[IC] Chasers - Boundary of the Crimson Sky [remake]

[IncredibleBee]

The rockets on Vincent ignited, launching him backwards across the ground. One-handed, he fired rounds from the M60, weaving around the barrage of fists. The executioner felt his whole body lurch as he was assaulted by several G's of force from different directions. Thankfully, his body could withstand that level of strain.

Something was getting nearer. Was it civilians? No, he decided. Anyone without a death wish would be running. Even if it was a human, the best route would be to eliminate this monster quickly.
It was humanoid, so if he was lucky, it had tendons. Vincent drew the gargantuan sword mounted on his shoulder, and shot forward. One rocket powered slash would be more than enough to cleave into the back of the thing's ankle, covered in flame or no.

[Ashifili]

A barrage of metal and fruits prevented Rui-Ling from getting in anymore pointlessly lavish praise, and the immortal couldn’t help but let out a long, long sigh at the person that rose from the shadows. Drenched in golden armor and bearing a smirk that looked gloriously punchable, the Cataloguer of Sacred Relics popped out of the woodwork like a friend that everyone wanted to be nice to but no one wanted to hang out with and reminded Rui-Ling once more of the immortal’s shameful past.

Bringing up his right hand into his face and resting it in a moment of embarrassment, the platinum-blond male asked, “Goddammit, Cat-boy, can’t you just call me Rui-Ling or something? Spirit Hammer’s just such a stupid nickname. God knows why I came up with that back when I did, but it’d be great if you just forgot about it now.”

But of course that chuuni, immature Cataloguer wouldn’t stop, and now he was posing as well. Sparing a quick glance at Alice and praying that she didn’t respond in kind to the Cataloguer’s pretentious attitude, he was relieved to see that she was similarly empty-eyed and blank-minded, apparently off in her own little Wonderland. That was fine at least.

“You know, Cat-boy, my friend, you have other things to do in Sonomachi, and so do I, so how about we just pretend that we never saw each other in the Red Woods, ok?”

The Cataloguer brought out a box full of rubies then, eliciting another sigh from Rui-Ling.

“Like, please? I need to beat up this giant vegetable so I can do some investi-”

“Aestus!”

“Oh fuck you too. Literally worse than Suzumebachi, huh?”

An explosion of flame engulfed his body as he used it to partially shield Alice from the explosion. Rising like a phoenix from the red flames, Rui-Ling, his eyes still regenerating from that particular death, called out, “Alice! Run and help whomever is fighting the Goliath! I’ll cover y- Oh, nevermind, you’re already gone.”

It sorta hurt his cold, time-locked heart that the midget wouldn’t even spare a single breath to tell him of her plans, but, well…

“Thanks for the bread?”

With that, Rui-Ling reflexively brought out his right hand. A single soul swirling before it, spinning in a circle once before a brilliant beam of spiritual energy shot outwards at the mound of bread, erasing it and anything that the Cataloguer might throw at Rui-Ling.

[Flamelord]

"The Church deals with a lot of individuals who prove themselves troublesome. I have some ideas, but will need to see further evidence before I can make any judgments," Isotta replied as the car pulled away from the curb, headed towards the school. She could have taken some guesses, but she didn't feel the need to give them mistaken expectations in what was to come.

Fortunately the ride was short, and once they had arrived she got out of the backseat, looking around at their destination. "Alright." She was confident in the wards placed on her by the Church to keep her safe, but even if that wasn't her main concern she still wouldn't allow Sheridan to walk behind her. It was only proper for her to be that cautious, given who she was working with.

Looking around, she was quick to spot the details of what was going on, and a short search also found the culprit as well, busy at work and apparently ignorant of their presence. For now, anyway. "She's a demon," Isotta explained with her arms folded across her chest, keeping her distance for now. "One that enjoys causing havoc and chaos. Be careful; appearances are deceiving with her."

[McFazzer]

Carver Jazz

The drive to the middle school was... awkward. Eerily quiet, Carver wanted to turn on the radio or something, but after looking at Sherridan and Isotta, but thankfully it ended quickly. As soon as they arrived at the school, Carver climbed out and breathed in the cool night air, relieved to be out of the awkward atmosphere.

“Sure, lead the way” leaning back, a crack sound was heard as Carver stretched himself out, while admiring the bright orange graffiti. Trash? Super Trash? Garbage? Is this somehow pollution related? Is there an ozone, junk creature I don’t know about? soon Carver heard the tell tale sound of a spray can and naturally assumed the culprit was nearby. Cautiously walking forward behind the pair, Carver rounded a corner and saw a blonde girl. Clearing his throat he tried the negotiation way, bullets and talismans cost money after all.

