Shadowess Posted July 26 Posted July 26 The world was already chaotic with a secret society of supernatural creatures hiding their existence from humans to simply survive. Throw in the afterlife and alternate universes and you've got some realms in desperate need of balance.
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 Shadowess - March 12, 2023 "That's a strong name." Bianka complimented him. "Oh, and it suits you!" Larissa fawned as she brushed some of Theron's hair from his face. "It's awfully drafty and dusty in these halls. Would you rather come back to our home with us? I promise you'll be safe and we can call for one of the chefs to bring you a meal if you're hungry. We usually only store veal and vegetables for our young but it's good for a growing boy, like yourself." --- "Oh, right." The driver chuckled awkwardly. "I suppose you're right. Playing in a band isn't exactly a normal job and I hear life as any kind of artist is a hard one. But, I mean, if it's something you enjoy doing then that alone should make it worth it, right?" Bob was grinning ear to ear as Grim agreed to stay up with him to watch a tv show. He glanced out of the window but not familiar with the route, he turned his attention back to Grim. He sniffed the air a couple of times. Seeming to have no sense of personal space at all, he quickly leaned into Grim's neck and sniffed at his collar too. "You smell nice," he commented. "Is that the, what do you call it? the guy perfume?" He asked, very drunkenly. He then glanced down at himself with a mixture of confusion and amusement. He recalled removing his shirt when he'd gotten hot at the club but had absolutely no memory of where he'd put it. "Say... where'd my shirt go?" he asked, just now realizing that he still wasn't wearing it. --- Arms still around his shoulders, head still against his, Layla stared back into Nil's eyes. She vaguely noticed the bed taking shape beneath them. "House, bed, and crowns for us both. It's like nature is trying to tell us something." she chuckled in a soft whisper. "The forest didn't just marry us, did it?" --- Once fed and changed, Emily quickly dozed off in her mother's arms. Cindy smiled at her daughter lovingly as she carefully and silently moved into the nursery. She placed her into her cot and pulled the little blanket up to her stomach before stepping back and simply watching her sleep for a moment. She liked these quiet moments where she could observe her children and feel nothing but love towards them. Letting out a contented sigh, she turned her head to look over at Kite to see how he was doing with Carter. --- Damien followed James into the meeting room and stood to one side, out of the way of the officers. "It's no problem," Malone said gently then nodded his head towards the bathroom door. "Now, come on. The boss wants us all in the meeting room for something." --- (Private time) --- Kat followed Sawyer into the building. He chuckled at his words and gave him an amused look. "You worried about me, Red Fox?" He asked as they rounded another corner. Kat didn't seem to notice nor care at all that he was smoking in the building, despite the few 'no smoking' signs that they passed. "You don't need to worry about me. Given the kind of life I live, I'd be lucky to live long enough to die from cancer. You just focus on what you should be doing." --- Upon seeing Insanity, Amelia gasped and reflexively held her child closer to herself as she recalled seeing her baby in his arms the day that Charles's appearance had changed. When he quickly defended himself though, she looked at David who had stopped pacing to stare at the group with a mixture of fear and confusion. David's eyes landed on Adam, and having no recollection of him, was alarmed by his appearance. Even more alarming to David though, was the small child in Amelia's arms. This can't be real! It had to be some kind of trick! Everyone knows there are no children in Hell! "Dad?" Amelia said in a concerned voice and David's eyes snapped to her face. He looked angry. "No." "What?" "No. To whatever messed up thing this is to mess with my head! No! I don't know you! I don't know that child, if it even is a real child! I don't know anyone in this room! Now for the last time, WHERE'S LUCIFER?!" Jumping at the sudden angry shout, Oliver started to cry and hid his face in Amelia's shoulder for comfort. "But... Da-" "Stop it! Just stop! I'm not buying it for one second! If you won't tell me where he is then fine! I'll go find him myself!" David snapped and marched passed the crowd, purposely avoiding getting close to Adam as he went. "Wha-? No! Dad, wait!" Amelia turned and watched him walk out of the room. She turned to Insanity. "I'll deal with you in a minute." She then looked at Bern in panic. "He thinks he's still human! Take him to Earth! He can't wander Hell like this!" --- Florin wheezed, stumbling back when the hilt of Napoleon's weapon hit his side and he let go of the now mangled wing. His hands were severely burned from the effort but seeing the damage he'd done to the Angel brought a vicious smirk to his lips. He'd been about to rush him again when the energy struck him head on and he flew backward, over the balcony wall, and into the arena below. He tried to control his landing but he had very little time to react before hitting the ground and heard a loud snap as the bone in his lower leg broke through his skin. He let out a pained roar and gripped his leg before looking up at Napoleon furiously. "You think one broken bone will stop me, chicken man?!" he yelled up at Napoleon. "I break bones to transform all the time!" and with that, more snapping noises, sudden muscle jerks, and a few more howls of pain, Florin began to rapidly shift into his monstrously large wolf form. All while glaring hungrily at Napoleon. Within seconds of being struck by Charles's flames, Donnie was laughing maniacally. He walked through the flames until he was standing in front of him in his humanoid dragon form. The flames simply bounced off his dark-red scales. "Up until now, I'll admit, I have been somewhat half-assing my take-over. I thought I'd have some fun and cause a little trouble before I got too serious. But now? Now, I only have one family member left that I can count on. The rest, you and your kind have turned against me! Playtime is over. Now, you die." He flicked his razor-sharp tail towards Charles's abdomen, only for it to be caught in one rapid movement, before it could touch Charles, by Carol. She gripped the tail tightly in one hand and glared at him dangerously. "Donnie Shadow," she growled. "Traitor to the throne. Usurper. Conspirator. Murderer. Rapist. And an all-around shithead. This ends today." "Lucifer's whore." Donnie snarled. "I should have known you'd be nearby. Always ready to jump to your King's defense. We'll need to dispose of you as well. Sam?" he said expectantly while yanking his tail free and subsequently leaving a large, deep wound in her hand. Causing her to let go suddenly while gasping sharply through her teeth and holding her hand. Denix Vames - March 12, 2023 Theron nodded. "I'd like to eat something." --- Hades shrugged. "I guess so." Grim's face became red. He awkwardly cleared his throat. "Are we almost there?" --- "I don't think so but it says that we fit as a wonderful couple." ,said Nil. --- Kite was surprised that he was able to put Carter to sleep. He had placed him in his own cot. Having covered him with a blanket. Though Carter was sleeping soundly, Kite looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all. ---- Jeremy nodded. He followed Malone to the meeting room. Will cleared his throat. "We need to keep an eye out for a suspicious person. I'll need someone to sketch his face so that everyone knows what he looks like. Damien can give full details of the man's appearance. He is a vampire who has already assaulted him. It seems as though he is obsessed with him. Be wary that this suspect is most likely not thinking correctly. He could be dangerous." --- Sawyer flustered. He did his best to focus on the mission. Getting inside the apartment, he headed to a window and jumped out. On the balcony, he went into another window which led to the old man's home. He raised the gun at the old man. "Don't you dare think about it! We're only here for the money! Unless you want one of your own family members to die!" --- Bern grabbed David and teleported him to the Don's home. Insanity frowned. He didn't know what to do. But when he recalled the Coliseum, he clenched his fists. --- Napoleon raised his sword. "You've been a bad dog! Someone needs to teach you a lesson." He jumped high and from behind Florin, he swung his sword. Insanity appeared when Sam was about to strike Carol. He grabbed his arm and threw him aside. He glared at Donnie. "Whatever love we had is over! I realize now that you are the enemy!" His wings expanded as his eyes glowed. Charles smirked. "Looks like you're the weakling here." He transformed into his dragon skeletal form. Blowing fire into Donnie's direction. Shadowess - March 28, 2023 Larissa clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh! You'll like the food! I mean, I haven't eaten anything in years but I know our chefs are exceptionally skilled! Come on, Theron! Let's get you settled and into a warm blanket with some hot food in your belly!" She jumped to her feet while holding a hand out to the boy. "I promise she's not always this energetic." Bianka winked at Theron. "I don't recognise your accent. What part of the world are you from? I'll bet it's lovely there! You'll have to tell me all about it!" Larissa beamed at him as she led them to her home. A tremor passed through the castle. It was only small, not enough to do any damage but certainly strong enough to be noticed. It only lasted a minute or so but in that time the ground, walls and everything else vibrated. Larissa and Bianka paused and glanced at each other before shrugging and continuing towards their home. "Not had one of those in a while!" Larissa commented. "It's been a few years." Bianka agreed. Sure, earthquakes and even tornados weren't exactly normal for most of Europe but that didn't mean they never happened. --- "As a matter of fact, we are." The driver answered as he pulled up to the address that they'd given him. He pressed a couple of buttons on the meter before turning to face them. "That'll be forty-two fifty. Which one of you will be paying?" "I left my wallet in my other skeleton." Bob joked out of habit. Any other time that would have been an odd response, but the slur in his words caused the driver to think it was nothing more than a drunken man's attempt to be funny. Lilly was still snoozing against Pain's arm. Blissfully unaware of anything for now. It was at this point that the whole vehicle seemed to vibrate for a solid minute. Looking out of the windows, Bob noticed that during this time some of the trees had a bit of a bounce to their leaves and branches, meaning the car wasn't the only thing shaking. "What was that?" he asked with a mixture of fascination and excitement when it was over. Lilly slept straight through it. "Felt like a quake..." the driver commented as he looked around the street. He noticed in his rearview mirror that his trunk had popped open and he quickly removed his seatbelt. "Um, excuse me, just going to make sure my cab is ok," he said hurriedly as he jumped out and walked briskly to the back of his car. He glanced into the trunk, making sure his latest 'acquisition' hadn't been disturbed before slamming the trunk shut. --- Layla's cheeks turned pink and she couldn't help the small smile that crept across her lips. "Oh?" she said in a softened voice. "And what do you think?" Hearing the low rumble first, Layla glanced around warily. Sensing something was coming but was unsure of what until it finally happened. The trees shook and she felt the vibrations through the ground underneath them. She gasped and looked around them but their new forest home seemed sturdy and unbothered by the minuscule earthquake. When it was over, she giggled nervously before looking back at Nil. "That was a little exciting." --- Cindy had a similar look about her. She knew that having a child would mean less sleep for them both, but twins? And werewolf twins at that. Turned out wolf children had far more energy to burn in a day than any average, human child. Walking over to Kite, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him before resting her head against his. "You're so good with them," she whispered. Then, suddenly, both babies let out cries of complaint as if they'd both been woken up by a noise that Cindy couldn't hear. "What's gotten into-?" she started but then clung to Kite tightly as the whole apartment building started to vibrate. It didn't last long and it had been nothing more than a light shake. Once it was over, groaning in annoyance, both babies fidgeted in their cribs. ---- At the mention of being assaulted, Damien lowered his gaze to the ground. He glowered as he recalled the vampire pinning him to the ground. The things he said... Catching sight of one of the officers staring at him nearby, he felt the need to assert himself so as not to appear weak or vulnerable. "What're you staring at?" he snapped in a low voice and stared the officer down until they broke eye contact. He glanced away to stare at the wall, all while mentally repeating to himself:- 'This doesn't make me weak. I am no-one's victim! I'll show them... even without my powers, I'm not a Devil to mess with..." Officer Hayward lifted her arm before asking "What's the plan for bringing him in, sir-?" she started to ask but then bolted to her feet and glanced around. "Quake incoming!" she alerted them. Though she could hear it rumbling through the ground before it even arrived, she had no way of knowing how big it would be so knew the best thing to do was to raise the alarm. This was a trait that all werewolves shared. Much to their collective relief, when the earthquake did hit, it barely shook the room and mostly just vibrate everything for around a minute before fading away. "Huh... Never mind, I guess?" Hayward sat back down, mildly embarrassed for seeming so panicked over nothing. "Sorry, boss. You were saying..." --- Kat followed closely behind Sawyer and after climbing through the window after him, he leaned against the wall and flicked his mostly depleted cigarette out before promptly lighting another. At first, the old man had jumped to his feet. Startled by the first intruder, he began yelling at him in Japanese to get out. Then he recognised Kat who had climbed through the same window so casually and his face turned pale. He said something under his breath and Kat scoffed. "Red Fox here will break your legs if you even try it, old man," Kat warned him. "You know why we're here. You owe 1.7 million yen. We've been generous and given you enough time. Time's up. Pay your debt or we'll find other ways to collect what you owe. I hear organs are worth quite a bit. Maybe not your wrinkly, old ones but your kids or grandkids..." "No!" The old man gasped and Kat laughed. "I knew you spoke English, you old bum!" "Please!" The old man's accent was very thick. "I don't want trouble but I don't have the money!" "I wonder how much your daughter's liver would be worth..." "Please! Don't!" "Or your grandson's kidneys... Red Fox, are you going to do any work tonight? Hit him already-!" Kat was cut short when the room suddenly began to vibrate. Caught off guard, the old man seized his chance and pulled a gun on them. "Get out my house!" he yelled in broken English as the earthquake passed. --- "What the-?! Get off me!" David shoved Bern away just as they appeared in the Don's mansion. He looked around. This place felt vaguely familiar but he had no recollection of it. It felt like nothing more than Deja Vu. "Where am I? Where did you take me? Who are you? Where's Lucifer?!" he demanded, rounding on Bern angrily. The whole house vibrated. Already freaked out and confused, David used the distraction to make a run for the door. --- Once Bern and David vanished, Amelia turned to address Insanity only to find he'd vanished as well. "Oh, for-!" She flustered and then turned her attention to her still-crying, child. "Hush, it's ok. Grandad didn't mean it. He's not himself..." she said while bouncing Oliver on her hip and hugging him to try and comfort him. As she spoke, she heard her voice begin to crack and she felt her face become flushed as her eyes watered. Taking a sharp breath to try to hold herself together, she looked over at Adam. "I still have so many questions that I want to ask... but with everything going on-" The library shook lightly. Not enough to knock any books off the shelves but enough to cause Amelia a great deal of worry. Even growing up in Hell, she'd never experienced an earthquake before. "What was that?!" she gasped as the vibrations faded. --- Letting out a loud yelp, Florin darted away from Napoleon with what was left of his tail between his legs as the rest of it rolled to one side. Turning with his heckles raised, he bared his teeth and let out a low, guttural growl that vibrated the ground they stood on. He began circling Napoleon, watching him. Calculating his next move while looking for any kind of opening to strike. That's when hell began to rumble. While almost all other demons were concerned about this, Florin kept his eyes on Napoleon and dove at him, aiming for his throat. Taken aback by Insanity's appearance and confirmation of his betrayal, Donnie stared at him with a mixture of grief and anger. Even in his reptilian form, there was no mistaking the hurt in his eyes. "I thought I told you..." he began in a soft voice as he took a step towards Insanity. "How much I despise traitors." he finished with a growl and flicked his tail towards Insanity's heart. Whether or not his attack was successful, he would then dive out of the way of Charles's flames. "I'll destroy Lucifer's line and rule Hell if it's the last fucking thing I do!" he raved and dove at Charles, aiming to crush a few of his bones between his powerful jaws. In his fury, he barely paid the random quake any attention. Carol turned her attention to the boy that had tried to attack her and she glared at Sam while standing between him and his fathers. "Be a good lad and sit in the naughty corner until the adults are done 'talking.'" Wearing heels, as always, Carol was almost knocked off balance by the sudden vibrations. Denix Vames - March 29, 2023 Theron clutched his head. Shaking, he screamed. Tentacles sprouted from his body. He fell to his knees. "My family....Me....We did terrible things! I shouldn't be here!" --- Hades pulled out some cash. She stepped out of the car and handed him the money. She raised a brow as she read his face. "Is there something wrong?" --- Nil ran out of the house. He looked around. He placed a hand over his chest. "The trees are scared. This earthquake feels...different." --- Kite tensed when he sensed it too. Just like his babies. "Damn earthquake. We just put them to bed." --- Will couldn't help but overthink this earthquake. So much had happened that his mind was thinking of possibilities as to how it happened. He did his best to brush this off and focus on the meeting. "There's not much to it. Obviously, we would need to sedate him. He may be a vampire but I can assume that tear gas will still affect him. We could use that and tackle him." --- "Watch out!" ,said Sawyer. He shoved Kat out of the way as the bullet entered his arm. Despite the immense pain, he ran towards the old man. He kicked the gun out of his hand before shooting both of his legs. He glared at the old man. "Give us the money!" --- Bern appeared in front of David. He raised his hands. "Wait! Listen to me! You're safe. We're not the enemy. You just lost your memories. That's all." --- Adam gasped at the vibrations. He frowned. "Insanity....What if he went into battle? What if there's a big fight?" --- Napoleon jumped to the right. He pierced the side of Florin's head. He was met with a claw that knocked him to a wall. Hitting the ground, he lost consciousness. Fred appeared in front of him. He glared at Florin. "No one dares touch Napoleon Bonaparte! For any who does shall face my wrath!" He pulled out a flute. Insanity caught his tail. With all his hurt and anger, he ripped the tail off. He blasted his aura at him while Charles threw fire. Combining both powers as they hit Donnie. Sam jumped on Cindy. Tackling her down. He raised the knife with tears in his eyes. "You and your so-called friends destroyed my family!" --- Carter suddenly gasped awake. There were tears in his eyes. He looked at his hands. "Sebastian? Something doesn't feel right. I don't know what it is. But....I'm worried about everyone."
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 Shadowess - April 8, 2023 Larissa and Bianka both stopped in their tracks to turn and look at Theron. Both of them exchanged a concerned glance. Larissa took a step towards Theron and was quickly stopped by Bianka who grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Rissy, don't," she warned but Larissa yanked her arm free and stubbornly walked over to Theron, being careful not to get too close to his spikes. She gave him a sympathetic look while tilting her head slightly to one side. Bianka could only watch with bated breath. "Nobody is perfect," Larissa said with a shrug. "We've all done terrible things and if you live as long as we do, you're probably going to do other things that you'll one day come to regret. That doesn't make you a bad person. As long as you're willing to admit when you're wrong and always try to do the right thing going forward, then what you did in the past shouldn't dictate who you are or will be. Does that make sense?" She was calm as she spoke. Despite what she was seeing, she didn't seem to be afraid at all. Once again, she held a patient hand out to him and gave him a kind smile. "There's good in you. I can tell. So, leave the past where it belongs. In the past. Come and have some supper with us?" --- No sooner had he closed the trunk had Hades walked around the vehicle to pay him. Just narrowly missing catching a glimpse of what was inside. "Ah, thanks." The driver smiled as he took the cash and counted it. He paused and looked back at Hades when she asked if anything was wrong. Putting on his most charming smile, he shook his head. "Oh, no. Everythings fine. Thankfully it was only a small quake, so no harm done to the cab. You can understand why I'd be a little worried, after all this car is my means of work. Without it, I'd be jobless and out of pocket until it got fixed." he explained away with a dismissive wave. "But it all looks good, so I guess you guys can go on home and I can go to my next fare." "Woah... is the world still shaking?" Bob asked as he climbed out of the cab and struggled to walk in his drunken haze. "Hmm?" Lilly squinted, groggily waking up as she realised the vehicle was no longer moving. "Are we back?" she asked, with a slur to her words as well. --- When Nil ran out, Layla followed. Alarmed by his sudden shift from calm to fearful. "Different how?" she asked, almost afraid of what the answer might be. --- "That was an earthquake?" Cindy asked as she stepped away from Kite and looked around the room cautiously, almost as if expecting another one. "I've never experienced an earthquake before," she told him before looking at their babies with a sympathetic frown. "Oh, little ones. It's alright. Mommy and Daddy are here. You're safe!" she cooed in a soothing voice as she moved to pick up Emily to comfort her, expecting Kite to do the same for Carter. She gently bounced and rocked their daughter, hushing her as she did. Until her little eyelids could no longer stay open and her cries died away as she slipped back into blissful dreams. Once back to sleep, Cindy replaced Emily in her cot and tucked her in before turning to Kite to see how he was getting on with Carter. --- Once more, Hayward raised her hand. "Tear gas affects wolves too, sir. Our sense of smell is just as strong as a vampire's, if not better. We'd need to use gas masks to protect us." "You're overthinking it." River appeared in the room and leaned against the wall. Considering Damien was also technically his father, he couldn't help but pay attention to what had been going on. Unlike Parker, he very much wanted to help their dad. "He might have some Devil blood in his system, but he's still just a vampire. He's not a demon. Not a devil. And he's certainly no Blood God. Against any average vampire or werewolf, he'll put up a hell of a fight. But against someone like me, or Will? We could pin him down easily. We'd just need somewhere strong enough to contain him until the Devil blood is out of his system." "He still flees whenever he sees James." Damien pointed out. "I don't think he really understands what about my blood is different to any humans. He just knows that it tastes different. He's delusional, for sure. But I think that he thinks he's still an ordinary vampire, despite my blood in his veins." "We could use that to our advantage." River nodded and looked at Will. "If he still thinks he's a normal vampire then he'll be hiding from the sun and avoiding werewolves like the plague. He probably thinks that either can still kill him." Damien hesitated before suggesting. "I could lure him out-" "No." River looked back at his father, worried for his safety. "That's not necessary. If he's following your scent then all we need is a bit of your blood to use as bait. If he's still scared of wolves then James could stay with you in case he figures out the ploy and heads in your direction instead." He glanced at James questioningly to make sure he was on board with that idea first before turning to look at Will again. "We could take the wolf officers out to flank him. Scare him to us if he strays from our trap. Then, once he's in position, you and I can take him in." he suggested then faltered as he realised he seemed to be taking charge of Will's meeting. "Uh- sorry. If all of this is ok with you, of course." --- Surprised, Kat stumbled to the side when Sawyer had shoved him. He heard the shot and looked up at him, seeing the wound in his arm. Did this guy actually just take a bullet for him?! Regaining his composure, he knelt down and picked up his cigarette which had fallen from his mouth and left a small burn, along with some ash in the fibres of the carpet. Placing it back between his lips, he straightened up in time to see the old man get both of his kneecaps blown out and Sawyer screaming at him to pay up. Smirking, Kat took a drag on the cigarette. "Damn Fox, and here I was thinking you were too soft for this gig." he chuckled as the old man whimpered, sobbed and begged for mercy in Japanese. Walking over calmly, Kat knelt by the old man and stared at him coldly. "You tried to kill me. No more messing around. I'm going to give you to the count of five to tell me where our money is, or I'll go into that bedroom over there and kill everyone I find." he nodded to a door with children's drawings taped to it. "One." The old man began frantically and desperately speaking in his native tongue. "Two." The old man became increasingly desperate. "Three." "Blue box! Blue box! Hole in wall, behind the calendar!" The old man cried out in broken English and Kat smiled. "Was that so hard?" he asked as he got to his feet and walked over to the calendar on the wall. "Keep your gun on him, Red Fox." He said as he yanked the calendar off its hook and dropped it to the floor. Sure enough, there was a hole in the wall there, and inside was a small blue box. Taking it out, Kat opened it up and grabbed a fistful of bills. "What the hell is this, Yuri? There isn't enough here to pay your debt!" "All I have! All I have!" The old man wept. "You deadbeat, gambling, useless fuck! I'm taking this and you'd better have the rest ready by tomorrow night or you won't live to see another day, got it?!" he shouted while stuffing the notes into his pocket and throwing the now empty box across the room. "H-How?! M-My legs-!" "Not our problem! You should have thought of that before trying to fuck us over! And let's get one thing straight, you shifty old shit stain! You don't pay up tomorrow, you die. You try anything funny or try to shoot us again and it won't just be you we kill, it'll be your whole damn family, understand?! C'mon Red Fox, we're done here." --- "The hell are you talking about? Get out of my way!" he pushed passed him and stepped outside before pausing and looking around. There was no mistaking the difference in the air. This was Earth. He was home again. "Sara..." he mumbled. He whirled around to face Bern. "Look, I don't have time for Lucifer's shenanigans. Where is the nearest payphone? I need to call my daughter! She must be worried sick! Where even am I? Am I anywhere near London?" He asked then glanced towards the road and froze at the sight of a car driving past. It didn't look anything like the models he was used to seeing. It looked sleeker and barely made any noise at all. Maybe it was just a newer model and he hadn't seen one yet? Yes, that was surely it. --- "What makes you say that?" Amelia asked Adam curiously as she continued trying to comfort her son. It had been an odd thing to suggest, but then again, when wasn't there a big battle going on when Insanity and his lover were involved? "Look, I'm sorry but would you mind waiting here for me for a minute? I need to take Oliver home and arrange for someone to watch him so that I can figure out what's going on. I don't know if Insanity is up to something and I also need to figure out what happened to my dad... what a mess... I'll come back for you though. Just stay here, ok? I still have so many things that I need to ask you." and with that, she vanished. Within moments of her disappearing, an unfamiliar blond Angel knocked on the open door. "Knock knock," he said playfully. "I hope you don't mind the intrusion. I couldn't help but overhear some of your conversations from another room. I just had to come by and say, I'm a big fan of yours." he said as he extended a hand to him. "My name is Jonathan." he grinned warmly. If Adam had taken his hand to shake, the angel would bring it to his lips and kiss the back of it. "Jonathan Devine. There is much that I wish to speak to you about." --- Florin let out a high-pitched whine when the sword bit into the side of his head and he was sure he felt it chip the side of his skull. Fur soaking in his own blood, he landed