The First Week after the Midnight Tournament

The first week's draws of cards from Andras had been a failure, from an 'aquire ressurectives' sense. So William Ascot decided to pursue other agendas; he had the time now. And with that, he prepared a text message to the Vigilantes; first King, then Aram and Wolf. Said texts were invitations for a mission, a mission that Ascot needed to 'pitch' to the latter as the Knight had already made his displeasure with the boy's plan clear. The mission was an excursion outside of Rhea, to the demon-infested wildlands and the ruined secret lab that lay among them. Ascot promised an additional fee of 200 Rhean Dollars each for taking the job.

If they accepted, Ascot would be waiting in a diner close to Rhea's City gates; he had already acquired an 'adventurer's permit' to go outside. Note though that his mood was slightly off as the Diners were discussing Galbrek's recent video message, and also looking uglily at him...

Wolf was almost glad for the day off. His father's training was legendary both for it's effectiveness and it's brutality. It was perhaps no wonder Victor had become the monster he was. If Wolf could attain even a fraction of that, perhaps he'd stand a chance. Or he'd just die of a heart attack -- whichever came first.

That said, he wasn't exactly happy how he got this day off. Vera had warned him that she'd passed his number along to William a few days ago during one of his meetings with Andras, but he hadn't expected a call of this nature. Wolf couldn't even say this had anything to do with the plan he'd been hired for.

Just how many things did William have his hands in?

His first instinct had even been to refuse, saying that this was too much. Too far removed from the original job... but alas, he'd dragged Aram into it too. Just walking over to meet William had resulted in Andras almsot being kidnapped and Vera almost getting run over by a car. He'd be going if only to make sure some even greater catastrophe didn't claim his fellow Vigilante's life...

When he arrived at the diner, Wolf looked rather worse for wear and sort of out of it, but arrive he did.

Aram is not a busy guy, and despite his mannerisms, he's actually pretty smart. In turn, he doesn't see the need to focus on his education much. But all that doesn't mean he wants to waste his day poking around some abandoned laboratory in the middle of nowhere. This would probably in more way than one break the law...trespassing, breaking and entering...the works. Not that he hadn't done all this before, mind you...but he always had his reasons.

Still, he found himself walking down the street towards a diner near the outskirts of town anyways. He'd been paid to do a job, and he was gonna do it. He saw his fellow Vigilante, Wolf, only a few dozen feet ahead of him.

'Good. we got some extra muscle', he thought

He continued to walk with a confident swagger until he reached the doors to the cafe, assumedly after Wolf did. He would push the doors to the cafe open wide to allow his passage.

William, clad in an orange T-Shirt, Vest, tough camoflague pants, and combat boots - he also had an ordinary sword strapped to his back, but the Diner's owner had insisted that he lock the scabbard so he couldn't draw it - would then say to Wolf and Aram, "Glad to see you two. Sorry for bothering you guys with my message, but I really need help for this cross-country trip."

He pointed to a bag of rations and survival supplies behind him; no tents as this was supposed to be short term, although there were umbrellas. "I'll explain on the way; let's just say that there's some unfinished business I have that might prove important to preperations against the 'Evil Greater than the Ancient Evil'."

Those last words were said without any note of sarcasm and irony.

Wolf blinked slowly. There was a Greater Evil now? No, of course there was. Why wouldn't there be? He pinched the bridge of his nose. What was it with this kid and trouble? He wasn't sure if trouble was drawn to him, or vice-verse. Either way hanging around him was proving ot be unpleasant.

"I'm not going to ask why you have unfinished business like that. Let's just get this over with I guess," Wolf said and let out an almost pained sigh.

Aram stopped for a moment. 'Cross country?' he thought. 'Since when was I escorting this guy across the damn country...?'
But something more pressing caught his attention.

"Greater evil, eh?" he said. "Yeah, I'm gonna need a full Smorgusborg of info after that claim. And despite Wolfie here's claim, I'm sure he'd like to know too."

He turned, eyeing the bag near the table William was sitting at. Looked heavy. "Manual labor? Now, now...nobody warned me about that..." he said with a fake frown.

William said, "I'll be carrying the bag, actually. Anyway, yeah, once we're out of the city, I'll tell you...everything."

Thirty Minutes Later

Once they were well into the countryside, following a trail into the forest, Ascot would say, "Last month, when this chain of events began, I received an old diary from a...contact. This diary spoke of someone who made a contact with the Ancient Evil due to not liking what the Gods have already given him. Said person vanished into the Hells in the Ancient Era, after the Gods themselves banded together to defeat him. That guy was named Mephisto. I did some digging, and I found out from another contact in said contact's Shrine that while our Mephisto was born in this world, as an ordinary human, a connection cannot be ruled out between him and the traitor. What makes things more sinister is that Meph ran an illegal laboratory long ago and then destroyed it with some kind of curse despite being supposedly a Powerless person.

"We're going to that place now." Ascot then paused. "As for the Evil Greater than the Ancient Evil, let's just say that King's movements have been followed by the Rhean Government, and that they put more stock in his words than some of his followers do; no offense meant. My personal speculation is that Mephisto - our Mephisto - may be serving either the Ancient Evil or 'switched paymasters' to the Greater Evil; either way, discovering more about him will either help us neutralize his potential threat, or be used to force him to help in Rhea's defense."

Another pause. "And yes, I am aware that I sound like Andras. But, for all its worth, I think she's a good person and that there's a grain of truth in what she says."

To be fair to William, Wolf didn't think he sounded like Andras at all. Andras's little delusions were silly and mostly harmless. What William was saying was far from harmless, if still borderline delusional in their own way. Well, so far William hadn't struck him as someone deranged, so it was possible he'd really stumbled onto something.

He supposed he'd be finding out soon enough.

"Great..." Wolf wasn't feeling all that talkative today it seemed. He was tired, cranky, and William was making him more cranky -- never mind the overload of information he was currently trying to process.

Aram stumbled for a moment as his foot met a branch on the side of the trail. 'Damnit...I just got these shoes shined...' he thought. He stooped to wipe the debris from his shoe as William told his story of some "Greater Evil".

He had heard that name before...Mephisto. He was head of one of the schools they regularly faced in tournaments. He stood. "Sounds like some real beef." He commented from behind the two.