“Hi there. Nice night isn’t it? I’ve seen your artistic handy work and I have to say I’m impressed.” pausing for a moment Carver couldn’t help but ask “So out of curiosity... is it the paint that causes the disease effect? Or is it the image? Oh! Or is it the intent behind it? It's been years since I've seen cursed art~!”

@TheFake @Flamelord @TheWindel

[TheWendil]

The figure that was fast approaching the scene of battle at an ever calm pace finally emerged from the clearing. It may not have been what Vincent was expecting though, the form of a young woman appearing. She frowned, watching the Golem duel with the man in armor before resting on her clenched parasol, silent and observant.

If the Golem seemed to be fazed by this girl’s presence it did not show it. In fact, all of its attention was directed to crushing Vincent like a fly on the wall. Seeing the armored man’s plan of action, the Golem was confident as it raised both arms up high to pummel him into the ground.

Meanwhile, Vincent’s plan bore fruition as his blade cut right through the green flames and made contact. The problem was that despite its humanoid appearance, the Golem was still a heavily armored creature. Thus, even its ankles were coated in thick plating and Vincent’s blade would catch on and root him in place. With nowhere else to go, it seemed like the end was nearing as the Golem slammed its arms down towards Vincent’s back.

But although a loud crunching sound would be hear, Vincent would feel no subsequent pain at all. Had he chosen to look, he would see the Golem twitching in place before it would collapse forward. It was slow though, giving him enough time to escape lest he be crushed alive. As the dust settled down, he would see the Golem had been sliced in two where it stood, the last of its green flames flickering out of existence.

And standing in the middle of it all was the same green-haired girl, parasol held in place. She turned now, giving him a look of apathy before crossing her arms. She would wait for him to explain himself…before considering eating him alive.

It seemed luck was not on the side of the Chasers on this night, as evident by the group of three further away at the middle school. The blonde girl, caught off guard by the appearance of the Chasers, stared them down. She especially kept a close eye on Isotta before tossing the can to her left, shark grinning as she shifted back and forth with her long-sleeved attire.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Mister. What art?” she asked before turning around and gave a mocked gasp. “Oh that one! Oh ho, that really does look cool, doesn’t it? Too bad it was here when I arrived. Yep. Didn’t see the criminal who committed such an act. No clue here.”

It was clear the girl was blatantly lying.

---

@McFazzer, @Flamelord, @IncredibleBee, @TheFake, @KoL

[IncredibleBee]

"What the Hell?" Vincent said, as the gigantic thing fell over. It was a thunderous crash, one that sent the earth shaking. And with the poor view he had up close to its ankle, he wasn't sure what had happened. It had probably gotten tripped from him slicing its ankle open.

Worse yet, a civilian had wandered to the battle site. With green hair and an odd dress, she must have been some cosplayer or something out for a nature walk. Maybe she was here for a photoshoot? Whatever the case, she'd need to head back.
"Hey you!" he shouted, pointing his sword at the girl. His voice was magnified through the helmet's speakers, so he doubted she'd have a hard time hearing him.
"Get out of here! It's not safe; there's a giant goddamn monster! Go!"

[TheFake]

Sheridan Black

Middle School

Sheridan was almost surprised that the church girl showed as nuch restraint as she did. Back in her day they would have already been pointing their weapons and kindling the bonfire aqt the mere mention of anything supernatural. Her grip on the sheathed sword tightened. Many people that had no contact with the occult had perished this way.

Carver had shot off in the opposite direction and seemed to possibly be abandoning all caution at this point.

"If it was already there then I doubt that you would mind if it were erased then? It really is quite an eyesore."

Sheridan dropped the sword and opened the smaller bag to retrieve a short barrelled grenade launcher. She flipped up the leaf sight and took aim at the most remote portion of 'artwork'.

@TheWindel@McFazzer@Flamelord

[Flamelord]

Isotta frowned, resisting the urge to take one of her swords and throw it at the demon as Carver opened up the dialogue, only for the creature to begin blatantly lying to them, as if they hadn't caught her red handed at the scene of the crime, in the process of perpetuating it. That took some guts, or stupidity, and either way it would not work out for her.

Fortunately she managed to suppress that desire as Sheridan pulled out a grenade launcher of all things, threatening to blow up all the work that had been done here. Isotta wasn't the biggest fan of reckless destruction of public property, but in a case like this she was willing to make an exception. So long as it dealt with this demon then she was willing to make a lot of exceptions overall.

"I agree with Ms. Black," she said at last, nodding in turn. "The church has business with the being in front of us anyway. Even if she was not responsible for this, I am sure that my associates would like to have a long chat with her anyways. Some collateral damage is merely to be expected." That said, she waited to see how their current quarry would react to that, and prepared to fight as need be.

