[IC] A Tale of Seven Children

[Kuroakuma]

~ The Day Before It Happened ~

Rome. (New York)
5:45 PM. (11:45 AM.)

The sun was setting above Rome as a short girl skipped down one of the streets of the WDL's Roman Academy's Commercial section. The entire thing was a neat triple pizza slice of sectors- the first was the very one she was waltzing down. Shops, restaurants, all the good stuff that the staff could need (and spend their cash on). Secondly was the residential district full to the brim with Exorcists and other WDL staff..

... and the occasional not so human beings.

The third section and by far the largest was the shared grounds between the WDL's Exorcist Academy and the actual military base nearby it. It took up roughly half of the WDL pizza and left a quarter to each of the other two sectors. Military sector, Commercial sector and Residential sector.
Of course, in a small circle of its own in the very middle of the compound was what Illusion called the 'important stuff place' where Arthur himself resided alongside the higher echelon of the WDL's members- the Exorcist High Council- and where a certain power plant was also positioned.
And, of course, everyone's favourite living power source was also there.

Passing by a certain inconspicuous but very conspicuous shop, Illusion glanced at the door and felt a sudden shift in the inside of the place. A small smile crept its way across her face as she slowed to a stop and watch as a taller blonde woman peered out of the doorway after opening it and flipped a sign on the door from 'Closed' to 'Open'.
The woman caught Illusion's gaze and the Principal gave her a polite nod which she returned after a pause.

Slipping back into the doorway and closing it, the Ex-Demon God Asmodeus had much work to do.

Resuming her merry travels down the street, Illusion hummed to herself loudly. People began to appear in the streets now freed from their nine to five jobs and were flocking to the sector to relax after a long, hard day of teaching, training.. Whatever it was that silly little humans got up to these days, really. It was a fun game that a lot of the staff had become accustomed to- well, bar the most devout murderous Zealots of the WDL- called 'Catch the Principal'.
Of course, nobody ever won since she could just phase right through them most of the time with her Magick. A hand reached out to grab her and it passed right through her chest and the body the hand was attached to let out a soft sigh.

"Miss Illusion, isn't it a bit one sided if you just make yourself intangible?"
Looking up as the man courteously removed his hand from her torso Illusion grinned happily, albeit just a little cheekily, and shook her head.
"Well, I suppose you're right, but then I'd have to actually work." Staring up into the man's face she realised that the person before her was none other than Mister Johnstone. With the corners of her lips twitching up ever so slightly she reached over and floated up to put a hand on his shoulder. Johnstone's eyebrow rose as Illusion cupped his cheeks in her hands, a wide, beaming smile lighting up her face.

"Congratulations on your child, Mister Johnstone. I hope she's as beautiful as your wonderful wife." Patting his cheeks before letting go Illusion dropped to the floor and gave him a quaint bow before walking away.

Johnstone, however, was flabbergasted. He stared after Illusion with his jaw more than a little dropped as he struggled to find words.
"M-Miss Illusion..?!"
The Principal turned on her heels and gave him a quizzical glance.
Johnstone stumbled over his words a little before giving her a small smile and a nod. "Thank you. Maybe you'd like to meet her one day..?"
Illusion paused for a long while, expression somewhere between shock and something else. A sly smirk slid across her face as she responded.
"You'd let a Demon near you baby daughter?"
Johnstone hesitated a little before giving her a nod.
Illusion's face lit up.
"I'd be honoured, Mister Johnstone. Tell your family I said hello, please?"
Johnstone nodded and Illusion turned away once more, humming to herself and skipping with a bit more of a spring to her step than she had before.

Johnstone rubbed his chin.
Nobody at the WDL had known about his newborn Angela.. He hadn't told a soul yet.
Turning back to look over his shoulder at Illusion his eyes widened ever so slightly as he saw her waving at him over her shoulder.. almost as if she'd known he was going to turn around.
Johnstone let out a nervous sigh and quickened his pace. He didn't mind her, she was a fine person and a great example of what a Demon could be.. but sometimes she frankly creeped him out.
She had that effect on people.

---

Arthur Evangelion sat on the edge of his bed and casually pushed the cup to his lips, swallowing the water inside it along with the tablets inside before clearing his throat once he was sure they were down and finishing the rest of the glass. Pushing himself off of his bed and placing the glass on the desk beside it he walked over and stepped into his bathroom. Staring at himself in the mirror he noticed yet another grey hair had decided to spring up at his hairline. Grumbling to himself he reached up and adjusted the eyepatch on his face before stepping back and running his hands through his hair to slick it back.

It had been a long time. Being the Archknight, leader of the entirety of the WDL, had its stresses.
Those stresses were slowly growing. He peered out of his bathroom and out into his bedroom before quickly making his way out there.
A rather large crow perched on his windowsill, a rolled up letter clutched tightly in its beak. He made his way over to it and opened his palm, the bird carefully depositing the letter into his waiting hand before giving him a nod and taking off once more.
With a soft sigh, Arthur unrolled the parchment. It was tied with a red string with the familiar Sanzu leaf tied under it against the parchment. The man read the odd letter through, a small knot building in his stomach.

"We're always watching.
Hope you're doing well.
I'll be keeping an eye out.

Regards,
M.S. R."

Indeed, the stresses on the entire WDL had just grown by quite the large margin.
Arthur reached up to run a hand through his hair and groan again.
He was getting too old for this.

---

Elsewhere in the WDL's compound one Eine Minerva sat at her desk filling out the paperwork that had slowly been building up ever since a new recruit had decided to use Fire Magick on what he'd assumed was a stray cat but turned out to be a peaceful Nekomata that had rather quickly turned not quite so peaceful.

Sighing to herself with a tinge of more than a little annoyance in her voice, she placed her pen down as she finally finished the arduous task. Working over in Rome was much different from working over in her home in Germany. For one, nobody here actually spoke German aside from a few people.
Secondly, almost everyone spoke Italian which she was still learning.
Which meant people could talk trash behind Eine's back.. mostly.

Reaching up to scratch her face under her bandages, Eine reached over to grab a glass of water and took a quick sip before placing it down and sliding the report she'd been filling out to the side. She rather quickly stood up, tucked her chair in, and was about to leave her office when a nurse knocked on the door. With the slightest narrowing of her eyes Eine cleared her throat and bid the person to enter.

Her subordinate, Valencia Nightshade, stepped into the room with another pile of files clutched in her arms.
"I'm sorry, Doctor Minerva, but there was another fight today.."
Eine let out a long, annoyed sigh.
"Who?"
"All the information is in the document on top. We gave them the proper treatment and assigned them both detention and psychological evaluations but we still need your signature for it to be approved."
"The rest of those files?" Eine gestured for Valencia to come over and put them down on her desk as the Doctor pulled her chair back out and took her seat yet again. Valencia did as she was told, putting the file down on the desk and rubbing her arms.
"Just some files on some people of interest that the Archknight has asked you to look over. No more hard work, luckily." Valencia smiled down at the sitting woman who nodded quickly. "Luckily."
"Um, Doctor, could I perhaps take tomorrow night off?"
Eine looked up with a raised brow and Valencia withered a little, clasping her hands together and looking down.
"May I ask why?"
"I, ah, have a date.."
Doctor Minerva studied Valencia's face with a small smile before giving her a nod. "Enjoy your date, Valencia. I will take over your graveyard shift."
Valencia let out a short squeal and jumped in excitement before catching herself and clearing her throat awkwardly. Eine's smile widened ever so slightly.
"Thank you, Doctor Minerva. I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Have a good night, Val."
"You too, Doctor!"

The girl rushed from the room and slipped out the door and Eine heard another voice begin to speak. Val and the other person gossiped as they moved away down the halls and Eine shook her head.
"Ah, people are so funny these days." Looking down at the forms she had to sign, she quickly got those out of the way and slid them over to the side before staring down at the documents before her. All of them were folders, all of them were quite large. Flipping the one on top open she made a noise as she plucked a letter from the top and quickly skimmed through it.

"Doctor,

These files are quite important and as the Chief Medical Officer of our fine establishment I feel you should be apprised of the new developments and changes coming to our lovely little pocket of Eden.
Do not divulge the contents of these folders to a single soul or you're like to lose yours. I don't enjoy threatening you but the sheer importance of secrecy in regards to this event requires it.
You will be assigned to their care personally.
Be good.

- The Principal."

Doctor Minerva raised an eyebrow and took a quick glance over the first folder.
'Rick Brackwall'.
Then the second.
'Jonathan Black'.
The third, fourth, fifth and sixth were all the same. People she'd never seen nor heard of and suddenly they were of grave importance. Scanning Rick's file more closely, however, revealed something that sent a shiver down her spine. She quickly scanned through the others and sat back in her chair, taking a deep breath.

"So this was what you meant, then, Devi LeRouge." Her voice returned to the language much more natural to her and she swallowed thickly. Nothing good could come of this.

In each and every folder under the 'Race' section was something Eine had hoped to never see.
"Child of the Devil.."

---

Reclining in the chair in the small closet that Asmodeus had converted into a special room in the back of her general store, she stared up at the ceiling before casting her gaze over to the box sitting beside her feet up on her desk. It'd been one hell of a trip (hah) getting up here in one piece and having that tiny vampire on her side meant Asmodeus was in a great position!
For one, what kind of Exorcist would pass out the good she was selling, right? On top of that, nobody hunting her sweet ass down would be able to actually get to her sweet ass or any other portion of her body as long as that barrier stood.
And the barrier would stand forever, apparently.

She was in a great starting position. Every single card was on the table and they were all in her favour. She had money, she had info, she had protection and even more importantly just nearby was..
Glancing at the door to her small room, she felt a grin break out on her face as she reached down and tenderly felt her stomach, wincing as she did so.
Everyone in Hell knew what was happening. Illusion hadn't personally been back to Hell in around twentyish years and thus things had changed around. A new Demon God was on the rise, more and more turf wars were breaking out, and Asmodeus had decided this was the time for her own return.

Shifting her gaze from the door and over to the wall beside it at the picture of a certain man with a massive dagger placed between his eyes Asmodeus made a face and slipped her boots off of the table to stand up. Devi LeRouge, the Devil and Satan himself, was going to pay. Everyone that had participated in the betrayal of the now dead Demon Gods was going to suffer.
Asmodeus' eyes narrowed as she walked over to the picture and gripped the hilt of the knife buried deep into the wall and Devi's face.

"I'll make sure you taste the irony of your own family stabbing you in the back just like my siblings did, brother."
And that's the main reason as to why Azzy was here in the first place.
She was here to help Devi's very own smol children rip his heart out and, from her sources, she knew precisely who to go for first. It's why she'd bothered shacking up in such an anti-demon place.
Well, aside from the massive, impenetrable barrier that protected her from whatever the hell it was that was so keen on taking more chomps out of her very being.

Leaning over and clicking her fingers, Asmodeus turned the radio on in her store and couldn't help but smile at her good fortunes. Booting the door to her smaller room open and skidding out into the actual store itself, she smacked the door shut with her rear and danced her way through the store, singing along as she did so.
I Will Survive was one of her personal favourites.

Dancing and taking stock at the same time was a nice little stress reliever for the girl, her pointy Demon ears would catch the rather loud noise of her store's front door opening- several bells and chimes were rigged to make rather beautiful music- if you can consider random noise to be music- whenever the door was actually opened. Not to mention the motion sensors that made a little device in her pocket vibrate whenever the door was opened. I mean, how else would she know if anyone tried to break in when she was in the back room having some private singing time?

Once again Asmodeus skidded to a stop and adjusted a small dagger on one of the shelves, turning on her heel to push a box of cereal back away from the edge of its own shelf. The worst thing in the world was getting Demonic cereal in your hair, trust her, she knew.
Humming to herself as she glanced around her store- a mishmash of different items from food to weapons to Mana potions stacked against the wall behind her counter, it was an inventory like something out of some sort of video game.
And if this was a video game then she sure as hell was the best merchant in it. Nodding to herself in satisfaction as the song faded out and one of the many songs from that fancy new musical about America's founding fathers came on, Asmodeus grinned.

"Well, I suppose it's about showtime, am I right ladies and gents?" she spoke to nobody, leaning against the counter of her shop and nodding in satisfaction.
The door to the place opened into a large room that extended to the person's right and was full of shelves with every type of thing they could imagine. Straight down a rather clear path from the door was Azzy's 'Special Services' room marked with a fun sign she'd made all by herself.
'No Knocks, No Service' was the slogan of the little room and, frankly, she was proud that not a single soul who hadn't had the common decency to knock was given service.

All the way at the right end of the shop was the counter behind which Asmodeus would spend most of her time.. if she didn't really prefer to be in the back room. Behind the counter at the opposite side of the gap she used to get back and forth from behind it was another door that lead to yet another small room that Azzy had converted into a tiny bedroom of sorts. It was a grand departure to what she was used to but hey, whatever works, right?

Asmodeus' shop was quite out of the way and that's how she'd gotten such a bargain on her little residence. Not many people came by this older, more decrepit portion of the good old Commercial district so Azzy had a great amount of freedom on her hands.
Which was great because she was a relatively notorious Demon God who needed to lay low.
Plus, if she really wanted a ton of clients, she'd put up a sign.
Which she did.
She also sent out flyers to several people including her main client (she hoped) by the name of Rick Brackwall.
She'd been loathe to give so much information freely but Illusion had pulled the 'you owe me' card and Asmodeus had obliged.
Thus the files had been collected, collated and taken to some nurse for some reason. Asmodeus kept duplicated, obviously, what good information broken wouldn't? However, it still made her uncomfortable.

She didn't even get any souls out of the whole ordeal.

Asmodeus frowned.

Well, regardless of that she could easily make up for it. With her frown turning into a grin she heard the doorbells open and someone step inside. With a beaming smile sure to dazzle anyone who gazed upon her pretty face she set upon her first customer like some sort of fusion between a predatory bird and a businesswoman.
"Welcome to the one and only Azzy's Bizarre Bazaar! How may I help you today?"

Needless to say, Asmodeus made quite the profit by the time the starstruck Exorcist had left.
"This is a good start, yeah, this is a great start."
Azzy smiled to herself as she counted her cash.