He glanced at Wolf, who seemed to be pretty out of the conversation at the moment. Hmm...
"What's down, Wolfie?" Aram said, nudging him as he mathed the other's pace.

Wolf frowned for a moment. Wolfie... He had to remind himself that, aside from Vernon being a prick about it, it wasn't unusual for him to be called that. Funnily enough, it seemed Meredith and Aram had both come to that conclusion independantly. Meredith because, well, she was Meredith, and Aram because, as Vera would put it, "he talks funny."

"What?" Wolf glanced at Aram, "Oh, uh, sorry. Just tired. Father's putting me through the wringer trying to train me. I'd been slacking lately..." It wasn't just the physical aspect of it either. His father was focusing heavily on trying to get Wolf's head straight. It wasn't a pleasant process. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Wiliam glanced backward, worried about Wolf and wondering whether it was his fault the latter was being overworked. "Sorry for being inconsiderate," he muttered, before the group approached the overgrown and sinister-looking abandoned building and said: "We're here. I'll try and set up some basic anti-demon protection to protect our fallback position."

And with that, Ascot brought out a plastic pack labeled 'Holy Water', a smaller pack labeled 'Blessed Oil', and two jars containing Salt and compressed Garlic oil. He also brought out several military-grade religious anti-demonic symbols; small 'Rs' made up of sandalwood sprinkled with silver and blessed by Priests of multiple Gods, and began stringing those up in the trees just outside the Laboratory, before taking out the Holy Water, Blessed Oil, Compressed Garlic Oil, and saying to Wolf and Aram: "We're going to use these to create safe lines of retreat should things go south; I know that's an unwelcome line of thought, but I want to assure you guys I've prepared for it. So, can you guys help me create multiple corridors protected by these materials outside the laboratory? After that, we can come in."

Aram watched as William drew a collection of odd objects and jars from his bag. 'Wait, wait, Demons??? What dunce forgot to warn me about this??' he thought. This was much more than he had expected he signed up for. On their usual crusades, the Vigilantes planned, calculated, and usually brought more force than they required to get the job done..

But now, it was just the three of them, heading into god knows what...but once again, Aram's ears perked up at William's next request. "Hahaha!" he laughed, finishing with a smirk, "That's easy work, William. You'll soon be glad you brought this guy along!" he boasted.

He gestured at William to place the containers on the ground, before squaring the fedora on his head. He then suddenly flourished his right arm into the air, one of the jars busting open and the liquid within it spiraling into the air. He smiled at his display of ability and usefullness.

Soon the liquid was painted into a large Pentagram that engulfed the width of the path they had just traveled. In short order, the other jars were emptied in the same fashion.

Wiping away a fake sweatdrop, Aram stood with his hands on his hips, admiring his work. "See?" He smirked, apparently forgetting his previous objections.

"Don't worry about it too much. Real demons won't be around here," Wolf told him. A true demon wouldn't waste its time skulking aorund, never mind the fact that it just wasn't possible for them to enteir their world... usually. Their inhuman, mindless dogs could, but again, wasn't much reason for them to just be hanging about. Regardless, at least William was prepared. And in the worst case scenario, he'd just kill anything that showed its face.

William smiled and said, "Now, it's time to go in."

End of Part One

William entered the laboratory's entrance, before making his way up the stairwell to the roof, though not before saying to Aram and Wolf: "We're going to need to consult the building's spirit first."

As they reached the roof, the spirit flickered to life sitting on its apex. It had seemed to be waiting for them.

"Hello, are you here to keep me company?" It asked.

William waved to the spirit, saying, "Hi, and for a while, yes. We've come to see what remaining secrets the facility holds."

Turning to Aram, Ascot said, "Anyway, this is the Spirit of the Place." Turning back to the Spirit, the boy continued, "Spirit, this is Aram; he's an Alchemist."

"C'mon now, William...don't go giving out my secrets on the arm like that, chum..." Especially not to one of these creepy things... Aram thought. He was never really fond of the presence of ghosts or the like...well, maybe nobody was, but they gave him a bad case of the heebie-geebies. Made his hair stand on end. Which it was now.

"Hm... Secrets...?" It said slowly. "I'm not aware of any that are remaining, but..."

She paused for a second and looked into the distance.

"I can feel two rooms which aren't a 'part' of me. One on the second floor, and one on the fifth. Perhaps you'll find some things there."

First demons, now spirits. At least this one seemed friendly. Well, it was a little to late to be complaining about things being weird. They were already trying to raise the dead, after all.

"So... if you're the 'Spirit of this Place,' how can any part of this building not be part of you?" He was far less well versed in spirits, but the logic here seemed fairly straightforward and what it had just said, fairly contradictory.

"Well, I don't really know. I can't see into them, but I can sense my halls leading to them, and a door without an other side." It shrugged. "They've been there since I was born, so maybe they were remnants from something else that was on this land."

William blinked. "The case thickens. What place would be easier to reach? Second floor, or fifth floor?"

"You'd think it'd be the second floor, eh smart one? Unless of course...there's some goons inside that could slow our progress?" He said the last part with a hint of curiosity as he raised his eyebrows at the small girl of a phantasm sitting upon her perch.

"Oh yes, the research specimens all escaped and are roaming the halls, even now." She said. "There aren't as many of them left as there used to be. The only food down there is each other, after all, but the ones left are fairly ferocious."

". . ." Wolf's jaw just dropped and then his pinched the bridge of his nose. "So I'll be going first, then..." No one else was really equipped to be playing the front line, after all.

"Geez Louise...what has this Gumshoe gotten us into..." Aram muttered under his breath.

William smiled at the Spirit, and said, "Thank you; hopefully, we'll see each other again if we survive."

A look at Wolf and Aram. "I think we should head to the Second Floor, then depending on the difficulty or the value of the secrets found, we continue on to the fifth or leave said fifth for another day."

The party nodded in agreement and they went to enter the facility.

Before dissipating, the spirit had left them some key information. Power throughout the facility was off. It had been some years since the facility had been abandoned, so not even emergency power would still be functioning.

There was an elevator which could have taken them straight to any floor, and if it were still functioning, the fifth floor room would be the easiest one to reach since it was fairly close to the elevator exit. There was still a way down on each floor however.