[TheWendil]

“…”

The green-haired girl gave Vincent a look of absolute apathy. Was he stupid? Brainless? An idiot? Or did he not realize that the Golem he was fighting was no more as she had taken care of it. Or the fact that he was intruding upon her territory? Brandishing the parasol behind her, the green-haired girl walked forward until she stood in front of Vincent.

Even as she stared him down coldly, the remnants of the Golem began to fade away into a green miasma of nothingness. It was deader than dead, no thanks to the hulking idiot in the armor. The girl tilted her head once, now frowning as she took in his form. It would not be difficult to rip his spine out of that fancy armored suit of his…

“You have thirty seconds to explain to me why I shouldn’t eat you. Begin,” she said coolly.

Back at the middle school, the blonde demon waved her hands up to show innocence towards the trio wanting to take her in. What was with these people? She had clearly stated that she had no part in the wretched crimes of graffiti or public degradation. Obviously.

“Hey look over there! No seriously, look! It’s a great…big…super cool…super spicy…thing!” the demon cried out, waving her arms around and pointing off to the side. Regardless if anyone would actually fall for her trick, she would turn around and make a bolt for it to make her great escape. She was already snickering to herself, in her mind, already making the perfect getaway.

---

@Flamelord, @TheFake, @IncredibleBee, @McFazzer

[KoL]

~Chasers: Boundary of the Crimson Sky~

---

"Very well done Spirit Hammer, True Alice, yours kills are indeed worthy your names as Chasers. However, an appointment of a higher order has just surfaced, thus I'll have to take my leave for the time being. Fret not, for I'll be back." The Cataloger said after disappearing from the pile of pastries and reappearing atop a nearby tree.

"I advise you, however, to not get too close to the being that lurks deep within this forest, even the Scarlet Sage knew that it was best to let that thing be." Drawing a set of interlocked metal rings, the Cataloger made a weaving motion through the air and a teleported away in a shower of glittering golden sparks.

• • •

Meanwhile, on the Dangeki, Orihime was just about to exit the café, after the lack of reply from Kazuki and the other Chasers' departure. "I'm thankful for your consideration, Miss Aria, nevertheless it seems that I have other matters to take care of. Nevertheless, I'll be sure to come back later under better circumstances." After taking her leave in as polite a manner as she could, Orihime went out of the Dangeki and a moment later she had disappeared, as if melding in the shadows of the night.

A being with a good hearing could certainly notice the sound of a girl's giggling along with the night breeze, but what could that mean? Was there yet another unknown force at work? Perhaps Aria would know the answer, but even these questions had to be put aside as a certain dark-haired, point-eared girl, not much taller than Aria and dressed in a Gothic Lolita dress, entered the Dangeki with big strides that almost made she look like some sort of queen, or goddess.

"Ah, the shadows are dancing and the wind is wailing. Don't you think it's a good night for... killing, Aria?" The dark-haired girl said in an ominous voice, that somehow sound a bit like that of a snake, just as she sat across Aria.

---

@Ashifili@TheWindel@rechonq

[Lonewolf685]

If one looked upon the street outside of Dangeki Pawn and Café, they would find an odd sight. Oddity being something that is relative, as a Dryad from Ireland would find the bustling Japanese city to be an oddity, just as a mundane citizen would find the peculiarly dressed woman dragging her feet down the street with an uninviting, dour sort of expression. Her callouses had built callouses upon blisters and sores, to the point she would hazard to guess that her feet were made of more dead flesh then living.

This was nothing new, of course. Walking was free and it saved her money where it cost her time, except in metropolitan areas with abysmal parking where I save so much time on by not needing to park, she amended. Catching sight of her destination the seemingly vagabond woman hastened her pace.

Passing through the front door to the café she was greeted by the melodic chime of a door bell, signaling Miranda Sinclair’s arrival at the Maelstrom of Strife’s beating heart. There were all kinds of odd sorts from Chaser’s to Youkai. The dejected bunny girl tending bar was an unexpected delight that could see herself enjoying in the immediate future.

Drawn in by the allure of bar seating, fetishist wait staff, and giving her tired feat a long awaited rest, Miranda plopped herself down on the nearest stool and slumped against the bar, boneless. “Excuse me miss. Can I get two servings of carrot cake and a drink to make me forget my aches and pains?”

As she waited for the bunny girl to hop-to-it on her order, Miranda reached down and unclipped the leather bound tome from her belt. With practiced ease she flicked it open to a dog eared page and pressed her palm against the paper, eliciting a puff of smoke that dissipated in moments to leave behind a blue, rabbit like Youkai with ears the length of his body and a ruby set in his forehead. Jeffers the Carbuncle sat beside Miranda, nose crinkling at the smells of sweets before staring at the Ellie with peculiar intensity.