---

Somewhere far away, somewhere deep within the Earth, somewhere that was hidden and created specifically to keep the things inside hidden away from the world, a masked and cloaked figure placed their hand against the glass of a rather large tube filled with oddly coloured liquid. Staring up at the figure inside of the tube, they bowed their head and pressed their lowered forehead against the glass, closing their eyes behind the mask.

"Soon."

[Mistiel]

"Soon." Monica opened her eyes to sheer darkness, making her wonder if her eyes had ever really opened at all. Blinking her long lashes still laden with sleep, she sat up in her mother's voluminous pink satin nightgown. Rubbing the nasty grit from her eyes, she turned to eye the ancient, funny-looking clock on the bedside table. Was it analog that it was called? Flipping the light on and then remembering there was no power, Monica involuntarily groaned when she realized that it was still pitch black at seven in the morning. What had she dreamed about? Someone had said "soon" to her about something. Was it getting out of this hellhole called Albany and somehow finding a better life? Oh yeah, that was probably it.

God I hate winter, she swore silently as she swung herself over the side and slipped her feet into her mother's ratty old pair of bunny slippers. She did not have the money to pay for utilities in her old childhood home. Hell, she technically wasn't even supposed to be living here again (although she was a legal adult now). Thus, Monica was reduced to taking a sponge bath with an actual sponge and cheap, coarse baby wipes that made her skin tingle as she swiped them over herself wishing for the umpteenth time that she could have running water and heat and have all her worries disappear for even a single day.

Ten minutes of fumbling with Wet Wipes in the dark and the canister that hurt her fingers to reach into, Monica shivered as she slid into well-worn, sky blue jeans, a plain white I <3 NY T-shirt that had a small hole right smack in between her breasts like somebody had tried to stick her with a ballpoint pen (long, orphanage-related story), and a pair of sneakers that were simply too old to keep out water anymore. As she swung on her heavy black wool overcoat, the one piece of her ensemble that wasn't falling apart at the seams, she stepped outside and sighed into the freezing morning air, noting that only one low, barely discernible, gray streak of light had adorned the horizon - so faint that she could hardly even be sure it was really there.

The walk to the supermarket for supplies was relatively uneventful, the few people who still lived in Albany either staying in bed a few more minutes or having trudged to work roughly a half an hour earlier. The former capital of New York state, such as it was before Manhattan had grown so large that the New York City mayor had motioned for the change and won, lay in a somewhat degenerative state around her. Sure, most of the shops were still intact, but windows were boarded up everywhere and abundant graffiti scrawled across almost every blank surface. Even now, Monica strode past a crude blue, yellow and black drawing of a penguin in a scarf whacking a human over the head with what looked like a spatula. Something dark inside her made her chuckle at the image.

Upon arriving in the supermarket's wide open, mostly empty parking lot, Monica walked up alongside the long, beige building with its faded red stripe and had just passed a gray-bearded hobo and his trashcan fire when she felt a tug on her arm. Monica Dansbury froze as if she had been shot through with electricity. Her eyes momentarily flashed from their hazel brown to full black and back to normal again. Looking down at the greasy old man, grinning at her with several gaps in his severely yellowed and crooked teeth, she yanked her arm away even as he rose, mumbling, "Pretty hehehehe!"

"Ew, get AWAY from me, you creep!" she shrieked. It was just as well that it was early in the morning, for the unexpected shrillness in her voice would surely have alerted several people had they been present on such a mind-numbingly cold morning. The greasy old man reached for her again and Monica instinctively found her left hand swinging up to rake her nails across his face in a forceful slap before turning away. Her left hand thrummed with energy as if she had just grabbed a live wire. Flexing it as she ran, the terrified Monica oddly wondered why she hadn't used her free right hand. The fleeting thought passed and she instead felt a fleeting surge of guilt for having made that poor beggar's face even uglier.

She reached the end of the long store, ducked around a corner, and peered back in the direction from whence she came. Nothing and nobody had followed her. "Looking for me, girlie?" a raspy voice came from behind her as smooth black talons clamped around her right wrist. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Monica screeched at the top of her lungs, whirling around to behold a monstrous silhouetted brute of a figure with the old beggar's face and pure black eyes. His grin, though still crooked, glinted an unnatural pearly white - all the more horrifying given his new visage. Monica stamped on his toes, causing him to momentarily relinquish his grip on her wrist enough so that she could tear free.

She started to run back toward her house, then realized that this....thing had gone all the way around the outside of the large building faster than she had walked one length of it. Instead, she dashed into the supermarket, slipping a bit on the pristine white tile and very nearly tripping herself on the big yellow sign by the door that read "Wet Floor". There was only one clerk on duty and the stands were so far away from the entrance that the sleepy woman didn't even look up when Monica entered.

Monica made frantically for the aisle marked Kitchen. She grabbed the largest steak knife she could find, tearing through the childproof hard plastic packaging and getting a large cut on the pad of her right thumb as a result. Putting the affected digit in her mouth to momentarily suck the flow of blood back in, she grasped the knife first with her right hand, wincing heavily, and then switching it into her left. To her amazement, the knife seemed to settle more firmly and surely than it did her right. What the hell? She was right-handed and had been for eighteen years!

The lights in the store flickered once, a seemingly once in a blue moon occurrence for an outfit as large as theirs and Monica knew her time was coming to a close. She raced up to the front of the store, ignoring the clerk even as the clerk ignored her, and used one of the convenient self-checkout stands to purchase the knife as well as a couple feminine items and a box of reduced fat blueberry muffins which she lodged securely between her bosom and her overcoat after paying for them. With the freed knife's package scanned and paid for, Monica raced over - knife still in hand - to the sleepy-eyed clerk. The woman's keys hung from her neck by a lanyard, Monica's target.

The clerk finally looked up and barely got off a "Can I help you miss?" before Monica yanked the other woman by the lanyard so hard that it seemed the clerk's eyes would bulge out of their sockets. Monica used her newfound knife to cut the lanyard, and quickly snatched the key (with trailing lanyard). "Sorry, I need this more than you," she huffed. "If I can, I'll leave it at the Rens train station!" The last sentence she yelled over her shoulder as she quickly departed, even as the stunned woman was already on the phone at her desk while rubbing the back of her neck where the lanyard had snagged.

As the store alarm went off behind her, Monica looked left and right finding no black inhuman figures anywhere. She frantically held the keys in front of her, grateful for electronic car buzzers (even though she had never driven a car in her poverty-ridden life, she had at least played with her mom's keys before The Fever). Pressing the button marked "Panic" as she ran around the parking lot's few parked cars, she finally got a response from a beat-up, well-worn Nissan Micra that had obviously been in at least one fender bender and not been repaired.

She opened the door, turned the key in the ignition, locked the doors and realized the front passenger window was still open when a white-uniformed guard ran out of the store at her waving a taser and yelling, "You! Stop right there!" His black pants, shiny black loafers, and the signs of relatively easy-living all took their toll as Monica found the right button to raise the appropriate window and put the car in gear, thankfully an automatic though she wouldn't have been able to tell the difference, and tore out from the stall. Looking in her rearview mirror, Monica saw the guard running and then the next thing she knew, a hulking black form with bat-like wings fell down on the man, tearing through fabric and rending flesh from bone with startling ease. Even over the loud hum of the engine, Monica could hear a bloodcurdling scream in the still dark, oddly bluish light that predated dawn. For just a moment, right before she entered the street, Monica slammed on the brakes at the sight of the gore. The monster looked up at her from across the entire parking lot, and she knew he or it was looking straight at her with those eerie homeless person eyes as if to say, "You're next."

She floored the accelerator, only to sideswipe the car alongside an SUV that was moving with her in the lane she was turning into - towards the train station. Monica's left shoulder and head got slammed into the driver-side door, but she managed to keep the car intact as the asshole SUV stopped and a burly guy in a red sweater and khaki pants got out, dazed. Spots swam in front of her vision for a split-second, but then adrenaline reasserted itself and she was once again mostly in control of her faculties.

Leaving him to whatever the hell was behind her, Monica floored the accelerator again, dismayed to see that - in addition to her probably bruised left shoulder - the entire right mirror of her car was gone and the door was so bent that she could see the road whizzing by underneath it as well as hear the roar of wind whipping through the car itself.

Twenty minutes of reckless driving later, Monica swerved to a violent stop in the parking lot of the train station. Thankfully there were no police or security guards in evidence yet, a testament to just how slow everything was on such a freezing, subzero morning no doubt. Monica hurried across the lot, bundling the muffins a6nd women's products underneath her coat while tossing the steak knife in the trash can right outside, but not before looking this way and that as well as above. Entering the train station's well lit, airy and cold, waiting area, she walked as calmly as possible up to the counter and asked sweetly, "May I please have one ticket to Manhattan?"

The kindly elderly lady peered over the rims of her bifocals as well as her newspaper to give Monica the once-over. Shrugging and pulling her shawl further up her shoulders, the woman stuck out her wrinkled hand. "That'll be thirty-five dollars please." Somehow, as kind as the woman was, something disgusted Monica about the woman almost as much as the hobo, but why she felt that way when her late mother had always taught her to respect her elders, Monica had no idea. Maybe it was how the woman's hair reminded her of the headmistress of the orphanage she had run away from. Yes, that must have just been it.

Doling out nearly the last of her money save the $550 remaining she had made from working at aforementioned supermarket this past month, Monica went and sat in the waiting area for two minutes before the appropriate train could be heard and seen coming to a squealing stop on the other end of the building. Monica quickly rose and boarded the nearly fully automated train, flashing a smile at the flushed, handsome conductor/engineer who gave her a helping hand up into the train. Her smile seemed to make him go witless and he stumbled, nearly falling out of the train just as she got in, but somehow managed to regain his grip on the train's stairway handrail just in the nick of time.

Roughly three hours later Monica - who had positioned herself in the front-most car facing the rear of the train in the compartment closest to the exit - debarked the train in Manhattan. She made a very long, very cold, shivering power walk through the city for miles until she reached the the closest airport. Which airport she couldn't have even told you, for even though it was now midday, her feet were so achy and her fear was so all-consuming and heart-pumping that she paid attention to neither the Fifth Street shopping deals that she passed nor the multitude of people who passed her, save for making sure that none of them were that blackened....thing.

And so Monica Dansbury stood before the airport's electronic overhead concourse screen, trying to decide which city or even country to fly to to escape whatever the hell that creature was. All she knew was that her life in Albany had been so full of bad luck and, sometimes actual, shit that that creature had been the last straw. No more childhood home. No more orphanage to tell her what to do. No more dead-end job at the supermarket. For better or worse, she had left Albany behind for horizons unknown, fully aware that she might just end up as a beggar herself on the streets of Manhattan. However, ever since that other beggar thing had grabbed her, she felt more alive than she had ever felt before. She was actually smiling up at the board, until something sharp poked her upper lip and she felt around with her tongue, feeling nothing but normal teeth until one small pointed tooth near the bottom corner of her mouth. "Huh, I guess that car accident made me chip a tooth," she mumbled to herself, even though the tooth felt perfectly formed...just really pointy for some reason. Most interesting indeed....

[VitoftheVoid]

It was an average night.

Helena sat in a rowing boat in the middle of a lake, the surface lit by a multicoloured sheen, helping a giant rabbit haul in a fishing net full of bone china teasets.

Quite normal as it went for Helena.

"So." The rabbit announced as it removed a pastel pink teacup from the netting precariously with its pas.
"You seem a little quiet today, is something the matter?"

The young woman shook her head, avoiding much eye contact with her companion as she searched for the lid to go with the teapot she was holding.
"Oh, no...just not had a lot to talk about. Not much going on right now."

She sighed.
"I dunno Rabbit. I sometimes feel like I'm not really doing anything with my life. Like...you've got your fishing.. and The Archer has hunting and I think...I really need a purpose or something. "

The Rabbit shrugged his shoulders and set a saucer on one of the seats of the boat.
"I'm sure you'll find your calling in time Helena. It's all a matter of patience. You know, when I was your age-"
He stopped, long white ears twitching.
"Get the oars. Something's coming."

Helena pushed herself up into a standing position, struggling not the rock the laden rowing boat, and stumbled across to reach for the oars. As she did the girl couldn't help but look out across the wide expanse of the lake.

That was where she saw it. The water was turning black. It was sweeping in towards the two of them, a featureless, formless cloud of darkness that had taken over the coloured patina of the lake.

She grabbed hold of one oar, but as she tried to seize the second, her arm bumped the edge, rocking it free of the rings and onto the water. Helena cursed and scrambled over to the side, dropping onto her knees as the boat bucked and lurched from the sudden movement. She flung her arms out over the edge, reaching out toward the disappearing oar, only to find herself staring into the dark water...and seeing the huge luminous eyes staring back at her from the abyss-

Knock Knock.

Helena Kingsley's eyes flickered open. Someone was knocking at the door.

She took a moment to try and get some idea of her situation, before shouting out a rather groggy.
"..j-just a sec!"

What time was it?

Half-awake, Helena slid off of the bed and stepped into the chaos of her room. It wasn't especially big in size. The heavy clawfoot bed gave way to a colourful rug scattered with bits of half-finished drawings and novels. All across one wall was a bookshelf quietly overflowing with any number of volumes, and strewn across the remaining furniture were stuffed animals, art supplies, and whatever other curio the young woman had taken to collecting.

The room was sufficiently crowded with stuff that it took her a while to dig out some clothes. A mauve skirt. Aubergine leggings. A bright green T-shirt. And a large, baggy wool sweater with a mutlicoloured dinosaur on the front.

Armed with her standard sort of outfit, and hair hanging in limp fronds like a dead sea creature, Helena went to open the door.

"Good morning Helena, how are you today?" the figure stood in the doorway was quite familiar to her.

Tall, slender-looking, neatly dressed. His hair was silvery in colour and his eyes a bright, near unsettling green. They reminded her of something, but she really could not put a finger on it.

"Hey dad.. good...not so bad..." the young woman mumbled, trying not to let on that she'd only just woken up, and most likely failing miserably at it.