They arrived on the door to the first floor via the emergency ladder in the elevator well. It was a large cargo elevator shaft, so it was fairly roomy on the way down.

The elevator doors of each floor were sealed when the facility had entered a state of emergency. Each one could be manually released through a panel on the side. The doors served as a cargo entrance for large pieces of equipment or specimens, so when they opened those doors they would get a pretty good view of the lab inside.

Entering would be a fairly large and open space, but it would quickly turn into winding corridors as they travelled. The spirit gave them precise directions to the room they were after, so they wouldn't be exploring too much.

"How's this gonna go down, boys? We gonna muscle our way through, or lay low? I don't dig the idea of croaking in this hole, so choose wisely..." Aram was well aware of Wolf's potential. He'd seen what could happen when the boy's emotions got the best of him. As for William...he had no clue. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who could take a hit to the kisser...but you'd be surprised. And as for himelf...of course he could take a few freaks...probably.

"Avoid trouble unless we have no other options. There's only three of us and who knows how many of them. Even if it is only a few, if they're as vicious as the spirit says, it might not take that many," Wolf said, deciding for them. If necessary, he'd take charge of this whole trip. His job was to keep everyone alive, and whatever else was secondary in his mind. "Aram, cover our rear. William, stay behind me." Aram was less of a straightforward fighter than him, so he'd give him some extra space. Hopefully any threats would come head-on so Wolf could intercept them.

William nodded, and his sole addition to the discussion was, "I'm going to use my third power - the one I used to increase people's luck, strength, and speed back then - on Aram; that ought to help."

Aram would then be surrounded by an aura of golden light that would last for a few seconds...

"Oh? Haha..not that I need it, of course...but thanks!" Aram exclaimed before a golden light engulfed him. He felt energy surge through him as he became more in-touch with his own body-if that was even possible. "Oooo, that feels weird." he squirmed with a funny expression.

He grasped a hilt that was sticking out from under his suit over his right shoulder, drawing the connected short sword he'd held there. Swinging it a few times, he could feel the strength difference in his strikes. "Now we're cooking with gas...you men ready?" he said, looking to the others.

"One can only hope," Wolf frowned, his pessimistic side not doing him any favors at the moment. At the very least, William was able to shift the odds ever so slighty more in their favor. It was something. "Just stay alert." And with that, Wolf began steadily walking deeper into... one could only guess what.

The facility was desolate. The spirit's words had painted a grim picture, but it wasn't quite clear how grim. The floor was literred with skeletons. As Aram's light approached, various tiny creatures screeched and skittered out of sight. Bones but no flesh made these small creatures scavengers. It would seem that they also did well to reduce any rot that might be in this place, it'd be relatively painless to move around.

But there weren't only skeletons and scavengers here. Ahead of them, the skittering became more frantic, until there was a sound like claws slamming and scraping against the ground, and the some of the screeches stopped. Then there were the sounds of an animal tearing into a fresh corpse.

As they approached they saw the true form of the creature. A mutated fox with glowing yellow eyes and scales covering its body. It hissed at the light, blinking desperately and quickly escaping into the shadows of the beyond.

"I'm going to assume that was one of those things..." Wolf pursed his lips, tension showing plain on his face. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but it hadn't been that.

William turned up his nose, then said, "Fresh corpses smell like meat. Wait, why would there be fresh corpses in this abandoned facility? Oh, wait, the Spirit hinted at a breeding population..."

As if right on queue, many more sets of yellow eyes peered out from the darkness. They formed a semi-circle around the party, held at bay by the light.

Aram repulsed at the smell of new and old corpses alike. He couldn't see much, but what light they did have illuminated the place just enough to be about one-hundred times creepier than it really was. Soon enough, the creepy environment wasn't the only thing they had to worry about.

"Uhhh, something smells fishy..." he said as the eyes revealed themselves from the gleam of his light. He moved his shoulder bag into a position where it was more comfortable for him to reach into it with one hand, and did so, placing his hand against one of the many transmutation symbols within it.

"Looks like it's too late to lay low now, boys." Black energy crackled from his left palm to his right, which was still grasping his short sword.

The foxes made their own screech and began to attack. They were plenty in number, but lacking in intelligence somewhat. They could dodge attacks, but they had only one singular target, the hated light. Years underground had made them accustomed to the darkness, and now a new, painful force was among them.

Predation was these foxes only method of survival until now, with nothing to forage, and faster scavengers claiming the excess spoils from their own kill. There was no longer any room for anything else, and now the hunt was on.

Whether their eyes adjusted or numbers simply gave them bravery, they no longer seemed dissuaded by the light. Rather, they seemed hellbent on getting rid of it and then making a meal of those who'd dared to bring said light into their domain.

They charged, and Wolf know he was going to have to rely on Aram for this one. Even William might have to fend for himself to a degree. One fox charged right at him, but Wolf couldn't deal with it right now. He raised his shield, letting the creature slam face-first into it. It gave Wolf the sparse few seconds he needed to lash out with his sword, tearing open another as it attempted to go past him toward the two behind him.

He couldn't stop all of them, but if he could at least limit the number that got past, it'd be something...

William didn't want to waste the inventory of 'Imitation Andras Cards' that he had been able to acquire thanks to the God of Stories' power, but what he wanted didn't matter right now. Raising his right index and middle fingers, he pulled out Incremental Blight, a card that would cause one fox to be afflicted with a painful disease as it tried to flank the group, while the second and third behind it would suffer crippling and fatal ones. The boy would be morbidly glad that he didn't have to use this on sapient beings.

He would then check if the mundane sword given to him by his mother was still there; it was and he was able to end the suffering of the first and second foxes afflicted.

Breathing hard, he would then prepare to imitate any First and Second Powers Aram and Wolf used; he had already 'stored' a use of Aram's 'Fine Water Manipulation' when the former had made his pentagrams outside of the building.

Aram's tone shifted as their engagement began. His movements seemed more springy, and he made sure to never catch himself flat-footed.
"You fellas watch yourselves, who knows what nasty festerings these things have-" Even as he said it, one of the creatures lept at him from the shadows, barely giving him enough time to raise his left arm, thanks to William's speed enhancement. It snapped down quickly through his several layers of sleeves. And was met with a hard clank as it bit into his armor.