Finding herself in the Mecca of the supernatural world, Miranda lifted her head off the wood to cup her chin in her hands. It would be harder to talk to anyone burying her head into the surprisingly clean bar top. “So, this is the famed Dangeki? Stories don’t do it credit if I say so myself. Jeffers and I came a long way and we aren’t disappointed.”

[McFazzer]

Carver Jazz

“Oh! I see, this must all be some grave misunderstanding then young Miss. You holding the spray can and the clearly audible sound of the spray can... all coincidental? Well whatever” walking over to the fresh paint Carver extended a finger and wiped it on the wall, bright orange sticking to it before bringing it to his nose and sniffing before walking over to Dana and grinning

“Well it smells normal. So is it the art or your resentment that causes this young Miss? Someone you hate? A mean bully? A teacher from hell?A class pet puke on your shoes? Or is your birthday coming up and you want school to be closed so you can celebrate? I ask mainly out of curiosity, but the why can help figure out the what to do next” taking out a handkerchief Carver casually wiped his fingers, scrunched the square of fabric and unfolded it, smiling to himself that the paint smeared into a weird little drawing of a house

“Well ‘aint that the strangest thing? I’m an artist by accident!” as he saw Dana dash off. He was a bit embarrassed, although he wasn’t caught out by literally the oldest trick in the book he did manage to somehow let her start making her escape

“Oi! Girl! I wanna talk art with you! And you two! Collateral damage is fine, this isn’t my school, but the mission is to fix this! For all we know this entire school is a seal and knocking it down could unleash whatever lives beneath it!” dashing off, Carver didn’t look exactly natural running, but he had good pace as he lightly tapped his thighs as faint blue glyphs lit up under his pants and his speed explosively increased.

@TheWindel@Flamelord@TheFake

---

Meanwhile a voice called out from behind the green haired girl, a stoic looking brunette appearing with gold eyes flecked with silver.

“Hey, Luci!” the cheery tone of her voice contrasting her appearance “I’m tired of landscaping and gardening. You sure are good at bossing people around Luci, but all this hard work of mine deserves a reward! Let’s go out to dinner or something!” hugging the green haired girl from behind the brunette yawned and looked at the boy with the gun

“Luci~ stop talking to the Gun-taku cosplayer and let’s get dinner. I’m really feeling like roast lamb today, y’know from the place that we went to last month? You chewed out that waiter and got us free dessert! I’ll even find some money on the way to pay for it. No dine and dash... honest!” lets her full body weight lean against the green haired girl's back, slowly sliding to the ground in 'exhaustion'.

@IncredibleBee

[KoL]

---

Chasers: Boundary of the Crimson Sky

---

Back on the Dangeki, Ellie was happily bouncing around, doing her chores until a few new arrivals got inside the unique store. The first of them was a known face that Ellie had seem congregating with her master one too many times, to be precise, the so called Miss Akane Chikage, though in truth the Goth loli snake fetishist's true identity was a very different one. Nevertheless, leaving the ancient gods of destruction to their own devices was probably the best thing Ellie could so, so that's exactly what she did, after all being obliterated from the face of the universe was hardly within the demon/vampire/bunny girl's plans.

Thankfully, the other newcomer was of a more interesting sort. Ellie quickly excused herself of the presence of the Snake Loli, erm... Snake of the Paradise and bounced to her rightful place behind the bar. "Oh, what do we have here? A new face? I'll be sure to fix you our best cake, the first on the house, even." Ellie addressed Miranda before scooping a cake tray from the kitchen and set the fire on (using her telekinetic powers) to brew some fresh coffee for her newest guest.

"So, what do we owe the visit of such... unique guests, Jeffers and Miss...?" The bunny barista said as she began to characteristically wipe a cup that didn't even needed to be further cleaned. "By the way, what would you like to have? Whatever it's, I assure you that all our drinks are to die for!" Ellie flashed a suspiciously mischievous smile at Miranda as she waited the woman's reply, meanwhile she was trying to feed a cupcake for Jeffers who seemed to be quite enthralled by her appearance. But then again, who wouldn't be smitten by such a devious piece of hell such as she?

• • •

Meanwhile, Apophis was swinging her tiny legs idly as she stared Aria with the most bored look in the world. Apparently it was a thing for goddesses to have a never ending PMS case, as Apophis could evidence. Eventually the Snake Loli grew tired of waiting and heaved a loud sigh, before slamming her, deceptively strong, doll like hands on the tabletop, almost cracking it.