"Good." came the reply.
"I just thought I'd let you know that I'm back for a few days and will be in my office if you need me. Brought you a few things back from my trip that you'll find downstairs." he smiled.
"Glad that all is well here. Hopefully I should not have to leave for the rest of the week so perhaps we can arrange the time to go somewhere?"

Helena nodded and lightened her expression. It sounded pretty appealing. Even as introverted as she tended to be, the place was starting to get a little claustrophobic.
"That'd be great."

Another, rather knowing smile from the man she called father.
"We'll talk about this properly when you've woken up...I'll see you later."
With that, he set off down the hall and out of sight of his adopted daughter.

Once he was well enough out of the way, Leviathan pulled a phone from his pocket and set off a call.
"I see there's been no progress. I'm rather disappointed. Little but minor abilities in near eighteen years of trying. I think we can consider our arrangement at an end.

No, I'm afraid I have given all the chances I can possibly afford. I have been very patient with you, but the time has come to look for an alternative technique. I'm terribly sorry to have to resort to this.

Yes. You will soon find out. Do take care."

The voice on the other end carried on speaking, but Leviathan pressed to end the call, with little interest in what they had to say.

If he was going to realize his plan he was going to have to resort to something a little more complicated.

Still. He prided himself as one never to shy away from a task. If something was worth doing, it was worth doing well.

And if this paid off, there was little limit to where it could lead.

Leviathan smiled, and, were someone watching through the windows of the big, isolated hour, they might have seen as his shadow on the hallway wall flickered momentarily, from that of a man to something vast and twisting, all teeth and coils.

[AGenericUser]

Framed against the setting sun, a solitary man with an enormous blade slung over his shoulder walked, a calm expression on his scarred face – and crimson red scarf flowing in the wind. He knew not where he was headed, yet he simply followed wherever the roads lead him. And today, it seemed that the road lead him to none other than Rome – a famed city with an absolutely incredible wealth of history behind it.

Catching sight of the city from afar, the man with the giant sword grinned slightly and stopped in place, holding his blade against the ground to act as a support. It was truly a sight to behold, the city of Rome – at least, the lone wanderer certainly thought so, for his eyes were transfixed on the city. However, the red-haired man began to speak. This was despite the fact that nobody was nearby, however.

“I knew this day would come!” The scarfed man, utilizing his free hand, posed dramatically, an open palm held a slight distance away from his face, his eyes taking in the visage of the famed city Rome. “Rome is a land of the greatest heroes and grand sweeping tales of adventure… it’s only fitting that destiny itself would lead adventure and heroism given form - I, Strife Firegaze, here!” A few more minutes of admiring the city passed until the man with the giant blade, Strife Firegaze, lifted said sword up onto his shoulder once again, ceased his posing, and continued following the path. Though, several thoughts ran throughout his head, which he saw fit to say aloud – once again, his words were to nobody else in particular – Strife simply communicated his thoughts to himself. This time around, his thoughts were focused on the fact that he was heading to Rome - and an old saying about roads.

“They say ‘All roads lead to Rome’… but that’s clearly untrue, now that I think about it.” Strife Firegaze uttered, as he moved his finger to his chin, pondering the legitimacy of that saying, while he continued travelling the road to Rome. “Some roads lead away from Rome. If I walked this path backwards, it wouldn’t be leading to Rome. I reckon the people who made that phrase are a bunch of goobers. It only took me a minute or two to disprove it.”

A few moments passed, but as it turned out, Strife Firegaze wasn’t done pondering this topic, as his mind drifted back onto that lingering question. Yet, at that moment… with a shocked gasp, the red-headed swordsman dropped his blade onto the ground, as he fell to his knees in a dramatic fashion. There was an audible thud as his legs collided with the ground below. “Ack! This is simply inconceivable How could I, mighty Strife Firegaze have forgotten such a fact?! The Earth is one colossal path that dwarfs the mightiest of Giants, the tallest of towers – a path that each and every one of us as human beings carve! For that path is our destinies! And if I see a fate I don’t like – then I’ll take up the legendary blade…! The Omeeeeega Cleaaaaver of… the Faaaaaates! He called out, raising his green blade into the air with both hands. Strife Firegaze spoke this with a grin – clearly impressed with his own words. There was no doubt in his mind that these words would inspire even people drowning in despair, for the sheer flame of Strife Firegaze’s passion burned bright! Brighter than the fury of ten suns! Or at least, in his mind, it did. Nonetheless, the scarred-and-scarfed man pulled himself to his feet, and in no time at all, continued following his path – the road that lead to Rome. Strife knew not what awaited him in Rome, but that only added to the allure for the wandering swordsman. It was the mystery, the uncertainty of adventure that drew Strife in. One never knew what would come next – and that revved Strife’s engine, so to speak.

In the dead time that passed as Strife walked closer and closer to Rome, he began thinking about various topics, though their importance or relevance was rather arguable. His mind drifted over to legendary weapons - specifically, Excalibur. “They speak of another ancient blade… none other than the blade from the Arthurian tales, wielded by King Arthur himself in the history books – Excalibur! Someday, I will find it – and I will wield the divine powers of both blades! Double the swords... double the power!” Strife bellowed, once again to nobody, though he was looking down at his emerald pendant, the so-called ‘Supreme Amulet of Ultimate Power’ as he spoke this. Shortly thereafter, he placed a hand onto it. “Actually, I don't need a wimpy blade like that, when I've got all I need, right here! All I need is my sword and my amulet. And together… our power transcends the very stars themselves!”

Strife immediately began pointing forth towards Rome in an over the top style.

“We’ll take destiny into our big, strong, hands! For I am Striiiiife Fiiiregaaaaze, Caller of the Verdant Flames, Wielder of the Omega Cleaver of the Fates!” Strife was close enough to Rome to see what appeared to be a citizen of Rome, clad in a blue shirt, looking at him with a quizzical expression, seemingly a glare. Strife took notice of this, but paid it no mind. Hey, he was enjoying himself! He wasn't going to let some fella put a damper on his day!

And with that, Strife Firegaze entered Rome, his heart itching for adventure, excitement, his passion burning like the most raging of infernos! Who knows what would await in Rome, for the mightiest, the strongest of heroes, Strife Firegaze, Caller of the Verdant Flames? Who knew what the future would hold for the self-proclaimed legendary hero. But one thing was certain... he couldn't wait.

[Goliah]

[Mistiel]

As Monica stood in the airport concourse, staring up at the departures screen wondering where she should go that might not entirely bankrupt her new life, she heard four taps on glass coming from behind her. Spinning around, she beheld the form of the old homeless guy from outside the Albany supermarket grinning toothily at her, somehow back in human form with easily several hundred busy people walking past behind him.

The hairs on the back of Monica's neck raised as the creepy...thing waved at her slowly. Monica looked back at the flight board for just an instant, seeking out the nearest flight gate with the fastest departure time. Just as her eyes flicked to "Rome, Gate A3, departure time 12:45 P.M." she again felt talons encircle her wrist, though this time the creature used both hands, one on either side of her. In a deep raspy voice that smelled disturbingly of funeral homes, the creature said in her ear. "Hello Child! You look especially tasty." He let out a groan of what might have been anticipatory pleasure. Monica struggled mightily in his grip as she desperately looked around the station. People were walking through doors to either side of them, but were roughly seventy-five feet away at closest. What was most alarming was that nobody seemed to notice what was happening aside from Monica herself.

She attempted to scream at the top of her lungs, but the demon clamped a hand over her mouth. "Now now girlie, none of that. Why don't you and I take a wal....AGGGGH!" It screamed as Monica bit the hand in her mouth, repulsed by the leathery texture that tasted like burnt peas. Without looking back, she sprinted for gate A3. Monica was not the religious type, but whatever the hell this thing was, she prayed to whoever would listen that she could outrun it and that it couldn't fly, even as the memory of it leaping off the top of the storefront to tackle, and tear apart, that security guard made her weak in the knees.

She was stopped by the line of blue-shirted TSA officers doing security checks. She wedged herself into the line, cutting in front of an elderly woman at the exact back of the line who was so deaf and out of it that she didn't even object. Monica folded her arms, nails digging into the fabric of her overcoat, and tapped her foot relentlessly as she glanced back where she had come, up, down, and in every direction. Her head on a swivel, she also belatedly realized that whatever that thing was had torn her overcoat. White hot anger pulsed through her, joining the rampant fear. That coat had been the last thing her mother had ever bought for her.

Five minutes later, with a conspicuous lack of demonic creepy old men coming for her, she made it through the metal detector normally enough, although a brisk TSA woman pulled her aside for a patdown that left no cavity unsearched. At least it was just through clothes. The thought of being caught nude in front of that...not human thing was terrifying.
She briskly walked until she was out of the TSA station's site before sprinting pell-mell through the airport for gate A3. She didn't have to sprint long, finding it near instantaneously as the security checkpoint had been at gate A-5.

Whipping out her money from her purse, she slowed her pace and approached the counter where two wary-eyed clerks were eyeing her distrustfully. She asked, "How much for a flight to Rome?" smiling as charmingly as possible. One of the attendants was a pretty African-American woman who twirled her silky black hair with a finger before answering, "Five hundred and seventy-two dollars, but we're two minutes from final boarding." She flipped her long, single braid from one shoulder to another in a gesture that struck Monica as oddly uncharacteristic. "Why? Do you want on?" she asked, but she wasn't even looking at Monica but the tall, rather strapping, male attendant next to her. The hair twirling continued and Monica had to pointedly clear her throat to get either one's attention as they had both begun to make moon eyes at each other. "Here's the money," Monica said, looking anxiously over her shoulder but trying to keep her tone as calm as possible. She placed the cash on the table just as an automated voice came over the speakers, "Final boarding for Flight AA-123 direct from New York to Rome, final boarding for Flight AA-123 direct from New York to Rome!" Monica walked backwards down the gangway to see if anyone boarded after her, then turned around when she felt the tube begin to turn.

Hoping the vampire or demon whatever it was didn't have invisibility powers, she half-jogged down the rest of the long jetway tube, but right before she turned a corner that would have led to the plane itself, she tripped and skinned her knee through her jeans on the rough vinyl flooring. "Oww," she hissed, but was then surprised once she got up and began walking again that the pain seemed to go away quicker than it ought to considering she had just taken a full-on spill.

As she rounded the final corner, smoothing her hair down with a small cracked brush that had been in her back pocket, she put the brush away and inspected her thumb as she handed her ticket to the blonde female flight attendant. Interestingly, the skin on the pad of her thumb from where she had cut it hours earlier had completely healed over. As odd as it was, that didn't stop Monica Dansbury from quickly boarding the plane and finding her middle seat in coach without incident. She sat down and began to wait, wondering how the hell she was going to learn Italian in her new life...but not caring.

A dreadful thought struck her as she sat there, watching a man in the window seat to her right snore soundly. The two attendants who had been staring at each other hadn't asked Monica for her passport. Nobody had. Come to think of it, Monica didn't even have a passport on her, but here she was on a plane to Rome. How the hell had nobody bloody thought to ask that? Monica sighed, absently tracing patterns on the empty seat to her left and wincing as a baby fussed across the aisle from her. She supposed that the oversight was welcome for now as it hopefully got her away from whatever that thing was. The memory of it jumping down off the top of the store and ripping at that poor security guard with just its teeth occupied the whole of her thoughts, making her shiver.

[Solaris]

Silence is painful for him – so he woke up. His baggy and bloodshot eyes dart around his mess of a room searching for his alarm clock. Forcing himself out of bed and trudging to the other side of his room, almost tripping in the process. He moved a pile of clothes from where his alarm usually stood. Taking a second to focus his eyes and seeing in an irritatingly dim and red digital font 12:18 PM. He could tell it was daytime by the sunbeams pierced through his window’s blinds. The rays of light annoying him further, “well shit”, is the only phrase that he could think of saying and find appropriate to his situation. Thinking about when his school will kick him out as he walked to the bathroom, undressing himself and hopping into the shower. Cleaning himself up and brushing his teeth, getting dressed, grabbing his pack, skipping breakfast. Then running down the many flights of stairs to the ground floor of his apartment building and into the streets of Manhattan.

He wore a solid black long sleeve shirt and jeans with brown leather work boots. He also sported an olive drab knapsack which he used to hold his personal belongings. He had school on this day, but at this point he didn’t see any reason to go. He wandered about the busy Manhattan streets occasionally stopping to engage in conversation with those that struck him as interesting or much less frequently, to rest, because of his chronic headaches. They were very painful, like the crackling of flames or the screams of the innocent, or the scraping of metal against metal, just louder and more piercing. The painful ringing emanated all throughout his skull and down his spine. When they came, he had to lay back and if he needed to move, he would need help doing so.
He wandered the streets for hours, doing this, making small talk with odd characters, trying to fish for information about the occult. It was to no avail. Most simply thought that he was insane, or weird at best.

His phone started vibrating, it’s a text from his sister, “you really skipped school again? Mom and Dad are going to kill you…” James sighed, rolling his eyes and jamming the phone back into his pocket, continuing his stroll, and day transitioned into the evening. He continued wandering for some time, finding himself in a part of Manhattan with a high concentration of bars and nightclubs. The night just starting, many young people from many walks of life came here to let loose and have some fun. In a way James was there to do the same. Heck, he even saw a few girls from his grade try to get into one of the nightclubs with fake IDs. James isn’t there to get drunk and party however. He is there to observe the drunken shenanigans that would eventually unfold. Surely enough at about One-Thirty AM, he saw numerous groups of drunken friends leaving various nightclubs and prowling the streets making a ruckus. “This is where the fun begins.” He smirked. Before his very eyes, witnessing the droves of impaired humans exiting the drinking establishments. It isn’t soon, one of them decides to pick a fight with another for some petty reason or another. James being the bastard that he is, decides that pushing one drunk belligerent into another is a good idea. After a brief argument the two are locked in combat and soon the others in their groups joined. James was watching from afar, having retreated, reveling at what unfolded before him. Unfortunately he got too close. A rather large, intoxicated gentleman attempted to sucker punch him. James however had been caught off guard more than once on his nocturnal escapades, dodging the strike. Planting his feet into the ground he twisted his hips to face the man, carrying his fist into his opponent’s gut. The large man staggered backwards, winded, tripping over the curb and falling over. James continued to laugh.