on all fours and wonkily stumbled around for a moment until he regained his bearings. He looked up to see that he had at least succeeded in wounding Napoleon just as badly. He turned, growling and opened his mouth, preparing to finish him off when Fred appeared, standing in his way. He watched him pull out the flute and while still in his wolf form, he let out a low, gruff laugh. "Oh, no. Old man time is going to serenade me to death." Florin mocked him. "Move aside, Angel. My meal is going cold." Already knocked off balance by the sudden quake, Carol hit the ground roughly and grunted as she reacted quickly to grab Sam's hands, fighting to push the knife away from her chest where it was poised dangerously close. "Oh, don't be such a crybaby." She grunted between her teeth. She tilted her head back and then snapped it forward to headbutt him. Her hands stayed tightly wrapped around his knife as she hoped to simultaneously knock him back and pull the knife from his grip. "Besides, what did you expect? You and your daddies would take over Hell and you'd live happily ever after? Treason is treason. Now be a good boy and come quietly." Letting out a pained and surprised yell, Donnie looked at his tail in Insanity's hand. He'd barely had time to react before he was bombarded by both Charles's flames and Insanity's power. He flew back, pinned against the Obsidian wall. The force of their combined powers had caused the Obsidian to crack. As hard as Donnie tried, he was unable to break free from their blast. Insanity's power held him in place while Charles's fire slowly burned through his scales. He gasped, struggling for air. He hadn't felt a heat like this since Lucifer had branded him. Despite all of his training and his strength, he was unable to stop the scream from building up within him until it erupted from his mouth. He writhed and turned his head away from the stream of flames, closing his eyes as his scales slowly blackened and flaked. "Insanity!" he screamed, his voice suddenly full of fear. He knew that if the intensity of these flames remained consistent, he wouldn't just burn, he would be sent back to Oblivion. He'd now spent so long back in existence that his memories of Oblivion had almost completely faded away and to his horror, he realised that he could no longer remember how he'd broken free of the void. "Insanity!! Please!!" he shrieked. Please. That was a word Donnie wasn't used to using. Anyone who knew him knew that he refused to use such words so as not to appear weak or like he was begging. Well, he's begging now and it wouldn't just be the demons in that room that would have heard it. The demons who remained in the coliseum would also have heard it and knew in an instant that, for their crimes of treason and conspiracy to aid Donnie in usurping the throne, they were all fucked. Unable to run or their contracts would destroy them, the demons threw down their weapons instead. They wouldn't fight nor run, but a loophole in their contracts meant that as long as they didn't actively aid Charles in either capturing or destroying Donnie and his family, they wouldn't technically be betraying them. Only just healed enough now to sit up, Shiva looked up at the balcony where the battle was taking place and seemed deflated as this realisation sank in. "Oh... ffffffuck... We're fucked... " "INSANITY!!!" Donnie screamed desperately. He was weeping now. "Make it stop! I can't go back! Don't make me go back! I don't want to be nothing! Insanity! If you ever loved me at all, please help me!!" --- Sebastian was already sitting bolt upright when Carter gasped awake. His words didn't seem to surprise him as Sebastian had the same, frightened look. "Did you feel it, too?" he asked in a half-whisper. "It felt like an earthquake but... I don't know..." he cautiously got out of bed but the ground seemed just as firm as it always had been. "We should check on everyone," he said quickly as he grabbed his pants to pull them on. "It was only a small one, but just to be sure." --- Since the quake, Raguel's office was overrun with concerned Arch Angels. He stood from his desk and lifted both of his hands. "Quiet! Everyone calm down!" he barked at them. "Something like this has never happened!" "What was it?" "Is He angry with us?" "It's because SHE'S here, isn't it?!" "Is it The Rapture?!" "Enough! Don't be fools! If it were time for that, I would've been the first one to know because I'd be giving the orders to the rest of you! Now get back to your posts and let me worry about Heaven shaking!" Raguel snapped and watched them all leave. Once they were gone, he ran a shaking hand through his hair and leaned against his desk. No, something like this was certainly not His doing. But then, what? "Gabriel. Azrael. Naoutha. I trust you felt that as well?" he asked the air, expecting all of them to appear before him. Whether or not Nate might hate it, Raguel was far too much in the habit of addressing him by his full name rather than his nickname. "Truth be told... I don't know the cause of it." He admitted to them after some hesitance. "I need you boys to help me investigate this while I try to keep the rest of Heaven's population calm. Azrael, does your 'Grim Superior' have any ideas on this?" "You know I can't discuss matters of Death without his authority." Azrael reminded him. Already on edge, Raguel pointed a finger at Azrael angrily. "You are an Arch Angel first and foremost. You serve Heaven before you serve the realm of Death." "I was given to Death as a peace offering. Would you risk tainting that offering by breaking his trust?" Azrael fired back. "Azrael, this is an emergency." "Heaven gave its word! The world could crumble but I still would not break that vow!" Raguel and Azrael glared at each other for a long, uncomfortable moment before Raguel relented with a sigh. "Fine. Then at least request his presence so that we can discuss this in a meeting." Azrael nodded before vanishing, heading back to Death's Realm to inform him. Truth be told, Azrael was just as on edge as Raguel, if not more so. He knew that Death's Kingdom had also shaken and caused a great deal of panic among the reapers, which meant Death also had his hands full with his subjects in much the same way Raguel had been bombarded by worried Arch Angels just moments ago. Even more worryingly, was the sudden incline in the number of names appearing in Reapers books in such a short amount of time. But as Azrael had stated, it wasn't his place to relay this information and for all he knew, Death might not deem it wise to share this information in case it causes unnecessary panic. Especially as the reason for these events is still, as of yet, unknown even to Death's Realm. With Azrael gone, Raguel turned his attention to Gabriel and Nate. "Gabriel, I need you to remain focussed on the fight against Donnie and his kin. Hell, Charles, Amelia and even their allies on Earth are not to know that anything else is amiss. If they found out that we don't know the cause or that we're not in control, it could damage our reputation and any chances of us maintaining an image of strength and dignity in our negotiations for peace. We would always be at a disadvantage. While you're in the field, report any clues you find that could reveal the cause of the tremor directly to me and no one else, understood?" "Naoutha." He addressed Nate last. "I know you had your heart set on leaving the rank of Arch Angel to pursue a mortal's life. I need you to do one last mission for me. I wouldn't ask but something like this has never happened before. I need your help. Infiltrate the mortal's secret services and bring me any information that they have regarding this. I have a funny feeling the humans either might know what's going on or once again blindly stumbled into yet another force that they do not understand nor have any business toying with." --- Deep in the CIA Facility, the officers were clambering and talking over each other. Pointing at screens, running in and out of the room, answering phones and typing away on keyboards. Naming all the locations that had reported feeling the tremor. A high-ranking officer stood in the centre and stared up at the various screens with a combination of fear and disbelief in his expression. "All of them? The whole damn world felt that?! Can someone in this room explain to me how that's even possible?!" "Sir! We've found something!" one of the officers shouted over all the commotion in the room. The superior officer didn't move and instead shouted over the rest. "What've you got?" The room quietened down a bit as the officer called back. "An energy surge. Like the one we got when that portal opened up. But... bigger." The superior officer recalled the day Lilly and Bob had stumbled onto Earth from another dimension. Hard to believe the CIA just let such valuable scientific assets go like that. But that wasn't what was concerning them right now. "How big?" he asked. "And where? Can you pinpoint it?"
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 Denix Vames - April 8, 2023 Theron thought over what she said. With tears in his eyes, he looked at her hand then her. He held her hand. As he stood, the spikes went back into his body. "Does that mean we're family now?" --- Hades shrugged. "Ok." She rolled her eyes at Bob. "C'mon guys. Let's go." She helped Bob out of the car while Pain helped Lily out. Grim got out and followed to the house. --- "They're not sure but they're afraid. This might be supernatural." Nil walked to a tree. He wrapped his arms around it. "It's ok everyone. I'm here to protect the forest." --- Kite held Carter in his arms. He cradled him and whispered, "I'll keep you safe. You and your sister. Always." Once Carter was asleep, he gently set him back in bed. He sighed, "I hate this. Not being able to help my friends. What if that earthquake was something? Or maybe it was normal and I'm being ridiculous." --- James nodded. Will pat River's back. "You're my brother. I'll listen to what you've got to say. So, sounds like a plan. Anyone want to add something?" --- Sawyer looked at the old man before jumping out of the window. Landing on his feet. He followed Kat to the car. As he got in, he said, "Are you alright?" --- "Why can't you just listen?! You're not there anymore! Hell isn't what it was now! You've changed and so has everyone else!" ,said Bern. --- Adam blushed at the kiss on his hand. "John huh? Well, it's been a while since I met fans. Now, if you want any fun stuff to happen, it'll cost ya." --- Seeing the knife in her hand, Sam glared. He grabbed an axe that had been dropped. Insanity's eyes widened at his pleas. He pushed Charles so that he would lose his concentration. Charles stumbled. He glared at Insanity before raising his hands at him. Insanity grabbed Donnie before appearing in front of Raguel. Charles saw the whole crowd and flew up. "ENOUGH! I am the true King of Hell! You will all bow before me!" Exhausted and afraid, Sam dropped the weapon. He curled up and silently cried. Fred began to play the flute. Music notes flew out. Slicing into Florin's body. Once Florin was hit, he grabbed Napoleon and disappeared. Sabrina jumped to where Charles was floating. She winked at Shiva. Letting him know that she was a spy. --- "We should call them. See if they'll pick up." ,said Carter. --- Insanity caught his breath but kept his head down. "Lock us away. We are not trying to trick you anymore. We truly surrender. Please heal Donnie but you can lock us away." Fred appeared with Napoleon in his arms. "Do as may you like sir but know that Insanity has proven himself to be quite the opposite of the man he once was. Napoleon showed him a better path." Napoleon gave a weak smile. "I hope you are not upset with my actions." He slowly closed his eyes. "Napoleon!" ,shouted Fred. Nate bit his lip. He didn't want to do this but considering it might involve the people he cared about, he nodded. He disappeared. --- Death was able to calm everyone down after some time. He sat in his throne with frustrating thoughts. His eyes lit up at the sight of Azrael. "What is it now? I fear the worst when such a realm as this can be moved by such an event that should only happen upon mortal soil." --- Nate soon appeared again. "The humans believe it's another powerful surge of energy. Apparently, the first time energy like that had shown up was when a portal was opened." shadowess - April 8, 2023 Larissa's smile became a little warmer as Theron asked if they were family. "If that is what you want." she brushed her thumb over the back of his hand to comfort him a little more. "If you would like a family, I would be happy to offer you my home." she then turned to look expectantly at Bianka who seemed a bit more hesitant than her partner. "Of course." Bianka nodded and looked at Theron seriously. "We have a culture here. We look after each other. We protect each other. We teach each other. If we take you in, protect you and call you family, then it's only fair that you do the same for us. And by us, I mean the entire community here, not just me and Rissy." "Aunty Rissy." Larissa corrected her with a proud smile. "If you insist, Aunty." Bianka chortled as she moved to the other side of Theron to take his other hand. She'd noted that Theron had freaked out when Larissa had tried to ask him about where he'd come from, so she decided to try something different. Sharing stories about their own lives with him instead. "Would you like to hear a story about how Aunty Rissy and I met?" --- Lilly hugged Pain's side as they walked. She still felt drunk but she noticed that since stepping out of the cab, she felt different. It was difficult to describe and she compared it to the feeling of goosebumps fading away. Something about that car ride had been simply wrong but she hadn't even noticed until stepping away from it. She stopped in her tracks, stopping Pain in the process and stared back at the cab with her brows furrowed. Unable to hear the voices of her friends, like they were underwater, she stumbled as though in a trance towards the car. "Uh... you ok there?" The driver asked as he noticed her walking back towards him. He was a little disturbed by the cold expression on her face and the faraway look in her eyes. "Did- did you forget something? Your purse, maybe?" he asked as he glanced through the window into the backseat but couldn't see anything there so looked back at her. "There's nothing in the cab, you might want to go back to your friends and sleep it off. Looks like you had a hell of a party!" he let out a nervous laugh then became alarmed when Lilly turned and started walking towards the trunk of his car instead. "Uh- what're you-? Hey now, that's enough. I don't know what you're thinking but you need to go home with your friends now, ok? Hey! Are you even listening?" his calm tone became a bit more agitated as Lilly brushed her hands over the trunk and he slammed his hand down onto it to stop her from opening it. "Get off my car! Hey, can you guys control your friend, here?!" In a trance-like state, Lilly rested her hands in the centre of the trunk, tilted her head back slightly and rolled her eyes back as she started to chant in an unknown language. "Woah... This feels... really familiar..." Bob commented as he watched Lilly with a puzzled expression and scratched his head. "Where've I heard that chant before... I don't think I've ever seen her do something like this... not since-" he snapped his finger and smiled. "Oh, that's right! She was chanting like that when I crawled out of my grave! Ha! Good times... Good times..." he seemed reminiscent for a moment and oblivious to the fact that Lilly appears to be performing necromancy once again. "I said, get off of my car you stupid bitch!" The driver yelled angrily, not understanding what was happening and far too concerned that Lilly would try to open the trunk. He backhanded her across the face. As he did, two things happened. Lilly's concentration broke, causing a power surge to explode between them, knocking them both off their feet in opposite directions and simultaneously causing the trunk to pop open. The other, wasn't obvious until both Lilly and the driver groaned, trying to sit up and they both heard a meek "H-hello?" come from the trunk. Inside was a barely dressed woman with dark hair who had her hands and feet tied together. She had various bruises across her arms, thighs and throat. Her skin was still a little blue, having suffocated in the trunk just minutes before the taxi driver had offered them a ride. The driver hadn't noticed that she'd died when he'd checked on her after the earthquake and just assumed that she was still passed out from the drugs he'd slipped her earlier that day. "Hello?! Someone help!" the woman became more distressed as she realised she was tied up in the back of a vehicle with no memory of how she got there. Lilly sat up and held a hand to her face. Her cheek and lip felt sore from where the driver had struck her and she noticed blood on her hand when she pulled it away from her face. Her lip felt like it was swelling and it throbbed painfully. The driver, realising how much shit he was about to be in, jumped to his feet and made for the driver's side door, only to be stopped by Bob. Seeing his closest friend being struck like that, the usually happy and energetic Bob had transformed instantly into a terrifyingly angry man. Bob's hand grabbed the Driver's shoulder and yanked him away from the car with surprising ease. As he did so, in his fury, he became vaguely away from something sharp stabbing the tips of each of his fingers but didn't realise what it was until the driver started screaming and writhing in his grip. "Get off! Get off me!" Bob saw blood on his hand and out of shock, he let go. Withdrawing four long shards of bone that had pierced through the Driver's shoulder and seemed to have grown out of each of Bob's fingertips. "What-?" Bob started but gasped as the bones shrank and retracted back into his fingers, leaving just cuts on his fingertips. Bob was shaking as he stared at his own hand and was so consumed in his shock that he didn't notice the driver try to make a run for it. --- Layla watched Nil. Before today, she would have thought someone mad for hugging a tree. Or think they were a hippie or something. But now it was all different and she understood why Nil felt the need to do something like that. "I felt it... before it happened. I didn't know what it was though. I've never experienced anything like it before. Maybe it's a werewolf thing? But I think it also means that I can sense when something like that is coming... we could have enough time to prepare if it happens again." she told him, hoping it would provide some comfort. --- Cindy looked at Kite and bit her lip anxiously before turning and placing a gentle hand on his arm as she silently walked with him out of the nursery, closing the door behind them so as not to disturb their children with their conversation. "Go," she whispered to him. "They're sound asleep and will probably be out for the rest of the afternoon. Go and check on your friends. I'll keep my phone to hand in case you need to call or in case I need you to come home." she kissed his cheek. "We'll be ok," she reassured him. --- River grinned at Will's comment about them being brothers. "You still need somewhere strong enough to hold him." Damien pointed out. "He's right." River agreed. "He might believe he's just as strong as any other vampire but even an average vampire has enough strength to bend the bars in the cells here." "Hells cells," Damien suggested. "He doesn't need to know where he is, only that he won't be able to leave until my blood is out of his system." "Alright, here's the plan then," River said as he stepped up to the front. Emboldened by Will's statement earlier. "We take some of my dad's- Damien's blood and place a vial of it in my pocket. I'll be the decoy and stay with Will. In case the vampire is watching the building, I'll dress like Damien, and cover my head as Will escorts me out to the car to drive me to a 'safe house' where we'll wait and prepare our ambush. After we leave, the wolf officers leave the precinct to follow us but fan out to all potential exits in case the vampire catches on and tries to go back. If you see the vampire, confidence is absolutely key. He can't know for a second that he's temporarily immune to your venom or he'll take advantage. Chase him towards the safe house and alert myself and Will so that we can move towards his location if necessary. Lastly, once we're completely clear of the building, James escorts Damien to a safe location in the opposite direction. Any ideas where you could go?" --- Once in the car, Kat flicked his cigarette out of the rolled-down window and took his packet out of his pocket to get another one, only to find it empty. He cursed under his breath before throwing the pack out of the window too and starting up the car. "I'm fine," he answered in a cold tone as he started driving down the road. "You didn't have to do that, you know," he said after a few minutes of driving silently. "You could've died and you don't even know me." --- "I don't know what you're talking about!" David snapped in frustration. "I don't have time for this!" he threw his hands up dramatically before turning and walking towards the gate at the end of the drive. --- "Oh, I-" John stammered, momentarily taken aback by the offer then laughed softly as his cheeks turned red. The idea excited him. "I'm flattered but I'm not here for that. Perhaps, one day though?" he suggested as he let go of Adam's hand and walked further into the room. "Adam. The first mortal man... " he said dreamily as he walked. Stopping in the middle of the room, he turned around to get a better look at him. "What God did to you was cruel. It was unjust. You were promised a kingdom, peace, and happiness, then had it all ripped away from you and for what? For being... human? The way that He made you?" John shook his head disapprovingly. "But what if I told you, you could have it all back? The kingdom. A new Eden. Even your old human body if you wanted it. Lovers of your own choosing. Even a new Eve to bear your offspring in this brave new world of yours?" He watched Adam eagerly, waiting to hear his thoughts. --- Carol watched Sam pick up the axe and smirked. "You're a stubborn one!" she chuckled and prepared herself for a fight. That's when Donnie began to beg and Insanity knocked Charles off balance. She'd had to duck to avoid being hit by Charles's flames as he'd been pushed. She turned and glared at Insanity and Donnie before they both vanished. Once they were gone and Charles ordered the other Demons to bow, she turned her attention back to Sam who had dropped the axe and curled up into a ball. For a brief moment, she considered that the boy might be feeling abandoned and afraid. Briefly. Then she caught sight of Sabrina joining Charles's side and she couldn't help glaring at the back of her head out of pure jealousy. It wasn't the romantic type of envy, more so a professional one. Who did this chick think she was? Carol is Charles's best warrior demon! She was gripping the knife in her hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Florin had been surprised that the flute could inflict damage in the way that it did and he yelped, jumping back from an invisible force that sliced into him. Once Fred had vanished with Napoleon, Florin glared at the spot they'd been standing. Too exhausted and injured now to maintain his wolf form, he rapidly took his human form and held himself up on all fours as blood poured from his various wounds. This made him appear like he was bowing to Charles when in reality, he was simply trying to stay conscious. Seeing this, however, the other Demons who couldn't help but notice a resemblance to Lucifer were afraid of Charles's retaliation and assumed that one of their strongest fighters was bowing to him, quickly dropped to their hands and knees. The only one who didn't was Shiva. Who was far too busy staring at Sabrina in disbelief to realise he was the only one not bowing. --- "Good idea." Sebastian took out his phone. "We should check on Parker too. See if it woke him up. He could help us call around to make sure everyone else is ok." --- Only moments after giving his orders and watching his most trusted Arch Angels leave, his office became pandemonium again. He stared between Fred, Napoleon, Insanity and Donnie with a mixture of surprise and frustration. The only thing preventing him from completely losing his temper was seeing Donnie in the state that he was currently in and knowing he was completely helpless. Donnie was placed on his back, on the cool marble floor of Raguel's office. He was shivering uncontrollably but the cool air was soothing on his burns. He was gasping for breath and involuntarily shifted back into a naked human, revealing the extent of his injuries. His entire chest, part of his upper arms, his neck and chin were so severely burned that it was a mess of charred black skin and red cracks which had already begun to ooze a combination of puss and blood. He was groaning from the pain as he struggled to simply breathe. "As I recalled being told several times by David, you two aren't my jurisdiction," Raguel told them coldly. "We'll hold you in a cell and tend to his wounds until you are collected by Hell's leaders." "N-No! H-He'll destroy me!" Donnie gasped, tilting his head back to look at Raguel desperately. "Then perhaps destruction is what you deserve!" Raguel snapped. "After the things you've done, after all the atrocities you've committed. You dare ask for mercy?! You don't fool me Donnie Shadow! You're not sorry for your actions at all! You're just scared that you've finally run out of luck and now have to face the consequences for your actions!" "N-never said that I was sorry!" Donnie muttered and groaned. "What was that?!" Raguel snapped and this time Donnie shouted it. "I never said I was sorry! You're right! I'm not sorry! How can I be?! It may have only lasted a short while but I achieved something that I didn't know I'd ever have and would never take back!" Donnie looked up at Insanity, tears rolling down the sides of his face. "My greed both won them and cost them. I should have stopped when we took in those boys. You were already changing but I was so obsessed with revenge that I missed my opportunity for something greater... Insanity, my Insanity, I cost us our family. The greatest thing I'd ever known and I was so blinded by rage and arrogance that I let it slip through my fingers! My love... our boys... our family..." He turned his head away and closed his eyes, letting a few more tears fall. Not touched in the slightest by Donnie's revelation, Raguel snapped his fingers and a couple of armoured Angels entered the room. "Take Mr Shadow to the cells and be sure to provide him with medical attention. Don't take any risks. Strap him into a bed with Angelic cuffs if you have to." The Angels nodded, took one look at Donnie and decided it'd be best to come back with a stretcher. For the brief time that they were away, Raguel listened to Fred and Napoleon's words. "You two are lucky that I don't court marshal you both for going into Hell without orders." He barked at them. He watched Napoleon pass out and let out a sigh. "But you succeeded where others have failed. You rehabilitated Insanity and helped to finally bring Donnie to justice." he seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Fred, please escort Napoleon to the medical ward. There will be no punishments for you. Just make sure that his wounds are tended to." Finally, Raguel turned to Insanity. "I already knew that you'd turned around for the better and left with Napoleon," he revealed. "I've spent a good portion of my career chasing the same three rebellious Angels and saving their backsides when they inevitably get into trouble. So, there isn't a lot that gets by me." Raguel leaned against his desk and regarded Insanity calmly. "When David tried to tell me that even you two could be saved, I thought him mad..." he commented and watched as the two Angels from earlier re-entered the room and placed a stretcher down next to Donnie. "But maybe he was on to something, after all. Go with him to the cell if you'd like, as a visitor and not a prisoner. I can't make any promises but rest assured that I will try to plead your case to Charles and Amelia. If you can turn around..." He looked from Insanity, down at Donnie. His expression became cold as he did. "Then perhaps all is not lost for him." Donnie grit his teeth and strained to hold back a scream as the Angels tried to lift him as carefully as they could from the floor to the stretcher. Once on the stretcher, he caught his breath raggedly and between pained moans. "Insanity?" he asked, opening his eyes to look at him again, hoping he would go with him. Only once Raguel was alone in his office once more would Nate appear and give him the news. "A portal? Good work, lad." he praised him. "We need to know more. Can you do that for me? We need to know what this portal is, where it's going to open and whether or not it could be a threat to life. Robert?" He ordered then called out. Robb appeared, looking nervous. After all, he was just a low-level Angel, not an Arch Angel. So being summoned by the Arch Angel's superior wasn't usual. But then again, neither was an earthquake in Heaven. "You called for me, sir?" "Yes. I need you to round up the souls of any scientists you can find. Specifically physicists, meteorologists and climatologists. I need them to work as a team to study the tremor and what it could mean. Inform them that the scientists on Earth believe it could indicate a portal opening. Give them all of the equipment that they ask for and report any findings to me. Do not breathe a word of this to anyone else, understood?" Robb was surprised to have been chosen for such a task after his actions in the past but he knew that Raguel was giving him a rare opportunity to redeem himself among the Angels. He nodded. "Yes, sir," he said before vanishing. --- Azrael had walked into Death's throne room before kneeling with his head bowed as a show of respect. "Your grace." he addressed him before standing again. Even now, with all of his fears, he couldn't mask his fondness as he spoke. He glanced around at the reapers who had just been leaving as he had arrived, then looked back at Death. "Heaven has felt it too. Raguel has requested your audience to discuss possible causes," he told him, getting straight to the point.
