Jonathan Black's Story

Rick Brackwall

With all things said and done what was important was that they were on their way with him. He looked back to ensure that they were still following and didn't start wondering off for whatever reason. All five of them were following behind well enough. That was all what mattered, little else was of concern in regards to that. He did wonder what Illusion had in mind for Caius. Hopefully she'll help him along to the projector room or brief him separately. It would be time consuming doing a whole briefing for a single missing brethren.

He unclipped his clipboard from his belt as he walked, carrying under his arm as he lead them from the auditorium. Past guards and through the scenic architecture that was WDL's Rome. Soon they approached the building that was their destination: The Academy in all it's grandeur. Well, perhaps it wasn't the most flowing and beautiful structure within the compound but it was suitably nice.

"I welcome you one and all to WDL's very own academy!" He gestured to the building with a fancy flourish of the hand. "It may not look inherently special but there's not a place better suited to preparing one for any situation one may encounter." He'd of extrapolated on the nature of these 'Encounters' however they would need to understand the existence of demons as a whole first and such a change in their reality was bound not to be received smoothly.


Through the front doors and up the stairs to the right Rick led them to the second floor and down the hall. It was the room just past classroom 101 that was two classrooms in length. Opening the door he revealed the room in full. It was a fairly nice room, long fluorescent lights just waiting to cast their bright white light at the touch of a button. The was a long grey oval desk in the middle of the room surrounded with office chairs. At the side of the room closest to the entrance was a projector mounted on a trolley. At the other end of the room was a white board, a large roll up screen attached at the top.

With a flick Rick turned on the lights, illuminating the placid room. The walls were bare and white, the carpet a neutral grey color. It looked very much like the type of room that would be at home in an office building. What didn't belong in an office building however was Caius who was standing over on the far side of the room looking mostly confused.

While this would be an odd sight, someone who was left behind somehow making it to a room they weren't even aware of before them, to Rick this was just to be expected of Illusion. Her magic certainly benefited her efficiency plenty though her mannerisms were a tad chaotic. After these many years the strange was simply commonplace.

"All of you may feel free to take a seat. I'll get the projector set up." He offered the others as he went over to the projector, hardly even batting an eye at the befuddled Caius. Setting down his clip board the observant would spot that the paper slides it kept a hold of were all completely blank.


After a few moments of moving panels and inserting slides Rick finally had the projector set up.

"Alright! If you are all settled let the briefing begin!"

With that announcement he hit the lights and took his place by the projector. It spat forth an image not of a blank slide as was previously noted by the more aware but instead a cover marked with the WDL insignia. With that up Rick cleared his throat, prepared to speak at length.

"The WDL, the Warriors of Divine Light, are a martial institution established to protect the human population from non-standard threats on a global scale. All of you on some level have had experiences with threats known to the WDL prior to your arrival here."


The slides simply seemed to switch over on their own accord to the next one in the order. It was an image of the exact type of demon that attacked Jonathan, a Tsuchigumo as the title of the slide states.

"At first it might seem surreal."

The slides changed over again. This time it was an image of what seemed to be a man kneeling within a demonic diagram, candles set at strategic points in the circular drawing. In the man's hand was a knife which which he appeared to be cutting open his own arm, the blood flowing not down but up from the wound. The title of this slide was Hemomancy.

"It may make you question things you never doubted before."

The screens flipped to the next slide. It was an illustration of each phase in a werewolf's transformation, starting from man to feral half-canine beast in order of left to right. The title to this document was The Transformation From Man to Werewolf.

"It may make you even question your own sanity."

Flipping again to the next slide was a compilation image of all three illustrations, arranged in a triangle.

"There is truth in what you witnessed. It is what we all share. It is why we are here now."

Striding up next to the screen the images were projected onto Rick stepped into view. His posture was open and he still wore a pleasant if calm smile, speaking in a pleasant tone albeit with the slightest Italian accent simply due to spending a fair amount of time learning in Rome.