The portly man’s defeat, unfortunately for James, attracted the attention of the rest of the mob. Knowing that it was too much for him to handle, he ran, sprinting down the street soon escaping the approaching mob. He arrived at narrower, darker residential streets where he took shelter in an alley-way. Unbeknownst to him, he was being observed during his little fun. A lithe, feminine hand stroked his face, and from the shadows right before him emerged one of the most beautiful women that he had ever seen. “Hey there, little mischief maker” she purred, smiling at him. Her facial features were perfect, her skin, supple and fair. Her maroon hair cascaded down her back and her dark, chestnut eyes, locked with his. He was taken aback and she had him. A grin appearing on his face, he somehow managed to squeeze “h-hello there” out of his throat. They said nothing afterwards only looking into each other’s eyes for what seems like an eternity, their faces slowly inching towards each other. Their lips pressed together and the two engaged in a passionate kiss. As their embrace drew out James became completely absent minded. He was completely bewitched by her. This is unusual for James – he tends to be very skeptical of these sorts of things, and rightfully so. Before he knew it, his body became paralyzed by fear, two fangs entered his carotid artery. He tried to scream, but he couldn’t. He could feel it, his life-force draining. His breathing grew faster, and the Vampire’s seductive eyes turned predatory, and blood red. Though it felt like hours to James it lasted mere moments. The vampire within seconds pushed away, stumbled backwards and cupping her hands over her mouth, gagging and coughing, as if she had just eaten something rotten. Her eyes widened with fear she took a deep, terrified breath, realizing what she had just drank from. She sprinted away, and she ran as fast as a car on the freeway. For James after that, was darkness.

He opened his eyes hours later. Staring at the brackish blue early morning city sky. He was standing in the middle of Times Square at five AM again. He didn’t remember how he got there, but thought about what had happened – or at least what he thought had happened, narcolepsy, sleepwalking it must have been one or both of those. Hallucinations. He quickly reached for his neck feeling no wound, backing up his hypothesis. He was starting to believe that he was losing his mind, staying up at night and sleeping in the day, skipping and flunking school, avoiding his family, getting into fights, learning about dark subjects, hacking, stealing, breaking and entering, more fighting, viscerally violent thoughts and anger. His hate came from nowhere, and he was good at controlling it, but it built up and sometimes he just has to let it out. Suddenly he thought about how he felt about his life, how he feels that it isn’t real and that he isn’t real. On the surface he thinks that he’s destroying his life but deep down he feels as if that the life that he lives is being borrowed, and isn’t his own. With that, tears welled up, then dripped. He didn’t really cry though, he seldom did, but he did scream. Clenching his fists for ten, twenty, thirty seconds then a minute. When he was finished his voice was coarse and hands were shaking. He had an angry look in his eye. He clenched his teeth and said to himself “I need some fucking sleep”. With that he spun around and began to walk towards his family’s apartment feeling thoroughly confused.

[Kuroakuma]

Something shifted. Some unknown force made everything, just for a quick moment, stutter before moving on normally.
Two pink eyes opened and glanced up at the sky as reality staggered for the briefest of moments.
Asmodeus made a face as the birds flying above her paused in place, reversed, and then restarted to continue on their proper way.

For the briefest of moments she swore that, perching on the edge of the roof of the building across from her, was a figure with six massive wings that stretched out across the sky and blocked the setting sun's rays.
Then everything was moving again and the figure was there as if they'd never even existed.
They hadn't.

Reaching out with her hands, Asmodeus watched the single feather fall through the air and land squarely in the palms of her hands. She looked down at it for a moment before it glitched out like some sort of graphical issue and disappeared in her grip. She closed her hands, narrowing her brows and looking up once more at the sky above, grand and open and free.

Perhaps..

She cut off that train of thought and began the short walk back to her shop, humming softly to herself the entire time.
If that was to happen, then there was no point worrying too much.

---

Elsewhere, Illusion hummed to herself softly as she stared out the window. The brief stutter in Reality had caught her by surprise, but in a world where there was an entire organisation devoted to covering up portions of history itself in one large fabrication there wasn't too much to be surprised by. Instead of worrying about it, the vampire turned on her heels and opened a small hole in the air before her.
Into a rather quaint airplane. With a cough she stepped through it and Reality shifted once more.
She couldn't have her target running away now, and her own personal Boundary was the most efficient way to make that certain.

The engines stopped, the people around her stopped, except for one.
A girl sitting on a plane with no ticket. How naughty.
Illusion, closing the portal behind her, crept through the middle of the plane with a silent grace that not many beings could match. It wasn't at all long until the girl had arrived at the row in which one Monica Dansbury had seated herself. She licked her lips, cleared her throat, and gave the girl the warmest, kindest smile she could manage.
Which, despite the fangs, was very warm and kind.

"I mean you no harm, Monica Dansbury. I'm here to take you somewhere safe. You can choose the easy way, or you can struggle and choose the still easy but much more bothersome way."
Illusion, quite aware of the frank absurdity of the situation, offered her hand to the girl with a small smile.
"And yes, before you ask, I am indeed a vampire.

---

Jojo was tired.
All day he'd been working in the cafe and all day the customers had been more and more 'UGHHHHHHHHHHH'.
Seriously, he wasn't even kidding. One guy had asked for his latte remade twice, a woman and her family had claimed the chicken parmigiana wasn't 'parmigiana-y enough' and a kid had decided the best place to spit on his kid brother was in the middle of the lobby.
And the kid brother then promptly threw up all over the floor and turned into a living car alarm that Jojo swore could almost shatter the glass in the cafe's windows if he really wanted to.

It didn't help the place was understaffed today and Jojo was currently carrying 500,000,000 orders to the tables like he was trying to do his best impersonation of the Flash except he was a waiter and not a superhero.
Except, unfortunately, it was understaffed.
It didn't help that the chef was currently coked out of his mind and making a bunch of really wacky orders that Jojo refused to serve out of terror of even touching them.
He cooked burnt eggs and called it 'Crispy Bacon and Eggs' for one and that was a no-no and probably a health hazard. He kept raving on about something called 'fond' but Jojo was frankly not very 'fond' of whatever 'fond' was.
He was also pretty sure it had nothing to do with burning eggs until they were like some sort of pitch black mutant cardboard.

Sliding a pair of plates onto a table and giving the couple as warm a smile as he could, Jojo practically skated his way back to the kitchen and looked up at the clock.
His shift was almost over and, damnit, he was glad.
He sincerely hoped that the chef wasn't going to explode anything in the kitchen.

He needed a better job with less health hazards.

As soon as twelve hit he was out. That's how he'd always done it- "Hey can I work here until twelve and then do uni stuff the rest of the day?"
"Sure thing, dude, just don't kill anyone."
"I.. I wasn't considering it, honestly. Kinda worried you mentioned it."
"No need to worry, friend, it's only happened twice."
"Oh."

Midday hit a little while after Jojo's little exposition flashback and he practically leaped out of the doors of his workplace and jammed his earphones in. Pulling his phone out of his pocket he swiped it unlocked and tapped a couple times before tapping rapidly a couple more times.

'Yo Dawn it's ya boi Jojo
I think my chef is gonna bomb himself tbh
How's work at an actual job going?
Help

JJ.'

With a few more taps and a small smile Jojo strode down the street and messaged another one of his friends;

'Yo I'm free, we still good for Saturday night or not?
I'm keen to bring pizza if you guys want. Just text me your orders and I'll rock up with the food.

Dat Boi.'

Shoving his phone into his pocket after putting on some appropriately weeby tunes, Jojo hummed along to the lyrics as he moved down the street. It wasn't surprising that he was so chipper this time of week- when he got home he'd have a brand new episode of-

Reality stuttered and Jojo paused in place, eyebrows immediately furrowing in concern as he reached up to rub his eyes and blink. by the time he was done the world was moving as per usual. Shrugging it off as tiredness, Jojo kept his pace down the street.
He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, however. He couldn't see anyone that seemed too out of place, though, but he caught a flash of a cute girl with vibrant green eyes eyeing him up as he walked past her. Neither of them stopped but Jojo couldn't help but smile as he realised she was totally checking him out.
Nice.

Shame he didn't stop but by now she was probably lost in the crowd and, well, whoops.
All he'd have to do is catch the subway to the station closer to his house and he'd be fine. No creepy people could walk into his house and spy on him, could they?
No, they couldn't.
Besides, Jojo was well versed in anime fighting techniques and fung koo.
Just don't ask him to actually show them off.
Please.

Slide down the railing on the stairs that nobody seemed to actually use, buy a ticket, slide down an escalator, arrive on the platform, spend approximately five minutes awkwardly sandwiched between a really muscular dude wearing a wife-beater who hadn't worn deodorant in twenty years and was covered in sweat like he'd just exited a pool and refused to dry off and a much smaller girl who gave him a venomous look every time he even slightly bumped into her like he was a man with lizards for eyes and FINALLY JOJO WAS FREE AND WHOO BOY DID HE ENJOY IT.

He practically pirouetted out of the subway and into the fresh air- well, kinda fresh air- of the streets and began his trek to his lovely two-bedroom apartment shared with an equally lovely friend of his by the name of one Dawn Memoli.
Or, as Jojo liked to call her, Don Memeoli.

And soon enough ya boi Jonathan Black was at home, sliding his keycard across the front door and stepping inside to hear it slam behind him. Up to level 8, out the door, down the hall..

He paused, looking over at the door next to his. Those guys had been on vacation for a long time..
Ah well, maybe they'd decided to leave permanently. Surely there'd be another resident soon. He only knew those guys since they'd helped him move in- they were pretty cool dudes from what Jojo gathered of them.
Unlocking the door with the small key he always used, Jojo slid inside and immediately heard a certain little doggo scrambling along the floorboards towards him. Jojo pulled his earphones out and grinned as the one and only Iggy Iggerton skidded into view and over to him.

Needless to say, Jojo gave the good little doggo some ample pets before going on with his chores.
And by chores I mean 'play video games until Dawn reminds him to do actual work before deciding to hog his Gamestation 5 for the rest of the day'.

And so it was that Jojo spent the rest of his day until Dawn got home.
He still had that awful feeling of being watched, though..

[Mistiel]

Monica was sitting in the middle seat quite a few rows down and across the aisle from the entrance/exit on the right side of the plane, hands under her thighs (to keep them from visibly shaking with fright) just above her knees, constantly switching between staring at the plane's still open entrance and studying the locked, upright tray table in front of her. The plane's flight attendants closed the big door after about five minutes of waiting and began to explain the safety procedures onboard the plane. All of a sudden, a loud metallic thud sounded and the plane rocked so badly that, unbeknownst to Monica who was fixated on the large person-sized dent that had just appeared in the main passenger exit, the plane's right wing dipped almost to the pavement.

It was in that instant that everything seemed to stop. The flight attendants' faces and hands froze in positions of shock as they held the demonstration oxygen masks and sample seat belts. The plane's engines, which had begun to whine slightly, now stopped. Even the rushing air that circulated among the cabin through fans and ventilation system stopped without so much as a whoosh.

A woman who Monica could only describe as...as....an, a...commanding woman, stalked down the aisle with a grace that was somewhat disproportionate to the fangs that protruded from her mouth when she stopped in front of Monica's seat and smiled. Monica shrunk back into the window seat on her right, pressing up tightly against the seemingly frozen middle-aged man sitting there, his expression unblinking as he stared out the window. The woman reached out her hand and introduced herself as a vampire at which point Monica stared horrified at the proffered limb and clutched the frozen man next to her like it was a lifeboat, momentarily forgetting what she was even grabbing so long as she could get away from this shape-shifting thing that had chased her.

Monica tried to open her mouth to answer the other's summons but all that came out at first was a strangled yelp. "What did you do to all these people and why am I not frozen? Are you...are you the...t-t-thing that ate that guy? Y-y-you are aren't you? Are you going to turn me into a v-v-vampire too, then? Come to take me back to your castle?" Her eyes were big as saucers as she maintained the death grip on the frozen stranger next to her, its eyes staring unblinking out the window.

______________________________________________

_{((At this point, due to her heightened adrenaline and fear, her passive vanity aura that affects demons, Children, and others may kick in here. Depending on Lusy's willpower, I intend for her to at least notice it even if she shrugs off the effect. This is mostly to at least give her a clue for later about Monica's powers.))}

[EchoicChamber]

“work is fine. not much happening aside from paperwork. LOL.”

A pause. Pale eyes lifted from the phone screen, skirting around their surroundings. For a moment, Dawn could have sworn that the world had almost...skipped for a moment. Like a record scratching. The moment passed just as quickly as it had come, however, and after briefly watching to see if anything else would happen, Dawn continued typing, thumb dancing from one letter to the next.

“is he still making those burned eggs? im surprised that he hasnt gotten a health code violation yet.

see you at home. :)

Dawn”

After a second of thought, she added a gif of a Shibu Inu going down a children’s slide, a look of pure terror on its face. Jojo would probably like it. With that done, she slid her phone back into the safety of her pocket, head down as she continued down the sidewalk.

She hadn’t gone far before her phone buzzed again. Instead of Jojo’s name titling the message, however, this one read “UNKNOWN”. A brand new number, and a brand new conversation. All that was said was simply,

“‘Through me the way is to the city dolent.
Through me the way is to eternal dole;
Through me the way among the people lost.’”

Without hesitation, Dawn quickly rattled off a reply.

“‘Justice incited my sublime Creator;
Created me divine Omnipotence,
The highest Wisdom and the primal Love.”’

The message was read, and then shortly after, Dawn found herself blocked by the messenger. She deleted the conversation not long after, moving even faster through the warm light of the sun. There wasn’t too long of a walk that she needed to call a taxi or the like, and she found herself enjoying the pleasant warmth of the day as she trekked her way home. Jojo would probably already be home by now. It was a rare occurrence that she ever arrived before he did.