"Ha! How's that for a mouthful?!" he said, quickly dispatching it with a simple swing of his blade. But there seemed to be a lot of these things. Aram didn't fancy seeing who would last longer. He dropped his sword, quickly crouching and throwing both of his hands to the ground. Jagged, slanted, stone spires erupted from the floor around them, shooting into the shadows behind him and to their flanks, earning screeches of pain and the sound of stone piercing through the beasts, hopefully hitting most of them who weren't in front.

Then the spires shrunk back from the darkness, covered in blood, and some bringing pierced creatures with them, before melting back into the floor.

There were a lot of enemies, but their number wasn't unlimited. They were thinning out as the party cut through the horde. Suddenly however, there was a deep and guttural sound. It sounded like various animal calls were recorded and choked through a filter.

It was almost impossible to tell what animals were in the mix, but they were all underlined by a very distinctive sound.

The monster horde reacted with visible fear as they heard it charge. They couldn't see where it was coming from, but they could hear it. Rapid, mad hoofbeats. The frequency was too high for a normal horse, if they were able to count the steps and recognize the pattern, they'd realize it was 8 legs striking the ground with enough power to make the ground shake.

And before them, it appeared, Sleipnir.

It reared up on its hindlegs and unleashed a stream of fire from its mouth, scorching the ground and sending the foxes scurrying away in fear.

The spirit had warned them of this creature, amongst some others. It was no simple horse, it was a chimera created by fusing together a multitude of creatures, which was then further twisted by magic to create a true nightmare.

It stood 8 feet tall, and had tough scales all along its body, and a large cobra for a tail. It had the ability to breath fire as well. Normally it would be housed on the 4th floor, but it had the speed to be able to travel wherever it wished within the facility in a matter of minutes.

The spirit had advised that if they ever ran across it that they should run.

Run. From that? They'd have to find a suitably narrow area, assuming they didn't get run down the second they turned their backs on it. So much for avoiding trouble, trouble had hunted them down in record time. He was going to need more than his sword for this one.

He just needed to focus. To draw on the right emotions. His father had very clearly told him how -- he just needed to stop hiding. To go back.

A simple task, deep in the forest. CRACK!

He shook his head. No! There was no time to sort through that now!

Still, the trident should be simple enough. He took a breath and in a swirl of black, the trident and net formed in his hands.

"Aram... I'm gonna try and keep it still. Can you follow up?" he asked, not risking looking back to see if he was listening.

Aram blinked as he stood from his crouch. "You? Hold...that still?...You?" he asked. "You've got Moxie, guy... but fine. Don't get us whacked." he said as he came up behind Wolf, standing to his left as he reached into his satchel, the black energy crackling from his hands once again.

Wolf took a breath and stepped forward, wanting to make the beast focus on him. Once he thought he had it gunning for him, he attempted to goad it into running right into his net, thrown at the beasts head. His hope was to distract it and unbalance it while then stepping aside and swinging at its legs with his trident. He didn't have the power now to sned the pralytic effect coursing through its whole body, but with that many legs, he could only imagine the havoc numbing one or two would do.

If he could slow it a little bit now, he could do even better on his next pass...

The tip of the trident rattled and slid across Sleipnir's thick scales, but the edge point caught on a space between some scales and pierced flesh. The horse quickly reared up, and let out its strange call with a snort of fire.

Even with 2 legs raised, it had 6 left to stand on. Unlike horses who couldn't deal with mice effectively since they couldn't keep their legs up, Sleipnir could attack underneath himself without worry. Its nostrils glowed with imminent death, and he unleashed his fire breath at wolf.

Aram wasn't sure what Wolf was trying to do, but it seemed it was right for him to doubt whatever it was. The other Vigilante's weapon barely seemed like a poke to such a large creature. As it reared, Aram saw the undeniable danger staring Wolf in the face.

He thought fast, thinking over his choices. Oh bilge, this'll be groddy, he thought. Aram focused his energy, channeling his willpower into the blood spilling from the deceased creatures around them. The crimson liquid flowed from the body into a large glob that congregated quickly, and then was sent flying at the Demon's face as Aram willed it. Aram aimed for the blood to explode all over the demon, filling its nostrils to prevent its fiery discharge, and hopefully its breathing.

Sleipnir recoiled from the sudden influx of blood, which ended up getting into its eyes as well. It jumped back blindly, denting the steel floor, but it misjudged its jump height and the height of the facility. It hit the ceiling which wasn't too far above its head and fell.

Wolf grit his teeth as he realized his mistake. Had he been alone, he may have ended up truly paying for it too. He'd grossly underestimated the beast's resilience. But he wasn't alone and somehow he hadn't paid for his foolishness. Still, it was humiliating... but he'd make use of that.

When the monster collapsed from its own thrashing, he saw a chance to make-up for his failure. He hefted his trident and found the beast's shoulder. If he went against the grain of the scales, under it's legs where the scales should have been much thinner, his weapon should be able to penetrate. He shoved his weapon into the beast. Even if the weapon wasn't currently at its full potential, if he drove it into the beast, the paralytic effect should spread and spread for as long as the trident could stay lodged in it.

Ascot, meanwhile, would rush at the monster from the side as the paralysis took effect, drawing his sword with both hands and trying to chop its neck cleanly. Hopefully, he and Aram can salvage it for Reagents later on...

Aram frowned as Ascot's sword failed to hash through the beast's tough scaled hide. "No dice, eh? Maybe we need something more restrictive!" he jeered, before throwing both hands to the floor. The energy was back again, crackling around him. The floor rumbled as the mass within it shifted around, finally rising from the surrounding area and arching over the beast, forming close to its body as it hardened into steel. He stood, dusting his hands.

"Bet you fellas are glad you brought ol' Aram, eh?" he said, a slight, cocky bow passing towards his companions.

Aram wasn't given too much time to congratulate himself however, as a stream of fire came aimed at his head. Sleipnir was bound, but it was still rather capable. It thrashed around in a frenzy, its deadly hooves swinging this way and that as it frantically breathed fire.

Aram jumped back from the flames, a small bit of them licking the brim of his fedora. "H-hey! Watch it! This is some classy merchandise, ya big gorilla!" he yelled disdainfully.