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 Denix Vames - April 8, 2023 Theron looked from Larissa to Bianka. He soon nodded. --- Hades ran to the cab. She hopped over it before ripping the door off its hinges. She yanked the driver out. "What the fuck have you been doing?!" She slammed him against the ground. Pain quickly grabbed the lady and helped her away from the car to the sidewalk. "Are you alright?" He began to untie her. Grim placed a hand on Bob's shoulder. "Are you....hurt?" --- Nil nodded. "They would appreciate that." --- Kite smiled. "I know you will. Thank you." He left the house, got in the car, and started the drive. --- James said, "There's this mansion. Apparently, some of your friends live there. Would that be a good place?" --- Sawyer smirked. "Then maybe I really am not cut out for this business, after all." He soon frowned, "You may have lost your touch with humanity but I didn't. Though that's not a great statement after just shooting an old man's legs." --- Bern grabbed David and threw him to the house. He growled. "Amelia told me to keep you safe. That's what I'm going to do!" --- Adam thought over this. "That does sound nice. I've been living in this actual Hell for too long. I know Amelia said she could help me but this sounds quicker." He smiled. "When do we start?" --- Charles grinned. "Now, this is what you all should have done long ago." He straightened up his tie and fixed his coat. "I want you all to follow Sabrina to Hell's Cells. If I hear so much as a peep out of any of you, I will bring pain." Sabrina saluted. "Got it boss!" She soon walked past everyone and waved them over. --- Carter nodded. He ran his hands through his hair with a sigh. "This is another thing that I would have wanted to get involved in." --- Insanity looked at Donnie before nodding at Raguel. "Thank you." He walked by Donnie's side. "I'm right here." Fred appeared in the medical ward. Placing Napoleon on a bed. He noticed the missing wing and looked over the wounds. Suddenly, he sobbed. "Oh you fool!" Nate nodded. "I will monitor what the humans are finding." He disappeared. --- Death raised a leg. Placing one over the other as he listened. "I see. For once, even Raguel does not have the answers. How amusing would it have been in different circumstances." He stood. "Alright. I shall come to this meeting." He soon appeared in front of the angel. "Raguel, it is a pleasure to see you. Though these circumstances are quite sour for a visit. Perhaps we can enjoy another time of a more peaceful variety. You do need friends." He sat at the chair across from him. Shadowess - April 8, 2023 "Alright." Bianka smiled and turned to face forward while the three of them began to walk together. "I was a human back then. Just a little girl. There was me, Hannes and Niko. We all liked to play together in the woods when we were small. One day, we got lost. We were scared, cold and hungry. When we were just about giving up hope of finding our way home, we found this castle. By then it was already very dark, so we could only see its outline in the clearing. But the guards who were on watch saw us very clearly. They knew we were in trouble, so they brought us inside and took us to the dining hall where their own children were just sitting down to eat. They wrapped blankets around us to keep us warm and brought us a plate each of veal and vegetables." "The meat was a little rawer than we were used to but by that time we were so hungry that we didn't care." Bianka smiled and glanced over at Larissa. "Rissy was the first one to come over and talk to us." "I was one of the children." Larissa beamed. "None of us had ever seen a human child before. Or anyone from outside the castle, for that matter. We were all fascinated and nervous. But then I saw how sad, scared and dirty they all were..." "We weren't that dirty!" "Please! Niko looked like he'd been rolling in mud!" "He had..." Bianka chuckled. "Before we got lost, he slipped into some mud while chasing Hannes." "Anyway, I saw how they all looked and I felt bad. So I decided I wanted to show them that we were nice!" "She came over and dumped all of her vegetables onto my plate..." Bianka rolled her eyes. "You looked hungry!" "You just didn't want to eat your broccoli." "Hmph! So ungrateful!" Larissa bantered. Bianka grinned and shook her head. "We couldn't leave the castle. It was too dangerous for everyone who lived here, so a couple of the vampire families adopted us. They raised us with love like we were their own. Larissa and I had all the same classes and spent almost every waking second together. When we grew up, we got to choose who would turn us for our joining ritual. I chose her." "My first and only." Larissa smiled over at Bianka lovingly. --- "The fuck-? What are you people?!" The driver shouted in surprise when Hades flung him out of the car like he weighed nothing to her. "I w-was just doing my job, ok? Look, you don't want to mess with me. The guys I work for are not to be messed with!" he warned her. "So just let me go, I'll let you take her and we'll just forget we ever crossed paths, cool?" Lilly stumbled to her feet and watched Pain help the woman from the car. Her vision swam as she came back to her senses and realised what was happening. She saw the colour of the woman's skin, even as it started to turn a bit more pink than blue. She knew what she'd done and her eyes wandered over to Bob before lowering to the ground. She took a few steps to one side then bent over a bush and proceeded to vomit into it. Bob was staring at his still bloodied hand. As he watched, he could see his fingertips healing. Just a shame that the act of healing his wounds didn't also make the blood magically disappear. "I don't... believe it... " he mumbled as Grim asked him if he was alright. Slowly he turned to look at Grim and his shocked expression melted into his usual goofy grin. "I'm freaking Wolverine!!!" he cheered excitedly, comparing his power to that of the comic book character that the group had introduced him to back when he'd been a skeleton. Nearby, unseen by all, one of the Reapers who had originally come to collect the woman's soul had watched the entire thing unfold. He stared from Lilly to the now very much alive woman. He lifted his book to check the name but there it was, still written clearly. Clara Ingles. Oh wait, is that a stain... no... what? He scratched at what appeared to be an ink blot on the line near Clara's name but then it started to move. Then a wisp of smoke rose from it. Embers. The book is on fire! He dropped it and stamped on the page desperately to put it out but it moved across that line so quickly and didn't extinguish itself until Clara's whole name was gone. This wasn't right! That's not supposed to happen! The Reaper stared at his book then at Lilly and then back to the book. Had she done this somehow!? Quickly, he snatched up the book and took one last look at the group before vanishing. Death would hear of this! --- Taking a few small steps toward him, Layla tilted her head slightly as she looked over Nil. "Are you alright?" she asked. It had been a hell of a day for the both of them, but so far he'd seemed to be doing a far better job at coping with all of these changes than she'd been. --- Damien looked up at James and thought for a moment. "Last I saw, Bryce was there. Donnie had forced him to feed from me so he'll be going through withdrawals by now. Probably not a good place for me to be." --- Kat couldn't help but laugh at the absurd statement. "Humanity." he laughed. "Humanity is a plague. All we ever do is take, take, take. Everything wrong with the world was the doing of over-ambitious and selfish humans. Take it from me... an over-ambitious and selfish human. The sooner you accept that the easier this job gets." --- David stumbled back and growled angrily as he regained his footing and stared Bern down. "Alright, that's it. You want to have a go? Huh?" He challenged as he took off his blazer and threw it down before rolling up his sleeves. He then held his fists up and bounced on the balls of his feet. "Come on then! Let's see how tough Lucifer's minions really are!" "Alright, that's enough!" Amelia snapped as she appeared nearby, holding a book. "You again?" "Yes, me." Amelia marched over and shoved the book into David's hands. "What's this?" "Open it." David looked at her skeptically and Amelia rolled her eyes and opened the book in his hands. It was a photo album of David holding a small, blond child. David blinked and stared at the image. "That's..." he pointed to the bookcases behind them in the photo. "The library that we were just in..." Amelia finished then pointed to the child. "That's me. You found me in Hell when I was little. But the barrier in and out of Hell prevented me from leaving, so you stayed with me to keep me safe. You adopted me." David stared at the photo for a long moment and listened to what she said before looking up at her. Amelia had tears in her eyes. "You're my dad." "But... Th-that can't be right... I don't remember this..." David shook his head as he looked back at the photo and turned page after page. But in each one, it was always either himself with the child or Carol who at that time had a very 80's hairstyle. "Ok, this definitely can't be real... Carol is the least maternal person I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. And look at that hair! You'd think she'd never held a comb before!" "Apparently you and Atma had to convince her to help," Amelia smirked, agreeing with David that Carol wasn't exactly the parental type. She also couldn't help smirking at his comments about her hair. "I took her last name." "Not mine?" David asked as he glanced up at her. At the mention of Atma, he seemed a little more open to the idea that something like this could've happened. "What's wrong with Sedley?" Amelia shrugged and chuckled. "Is that Clementine?! The Demon Child?! That kid gave me nightmares for weeks after I first met her!" "I snuck out when I was nine and found her home. You had to convince her not to turn us all in to-..." She trailed off and lowered her gaze. David picked up on this immediately and stared at her for a tense moment. "And... where is Lucifer now? Did he ever find out?" Amelia looked him in the eyes and shook her head. "No... because he vanished before you found me. Dad... this..." She placed a hand on the album and looked at her father sadly. "This happened almost thirty-five years ago... and before that... You-... You'd already been dead for twenty-three years..." "I- what?!" David's knees almost gave out from under him from the shock and Amelia had to catch him and hold him up. "Come on... let's get you inside and sat down... I can explain everything." "Wait, I don't understand something... If Lucifer had been missing all that time, who was Clementine going to turn us in to?" Amelia bit her lip and thought carefully about her answer. She didn't want to overwhelm him with so much information all at once and she knew that David had yet to find out that his real daughter had been destroyed. So starting with 'Oh, by the way, Lucifer made your grandson his apprentice.' might be far too much, far too soon. "Lucifer's apprentice," she answered finally. "Lucifer has an apprentice? Christ! As if one Lucifer wasn't enough! At least he doesn't have any kids for us to worry about!" David joked as he let Amelia help him back into the house. Amelia let out an anxious and forced laugh as she helped him to a chair. "uh-huh..." she looked over at Bern awkwardly. "This is going to take some time and there's an awful lot to fill him in on... Do you have any strong drinks here?" she asked as David noticed the ring on Amelia's finger. "Oh hey! You're engaged? Who's the lucky man?" "Actually, I might need a glass for me too..." Amelia added to Bern as she quickly realised she would also have to tell him that not only did Lucifer, in fact, have a son but that she was also engaged to said son... and already had a child with him. --- "Immediately." John beamed. He threw up his arms and turned to look out of the tall windows. "This world that has been overrun with dead souls, demons and devils was once the perfect grounds for life. The fruit that grows here is for the very purpose of nourishing new life. All we need is just a few seeds of that fruit and we can grow our own Eden! And now, thanks to your new Devil friend, Amelia, we now know how to get the fruit to grow." He lowered his arms and turned to Adam. "It grows to sustain life. But there is no life here. If we bring the living to the land of the damned, the fruit will blossom across the entire hellscape. But the life that we bring here must be pure of heart. I have brought life here before but nothing grew and Lucifer snuffed us out before we could complete our mission." He took a couple of steps towards Adam and grinned. "But Lucifer is gone and with you to help us, we stand a far greater chance of success. But first things first. Did you want your human body back?" --- Carol watched Charles and the way he spoke... the way he fixed his suit. "It's like he's still here," she mumbled dreamily before glaring at Sabrina once more. She tore her eyes away and looked at Sam before sighing. "Not still crying, are you?" she asked, sounding a bit disappointed. "Oh, come on. On your feet." she bent down to grab his arm, intending to drag him to his feet. "You've had your fun but playtime is over. Let's go, kiddo." she turned and started walking while keeping a firm grip on his arm, planning to march him personally to the cells. As Sabrina drew closer to Shiva, he recoiled from her waving arm and growled at her. "Don't fucking touch me!" he snapped angrily. He saw the wink but after being thrown into a pool of acid, he still didn't trust her. He groaned as he jumped to his feet and stumbled away from her. His skin was still sensitive from the burns but by now it was no different from sunburn damage. Florin was still on all fours and unmoving as he strained to stay awake. He lifted his head and glared up at Charles. "Ich verneige mich nicht vor dir!" (I do not bow to you!) he growled before collapsing and losing consciousness. In an instant, his body vanished. --- "What do you mean?" Sebastian asked, sitting on the corner of the bed and looking up at him. --- As Donnie was lifted into the corridors, an Angelic doctor met them halfway to look over Donnie's injuries. "We'll need to prep him for surgery immediately," she said as she looked over the burns. As they continued to walk, she scribbled notes into a notepad. Once in a room, she snapped her fingers, summoning a bag of clear liquid which was attached to an intravenous pole. She gently tried to take Donnie's arm but he pulled it away with a pained yelp. "What're you doing? What's that?" he barked, half expecting it to be something sinister. "Something for the pain and to prevent infections." The doctor replied calmly. "Infections? I'm a Devil, woman. I don't get sick." "Common misconception. New Devils can get a rare and sometimes fatal sickness. As for infections, try telling that to the puss coming out of your wounds." The doctor fired back assertively. "You were injured by another Devil who, by the looks of things, didn't want you to live past today. Now, if you'll allow me to do my job, I can take away the pain and see about helping your wounds to heal." Reluctantly, Donnie gave the Doctor his arm and allowed her to insert the drip. Within moments, he gasped, letting out a sigh of relief as his body relaxed and the pain subsided. He was soon very high from the drugs and barely paid the Doctor any more notice as she rushed around, preparing things for his surgery. He looked up at Insanity and smiled at him. "My love! You didn't leave me!" he sounded genuinely surprised then broke down into sobs. The drugs amplified his inner despair and for once, he was going to say exactly how he felt. "What's wrong with me?" he asked him. "Why am I always so angry? Why couldn't I just let it go? Why'd I have to keep pushing and pushing and making things worse? I tried to hurt you! My love! My beautiful man! I chose you from Oblivion and then I tried to send you there! You shouldn't be here! You should have left me! All I know how to do is destroy!" The same Doctor soon rushed over to Napoleon. She looked him over quickly then snapped her fingers to place him in a similar drip. "I need to perform surgery on another patient before I can see to him properly." She explained to Fred. She didn't have enough details to know who these people were, so she was basing her priorities on whoever had the most urgent injuries. "He'll be fine on that for now," she said while nodding to the drip. "Unfortunately we won't be able to reattach his wing so we'll be doing a full replacement. We'll surgically remove his other wing and then feed him the elixir to grow new ones, like when he first became an Angel. All in all, his stay here should be about a week at most." --- "I have friends," Raguel responded defensively as Death greeted him. "For instance, there's this one particular Reaper that occasionally likes to test my patience." he bantered. Azrael appeared as well and silently stood off to one side until he was needed. "Thank you for coming." he then nodded to Death as a show of mutual respect. "I don't have the evidence just yet but apparently the humans believe that this tremor was caused by some kind of energy surge. Like a portal opening. Wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" he asked. "And what about your books- I know, I know, you like your books to remain confidential. But these aren't exactly normal circumstances and I believe Heaven has a right to know if there's anything funny going on with those books." Though Azrael stayed quiet, he glared over Death's shoulder at Raguel. Every opportunity or excuse to try to get a look in the Reaper Books, Raguel always has to ask. He always pushes his luck despite the many, many times Death has patiently explained to him that he could not permit Heaven to delve into their records. Meanwhile, unable to follow Death into the private meeting in Heaven, the Reaper that had witnessed Lilly's power was waiting patiently in the throne room. He held his own book to his chest as he wondered how Death would react to such news when he'd reveal the damage in the book to him. --- Back in the CIA facility, the humans were still scrambling to figure out what had caused the power surge and where the portal would open. They seemed to be getting close to tracking it until... "It's... gone? What do you mean, it's gone?!" "We lost its signal, sir. It's like it just... vanished." The superior officer stared at the monitors as the rest of his men struggled to trace the signal again but it was no use. With no way of tracking or identifying the random energy reading, it was impossible to tell if, when and where something like this would happen again.
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 Denix Vames - April 8, 2023 Theron was silent for a moment before he suddenly laughed. His eyes had lit up at the visuals in his head. --- Hades slammed him against the car. "And who exactly do you work for?" Grim said, "Awesome!" Pain placed a hand on her shoulder. "How are you feeling?" --- Nil nodded before sobbing into her chest. "I fear for them as much as I fear for us." Vines grabbed him. His aura glowed as his clothes fell off. Replaced by large leaves which formed as sleeves, underwear, and shirt. He smiled at the vines. "They wanted to make me feel better." --- "Then how about my place?" ,asked James. --- For the first time, Sawyer genuinely smiled. "I don't think you're selfish. It's clear that you care enough to give me advice. I wouldn't have thought you were anything but a person if I didn't take that bullet for you." --- "Sure thing." Bern soon came back with a bottle of scotch and two glasses. He poured into each glass. --- "But why would I want to ruin this place? Seems alright to me." Adam raised a finger. "And no to that. I don't miss being mortal." --- When Sam was grabbed, he suddenly slapped her. Instead of trying to run or fight, he only shouted, "You're just like my pathetic family! Cold and heartless! Not even my real dad was any better!" He crossed his arms. "I thought Hell was the answer but apparently not." Sabrina shrugged. "Suit yourself." She walked away. Charles laughed as Florin died. "You'll bow soon enough." --- "I know that we've been through a lot but it didn't feel good to leave our friends to deal with everything." ,said Carter. He lifted his head when there was a knock at the door. It would be Kite. --- Insanity frowned. "I can't deny that. But this is different. You have never said such things before. This proves that you are slowly changing. However, it is difficult to be near you. I'm sorry." Fred nodded. "Thank you. Oh thank you. My fear has weakened from your words." --- "If there is anything strange with our books, I can assure you that you will be the first to know. However, no one other than the Reapers are allowed to look inside. Need I remind you this everytime we meet?" Death gripped his chair. "You do know how to puncture me with your curiosity." shadowess - April 23, 2023 "It's good to hear your laughter," Bianka commented and ruffled Theron's hair. "Perhaps we can share more stories with you while you eat? This is the dining hall." They paused outside the large, double doors which were almost always left wide open. "Oh! I'll go and ask the cook for their biggest, juiciest steak for you!" Larissa said excitedly and before any of them could say another word, she'd darted off towards the kitchen. "Always so full of energy, I've no idea where she gets it all." Bianka laughed then nodded towards an empty table. "Would you like to eat here to take the meal home?" she asked with a smile, purposefully implying that Theron could live with them if he chose to. --- The woman that had died and been brought back to life was staring around at the commotion. She didn't understand what was happening. She couldn't remember how she'd gotten in that car or what had happened to her. Although she was shivering from the cold, she felt numb from shock. She flinched at Pain's touch then recovered when she realised he wasn't a threat. "I don't remember what happened..." she mumbled. "Who are you people? Where am I?" She glanced up at Lilly when she heard her vomiting. Immediately she realised that she not only knew Lilly's name but also felt a curious connection to her. Like an ethereal string had bound them together. She looked over at the bloodied man who seemed to be grinning like a lunatic and realised she felt the same connection to him as well. "Ow! Fuck! Calm down, brat!" The taxi driver writhed in Hades's grip after he'd been slammed against the car. His back hurt from the impact. "What're you so pissed for? She'd not hurt! And I don't even want her anymore. So just let me go, alright?!" he complained, dodging Hades's question in the process. During this commotion, a large black van sped down the road and screeched to a halt near the group. All doors opened and several agents in suits stepped out. Lilly turned, wiping her mouth on her sleeve and immediately recognised the suits and badges being flashed. The CIA. Her heart sank. Did they turn up because of what she'd just done? "Lilly, where's your skeleton friend? Your presence is requested as a matter of urgency." One of the agents said. "Why?" Lilly asked, defensive. The agents took one look around the group before one of them answered. "That's classified. Come with us and we'll explain everything." "Explain it to me now," Lilly demanded and the agent shook his head. "Afraid it doesn't work that way." "And if I refuse?" "You don't really have a choice." "No! You can't do this! You told me I could live here! You made a deal with David that I could have a life here!" "That's really not up to me, ma'am. Now you can either come willingly or if you continue to resist we can use force, if necessary." While all the focus was on the CIA and Lilly, the taxi driver would use the distraction to his advantage and shove Hades away with him with every bit of strength he could muster. He'd then jump into his cab and speed away. None of the agents would react to the taxi driver. They were only given orders to collect Lilly and Bob. "Surely we can just talk about this? What's this all about, fellas?" Bob asked as he took a step towards them. One of the agents lifted a hand to signal to Bob that he shouldn't come any closer. "As I said before, that's classified. We only came here for Lilly and Bob the skeleton, so you and your friends need to stay out of this." "I'm Bob the skeleton." "Very funny, sir.-" "I am!" "-Look, we don't have time for this. You can either bring the skeleton to us or we'll find him ourselves. In the meantime, Lilly needs to come with us now." The agent took a step towards Lilly, who in turn took a hurried step back. "Leave me alone!" She snapped at them in a quivering voice. --- Taken aback, Layla wrapped her arms around him to comfort him. She then gasped when the vines removed his clothes and her face burned red as she quickly averted her gaze. When he was dressed in various foliage, she looked over him and then at the vines. "Oh, this is going to take some getting used to..." she said as her head spun and she placed a hand on her head. It was too much, too fast. She felt like she'd stepped straight into a fairy tale and the sudden shift from dark, gritty CIA life to this was enough to make her very light-headed. "I think... I feel... " she said breathlessly while leaning against Nil for support. Elsewhere in the same forest, Florin appeared near his old hut. The grounds were still a mess from the fight that had taken place in this clearing. Broken trees, twigs scattered everywhere, bodies and blood stained the grass. But Florin barely paid any of this his attention as he strode towards his hut, grabbing his axe along the way. He was no fool and had lived long enough to recognise when it was time to get the hell out of dodge. He kicked his door open and marched inside. He yanked a heavy-looking briefcase out from under his bed and opened it. It contained some money and his passport. He wasn't sure how long it'd been since he'd last needed it, but he could use it, all the same, to obtain a newer, more up-to-date form of identification and start a new life elsewhere. For now though, this old home of his wasn't safe anymore. He'd made enemies during his short time helping Donnie's family, so now he needed to go into hiding until things cooled down. He closed the briefcase and stepped out of the hut. --- Damien considered the run-down place James had taken him to in the wake of his being attacked. It wasn't a five-star hotel, but it was definitely safe. He smiled and nodded at James. "That could work." "Then we have a plan. Let's put it into motion while it's still night." River nodded. He looked over at the officers. "Anyone from forensics got a spare, clean vial we could use? We'll just need a small sample of Damien's blood." he then looked back at Damien. "I'll head over to your place to change into some of your clothes now." "Don't forget, when you sneak out pretending to be me you'll need to pretend you're powerless." Damien reminded him while shaking his wrist a little to make the Angelic bracelet jangle a bit. "Got it. I'll be back in a couple of minutes. In the meantime, someone get that sample of blood and make a sketch of the vampire." River vanished. One of the forensic officers headed out of the room and returned shortly with a small vial, although they seemed a bit unsure of how to collect the blood. "Uh- don't we need medical tubes and stuff?" they asked as they brought the vial over to Damien. "I'm not a pussy, just cut me somewhere," Damien remarked impatiently as he turned his attention to the other officers. "Who do I need to describe this vampire to for a sketch?" he called out. A few minutes later, River reappeared wearing Damien's clothes. "How do I look?" he asked while giving them a twirl. "Looks good. There's one slight problem with your get-up." Damien said then used his free hand to lift a couple of strands of his own, very red hair. "Ah... yeah." River paused with an awkward chuckle. "I keep forgetting that I'm blond now. I'll er-... be right back." he vanished again. --- For a long moment, Kat was quiet as he drove. He glanced at Sawyer for just a second before returning his gaze to the road ahead. "You're alright, Red Fox. I had my doubts but..." he trailed off, debating his words carefully. "Look, after we hand this money over to the boss, do you want to go get a couple of drinks? I know this little place in town that does pretty good saké." --- "Thanks." Amelia handed one to David who raised a brow at her. Then stared at her worriedly when she downed her own drink before requesting more from Bern. "I'm guessing, some of what you're going to tell me isn't all happy memories?" he asked as he watched her take another sip of her drink, cringed at the taste and then shook her head in response. "I'm afraid not, no..." She answered finally and took a deep breath while hesitantly looking at her father. "I guess we should start from the beginning. What's the last thing that you remember?" "Me? I was living in London with my daughter. We're not... we were not on good terms. I'd-... done something horrible and she wouldn't forgive me for it." Now it was David's turn to feel hesitant about sharing. He dreaded Amelia's reaction to telling her about what he'd done to his real daughter. To his surprise and relief, however, she already knew. "You'd held her down while Lucifer forced her to sign his contract." She said, leaving David with a shocked and shameful expression on his face as he nodded. "I had to..." He began to defend himself but Amelia held up her hand to stop him and shook her head. "I know, I know..." she said gently before pressing on. "Well, from there..." Amelia began telling David all the details that he'd previously shared with her. They drank some more, she answered a few of his questions and explained everything to him to the best of her knowledge. Neither of them would mind if Bern sat with them to listen in. Several hours later, when Amelia would finally be done telling him everything, David would be sobbing into his hands. Although it had actually happened decades ago, he was so struck with grief when he learned of Sara's destruction that he could do nothing but weep. "I'm sorry, dad..." Amelia said in a broken voice as she watched him with tears in her eyes. He lowered his hands and looked at her. He didn't hold this against her. Without being able to remember it, he knew simply by how she spoke and held herself that he had raised her. He knew without any doubt that he loved her like his own. But he was just so overwhelmed by the news that he'd never again see his real daughter, or hold her in his arms. The pain felt new, raw and very real. He reached across the table and took Amelia's hand to gently squeeze it, letting her know that he wasn't upset with her. Then he let her go and got to his feet to walk over to the window and look out at the world. It all felt so empty without Sara. --- "I said human, not mortal. After all, humans who live in Eden are immortal, yes?" John pointed out and gestured to the world through the window. "Don't you see? By