The rest of the trip passed without event. She checked in with the keycard, gave a smile and nod to one of the other building inhabitants she passed, and, upon reaching her apartment, unlocked the door and slipped inside. Dawn had barely shut the door behind her when a blur of black fur came crashing into the wall in front of her, shook itself off from the impact, and came bounding at her. Beaming, Dawn lowered herself to Iggy’s level, running her hands along the collie’s neck and crooning at him. He really was a sweet dog. Not the brightest, admittedly, but a good boy nonetheless. After doting on him for a minute or two, Dawn stood, brushing the fur from her skirt and glancing about in search of her roommate.

“Jojo? I’m home.”

@Kuroakuma

[Kuroakuma]

'Illusion'

Illusion gave Monica a stern look, almost offended.
Definitely offended.
She reached up and placed her hands over her heart, sighing dramatically.
"Please, dear, I am much cleaner when I eat people. I'm no low ranked Demon, I've simply come to offer you a way out. Now you can come with me or you can get eaten alive when time is resumed."
With a faintly amused smile, Illusion crawled up onto the seat and sat herself inches away from Monica, staring directly into her eyes.
"I live in a nice place in Rome, not a castle, but full of protection against the very thing you're running from. Take my hand, little Monica Dansbury, or you'll lose both of yours to the thing that's seconds away from ripping the plane open and eating everyone inside."
Illusion didn't mean to scare the poor girl too much, of course, but it was just natural for her to be a little.. intimidating.
She wiggled her nose a little, sensing Monica's power kicking in but not exactly being affected by it in any measure. Monica was weak, and Illusion was someone far beyond anything she could become for a thousand or so years.
Besides, when one has mastered Mental Magick as she has, something like this is almost unnoticeable to you.

"However, you'll be going alone. As a member of the most lovely named Warriors of the Divine Light, a rogue Demon like this must be.. put down." Her smile dropped as she finished her sentence, danger flashing in her eyes as she slid away from Monica and offered her hand.
"I am a busy woman, Monica Dansbury, and I can't always be here to protect you. Please, come with me. I mean you no harm."

@Mistiel

---

Jonathan Black

"I'm glad your work is going better than mine.
At least there's no possibility of being exploded into 100000000000000 pieces.

Please don't hog the console again thanks."

The poor doggo on the slide needed some hugs. Jojo wanted to provide them but couldn't so he spent a little while cuddling with Iggy instead.

Dawn had arrived home around the time she always had, and Jojo had spent the next few hours playing the same game he always played- Bright Hearts: Prepare to Love Edition. He gave her the usual 'Welcome home!' he always did, and returned to trying to actually finish the game this time instead of, well, repeatedly dying like usual.
He was partial to all of the games in the Bright Hearts series. The spin off, Loveborne, was his particular favourite among them.
If he really had to choose, that is. Bright Hearts II: Scholar of the First Kiss wasn't half bad either, the DLC was fun. Very Old Angry Dragon was a bit of a pain, though. The DLC of Bright Hearts III was pretty good.
He'd rant about the series for hours to anyone who asked.
Dawn had asked, once, and he was sure she'd regretted it. Poor girl probably had an earache afterwards.

Jojo had spent the rest of his day gaming though. His day was free, thank the Lord above, and that was a rare blessing for him.
Luckily a certain someone didn't hog his games.

And so it was that, after finally relinquishing the controller to the woman, Jojo had decided to go to the nearby McDonald's to grab dinner. He briefly mentioned it to Dawn but she was so immersed in the newest FPS she'd snagged that she didn't respond.
Meanie.

The air was a little chilly as Jojo marched down the street. The light nearest their apartment block was busted and had been for about a week now. It was weird that nobody had come to fix it, but whatever. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he reached a road, looked both ways, and jogged across quickly before settling back into a brisk walk.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

Laughing to himself softly, he kept up his walk until he was where he wanted to be; good old McDolan's.
Gotta avoid copyright, after all.

He stepped inside, finding it awfully empty despite it not being particularly late at night where he was. He sidled up to the counter with a small smirk on his face.
The cashier, looking rather blankly at him, took his order and within a little while he was pushing out of the door. A girl was making her way down the road rather quickly, catching his sight, and he stepped aside to hold the door open for her as she slid into the McDolan's past him.

She was taller than him, with blonde hair that was tied in a ponytail but still reached her lower back. Her eyes, a lovely golden hue he figured were a pair of contacts, caught his for a moment and she frowned before giving him a warm smile.
"My apologies. Please have a nice night, sir."

"You too."
Jojo watched as she slipped past him and into the restaurant, the person behind the counter perking up at her appearance. Jojo blinked and moved through the doorway, letting the door shut behind him as he made his way back home with bag of food in hand.
A chicken burger and a Half Half Pounder.
Dawn would be happy for the food, but mad that he'd been sneaky about it. He had to pay her back sometime, though, otherwise he'd feel bad constantly. With an oddly renewed vigour he practically powerwalked his way back to the apartment, humming a familiar song to himself as he did.

His mother used to hum the song to him whenever he was scared.

He found himself pausing in his tracks, staring up at the sky above him at the stars he could barely see.
He'd never admit it, but he did miss her.
Well.. if..

He was snapped out of his thoughts as something loud crashed nearby and he jumped out of his skin.
Nothing was there.
Letting out a tense sigh and then a not-so-tense chuckle, Jojo went on his way.

And that's how Jojo found himself staring at a rather cute girl staring angrily at the door to their apartment.
She hadn't noticed him yet, he didn't think, so he watched for a little bit as she pulled out her phone and dialled a number.
"Can you come pick me up or something? Yeah, yeah, I got locked out of my apartment again. Darren said he'd let me in but he probably fell asleep. I'm so mad, I've been standing here for, like, fifteen minutes."

Well, Jojo was pretty sure she wasn't putting on a show just for him considering she hadn't even noticed him yet. Her back was turned now and he smiled to himself ever so slightly.
He cleared his throat and the girl jumped in place, reaching up to put a hand over her heart and give him a look.
"I, um, couldn't help but notice you were, uh, a bit stuck." He fished into his pocket and pulled out his own card with a grin. "I can let you in if you'd like?"

The girl's features relaxed and she smiled, nodding to him.
"No, nevermind, I'm gonna go. A person that lives here's letting me in. Have a good night, sis."
She waited a moment and pulled her phone away from her ear, tapping it quickly and stuffing it in her pocket.
"Sorry to be such a bother."
"No, no, it's fine! I know how you feel. My housemate ignores the doorbell sometimes because she's too wrapped up in her games. I'm, uh, not much better sometimes, though." He flashed her a grin and stepped inside, swiping the card and hearing the soft affirmative beep of the door unlocking. Pulling it open, he stepped aside for the second time in the last half hour to let a cute girl through a door.
Was there a convention on or something?

The girl gave him a smile and a nod, her emerald eyes sparkling in the light of the entryway. Her skin was slightly tanned and her eyes were quite pretty. Her blonde hair fell to her shoulders and across her right eye a little.
Definitely a cutie.

She moved past him into the building and he followed behind her, making sure the door was locked as he did. She'd already made her way over to the elevator and pressed it, waving him over just in time for the doors to open and for the duo to step inside. Jojo reached over and pressed the button for his floor.
"Hey, that's convenient. We're on the same floor."
"Really? Nice."
She was standing quite close to him and she gave him a small smile.
"Thanks for letting me in."
"Oh, it's no problem, don't worry. Like I said, I know how you feel, hahah."
The elevator doors opened and he extended his hand for her to go first, which she did with a smile and a quick bow, before he followed just in time. They walked down the hallway together in companionable silence before Jojo stopped just outside his door.
"Well, this is me. Hopefully you have a better night after this, miss."
A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she looked down the hallway and chuckled softly.
"Actually, um, could I stay with you for a little bit? I just live next door but my brother Darren works the night shift so he'll wake up in a few hours. I'm so, so sorry to bother you but I, um.. I kinda need to use the bathroom."

"Oh, sure thing!" Jojo nodded and unlocked the apartment door, pushing it open and stepping inside.
"Dawn, I'm home!"

No response.
He blinked, confused, and stepped inside the apartment. The girl followed him quietly, looking around the place.
"Nice place."
"Thank you." Jojo replied, moving through the house and checking. Dawn wouldn't have been asleep by now, would she?
No, she would've text him and let him know to be quiet when he got home.

He dropped the McDolan's bag down on the couch and looked around for a bit before pointing down the girl to the bathroom.
"Sorry, bathroom's just down there."
The girl hurried down the hallway and vanished almost immediately.

Jojo was alone.
Jojo was concerned.

He pulled out his phone and wrote out a message with a worried haste he hadn't felt since..
...

"Dawn pls
Did you go out or something?
I got you maccas you dork
just let me know you haven't been kidnapped"

Send.

Jojo spent the next couple of minutes striding around the room, chewing on his definitely non-brand name burger. Dawn didn't text back.
No, she was fine, Jojo, come on. You shouldn't be letting it get to you, she can take care of herself.

Noise outside caught Jojo's attention as he heard a pair of voices coming down the hallway.
The neighbours.
Well, since the girl was in the toilet currently, he thought he should let the guys next door know that their sister had arrived, whichever one of them was her brother. Making his way over to the door he paused as he went for the handle.

Wasn't Darren supposed to be working the night shift? He could've lied to his sister, but..
He gripped the doorknob and pulled it open, looking outside and catching the two just before they went inside.
"Hey, yo, dudes, do either of you have a sister you're expecting?"
Both of them paused and shook their heads.
"Nah dude, sorry. But yo, did you happen to let your girlfriend in earlier?"
Jojo paused.
"Girlfriend?"
One of the guys laughed. "Yeah, cute chick with super green eyes?"
".. I don't have a girlfriend."
"Ah, bummer, maybe you should though. She seemed pretty intent on getting inside your house and maybe your pants." the other joked.
"Neither of you are named Darren, are you?"

At that moment Jojo realised that they probably noticed something was wrong.
Just like he did. The expression on his face probably tipped them off.
"Should I, like, call the police?" one of them whispered. Jojo nodded silently.
"Fuck dude, you let her in?" the second guy whispered as the first pulled out his phone.
"She said she was your sister..!" Jojo retorted, frankly starting to freak out.

"I'll go stall her, you guys go hide alright? If she tries to get in, say no, obviously."
The two men closed their door almost as soon as he finished his sentence.

Well, fuck, this was bad.
Dawn not being here was a good thing after all.
Jojo took a deep breath and stepped back into his apartment, swallowing thickly as he called out and took a few steps inside, leaving the door open behind him just in case.
"Uh, miss?"

No response.
He realised he hadn't even heard the toilet flush.

The hair on the back of his neck pricked up as he moved through the house, pulling out his phone and texting Dawn once again.

"dont come home
danger
might die
ily fam but u better eat the maccas i swear"

Send. Again.

Jojo jammed his phone in his pocket and, taking a deep breath, moved through the apartment. He checked the kitchen first, making sure no knives were taken- none were- and grabbing one for himself just in case.
After that he tiptoed his way to the bathroom, pausing for a moment before knocking on the door loudly.

"Ah, miss, are you okay in there?"
No response.
"... Miss?"

He slowly pushed the door open, knife in front of him.
The bathroom was empty.
Jojo paused, feeling a cold wave of terror flood through him. He turned around, moving out of the bathroom and back into the apartment when-

She was standing in front of the apartment door, licking her fingers almost idly before she caught sight of him. There wasn't much of it, but Jojo could see blood speckled on her chin and the shirt she wore. Her fingers, he immediately noticed after, were coated in the stuff where she hadn't licked it.
"The window. I just climbed into theirs and had a quick snack. I didn't want the police coming, you know."

Jojo took a step back, swallowing thickly.
"A.. snack? What?"
"Uuuuh.. I ate them? They're food? Like what you have in that bag?"
"They're.. people! Like you! How did you eat them?!"
"People like me? Oh, honey, please."

She let out a low, mocking chuckle as she swept her hair out of her face.
Jojo let out a shocked curse as he stepped back, lowering his knife slowly as two-four-six more eyes opened around the first two.
Eight eyes.
She gave him a wife grin, happily baring all of her needle-like teeth. She blinked, her eyelids closing in sideways before her two main eyes straight up fell out of her sockets and onto the floor, rolling around like eyeball ping-pong balls as she closed her eyes again and, suddenly, two completely different eyes stared back at him. The whites were pitch black and her pupils were a rusty crimson red as they focused in on him. She licked her lips, smiling once more and letting Jojo see her fangs once again.

Her body shook violently and she doubled over, gripping herself as the back of her shirt exploded violently, four furry segmented legs reaching out. Three of them reached down to touch the floor but one reached up to touch the roof, they were so long, like the legs of a huntsman spider.

A huntsman spider.

A spider.

"Oh FUCK me."
She slowly stood back up and Jojo dropped his knife, stepping back and biting his lip fearfully. Her felt himself starting to choke on his fear as he backed up, tearing up a little as his terror slowly, slowly, took over his mind.
"You're a spider."
"Yes, I am."
"Why?"
"What?"
"What the fuck?"
"Are you done?"
"Kinda."
He turned on his heel and bolted through the apartment to the bathroom and slammed the door behind him, hurriedly locking it and clambering over to the window she climbed out of earlier. He was halfway out of it before he heard the door behind him slam loudly, shaking on its hinges as she beat on it with.. whatever she was beating on it with.
The thought of those hairy legs made Jojo quiver as he reached out, grabbing a pipe that ran down the side of the building before hearing the door behind him outright explode. Something gripped his ankle and yanked him back inside, tossing him across the bathroom and into the wall nearby. The tiles cracked as he hit them hard and almost fell over, but a clawed hand reached out and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off of the ground and choking him.

His knife fell to the floor, just out of reach.