Wolf had a moment to think but not speak. Aram... his powers really were a lot more reliable than his. He'd acted confident, but each time Aram had one-upped him. There was jealousy there, sure, but nothing so spiteful. Just a painful recognition of his own shortcomings.

He was about to say as much,and complement his friend accordingly, but Sleipnir only needed a few moments it seemed to realize its situation and begin flailing. Wolf's, foolish, first instinct was to try and keep the trident in place, but the trident was literally right next to legs ending in thrashing hooves.

Wolf was slammed against the nearby wall and stunned. And in his daze came a bit of... honesty. Honesty with himself. Honesty brimming with doubt and self-loathing.

And all the power that such pain brought him.

Anyone worried about Wolf would soon lose sight of him as a vortex of thick, black smoke engulfed him. Next came the echoing THUD-THUD of impossibly heavy footsteps as the titanic armor of Sorrow lumbered forth. There was a hollow clang as a hoof ricochetted off the helmet, only causing Wolf to list to one side momentarily before descending bare-handed on Sleipnir.

One guantletted hand crashed down on Slipneir's nose, clamping down around mouth and nostrils to keep its flames at bay. Next, the net he'd cast earlier returned to him before he wrapped it around his other fist. The weight of the armor now comibned with the weight of the net soon came crashing down on Sleipnier's skull as he grappled the beast. And then once more. And then...

If he couldn't stab it -- he'd crush it.

The damage was reaching the beast's brain. Armour 101, blunt force can damage internal organs without necessarily having to destroy armour. Sleipnir had a thick skull, but not thick enough. The light had not faded from its eyes yet, but its thrashing was getting weaker, and it was clear it would die soon.

However, before Wolf could deliver the last blow, there were different cries. They were surrounded again, but this time by a multitude of different creatures. They stuck to the shadows but their intention was clear.

Sleipnir, their terror was bound, helpless and dying. A vertiable feast, one that would be shared, unless the party wasn't willing to give it up. Then it would be taken from them.

"I think we should go to the Second Floor's room right now!" Ascot shouted. "Remember what we came here for!"

"Gumshoe's right, Wolfie-boy." Aram nodded.

Wolf stood up straight, Sleipner no longer a threat. He was a good foot or so taller in the armor. He recalled his trident and walked directly toward a portion of the monstrous swarm. He swung his trident, striking the floor and letting sparks fly. The message was clear.

Step aside.

"I'll lead. Keep close." his voice echoed deeply from inside the armor. If they'd only gotten brave once Sleipnir was killed, then logic dictated that instinct would tell them to back away from him too. The armor would slow him down, but not nearly as much as fighting their way through everything. He'd take it off once they were clear.

Aram would follow close behind his now much taller friend, while being sure to keep William between the two. He'd try to ignore the eerie feeling he got from so many eyes staring at him, that he couldn't stare back at. He was walking backwards, because he knew what animals of prey were like. They'd take any advantage they could get. especially if they were hungry...

Aram caught a glimpse of his light glinting off of the black armor that covered his left arm. Compared to Wolf, this is nothing, he thought. Wolf might not be able to control his power night and day, but who cares? He's strong...without help, he thought. I...I have to rely on people to "help", if I can even do that. Alchemy...it's strong. In the right hands. They told me I have the right hands, but how can I believe that when I feel so...so Hu-- His thought was interrupted by a hiss nearby in the dark, startling him.

"C-C'mon.. let's split." he managed to cough up.

William knew this; that their goal was coming into view. With Wolf and Aram's help, he was going to reach the desired destination - the Second Floor's special chamber. Once the running stopped, once they finally arrived, he was going to examine, then open the door, though slowly and not without caution...

The door was a door like any other in the facility. It was shut tight, but the panel for the manual override was already half opened. There were other doors like that but so far they'd each been on a path to an exit of some sort. This room was most definitely a dead end.

Nevertheless, the party strode onwards. The room was dark, like the rest of the facility, but the lights were specifically different from the rest. Stepping into the room was indeed like stepping into an entirely different place.

Yet inside it were still very familiar equipment. There was monitoring equipment, a bed, surgery tools, and a lot of things the party didn't recognize. One thing that leaped out at them however was that the room felt like a room made for one subject.

There was a large test-tube/vat in the back of the room. The bed was nearby, with the monitoring equipment either surrounding it or facing it. They could tell that there would normally be just one subject with some researchers studying them.

In one corner of the room there was a cabinet with some files. Upon looking at them however, it seemed as if they were encrypted using a code of some kind. Other than those files, there was nothing else in the room.

They could take some pictures of the equipment hopefully to study it and try and track down the manufacturer to perhaps find some more information in the future.

Ascot took out his smartphone and began to take pictures, first of the equipment, then the various pages of the files. When his smartphone's memory ran out, he used various USBs from his pack to store more photos of the files' pages. He would then say to Aram: "Don't ask why, but two things. One, I think that the vat was used to manufacture an Artificial Human/Clone, and two, this technology would be useful once my boyfriend and I get married."

Aram raised his eyebrows at that, blinking as if he'd just been pegged in the head with a rock. "Um.. Okay? Hope you get your info so we can scram.." he said, scratching his head. So Gumshoe's got a lovebird, eh? Wait, isn't he with that Vernon kid? Something's off about that character..

This must be where Christine - Baumann, not Abigail - was born. William though as he went to the Generator. If it still worked, he could try and reactivate it and so gain access to the data stored in the monitoring computers...

He'd need some fuel to start the generator. There wasn't exactly a guarantee the generator was alright, or that the computers would boot up either, but if they did the data would most likely be intact due to being relatively isolated from the facility's main power grid.

It was likely the generator had simply run down in this room, or that it had been turned off before the researchers had met their doom.

William Ascot turned to Aram, saying: "Alchemy can be used for basic repairs to electronic equipment, right? Nothing fancy, just a few reconnected wires here and there. But more importantly, you can transmute generator fuel and use it to power up this room for a while. We can then leave and come back with even more numbers."

"Er, well...electronics are a bit sketch. But if it's just simple...I can give a swing at it. Need to lay eyes on the insides though...But the gas'll be easy as pie." he responded.