"Hey, hey, Aria~" Apophis cried almost in a singing voice, "Where are those Chasers you spoke off? I'm starting to get bored... you know what happens when I get bored, don't you?" Apophis' face contorted into a smirk of pure smugness and she said in a dark voice, as the sound of hissing snakes began to be heard inside of the usually quiet café. "Well, if you don't care for them... I could always kill everyone. That would be fun, right, Aria?"

• • •

"And that... is why we don't congregate with psycho lolitas with a fetish for snakes." Ellie joked with a wry smile on her face as she shook one leg to kick a snake that tried to slither under her skirt.

---

@Lonewolf685@TheWindel

[Flamelord]

Isotta was hardly about to fall for the deception that the demon was trying to pull on her at the moment, since the fact that there were three of them there and no pressing signs meant that they didn't all have to heed what was being said. She was definitely alert for possible lies and trickery, and she would not allow herself to be distracted so easily.

Of course, Carver was as much a distraction as anything else, the man examining the artwork and trying to psychologically analyze their current target, something she could do without. Motive didn't matter, at least in a case like this. Leave it to someone else who was more qualified, and for now she merely wanted to bring in the demon, just like the Church would want.

"I think we have bigger issues," she noted aloud as Dana made a break for it, Carver chastising both her and Sheridan for their willingness to risk collateral damage. It wasn't as if it could make things worse, and she proceeded to take off after the demon, this time actually throwing a sword at her in the process. She would not find it so easy to escape the judgment of the Lord, and Isotta was more than ready to deliver it.

[TheWendil]

~Aria~

---

Aria’s reaction was almost unconscious at this point; she frowned deeply with narrowed eyes as a familiar snake-girl waltzed into her establishment, as if she owned the place. The Gothic-looking girl had many names, many titles whispered about her existence in ancient times. But Aria didn’t care about past gossip as opposed to the girl standing before her right now.

“Hello Apophis,” Aria responded curtly. “To what business do you have with me and my Chasers? You know full well we’re not due to seeing each other for another week or so.”

The Head Magister sipped at her cup of tea idly but kept a warning glare in Apophis’ direction. She noticed a forming patch of darkness that manifested beside the snake girl’s side and was not surprised to find Apophis’ loyal servant and familiar, Lisa Bisk taking shape. The horned girl nodded in silent respect to Aria, turned to glare at Ellie…and then averted her eyes when her gaze fell on a questioning Miranda. She would not speak unless her Mistress directed her to do so.

Aria meanwhile almost crushed her glass in her hand as Apophis made some snide remark regarding her Chasers. At once the aura surrounding the Magister seemed to have increased ten-fold, the usually smiling leader now staring icily at the snake girl.

“While I am aware of your jokes Apophis, I suggest not making a crude one like that in my presence,” she warned. “Now I’ll ask again. What do you want?”

Back in the Red Forest, the tension was as thick as the air found in the Dangeki Café. But all notions of that tension were instantly shattered as a loud and obnoxious voice echoed all around the woods. The woman known only as Lucille continued to death stare at Vincent before slowly turning towards her associate.

“Shouldn’t you be gardening Ashe?” she asked with malice. Though both women knew the overactive brunette would not be intimidated, much to Lucille’s great annoyance on the matter.

Back at the school, Dana giggled and bounced around, teleporting to and fro all while sticking her tongue out at the fools who thought they could catch her. She gave them a good, long, and wild goose chase before taunting them one last time and disappearing from sight.

“Oh ho, you guys were so fun! Extra spicy! Let’s play again, play again some time soooon!”

---

@Flamelord, @KoL, @McFazzer, @Lonewolf685, @TheFake, @IncredibleBee

[Lonewolf685]

Miranda Sinclair

Jeffers gave the cupcake an experimental sniff, and having found nothing untoward with the offered confectionary, proceeded to eat the cupcake as any mundane rabbit would. Miranda accepted the complimentary cake with a hasty nod. "I-It's Miranda, and I'll have whatever you think is best." Her head was downcast as she found herself more intent upon the cake than the barista. She found herself feeling nervous under the gaze of what she realized was a succubus. Damn it woman, she was one person. Not every succubus is out to hurt you-

Miranda squeaked in surprise as something brushed against her boot. With mounting trepidation and a distant sense of familiarity, she looked down to see a white snake, no bigger than what you'd find on a suburbanites front lawn, had slithered up to her lap. Beady, crimson eyes gazed up into her own, carrying that hypnotic intensity that serpents were known for. Ignoring that trepidation she reached down and let the snake slither upon her hand, tightening around her pointer finger till it was comfortably secured. "You...I've seen snakes like you before."

