The CRISIS Chronicles: Devil's Pass

Me: Welcome back everyone! Welcome to the second chapter of Devil's Pass!

Atlas: WTF? I'm having prophetic dreams?

Katani: I hate my life...

Me: Don't say that, it can't be that bad.

Katani: (glares pointedly at me) It would be, if you weren't such a sadistic jerk...

Me: Aww, thanks Katani! Now in-case anyone's wondering where the heck they are...Vent, Aile, Grey, and Ashe are scheduled to make an appearance. How could I leave them out? You'll see them soon enough! Now do the disclaimer.

Atlas: BladeofMoonlight does not own Megaman ZX, but she does own all her OCs and the plotline, so no stealing it!

Chapter 2: Katani

/Thetis's P.O.V.

"Calm down Atlas. It's just a simulation drill." I said.

Atlas gave me an evil look, causing me to jump. "Does it look like I care? Damn thing's rigged!" She stalked out of the room. I groaned.

My friend had severe temper problems, and lately they seem to be intensifying. Something's been affecting her sleeping patterns. Meaning that she's twice as irritable as usual, which is being a nightmare for me and the rest of the unit.

Like yesterday, when Lucidrale spiced up everyone's soup at dinner. I winced at the memory. If that AI had been a human, he would have been in the hospital for a really, really long time. Atlas seems to be going nuke at every little thing, so much so that even our arrogant chief, Neo, is taking great care to stay on her good side.

I wonder what could possibly be making it hard for her to sleep. Was she having nightmares? I've had bad dreams before, like being eaten by a giant squid, but it just made me tired. Not easy to tick off.

I sighed. Atlas's foul mood was having a negative effect on all of us. Even Siarnaq, who I thought had no emotions at all, was making it clear that he was worried. I've suggested several times that she might go to the sea side or something. The rhythmic pounding of the waves on the surf always put me in a good mood. I wonder what's wrong...

/Atlas's P.O.V.

I was so, so irritated. And I really wanted to strange Lucidrale.

By becoming Model I, which was pretty much a personification of his powers, it would take him longer than it used to to be able to interpret my nightmare and figure out if my imagination is playing tricks on me or if it prophetic. And the longer I wait, the worse the dreams become.

And that...! That girl is always in it. She's always being chased, shot at or locked up somewhere. She's always so hurt, so scared, and so frightened that you just want to cry with pity for her. Just last night...I was inside some kind of carrier. I open the back door and she's just stumbling out of some kind of Iron Maiden.

It hurts to watch it, and keeps reminding me of the way people treated me before Albert found and brainwashed me. It's hard to sleep, and I keep waking up at three in the morning, her frightened screams echoing in my ears.

Iris is sympathetic. Mainly because we share a room, and I keep waking her up. She says I talk, and sometimes yell, in my sleep. Amy has complained a few times, but apart from her, me and Iris, no one knows I'm having these nightmares. Mainly because I don't want them to think I'm going crazy.

I splashed my face with water, trying not to just fall asleep on my feet. I wonder how Aeolus and Maria's battle training with Iris's brother is going. Drew offered to help us sharpen our skills, and the chance was welcomed. Most of us were backed into a corner when we received our biometals and went into the the mess with Model W and Cyrus with little to no proper battle training. Everyone except me, anyway. I was raised in the military.

I sighed in aggravation and stepped into the halls again. I just wanted to sleep without having to deal with these freaky nightmares. But I can't even do that.

"Atlas!" I turned around in surprise. Aeolus was standing behind me, worry in his eyes.

"Yeah?" I grumbled, pushing my wet hair out of my face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I muttered. Wow, that was a flimsy lie. Aeolus didn't buy it.

"I'm having a hard time believing that."

"Why?" I said, turning around fully and tipping my head questioningly.

"You aren't usually this irate." My friend observed. "If something's bothering you, why haven't you told us?"

I shrugged, plastering an uncaring look on my face. "Look, it's not important. My imagination is being an ass, that's all."

Aeolus shook his head. "Atlas, I know you well enough to know when there's something on your mind. It bothers me that you won't share it."

I groaned inwardly. Am I that easy to read? If you had hawk eyes, you'd probably notice the faint blush that dashed across my cheeks for no more than a second. "Really, Aeolus, I'm perfectly fine. Just slept badly last night." Then I turned and bolted down the hall, leaving my confused and somewhat worried friend behind.

Once I was in the safety of my room, I sat down on my bed and sighed. I don't like hiding things from Aeolus, but if I told him what was really going on he'd think I was a nutcase. And I've noticed that my feelings for the green-haired prince are getting more and more difficult to ignore, and they confuse me to no end. I ran my fingers through my red hair, trying to chase those thoughts away.