"Now, you've been given a brief rundown by our principle, the esteemed Miss Illusion, but I feel as though it didn't satisfy the amount of knowledge you require in order to wholly accept a responsibility that's been thrust upon you without warning or consent. Know that like you all I too arrived here no differently."

While it was definitely dark and difficult to see anything beyond the image put forth by the projector the keen of eye might spot a piece of paper reaching up with a corner and hitting the power switch on the projector. Just as the projector shut down, plunging the room into darkness, Rick hit the light switch on his side of the room, igniting the fluorescent lights and immersing the room in their plain white light.

"I am here simply to help you make the most of your time and efforts. For everyone's sake."

He looked over the group, meeting eyes with each member he could before addressing them as a whole.

"Of course you've humored me in listening to my rambling. I imagine you have questions of your own you need addressed. Starting with..."

He briefly held his hand out, considering who he should take questions from first. He briefly considered letting them speak their questions but wasn't quite yet certain that they wouldn't start trying to talk over each other in a muddled mess of confusion. His hand fell to the person he was to address, directing everyone's attentions to Jonathan.

"JoJo, our good friend of many. Any questions or concerns in need of addressing?"

“Well, there they are.”

Word had travelled quickly throughout the base of the Children’s arrival- spread through emails, texts, passing remarks and conversation. Six out of seven! It wouldn’t be long before all would be gathered within the heart of the base, introduced to one another, made to unlock their birthrights and become proper soldiers. There were some who were nervous about the whole thing. The WDL had been founded to rid the world of the inhuman, and now they were taking a full set of apocalyptic halfbreeds into their arms? It wasn’t right.

Of course, that was only some. Just as many fell throughout the spectrum, with a few landing on the far opposite. Excited, rather than wary.

Madison was one of those few.

Settled in the neighboring room of the projector’s, the staff lounge, they- “they” being himself and his companion- were able to watch the meeting through a small two-way mirror that connected the two spaces. Useful for observers who didn’t quite want to show their faces in a meeting or the like, although such an occurrence tended to be rare. They were waiting there simply because it was the easiest way to watch without interrupting the meeting.

And because the place was rather comfortable, admittedly. The wallpaper was a muted blue, the floors a polished walnut. Madison had set a pot of tea to boil some time ago on a communal hot plate, and from a nearby radio came the wan voice of Sinatra’s “My Way.”

“Look at how close Ms. Himemiya is to Mr. Black,” Madison said. One hand was tucked beneath his chin, the other resting upon the tabletop before him. As he gazed into the dark hall before them, he took a moment to smooth out the front of his dress- Madison had taken the day off for the occasion, made obvious by the soft evening orange of the researcher’s sundress. “It looks like some of them are getting along well already. Marvelous.” The comment was made in complete sincerity- the smile on his lips was enough of an indication of that. Stretching his shoulders, Madison sat up in a more proper position, watching Rick’s presentation with interest. The pin on his arm glinted with the movement.

“And it seems that Mr. Brackwall’s taking his leadership well. I’m glad. Given how many entered all at once, I’m sure that this will be especially overwhelming. For everyone, really.”

His hand brushed upon the briefings placed upon the desk, as if in emphasis of his point. In their crisp manilla folders, there was little indication of their contents, aside from the stamp on the front labelled “BRIEFING” in fresh ink.

“Hopefully they’ll take all of this alright, and- oh!” Madison suddenly rose, head turning towards the kettle. “I think that the tea is ready. Would you like some, Candice? It’s chai, if you don’t mind.”