Aram looked around, looking for disposables he could use for transmutation fuel. There were quite a few. He walked over to an IV stand, grabbing it along with a blanket that had lain on the bed, and threw it on top of the stand. He unscrewed the cap on the side of the generator, then performed his alchemy once again, turning his gathered equipment into fuel of the appropriate composure for a generator, which he luckily knew the the components for. He then controlled it to flow into the old generator, until it filled to the brim.

He let the rest of the gas fall to the floor, turning it into water to avoid any unnecessary hazards. "There ya go, Gumshoe."

Ascot would then turn the generator on, hoping for the best...

The generator spluttered, but it started. As it got to work the lights flickered to life. The computer screens flickered on one by one, but each one only showed a blue boot error screen save for the last one. It seemed to contain surveillance footage, but most of it had been taken.

They were recorded with dates, and there were clear month-long gaps in between certain dates. The likely conclusion was that footage of any experiments taking place here had already been transferred elsewhere. However, there was a recording for the day the facility had been overrun.

Opening it showed a lit room almost the same as they saw it now. It was empty, the tests having long concluded by now. The time ticked on, but it wasn't even possible to hear any sound coming into the room.

Suddenly, there was a burst of static. Something had entered the room, but slices of static obscured it constantly. It was as if it was emanating it. It moved around the room, seemingly doing nothing. It came to the generator, then the recording stopped.

Ascot nevertheless used more USBs to take what data was available, including knowledge of the gaps in surveillance and the final day. He then made copies of said final day and sent them to Eleanor, his sister-in-law, to show to Alexander later; the latter should be in Mephisto's presence right now. Looking at Aram, he would say, "I think I know what this part of the facility is for; it's creating an artificial human for an unknown purpose."

Then, to Wolf, the boy would say, "And while I think that you're a combination of skeptical and disappointed right now, as the files we have are encrypted and the surveillance footage is inconclusive, let's just say that I came to this conclusion because...the artificial human is my adoptive niece. Michael can confirm; he was with me on a previous trip to see the Spirit of the Facility for the first time."

I have a niece. And I presume that Mephisto might want her to be his' if he knew of her existence. I have family I want to protect now; the rest, including Liliana, can take care of themselves. Liliana Ascot was William's younger sister. "It seems I've been selfish. Trying to save Vittorio's soul and prevent his life from becoming a tragedy, when I have someone who needs me almost as much, someone who needs me more." A sigh. "But then again, Vittorio's still the one who's suffered more than anyone else in Rhea, and winning him away from Mephisto...it'll protect my niece as well."

Aram sat for a moment, taking in all that they have gathered. "So this trip wasn't a fiasco afterall, eh? That's swell on your part...but do you think you can help that empty soul? I hear he's pretty hard-headed.." he inquiried. He'd never really met Vittorio outside of a brawl, and especially hadn't talked to him head-on, but he'd heard rumors on how stubborn he was. How obsessed...he was.

"But wait, they made phony people here? And your family adopted one?" Aram asked, "That's not possible...It shouldn't be possible."

William glared at Aram, his right fist clenched as he grit his teeth, "Call my niece 'phony' one more time and I'm smacking you in the face. Understand?"

"Woah, cool down, Goomba. We're friends, aren't we? I came to help you, I meant no harm..." he said apologetically.

Ascot's face softened as his fist unclenched. "That's all right; it was a mistake. Anyway, yeah, my niece was born right here. I hope she's adapting well to the adoption..."

A pause. "Anyway, we should go."

Aram looked over to Wolf. He seems off his wig today... he thought. He blinked. "You did swell today, Wolfie-boy." he said, then looking at William. "Let's scram. This place gives me the jitters."

William then turned off the generator, then the trip back outside started...

---

Tic, tac. The rusty clock of the reading room kept droning as seconds passed by. Some people would be unnerved by it. Celestine was in the unfortunate case that it was boring him to tears, even as he read around the well-preserved but in equal parts cumbersome and intimidating “demonic” Grimoire. Obviously it wasn’t a real grimoire, but It never hurt to expand one’s knowledge. Specially to mess with people’s minds. Nevertheless, this was a refreshing entertainment, seeing how the human psyche covered with vivid imagination and ethereal connections the yawning gap of the abyss of human ignorance.

It was fairly hot and dry too. Luckily, he had brought his female clothes skirt set. He would have donned the mask as well, but public faces did not like masked individuals. Well with all the make-up and grooming, his true gender and most of his identity were still largely unknown.

“I wonder if there will be an Adults Only section” He mused to himself as he looked around. Well, this kind of solace was good once in a while. But it was boring to tears.

Andras paged through a few paperbacks she had stacked next to her. Sitting in a corner of the library farthest away from the windows, she enjoyed a respite from the strange household she had been staying in for the past few weeks. Most of the books were almost brand new, straight from the “New Arrivals” section at the front of the library.

Andras normally waited for William in the library, as he needed to oversee her draws from the Root. But this time was for Andras’s own sake. Being an only child, she was very unequipped to deal with younger kids - especially Meredith’s sister. Some quiet was necessary to keep Andras’s sanity in check, lest the magical power sealed within her eye breaks out and wreaks havoc on the world around her.

‘Or something like that.’ Andras sighed to herself, stretching her arms. ‘These books seem promising enough.’ She stood up, taking an armful of novels with her. She walked past the reading room, briefly glancing at the clock to check the time.

‘Wait. What was that…?’ Andras stopped in her tracks, and walked back to the room’s entrance. Beneath the clock, Andras recognized a familiar book. ‘T-That’s the grimoire! I’ve read that at least five times! I’ve never seen anyone else even pick it up.’ A girl was reading it. Actually reading it.

Hiding in the doorway, Andras peeked her head and stared at the girl. ‘I-Is she really a girl? I’ve learned that demons can be anywhere.’ Narrowing her eye, she tried to find a hint of demonic aura from the reader.