“Hello Apophis”

The Scholar of Spirits blinked, before turning around to find two loli's exchanging heated greetings. She didn't recognize either of their faces, but that name was one she was familiar with. Her throat turned dry as a lump of shadow rose from the ground, molding itself into the voluptuous form of Apophis's own succubus familiar, "Lisa..."

Miranda's face fell as her eyes grew moist and distant, her body paradoxically stiffing and going limp all at once. The garden snake hissed in discomfort as her fingers clutched at the open air between them before curling upon themselves lamely. There was a single, solitary moment when their gazes met and Miranda held out a desperate hope she would find something there that she could recognize from that cold Prague night many years ago. But Lisa turned away, once again choosing her duty to Apophis over all else.

"Of all the watering holes in all the lands, why did you have to walk into mine." A shake smile was offered, even if it was the last thing she wanted to do now. "Again."

[TheFake]

Sheridan Black

Middle School

The undead girl was taken aback in a rather severe way. First Isotta seemed to agree with her choice of action. Whether she was calling Sheridans bluff or perfectly willing to accept some destruction was yet to be seen. The surprise surrounding the Artwork Demon was an altogether different type. She wasn't exactly sure if the demon had honestly expected things to work out but the sheer stupidity of its actions was astonishing.

"You can't really expect..."

Carver, at least, acted in a predictable and logical way as he gave chase. It would do no good to annihilate the source of this illness without first stopping what created it. Sheridan slung the grenade launcher across her back and gave chase as well.

It all ended in frustration that she was sorely tempted to take on on one of the walls in a destructive manner.

[Flamelord]

Frustrating as it was, Isotta was not surprised as Dana eventually ended up fleeing the scene rather than letting the chase go on. None of them had done any real damage, even if Dana had done nothing to them in turn. There had just been a lot of running and sweat to show for their efforts.

With her gone, Isotta came to a stop, taking a moment to recover as she brushed off her clothes and surveyed the scene. "Judging by past behavior she will not return for some time, even if we did not capture her. Once we have dealt with the paint, I suppose we can consider this issue satisfactorily resolved," she said as she looked back at the other two currently with her. She wasn't sure how they would handle the paint, but she could probably set something up if there were no better options.

For now, it seemed that their mission was over already, just in time for them to get to other, more important, things.

[Crimson Raven]

Alexander Rozhiem

Alex strolled to the Danki Pawn and Parler, with a spring in his step and whistling a merry tune. It was an uncharacteristically good mood, and is a shocking contrast to his usual moody, and broody self. There was no particular reason for his mood, other then earlier, he had been jumped by a trio of thugs with more balls then brains. He had managed to blow off some steam by the time he was through. Of course, he called an ambulance when he was finished. It would be a pity if one of them died.

He dropped his cigarette, stepped on it before he opened the door, slowly with exaggerated care, to spared the poor flimsy plank of wood from destruction. A wash of smells, most of them pleasant greeted him as he walked in. He strolled, still whistling a merry tune, ignoring the fact that he was late, and taking note of the somewhat tense conversation at the bar. With very little money for food, he went straight for the job board. Half way there, a snake, a genuine King Cobra, greeted him by rising up, spreading its hood and hissing. Alex stopped and stared at it, his expression blank as he locked eyes with the snake. A moment passed, slowly, both contestants completely still. A minute dragged by and the silence stretched. Finaly, Alex slid his gaze upward and kept walking past the snake. As he drew even with it, he reached over, and gently patted its head, like a pet. "Good snake." He said. The cobra, confused, hesitently lowered it's head, and slithered off.

Alex perused the available requests on the board. He needed money, and a lot of it as quick as possible, so he took the highest paying job without even reading the details. He sauntered over to the bar, leaned forward, hand on the bar, next to the loli, obviously in her personal space, and rudely interrupting the conversation. "I'll be taking this one on, Miss Midget." He drawled, courting both ruin and disaster.

Just for the hell of it.

@Lonewolf685 @TheWindel @KoL

[TheWendil]

Apophis was momentarily shocked by Aria's cold reply, didn't she knew how to enjoy a joke? "Lame... you always know how to kill my mood, huh, Aria?" The snake said, before pursing her lips in a sulking expression typical of a spoiled child. "Anyway, I want to say that an ancient evil will strike very soon, if you’re so very precious and important, veeeeery special Chasers don't deal with those even bigger fools of YTC."

"I mean, it's not like I care, but if I allow that idiot Tsukuyomi to destroy the world, what will I do later?" Apophis turned her face sideways and puffed her cheeks in irritation, since Aria wasn't paying attention at her. "Now, won't you at least give me something for my trouble of coming here and telling you, Aria?"