| Jonathan Black/JoJo |

"Would you be the hero, then?" JoJo chuckled softly as he turned around to grin at Vesper. "Maybe. Guess we'll find out, eh?" While he was turned around, he noticed Caius being kept behind while Illusion checked out a newspaper. He was a tad confused, but he shrugged it off as the taller man getting scolded or something. At the same time, he noticed Ash on her bike. He briefly wondered if the bike wasn't normal since it seemed to pull up for her out of nowhere, by itself, to boot. "JoJo..." Vesper's voice brought his attention back to her, the melody to it surprising him- she'd been quite emotionless, so it caught him off-guard to hear it. "If you go, take me okay?" He had no idea what she meant. Away from the WDL? Did she know that he was going to try to leave already? "It's.. not that obvious, surely.." He felt a tugging on his shirt, watching Vesper's hand grip onto the bottom hem of his top. She eventually let go of his shirt, however, and JoJo gave her a warm smile and leaned back slyly. "You know, if you want, I can totally hold your hand." He said it as a joke, but when he went back to his original position, his hand was slightly more open then before, and in the position to grabbed by the girl. If she went after his hand, he would've held it all the way to the projector room.

JoJo had walked into the projector room behind Rick, and almost jumped as he noticed Caius looking dazed in the corner of the room- yeah, he'd definitely remembered leaving in front of Caius. "Well, uh, that's not normal." He chuckled to himself softly before moving over to the table and taking one of the seats. He keenly watched as Rick moved around- and he briefly wondered why Rick was putting empty slides into the projector. He narrowed his brow, trying to make sense of it before deciding that Rick was probably going to do some crazy magic type stuff- Rick had been here for a while and JoJo assumed he wasn't some sort of novice, besides, JoJo had much more important things to focus on. As Rick turned the lights off once more, he shifted in his chair, following along with the presentation astutely. He grit his teeth slightly when the slide with the Tsuchigumo popped up, and he crossed his arms. That thing was only one of God knows how many types of creatures like it. It was terrifying to think that some random person nearby might suddenly erupt into a giant spider. JoJo shuddered thinking about it. He looked up, watching the slides swap from spider to edgy man to hairy man. He bit his lip, wondering just how many people out there were secretly, well, not people. He tossed that term around in his head a little. Not people? That spider girl seemed fairly human until she, well, became a spider girl. JoJo shook his head, sighing. "Guess I'll find out.."

"Now, you've been given a brief rundown by our principal, the esteemed Miss Illusion, but I feel as though it didn't satisfy the amount of knowledge you require in order to wholly accept a responsibility that's been thrust upon you without warning or consent. Know that like you all I too arrived here no differently." JoJo looked up at this, wondering just how long ago Rick had even arrived here. Probably a while, but it couldn't have been too long, could it? JoJo, at this point, noticed something in his peripherals- a piece of paper moving on its own to turn off the projector. At first he thought he'd imagined it, but the lights came on with Rick at the other side of the room as the projector shut off simultaneously. His eyes widened slightly as he realised he wasn't hallucinating, and he blinked hard- there wasn't a paper demon in the room or anything, was there? I mean, that'd be crazy, right? JoJo shook his head, clearing his thoughts (and remembering that spider ladies and vampire lolis were also crazy) before he looked up at Rick. A hand gestured right at him, and JoJo went a tiny bit wide-eyed.

"JoJo, our good friend of many. Any questions or concerns in need of addressing?"

"Fuck. Uh.."

JoJo bit his lip. He hated being put on the spot like this. He preferred having at least a few seconds to plan, but it only took him less than a second to gather his composure. Shaking his head in slight annoyance at himself, he spoke. "Sure, I have a few questions." He nodded to himself, looking up at Rick. "Firstly, I'd like to know more about that spider-type monster that attacked me. Tsuchigumo, was it? I'd like to know specifically if they're capable of regenerating their eyes and limbs." For someone who didn't know they existed, he seemed to have quite the knowledge. Of course, he was only calling what he remembered from the attack. He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes slightly at Rick- not in a hostile way, but more so because he was focusing on the questions he should be asking. "On top of that, I'd also like a more thorough explanation of the place we're in. Illusion said we'd be here for, well, ever, so knowing our way around would be nice, even if we just get given a map to take a bit of a look at. A tour after this would be good as well. Third, I'd also like to know why every person here is carrying a weapon." He held up his hand, two fingers popping up before a third joined them. "Fourth, are we getting paid or is everything here free? Do we get our own rooms, apartments, or what?" Jonathan's thumb popped up as well, before he closed his hand and lifted his pointer finger again. "Lastly, I'd like an explanation about this 'boot camp' that we're supposed to be going on."