growing the fruit here and bringing the living to the realm of the dead, you will re-awaken Eden and in so doing this world and its people will bow to your every whim. What's more, you could take several wives and even a few husbands. In time, you will have spread your seed enough to breed an army capable of taking over Heaven and Earth. Finally enacting the revenge that you deserve and taking back all the peace, pleasure and love that you were once promised!" John's eyes had lit up madly as he'd been talking. "Doesn't that just sound wonderful?" He took a step towards Adam and placed his hands on his shoulders. "I know where we can begin and it all starts with you. I will bring you to Earth in the guise of a human man. There you will choose the ones that you wish to marry and I will deliver them to your home here, in this world. They will be honoured to have been chosen by you." --- Carol was taken aback by the slap and then glared at the boy as she grabbed his arm again, more roughly this time. "Kid, if you're trying to get sympathy out of me, slapping me definitely won't help." she snapped while yanking his arm to drag him with her. Shiva glared at Sabrina as he watched her walk away. He looked up at Charles. Like the other Demons, he was reminded of Lucifer and the idea of being punished for defiance was enough to cause him to break out in a cold sweat. He'd turned to start following the other Demons when he heard Sam shouting from the balcony above them. He stopped in his tracks and looked up. He looked from the balcony to Charles, then back again. He looked back at Charles and glared at him defiantly before using what little strength he had left to teleport into the balcony. He surprised Carol who had little chance to realise what was happening before he'd punch her in the face. He let out a pained cry from how much the impact had hurt his already very fragile skin. Knowing time was of the essence, he grabbed Sam's arm and teleported them both to a remote little cabin on Earth. Having used so much energy while he was still so weak, he collapsed to his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath. There, he realised what he'd just done and really started to panic. If they came after him, he couldn't defend them. "Sire!" he gasped, looking up at Sam in panic, hoping the young prince would have some kind of plan. "What do we do now?" --- "I don't think even our friends would've seen an earthquake coming." Sebastian pointed out. "I see your point but don't forget, in a few months we're going to be dads. We'll need to get used to not jumping in whenever something goes wrong." He said worriedly as he followed him to the door. When the door opened, Sebastian looked at him with concern. "Kite? Is everything ok?" --- "No, please!" Donnie gasped when Insanity told him it was difficult to be around him. He tried to reach out to him but the restraint prevented his arm from leaving the bed. "Please don't go. They'll heal me, sure, but... when Charles comes for me... Insanity you and I both know he's not going to let me live." his lip quivered as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I'm on death row. I might only have these few hours left. I want to spend them with you. Please. Please." "All in a day's work." The doctor told Fred as she clicked her pen before turning on her heels and leaving the room. She needed to prepare all the necessary equipment that she would need for the surgery before heading back to Donnie's room. --- Raguel was annoyed that he had once again failed to convince Death to let him look in their books, but he put on a strained smile in an attempt to mask it. "You know I only have the best interests of our worlds in mind when I ask," he said. "It's a shame but I won't press the matter further. I wouldn't want to soil the goodwill between our worlds." "Forgive me for interrupting, but surely you didn't just summon His Grace here to ask about the books?" Azreal asked, barely containing his frustration as he glared at Raguel. Raguel blinked and stared back at the Angel. He seemed a little wounded as he muttered disapprovingly to himself while rubbing his chin to hide his lip movement. "'His Grace? Is that what you're calling him now?" In truth, he was a little agitated that the Angel he'd always treated as a son tended to side more with Death than him in almost all matters. In Raguel's eyes, it was as if Azreal considered himself to be more of a Reaper than an Angel. "No, I didn't," Raguel answered. "I was hoping Heaven and the Reapers could work together on this, considering nothing of this magnitude has ever happened before. We keep communications open between our worlds and report anything related to the tremor. If it is a portal, we may need to look into what kind of portal it is and whether it could be a threat to us all. I will order my Arch Angels to monitor the humans as they seem to be technologically capable of tracking this thing. What can the realm of the dead offer in the way of aid?" he posed the question to Death. Denix Vames - April 23, 2023 "I've never ate at this kind of table. I want to try it." ,said Theron. --- "Basically, you're in San Francisco and we're in a band. That's as far as I know." ,said Pain. Hades stumbled when she was pushed. She glared at the taxi but didn't follow. Grim ran in front of the agents. "Back off! Yo're not going anywhere with them! They're our friends!" Hades raised her hands. The black blood hardened over both men's feet. "Now talk." --- Nil held her in his arms. Carrying her back into the house where he laid her on the bed. "It's alright. Just rest." His eyes widened. "It's telling me that there's a werewolf unlike any other. I'll stay here with you so that nothing happens." --- James pulled out a knife and cut a bit from Damien's wrist. He placed the vial under. Filling it up. An officer stepped over and asked for details on the suspect. He would then start sketching before showing the drawing once he was done. --- "That sounds great. First though, I need to take care of this wound. Do we have a first aid kit somewhere in this car?" ,said Sawyer. --- Bern had poured another drink for her. After the conversation, he walked over to David. "You really don't remember me, do you? You saved my boss. Saved all of us. Made us realize that we could use our power for good. You're a hero." --- "That does sound nice. I think I'll try this plan out. Still, you have to know that my human form isn't what you think. It's not pretty. God had fun making the first human so I look a lot different. So get ready for that." ,said Adam. --- Sam hugged his knees. "I don't know. I should have never tried to do anything. All of this was for nothing. I lost a family and a home. I have no one who actually cares about me. And why should they? I stepped on everyone. Treated them like disposable objects." Charles appeared. "What an interesting statement. Perhaps you have changed." --- Carter frowned. Not knowing what to say. "Everything's fine at home. I just wanted to check on you guys and make sure everything was alright. I didn't think I would have time because of the kids. Thankfully, Cindy said she could watch them while I'm gone." ,said Kite. --- Insanity shook his head. Tears ran down his cheeks. "I don't know what I should now. I think I need to do something." He disappeared. Fred gently squeezed Napoleon's hand. "You rest my friend. I will come back to see your progress." He left. --- Death stood. "I do not appreciate this growing tension. Nor do I appreciate your insistence on seeing our books. We may help in any detail that resembles decay or the deceased if this becomes associated with the portal. As I have said before, I will inform you if anything happens to the books." He glared. "However, I would think carefully before asking that irritating question again. Otherwise, I will talk to an Angel whose personal interests and emotions does not steer him from his duties. Unless you can keep yourself level-headed?"
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 Shadowess - May 8, 2023 Bianka looked over at the tables with a curious expression which quickly melted into a warm smile as she recalled the first time she'd seen the dining hall. The tables were long and very old. They had been carved out of the sturdiest trees long before most of the castle's inhabitants had even been born. The chairs were wooden as well and most of them had soft cushions tied to them. Walking with Theron, she glided her fingers over the polished surface of the table. Tracing the lines in the wood as she walked, she let Theron choose which chair to sit in before sitting next to him. "Here's another story for you. I don't think it's anything other than a fairy tale, well, most of it anyway, but it's a favourite among the oldest families here. I'll do my best to translate it into English for you." She smiled warmly at Theron. "A long, long time ago, vampires and humans were at war. Vampires back then had the upper hand, for no human alone could match a vampire's strength and speed. But Vampire's pushed their luck and after a few centuries of warring, the humans started to birth stronger and faster humans. Humans that did not easily succumb to a Vampire's venom. They trained them. Honed their new strengths into unmatched skill. Then, these new humans began to hunt Vampires and they were very good at it. So good, that they ended the war. But these humans were so full of anger and hatred towards Vampire kind that they continued the bloodshed long after Vampires had been pushed into hiding." Bianka lifted her hand to brush some of Theron's hair from his face. "This is the history of the castle, but don't be sad. That was a long time ago and things have changed a lot since then," she said as she glanced around and grinned at Larissa who was walking towards them from the direction of the kitchen. She was holding a plate full of food in one hand and a large pint of liquid in the other. She seemed quite proud of her haul. "Anyway, after several failed attempts to hide among the humans, several Vampire families, desperate to seek a safe place to live decided to journey into the dense, dark woods." "What's this?" Larissa asked as she set the plate and pint down in front of Theron. A large slab of medium-rare steak took up almost half of the plate on its own. The rest was filled with vegetables, roasted potatoes and mashed potatoes with a drizzle of gravy over everything. This wouldn't be like any meal served anywhere else in the world. The meat had been hunted earlier that evening, while the vegetables, potatoes and even the herbs had been grown in the castle's grounds and prepared practically straight from the ground. Even the gravy had been made from scratch. Not a single part of this meal had come from any sort of packaging. "I was just telling him the Troll story-" Bianka answered her. "Oh! I love that story!" "-But never mind that, what's this?" She then pointed to the pint, which was more like a medieval pitcher than a cup and it was filled almost to the brim with a dark, red liquid. "Wine," Larissa answered, obliviously. "Rissy, this isn't the 18th century anymore. You can't give a boy his age wine!" "Why not? I don't see the harm in it. Besides, he doesn't look that young to me. He looks just a couple of years short of becoming a man. How old are you?" Larissa asked Theron as she sat down opposite them and rested her chin on her hand with her elbow on the table. "Old enough for wine, right? Or would you prefer that I fetch some milk? It's alright if that's the case." --- The agent let out a frustrated sigh when Grim stood between them and Hades used her power to prevent them from moving. Lilly hugged herself, shivering as she glared at the agents. The girl watched anxiously from where she was sitting on the curb. She didn't understand what was happening but she felt an intense instinct to protect Lilly, if necessary. The agent lifted his hand to his earpiece. "Sir, We have Lilly in our sights but she's resisting. Her friends are protecting her and they've pinned us. We can't move. Please advise?... No sir, the skeleton isn't here." "Yes, I am!" Bob sounded offended that none of the agents had recognised him. "Yes, sir." The agent said, ignoring Bob then looked back at the group. "Look, we don't have a lot of time for this so the choice is yours. Either release us and Lilly & Bob come with us peacefully, or we use knock-out gas and our backup comes to take them anyway. If you're going with the second option then everyone here will be arrested for obstruction. Do I make myself clear?" "But... It was an accident. I didn't know I was doing it. I-It was like I was dreaming..." Lilly pleaded and the agent rose a brow at her. "Ma'am, I can honestly say that I have no idea what you're talking about." He said and for a moment Lilly seemed a little relieved. Until the agent followed up with;- "But I think we'll need to talk about that later, too." "But, then...why?" was all Lilly could manage to ask as she stared at the men in confusion. "Come with us and we'll talk about it. As I said, it's classified. My boss would eat me alive if I gave out government secrets while out on a mission." he replied then chuckled to himself while mumbling "Literally..." He then glanced at his partner and nodded before looking back at the group and holding his gun up with his hand open, keeping the gun hooked onto one finger to stop it was falling to the ground. His partner copied his movement. "What I CAN tell you is that you're not in any trouble. We just need your help understanding a few things, is all." "Then why threaten my friends?" Lilly asked, folding her arms. "Why point those guns at us? You let an evil man get away, do you realise this?" "He's not our mission and like I said, we don't have a lot of time to waste. Speaking of which, you've got about two minutes to make your decision before we make it for you." "That! Threats like those are why I don't trust you!" Lilly pointed at them, a fire alighted behind her eyes. "One minute." "Leave her alone!" The girl had jumped to her feet, having seemingly recovered from her shock. "Can we all just calm down a second and talk?" Bob darted between the girl, Lilly, Grim and the agents. "Why the big hurry, fellas? It's not like the world is going to end!" he chuckled. "30 seconds." The agent pressured them. "Fine!" Lilly said finally and raised her hands. She looked at Hades. "Please let them go. I don't want any of you to get hurt just to protect me." "Party at the CIA? I'm in!" Bob cheered then offered up his wrists to the agents. "Cuff me, officers!" "We don't need you." "Yeah man, Lilly and Bob. I'm Bob." "Bob is a skeleton." "Not anymore." Lilly sighed. "Grew me some skin... and hair... and nails... and organs... and this big dangly-" "BOB!" Lilly yelled suddenly, cutting Bob off and causing him to pause as he'd been just about to undo his trousers. "What?" For the first time since their arrival, the agent looked flustered. "That's- That's ok, sir. I'll er- take your word for it... Now please get in the van." --- Layla rested her head on the soft, mossy pillows. The fresh earthy smell rose around her and she found it oddly relaxing. Within moments though, she was tense again as Nil told her about the other werewolf. She held onto him nervously as she turned her head to stare at the tightly threaded vines that made up the walls of their new home. After a couple of minutes, she caught his scent. Then she heard his footsteps as he marched through dried leaves nearby. Briefcase in hand, Florin marched through the woods at a brisk pace. If he intended to lay low, he would need to be cautious about how much energy he used. If he needed it at any point to defend his life or flee, he would need to retain as much of his energy as possible. As he marched on, he caught a new scent. One he hadn't detected in these woods before. A new wolf. This forest, particularly this section of forest, was his territory and over the years he'd torn a few werewolves apart in order to keep it that way. But now, he supposed, he wouldn't have to anymore. He wouldn't be able to come back here for a very long time. The more he walked, the more he noticed that he was naturally walking towards the scent. The closer he got, the more he picked up. He recognised the scent as female and couldn't help but grin as he detected the heightened hormones. Whoever she was, she was in heat. No wonder, considering how close they were to a full moon. His pace slowed to a stop as he found the clearing with the curiously shaped little home. He couldn't help staring at it in awe for several seconds. Whoever the wolf was, she was inside. He stepped towards the door, almost as if drawn to the scent but then stopped with a look at disappointment and agitation before he could touch the handle. There was someone else in there. Male. Not a wolf though. He growled but took a step back and shook his head. What was he doing? He needed to get out of these woods. Whatever this was and whoever these people were, they weren't his problem anymore. Once upon a time, he might've destroyed the house, killed the male and conquered the female as a way of reclaiming his territory. But this wasn't his territory anymore. He was leaving it behind. In an unintended way, he guessed he was passing it on to these newcomers. He stepped around the house and walked about halfway around it before stopping and leaning against the wall to take in one long breath of their scents. "I know you're listening to my movements. You're lucky to arrive when you did. Enjoy your new home while you can. I am immortal and this is MY forest." he said through the vines. "One day I'll return and you will give back what is mine or I will take what is yours." Without another word, Florin stepped away from the wall and continued on his journey. When his footsteps and scent faded away, Layla let out a sigh of relief and realised just how tense they'd been. She sat up and looked at Nil, thankful for his presence. She wrapped her arms around him, seeking comfort. --- "Christ! Are you both mad?! You could've hit an artery!" The forensic officer gasped after he saw James dig the knife into Damien's wrist. Damien barely winced and simply let James fill up the vial, displaying an amount of trust that was rare, even for Damien. "Here, the cap..." The officer handed it to James to close up the vial once it was full. "I'll go get some bandages." Meanwhile, Damien was looking over the sketch with some scrutiny. "Almost... His nose was slightly more crooked but it's mostly right." River reappeared in the room, bringing a slight smell of hair dye along with him. "This was the closest shade I could get," he announced. The difference was only subtle though, as Damien's hair was only a little darker. "Oh! And-..." he lifted his wrist and shook it the same way Damien had earlier to show off the bracelet. Only this one wasn't angelic, but a pearl-coloured stone that had been shaped into a fashionable accessory. "I snuck it out of Jessica's jewellery box... She wasn't home or I would've asked but I'm sure she'll be ok with it when we explain it later." "I don't want your sister to know about this," Damien said defensively. "But-" "That's the end of it!" Damien snapped as he stared hard at River then sighed at the crestfallen look he was getting. "...I just don't want to worry her. Ok? I'm so-..." He sighed again out of frustration. As small as it seemed to be, the word 'sorry' wasn't an easy thing for him to say. In fact, he found it immensely difficult to express any regret. "I shouldn't have snapped." River nodded. "Alright. Are you ready?" "As ready as I can be. James has my blood and this sketch is looking better." "No problem, then let's get going." River walked over to James and took the vial, tucking it into his jacket pocket. He turned to the other officers. "Werewolves, head out into your positions and remember if you see him chase him like your venom is still toxic to him. Try to get him to run towards the safe house." River turned to Damien and James. "Wait until Will and I are out of sight before you head out." he then turned to Will while pulling his own hood up. "I'm ready. Remember, we can't teleport there. He's got to follow the scent from the vial, so you'll need to drive me there and pretend I'm powerless. If you have to talk to me at any point, call me Damien. He might be listening to us as we move." --- Kat glanced at the bullet wound in Sawyer's arm before pulling the car over to the side of the road. "It's in the trunk. I'll get it," he said as he took the key out of the ignition and got out of the vehicle. He walked around to the back and opened up the trunk. A moment later, he closed it and got back into the driver's seat, passing a small, black box to Sawyer before starting the car again. The box contained simple bandages, gauze, disinfectant wipes and other little medical tools for on-the-go. "Is it a through and through?" He asked as he pulled the car back onto the road and accelerated back to the speed limit. "If the bullet is still in there it'll have to wait until after we hand this money over the to boss. I can get it out for you. Wouldn't be the first time I've had to fish a bullet out." He admitted while lifting the side of his shirt with his free hand to show Sawyer several scars on his side. A large dragon tattoo on his back was slightly visible until he lowered his shirt again, keeping his eyes on the road. --- "I-... am?" David turned to look at Bern with a surprised expression. "A lot of people owe their lives and second chances to you, Dad." Amelia agreed. "You believed in me and supported me when I said I wanted to change how Hell was run. You alone have saved countless souls from eternal damnation and set an example to other demons that it's not impossible. With the right words, the right attitude and the right amount of compassion, Hell can become a realm of second chances rather than punishment. And not just in Hell, here on Earth too. Bern, his boss and his men were on the wrong path until you stepped in and showed them that they were capable of better things." Amelia paused and glanced at her drink thoughtfully. "It's like, you never took a day off. You would always manage to find someone who needed help but you were ready to do whatever was needed to save them..." Amelia trailed off, as though just now realising why that was. David seemed to come to the same conclusion as he leaned against the wall by the window and stared at the ground. "Because I couldn't save her..." he whispered. "I would've felt compelled to save as many people as I could." Amelia lifted her eyes from her glass and then said something that shocked even herself. "Maybe this is a good thing?" David looked at her in alarm and she waved a hand quickly. "Hear me out. You've done it all. Like I said, you helped me turn Hell around. You've set an example to other demons. You've saved so, so many souls... If I'd asked you yesterday, when you still had your memories, if you wanted to retire, you would have told me no. That you're not done yet. But now? Dad... I think it's time." "What? To- to retire? Retire to where?" David laughed. "Do I get a pension? A house on the beach? Drinks with those little umbrellas for all eternity?" Amelia simply smiled at him tearfully, sort of glad that his sarcastic sense of humour had been revived in the wake of his amnesia. By the time Amelia was found, David's sense of humour had become more or less dry. "No pension but apparently you don't need any money in Heaven, so you should be ok." David's mouth fell open. "H-Heaven?" he shook his head. "Wait a second, I'm a DEMON. Am I even allowed up there?" "You've been there before." "I have?!" Amelia nodded with a chuckle "It's like Bern said. You're a hero. You're welcome there. Just remember to come and visit your family every now and then, ok?" David ran his hand through his hair. He was shaking and his eyes were wide. "I-... I don't know... All of this is... I don't know!" "Dad, you don't have to if you don't want to. The option is just there." Amelia reassured him. She bit her lip and stood up before walking over and hugging David tightly. She then let him go and wiped her tears from her eyes as she looked at Bern. "Can he stay here to think it over? Regardless of what he chooses, I think some time away from everything, surrounded by friends will do him some good." --- John seemed unsure of Adam's words. "You will need to blend in with the rest of humanity if we're to pick out your spouses without drawing unwanted attention." He said then shrugged. "But let's see just how different you are first. I'm sure we can apply some masking spells to trick mortal eyes while we're on Earth if necessary." --- Shiva's eyes widened as Sam spoke. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. They were in grave danger and the Prince that he'd hoped would lead Demons into a new age was cowering like a frightened child. In Shiva's mind, Sam was dooming them both despite Shiva's efforts to save them. "B-but sire-!" he gasped but then let out a sharp cry and Carol's high heel struck the small of his back and pinned him to the ground. The point of her shoe felt like a burning knife being pressed into his already sore flesh. "Why you sucker-punching son of a bitch!" he heard her rage as she dug her heel in more and made him cry out again. He clawed at the carpet in desperation. When Charles appeared Shiva's screams quickly died out and became pitiful whimpering. "What shall we do with them, sir?" Carol asked Charles as she lifted her head to look at him. "P-please." Shiva whimpered. "H-Have mercy?" --- "We're fine here," Sebastian said. "It was just a little shake, I don't think anything even fell off the shelves. How are Cindy and the kids? I'll bet you both barely get any sleep anymore!" he asked, eager to talk to Kite about his new family. They hadn't heard much from Kite or Cindy since the twin's sudden arrival. "Do you need help with anything? You only need to ask, you know. I'd be happy to babysit if you two need a break every so often. Can I get you anything? Coffee?" --- "No! Insanity! Please! Don't leave me! Come back! Do you want me to change? Fine! I'll change! I'll be what you want me to be! Just don't go!" Donnie erupted into sobs. He looked up, towards the ceiling with a mixture of desperation and anger. "Is this a game to you?! Huh?! Is this my divine punishment?! Are you enjoying this?!" He broke down into sobs and then lifted his head to bang it against his pillow a few times out of frustration. His panic then worsened when the doctor re-entered the room. He tried to get up but the restraints kept him in place. "Please. Please. Not yet. He- He's coming back. I need him here. I'm not ready! I don't want to be alone!" The doctor shushed him gently. "It's alright. You're safe and we'll take care of those wounds for you." "Safe?!" Donnie laughed sourly. "After what I've done? How do I know you're not my executioner?!" "I don't know you." The doctor said bluntly with a shrug. "My job is to help ease pain and heal the sick. If I burdened myself with every moral dilemma then I'd never get any work done and then I just wouldn't be doing my job, would I?" "You-you don't know who I am?" "Not a clue, now count backwards from one hundred." The doctor said while placing a breathing mask over Donnie's mouth and nose. "W-wait-! Insanity?" "Is that the name of the man who was here with you?" Donnie nodded. "That's-... quite a name... I'm sure he'll be back around the time you'll be waking up from the anaesthetic. Now just relax and breathe. This'll be over before you know it." Donnie tried to relax but his mind was racing. Would he ever see Insanity again? Would he even live to see another day? Would he-? Before he could think of another question, he was sleeping soundly and the doctor wheeled him into the surgery room. --- Raguel's hands balled into fists and his knuckles cracked as he strained to keep himself composed. He gritted his teeth. "Listen here, you-" he started to growl but seeing the situation start to escalate, Azrael acted quickly and stepped between them before bowing slightly to Death with his hand on his own chest. "-Your Grace, I apologise for the interruption but I sense there is a Reaper in your throne room with urgent news and it would seem this meeting is over anyway." he lifted his head and glanced back at Raguel. "Isn't that right, sir?" Raguel glared between Death and Azrael before huffing in defeat. He stepped away from his desk to turn and look out of his window. "Yes, this meeting is over. Thank you for your swift attendance, Death. I will forward any more news on the portal straight to you." Denix Vames - May 9, 2023 "I'm fifteen." Theron held a confused look. "Wine? What's wine?" --- Hades encased both agents in black blood. "C'mon everyone. We're going to the CIA together." She got in the driver's seat. Once the whole gang was in the van, Hades freed the agents from their prisons. "Now, you can either hop in and give us directions or we can-" Xenos appeared. "What is the meaning of this?!" He sighed as he massaged his temples. "I know I said to keep this classified but did you two really have to act like those typical agents in Hollywood movies? The least you could say was we need her help for something important!" Hades waved at him with a smile. "Hey X!" --- Though angry, Nil stayed with Layla. "This land doesn't belong to him. If he returns, I will make sure he knows that." He looked at her. "Are you alright? I'm sorry I didn't notice him until now. Maybe we should find a new forest." --- Will sighed. "Well, here we go." He walked with River to the car. Once inside, he started the drive. James smirked, "That pesky vampire won't know what hit him." --- Sawyer flustered when he saw his torso. He kept his eyes on the road, "Why did you join the Yakuza anyway? Is it because you had to? I only joined because of a stupid reason. You already let me know that." He shrugged. "But maybe you're right." He checked his wound. "The bullet is sitting there. Guess I'll have to wait." --- Bern smiled. "Of course. We'd be happy to have him here. I can whip my mother's famous pasta." --- "So, do I just stand here and let you turn me back into a human?" ,said Adam. An Ancient Devil had swam out of the waters. He transformed into a pale man with black eyes, black lips, and black nails. He had short hair and an outfit that matched the colors of his features. He crawled towards them and hissed at John. Adam pointed at the man. "Uh I think someone's mad at you." --- "Put them in a cell. David can deal with them." Charles glared at them. "And if I hear that you two fought against my right hand woman, I will not show mercy." He disappeared. Sam stood and walked over. "I won't fight. Just take me back." --- Kite's eyes lit up. "Well, actually I wanted to show you two our babies. I think Cindy would love it if you guys came over to visit." --- Once Donnie would wake up, he would see a bird-child that resembled a lot like his partner. Insanity smiled. "I'm glad you're ok. I'm sorry I left. It's a long story but I'm here now." --- Death glared at Raguel before nodding at Azrael. "Then I shall take my leave." Both men disappeared. Once he was back in his throne room, he let it all out. "Who does that pompus angel think he is?! To talk to me like that?! He should be grateful that I help at all!"