"Nothing personal, kid, but you need to die. You're going to end the world just by existing. Now, I know, it's not fair because you don't even know, but.. I have family. I have friends. I have people I love that will die if you keep breathing.
Plus.. killing you nets me one hell of a paycheck."
She leaned in, opening her mouth wide as Jojo saw a pair of fangs push past her needle teeth, fangs exactly like those of a spider. He shuddered in her grip, reaching up to grab her face and try to push her away, but she was far too strong. Her strength was just as inhuman as she was, and one of her legs jammed itself into his shoulder painfully like a spiny spear, dislocating it and piercing through it as he screamed in pain. She twisted it, making him flail and writhe in her grip as she got closer and closer and-

Jojo let out a choked shriek as her human hand slid over his mouth, her fangs sinking deep into his neck. He could feel the venom flowing into his veins as he struggled and fought back, tears welling up in his eyes as she slowly began to suck the life out of him.
His right arm dangled uselessly at his side as he tried to fight back again her but failed.

"You can do this, son, I believe in you."
An unfamiliar voice echoed in his mind as his thoughts turned to the guys in the other apartment.
They were killed and for why? Because this thing wanted him dead? They had lives, jobs, futures! They had no right to be killed by this, by this monster!
And what about Dawn?!
A thrill of heat shot through Jojo's body as his unfocused eyes focused again, burning with rage and determination.
If Dawn came back and this thing was still here..
She'd died.

Hell.
Fucking.
No.

Jojo lashed out with his right arm and smacked the sink, reaching up to the mirror cabinet and yanking it open. He reached inside and rummaged around for a moment before he was suddenly yanked away and slammed into the ground, the spider girl pulling her fangs away and glaring at him murderously.
"Stop struggling or I'll make it as painful as possible."
"Good luck."
"Wh-"

Jojo, his left arm clutching the razor he used to shave, swung across her vulnerable face with the makeshift weapon.
She immediately shot back, yanking herself away from him with a loud, agonised screech as she reached up and clawed at her face. Jojo threw himself across the room, dropping the razor and grabbing his dropped knife before darting past the girl, who started flailing wildly with her legs. One of the smacked against his side with enough force to toss him into the opposite wall of the hallway, but he forced himself to recover and sprinted out of his apartment as fast as he could, yanking the door shut behind him as the screaming stopped. He dashed to the elevator, hammering the button in a panic.
"You CUT OUT MY EYE, YOU FUCKING PRICK!"
Jojo would've loved to toss a witty reply her way, but he was far too busy on the edge of a panic attack to do much more than almost break the elevator button. A spider! Why was she a spider?! What the fuck was even happening anymore?!
He heard her shout out his name and he pressed himself against the elevator doors, praying to any God that would listen to please, PLEASE, open the elevator RIGHT NOW.

The elevator doors opened.
Jojo practically threw himself inside as, with a roar from his attacker, he heard the front door of his apartment explode as she ripped through it. He practically punched the Shut Door button and the doors closed just in time as one of her spider legs jammed through it, followed by one of her arms. She reached around, grabbing at him and eventually grabbing the collar of his shirt.
Jojo sliced her inner forearm with the knife, making her scream another curse and retreat, yanking both of her limbs from the elevator doors.

They slammed shut and Jojo pressed the ground floor button, breathing a sigh of relief to himself as he pulled out his phone and tried Dawn's number.
Voicemail.

Good enough.

"Dawn, Dawn, don't come home. Please, for the sake of FUCKING GOD, do NOT come home. There's a- a fucking- some bitch just turned into a FUCKING spider and- I- just stay away, go somewhere else, please don't- don't come home, love you, bye, tell Iggy I'm sorry, please!"
It was only at this moment, speaking Iggy's name, that Jojo realised he hadn't seen the doggo since he got home.
Internally, Jojo cursed, but there was nothing he could do now. The only thing he could do is hope she didn't murder their dog and lead her far, far away until the cops came.
If they came.
"Call the police as soon as you get this, the neighbours got like, fucking, eaten or something, I don't know, I gotta-"
The elevator rocked violently and Jojo realised, with sheer dread filling his body, that she hadn't decided to chase him down the stairs.
"She cut the fucking-"

The elevator was in freefall before he even finished his sentence, Jojo screaming as he grabbed the metal railing on the side of the elevator as tightly as he could, dropping his phone in the process. The elevator flew through the empty shaft and Jojo closed his eyes.
This is it. I'm done. It's over.

But the voicemail hadn't sent.
If Dawn didn't get it..
Swearing loudly, Jojo leaped over and grabbed the phone, the screeching of metal on metal as the elevator fell making it impossible to say anything else.
Which really was the worst.

He ended the voicemail as he always did and hoped to the same God that helped him before that it went through.
He would've checked if, a few moments into the thought, the elevator hadn't slammed into the basement floor with enough force to completely wind him and leave him laying there, groaning in agony, with several shattered ribs. There was no dust in the elevator, which made sense considering this wasn't a movie.
Maybe.
He coughed hard, wincing harder as his chest exploded with pain. Slowly, he dragged himself forward and grabbed his phone, stuffing it into his pocket and staggering to his feet. His entire body ached worse than he'd ever felt, but somehow he was able to keep moving. He reached over and pressed the Door Open button on the elevator and it did.
Kinda.
It only opened halfway, but that was enough for the exhausted, bruised and broken man to force himself through the gap and stagger, almost unconscious, out into the garage below the apartment. He clutched his numb right arm in his hand and kneeled down, taking a deep breath before reaching up and jamming his dislocated shoulder back into place. Yet another scream ripped itself from the poor man's throat and he doubled over, tears welling up in his eyes from the pain. He sniffled hard, getting to his feet and hurriedly wiping his eyes clear of the stuff. He blinked a few times, taking a deep few breaths before slowly making his way through the garage. It'd be locked at this time of night, but Jojo had a buzzer to open it.
He also had his car keys still in his pocket.

Staggering over to his car as fast as he possibly could, Jojo unlocked it and slid inside, keying the engine and starting it up. Luckily for him, there was no trouble like in the movies. He backed out of his park and stopped in time to hear loud banging noises from the elevator shaft. He pressed the button to open the garage door and looked over just in time to watch the spider woman, barely visible, drop down into the elevator. Her eye locked on him, filled with rage and hunger, as she gripped the elevator doors with both hands and began to push them open.
They started to move far too easily.

Jojo floored the accelerator and his car shot forward, the garage door opening just in time to let him zoom out onto the street. He spent a lot of time driving, so if there was one thing he was good at..
He shot down the street, making sure to avoid going over the speed limit. He wasn't scared of a ticket, but he was sure as hell terrified of getting pulled over and having the spider bitch catch up to him. He swallowed hard, looking in his rear view mirror just in time to see her explode onto the road, using her four spider legs to chase after him like she was the villain in the second movie of an appropriately titled superhero movie series.
She couldn't catch him, however, and they both knew it. Jojo's car was fast even if he was following the law, and she couldn't risk being seen by anyone else, he figured. If that was allowed then she would've killed him in the street.
She was an assassin, and assassins attacked from the shadows.
Although.. she wasn't very good at her job, which made him wonder if she really was an assassin.

Jojo's mind was on something else, though.
Where the hell does one go when being hunted by a spider person out for blood? The police would think he's crazy and she'd wait until he was alone. He couldn't go anywhere he knew or he'd put people in danger.
More people, his mind reminded him.
He grit his teeth and pulled onto a main road. As he did so he became aware that the spider girl was no longer following him on the road.
He wasn't stupid enough to think she gave up, though, that's something that'd get him killed for sure.

Well.. time for a roadtrip, it seemed.

---

Jojo sat at the wheel of his car, staring out in front of him blankly.

Traffic was horrible.
He'd been driving for.. hours. Far too long. His phone had gone flat as well.
He was completely alone and completely exhausted. The venom was kicking in and he started to wonder exactly what it was that he'd been injected with in the first place.

Either way, it was slowly killing him. He realised he took the wrong route a bit too late. The only real way to go now was out to Long Island.
He preferred it, though. He'd rather drive around Long Island until he ran out of fuel instead of driving into the middle of nowhere on the mainland and dying somewhere in the desert or whatever.
Besides, there was an airport.
He could hide there until a plane was due to depart and sneak on board.
He was gonna have to do that back in London in any case, and if he got arrested, well, good. He'd be safe.
The drive was a thinking trip for him though, really.
Who was the person hunting him, even? Why? What did she mean when she said him breathing would kill the people she loved?
Was she being forced to do this? Was someone..
No, she mentioned a paycheck.
She was choosing to do this, then, but still believed his existence was going to destroy her life?
With a frustrated groan Jojo slammed his head into his steering wheel but immediately jumped when his car horn went off. He gave himself a wry smile and reached up, running a hand through his hair and closing his eyes.

He couldn't keep running, though. The spider girl might just go back to his apartment and wait.
Then Dawn would show up.
And she'd die.
And Iggy would die.
And everyone else there would die.
The police would die.
And when Jojo finally went home, hoping everything was over, he would also die.

He really only had one option. There was a construction site not too far from where he was. He'd seen the telltale signs and seen the cranes from afar. They weren't working at the moment as far as he knew.
As far as he hoped. He reached over and grabbed the bottle of water he always kept in his car, taking a long, heavy swig from it and driving as soon as he could.

He had to stop this.

He pulled up across from the construction site and got out of his car, locking it behind him and looking around. It was quiet, the lights were all off, and Jojo mentally prepared itself. He could still feel himself being watched and he turned just in time to see a figure leap from the top of a building across the street and into the building being constructed. He licked his lips nervously, his heart beating harder and faster as he thought of her slowly stealthing through the structure and grabbing him from behind-
He took a deep, relaxing breath and headed into the structure as well.
There was only one option, he had to stop this.

He took a few steps into the structure and pressed himself against one of the support beams, looking around in the dark to see if there was anything at all he could use to his advantage.
A few blocks of wood, a couple of hammers, nothing much. His knife was still in his left hand but he'd much rather use something with a little bit more distance.

Something more like a sword.
He always attended kendo practice, after all, like some sort of sword worshipping nutcase. It kept him fit, it kept him focused. It was fun, too.
Apparently it was also a lifesaver. He was by no means the best, but he could duel someone fine.
Except he'd never duelled a spider woman who could outrange him and also probably stab him to death without him even noticing. He moved as quietly as he could over to the pile of stuff, placing the knife down quietly and grabbing the pipe he noticed before.
A web shot out and hit the knife, keeping it stuck to the pile of wooden planks. Jojo shot backwards and raised the pipe, breathing hard.
The little light the nearby street afforded him let him see the girl, legs extended, moving towards him. She grinned and, for a moment in the light, he saw her teeth once more.
"Unlucky. My body's impossible to injure with blunt objects, especially by a human. My legs are all armour plated, you dumbass, so you should've kept your shitty little kitchen utensil!"

Well, shit.
"Well, shit."

Jojo gripped his pipe tighter, though. If her legs were armoured then he'd just have to smack her non-spider parts.
Which wouldn't be hard as long as she didn't block him.
With a smug smirk she lashed out, slamming her leg into the pipe as he barely blocked with it. The girl seemed more than a little surprised as she yanked her leg back, sizing him up.
"Ah.. you're gonna fight? Thought you were just gonna keep running until you dropped dead, honestly. Nothing you can do, though, you're not strong enough to kill me yet, haha, sucks to be you!"

Jojo cursed under his breath, his vision swimming as he almost, almost, stumbled forward. He caught himself however, gripping the pipe in both hands and licking his lips. He watched her move towards him before she suddenly struck again, aiming for his left leg. He, once again, blocked it with the loud sound of armour hitting metal. She went with another leg, aiming for his injured shoulder. He blocked it and stepped forward, taking ground against her. With confusion in her eyes she stepped back, keeping distance.

He had to get in close.
They both knew that.
She had to keep him at range as much as possible and Jojo had to remove the range.
It was a fatal game of tug of war that they had to play.

Jojo, however, had questions.
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why are you doing this?"
The spider girl raised an eyebrow incredulously. "You're asking the person about to murder you why they're doing this?"
"You said that me breathing would kill the people you loved. What does that even mean?"
She paused, giving him a concerned look that took him completely off guard.
"You don't know?"
"Don't know what?"
"You're a Child of the Devil."
"What? No I'm not. I don't even know my dad!"
"Yes you are! I'm not falling for your tricks, you bastard, I know what you Demons are like!"
She whipped forward with two legs, one smacking hard into the pole Jojo was using and the other hammering into the side of his lower leg, knocking him off balance and shattering the bone. Jojo swore and dropped to one knee as the leg swung again and slammed into his side, bruising his organs and knocking him across the building. He skidded to a stop on the dirty floor, groaning to himself and pulling himself up.

Demons?
Child of the Devil?
...
Jojo finally understood. He finally got it.

This was an anime.
This was 100% an anime.
It had to be.
Which meant that, as the protagonist, he couldn't die.
Unless he wasn't the protagonist.
In which case he was definitely screwed.

Getting back to his feet he barely managed to lift his pipe in time to block another smack from her legs. The things were easily double his size, so her reach on his was immense. He turned to her, tired and broken, and coughed a little.
It stung like a bitch.
She reached her maximum range and stopped, legs at the ready. Jojo himself stood ready to defend, narrowing his eyes at the woman. She narrowed her eyes in return before pausing as if she heard something in the distance.
Jojo raised his eyebrows.

A momentary lapse in concentration.
The smallest of distractions.
Her leg shot out and hammered him across the face just before he blocked it, whipping his head around and sending him flying across the building and into one of the support pillars. Jojo barely pulled himself off of it before she swung again and he ducked just in time for her leg to smash through the column and miss him by an inch. He sprinted forward and jumped instinctively, her other leg lashing out to trip him but missing. He spun as he landed, smacking another of her legs away as she struck again. He blocked again and again, narrowly managing to avoid being savaged by the things as they came at him, trying to impale and smack him again and again and again. Duck, dodge, block, duck, dodge, block. From above him, from his lower right, from right in front of him. The onslaught was unstoppable, Jojo barely able to keep up with what eventually seemed like a whirlwind of jabs and smacks and whipping tendrils of spear-tipped spider legs. His body was working in overdrive to keep himself going, all of his weight on his right leg so his shattered left wouldn't make him fall over.
But he couldn't last for long.