He paused for a moment, closing his hand again and looking to the side for a moment, before looking back and staring Rick in the eyes. "Actually, as well as that.." He motioned to the projector behind Rick, slowly standing up. "Why did that paper move just now?" It was a general question- in fact, it wasn't even fully to Rick himself. As far as JoJo knew that paper was sentient and was going to try to eat his face at any second. "Paper doesn't turn off projectors by itself." It was an obvious and blunt call-out, but JoJo did it nonetheless. He really wanted to know why paper was moving by itself- he was fond of his skin and would rather it not be torn off and used as a scarf. He was also kind of hoping that he'd just foiled some paper demon's stealthy plan, but at the same time found himself hoping that wasn't the case.

He paused for one moment, then looked at Rick right in his eyes before he could respond any further. He put his hands down on the table, expression dead serious as he leaned forward, staring blankly at the presenter. "One last question before you give us your answers, Rick.." He closed his eyes, then opened them again while inhaling hard- whatever he was about to say must've been very, very important. "Where the hell is the nearest phone? I needa make a call."

Rick Brackwall

A full list of questions to be sure, but that was to be expected. Rick simply stood, not at all stirred by any of Jonathan's requests. While it was certainly a lot of information to impart Rick figured he had the means to keep the flow of the conversation on his terms.

"Those are some very good questions JoJo. I'm glad you asked." He calmly reached into a pocket in his coat, pulling out a slick touch-screen cellphone. "The nearest phone is mine."

Walking up right next to Jonathan he placed the phone right in front of him. "Feel free to settle your personal affairs while I take some other questions. Please try to keep your call limited to letting family members, roommates and former employers know you are fine and not to be returning."


With that said he stepped back, looking back over to the group as a whole. "Do not worry, your personal belongings will be collected and delivered to your rooms at the earliest opportunity."

Granting that hopefully comforting piece of knowledge he brought a single hand up to his chin, thinking well on who to address next. He considered Caius but since he just picked JoJo he didn't want the girls to feel as though they were being segregated in the picking order. With that said as Ash had a habit of not really listening his information in the first place he considered the fact that giving her a second opportunity to ask questions he likely answered the first time he welcomed her would be helpful. After her the rest of the questions period would fly past with veritable ease, save Caius perhaps.

"Firstly, to answer a couple of JoJo's questions yes we do get paid. Every member of the WDL earns an hourly salary plus bounty sums tied into what we like to call Hunts. These hunts are, put simply enough, missions assigned to members of the order to eliminate notably dangerous members of the supernatural population. Members higher up in the order get higher salaries and are in line to take more difficult Hunts in exchange for proportionately larger bounties."


He strode back to the projector, hands behind his back. "You all may have noted that nearly all members are armed at all times. This is no coincidence, after all we are a martial institution. Just as any militant organization we have cause to believe we may be attacked at any time. Given the exceptional nature of our opposition there is a significant emphasis on security at all times. With thanks to the strong hearts and minds of the good people in charge of the security for WDL we have the freedom to learn and grow in this hostile world."

Finishing off those two questions he extended his hand over to Ash, inviting her into the conversation.

"As I understand you've probably heard much of what I have to say Ash. Any questions to add or shall I continue with another?"

Rick Brackwall

“Where’s the catering?”

Ash was behaving herself rather well, joking aside. She didn't seem able to concentrate too well but it couldn't be helped.

”But seriously? Maybe later, Dick.”

"Anytime, Ash."


A short but suitable reply to her request. Having a one on one conversation with Ash later was no issue for him. If it meant she'd trust him more later the time invested would definitely pay off.

Lacing his fingers together he pushed his palms outward, stretching his fingers out with a small set of crackles. Unlacing his fingers he brought his right hand down to his side and the left out to point at Vistra.

"How about yourself Vistra? Any questions or concerns you wish to have addressed?"