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 shadowess - May 10, 2023 "See!" Larissa said triumphantly while gesturing at Theron. "Only a couple of years short of manhood!" "Rissy, the world doesn't work that way anymore. He's actually more like five years away from manhood." Bianka explained. "No, because then he'd be middle-aged!" Larissa countered, clearly confused. Bianka chuckled softly and shook her head. "According to our human visitors in those black suits, humans actually live longer than they used to and age slower because of it. This is a good thing, Rissy. It means he still has some childhood left. Now please go and get him some milk instead." Larissa was shocked by this news and awkwardly fiddled with her fingers. "Maybe half a cup wouldn't hurt him?" "Rissy..." Bianka rolled her eyes with an exhausted sigh. "But we're acting as his parents so we can supervise him!" Bianka gave Larissa a frustrated look before shrugging in defeat. "Fine. Half a cup. But only if Theron wants it. You still need to bring him some milk though." Jumping to her feet and clapping excitedly, Larissa skipped away from the table and back to the kitchen. "It's a drink that adults sometimes have to relax or have fun. If you drink too much too quickly, it'll make you drunk. Being drunk feels fun in the moment but it can make you do things you might regret later and then leave you feeling unwell once it wears off. But if you're mature with it, you can still enjoy some without losing control of yourself or becoming sick. Just make sure to drink it slowly and sensibly." Bianka then explained to Theron patiently while sitting back in her seat and letting him enjoy his meal. "Now, where was I? Ah! The Vampire families had fled into the woods. They needed to make themselves a new home so deep in the woods that they would be hard to find and they needed to build their new home quickly. Before the sun would rise. So they got to work. They cut down trees and gathered large rocks and took it in turns watching their young while the others worked together to build the first room of what would eventually become this castle." "But as they worked, and chopped and hammered, they awoke a monster that had been sleeping nearby, under a great blanket of peat moss. The monster was a troll. He was large, ugly and smelled rotten. He raged at the Vampires for waking him up. He raged even more when he realised they were trying to make a home in HIS woods. The beast was too strong for the Vampires to fight and they were running out of time to build their home. So the Vampires begged the troll to let them stay." "I'm back! Where are you up to in the story?" Larissa asked eagerly as she sat down again and set a second cup on the table near Theron. This one was filled with fresh milk. "The deal." "Ohh! It's getting good!" Larissa grinned at Theron excitedly before turning to Bianka and listening intently with her head resting on her hand again. "Anyway. The Vampires begged the Troll to let them stay. The Troll agreed and even offered to help them build their home faster under one condition. Every month, under the light of the full moon, the Vampires must bring their youngest child to a large cave in the woods and leave them there as an offering to the Troll." "He was eating them." "Shh! Let me tell the story. Desperate and frightened, the Vampires agreed to the deal and with a snap of his bulbous fingers, the rocks and trees in the area moved magically and rapidly. Reshaping themselves and binding themselves together until this great castle was built. And just in time too as the Vampires only had time to run through the door and close it before the sun peeked over the horizon!" "Years went by and true to their word the Vampires dropped off one child every month to the Troll and they were never seen again. One day, a grief-stricken father went for a walk into the woods to mourn the loss of his child. He wept and wept into the bark of an old tree. He told this tree his woes and his regrets and wished that there was some way that they didn't have to keep giving this Troll their children anymore. What the father didn't know was that the forest was listening to him. The forest felt his pain and pitied the Vampires in the castle who had turned to the forest for safety so long ago but had been tormented by the evil Troll instead. A strange wind blew through the forest that day, carrying unheard whispers from leaf to leaf until they reached the keen ears of the Forest Folk." Bianka smiled at Theron, checking to see if he was still interested in this story while also giving him a chance to actually eat his meal. --- Once the blood had receded from the Agents, they both jumped when X had appeared and started to tell them off. "Uh-! But- we-we did say that, sir. They were still resisting!" One of them tried in a defensive, yet very flustered way. "Dude..." The other agent mumbled to the agent disapprovingly while holstering his gun. This was the first word this particular agent had uttered since their arrival. "Sorry boss..." "Hiya pal!" Bob greeted X as well. Lilly cautiously approached him, being careful to keep her distance. The way the other two agents had threatened them before had caused her to feel less trusting towards the CIA. "What is this about?" she asked. Her voice trembled with a mixture of anger and nervousness. --- Her heart had been beating so fast through all of that but as Nil became defensive of their new home, Layla immediately felt safer. She was then surprised as Nil seemed to backtrack on his words by suggesting that they move elsewhere. "No." She said softly as she lifted her head to look at him. Her face was close to his as she stared into his eyes. "I'm tired of running. This is our home now and I would fight to defend it... and you." --- Keeping his head down, River followed Will out to the car and got into the passenger side. He took a quick glance around but couldn't make out anything that was out of the ordinary. He debated saying something but decided to keep quiet. If the vampire was listening in, his voice and accent might give them away. Instead, he opened his window by a crack and took the vial out of his pocket, being careful to keep it hidden. He popped the top loose so that the scent of Damien's blood would be stronger around the car as they started to drive away. The plan was in motion and although he was still well hidden, Tristan had already locked on to the scent coming from the car and was moving swiftly yet carefully through the alleys to keep up with it. He'd noticed Will and something about his scent seemed strange. Tristan had never encountered a Leviathan before so he had no idea what he was up against. All the more reason to move cautiously. "I just hope they break a few of his bones while they're at it." Damien chuckled. "Asshole might be nuts but he still... attacked me." He then winced and rubbed his temples with his fingers. "Ugh, I think the hangover from the moonshine is finally kicking in. That was only a matter of time," he smirked at James as he pulled his own hood up. "Worth it though. We should get going. Hanging around here is making me feel uneasy." --- Kat hesitated before answering. "I wanted to be like my brother," he said simply before pulling up to a strip club. "We're here. The club is a front. All the business is done in the VIP suite." he got out of the car and headed towards the bouncer who lifted the red velvet rope to let him through as soon as he saw him. He was about to put the rope down for Sawyer when Kat stopped and told him in Japanese that he was with him. The bouncer reluctantly lifted the rope and let Sawyer through as well. Kat motioned for Sawyer to keep following him and lead him through the club. They passed a lot of girls in small, tight clothing who walked around serving drinks, dances and private dances. There were a few girls on the stage, dancing around poles or around each other suggestively. Men and even a few women in sharp suits were sitting on chairs in front of the stage. Drinking and cheering on their entertainment. Kat seemed utterly disconnected from his surroundings as he walked towards the VIP section without so much as a glance at what was going on. They'd climb a set of stairs and get past another bouncer before reaching the VIP section. It was a little quieter here and not a single dancer was in this room. Only a group of men in sharp suits, drinking hard alcohol in short glasses. Their leader was sat on his own, in the centre of the group. Kat bowed his head respectfully before he handed him the money that he'd managed to get from the old man's apartment. The leader asked him something in Japanese and Kat took a moment to regard Sawyer carefully before answering in the same language. "Good!" The leader smiled and sat back in his seat to relax. "Keep him with you. Let him learn our ways from one of our own. Be sure to tell him the consequences of failure. Now get out. I'll call you when there's another job." Kat bowed his head again before turning and gesturing for Sawyer to leave with him. Once back at the car, he let out a long sigh and went to grab his packet of cigarettes only to remember he'd run out earlier that evening. He cursed under his breath in Japanese before starting the car. "Alright Red Fox, let's get that bullet out. We'll have to do it at my place but then we can go grab that drink after." --- David was still in shock from all the news he'd had to take in and the choice that he now faced. But when Bern mentioned pasta, he couldn't help smiling and shrugging. "I love a good pasta," he said, completely unaware that he hadn't needed to eat any food for a few decades now. Amelia nodded with a smile. "Then it's settled. I need to go. I have a few things to clear up but I'll be back soon to see if you've made a decision." she kissed David's cheek. "See you both later," she said before vanishing. --- John looked out of the window of the Library. He'd never noticed that river there before. But then again, it was hard to see anything outside of this building with it being so dark all the time. He stared at the Ancient Devil with a mixture of concern and confusion. "I don't even know them," he said as he placed a hand on Adam's shoulder and stepped away from the window cautiously. Bringing Adam with him as he moved. "Stay behind me," he told Adam while tensing and preparing himself for anything. --- While relieved that they wouldn't be destroyed or subjected to torture, Shiva felt an overwhelming sense of shame that he'd had to beg for mercy. He couldn't stand that feeling so he quickly diverted it into rage towards Sam and his family for failing to live up to their promises. He remained silent but glared at Sam continuously as Carol yanked him back to his feet. "Good boy." Carol teased with a smirk as she pulled Shiva up. She then took Sam's arm and teleported the three of them to Hell's Cells. By now, a couple of the cells were crowded with Demons who had been at the arena. She opened up an empty cell near them and gestured into it. "Get in," she ordered them in a cold tone. "And do try anything stupid." --- "Oh! That's a wonderful thought!" Sebastian cooed excitedly. He turned to look at Carter. "We should go and say hello to the little ones." he beamed. "You guys going out?" Parker asked as he descended the stairs, having overheard Sebastian. He looked like he hadn't long woken up. --- Donnie stirred sleepily as he slowly came to. Despite the pain relief in his system, his entire torso felt sore and tender. The upper half of his body, as well as his upper arms, were completely wrapped in clean bandages. His mouth felt dry. Likely from the anaesthesia. Groaning, he turned his head and blinked at Insanity with a puzzled expression. "Am I still drugged?" he asked in a quiet voice. --- "Your Grace, I can only apologise for the Arch Angel's attitude," Azrael said quickly, trying to calm Death down. "He has a short temper and seemingly a shorter memory but he means well, I assure you," he added, unable to resist the subtle dig at Raguel's inability to let the matter of the books go. The Reaper that had been waiting anxiously was watching all of this tensely. Seeing Death so angry made him even more nervous about the news that he had to deliver. Knowing it might anger his superior further. But duty was duty and this was far too urgent to put off. He tried to quietly clear his through but it was already so dry from nervousness that he let out more of a frightened squeak before recovering with a much more believable cough. "E-excuse me, your Grace? Th-there's something that you need to see... Um-..." he said before stepping forward and opening his own book to show Death the hole that had been burned in the page where a name had clearly once been. He offered the book to Death so that he could get a better look. "I was going to reap this soul but then something weird happened. This girl... she looked like she was in a trance. She chanted something and the recently deceased... well, she wasn't so deceased anymore. Then the book lit up on its own and the name of that soul was forcibly stricken from it! I couldn't stop it. I've never seen anything like it." Azrael stared at the book in disbelief and waited with bated breath to see how Death would react. In all the centuries that he'd worked for Death, he'd never seen anything like this either. Denix Vames - May 10, 2023 Theron had eaten during her story. He hesitantly picked up the cup of wine and sniffed it before taking a sip. His eyes widened, "Is the forest here really alive?" --- "We believe there's a portal that will open at some point somewhere. Do you know anything about closing portals?" ,asked X. --- Nil smiled. He gently kissed her. "Then I guess it's settled. I think we deserve some rest now." --- Will tensed up. Wondering if the vampire was already following them. James nodded. "You good with my speed? Can't imagine a hangover is a good mixture for a fast ride." --- Sawyer took out a pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket. He tossed them to Kat. With a smile he said, "Got them while no one was looking. Had a feeling you might need more." He got in the car. "So, your brother huh? I guess for me....It was always my wife who inspired me to do everything. Even now too." --- Bern waved him over to the direction of the kitchen. "You are going to love this dish! If you want, we can do this together. Just follow my lead." --- The Ancient Demon ran towards them. Having gone through the doorway, he jumped high. Aiming to take down John and his friend. --- Sam bit his lip at her cold tone but walked into the cell. --- "Hey Parker! Wanna come with us? You guys get to see my kids!" ,said KIte. --- "You're not. I drained myself of all my power and placed it somewhere hidden. I didn't realize until I was done that I would become a child." ,said Insanity. --- Death looked at the book before glaring. "This cannot happen again! Find this girl and bring her to me! And find a way for that name to go on the list again! Balance must not be destroyed." He slammed the book closed and gave it back to the reaper. He sat on his throne. "First that pathetic Angel pokes at me and now this woman?! Is everyone trying my patience?"
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 shadowess - May 29, 2023 "According to the story." Bianka shrugged. "It totally is!" Larissa beamed excitedly and Bianka chuckled. "Some parts of this story are true and some are embellished to make it more interesting." "I refuse to believe that any part of this story is a lie! Forest Folk are real! We just haven't seen them in a few dozen generations, that's all..." "Can I continue with the story?" Bianka rose a brow with an amused smirk. "Don't know why you stopped, to be honest..." Larissa responded playfully. With a short sigh, Bianka continued. "One day, while the troll was sleeping, the Forest Folk visited the Vampire Castle. Fascinated by their beautiful butterfly-like wings and shimmering light, the Vampires could only stare in wonder as these creatures appeared in their halls. The leader of the Forest Folk met with the Vampire Kings of the time and they made an alliance. The Forest Folk would destroy the Troll and in return, the only thing the Forest Folk asked is that we simply respect their home. Only cut down trees if necessary to repair parts of the castle or craft weapons. Only hunt deer and rabbits when we need to eat. Most importantly, always welcome a Fae and protect them as if they are our kin." "After the alliance was formed, the warriors of Vampires and Forest Folk headed to the Troll's mossy bed and began their attack. The fight took almost all night but by sunrise, the warriors returned to the castle. Bloody but victorious. Sometime later, the Forest Folk left the woods. The humans had started to hunt them as well so they left to prevent our castle from being found. Though, they promised to return one day. One of their elders predicted that one of their heirs would return and unite the Forest Folk with the Vampires once more." Larissa leaned across the table to whisper. "I think it's King Jean. No one here remembers what a Forest Folk or Fae looks like. But he has wings and he's beautiful, so I think it's him." "Rissy, it's just a bedtime story." Bianka chuckled and shook her head. "Well, I like to imagine a world where it's real. Wouldn't it be magical if it was?" "Can't argue with you there. Anyway, how's the food? Do you feel a bit better now?" Bianka asked Theron. --- Lilly was taken aback by the statement, as well as the question. Nervously, she shook her head. "I wasn't the one who opened the portal that Bob and I came through," she admitted. "That had been a friend of ours... he-... he died trying to open that one. The power needed to achieve something like that was too much." Her expression shifted to worry. "If it's a portal from my world then we need to find a way to stop it! The wraiths can decay everything that they come into contact with!" The Reaper had reappeared nearby and was pacing around anxiously, unseen by all of them. He knew his orders but had no idea how he was supposed to fulfil them. To deliver this girl to the realm of the dead, she would need to be either dead or as close as possible first. No living being can step foot in Death's realm. Of course, Reapers only reap souls from the already deceased. They do not kill. Which posed quite a bit of a paradox for this Reaper. He supposed he could find a way to put her into a coma, but then he'd run the risk of accidentally killing her, which was forbidden. Then there's the matter of the girl that was practically a zombie...can he kill her? She's technically not dead anymore and her name isn't in the book any more. How was he supposed to get her name in there? His head was hurting just trying to figure this out. --- Layla's cheeks had turned pink as they shared their first kiss and she felt her heart fluttering in her chest. Lost in his eyes, she nodded and caressed his cheek. Slowly, she recaptured his lips with hers, savouring the feeling. --- "I'll have to be." Damien shrugged. "Man, this is why I miss having my powers. I could've just thought of us being there and 'Pop!', we'd be there!" he complained while rolling his eyes. "Alright, let's go. Hopefully, I can sleep this off while they deal with that crazy-ass vampire." Tristan ran alongside the car while remaining hidden in the alleys. Even River was feeling unnerved at how quiet the ride seemed to be and was questioning whether the plan was working when he heard the first howl. His eyes widened and he looked over at Will with hope in his eyes. It was the first confirmation they'd had that they were being hunted by the vampire. The wolf had startled Tristan as he'd rounded a corner and almost run into them. He smelled the wolf immediately after and hissed at her in defence. It being close to a full moon, it wasn't out of the ordinary for werewolves to pre-change and roam streets at night. So when Tristan stumbled on an already transformed officer, he was still oblivious that there was any kind of trap in place. The wolf rounded on him when he hissed and she started barking, howling and snapping at him. Spooked, Tristan darted away from the wolf and down another alley. Then another wolf jumped out at him and howled. Then another. He was starting to panic so he climbed a pipe on the side of a building, nearly tearing it off the hinges in the process, until he was running across the rooftops. He continued to follow the car until they finally pulled up to the safe house. Out of breath, he crouched down so that they wouldn't see him if they looked up and he peered over the low wall on the roof to watch them enter the building. Heart pounding, he wanted to wait until it would be safe to sneak in but he could already feel the air becoming warmer. It wouldn't be long before the sun would rise and he'd have to find somewhere to hide. Keeping his head down, River got out of the car and went into the safe house with Will 'escorting' him inside. He wasn't sure where the vampire was but he could practically feel his eyes on him as he headed inside. He stayed silent, knowing the vampire was probably listening and he moved quickly to pull all the curtains closed before nodding to Will as if asking him if he was ready. He got out his phone and sent a text to Will. 'Can't talk. He'll hear. Pretend to leave me alone to temp him in.' --- Kat caught the packet and let out a laugh. "You sly-handed dog!" he chuckled as he slid one out of the pack with his teeth before tucking the package away in his pocket. He pulled out a lighter and lit it up before cracking his window open. He put the lighter back in his pocket while taking a long drag on the cigarette, then exhaled out of the open window. As they drove, he glanced briefly at Sawyer in surprise. "You're married?" --- "What kind of dish are we making? You know, I've spent a little time in Italy. It was only for my honeymoon but we met some lovely people there. They gave me a couple of tips on making sauce properly but I was drinking red wine most of the time, so I've probably forgotten them." he chuckled. --- "Move!" John gasped as he dove onto Adam, tackling him out of the way of danger. He'd been surprised by the Devil's speed. Only a second later, Amelia had appeared, having returned to help Adam as she'd promised earlier. She saw Adam being shielded by an Angel that she was unfamiliar with. But the Devil took her most by surprise. She could sense him and it felt strange yet oddly familiar. Immediately, she knew why. He was a Devil, but not like the usual Devil that she was used to. He was the same type of Devil that she had gotten her powers from. Like the one that had given up it's energy and destroyed itself to make Amelia what she was. Other than the one that had temporarily possessed her at Hell's Beach, she had assumed that the Ancient Devils were otherwise extinct. Despite her shock, she only had a fraction of a second to act as it seemed that this Devil intended to harm Adam and the Angel. She ran between them and grew a crystallised weapon from her arm. She had been trying to grow a sword but somehow got a scimitar instead. "Dammit, am I THAT out of practice?!" she growled before looking back at the Angel. "I don't know what you're doing here but you and Adam need to get out of here, now!" she said quickly before returning her gaze to the Devil. "No fighting or hunting in the Library!" she barked at him angrily and pointed her weapon towards the door. Alarmed that Amelia had come back but relieved that she was giving them an exit without questioning his intentions, John gathered Adam in his arms. "Come on, we'll talk more somewhere safe," he whispered to him before vanishing. Taking Adam straight out of Hell and gently placing him down in a warehouse that had been renovated into an open-style, urban art-themed house. --- Shiva had been about to step into the Cell after him when Carol gripped his shoulder and slammed the cell door closed behind Sam. Locking him into the cell on his own. "Oh no, you don't." Carol chuckled as Shiva glared at her. "What?" "Don't 'what?' me, I saw the murderous side-eye you've been giving him since the apartment. He's a pain in the ass but no kid is getting hurt on my watch. You're going into the cell with the other demons. Your would-be prince is just going to have to stay in a cell on his own until the rest of you learn to play nice. Now git." She shoved Shiva towards the other cell. Once he was locked away as well, she playfully swung the keyring around her index finger with an air of superiority. "Now, if you'll excuse me, fellas. I have to be somewhere..." she smirked before vanishing. Meanwhile, Shiva turned to lean against the bars that separated him from Sam. He continued to glare at him. "This is your fault. You and your family," he growled venomously. --- "Sure." Parker beamed as he stepped off the stairs to join them. He noted that Carter seemed a little quiet. Sebastian was giddy with excitement. "Oh! Just a moment, I'll grab a couple of bags for Carter and me before we go." He said before darting off to the kitchen to place a couple of blood bags into a small bag to bring with them. There wasn't any risk of them being hungry and stuck with no source of food but you can never be too careful. --- Donnie stared numbly at Insanity for several moments. "Why?" he whispered in shock before his eyebrows knit together in anger. "Those powers were my gifts to you! Why would you do this?! What were you thinking?! I can't-! How am I supposed to love you like this?!" Even as the question left him, he knew the answer. He couldn't. He'd fallen in love with the adult, psychotic version of Insanity. But now his beloved had changed so much and so drastically that he may as well be looking at a stranger. As much as this realisation broke his heart, he knew that even if there was some slim chance that he would survive today, his relationship with Insanity had come to an end. But maybe that's for the best, he found himself thinking. At least, without him, his family have a chance to survive and find their own happiness. Donnie was now faced with an awful choice. Try to berate Insanity into getting his old body back, free him and find their sons to carry on their deranged mission to steal Hell's thrown .... or convince Insanity to leave him in a way that made Insanity believe that he would be better off without him. So that he wouldn't feel any regrets over his destruction when Charles would inevitably come. "Get out!" Donnie screamed at Insanity furiously while biting back tears. "I can't even look at you, right now! Just get out!" --- "Yes, your Grace!" The Reaper yipped before vanishing with a little 'pop'. Troubled, Azrael gingerly stepped forward. He maintained a respectable distance from the throne as he looked at Death. "Your Grace, it might be a stretch but what if this isn't a coincidence? Never, since the creation of Earth have all of the realms shaken as one. And the only being in existence with the power to strike names from the Reaper's books has always been you... until now. As unlikely as it seems, what if these two events are linked somehow?" --- Carol appeared in Heaven, just outside the hospital. "Huh! So, it's true! I really can come and visit Heave-!" She then collapsed to her hands and knees as she felt a great, unseen weight pushing her down, rendering her unable to move. It was like the gravity around her suddenly increased and she even found it hard to breathe. "Oh, it's you." Raguel's voice came from nearby. "I haven't seen you since you gave me a few scars and destroyed a few of my Arch Angels." "Hey, Raggy." Carol wheezed. "and in my defence, you guys attacked me." "You didn't seem all that upset as you carved up my men. In fact, as I recall you were laughing... a lot." "Ah! That? That was old Carol." "So you don't get off on inflicting pain anymore?" Carol was quiet for a second before answering "I mean... It's kinda part of my job." "Why are you here, Carol? Your beloved Master has been missing for quite some time now and I doubt he's up here. Or did you have a change of heart and tell me all of his secrets?" "Fuck you." She growled in response and the weight immediately increased, making her gasp and almost buckle. "Dammit Raggy, I serve Charles now, ok?! Now let me up!" "Charles? How did he manage to reign YOU in?!" Raguel sounded surprised as the weight around Carol suddenly lifted and she gasped for air. Climbing to her feet and dusting herself off, she glared at Raguel. "I happen to be Amelia's mom, that's how." "Pardon-?!" "Yeah, surprised David left me out of his little story of how she was raised. I helped hide her away from Lucifer. There, ya happy? Or do you want me to tell you my entire life story while I'm at it? Spoiler alert, I'm not going to. Now, If you don't mind I came here to visit someone. One of your Angels, in fact. Turns out not all of you are assholes. Go figure... Hey! Does this hospital have a bar?" "What do you think?" "Well, I mean, it's Heaven, so I'd hope so! Speaking of which, why does Heaven even HAVE a hospital? Actually, don't answer that. Pretty sure, I'm part of the reason." she laughed cockily as she turned to walk in. Raguel watched her leave, unsure of how to feel about the situation. Every fibre of his being screamed at him to stop her and arrest her for past crimes but if what she said is true and she's serving Charles, then that might cause more complications in regards to their peace talks. He let out a large sigh and pinched the brim of his nose in frustration. "Do I have any authority anymore?" he mumbled as he followed her inside, deciding that the best course of action would be to supervise her to ensure she didn't cause any trouble. Carol had walked towards the right room when she glanced back and saw Raguel following her. She rolled her eyes. "You can follow me in if you want but if he's feeling well enough, I might decide to mount him. Haven't decided yet. Anything could happen really. Unless you're into that kind of thing? Is that it, Raggy? Are you a regular old cuckold?" Carol teased with a snide smirk. The remarks caused Raguel's face to turn red. Whether that was from rage or embarrassment was anyone's guess. Regardless he responded by folding his arms and leaning against the wall to show that while he wasn't going to follow her in, he wasn't going to leave either. This was fine with Carol. Part of the reason she said the things that she did was to get Raguel to give them some privacy. And also because she got a thrill from seeing his face turn that shade of red. Shrugging, she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. She then stepped up to the side of Napoleon's bed as the doctor was injecting him with a strange white liquid. "What's that?" she asked curiously and the doctor glanced up at her. "To help him grow new wings. All souls who pass their trials and become Angels get a dose of this stuff to get their wings." Denix Vames - May 30, 2023 Theron became fascinated by the tale. He blinked out of his thoughts when Bianka asked him a question. He smiled. "It's delicious. I feel good now. Thank you. But...I want to look for the Forest Folk. They must be here. It would be nice to meet them." --- Death appeared. "You may close the portal but afterwards, you will come with me. For all the damage that you have done to the balance of Life and Death, you will be punished!" Hades pinched the brim of her nose, "Ugh! Another problem? Seriously?!" --- Nil ran his hands down to her hips as the passion in those kisses grew. --- James lifted Damien off the floor and ran to the abandoned building. Will nodded. He went upstairs and into a bedroom. He would pretend to sleep. --- Sawyer turned to look out the window. He didn't want to show his grief but his voice already said it anyways. "Was. Before those damn vampires took her away from me." --- Bern chuckled at his story. "We are making Risotto. Have you made it before?" --- The devil opened his mouth. Allowing tentacles to reach out and grab Amelia. He threw her across the room. Adam let out a sigh of relief. "Glad we're out of there. Mind turning me human now?" --- Sam glared back. "Good! I'm glad! This was a waste of time! I am a waste of time!" He turned away and sat down. --- Carter crossed his arms. He bit his lip. "I-I don't know. I don't know if I can see them." Kite frowned. "Why? What do you-?" "You know why." "But that was long ago! C'mon Carter. Just try for our family." Carter sighed. "I don't know. I need a minute to think." He stepped out into the backyard where he lit a cigarette and took a puff. Silent tears slid down his cheeks. "God damn it..." --- Insanity was shocked to hear this from his lover. With tears in his eyes, he ran out of the hospital. Taking himself far away from everyone. He suddenly appeared in front of Amelia. Seeing the devil attacking her, he got on top of it. Distracting it long enough for Amelia to knock it out. When he hit the floor, he sat up and sobbed. "I'm so sorry! For everything! I made you feel terrible! I hurt everyone! I'm a monster! That's why I got rid of my powers. But that isn't enough, is it? Please! Just throw me in a pit!" --- "I dread to think of such a thing but I fear you may be right." Death nodded. "It appears that I have confused one of my men. I must go." He disappeared. --- Napoleon slowly opened his eyes. "Carol? I didn't know you cared to visit. I thought we were seeing each other as mere toys to be played with?" --- The portal wasn't opened. Only a crack of it appeared. Slowly but surely, if the portal isn't stopped then something or someone will come into their world.