Aeolus is a prince, I reminded myself. There are probably hundreds of girls in Elysion who are a lot cuter than me, and would make a better queen. Why would he choose an ex-soldier like me anyway?

I slowly fell asleep, still thinking about my rather pathetic love life.

/Aeolus's P.O.V.

I let out a sigh as I watched Atlas disappear around the corner. Why was she being so aggravating lately? The Atlas I was used to had never been this stubborn.

Granted, she was extremely hot-headed, but she was willing to talk to me. Now she's just driving me crazy. What can she tell others that she can't tell me?

I really hate it when she plays hard-to-get. Why am I so worried about her anyway? She'd bite my head off if she thought I was treating her like she couldn't handle herself. I care about all my friends, her especially since she gets into trouble so easily. Why would Atlas withhold information from me?

Too many questions, and not enough answers. I wish something would happen, just to take her mind off of it.

/No P.O.V.

Far away from Legion, in a smaller town near the coast, a couple of children who had been playing on the rocks noticed that their toys were shaking. In fact...on closer exception, the whole rock was.

Jumping off in confusion, the kids ran to their parents and asked what was going on. The older citizens just shook their heads in confusion and ushered them towards the house.

One kid realized he had forgotten a precious toy, and rushed back out to get it. Upon picking it up, however, he froze. Literally, his body wouldn't obey him, stiffened by a single emotion.

Fear. Complete, total, unadulterated fear.

The rumbling grew louder and louder, and the boy dropped to his knees on top of the rock. An earthquake? no. It sounded different, like...

...footsteps...

everything happened at once. What looked like a large cat was tearing down the nearby streets, running as if all the forces of hell were nipping at her heels. But that wasn't where the sensation of fear was coming from, no.

The source of the emotion that had paralyzed the poor child was the shadow behind her. The boy couldn't tell what kind of...thing... it was, but it was huge, easily bigger than a high-class attack Pseudoroid. And above the roar of shattering glass, screaming metal, and upturned earth...was howling. A series of barks, growls, whines, and yowls, all at once. And to top it off, it seemed to be coming towards him...

The shadow slowed to a stop in front of him. It looked between where it's original prey had disappeared to, snarling in frustration. Then it turned to the boy in front of it, sizing it up. It opened it slavering jaws to reveal a double-set white teeth. Fresh blood glossed between the huge white fangs, spilling onto the ground. The boy finally managed to do something. Scream.

Something grabbed onto his collar and yanked him away from the beast at lightning speed, just before it could swallow the child. It was the cat, roughly dropping the boy onto the front steps of his house. The child scrutinized his rescuer. It was a completely black cat with...brown eyes. Brown? That can't be right...

Dimly, the boy heard a loud angry yowl coming from the direction the shadow had come from. The cat tensed and was gone before he could blink. The shadow gave chase, and soon the rumbling subsided and the barking faded into the distance. The boy sniffed, realizing he was still alive. Then he simply fainted from shock.

/Atlas's P.O.V.

"AGH!" I hit the floor, hard. Groaning, I looked up at the clock. It was late afternoon. I stood up. "Now I remember why I hate sleeping."

The door swung open and Iris and Maria stepped in. Both of them looked worried.

"Iris, tell Lucidrale he better know what's going on or I am going to tear him a new one..." I growled, rubbing my arm, which had probably gotten bruised.

"Another nightmare?" Iris guessed.

"There's no doubt about it now..." Lucidrale's tone was rather flat, as if he was hiding something. "You're seeing different events through that girl's eyes."

"Okay, why?"

"It's a subconscious cry for help, from whoever that shadow is chasing..."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Care to fill me in, guys?"

before I had a chance to explain, our communicators all rang at the same time. "This is Atlas."

"Girls, come to the hanger room right now." Neo ordered. "We've been placed on riot control!"

"WHAT? Coming!" I cut the line and the three of us ran for the hangers.

/No P.O.V. With the rest of the unit

"What's going on!" Maria yelled when she, Iris and Atlas caught up.

"A riot started in the east sector a hour ago." Neo answered, eyes dark. "No one knows why, but it's big. We're being sent to stop it before it causes more damage."

"And we better hurry." Thetis said flatly. "The city's been set on fire!"

End Chapter

Ugh, this chapter just WOULDN'T flow. Sorry if it's crap. Also, I'm changing one of the genres to Supernatural, for reasons you might have already guessed. Oh and don't worry about Kronos, you'll learn more about him very soon.

Please review! If you have an idea of how to straighten out this half-baked chapter, that would also be appreciated...