Celestine for his part, just stretched on his chair, and kept stretching, and stretching even further. His body was now taking a curved shape, balanced on the back of his chair. Eventually, his head went from a normal position to an upside down stare on the people at his back. He sometimes enjoyed stretching to his fullest, such flexibility which he once had cultivated to follow his mother’s steps at some point…

It was then when his eyes met with Andras cross-eyed stare. The nigh infallible memories of his brain showed that he had once met this person before. On a certain scuffle, with a sports car. Also an idiot half-demon. Vernon. Some roadkill bait and a spiky dude. And there was this girl, a… self called magician. But it looked certainly endearing in her antics, even to a black hearted rogue-slash-transvestite like him.

He just smiled at her, and waved her hand in a greeting. Well, no point in avoiding it once their stares had met.

Andras quickly ducked around the corner. Not only had the mysterious reader saw her, she even waved. ‘Oh no. What do I do?! I was staring at her the entire time!’ Trying to cover her face, she ended up dropping the books in her arms.

Andras flushed red as she saw a few heads turn from the commotion. She mumbled something like an apology to nobody in particular as she tried to pick up her books without melting from embarrassment.

Something scratched in the back of Celestine’s mind. A memory of long ago. Yes. Long ago, he had been that kind of person had he been? Awkward and shy. The days long past would never return, but that girl piqued his interest even more. Composing himself back on his chair, he picked the cumbersome heavy grimoire in one hand and with the grace of a smug cat began to walk towards the girl, his steps elegant like the finest catwalks of Rhea. He approached her, as he deposited the book in one of the many tables that were fit for returning purposes.

“Need a hand, little library fey?” He said in a low, cooing voice.

‘F-Fey!’ Andras gasped both in surprise and at the choice of words used. ‘She’s… She’s…”

Andras laughed quietly to herself, setting her books down. “Fufu. Not Fey. Demon.”
She quickly turned, standing up. She held up her hand, showing a pentagram tattooed on her skin.

It wasn’t a real tattoo, of course. Andras had cast it as an enchantment on herself, and the card had manifested as the pentagram. But of course, Andras was primarily concerned with how cool it looked. To her, the enhancement to her strength was almost secondary.

Celestine looked at the pentagram, as his eyes twitched briefly. ‘Can’t believe this airhead! Showing off magic in a place like this! So… innocent.’ He added, before cupping her hand in his, and hiding the mark from sight. “Oh, a dark ...one. One must pay respects to those who dwell in your fare... “ The transvestite answered. “Alas, no true occult knowledge in a proper library.” He added, his hands still clasping the tattooed hand with care.

“I suppose that makes me the library fey…” He japed, noticing how that woman was slightly taller than him. Well, not that was much of an accomplishment but still…

Andras let out a squeak of surprise when the mysterious reader took her hand. She wasn’t prepared for something like that, and it totally broke her cool aura. Flushing once again with embarrassment, she averted her gaze. “E-Even so… What were you doing with that book?” She paused, then added quietly, “Did you like it?”

“T’was a fleeting interest.” He interjected as he continued to hold Andras hand. “Real...demonology isn’t found in the chronicles that a drunk priest related to a shady troubadour which then were extracted by torture several centuries ago, but it...made me appreciate what little do we know.”

‘And how dull some days are’ He added as a matter of fact, his eyes darting towards the pentagram, which he then leant and kissed, a small silent curtsy accompanying it. “I am more interested...in the real thing. You may call me Sky, and forgive me being so bold…”

She added, as she let go of her hand. “Something tells me you’re certainly unique…”

Andras recoiled her hand. She had not been kissed on her hand ever, and her mind was very intent on reminding her of that fact. ‘W-What’s with this person?!’ Andras couldn’t help but think. ‘You can’t j-just kiss magic symbols!’

“W-Well. I-I…” Andras stuttered, trying to think of something to say. “Um. I-I’ve got to check these books out…” As she gave her excuse to bail, she stepped back, hitting her pile of books, and stumbling.

Celestine shot his arms forward, one of them wrapping Andras around her waist very much like a ballet pose. ‘ Too much stimulation, huh’. Celestine decided to pass towards plan b, and activating his body control allowed his face to blush beet red as he averted his gaze from Andras…”W-watch-out.” He even stuttered. “I-i’m so-sorry. I just t-tried to pl-play cool.” He let in an ungraceful manner, as he put his acting skills to test.

“It’s alright!” Andras blurted out. “You were cool. I-I was the one who didn’t have anything cool to add…”

‘Stop digging your grave here!’ Andras’s mind echoed. ‘You’re looking like a dork!’

Andras was reminded slightly of Vera’s dancing escapade, with the way Sky was holding her. Though Sky definitely was more graceful about it. At the same time, she wasn’t letting go of Andras…

“W-Well!” Andras spoke out suddenly and awkwardly. “I have to check these out!” She pushed gently against Sky’s chest to get out of the hold she had Andras in. For a moment, Andras felt that she may have a kindred sister, as she pushed on Sky’s chest - or lack thereof.

For a split second, Celestine stood still, like an automaton, as he gently let Andras go. Then he remembered he had to blush. Well, shy types required different strategies after all. No sooner she had left his grip he started stuttering.

“I-I-I-Icecream after this? I cou-could use one. I can p-pay.” He lowered his voice as he looked at his boots. “-tastesbetterwhenethere’stwoofus.” He half muttered.

“You’d pay?!” Andras was taken aback. Though Sky was a stranger, Andras was never one to turn down free food. “I’ll be in your care, then!” Andras laughed a little, as she checked out the pile of books.

“oh?” Celestine said. “Oh!”. He repeated, his stutter vanishing, as he made a fake effort to clear his throat. “Fine then, An offering of chocolate for my new…friend.” He said, gaining impetus as he took some of Andras books to carry as well. “Let me help with it... “ He added, as he resumed his proud catwalk once more, this time guiding Andras.

“...Actually, there’s a little thing I need to mention.” He gestured to his purse, as he caught it when he was trying to reach the door.

“What’s that?” Andras said, her interest piqued.

‘Is it more food?’ She couldn’t help but think.

Celestine was by the door, as he reached for the contents of his purse. A white porcelain mask glistened in the obscured doorframe, which then neatly slid into his head. “This is the second time we meet, Dark Lady of Despair.” Celestine said, this time putting the same level of gravity to his female voice as he had done when they had first met. He then realized he was missing something.

“Fufufu. Nailed it.”

There. That was more like it.