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 Shadowess - June 18, 2023 The consequences of the portal opening, even by a small amount, would be felt all across Earth, Heaven, Hell and the Realm of the Dead. The only creatures who would feel it before it happened would be werewolves as they would hear a low rumbling noise. Giving them only a few vital moments to prepare. --- Warren was alone in one of the rooms of the vampire castle, having been left to calm down after his nervous breakdown earlier on. He was still deeply in denial and refused to believe that the love he felt for his Kings was fabricated. Having finally calmed down enough to wander around the room and take in his surroundings, he numbly picked up ornaments here and there to observe them more closely. Yet his mind kept wandering back to that first night with them. He vaguely remembered feeling trapped and frightened but he quickly pushed those thoughts away, rejecting them outright. Eventually, he'd wandered over to a full-length mirror where he stared at himself for several silent minutes. He removed his shirt and stared at the long scars across his chest while tracing his fingers over them. He brought his eyes back up to stare into his own. "You failed them," he whispered numbly then his face contorted with anger as he pointed to himself. "You did this! You failed! They trusted you and you failed and now they don't love you anymore! You deserve to feel pain! You deserve to be punished!" he punched the mirror, shattering it. He stared at his bloodied knuckles and then at the large shards of glass on the ground. "You deserve to feel pain..." he mumbled, his tone reverting to numbness. He bent down to pick the shard up. "You deserve to be punished... Yes... That was it. I haven't been punished. Only then can I be loved..." he told himself as he brought the shard up to his chest. He looked back at what was left of the broken mirror. His reflection was broken up by cracks and a few missing chunks. He stared into his own eyes again with an emotionless expression. Slowly, he pressed the shard into his skin. Wincing from the pain, he dragged it across his torso before stopping to catch his breath. He watched himself start to bleed, seemingly forgetting that every vampire in the castle would smell him, and he smiled at himself as a couple of tears fell. "That's it. Just like that. Just a few more... then maybe he'll love you again..." he whispered to himself in a reassuring voice before he brought up the shard and started cutting another part of his chest. That's when the entire castle started to shake. When it was over Warren's room was a mess but was otherwise untouched. However, the distant sounds of crashing followed by screams told him otherwise. Snapping back to reality, Warren dropped the shard of glass and ran out of his room towards the sounds of chaos. Frightened that Theron might've been caught in the destruction. --- Cindy had just nodded off in the armchair near the children's cribs. Their cries woke her with a start and she looked at them both in alarm. By now she knew the difference between their hungry cries, their tantrum cries and their tired cries. This was none of those. These were shrieks of pure terror and had caused Cindy to jump to her feet. She looked around briefly and noted that Kite wasn't home yet. She looked back at her babies and something in her gut told her they weren't safe here. Thinking quickly, she scooped both children into her arms and then vanished. Only a second or two later, the entire apartment building shook so violently that the floors above collapsed, demolishing their apartment in the process. --- "Unfortunately, I believe they are simply a part of the fairy tale," Bianka told Theron gently. "I don't think they are. And if what we assume of our King is true then they might've returned." Larissa commented. "Either way, I'm afraid that Larissa and I cannot leave the castle right now. The sun is still up." Bianka pointed out but then saw the disappointment in her beloved's expression. "But, I suppose we could pass the next few hours playing some board games and then put a picnic basket together to take with us for when the sun sets." Larissa's eyes immediately lit up with excitement. "You hear that, Theron? We can go look for the forest folk when the sun goes down!" The castle shook with a boom and the heavy tables in the dining hall bounced around like they were weightless. Instinctively, Bianka wrapped her arms around Theron and Larissa protectively. Larissa hugged them both and whimpered out of fear. When it was over, the dining hall was still standing but they could hear screams coming from another corner of the castle. "A wall must've fallen! We have to help! The sun might burn vampires trapped under the rubble! C'mon!" Bianka gasped as she ran towards the screams. Sure enough, in the east corner of the castle, an entire section of wall had crumbled. Some vampires managed to flee back into the shade and only gained minor burns, but some unlucky few had become trapped and cried out in anguish. Within seconds, Hannes and Jessica appeared. They, along with Ben and Jean would help to shield those trapped vampires with their wings while working together to remove the rubble that was trapping them. Hannes wanted to reconcile with Jean but right now he needed to focus on helping their people. --- Lilly had no idea who Death was and not only was she surprised by his sudden appearance, but also that he seemed to know who, as well as what, she was. This wasn't comforting to her, however, particularly as he'd just threatened her. She felt something that she had almost forgotten. A very specific kind of fear that she had once felt back in her own world. It was a unique combination of the feeling of being hunted, judged and isolated. The added sense of intimidation that she got from Death didn't help matters. Despite her fear, she stood her ground and maintained eye contact. She didn't want him to think for a second that she would allow herself to be pushed around. "I just said that I don't know how to close it. I don't even have the power to open one. Who are you, anyway? What gives you the right to judge me when you don't even know me?" She demanded defensively. Azrael had appeared shortly after Death but did not intervene. He kept his distance, having only followed to make sure his King was safe and to be ready to serve if he was to be called upon. Once again, everything shook. Only this time it was far more violent. The van practically bounced up and down. The road moved in waves. Lights went out everywhere and wires from the telephone poles whooshed as they swung up and down. Lilly lost her composure and whimpered as she struggled to stay on her feet. Bob pretended he was surfing. The dead girl stared at Bob like he was a madman while she too struggled to stay on her feet. Azrael and the other Reaper moved to Death's side to make sure he was safe. "Your Grace, what should we do?" Azrael asked him. --- Layla's kisses matched Nil's passion and she let out little sighs while pressing her chest against his. All that they had gone through and the growing tensions between them bubbled to the surface as they lost themselves to each other. Suddenly, Layla pulled away and looked around in panic. "Another one!" she gasped. "It's bigger this time! It's so much bigger!" They only had time to redress themselves and dart out of their home before the quake hit. The way the earth heaved the trees up and down was both mesmerising and terrifying. It was a miracle that most of the trees remained standing by the time it was over. Only a few trees fell but that wasn't all that seemed to have been affected in this forest as Layla's ears soon picked up the sounds of desperate cries. "I can hear screaming!" She told Nil as she gripped his hand and looked at him fearfully. "Oh god... I can hear them... they're being crushed... and burning! We need to help them!" --- Relieved that he could make a move and avoid the sunlight, Tristan wasted no time. He scaled down the wall hurriedly by digging his nails between the bricks. He then darted around to the back of the safehouse and silently climbed in through a conveniently open window. He snuck into the living room where he saw who he assumed to be Damien sitting on the couch, facing away from him. Cautiously, slowly, he snuck up behind him. Confident that they were alone, he quickly wrapped his arms around him and clamped one of his hands over his mouth. "Hush, meine love," he whispered into his ear. "You must come with me now. Don't be afraid, I won't hurt- agh!" he let out a surprised yelp and then leapt back to stare at the hand that he'd held over his mouth. There were two fresh puncture wounds there and he could feel the familiar sensation of vampiric venom pulsing through his hand. Wincing he looked up in confusion then his expression switched to horror as River stood and turned to face him. "You're not meine beloved!" "No," River replied while wiping the small amount of Tristan's blood from his lips. "I'm his son, you sick fucking pervert!" "Son-?!" Was all Tristan could say before the entire room was upheaved by the massive quake. They stumbled around, struggling to keep their footing but the quake wasn't the only thing worrying Tristan. If that's not Damien, then that means that Damien was out there somewhere... in this! He felt helpless and wished with all his might that he could just know where his beloved was so that he could try to protect him from this disaster... and that's exactly what happened. Without knowing that he was capable of doing so, Tristan teleported right into the path of James and Damien. "Wha-? No!" River gasped as he struggled to stay on his feet and looked up warily at the ceiling as large amounts of dust started to fall, giving the impression that it could cave in on him at any moment. Meanwhile, although he was shocked to have teleported, Tristan took the opportunity to take James by surprise and try to wrestle Damien off of him with the intention of teleporting away with him, despite the utter chaos of the quake still going on at that point. --- Kat was quiet for a long moment as he drove. He took a long drag on his cigarette as he considered how to respond. The silence was just starting to become uncomfortable when he finally broke it by saying in a quiet voice; "Sorry." Only a couple more minutes of driving and they arrived outside a tall apartment block. "We're here," he said as he pulled into the parking lot and turn off the engine. "C'mon, let's get that bullet out of you-" The quake hit suddenly and without any warning. The road heaved up and down like an ocean of concrete. Street lamps fell over. Car alarms went off. Lights went out, plunging them into darkness. Kat had only had enough time to run around his car to wrap his arms around Sawyer and then cling to the side of his car. "If this thing opens up a sinkhole, we're fucked!" he yelled over the noise but there was nothing else they could do but wait until it was over. By the time it was, the street didn't look the same. Houses had collapsed. Half of his apartment building had fallen off from the other side. Large cracks had opened up in the pavements and the road. Thankfully though, Sawyer and Kat would be shaken but otherwise unharmed. "Damn! Where the hell was the earthquake siren?!" No sooner as he said that than the sirens went off around them, along with alarms going off on both of their phones. "Fat load of good that is now!" Kat complained as he looked at his phone and then looked up at his apartment. "Shit... It's gone... It's all gone..." he said in shock as he stared at the large hole in the side of the building. --- "I can't say that I have," David replied as he followed Bern into the kitchen. "What do we need-?" The entire house shook violently, taking everyone by surprise. The electricity had tripped out during the earthquake, leaving them in darkness. It seemed to last a lifetime but eventually, the quake broke. "Bern?" Mon's voice came from upstairs. "Bern?!" he screamed, sounding panicked. --- "I-..." John looked around them warily but when it seemed that neither the Devil nor Amelia were following them, he turned back to Adam and nodded. "Yes, you will need to blend in now that you're among mortals," he told him and took a small step back so that he could see Adam entirely. He held up a hand with his palm facing Adam and let out a slow breath. A bright light erupted from his palm and enveloped Adam completely. It was a painless process but by the time he was done, Adam would have changed into a nude human man. The light faded and John blinked at Adam in awe. "Oh, wow... You're-... " he mumbled breathlessly while smiling. He then lunged forward to shield Adam's body with his own until the earthquake subsided. Thankfully, the warehouse had been built well and the decor was minimal, which meant the only damage that had occurred was to their power as the lights had gone out. --- "What the-? Oh, that's just gross!" Amelia complained when the Devil's tentacles wrapped around her and she struggled the break loose. The suction on them was too strong for her though and she stared at the way they had erupted from the Devil's mouth with a combination of horror and disgust. She even tried to raise her crystal weapon to strike at them but they'd wrapped around her arm and kept it held in the air as she struggled to bring it down. She was beginning to get desperate and her body had started to warm up rapidly when the Devil suddenly tossed her aside like she weighed nothing. Her body struck a large bookcase which in turn fell on top of her, showering her with heavy books. Angry and frustrated, Amelia teleported out from under the bookcase in time to see Insanity looking different and jumping onto the Devil. Having no time to question anything, she ran at them and aimed a flying kick at the Devil's head to knock him down and out. Panting, she didn't dare take her eyes off the Devil and half expected him to get back up. "Who the hell are you?" she whispered to herself between shaken breaths. She then turned her attention to Insanity and although she felt some pity for him, she was also far too aware that this was neither the time nor the place for him to have a meltdown. "Look, you want to make up for the bad things you did, right?" she asked him bluntly. "Then start by setting things right! There are dozens of souls and demons that your family coerced into signing Devil Contracts. Start by setting them all free. Seek them out and set them free of their obligations so that they're no longer bound to you and your family." She told him quickly while keeping her eyes on the unconscious Devil. "When you've done that, come back to me and I'll help you redeem yourself, deal? In the meantime..." She cautiously walked over to the Devil and knelt next to him to get a better look. "I have some questions of my own for this guy..." Amelia stumbled forward as the ground shook, almost falling onto the Devil in the process but she managed to hold herself up on her hands and knees. She was unable to move through its duration however and had to watch helplessly as the Library, her childhood home, collapsed completely. "No!" she gasped, staring at it with tear-filled eyes. --- "You're a waste of atoms!" Shiva growled darkly. "Just wait until I get out of here. I will tear you limb from limb, even if the contract destroys me!" Then, for the first time in history, Hells Cells took monumental damage. The quake rocked the building and caused the brick wall on one side of the cells to fall. Leaving a large hole in the wall for Sam to escape through. Another hold formed in the wall of the next cell along...Shiva's cell. Unfortunately for Shiva though, as well as a few other demons who happened to be in that cell, a part of the ceiling had also collapsed. Trapping and crushing Shiva and a few other demons. Shiva coughed up blood which sprayed a few inches in front of him and he gasped for air. Only his upper torso was uncovered by the large bricks that held him down. He cried out in pain and reached out for Sam. "Please! Help! I didn't mean it! Please help me!" --- Parker frowned, unsure of what to say or do. He knew the story from his short time in the police force, but it was rare nowadays to see Carter be affected in this way. Sebastian had come out of the kitchen in time to see Carter marching out of the backdoor. "Carter?" he called after him. He glanced at Kite and Parker questioningly, wondering what he'd missed then turned to follow Carter into the backyard. "Cart-?" He hadn't made it to the backdoor. He'd placed his hand on the handle when everything shook. He'd only had time to gasp in surprise when he heard a loud crash and everything went black. One moment Parker was standing, watching Sebastian walk towards the door and the next he was thrown up and then onto the ground where a large wooden beam had fallen from the ceiling and crushed his leg. He felt his bones crunching under its weight and let out scream after scream in pain as a puddle of blood pooled under the beam. He looked back but couldn't see his leg for the beam in the way. He had an awful feeling that it had been severed but he wasn't sure. He couldn't feel his toes anymore but that could just be from the weight cutting off his circulation. All he could feel was pain from his shin to his knee. He gripped his thigh and writhed, screaming as the room continued to shake. He looked over at where Sebastian had been standing but couldn't see him anymore. Only rubble from where the floor above had collapsed on top of him. "Kite! Carter! Help! My leg! Sebastian! Oh fuck! Oh, God!" --- Donnie watched Insanity leave the room and he felt tears rolling down his cheeks. Once more, he looked towards the ceiling and glared at it. "Did you enjoy that, Father? Was that justice enough for you? No, I suppose it's not enough. I'm a danger. A threat. We all know how you deal with threats..." he mumbled bitterly then turned his head to one side, biting his lip as he tried in vain to suppress his despair. The room shook but Donnie could only grip the sides of his bed tightly and wait for it to stop. His restraints stopped him from getting out of bed to seek safety. The room bounced his bed so much that it fell onto its side, making Donnie cry out in shock and pain then look around with wide eyes as he watched everything continue to shake until it finally stopped. "What the hell is going on?..." he muttered to himself once it was over. --- "Oh, come on now my French stallion, don't go ruining it." Carol purred playfully while the Doctor left to give them some privacy. "I'm here on business. Wherever Charles goes, I go and he'll be here soon to deal with Hell's fugitive. I just wanted to stop by real quick to let you know that the sight of you fighting that brute back in Hell got me all hot for you." she ran a finger over his chest while smirking at him. "So, when you feel better, if you want 'round two', well... You know where to find me." she winked before turning on her heels to walk out of the room, purposefully making her hips sway as she walked to give him a bit of a show on her way out. Before she could reach the door, the hospital heaved and swayed. While red heels certainly looked good on Carol, they didn't help her keep her balance when the quake hit and she fell to her knees. She struggled to get back onto her feet and heard something snap above her. She looked up to see one side of the ceiling light had snapped off and the other half was swinging dangerously above her head, ready to fall. Denix Vames - June 19, 2023 Theron ran to the scene from inside. Nil and Layla had ran over to the scene from outside. Nil raised his hands. Vines from the ground picked up the debris that was on the vampires. Theron's blood came out of his mouth. Transforming into a makeshift wall. Keeping the sunlight out. Jean shouted, "Get them away from here! Somewhere safe!" --- Death fell over. Once the shaking had stopped, he stood. He looked at Lily. "Forget any punishment. As far as I'm concerned, you are free. Right now, we need to work together to stop whatever is going to come out of that portal. We might be able to sense its energy and bring ourselves to it." --- James kept his balance against the earthquake. He kicked Tristan back before running off again. --- Will jumped past the stairs and grabbed River. He kicked the door out. Throwing himself and his brother out of the house. He looked back only to find that the house had collapsed. He fell to his knees, "My home...." --- Sawyer frowned as he looked at the state of the apartment. "I'm sorry too." --- "Down here! We're alright!" ,shouted Bern. --- Adam closed his eyes. Ready for anything to fall. He opened them when nothing hit him. "Geez! Is that what humans deal with?" --- Insanity looked at her guiltily. "B-But I don't know how." He ran over to the collapsed shelves. He tried to lift one up but he was too small and weak. The Devil was stirred awake by the earthquake. He looked around at the wrecked Library before landing his eyes on Amelia. He tilted his head like a curious dog. Confused as to the water coming out of her eyes. He looked at the debris then her again. He knew now she was sad that it was all broken. He hesitantly grabbed a book. Looking at it for a second before bringing it to her. He watched Insanity struggle until he crawled over. He lifted the shelf up. Placing it on the wall. --- Sam wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to do anything at this point. Maybe though, helping out was the next best thing. He ran to Shiva. Moving many bricks until he could pull him out of the cell. --- Kite threw the plank of wood aside. He lifted Parker off the floor before running out of the house. Carter had followed along while carrying Sebastian. --- "Carol!" Napoleon ripped the needle out of him. He tossed her out of the way. The ceiling light hit him. Keeping him on the floor as he passed out. --- At the portal, Death, Azrael, the other reaper, Lily, and Hades appeared. The crack began to grow wider. Death shouted, "Ready yourselves!"