The bell on the door of the Dangeki Cafe rang as it swung open, allowing a blond figure to step inside the main part of the Cafe. With a black tank top and jeans, the sharp eyed woman surveyed the guests as if she was searching for someone in particular, while making no move initially. Whether anyone noticed her, what with the conversation ongoing between Apophis and Aria, was something she didn't care about.

At last she spotted the person that she had been looking for, eyes widening momentarily before her face set into a confident grin at the same time. She moved then, sweeping past the bar, the tables, the other guests, as she neared the main stage of events.

Apophis would find herself addressed then, the woman tapping her on the shoulder from behind. "Excuse me...." A second later a fist slammed home, not holding back and if not intending to kill then otherwise certainly intending to hurt. It seemed someone didn't like Apophis.

Aria, for her part, didn't say a single thing as none other than the World's Strongest Creature herself entered her establishment. A quick glance into Lorana's mind and the answer was clear. And really, whatever Apophis got was most deserved. That was why she simply sipped her tea as the snake Loli was slammed right in the face with a stone fist while noting the late arrival of a certain Kyuubey.

"Hello Lorana, Cernia. To what do I owe the pleasure of your...smashing arrival? Not that I mind. That idiot deserved it anyway," Aria spoke, glancing at Apophis.

The Snake of the Paradise disregards the petty newcomers totally, instead focusing on Aria as she resumes her temper tantrum, "Hey, who are these ones, Ari-" But before Apophis could finish her question, a stone-like fist slammed into her cheeks, sending the snake loli right through the glass of the café's front windows and crashing against a parked car.

With fury in her eyes as well as confusion Apophis rose from her crashing site and yelled at Lorana, "Who the hell do you think you are? I wasn't doing anything wrong, but if you have such a death wish, then so be it." Running a hand through her hair, Apophis picked a handful of strands and threw them towards Lorana, on their way the Snake's hair seemed to have gained life and become jet black serpents, at least a dozen of them who lunged to try to eliminate the World's Strongest with their entropic poison.

Lorana watched with satisfaction as Apophis was sent tumbling by the blow, thrown out the window and into a car. That was certainty a solid hit, and it felt good to land it even as she turned her attention to the owner of the cafe. "Hey Aria, I'll pay for the window," she said as greeting even as she promised compensation for the damage. They always asked, and she was in a good mood right now.

She shrugged then, nonchalant as Cernia came up behind her. "Oh, just needed to get some payback for earlier." Which probably meant nothing, but as Aria had just pointed out she didn't really care at all in the first place. That sort of attitude always made this easier on her, and with the sort of life she had that was always a good thing.

By that point though Apophis had recovered from the hit, naturally angry about what had happened. Turning to face her, Lorana grinned as she stepped forward, drawing nearer the fight as a hand rested on her hip. "I'm the World's Strongest Creature," she proclaimed aloud. "And I'm here because you thought it'd be fun to mind control my apprentice and have her terrorize a church. Well, you thought wrong." She was definitely in a god mood, even as the snakes were unleashed.

At that point she move, springing into the air and using the frame of the shattered window to vault higher for an aerial attack on Apophis, aiding by the surrounding object such as trash cans and the like which she could use as projectiles, even as she deflected or otherwise kept away from the snakes. Not that she expected they could actually do any damage, but she really didn't need the nuisance. For the moment, she was going to have some fun.

Aria merely nodded. She knew Lorana would eventually pay for the damages and it wasn't like the place was being totaled like the other times...but such memories weren't in the best of moods anyway so she directed her attention to Cernia with a frown.

"Apophis controlled you?"

"Yeah. You know that mission you had recently with someone defacing the temple? That was...er, me. And then I kind of went nuts and this black snake was there and...yeah," Cernia responded, stepping back from the front of the cafe as much as she could. She knew how violent her master could get in battles.

"I see. Well then, I suppose I can allow your master to beat in that idiot's head a little while longer," Aria responded, a grin hidden in sight with the brim of her tea cup.

Apophis lips curled into a shape than can only be described as a bitch smirk, one that Aria was too familiar with, as Lorana jumped and tried to smash her with an overhead strike. "The World's Strongest, huh? Do you have any idea who you are fighting against?" As she said so, Apophis left her overconfidence get the best of her again and allowed Lorana dig her into the sidewalk, sending a cloud of dust everywhere.

Apophis didn't looked like she was any seriously harmed, but her eyes were burning with childish rage, as she grabbed Lorana's fist and threw the gargoyle into the air. "I'm the Snake of the Paradise, the Goddess of Cycles, do you think you can beat me? You say that I harmed your disciple, and it was very bad for you, but for me it was just Tuesday."

