone she was enjoying imagery in her head. Her targets on opponents usually had to do with vital organs, if you stabbed someone there, you usually did not need to check the target after.

"The city is strange, it's been year's and im not entirely adjusted to it. I wish Mutants would unify, but perhaps the fighting among us is not that bad. Learning to fight other Mutants makes combat against humans seem dull and boring. Mutants are mostly humans and so we inherited many of their bad traits. Even when Humanity is wiped from this planet mutants will fight each other. Either way, every day we wait, is another day the humans have to kill us all" she said shaking her head.

"The wood's were simpler, their was far more danger, but when you cut a human in half no one cared, not even if you ate it after words" she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Humans do taste rather bad though" she added as an after thought. The idea Paul might find this gross or disgusting never crossed the girls mind. "I know nothing of the west coast, but up in canada, in the woods, life was more structured and several times a week, humans would come in, firing automatic weapons and mortar rounds. i can still hear them in my head sometimes, for me this is a slower environment" she went on. She ehard them whenever she went top bed or let her mind be idle to long, mentally she never got past it.

"I can't say weather Lori will be that unifier or not, nor does it matter. When i first got here a woman named Syn ran thing's she was far more active in cleansing the world of human filth. My meeting with Lori was not exciting at all. With Syn dead we chose a new leader, that happoned to be Lori" she said looking down. "The shame of living while one's leader lies dead, it's something i can never atone for though i will try untill the humans take my life from my blood" she said with a smile.

"DO you still feel anything when you take the spark of life from another?" she asked curiously. When it came to humans she felt only satisfaction and maybe a little high from the adrenaline rush but that had lessened a lot over the years.

"Lori went for the vital organ... a knife to the heart is pretty vital." Paul commented dryly as he upgraded Aura's danger rating in his mind. This young woman had some serious issues. From the expression on her face it seemed quite likely that she didn't just practice violence but that she actually enjoyed it. There was no way that Paul wanted to get on her bad side but he wasn't sure if he really wanted her as a friend either. That would take a little consideration.

It didn't really sound like Aura was interested in mutant unification and bringing peace to the world. She apparently though that even though mutants were more advanced than humans they still had quite a few of their bad traits which meant they would forever fight each other for power. That was a depressing thought and it definitely brought into question what exactly Aura was truly fighting for. If she wasn't fighting to bring peace then didn't that mean she was fighting simply to fight?

The disturb-o'-meter ticked up a few more notches when she started to talk about eating humans. Even for a mutant the idea of meeting another human, whether they were considered a lower form of life or not, was just wrong. He ate animals because they did not have the same intellect or emotional capabilities as a person. Sure they could think, possibly even reason, as well as feel some sense of happy or sad but they weren't on the same level. That argument couldn't be made about humans. Sure, a person could argue that mutant kind had evolved one step farther, giving them abilities beyond that of a normal human, but that didn't mean that humans could be considered prey!

Paul couldn't remember ever hearing the name Syn mentioned but he made note to ask Lori about it at one of their later meetings. If Syn had been a leader that Aura could admire for cleansing the world of 'human filth' as she called it, then the woman had probably been as wild if not wilder than Aura. He actually felt a touch of thankfulness that she was dead. Imagine if Paul had come to the Sanctuary while she was leader... he probably wouldn't have stuck around.

"Killing is a necessity... it's part of survival. I've killed to protect my own life and I've killed to revenge my own death. It's not something I particularly enjoy but neither does it bother me." Paul replied seriously since he had decided that honesty was the best policy for the time being, "I don't feel joy about taking another persons life but it doesn't make me sad either. The law of the jungle is kill or be killed and that's what I'm forced to live by. People that leave me alone get left alone. Those that choose to come after me..." There was no need to finish the sentence and instead he chose to just let it hang in the air. More than likely Aura would think him weak for not having more zeal when it came to removing the human blight but he didn't particularly care. She was entitled to her opinion just as he was entitled to his own.

A part of him almost felt like apologizing to Aura for the heard life she had already endured but somehow he just knew she wouldn't particularly appreciate the gesture. She would probably respond better to an invitation to go to some club and slaughter everyone inside but that wasn't exactly Paul's style. Oh well. "It's interesting... you read in books and stories about children that have grown up in a perfect home environment but I have yet to meet any. I think that it must be simply a fantasy that everyone dreams of instead of an achievable reality."

"Yea the heart's is as vital as you can get" Aura agreed unable to argue the point. She herself enjoyed ending humans that way. For her however, the ribcage was little obstacle though she favored kidneys as they were easier to strike at in her experience. "Admittedly in that situation i probably would not have killed you, i would more likely simply hospitalized you, i don't like killing others of our kind even when i have to and even if they come back from the dead" she said with a smile.

Paul was willing to kill, she liked that in a man. However he was also clearly much less inclined to combat as she was. But his power was to come back from the dead and hers was purely for combat. Their was little other use to it. "I find fighting relaxing, soothing, it helps me focus, i hunt down armed gang members when i can, though and when i can't do that i train here. Back in the woods you either learned to kill or you died, i chose to enjoy my work" Aura said honestly. She had not enjoyed killing at first, she recalled that much, those first few deaths and weighed on her mind, but after ten or so it just stopped mattering. She had learned to Love fighting and she had learned she was good at it to."I can understand wanting to protect yourself, and i to have an oath of vengeance i follow. We all have our paths nature gave life to us for, mine happened to be that of a soldier, and due to that i will likely die in combat long before natural cause has the chance. Even so our deaths insure those less inclined for war have a chance to found a new nation on the aches of humanity. Solders fight and all to often when they run out of enemy to kill, they find new ones. she said. Aura fought so that others did not need to, she had learned to enjoy it along the way.