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 Shadowess - July 18, 2023 Layla ran straight to the first vampire that Nil's vines had freed and attempted to help them to their feet. As soon as the vampire caught a whiff of Layla's wolf blood, he recoiled from her and hissed defensively. At first, Layla was taken aback and backed away a little. Then she noticed the fear in his eyes and her expression softened as she raised her hands to show that she wasn't a threat. "I just want to help." She said and the vampire hesitated, looking at her sceptically before allowing her to help him walk back into the safety of the castle. Bianka and Larissa stopped when Theron did and watched in awe as he used his powers to help stop the trapped vampires from burning. "Atta boy, Theron! Try to keep it up while we help our people!" Bianka praised him with an encouraging pat on the shoulder before she ran past him to help pull vampires from the rubble. "You're a hero, Theron!" Larissa smiled at him before joining Bianka in the rescue effort. Jessica helped to heave large bricks off the vampires as well. When Nil stepped in with his vines she was simply too grateful for the help to question it and started carrying wounded vampires inside. Hannes tended to the vampires that had suffered severe burns by feeding them small amounts of blood from his wrist. Warren arrived at the scene, seemingly oblivious to the self-inflicted wounds on his chest. Without hesitation, he tried to offer help to the nearest vampire that was badly burned. Their wounds had left them ravenous and desperate for blood though. With his uncovered wounds, the smell of Warren's blood was too much to bear and the usually docile vampire lost control. They lashed out, clinging to Warren tightly while digging their nails into his arms and lapping at the cuts. "Stop! N-no!" He gasped while trying to push the vampire away. The vampire was quickly torn away from him by Niko, whose eyes were bruised from crying. He said something to the vampire in German and they immediately calmed down. Additionally, they seemed to be horrified by what they'd done and, also in German, they started apologizing to Warren profusely. "What's he saying?" "He feels terrible that he tried to harm you." Niko replied. "He's injured and blood helps vampires to heal their wounds. He reacted out of instinct to survive. It was nothing personal." "Oh..." Warren looked thoughtful then offered his wrist to the vampire who reacted in alarm and immediately pushed his arm away while shaking his head. "The vampires here only drink deer blood if they can help it. Kind of like veganism for vampires." Niko shrugged then pointed over at Hannes and Jessica who were offering up sips of their own blood to other wounded vampires. "Besides, it looks like the more powerful vampires have got it covered. Save your strength. If you want to help, stay away from the wounded with those open cuts and move some of the heavy bricks." --- "Wasn't that a safe house?" River asked Will, confused. He then looked around hastily with a concerned expression. "Dad!" he gasped then vanished. Damien had been feeling a little rough but had put it down to being hungover. When Tristan appeared though, his stomach lurched more and his head pounded painfully. He started to sweat and even became a little breathless. He looked at Tristan in alarm when he'd tried to wrestle him from James's grip. Yet he couldn't take his eyes off of his fangs. "The fuck is wrong with me?" he mumbled after watching James kick Tristan away. He shivered as his skin started to crawl and he felt an extreme need for...something... "James... hurry..." he mumbled, frightened about what might happen if Tristan caught up to them again. He wouldn't have to worry though. Just as Tristan had managed to jump back to his feet, he was grabbed by an angry looking River who had teleported into his path and then teleported away again. River re-appeared near Will and pinned Tristan against a wall that was still standing. He glared at him angrily. "You know what I am?" He asked in a low growl while baring his fangs. His eyes flashed red and immediately Tristan was reminded of X. He knew what he was without needing to be told. Haunted by the memory of his imprisonment and how he'd escaped, he began to tremble while slowly nodding. "Good, then I don't have to bother explaining how much shit you're in!" River snapped. "You stay the fuck away from my dad, do you hear me? If I so much as catch a whiff of your scent anywhere near him, I'll drink you out of existence!" Tristan was too frightened to argue. He opened and closed his mouth as if wanting to say something but he didn't have the nerve to say it. Instead he gulped then reluctantly nodded as tears slowly slid down his cheeks. "Good. Turn around." River barked at him as he stepped away to give Tristan room to move. Tristan stared at River in confusion for a moment and only managed to stammer the word "B-but-?" before River cut him off. "I said turn around!" River grabbed Tristan's shoulder and forced him to face the wall, pressing him against it. "Will, I need some cuffs." "But the sun!" Tristan finally managed to say, having felt the air around them start to grow warmer by the second. "Isn't going to burn you. I can still smell my dad's blood in your veins. You'll be fine until it's out of your system. In the meantime, you committed assault. So we're bringing you in." "He-... his blood is... it's protecting me?" Tristan found comfort in that thought. Which only angered River more. "Fuck you asshole! You STOLE his blood. You're lucky I'm not beating you to a pulp right now." --- (It just occurred to me, would Sawyer be able to understand Kat and the Yakuza when they're speaking Japanese? It might work in his favour if he can cos they'd always assume he can't and he could listen in on important intel xD ) Kat stared at the apartment building in silence for a minute or so before numbly walking over to the wreckage. He kicked small broken bricks out of his way as he wandered through the piles of rubble, as though searching for something. After a few minutes of wandering, he turned with a deflated look before catching sight of something that caused his eyes to widen and he ran over with a renewed sense of purpose to an ornate, red jar. It had gold letters around it and an image of a golden dragon circling the neck of the jar. He lifted it carefully and thoroughly checked it for cracks or breaks. One of it's two handles had snapped off and there was a large chip in the lid but by pure luck, this utterly fragile piece of pottery was otherwise untouched. Letting out a sigh of relief he held the vase close to his chest, cradling it in both arms. Without a word he walked back to his car and carefully placed the jar in the backseat foot well, making sure that it was propped up securely. While he was adjusting it, his phone rang and feeling that he already knew what the call was, he answered it. He spoke in his native tongue for a minute or so before hanging up and gesturing to Sawyer to get back into the car. When they pulled away, he kept his eyes on the road as he spoke. "We haven't had an earthquake that bad in decades... The boss got hurt. Bad. Most of our safe houses have collapsed so we're gathering what assets we can and moving it all to the only location still standing. We're headed there now to see what we can do to help. I'm sorry but you're going to have to sit with that bullet for a little longer. We should be able to get it out at the safe house though." --- David stood and looked around. He dusted himself off then came to a chilling realisation. He was calm. He hadn't panicked nor was he freaking out like the podgy man who was practically running down the staircase towards them was. Mon ran down the stairs, two at a time and flung himself into Bern's arms. "What was that?" "I believe it was an earthquake. I'm guessing those aren't native to this area?" David replied. "No!" Mon replied. --- "Occasionally." John answered, then realised that he was still hugging the now naked and human Adam. Blushing, he quickly stepped away from him before kneeling before him with his head bowed. "King of mankind. I would lay down my life to protect and serve you." he said before lifting his head. "There is a studio style bedroom upstairs that was once mine. I would be honoured for you to make it your home while we conduct our work on this Earth. My clothes are yours. My home is yours. My loyalty, sword, advice and service is also yours. All that I ask in return is to have a place in your new Eden." --- Amelia was in shock and overwhelmed with grief. She had to deal with half of Hell's demons taking Donnie's side in what was fast becoming a civil war which was putting the peace treaty with Heaven, that she had fought so hard for, in jeopardy. Now on top of that her father had lost his memories and now her childhood home was in ruins. She was extremely tempted to do something that she hadn't done since she'd met Charles... something that she used to do to escape her responsibilities when it all became too much. To run away where she couldn't be found so that she could drink her problems away and get so high that she'd barely remember who she was most days. But she watched the strange Devil and Insanity trying in vain to fix the library, despite it being well beyond repair, while wiping away the tears in her eyes before they could fall. She looked at the book in her hands then cautiously walked towards the Devil and timidly tapped him on the shoulder. "Y-you're... like me." she said, wondering if he could sense it. She also wondered if he could even understand her. "I haven't met anyone else like me... who are you?" she asked, staring at him with nothing but absolute fascination. Perhaps it was simply because they were the same type of Devil, but she inexplicably felt drawn to him. Like there could be a sort of kinship between them. --- Shiva yelled and groaned from the pain as Sam managed to pull him from under the rubble. Once he was clear of the debris, he rolled onto his back and took in several deep breaths. His ribs were certainly broken and his entire lower half from his hips were crushed. "Prince... do me one more kindness? Kill me..." he sobbed. "Don't destroy me but kill me so that I can regenerate in a new body. This one is broken and burned. I swear... those things I said... I take it all back... I won't harm you. I promise. Please help me. Kill me." --- Being moved brought agony to Parker but it was better than being pinned under debris. He let out a sharp cry as Kite pulled him from the wreckage and he looked down at his leg. Immediately, he wished that he hadn't. It was a mess of blood. Sharp bone had broken through his skin and the flesh below his shin was starting to turn blue. His face turned a pale shade of green from the sight and as soon as they were outside he quickly turned away from Kite to vomit onto the asphalt. Groaning and weeping from pain, he turned to Kite. "I-I need a hospital." Sebastian was out cold in Carter's arms. His body was bruised in various places from being struck by rubble. There was a large gash in the top of his head from the ceiling collapsing on him. It was gushing out blood but slowly starting to heal. --- "Hello? Hello?!" Donnie shouted from his fallen bed. He struggled against the restraints but it was no use. He was stuck, strapped to the bed at an uncomfortable angle. All he could do was listen to the screams and commotion on the other side of the doors. "Hello?!" he shouted again. The door opened and Donnie looked up, expecting to see one of the Angelic hospital staff. Instead, he saw a blood spattered and eager looking Lillith. "What are you doing here? How did you escape?" he asked as she ran over to him. "Whose blood is that?... Lillith, what did you do?!" But Lillith didn't answer. She knelt beside him and began unbuckling his restraints. "No, Lillith you need to go! Charles will be here any minute to destroy me and you can't be here! Just go! Just run! Lillith, listen to me!" But she ignored him and after undoing one restraint, she got to work on his other wrist, despite Donnie now trying to push her away with his one free hand. Suddenly Lillith was grabbed from behind and dragged to her feet by Raguel. "Lillith!" Donnie shouted and helplessly watched their struggle until Lillith managed to grab a scalpel from a nearby table full of medical equipment. She turned and slashed at Raguel's throat with it, catching him off guard. With a shocked expression, Raguel stared at Lillith. Shakily, he lifted a hand to touch her cheek, leaving his bloody fingerprints there and, for just a moment, Lillith seemed to regret her actions. But it only lasted a moment. She re-gathered herself and glanced back at Donnie with a cold expression before vanishing. Leaving Donnie to stare in shock at Raguel who slowly lowered himself to his knees and then fell forward to lay on the floor. There he stared back at Donnie until the lights went out behind his eyes. Donnie knew that this wasn't an ordinary death. That Lilith had the power to destroy a soul and that this was exactly what she'd intended for Raguel. The fact that Raguel's body wasn't vanishing was all the more proof of his inability to regenerate. Barely containing his sobs, he wrestled one-handed with the restraint on his wrist until he got it loose. His feet were still restrained but he had no time to undo those. Crying out from the pain of his burns, he used his arms to drag himself and the heavy bed along the floor until he was close enough to Raguel. "Why am I doing this? You were going to let me die!" He sobbed as he huddled over Raguel's body. "But if there's one good thing I can do... it's this..." his body lit up. After the blast he took from Charles and Insanity, he didn't have much power left. But what he did have left he poured into Raguel, giving him everything he had. He could feel his body breaking down from the effort and the process was agonising. He grit his teeth, refusing to stop until the job was done. Finally, with one last burst of energy and letting out a loud cry, Donnie's essence fell into Raguel. Leaving his empty hospital gown and bandages behind. Silence fell in the room and a few minutes later, Raguel gasped awake. The slice in his throat having healed. He looked at the gown and bandages laying near him with a puzzled expression. He hadn't had time to realize what had happened before he felt a surge of pain shoot through every fibre of his body. His wings burst out of his armour and the feathers began to turn from gold to a dusky purple colour with specks of black throughout. He fell to the ground, writhing and screaming as his genetic make-up shifted to combine both Angel and Devil DNA. --- Carol had flinched when the light snapped off the ceiling and flew towards her. She was then taken by surprise as Napoleon pushed her out of harm's way. Momentarily disoriented, she looked over just as the tremors ceased and saw the aftermath of what had just happened. "Napoleon!" She gasped and scrambled to his side. With surprising ease, she threw the heavy light away from him and looked him over with a combination of worry and confusion as she watched his wounds begin to heal. "Oh, what did you do that for? You silly sexy Frenchman..." --- Back at the van, Bob was disappointed that his concrete surfing was brought to an end. Then he looked around and noticed that Lilly was no longer around. "Erm... what did I miss? Where'd they go?" "Th-th-they vanished!" The dead girl gasped, looking around with a distraught look. "Well, yeah, you saw some of them appear. Did you not think they could disappear too?" Bob shrugged. "But they took mistress!" The girl replied and Bob rose a brow. "Uuuuuhh... say what now?" "Mistress! The life giver! Death defiant! They took her! I need to be near her. I NEED to protect her!" "Ok, I get it. You're grateful she brought you back. I was like that too when I was first brought back but you need to calm-" "I MUST PROTECT THE MISTRESS!!" The girl screamed. Her voice had become dark and monstrous. As she'd screamed, her face had contorted and shifted into a terrifying sight. It had only lasted a few seconds but her face seemed to stretch vertically. Her teeth changed into rows of sharp fangs. Her eyes had become deep black pools with just a pin-sized white light in the centre of each. Bob was immediately taken aback by the brief transformation. He looked the girl up and down for a second while thinking of what to do. Then he relaxed his shoulders and gave her a cool smile. "So we'll just go then, ok? There's no need to freak out. We're all on the same side here." "R-really? You know where they are? Can we go now?" The girl asked him, looking hopeful. "Sure thing, baby. Oh, before we go. Mistress might get hungry. What's say you run in and grab her some snacks?" "An excellent idea! Where's you're kitchen?" "Just through there and take a left." Bob pointed behind her and just as the girl turned around to run inside, he quickly bent down to snatch up a loose rock then threw it at the back of her head. Once she was out cold, he looked at Grim and Pain. "Well don't just stand there, fellas. Let's get crazy-tits tied up so she doesn't hurt anyone." --- (The spare reaper is 'disposable' ) "FOR WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO?!" Lilly shouted angrily at Death. She didn't understand why she'd been brought along for this as she assumed that her only power was to bring the living back from death. "Watch your tongue, mortal!" Azrael snapped at Lilly over the roaring winds being caused by the portal opening. "You're already on thin ice with His Grace, so don't push your luck!" "Well 'hIs GrAcE' needs to learn some manners!" Lilly retorted mockingly as she kept her eyes on the portal. "Stop bickering! We should be working together!" the reaper with them shouted over the noise. Denix Vames - July 19, 2023 Once everyone was moved to a safer location, Theron's blood went back into his mouth. Nil had been holding on to the debris for so long that he began to felt tired. He struggled until finally collapsing on the ground where he fainted. --- James sighed, "Ain't that a fucking sigh of relief. Your kids are something else." He helped Damien up. "I think it's safe to say we can relax. At least I hope." Will cuffed Tristan. He forced him to walk out and into the car. "You have a lot to answer for." He got in, made sure the doors were locked, and nodded at River. "You coming?" --- (that would make sense. yeah sawyer definitely knows japanese) Sawyer hopped in the car. Though he fought it off, his face was pale. He didn't tell Kat but the wound had been hit against a car as he got out of the sinkhole situation. The bullet had fallen out as blood dripped from his wound. He leaned his head against the window. Trying to keep his eyes opened. "All that matters is the boss. Don't worry. I-I'll be fine." He closed his eyes. Drifting away into a deep sleep. --- Bern glared at the sky. "This isn't good. Something ain't right." --- Adam stood. He smiled. "I appreciate everything you've been doing for me. But I still want you to see me as a friend. Not just a king." He held his hand. "Of course I'll let you live in my Eden." --- The devil spoke but no one could understand. Insanity climbed up on him until he sat on his shoulder. He whispered to him. The devil nodded. He placed a hand on Amelia's shoulder. In a flash, he learned English. "I-I'm....Ab...addon. Abaddon." He backed away when he suddenly became nervous. Insanity flew off of him. Abaddon went into a corner and hid his face. Insanity whispered to her, "I think he's shy." --- Sam glared. "When I kill you, don't ever come back to me. I'm not worth anything." He grabbed a heavy rock and smashed it into his head. --- Kite kept a tight hold of Parker as he ran into the direction of a hospital. Once there, he jogged into the building. "Can somebody help us? Please!" Carter caught his breath. He held Sebastian close. "It's going to be ok. I promise. Whatever's happening, I won't let you go through any more pain. Not after this." --- Frederick appeared. "Napoleon!" He lifted him into his arms. "Get anyone else who's here out! We need to help them!" He ran past her and out of the hospital. --- Pain, Storm, and Grim looked at each other. "Weirdest day ever." ,said all three. Pain and Grim carried her inside the house. Storm grabbed a belt and tied her wrists to a chair that she had been placed on. --- (good to know) Death glared at her, "You are a naive pestering bug that I should have destroyed the moment I heard about your meddling with death!" The portal opened wider.
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 Shadowess - July 19, 2023 Layla noticed the vines starting to slack straight away and turned to see Nil collapsing. "Nil!" she called out after helping another vampire into the safety of the castle and she ran out to kneel by his side. Bianka had walked over to Theron with a smile and nodded to him approvingly. "Well done, Theron." she praised him then turned to Larissa who had run over to them. "Do you think he's one of them?" she whispered to them excitedly. "A forest folk?" she turned to look out at Nil and Layla. "They came out of nowhere to help and he commands nature like they do in the stories." Pulling her wrist away from an injured vampire's mouth, Jessica let the cut heal before flying over to Nil and Layla. "Thanks for your help, both of you." she said to Layla who nodded in response. "It was the least we could do." "Come on, let's bring you both inside to rest. The vampires here are incredibly welcoming and I'm sure they will be eager to thank you both once they've healed up properly." Between Jessica and Layla, they both lifted Nil and carried him into the castle. Hannes was also beginning to feel faint after giving out so much of his own blood to help vampires to heal. "Let's move the wounded into the infirmary. Guards, cordon off this hallway until we can rebuild the wall. We don't want to risk vampires wandering through here during sunlight hours." he ordered as he leaned against a wall. He then re-cut his wrist to feed to another vampire and stumbled onto his knees as he became light headed. --- James sighed, "Ain't that a fucking sigh of relief. Your kids are something else." He helped Damien up. "I think it's safe to say we can relax. At least I hope." Will cuffed Tristan. He forced him to walk out and into the car. "You have a lot to answer for." He got in, made sure the doors were locked, and nodded at River. "You coming?" "They're good kids..." Damien said breathlessly. He shivered, having broken out in a cold sweat. He stood but looked around warily, half expecting Tristan to appear again. He looked at James and smiled. "Thank you, by the way. I've only known you a day and you risked so much for me. You've been a true friend." he then grimaced and held his stomach, groaning. He leaned against the wall, barely stable on his feet for a moment until the pangs subsided. "Man... this isn't good. I've been bitten so frequently in a short space of time but several different vampires... I'm pretty sure I'm having withdrawels from all the venom. When Tristan appeared just now, I kind of wanted him to bite me... I know that must sound wierd." he scratched his arms and looked away from James out of shame. --- "Yeah, I wana see this through for my dad." River answered as he climbed into the passenger side of the car. Tristan sat in the back. Although he knew that the sun wouldn't harm him, he was instinctively terrified and stared wide-eyed at the horizon as he watched the light filling the sky. He realled seeing Hannes engulfed in flames when he'd burst in on him and Jean. Glancing at the passenger wing mirror, he caught sight of River glaring at him continuously. Feeling a shiver run down his spine, he quickly averted his gaze. He wondered what would become of him now. How they would charge him as a vampire, especially when he'd eventually need to be kept away from sunlight. It wasn't like he'd be able to attend court at two in the afternoon... Then another thought occurred to Tristan that make him break out in a nervous sweat. They would have to log his arrest onto their system... which means taking his name... which means his original captors, the CIA, would immediately know where he was... which means X would come for him. He remembered the screams from the facility and knew that a lot of the escaping prisoners had died at his hand. He started to hyperventilate at the thought and looked up to see River, another Blood God, was still glaring at him in the wing mirror. There was no escape. --- Kat glanced at Sawyer worriedly. "Hey. Hey! Red Fox! Wake up, man!" he snapped his fingers near him to try and make him more alert but noticed he was slipping out of consciousness. "Shit." he pumped the break and pulled up on the side of the road. Removing his seatbelt, he leaned over and took a look at Sawyer's wound. "Sorry about this..." he said before jamming his fingers into the hole. After about a minute or so of not feeling the bullet, he pulled his fingers out and wiped the blood onto his pants. He then gripped Sawyer's shirt and quickly ripped it open reveal the wound. He took the lighter out of it's port near the radio and looked at the red hot end. "This is going to suck but we need to stop the bleeding." he said, unsure of whether sawyer could even hear him. He stuffed some of Sawyer's shirt into his mouth so that he could bite down on something if he woke up and then pressed the hot end of the lighter against his bullet wound to cauterize it. --- John stood and looked at Adam with pure adoration as he told him he wanted for him to see him as a friend. "It would be an honour." he told him. He glanced over his body before quickly looking away and gesturing towards the bedroom. "I'd be happy to show you my collection of clothing. We can find a style that suits your human form. The human of this world prefer to cover themselves and only reveal their bodies to their lovers." he informed him, unsure of whether clothing had been a thing in Adam's era. He and Eve were always depicted in the nude, after all. --- "Abaddon?" Amelia repeated as she watched him walk into a corner of the room. "Where have I heard that name before?" she rose a brow at Insanity's words. Abaddon's behavious was odd, considering he'd greeted them with violence. Still, she wanted to know more about this other Devil. She had so many questions about their kind and he was the only other Devil like her that she'd met. She slowly appraoched him again and placed a hand on his shoulder. "My name is Amelia." she told him. "I'm the Queen of Hell. You're the first Devil like me that I've met. I think there's just us two left. There are other Devils but they're different. They came from Angels. They didn't originate from Hell." she removed her hand and looked him over. "There is so much that I want to ask you. I don't know where to begin." --- Seeing the state that Parker was in, a few medical staff hurried over and took him from Kite's arms. Parker cried out from the movement as they carefully transferred him from Kite's arms to a stretcher and carted him off to the operating room without any delay. The hopsital was buzzing with activity and it would soon become apparent to Kite that Parker wasn't the only person in the city that had suffered horrendous injuries during the earthquake. Sebastian groaned. His eyes were still closed but he coughed up a small amount of blood as his ribs snapped back together. "Cart-? Carter?" he wheezed, feeling the unpleasant sensation of the deep wound in his head starting to stitch itself back together. "What... happe-...?" he struggled to speak while he continued to heal slowly. --- Carol watched Frederick lift Napoleon then became aware of the screams around them as he told her to help. She removed her heels so that she could stand and she ran out into the hallway. She expected to still see Raguel leaning against the wall and everything running as normal. But Raguel was nowhere to be seen and the rest of the hospital was in chaos. Without wasting any time, she hurried to the first Angel that she saw who needed help. Breathing heavily after his transformation, Raguel stood and stared at the tipped over, empty hospital bed. He didn't understand why Donnie had given his life for him but he didn't have time to ponder it. He heard the screams all around him as he stared at his own hands. He could feel new power filling every part of him, right to his finger tips. Slowly, he lifted his hand, bringing his fingers together and then snapped them. In an instant, everyone in the hospital was standing outside. The wounded had been healed instantaniously. A power like this should have immediately tired him out but Raguel still felt energized. He looked around at the others. His eyes landed momentarily on Carol who had obviously been trying to help prior to being teleported with the others. In this moment, he felt no animosity towards her. "Arch Angels!" he called out in a booming voice. "To me!" --- Bob sat across from the girl and stared at her curiously. "I wonder if I was ever that crazy in the beginning..." he said outloud. "I wonder why I'm not now... I wonder if me and this broad are brother and sister now because we were both raised from the dead..." --- "Of course!" Lilly rolled her eyes angrily. "Because that's the right thing to do, isn't it?! I can bring the living back from the dead so that MUST mean that I'm evil and need to be gotten rid of, right?!" she snapped at Death, glaring at him as she rounded on him. Azrael also turned, apparently forgetting for a moment that the portal was even there. "You do not speak to him that way!" "I'll speak to whoever I want however I damn well please!" Lilly raged. "Especially when the other person threatens me!" "Stop! Please, stop!" The other reaper begged them, watching the portal warily but the others didn't seem to hear him. It almost felt like their bickering was helping the portal to expand. "Well if you feel so strongly about my life, I'M RIGHT HERE!" Lilly yelled at Death, raising her arms by her sides. Then she decided to use a word from this world for the first time. A word that the band had taught her was an insulting one but in this moment she felt it was the right time to use it. "Fuckface!" Denix Vames - July 19, 2023 Theron smiled shyly. "I-I'm glad I helped. It felt good." He watched Nil being carried away. "Is he ok? Why did he pass out? And how did he know where to find us?" Jean placed his hands over Hannes's shoulders from behind. "Rest my dear lover. Let someone else share the burden of giving blood." --- James shook his head. "Not really. I mean, you're talking to the guy who thought he could take over the world and make a werewolf army. So, weird isn't the word I would use to describe you." --- Will looked in the rearview. He glanced at River. With a smirk, he said, "Save the shitting in his pants party for me too." They soon reached the department. He got out of the car. Escorting Tristan inside and to the cell room. --- Sawyer suddenly cried out. Biting down hard on his shirt. His eyes were wide open. --- "Oh really? Well, I'd like to try your clothes on. I'm so excited!" ,said John. --- Abaddon cocked his head like a confused dog, "Why aren't....you scared? Everyone runs. Screams when I am there. They know what I do." Though this was something that he was once proud of, it began to feel like an obstacle over time. In fact, he seemed