Lorana watched with some satisfaction as her punch landed exactly as planned, digging Apophis into the pavement and the ground beneath. It was more annoying that she appeared to be unharmed by the attacks, but Lorana knew that there were more to these sorts of things than simple physical damage.

She wasn't expecting to be sent airborne, but landed relatively easily before strolling back over, giving some applause at the bold proclamation. "Wow, did you come up with that one yourself," she replied sarcastically. "As for your name, wait I know it. It's some Egyptian thing, right? Anu...no, I stuck her in the volcano. Umm, Osiris? No, that's not it. Oh, I know! Is it Nephthys? Wait, no, that's too old fashioned."

At last she gave up, shrugging nonchalantly. "Honestly, unless your fancy title ends with 'Court', I don't really care who you are. But I expect an apology and some compensation, or else I'll put you in a hole so deep even those snakes of yours will be blind." She cracked her knuckles as she waited for an answer, obviously enjoying the superiority that she had. She was the World's Strongest for a reason, after all.

"And that's why you can't try to be funny. Kids will always think they are the best unless they get a good spanking. Don't worry though, I won't kill you only because I promised Aria, though," Apophis said in an annoyed tone as she got out of the crater, and walked to Lorana, hissing like the snake she was. "Your punches can't do anything to me, I guess that I'll have to refresh your memory about who is the real threat here."

Apophis tried to grab Lorana's hand and smash the gargoyle against the concrete, before her snakes swarmed Lorana and tried to restrain her, ready for being suffocated by the snake's tiny hand wrapped around her neck.

"Well, if punching doesn't hurt you then I'm sure I'll find something that does eventually," Lorana replied with a confident grin, no so much bravado as sheer confidence. She would do it, one way or another, assuming this fight didn't escalate to the point where the entire city itself was in danger of being destroyed. Nobody wanted that.

Lorana didn't resist as Apophis grabbed her hand, but the following effort to try and smash her met ignoble failure as Lorana was....very much not smashed into the ground. She definitely deserved that title, and she let Apophis go at it for a moment just to prove her point. "My turn," she said then, grin still present in anticipation.

Then she struck, knee kicking upwards to slam into her stomach, before the free hand of the World's Strongest delivered another blow to the head, putting on the hurt even if it didn't actually hurt. It would keep the 'Goddess' off balance, and that was good enough as she looked for something that actually hurt her. It couldn't be that hard, right?

After being, once again, sent flying and smashing he back against the side of an office building, Apophis was finally getting pissed, this "World's Strongest" was getting on her nerves with that attitude and the Snake's irritation was visible on the dark shine of her eyes, as black as entropy itself. For a moment Apophis even considering allowing her worst self to come out and greet Lorana, but if she allowed Niddrog to come out there was no way to account the damage that she would cause.

"Damn you, Aria, why you had to ask me to not kill them?" Apophis complained to herself as she got out of another crater. "You are pissing me off, damn you!" Apophis said as she puffed her cheeks angrily and huffed like a bull on steroids, with a snap of her fingers, a snake the size of a whale appeared out of the ground, coiling itself around Apophis, before lunging at Lorana with speed that betrayed its size, intent on crushing the gargoyle like a ripe banana.

"Cry me a river," Lorana yelled back as she strolled forward, slowly closing the distance between the two of them in order to give Apophis some time to recover from getting hit so far. So, still not damaged yet? Fine, she'd find something that worked. It was just a matter of time, as far as she was concerned.

She was taken aback as the giant snake appeared, seemingly filling the street and of a size she had never seen before. That earned a whistle of appreciation even as she armed herself, grabbing a signpost from the ground with a burst of strength.

That was in time for it to come in at her, and she did her best to avoid being eaten. The sign was used to deflect the snake, to hit it to the side if only a little so she could spring away to the side, to get past the snake before kicking sa car at it with a mighty crash, aimed at the spot where Apophis was currently secluded. "Of course, I'm not surprised the supposed ‘Goddess’ would bring out a giant monster to fight on her behalf," she taunted, hair flowing in the wind. "I’ll just kick its ass, then I'll get back to beating you."

Apophis smirked confident in her snake, "So, are you going to ask me to forgive you now, of do you want to get eaten and slowly digested first? This one takes about a hundred years to digest a prey and they you keep alive and conscious all the time, are you trembling already, or no-"

Apophis' monologue was a fairly standard one, and would have been more impressive had she not been sucker punched halfway through by the World's Strongest, who had used her distraction to get a good running start before hitting her. Again. Hopefully this time it would stick, she was starting to get annoyed.