" I don't know about humans but i know of our kind, most i meet come from terrible pasts that are not what i imagine a true family to be like. Of course, i do live at a mutant sanctuary, i suppose we would not see those who had a perfect life. Since i don't recall my life before my power's i can not say i would be that good of a judge on what a real family is anyway" she confessed truthfully. Abyss was her legal guardian, but he basically let aura do as she wanted anyway.

"What's your favorite way to kill a person?" she asked as calmly as if she were asking him his favorite color. To Aura it was about the same anyway. She could not imagine him not using a weapon, of course Aura reasoned, fist fighting her was something not many tried. "Do you thing a leaders orders, should cease their meaning, when they die, or should one uphold those orders until they are tossed out by the next leader?" She asked curious of his opinion on this a bit more.

"I guess you can't know for sure how you'd react until you're actually in the situation." The comment was paired with a sly smile. Even though Aura said she'd probably have just wounded him, Paul doubted it. This young woman had already proven she had a penchant for death so why would she have treated him any better than Lori? Lori would have left him alone if he could have proved he was a mutant but since he was unable to she had been forced to make the split second decision to eliminate all witnesses. Aura would more than likely have done the exact same thing... maybe worse.

Aura's comment about why soldiers fought was interesting and it made Paul think back to his time in the French military. It was a little different since he had been forced to choose been the military or prison but he had known men that had volunteered that were of the same mentality. "Soldiers fight so that others don't have to." It was a simple truth tat he had heard said by countless warriors of the years. Thankfully he was not one of those common soldiers... more like a high priced assassin or something.

The young woman's intelligence was really quite impressive. Paul had never even considered the fact that he was spending time around a place that mutants fled to in order to escape bad situations. Of course he would have only met those that had gone through a troubled past at a place like this. Those that came from truly loving homes would probably still be in those homes. Why would they come to the Sanctuary?

"I can be very improvisational when necessary but I'm more skilled with my knife work." Paul said slowly, doing his best to ignore the distaste he felt at her referring to a favorite way of killing a person. He had ways he was better with but he couldn't say that there was one way he enjoyed one more than another. Thankfully she didn't focus on that issue for very long before quickly shifting it on to another question. He really had no idea what she might be talking about or why she might be asking but it definitely deserved some thought.

"How long do a leader's orders hold meaning..." He mused out loud as he settled back in his seat and stared up toward the ceiling for a moment. He had never had a leader he was devoted to so he probably wasn't the best person to ask but he would try his best to answer. "I guess it really depends on what the order was. Some instructions really only apply during a set period of time while others resonate beyond the grave. For example, an order to invade enemy territory applies for a little while but an order to fight against injustice resonates through all time."

"Knife work? I can form a knife but the skill is different" she said as when she made a knife or sword she tended to make them from his open fingertips to extend the reach the extra inch or two. She had learned upon using a sword just how different the two skills were and a knife was different still. "I use my aura, a favor, my sword, axe and drill" she said with a shrug. Each one had a different way of striking that could be put to use.

The man's answer was less clear the Aura hoped. If some orders had to be followed forever and others did not what was the defining point between the two, she wondered to herself. Their had to be a clear line to guide her somewhere. Still it was more then most had been able to provide to her. "I was ordered to fight for a mutant utopia i would likely not live to see, some might call that justice some might call it madness. she said in reply.

"I was taught those who followed orders without question, were reborn after they died, the seeds of the next generation, those who did not, their would were to be devoured by the lord of souls" she said recalling the old teachings very clearly. It would have been hard not to recall them though.

" Justice is relative to each person and thus it is dangerous as it useful. I once fought humans who saw justice in killing babies with noticeable mutations" she said shaking her head. Their was no one who did not feel justafied in what they did.

"Knives are easy to conceal and extremely dangerous in close quarter combat so that's what I've learned about. I can use a fire arm when necessary though I'm not an expert." Paul responded with his own shrug. He normally didn't spend much time thinking about fighting or combat. He knew that he was capable of defending himself and also knew that he would come back even if he was killed. There were far more enjoyable things to think of on a day to day basis that killed and death.

"As important as orders are I think that following your own heart is more important. If you believe in mutant utopia then you should follow that order until your dieing day. If you don't believe its possible then you should find something that you do believe in and fight for that instead."

The idea of a mutant utopia was a dangerous one in Paul's mind. He believed in fighting for his brother and sister mutants when necessary but more important he continued to search for the ultimate dream. The person that could unite not only mutants but humans as well. Why should it only be a mutant utopia? Why couldn't it be a utopia for all? Of course mutants were the more powerful but did that mean they had the right to oppress those weaker than themselves? That was the sort of mentality that dictators had used for centuries with little to show for it.

"It's true that justice means different things to different people." Paul admitted as he thought back to the world he had grown up in. War torn Europe had shown how different people could view justice. Those fighting in the Third Reich had believe that human purity was justice. The Allies had believe that justice meant no one should be oppressed for those sorts of ideals. Those two different views of justice had thrown the world into the second World War. Was it possible that the idea of mutant utopia or mutant purity would lead the world into a third world war? "Only time will tell how if the cycle will continue." He murmured to himself.

Turning to glance at the computer, Paul once again noted the time. It was probably best for him to head back home. As enjoyable as the conversation with Aura had been he did have a few other things to accomplish.

"Thanks for the enjoyable conversation." He smiled as he stood up, tilting his head ever so slightly in the sort of bow that had been more common in years past, "It's been very nice meeting you Aura. I'm sure we'll bump into each other again sometime."