sad when he told her. --- Kite's wide eyes looked at everything that was happening around him. "Jesus christ....!" Carter caressed his cheek. "Hey, you're ok. You're gonna be ok. You were hit by some debris during the earthquake but you're healing nicely." --- Every Arch Angel appeared. Standing in line and awaiting orders. That included a very confused Napoleon who recalled being badly injured before. --- Storm tapped his shoulder. "Uh I hate to break this moment but what do we do when she wakes up?" --- Death raised a brow. "Evil? Nonsense! I merely wished you didn't disturb the balance of life and death!" "Would you two shut up and get ready?!" ,said Hades. Suddenly, two teenage boys in robes jumped out from the portal. Instinctively, Hades threw a ball shaped mass of power. Hitting the teenager with dark brown hair. "NO!" ,said the other teen with lighter brown hair and freckles. The injured teen coughed up blood. Gasping for air as he hit the ground. He clutched his wounds. The teen knelt over him. "You're going to be ok! I promise!" But just as the injured teen looked at him, he soon passed away. The teen slammed his fists against the ground. Tears were in his eyes as he cried out. With hatred in his heart, he turned around. Facing everyone with glowing green eyes. He raised a hand and blasted his powers at the reaper standing by. Turning him into nothing but dust. "Wait! It's my fault! Don't hurt anyone else!" ,said Hades. The teen shouted, "Are you kidding me? Because of you, my lover is dead! You all deserve to die!" He raised both hands and threw a ray at them. Hades raised her hands and created a shield. Blocking his powers. Death seemed utterly confused. Having not expected the one crossing into their world being two kids. He was only ready for a monster. "Azrael, we must place that boy into a deep sleep. I need to know what he is. I must examine him." shadowess - July 19, 2023 At Jean's touch and his gentle words, Hannes's lip quivered while tears stung his eyes. He lifted his hand to hold Jean's on his shoulder and turned his head to kiss it tenderly. "Meine Geliebte. Have you forgiven me?" "I guess he tired himself out," Bianka suggested as they watched Jessica and Layla carrying him into the castle. "That wolf girl came with him. They have really good hearing. Maybe she heard the wall fall and our cries for help?" Larissa pointed out. "It's possible... wow... an actual Fae." Bianka couldn't help staring in awe until she heard a triumphant fake cough come from her partner. She rolled her eyes at her. "Alright, fine. I admit it. You were right and I was wrong." she said then smirked as Larissa whooped in celebration. Jessica held Nil's legs while Layla supported his torso. Together they carried him into one of the rooms, out of the way of curious stares. Jessica was strong enough to have carried him on her own but Layla seemed like she wanted to be of some help and Jessica knew all too well how awful it was to simply stand by, watching and feeling helpless. They eased him onto a bed and Jessica gave them some space. "You should both be fine here for a while. I'm going to go and help the others. I'll come back later to see if you need anything." "We appreciate it, thank you," Layla said as she sat on the bed next to Nil and took his hand in hers. Jessica smiled at them before leaving and she shooed away a couple of curious vampires that had followed them to the room. --- River barely contained his smirk at Will's comment. Tristan stared up at the precinct when they pulled up. He felt nothing but pure dread as Will pulled him out of the vehicle and began walking him inside. "Please, don't do this. You will be killing me," he begged them in a trembling voice. "Should've thought of that before attacking my dad," River replied coldly. He assumed that Tristan was just overreacting to being arrested and had no idea of what had happened to him previously. Once Tristan was thrown into the cell River glared at him through the bars before patting Will on the shoulder. "Your turn, I guess. I'm going to check up on my dad and make sure he's ok," he said before vanishing. Tristan was shivering as he looked back at Will. If he hoped to avoid being found by the CIA he'd have no choice but to give a fake name when questioned and hope that these officers would take his word for it. --- Damien half laughed at James's remark. "You're alright, James. If I ever get my powers back and you need help, give me a call. I kinda owe you after all this anyways." He winced as he stepped away from the wall and gripped his stomach. "Well, I guess I don't have to worry about my stalker anymore. I'm kinda worried about my other kids too after that quake though. It was pretty bad... I should check up on them." River appeared near them and immediately looked worried as his eyes landed on his father. "Are you ok? You don't look so good." Damien waved a hand dismissively. "I'm fine. I'm guessing he's been taken care of?" "If by 'taken care of' you mean locked in a cell and probably having the shit beat out of him? Sure. He's not a threat to you anymore." "Good," Damien said with a sigh of relief. He then scratched at his neck feverishly and seemed generally uncomfortable. "You sure you're ok?" River rose a brow. "Fine," Damien answered shortly then gave James a look. Silently hoping he wouldn't say anything about his withdrawals. "I was just saying to James here, we should check on your siblings after that quake. Make sure everyone is ok." "...Yeah, I guess we should." River agreed, reluctant to drop the matter but also eager to confirm that his family was safe. "I could teleport us to them? Who do you want to check up on first?" Damien thought for a moment before glancing at James and then back at River. "I know he doesn't want me around but, I'd like to see if Parker is ok. Then we should visit Jessica and then Alex." he looked at James. "I understand if you'd rather go home now but you're welcome to come with me, if you like?" --- Kat was used to hearing screams so he paid this little attention as he kept the lighter held firmly against his bullet wound. When he was sure it had been long enough, he pulled it away and looked at the burned blood and flesh that had dried against it. "Oh... this is going to stink out my car for a while..." he complained as he stuffed it back into its port. He sat back in the driver's seat but didn't start the car up again yet. He sat and let Sawyer catch his breath. "Welcome back. You had me worried there for a second," he told Sawyer with a small smile. "Sorry about that." he pointed to his wound. "We kinda ran out of options. I had to improvise." --- "Right this way, then." John smiled and led him towards his old bedroom. He opened up the large, walk-in wardrobe and then gestured to the clothes filling up the shelves and hangers on either side of them. "They might be a little dated. I was destroyed back in the '90s. But I think you'll still be able to blend in. I'm pretty sure some of this stuff is still in fashion. Take your pick." He stepped out of the wardrobe to give Adam time to look around at the clothes. There were a few magazines on the dressers in there that Adam would be able to use to figure out what kinds of outfits looked good in the 90s. John headed over to the TV that was in the bedroom. It was a big heavy box with a built-in VHS player. A rarity in this day and age. He took a tape out of a drawer and popped it in to watch a movie while he was waiting for Adam to dress himself. The movie happened to be The Lost Boys. --- Amelia was hesitant to ask but if she wanted any chance of getting closer to this Devil, she had to know what his history was. "And what exactly is it that you do?" she asked then nodded to him encouragingly. "It's ok. I'm braver than I look." she smiled and winked at him. --- "Earth-Earthquake?!" Sebastian gasped. He tried to open his eyes but his eyes felt sensitive to the natural light around them. He blinked and squinted at Carter. "I don't remember... I was... What was I doing?... The last thing I can remember... Kite was at the door..." he looked around quickly, trying to see Kite if Kite was still around. He also recalled Parker had been in the house. "Kite? Parker? Are they ok?" he asked, looking back at Carter. --- Carol was equally confused that she had been teleported outside and that everyone around her was suddenly uninjured. She looked over at Raguel and immediately noted the change in the colour of his feathers. Something had happened to him but she had no idea what. She looked over at Napoleon and was relieved to see that he was fine. She gave him a small smile. In much the same way that he must serve Raguel, she had a duty to serve Charles. Given that Charles had yet to make his appearance and there had just been a large quake, she had an obligation to make sure he was safe. She blew Napoleon a kiss and then vanished, teleporting to wherever Charles was. Raguel paced in front of his Arch Angels and barked orders at them. First, he split them into several different groups. He ordered one group to fly across Heaven to make sure all of its occupants were safe and got the help that they needed after the quake. The second group was ordered to head down onto Earth in the guise of various emergency service workers to aid the mortals in any way possible. The last group he ordered to follow him to Earth to investigate the portal that no doubtedly had caused the quake in the first place. --- Bob looked up at Storm and then back at the girl with a frown. "Uhhh... good question. I have no idea." he laughed. "For all I know she might be strong enough to break free of those bonds. I guess we'll just have to try and keep her calm. Tell her that Lilly is safe or something." --- Lilly was far from safe. She watched everything play out and felt helpless to stop any of it. She felt awful for the poor boy that had died and was shocked that Hades had been so quick to attack. But considering the last time a portal opened up, a Pestilence Wraith had stepped out, she supposed the reaction wasn't too big of a shock. Azrael was shocked and angered that a reaper had been struck down. He obediently nodded to Death's order and his black wings burst out of his back. Emitting his signature calming aura, he flew closer to the boy but maintained a cautious distance. "Listen to me. Hear my voice." His voice was soothing and almost hypnotic. "Feel your anger ebbing away. Let go of your hatred. Feel the welcoming embrace of slumber. Submit to your desire for rest." Azrael's voice was so soft and beautiful that even Lilly was tempted to lie down for a nap. But she resisted. She had a goal of her own as she struggled to take her eyes off the dead boy. "I've done it twice now... I can do it again," she told herself then glanced uneasily at Death. When she'd catch his eye she'd smirk at him cheekily before raising her middle finger to flip him off. "How's this for disturbing the balance?" she said to him before darting off towards the corpse. There was just one problem. She had no idea how to use her powers or what had even triggered them the first two times. She stood over the dead boy and became too aware that she was standing just feet from the boy that had reduced a reaper to dust. A boy that may not know or understand her intentions. Of course, the second danger to her was the King of the Reapers himself whom she likely had just pissed off further. But she had no time to dwell on any of that. She forced herself to focus on the corpse and held her hands over his torso. "Come on... come on! I can fix this, I know I can!" but as much as she tried to summon up the power that she knew she had, nothing happened. No trance. No chanting. No green aura. Nothing. "I don't understand! I KNOW I can do this!" Denix Vames - July 20, 2023 Tears ran down Jean's cheeks. "I should be the one asking for forgiveness. I'm sorry for what I said before. You were only trying to protect everyone here." Theron suddenly appeared in Nil's room as he had been thinking about him and what he could do. "Huh?! Why am I here? Uh! Sorry! I didn't mean to be here." --- Will pulled out a notepad and pen. "Alright. What's your name?" --- "That home is only an abandoned dump. I think I'll stick with you guys." ,said James. --- Despite the pain, Sawyer smirked. "You were worried about me?" He caught his breath. "Thanks for not letting me die by the way." --- After looking through some magazines and checking over all the clothes, Adam finally came to an idea. He walked out wearing a white shirt, blue jeans, and a leather jacket. "How do I look?" --- Abaddon hesitated, "I would bring destruction on any that God allowed us to. And even when he didn't, I still did it. Taking great pleasure in killing any sinners." Insanity frowned. Knowing that he had done things like that not too recently. --- "They're fine. Kite took Parker to the hospital. Parker got badly hurt. More than you." ,said Carter. --- Napoleon smiled at her before she left. --- Charles was sitting in his throne. Wondering what the hell he could possibly do. He saw Carol appear. "Honestly, this shit show is giving me a headache. Maybe I should let everyone else deal with it." --- "I don't think she'll like us after this. She might try to kill us." ,said Grim. --- Just as Death was about to run after her, the teen's hands were filled with power. He said, "GET AWAY!" A radius of his power blasted everyone far away. When he was alone, he dropped to his knees and held his dead lover close. "Oh Conrad....I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you. I should have never brought us here." He sobbed.
Shadowess Posted September 27 Author Posted September 27 Shadowess - September 1, 2023 Hannes's lip quivered and he stood as tears dripped from his eyes. He turned and wrapped his arms around Jean, burying his face in his neck. "There is nothing to forgive. You were right Meine Geliebte, I should have handled things better." "You can teleport? You're not a vampire, are you?" Layla asked as she looked up at the teenager. She didn't move from Nil's side and continued to hold his hand in hers. "Are you ok?" --- "Gregor Smith." Tristan gave a fake name that he hadn't needed to use for years. He hoped Will would buy it. A shiver ran down his spine as he briefly considered the possibility that the CIA could find him. His stomach growled and he winced at the pain. Damien wasn't the only one suffering withdrawals. All Tristan could think of was Damien's blood. It's taste, thickness and heat. His throat felt dry from thirst and he generally felt uncomfortable as the blood gradually left his system. It was like his every vein was itching horribly. --- Damien thought about James's words for a moment. "If you'd like to get out of staying in abandoned places, you're welcome to move in with me. It'd be the least I could do for all you're help." He suggested before turning to River with a nod. "Alright, let's check on your brother." River nodded in return then held his hands out for both of them. Before they knew it, they were standing near Kite in a very chaotic hospital. Damien and River's hearts sank. Damien tried to get the attention of a couple of nurses as they whizzed past but the injured patients around them took a much higher priority. "Where's Parker?" He asked, almost afraid of the answer. "Where's my son?!" --- "Sure, I just didn't want your corpse the stink up my car." Kat joked as he started up the car again. He started to drive with speed, skilfully avoiding cracks that had opened up in the road as well as debris. "The first safe house is close by. You stay in the car and keep a lookout while I run in and grab the assets. No doubt the cops or our rivals might try to use the situation to their advantage." --- John glanced over and couldn't help grinning at Adam. "Like you just stepped out of the 80's" he chuckled. "But I'm pretty sure that look is still in style so you're good. I like it anyways" he commented, barely able to conceal his blushing cheeks as he turned back to the tv to turn the sound down. "That earthquake has caused some chaos across the world. We might need to postpone going out on the town until everything calms down." --- Amelia listened to Abaddon and was a little shocked by his confession but she also understood that Abaddon simply came from a different time. "Things have changed since your time and I intend to change them further, for the better." She told him. "I'm trying to change Hell from the hopeless realm of pain and torture that it was, into a place where souls can have a real chance to change themselves. To become the best version of themselves and earn their way into Heaven." She glanced around sadly at the destroyed library before bringing her eyes back to Abaddon. "You can't take back the things you have done but you can strive to be a better person. To help others who might know what you feel. It's never too late to do the right thing." As she said this, it was as if she was indirectly telling Insanity the same thing. --- "What?!" Sebastian gasped and tried to get to his feet but he was too weak. "We should be there with him." He breathed but it was clear that Sebastian wasn't healed enough yet to be going anywhere. --- "What's with the pity party?" Carol asked, folding her arms. "You're the King of Hell! Son of Lucifer La Plague himself!" She gestured to the glass-less gothic castle window. "The souls and demons depend on you to help them get through this. Amelia is counting on you to bring Hell into a new era of peace and prosperity. Your son- Charles, think of Oliver. What kind of throne will you raise him to sit in? He's got an opportunity to have something you didn't have- a father to raise him. He's going to be looking up to you as he grows up to learn what being a good leader is all about." --- "Maybe." Bob shrugged nonchalantly. "But I'll try talking to her. She's like me now so I guess that kinda makes her my sister." It was then that Bob stiffened and his wondrous smile slipped. At the same time, the girl awoke and started looking around frantically while beginning to hyperventilate. "It's Lilly," Bob said gravely. "Something's wrong. She's calling us to her. Summoning us..." he shivered and shook his head. "It sounds like her but it feels wrong. I don't like this." The girl started wrestling with her bonds and screamed angrily. Bob's attention snapped back to her. He was puzzled as to why he wasn't behaving as mad as she was but he had no time to ponder on it. He jumped to his feet and knelt in front of the girl. "Stop, stop! Look at me. At me. Who are you? Hmm? Think about it. Focus on it. Try to remember." He said quickly. He knew she would have difficulty with this. After all, he couldn't remember his life before death at all. But perhaps this could serve as a strong enough distraction to prevent her from breaking free and trying to tear them all apart. She tried to ignore Bob at first but the more he implored her to try, the slower her movements became as she gradually realised that her memories, the very person she once knew herself as, were gone. She slowed to a stop and stared at Bob, dumbfounded. She tried, she strained and she struggled to recall a single aspect of her former life. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she continued to stare at Bob. Her face was a reflection of the absolute terror that she felt. "Who-?... Who am I?! WHO AM I?!" "It's ok. It's going to be ok." Bob said softly as he wrapped his arms around her. "I know what you're feeling and you don't have to go through it alone. My sister." --- The burst of energy had sent Lilly flying backwards. When she landed, she hit her head on the concrete pavement and lost consciousness. A moment later, her limp body rose from the ground as though she were a marionette being lifted by invisible strings. Her head snapped upright and her body twitched, jerking from a sleeping power that leaked from her in the form of a green aura. Her eyes opened and although they were shining emeralds, they were lifeless. Devoid of emotion, she began to chant but her spell was not being directed at the corpse in the boy's arms. It would take several seconds for any of them to realise what she was doing and by then it was too late as fresh corpses shambled sluggishly from the wrecked, burning buildings that surrounded them. They were gasping and wheezing as their recently expired lungs suddenly began to work again. Some moaned in agony from their horrific wounds and burns. But they all marched out into the open and towards Lilly as if drawn to her in a hypnotic daze. As they limped and staggered in droves, the ones who drew closest to Death, Azrael or even the boy hissed and growled at them threateningly. None of them knew who they had once been. Only that they are now the soldiers of the floating woman and would defend her without hesitation. Denix Vames - September 2, 2023 "But I shouldn't have been so cold. Oh Hannes. I love you." Jean kissed his head. Theron shook his head. "I'm a Leviathan." He clutched his chest. Trying to catch his breath. "I'm sorry. I've never met a fairy before. I'm really scared." --- Will raised a brow. "Look man. You can either be honest with me or stay stuck there. What's it gonna be?" --- "I wouldn't mind you as a roommate." ,said James. Kite turned around. "Guys?!" His eyes widened at the sight of James. James awkwardly scratched the back of his neck as he looked away. Kite said, "Look, Parker's alright. I gave him to some doctors. He should be fine. I don't know if you'll be able to see him since everything's gone crazy." --- "How do we know they're not too busy losing their shit too? Seems like everyone is confused and panicked." ,said Sawyer. --- "That's not a problem. I need to rest anyway." Adam sat on the couch. He let out a sigh of relief, "Now, this is relaxing." --- Abaddon held a small smile. Insanity flew to his shoulder and sat there. Abaddon said, "Is there anything that you need me to do, your majesty?" Insanity shook his head, "Things are very different. You don't have to call her that. Just say Amelia." Abaddon raised a brow, "Oh?" --- "We're going to stay here until you get healed up. Don't worry about them. I know Parker is in safe hands with Kite. They'll both be fine." ,said Carter. --- Charles smirked. "Always was the motivational soldier. Though I'm going to need suggestions. What do you believe I should do?" --- Everyone looked at this scene with a frown. Concerned about Lily and the woman right before them. Pain stepped forward. "Look, you have nothing to worry about. We're Lily's friends. We want to help too. She has help with her right now. If she really needs our help then we can figure out a way to go to her." "Are you insane? We're human!" ,said Grim. Pain glared, "We can't just leave her!" Storm raised his hands between them. Keeping them separate. "Enough you two! Arguing isn't going to help!" --- The teen began blasting his powers at the walking undead. Death stood up and took a step back. "Azrael! Bring out your scythe! We must stop her!" Napoleon and a few angels appeared. They slashed at what looked to be undead minions. "Angels?" ,said Death. "This must be affecting all of the kingdoms!" shadowess - September 9, 2023 Despite his exhaustion, Hannes was so emotionally overwhelmed that he lifted his head and kissed Jean deeply. "Meine Geliebte. I love you too." He cried between kisses. Layla stood from Nil's bedside and took a cautious step towards Theron. "There's nothing to be afraid of." She reassured him. "Nil is a kind man. We both came here to help because we heard the castle collapse." Layla then tilted her head slightly while giving Theron a kind smile. "You know, I've never met a Leviathan before either." --- His withdrawals, growing desperation, along with the fact that Will seemed to know he was lying had made Tristan very irritable. He scratched at his arms and neck feverishly while gritting his teeth and growling at Will in frustration. "That IS my name!" He snapped. "You cannot hold me here! You have nothing on me! No evidence of a crime! Let me out of here!" He slammed the cell bars with his fists. --- Damien listened to Kite. He frowned, looking around with his heart beating fast. He felt so helpless. "I shouldn't have left..." He mumbled as he walked over to the waiting area and began pacing. "River?" He paused and River walked over to him. "I can't leave your brother like this. I don't care that he hates me. Please go check on Jessica and Alex. Let me know if they're ok." "You got it." River nodded and then vanished. He'd quickly check in with Jessica but seeing that she was fine and otherwise had her hands full, he'd then teleport to Alex. --- "Because if we're calm and collected enough to go get our assets then we can't rule out the possibility that they'll send a squad to seize the opportunity before we manage to move it all." Kat explained simply. "Besides, and I didn't tell you this, but our boss suspects the US are trying to get involved. When you arrived we thought for sure you'd be a rat but you've proven that you're trustworthy. Get your gun ready, we're almost there" --- "Adam? I have so many questions... would it be alright for me to ask them? I realise you must get this all the time." John asked while turning to look at him in wonder. By this point, the movie had gotten to Sam being approached by the vampire hunting teens in the comic store. --- Amelia was taken aback by being referred to so formally and when Insanity corrected him she nodded in approval. "Yeah, I actually prefer just my name rather than title. Makes people more comfortable around me." She shrugged. She looked around and sighed. "I know we will have a lot of rebuilding to do but first and foremost, I'm worried that there are souls and demons alike out there that might be trapped or hurt after the quake." She turned back to Insanity and Abaddon. "So your first official task for your rehabilitation is this; help as many as you can. Pull them to safety. Comfort the distressed. Let them know that they aren't alone or forgotten in this tragedy." --- "Carter..." Sebastian sobbed as he clung to him and peered sadly over his shoulder. "Your office..." --- Carol grinned, happy to have brought Charles back to his senses. Even happier still that he trusted her enough to ask for advice. "That quake has done a number on Hell. But, and forgive me for being a little blunt here, this disaster could be an opportunity to win back the trust and loyalty of the Demons that had sided with Donnie. I propose you seek them out and implore them to join you in confronting whatever force was the cause of it as well as help to repair and rebuild Hell. Seeing you at their side in a time like this, even after all they had done, will be sure to win back their favour." --- "I hate to say it but Grim has a point." Bob said reluctantly. He turned to Pain with a sympathetic look. "I want to be able to help her too but think about it. Once we get there what would we do? Myself and my new sister here have no idea what we are capable of but the rest of you are human. I believe that if anything were to happen to any of you because you wanted to help her, you especially, she would never forgive herself." --- The moment the boy began attacking the risen dead, they retaliated. Rapidly and violently, the ones closest to him shifted into hairless, fleshy dog-like shapes. Their teeth were jagged and sharp and their eyes had turned into deep pools of pure darkness. They encircled the boy, growling and snapping visciously. Just waiting for an opening to tear him to shreds. Azrael lifted his arm to summon his scythe as instructed. Once it had materialised he'd noticed the ones around the boy. He flew over and swiped a few that had been about to lunge. Preventing the boy from falling victim to them. As he struck them down though, more around them shifted just as violently. "Your Grace, the girl is the source. Stopping her would surely end this madness?" He called out to Death while pointing to Lilly. As he did, one of the necro-hounds dove at him. It clamped it's teeth around Azrael's arm while throwing it's own weight this way and that. Azrael let out an agonized cry then struck the hound with his scythe. He clutched his bleeding arm briefly then grit his teeth as he prepared to fend off more of them. Raguel arrived with his army of angels. He saw the chaos unfolding from his vantage point in the air and quickly assessed that Lilly was the cause of the evil he was seeing. He swooped in, drawing his sword and prepared to strike her down. Seeing him coming, Lilly lifted her arm towards him and sent her green aura to ensnare him. Raguel was stopped in his tracks and plummeted to the ground while clutching his head. His eyes shut tightly, he writhed around in pain as Lilly's aura tried to command control of the 'dead' soul of Donnie that was now trapped within Raguel. As Raguel resisted, all of Lilly's concentration was on trying to overpower him. This would give Death an opening to try and stop her. (Please excuse any spelling/grammatical errors. I'm replying from my phone \ud83d\ude01) Denix Vames - September 9, 2023 Jean lifted him off the floor. Holding him close. "You should rest now. Let me help my people. I need you to regain your strength." He appeared in their room and placed Hannes on the bed. He kissed him. "Don't worry now. Everything is alright." Theron looked at the floor. "Um it's not like there's much. I learned that we bring death. That's what I saw whenever someone got close to me. They would always use me. But now these people want to be my family? I'm trying to be happy but it feels like they're tricking me." He cried into his hands. "I've never had a real family!" --- "We got eyewitness reports about you assaulting Damien! And let's not forget the fight you had with James! So stop your temper tantrum or I'll stop it for you!" ,said Will --- Kite walked over to Damien. "I'm sorry. I pulled him out of the debris but I couldn't keep him from getting hurt." --- Alex would be with Gary. Attending to those who were hurt in the earthquake. Because of his abilities, Gary was able to sense the incoming earthquake. Getting himself and Alex out of the house. --- Sawyer took out his gun and nodded. "Frankly, you're not so bad yourself." --- "Ugh! I use to. Honestly, it'd be a real treat to answer any questions that my number one fan has. So..." Adam smile with a snap of his fingers. "Ask away." --- Abaddon nodded. "Yes Amelia." He stood up. Showing just how tall and lanky he was. With Insanity on his shoulder, he walked out of the library. Searching for anyone who needed help. --- Tears dripped down Carter's cheeks. Destroyed by the fact that his office was gone. However, he was more grateful that Sebastian was here. "I know I know. It's ok now. All that matters is that you're alive." He caressed his cheek. Looking into his eyes, he kissed him deeply. --- Charles hopped off of his throne. "Then you and I will seek out the hurt together. I need someone by my side in case anything should happen." He walked ahead of her. Knowing that she would follow. --- Pain clenched his fists. "I know I don't really know her. For all I know, she doesn't need me. But...I want to know if she's ok." --- Death grabbed Azrael's scythe and swiped at Lily. Cutting her in half. The teenager saw all the chaos and used it as an opportunity to teleport himself and his fallen lover to a location. Anywhere far from the battle. (that's fine. i think you did a good job)
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