"Just walk away, please, I promise I'm not gonna hurt anyone!"
"That's exactly what you would say, Demonspawn!"
"I'm not even a Demon!"
"Bullshit!"
Jojo reeled once more as she suddenly lunged at him, shooting across the building with speed he never thought imaginable. She slammed into him, covering her body with her legs and becoming some sort of spider cannonball that tossed him once again off of his feet. She shot after him, unwrapping her legs with blinding speed. They slammed into him, cracking even more ribs and the bones they hit, crushing him through one of the support pillars. He tumbled to the ground, coughing and grunting as he did, before coming to a stop and rolling to his feet. His balance was gone, his vision was swimming once more, and he hacked up blood all over the ground beneath him. His entire body ached, like it frankly should've, but a single thought came to him.

"Why am I still breathing?"
He shouldn't be alive. He should've died when she sank her fangs into his throat in the apartment. She was right about one thing, and he couldn't deny it; he wasn't a normal human by any means. Slowly staggering to his feet, Jojo turned just in time to feel the girl grab him by the throat once more and yank him off of his feet. She stared up at him, expressionless, and opened her mouth. Her fangs slid out again, dripping with venom and ready to finish what she started. There were no words exchanged between them.
Jojo realised she looked awfully tired.

But if this was an anime, Jojo, reckoned, he almost certainly had some sort of ability hidden away. If his body was suddenly changing, something had to have been kicking in.
If she said he was a Demon, said that he was a Child of literally Satan himself, then he sure as hell wasn't going to die here. He gripped his pipe tightly and lashed out, booting her in the stomach and making her recoil. As she did, he brought his pipe up and into her arm. Her bone shattered and she let go with a scream, pulling back.
He only had one second.

Something boiled inside of him, his body charging up with.. something.
His eyes flashed for a moment and time seemed to slow down around him, the spider girl slowly retreating while taking a wild shot with her leg. Jojo narrowed his eyes and pushed himself forward, gripping his makeshift sword in both hands and charging forward. The world around him seemed slow but he wasn't slow at all, easily evading her attack and watching her eyes grow wide. His grip on the pipe tightened and the metal cracked between his fingers as he shot forward and took aim.

Her legs were too slow, however, and Jojo smacked her chest with the bat. Her body curled around it as her mouth and eyes widened, a few tears flying past Jojo's head as her fangs began to recede into her mouth. He felt the pipe impact into her torso in the blue-tinged world he was in and, following through with his attack, he tossed her as hard and as far as he could.
The girl shot through the air slowly, eyes going unfocused as- suddenly- time went back to normal and she vanished, slapping through one, two, three support pillars before slamming hard into the ground and rolling almost to the other side of the building. Jojo looked down in amazement, jaw almost on the floor, before he shook his head and ran over to the crumpled woman. He needed to take advantage of the little time he had!
He skidded to a stop as he watched her on the floor, trying to pull herself up and failing until, slowly but surely, she managed to get to her feet. "D-Damnit.. This isn't the type of.. getting my insides messed up.. I'm a fa-" she choked in the middle of her sentence, throwing up blood all over the floor and stumbling backwards. She gripped her stomach, hissing and panting and choking as Jojo approached. She looked up at him with a wide grin, tears pouring down her face, and she opened her arms wide.
"Well, come on then, satankid, fuck me up like your daddy would want. Go on and destroy our planet, I won't care if I'm dead."
Jojo paused, watching her for the longest time.
She was dead set on him being a monster.
"Come on! Fuck me up! Crush my skull with your little fuckin' murder stick! Spiders are meant to be exterminated, am I right?!"
She laughed at him, but Jojo wasn't worried anymore. Tears had soaked her face and messed up her makeup. Her right eye wasn't even opening anymore, clenched shut in pain. Her fangs were gone and her teeth were back to normal.
She just looked like an upset cosplayer, now.

"I'm so sorry."

Jojo dropped his pipe and walked away, even turning his back on the woman who stood there, dumbfounded, before shouting at him again. If she wanted to kill him, she could, but he had a hunch that his hit had done a bit more than just wind her.
"What? You're gonna leave and go ruin everyone's lives another day?! Kill me, you prick! Kill! Me!"
Jojo didn't respond.
For this entire time he'd thought of her as a monster trying to kill him, but the moment he'd scored that hit and seen her tears, he was dragged back to the first time they'd met.
When she was a person.
Behind the spider legs and the fangs and the creepy eyes, that spider girl was still a spider girl.
Besides, Jojo wasn't a Demon. He wasn't going to kill her, nor was he going to kill her or her family. He never intended on becoming a murderer and tonight was no different.

He kept walking and didn't stop until he left the building. Whatever he'd done to her had seriously fucked her up. Maybe all of her organs were where he hit? Maybe her human body was ultra sensitive? Who knows?
He turned around to look over his shoulder as she staggered against one of the remaining pillars of the structure and vomited up another stomach-full of blood before she shot out of the place, leaping away into the night like some sort of ninja with no sense of balance.

Jojo didn't make it back to his car. He dropped to his knees at the edge of the building and began to slowly fade into unconsciousness. He reached out and dug his nails into the dirt road, pulling himself forward with the little strength his body still had.
He swore he heard the sound of cars pulling it, of several people shouting orders, of his body being lifted up and draped over something they used to carry him.
He swore he saw blonde hair and crimson eyes peering down at him in worry.
He swore someone wished him a good sleep.

He was gone, far gone, in the land of dreams. His bruised and broken body was silently loaded into a truck and, as the team of cleanup experts began their grim task, the truck he was in gained one last passenger and suddenly it was gone.
Teleported across the world, in fact, to a little place called Rome.

---

???

Leviathan's phone would quite conveniently buzz if it wasn't on silent.
An unknown number.
"Hello there.
I hear you require a specific service.
I am here to offer assistance.
Severe trauma is the path to strength.
I can promise results.

If you confirm, I will provide further instructions.

Pleasure to do our future business.
- T."

That was all.
How convenient.

@VitoftheVoid

[A Lowly Wretch]

Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, the sun shined in through the window above his bed.

And the infirmary held new guests.

---

Rick Brackwall

With a yawn Rick rose from his sheets, the bed crinkling as he moved. The top of his bed was covered with blank white paper sheets which he slept upon. While most would find this uncomfortable and noisy he found the layer of paper over his bed to provide excellent comfort. It conformed to his body, the crinkling was of little note to him and he got to wake up to the smell of a new book. He certainly found paper had worked itself into his life in many ways both large and small.

He began his morning with a shower before dressing up in his standard issue uniform and preparing himself breakfast. His meal was a buttery salmon fillet with a side of toast and a refreshing mint tea. After eating he checked his phone to look up the latest news from the WDL's main board. While he often bemoaned the use of technology surplanting good old fashioned paperwork it did save him a bit of time as this way he didn't have to go down to the offices first to find out where else he was needed.

Navigating his way past the piles of papers that filled his apartment, piles which were stacked taller than he could see past and were so numerous that they only allowed for single person-width passageways between them, he made his way over to the door.

_
After leaving his apartment he made his way down over the bridge and on towards the infirmary. Since the morning was young the sounds of folks about the base were still low as many people were yet to finish their morning routines. Rick had made sure to get up early since he was expecting this arrival.

A shame this latest sibling should be arriving to our medical center as opposed to our greeting center. The thought crossed his mind as he approached the infirmary.

Rick entered the infirmary's front double doors. The place held all the hallmarks of a medical recovery facility, from the scent of disinfecting cleaning fluid in the air to the sounds of ailment. He approached the front desk where a nurse sat.

"Hello. I wish to see the patient that arrived four hours ago."

"Ah, hello Rick. You'll find him under Eine's care up in room 7C."

With a nod and a "Thank you." Rick proceeded over to the elevator where he proceeded up to their floor. Walking with a strong stride, not one of pride but of a focus to business, he eventually made his way up to the patient's room.

_
Inside the room, a very focused nurse was sat with her fingers pressed firmly against her temples.
Of all the things to have happened, this could possibly be the worst. She only hoped that none of the other children had to suffer these injuries on their way to their new home.
It would make an awful impression.
It did, however, mean that Eine was able to familiarise herself with her new charges.
And do what she did best.

She reached out and pressed both hands against the unconscious Jojo's temples. Looking over the clipboard in her hand once last time, she let out a loud, annoyed hiss and closed her eyes, focusing on the boy's body as she activated her powers.
"Shattered right shoulder with a puncture wound that exits the other side,
torn tendons in both arms,
two puncture wounds in his throat, barely missing his jugular vein,
a fractured left tibia and outright broken right fibula,
severe bruising and swelling on his left side and left side of his back,
minor internal organ damage- slightly healed via his own regenerative abilities kicking in to respond to the trauma..
a total of eight cracked ribs,
a minor concussion,
a small jaw dislocation,
minor impact damage to his spine and back, bruising around his right ankle,
several lacerations around his entire body, ranging from small and shallow to small but deep..
severe envenomation via injection through the neck, Tsuchigumo venom, treated upon arrival with possibility of relapse..
Mein Gott, someone certainly tried their best to kill you, didn't they, little Jonathan?"

_
"Indeed. For one so inexperienced he faired quite well, all things considered." Rick added, stepping into the room after he had made his presence known. He had caught her recap of his wounds as he was right at the door when she recited them. Rick gave a short nod to Eine before stepping aside to the corner of the room. "I do apologize for dropping in. I shall keep from distracting you any further."

With that said he looked over the body of the young man over from his side of the room as he waited for Eine to proceed with the mending, his arms behind him as he stood with almost military formality.

_
Eine turned, unsurprised, and gave Rick a small smile.
"Please, Rick, your presence is always welcome."
She sat for a while, marking down all of Jojo's injuries on the clipboard in her hand with remarkable speed.
Somehow her handwriting was very clear, something not many doctors could attest to.
"He did very well, indeed. He seems to be the frontline guard type. A Templar in his future with us, perhaps? He singlehandedly fought off a rather dangerous Youkai while also fighting off the venom coursing through his veins for several hours at least. It seems having that gives one quite a potent bonus."

Standing up, Eine reached over and brushed Jojo's hair from his face with a small smile. She shifted herself, reaching over and clamping both of her hands against his temples once more as tightly as she could while remaining gentle.
A final check to make sure nothing was missed.
And, indeed, nothing had been missed.

Eine's closed eyes narrowed a little but she began chanting under her breath, a soft and steady melody that made the skin beneath her palms glow ever so softly.
"Please forgive this trespass, but it is for your own good."
Dropping back into her chanting, the green glow began to shoot through Jojo's exposed torso. His body was covered by a sheet from the waist down, but he was mostly exposed otherwise.
Rick, due to this, would be able to watch as the green glow spread through his body to the injuries he'd sustained, pausing there and growing brighter. Large clumps of green under Jojo's skin began to glow brighter.
There was a crack as the glow in his left leg suddenly vanished, sparkling brightly before fading out. Jojo's broken leg and the bruising around it had been fully healed.
In a realm of her own, Eine slowly, one by one, healed Jojo's wounds. She even healed a scar on his chin where he'd cut himself shaving to be nice.
Several minutes passed before all of the green glow on Jojo's body vanished and Eine slowly sat back, reaching over to the bedside table and grabbing a small cup of water, taking a sip.
Putting it down and swallowing, she turned to Rick with a small smile.
"Now, Rick, how may I assist you?"

_
Rick watched with due interest as she performed her healing arts. Her skill and ability were both quite the treat to witness no matter how often they required. Indeed, They were required often. He had been fortunate in only occasionally requiring her services. One's first demon hunts were rarely ever clean kills, a standard which held true for even Rick himself.

"I had come to check on the condition of our new arrival here. It seems we were slow to the punch in retrieving him given the injuries he sustained." He briefly looked down at Jojo's unconscious form before looking back to meet Eine's own eye.

"In any case is there a possible estimate as to how long before he awakens? I wish to greet him and bring him up to speed at the earliest opportunity, especially given the circumstances of his arrival."

_
Eine reached up to stroke her bandaged chin, casting her gaze over to Jojo for a moment before looking back to Rick.
"Physically, he'll be fine to awaken any time after half an hour from now. Mentally, he may require at least another six hours rest. He's been through a lot, after all. If you'd like I can alert you as soon as he awakens? It wouldn't be much trouble at all."

_
"That would be ideal. Given the time projected I'll attend to another matter for now. I should be available long before he emerges from his rest if all goes accordingly." Rick walked over, seemingly scanning his body with a look of some concentration.

Such potential... All tucked away inside an unassuming body.

Returning from his thoughts he turned back to face Eine. "I suspect we'll be expecting more arrivals. With any luck they should be retrieved significantly less maimed than this one. I will be free until otherwise noted by my superiors as this situation takes precedent over my other duties."

_
Eine gave him a quick nod and a small smile.
"I do hope you enjoy meeting your new, ah, friends. I too, hope they will be arriving with less injuries. While I am confident in my ability to heal them, I am sure they would much appreciate not having to be healed in the first place."
The German accent was much easier to handle now, having become used to speaking English instead of her native German.
"As for you, Rick, how are things? I do hope you have been taking good care of yourself lately. Miss Illusion tells me you are working on a super secret project that even she is not informed of."
There was a coy smile on her face now as she reached for the cup of water again.
It really was true that the Principal had an odd way of knowing things.
She was also a chatterbox, which wasn't the best trait, but it was Illusion so it was forgivable.
At least by some people.

_
Rick had always found her accent easier to navigate given his background. Despite that due to his long years in service to the WDL his accent was more Italian than German by now however.

"I do have some side projects underway. Testing the results of my studies is an endeavor without end as there will always be need for more understanding. As for anything else I cannot confirm nor deny what she may or may not be referring to." Rick paused to allow her a moment to drink her water.

"How fairs your work lately? Have we been improving on our mission casualty to success ratio as of late?"

_
Eine smiled.
"Now that Medics are officially allowed to attend the battlefront due to the extra training on Defensive Magick, our casualty rate has dropped quite well. However, there are still those instances where death cannot be avoided. Those instances, I expect, will be handed over to you and your new, erm, soldiers." She paused on that last word.
Soldiers.
None of them asked for this, did they? Did they sin in past lives so badly that these lives were tainted before they were even born?
Surely not even the worst sinner deserved what these poor children were going to suffer through.
Especially if..

