[IC] Protectors.

[Skinner35]

"Humans don't even have the power to open Rifts. As far as the other Protectors, I don't know." He says as he looks at an empty apartment building. "If someone is taking Humans, then we have a whole other problem."

[Shadow Dragon]

"Who said it was a human who opened it?"

[Skinner35]

"No one, but it still wouldn't make sense. Angels and Demons never ally with Humans. It wouldn't make sense. None of this makes sense... Something's not right about any of this..." He says, becoming frustrated. Nothing like this has ever happened, EVER. He didn't know what the plan was, and that terrified him. He was scared to make any moves. No matter what he did, something worse always came from it. Bad luck has always been a staple for him. Nothing ever went as planned. Now, his bad luck may be the end of him... He is terrified.

[Shadow Dragon]

"Welcome to my world." He swings around his axe. "When the next one shows up, should we go in?" His armor glows as he talks.

[Skinner35]

"No. We never enter a rift, ever. Although, we may be able to keep the next one open. If we can keep it open, we may start getting answers." He says as he thinks about what to do next... "Wait... Why have we only been getting Rifts to Hell? What's going on with Heaven?" He asks as he looks up. "None of this feels right."

[Shadow Dragon]

"Something is upsetting the balance. Good. These mortals need to learn." He spaces off in the last sentence.

[Skinner35]

"No. Don't put this on them. They never asked for this. They were made into chaos. They are innocent." He says as he immediately looks at Xerc. They never asked for this, and he will fight to the death to ensure that they aren't pulled into the war.

[Shadow Dragon]

His armor bursts into flame, and he hisses. "You never will understand me, will you?" He turns to Athewale, his axe head blazing. "Stop me then." He fades into the shadows, his glowing eyes vanishing last.

[Skinner35]

"It doesn't matter what I understand. I am a Protector." Once Xerc disappears, he calms down. Now, he needs to find a good place to lay low, and watch the city. He can't leave this city unattended. If he could, he would probably be traveling the world to figure this out.

[Shadow Dragon]

He walks through the random park he appeared in, and begins carving his way through anything that gets in his path, his axe and scythe flashing in the moonlight.

[Shadow Dragon]

He stops, and looks at the devastation he's caused, and walks off, into the shadows.

[Skinner35]

He eventually decided to enter the abandoned building, and make camp in one of the rooms on the top floor. For now, this would act as his home. He was close to a Vendor, and a highly populated transit area. "Now, we wait." He said to himself as he watched out the window.

[Shadow Dragon]

He goes hunting for another Rift, feeling at the aura of the living creachers around him, and ponders a question that he's been thinking about for a while. What makes humans different then other animals?

[Skinner35]

He sat and looked upon the city. He began to ponder why exactly he did what he did. He honestly didn't know what caused him to believe what he does. He's always just kind of done it. What if Xerc was right? What if he was wrong...

[Shadow Dragon]

He looks at his hand, the flames flickering out from the holes in his gauntlet. How can I find out? He pulls up a human disguise, and walks up to a random person in the park he's in, flopping into a bench. "What a day." He puts his head in his arms like he didn't notice the other guy. He peeks at him, and the human notices him. "You have a bad one too?" He nods, and sits up slightly. "What brings you to this depressing place?" The human sighs. "Bad day at work. Forgot to file some paper, and the boss threatened to fire me if I don't get it in by next week. How you been doing?" He give a sad smile to the human, and shakes his head. "Just one disaster after another. Meet a old colleague earlier, and we just fought again. He still blames me for what happened, all those years ago." The human give a short bark of a laugh. "It's always your fault too, eh?" The man sighs. "Sometimes....sometimes I wonder if anyone out there really cares about me. I'm stuck in a low paying job I hate, but I can't get a better one because I have no other experience." He shakes his head, taking off his hat. Xerces holds out a hand to shake. "I'm Xerces. Xerces Starburst." They shakes hands, and the human says, "I'm Jacob. Jacob Anderson." He smiles at Xerces. "That's a interesting name. Are you foreign?" Xerces does a so-so wave with his hand. "I guess you could say that. My job is killing me." Or, at least, the other employees are trying to. He looks thoughtful. "If you could stop all the worlds problems, but at your painful expense, would you?" The man looks confused. "That's a interesting question. Like, I'm doing all the work? If I'd get the credit, I suppose so. Why?" He shrugs. "Oh, no reason. Just wondering what someone else thought of it."

[Skinner35]

Athe sat in that room for a while. The entire time he was stuck in his mind, thinking over everything that has happened, and what can happen. First, the Protectors disappear. Then, he meets a Protector that questions Human nature and is made of war. Now, he is again alone and left to fight anything that endangers Humanity... Why would all of this happen? Is he being exiled? Did he do something wrong? Are the Protectors cutting him off? If not, what is happening to them? He needed answers, but didn't know where to find them. He needed to get Xerc on his side, or at least compromise with him. He then thought about the Rifts...

What's the worst that can happen?

[Shadow Dragon]

The human nods thoughtfully. "You work around here?" Xerces gives a half grin. "I guess you could say that. I travel a lot in my line of work." He sighs. "I've got to get going. Maybe we could talk again sometime. You've got my number. See you around." He stands up and walks over to a small car, and begins driving away. Xerces waits for a while, staring out at the water. He abruptly stands up, and walks downtown. I need to find that other Protector, Athe, again. Maybe he could tell me what's happening.

[Skinner35]

He needed information, about anything, whether it's the Rifts or where the Protectors were last seen. He had planned to go around the city, asking the Vendors for any information that they had. He was going to start with a Vendor that set up shop downtown, near the City Park. The Park used to be a hotspot for Protectors, as well as Angels and Demons. If he could learn when they were last seen, that may help him learn what happened. He left the Hotel, and set off towards the Shop. He was moving rather quickly, but he tried his best to blend in.

[Shadow Dragon]

He stops, and looks around. Where can I find a Vendor? He walks around, searching for someone to give a sign of recognition. He searches for a few hours, and keeps searching for another portal. What is causing those? He shakes his head. I need to fight something. He walks to the entrance of the park, and looks around for something to duel.