Andras was torn between shock and awe. “Sky, you’re the Fallen One?! The mysterious girl from before…”

‘She’s a dangerous person!’ Andras thought. ‘But… Maybe I can learn more about what she wants if I keep with her. I can defend myself if things get out of hand.’

“What is it that you want?” Andras asked intently.

“Have you ever wondered...why people gently set aside flowers instead of stomping on them?” Celestine said, in his Fallen One persona. “Because they’re striking, of a fleeting beauty.” He paused. “You struck me as someone who doesn’t let a sea of mediocrity and boredom dictate their lives. And you’re more alike than me than you think.” He began to walk.

“Ice cream, and talk about some more. And that’s it. No strings attached. “ He sighed as he kept carrying the books.

“I’ll take your offer, then.” Andras replied cooly. On the inside, however, she was a little flattered by the Fallen One’s comments. Not that she would intentionally show it, to someone who had fought her friends before. “Where shall we go…?”

“Well… I guess i should do a little magic on my own.” The Fallen One said, as he flipped his hand, and in a sleight of hand produced a Gold Credit card. It had been the first trick his loser dad had taught him… the memories. “Now that you know this little secret, I will have you...drown.”

He pointed at the most luxurious ice cream shop he had ever seen. “In chocolate, that is. Or vanilla. I don’t discrimate.” He tilted his head, looking at Andras.

Andras let out a prideful huff. “Just chocolate or vanilla? How mundane. Drowning like that would only be painful due to the lack of variety.” She stepped into the shop.

‘I know I’m not supposed to take advantage of other people when they’re paying for me, but... ‘ Andras licked her lips as she looked over the selection.

“...Mundane? Well let me show you something that skirts the definition of it.” He didn’t hesitate as they sat down. “ A single Mojito cream for me, and a Boatload for the lady.” He added, pointing at the biggest, most expensive ice cream of the menu.

Minutes later, an employee hefted an extra-large oversized wafer full of scoops of all shapes and flavours, and had placed a tiny captain cardboard hat on Andras, while the Fallen one elegantly savoured his Mojito ice cream.

Andras had made a sizeable dent in the giant ice cream order before she gave up. “Guh. I feel like… Ugh.” Her captain hat slid off of her head, dropping onto the table. She stretched her arms, feeling like her stomach was going to burst. Despite her warm hoodie, she felt cold. “I see. Your plan was to destroy me from within. Bravo.” She rested her head against the table, sighing, and crossing her arms to try and feel a little more warm. “What’s the next step of your plan?”

Celestine chuckled as he stretched in his chair like an overgrown cat. “Death by chocolate successful. Now all i need is to bring the Dark lady of Despair from the Frozen Hel of Dairy Indigestion with my mighty ultimate technique.” He added, amusing himself, as he stood up and drew closer to andras.

“The mighty Stomach-Churning Palm of Life.” He added, hamming it up a little, before he added in a whispering tone. “Tummy rubs.” He declared as he skillfully tried to alleviate the poor girl’s conundrum.

“T-That doesn’t make sense! I’ll be fine on my own…” Andras groaned. She was embarrassed, of course, but she couldn’t deny that some help wouldn’t hurt. “I-Is this all you wanted from me?” Andras said, trying to change the subject. “I had figured that, well. You had some ulterior motive to bringing me here.”

“Like, you know, kidnapping you cause you’re part of a half-assed plot of resurrecting a long lost love of someone?” Celestine added, without missing a heartbeat as he cradled Andras from behind and in a caring manner begin to alleviate the poor girl. “Forget that. I was just trying to cover for a junior.” He whispered into her ear. “Which is an idiot.”

He paused. “My real motive is that you’re like me, or well, you -were- like me, at some point. I can have whims and fancies too. I am also a human surrounded by dreaded boring mediocrity.” He admitted, half in truth. Nobody could say he was now a klutz, but he once had been. And that endeared this girl to him, in a way he thought he had gone dry. Otherwise he would have never revealed his face to her, knowing she was from another faction.

Andras squirmed a little. ‘When did she get behind me like this?! I need to be more attentive.’ That being said, the Fallen One seemed to be pretty adept at helping her stomachache.

“I-It’s not half assed! William said that if we can resurrect her, then we can save a life!” Andras huffed, turning away from the Fallen One. “And… Even if I stand out to you, or remind you of yourself, I won’t let you hurt my friends.”

“Well, let me tell you a little story about S.F.G. 48 years. Died of pancreatic cancer. That man had been a fireman for most of his life. Nobody knew him. He died alone and forgotten in the hospital of an acquaintance. He could have saved many more lives...if you chose to resurrect him over her. What makes such a person valuable over him? If it’s about saving lives, others can do it aswell.” The Fallen One droned as he stood tall. “Besides there’s no guarantee that after such a on ordeal people will be the same. People’s minds and sanities are fragile flowers… just like me… just like you.”

“And you’re a flower of pure innocence in a world of darkness. I feel like I have to cradle you and enjoy your presence, but if you insist in forcing yourself in harm’s way… well, there will be a limit of what people can do.” He paused. “I promise not to attack you or your friends, tournaments notwithstanding.”

Andras pursed her lips. Why was she going with William’s plan? It was to help. Maybe the Fallen One was right about saving lives, but Andras also was doing it to help William. She looked up at the Fallen One with curiosity. “A flower of innocence… What are you saying, I’m a demon!” She insisted, half-jokingly. “Still, I’m not sure how much a Fallen One’s promise is worth.” She smiled a little. “But I’m glad that you promised anyway.”

“Very well, I shall tell you a little secret so you may trust me a bit more, perhaps.” He leant into Andras’ ears and licked his lips. “I am … not a girl. How is that for a proof of trust?” He finished, before beginning to distance himself from the Demon Lady and paying the tab. “I hope I can see you again sometime, my Demon Lady…”

The words echoed within Andras’s head. Andras wanted to scoff, but she considered how flat Sky was when she pushed on her- his chest. Not a girl. A boy. But she- wait, he was… Andras’s head hurt, and it wasn’t from the ice cream.

Andras couldn’t quite find words for a while. After some time, she eventually managed to stutter out, “W-Wh… What?!” She found herself once again confused, embarrassed, and flushing deep red. She rushed to the door, searching for him, but the Fallen One was long gone by then.