"Rick, I would like a personal favour. How is your knowledge on the Despair War?"

_
Rick's expression did not change from his usual calm and collected self but his smile did fade to a neutral line of a more serious nature. In truth he was vaguely taken aback by her sudden interest in his knowledge of the war.

"I have studied the Despair War to a thorough degree. What is it that you require?" His tone inflection was a subtle change towards a note of curious concern. He knew Eine well and would happily carry out most requests issued by her but it was rare of her to ask.

_
"If you happen to come across any Demons coloured blue and black, please notify me immediately."
Her soft tone was gone, replaced by harsh and cold words that came through tight lips.
Her gaze cast down towards the floor as she slowly stood up, adjusting the collar of her lab coat before looking Rick dead in the eyes.
"If there are any remaining, the coming times would be a chance for them to become prominent once again. I pray that you make sure that none of your companions fall to that particular darkness. We were given a warning, and our time is almost up. Please exercise caution, Rick. You missed the war, but the aftermath may still claim you yet. Abyss Demons, if anything, are cunning and remorseless."

_
Rick nodded, taking the seriousness of her request to heart.

"I shall bring any indication of such demons to your attention in immediate measure. Be they the real deal or simply shadow demons of a similar appearance I'll show no less than full diligence in keeping yourself as well as both Arthur and Illusion apprised of their sightings."

He stepped up to Eine, still only just within arms reach.

"There is few matters I regard more seriously than the due date we were issued. The fact that my siblings are showing only highlights the gravity of this upcoming situation. Make no mistake, I am looking into this to find out just why this is all coinciding as it is and by who's hands it's being set into motion by."

With one glance at the clock his expression switched back to a mildly friendlier one, his smile returned.

"Alas, I do enjoy speaking with you but I must be off to a meeting while our friend here is still in recovery."

He began towards the door, his hand on the knob as he looked back to Eine.

"If no more people show up with critical injuries don't forget to unwind. Such opportunities might be scarcer in the future."

_
Eine let a soft chuckle escape her lips.
"Trust me, Rick, I know. Make sure to follow your own advice, however. Even a hero needs a break sometimes."
She gave him a quick wave and nod as he left, settling back down into her seat to finish off the information on the clipboard before getting back to her usual workday.
Eine's reaction to Rick's mention of the potential puppetmaster only surfaced after his departure, a long, tired sigh dragging itself out of her throat as she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, her hand darting up to her forehead.
"Lord please don't let this turn into another Despair War."

---

Last Night.

---

A soft knock on the door of one of the WDL's premier Exorcists and winner of the 'Most Conveniently Placed Child of the Devil' award was the very quick indicator that a visitor had arrived at his own little slice of Eden.
Well, maybe not Eden, but something like that.

Illusion was usually the type to ignore doorbells and knocking considering she could quite easily transport herself to any inch of the compound's three sections with ease but in this case she felt a bit of respect for one Rick Brackwall's privacy was an important part of their good relationship.
It wasn't easy to convince someone in his situation that not all Demons were bloodthirsty, murderous monsters.
Illusion had tried her best however.

Standing at the entrance to the doorway she reached up and idly tucked an annoying bit of hair back into place with a pout upon her face.
Patience wasn't one of her virtues, however.

_
Rick sat as his desk, leaned over a small rectangle of card paper. While writing was never necessary in most circumstances given he could just fake the motions and have the words appear under his pen in this case it was strictly necessary as the process required a physical medium to complete the enchantment. His focus on the etching of arcane symbols was as keen as a surgeon's operation. There was a knock at the door.

He sighed. He was three quarters of the way through with what was both a difficult and delicate process. He hadn't written a spell this small before, the smallest prior was about the size of an envelope. He couldn't be so rude as to ignore a guest at his doorstep however and so against his first inclination he released hold of his pen, the tool remaining upright in the exact position he was holding it when the knocking began, and stood up from his both finely carved and thoughtfully padded chair. Walking from his desk he navigated the towering stacks of papers which formed a veritable maze across the area of his entire apartment all the way over to his door.

Standing proper, still dressed in his finely pressed WDL uniform for the evening, he took a quick peak at the door's peephole to confirm it wasn't the wrong demon waiting on the other side for him before opening the door.

"Hello Illusion. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?" He answered the door, a voice strong yet airy. He was ever polite with a cool level tone to his voice. While it might not of been readily clear there was a pleasant undertone to his words as he was usually quite happy to see her. Though often strange she supported him throughout the hard times such training has brought him over the years. A veritable kindness he was keen to repay someday.

_
Illusion looked up at the man before her- something she'd found more than a little funny. She'd watched him grow from slightly taller than her to a height that made her the perfect level for him to lean on.
She certainly hoped he wouldn't do so, however.
The undertone of his voice didn't go unnoticed, however, and Illusion's already wide smile grew into a wider grin.
"Ricky! I'm sorry to bother you in such a busy time, but I do come on business. May I come in?"
Of course she wasn't hindered by any 'vampiric laws' that prevented her from walking in but she was a respectful and courteous person nonetheless. She wouldn't make her move until Rick had invited it.
She slowly levitated up so that she was on better height terms with him, she didn't want to strain his neck after all. It's one of the most important parts of the human anatomy after all.

_
Rick nodded, smiling pleasantly as he stepped aside to allow her passage inside. "Of course. I'd be remiss to put lesser matters before a visit from yourself." Of course she wasn't the only one who took precidence over his work. They were few but each equally important both to him and in the scope of things as he saw it, either by the station they held or by the knowledge which they dealt with.

_
Illusion casually floated past Rick, a small smile on her features as she looked through the room and made sure not to knock over any of the many stacks of paper that were nearby.
Nearby meaning everywhere.

She floated a little further into the apartment before turning midair and giving him a formal bow.
"We've found more of you. Arthur and I have agreed that you should be informed so you may prepare for their arrival which could, ah, really be any time from now. I wouldn't exactly rush them, but.. well, you know how it is with Demons casually sliding into their lives and deciding to eat their neighbours and all that nonsense."
She gave Rick a moment to process the information and interject. He was a curious man and she knew that he'd have at least some questions. It was her job as a Principal to make sure any queries were answered.
It also helped that she actually enjoyed her time with Rick unlike the time she spent with a certain other Exorcist's mood swings.

_
After all this time of complete silence from the world at large after his arrival the sudden news of the discovery of new sons and daughters of the devil left him a bit stunned. It only showed in a slight raise of the brow as he took a moment to consider her meaning.

With a small gesture, not unlike the turning of a page in a book, the door gently closed behind them. The face of the door from the interior wore a veritable mesh of scrolls which were hung from the door by thin strips of clear tape. These scrolls were primed to harmlessly incapacitate mundane intruders and trap more supernatural entities. It was a likely needless measure given the WDL's wards and general security but for Rick nothing was ever a guarantee. It was better to have a defense that never saw use than to lack a defense when it counted.

With the room closed off to the possible roaming listener he felt it appropriate to continue the discussion. "I see. I appreciate the forewarning. I also suspect you know that I'll have a number of questions regarding them." He leaned back on seemingly nothing, letting the scrolls he kept under his suit support him as a wall would. Awaiting Illusion's response he placed the tips of his fingers together, bridging his fingers against each other in a small arch for the time being.

_
Illusion gave Rick a small smile.
"Six, including yourself. We even have files on them courtesy of an, uh, a new acquaintance of mine. That's also what allowed us to bypass our lovely little Demon sensors if you're curious about that. I'd recommend going out and seeking her out when you have the time, she might be able to offer you a rather nice deal." Illusion's eyes sparkled with amusement.
"If you're so curious.. I can have the files with you by tomorrow morning if you'd like to peruse them yourself. It'd be much better for you to read those than for me to spend time going into each and every detail of their life and, yes, trust me, I have them under surveillance as we speak." Illusion looked to the side as one of her portals appeared- a tiny, fingertip-sized portion of reality itself cracking and peeling away like shards of a mirror and, behind it, there was two people standing inside of a busy fast food restaurant. "Any other questions I haven't thought up? I'd rather not grab them before we need to, however, so kidnapping them is out of the question completely."

_
Rick closed his eyes and listened close as she relayed the details to questions she had apparently already thought up. Yet another one of those times where her reasoning as to these convenient coincidences left something to be desired. Though the thought of using mental magic to intrude brought a vile feeling to his gut it had passed his mind more than once the possibility of looking inside to see where she pulls these insights from.

Rather than be distracted by a reoccuring concern he decided to turn his mind back to graver matters. Having spent so many years as the only one of the seven to have been found he had mixed feelings towards the idea of finding the others. On one hand it would accelerate Arthur's plan of turning the seven into a weapon against the forces of hell and subsequently allow them to help these poor souls learn to appreciate the peace that order brings. On the other hand it was prophesized that with the coming of the seven children the apocalypse would begin. While helping his new siblings was a task of great importance he had hoped that unlike him the other six would never be discovered and thus be allowed to disappear from the earth without any cause for turmoil. The risk that their souls might be intrensically tied to hell where they'd become tools of the devil was present but so was the risk that they'd all be gathered in one place, setting terrible machinations into motion.

As it stood the latter seemed to be the most likely to occur now that they were found. It was simply a matter of time.
"There is no need to show our hand. Let them enjoy their lives free of the strife hell is bound to offer." A firm statement. His hands slipped past each other, elegantly snaking one arm over the other as he crossed them. He opened his eyes to look directly into Illusions own scarlet irides.

"It is imperative we are ready to act should hell's own find any one of those five." He broke eye contact, looking aside while taking his right hand and giving a quick circular spin gesture as a means of dismissing any potential intensity from his serious as it was far from necessary given the present company. "Naturally I'd like to see the files on my half-siblings as soon as possible so I can get ahead on preparations. Also, given how resourceful your acquaintance is a meeting with her would be of great interest as well."

Letting his left arm drop to his side he took his right arm and set it across his chest, closing his eyes and issuing Illusion a standing bow. "Though one such as I orders not one of your esteem. It is but the suggestions and requests of your humble exorcist."

_
Illusion chuckled softly under her breath. "Trust me when I say that once Hell enters their lives it won't be pretty. After all, it's always nice to go for a trip to Greed and watch people get melted alive in molten gold." Illusion cocked her head to the side slightly. "Well, Ricky, you know how quick I can be." Slipping her hand into a small portal beside her as the prior one 'repaired' itself Rick would feel a quick tap on his shoulder from behind before Illusion pulled her hand free and the portal shut itself on both ends. "I might personally be involved in the act of snapping up all of your new brothers and sisters. A kind of safety net if you will. You'll be able to see the files soon, although if you head over to meet our new mutual acquaintance you'll find the source of those files ready and willing to give them to you to peruse.. and perhaps another deal might be headed your way. A particularly special one."

The smile that split Illusion's features made no attempt to hide the amusement.
"Feel free to request as you will, Rick. You're very dear to both Arthur and myself and your station has only increased considering the, ah, coming events. I've no real clue what the Devil plans for you and your new siblings but I'll be trying my best to avert the Apocalypse alongside everyone else here. That includes ensuring the safety of you and everyone else here."
Illusion paused for a moment, reaching in to yet another portal and pulling forth a very familiar sword. It was a lovely thing, Excalibur, and it seemed to radiate its very own light as Illusion brandished it.
Well, she didn't brandish it, she sat it on her lap, still in its sheath, and watched it for a few moments.
"I believe we can avoid the end of the world. If we can prevent someone like that Demon God then I'm sure we can stop Devi." Her eyes flicked up to match Rick's own.

_
Rick met her own eyes in return.

"There is little doubt we'll succeed." He then turned and proceeded towards the windows in front of his desk. Beyond the lovely silhouettes of roman architecture the moon hung high up in the night sky. It was as luminescent as it was round, currently at it's fullest for this one night of the month. He gazed up at the moonlight, his mind left to wonder of matters well out of his control.

"The question remains: Is time with us... or against us?"

---

@Kuroakuma

[Mistiel]

Could this day get any weirder? Wake up without breakfast like normal. Check! Walk to the store for said breakfast and discover a hobo is really a cannibalistic demon out to eat people. Check! Get so terrified that you drive a stolen car all the way to the nearest international airport, hop on a plane and leave the country. Check!

Of all these things that recapped through Monica Dansbury's head in an instant, one question rose to the forefront. How the hell did she know my last name? Looking down into her lap, Monica noticed that her ticket was safely ensconced in a very unreadable position so that couldn't have been it. On the flip side, the woman did seem oddly offended at the accusation that she was like the creature Monica had encountered earlier. What had she just gotten herself into? Some weird Upper East Side vampiric cult? No, Monica chided herself mentally. You've been watching FAR too much Twilight? Dusklight.

Taking a deep shaky breath and willing this to all be a dream, she gingerly put her hand on top of the other's outstretched one, squeezing her eyes shut and waiting for the pinpricks at her neck that meant either death or death then an immortality as a vampire. Oddly pleasant distracting thoughts flashed through her mind of her lying on a cloudy Forks, WA beach, her cold and pale form glittering with rain. The thought of a lone human boy walking up the beach, asking her if she was cold at all, and a feeling of intense thirst as she looked at the boy...although Monica's fear-ridden brain probably mistook vampiric thirst for sexual attraction. Although was that not the same thing for vampires? Well, Monica supposed, I guess I might just find out.

The woman had mentioned something about being a member of a Warriors of Divine Light group. Unless she was a vampire with an oddly sick sense of humor, Monica couldn't see her belonging to a cult with light in their name. With the exception of Twilight Dusklight vampires, most classic vampires couldn't stand the sun or light. Unless this was some special breed of masochistic vampire that worshiped the sun. All these fanciful ideas and more flitted through Monica's brain as she tried her best to shut out the rest of the world, wondering why time had seemed to slow to a crawl....and then remembered that it had. "Well? Hurry it up already!" Monica snapped, eyes still closed, not knowing what to expect at all.

@Kuroakuma