Calm, casual, inviting, all those were things Rick exuded in his performance. It felt as natural to in as it was made to appear but that was all simply due to practice and conditioning. He could stand before a crowd of millions and break no less a sweat than he was here.

When the time came and all those millions would be demons on the ramparts he'd need that composure to cast the most taxing spells he'd of learned.

After being snapped at by Caius Vistra hung her head, and stuck to the back of the crowd. She didn't mean to upset him. Though, she supposed that he was a little upset due to the events they all had dealt with today. Hopefully later on she could patch up her not so great first impression.

She trailed after the group and gazed around her new home as she did so. New home. Huh. It definitely wasn't her father's house, but much better than living under a bridge. If they gave her a room, she hoped they'd let her spruce it up a bit. Her old room in Canada was rather small, but crowded in a warm way.

Caius was in the room they entered and Vistra made a point to avoid him. She sat down, and crossed her legs. The fact that Rick was going to explain everything to them made her feel alot better about everything. He even let them ask questions, making Vistra think of one of her old teachers. Rick was a bit like that.

Jojo went first, making good points. She eyed the phone. It had been a year since she talked to her father. If she was going to learn how to take care of herself here maybe her father would be safe. She missed him more than anything.

Ash, the girl who was the first to speak to Vistra went next. She leaned forward, waiting for whatever important question that would be asked. Instead she found herself smothering laughter down at her quip and the response Rick gave. At least it wasn't boring here.

Rick pointed to her next and she wasn't left caught off guard. 'Umm,' She absentmindedly scratched at on of the many scars on her arm. 'Well I'd like to call my father after Jojo is finished. And, will he be safe? Can I go visit him? Or can he visit me?'

Rick Brackwall

"Well I'd like to call my father after Jojo is finished. And, will he be safe? Can I go visit him? Or can he visit me?"

Rick nodded, considering his response for a moment. As her hand seemed to be absently pushing a sleeve up his eyes were drawn down momentarily to spot what appeared to be a small number of scars present on her arm, at least the surface of the arm which he could see right then.

While many would simply assume she would inflict self harm out of personal issues his degree of experience was far wider, his mind more explorative as a result. While there was many possibilities for him to ponder he could deduct without forming any unrealistic assumptions that a power of hers drew on her blood in order to function. Self harming just seemed out of character given her apparent nature. That is not to say of course there couldn't of been something deeper to her than what meets the eye. That were more than a few layers to himself after all.


"Excellent question Vistra! I can assure you that your father is under WDL surveillance and protection. There is nearly nothing we at WDL take more seriously than the safety of the families of those serving in our order. In addition there are specified days for family members to visit WDL grounds. Here-"

With a motion of his hand the stack of blank slides leap to his hand, sitting snugly in his grip. On one side of each sheet was a schedule for each of them, his very own schedule to be exact. It contained all the times for their classes along with their upcoming commitments and events pertinent to all members such as the family days Vistra was just asking about.

Taking a corner of each paper with his off hand Rick absentmindedly tossed a schedule in each of their directions, the sheet flying with keen precision and landing directly before each and every one of them.


"A schedule for you all to review at your own leisure. Hopefully it should help provide some more answers for you all."
He addressed the group generally.

Last but by no means the least headache was Caius. Rick simply looked over, his demeanor only a little more serious if only to show that he was taking Caius seriously whilst still remaining pleasantly calm. He wasn't taking Caius any more serious than anyone else mind you but it was just that: A show.

"Caius, anything on your mind?"

================================

================================

"Questions? I have a lot
but, I'm not and idiot to just
listen to all the answers given
after all, nothing is easily shared
especially the truth that cut like
a dull knife in ragged pain."

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██The sound of nearby footsteps, door opening and the room brightening, Caius knew that the others had arrived as he gave them a briefest of glances. He was actually in the middle of re-configuring his thoughts when they came, so they caught with a mixture of disgruntlement and confusion as his expression while scratching the back of his head. It's good no one pointed out his presence before them. That's because he was trying really hard not to recoil into the thinking that what's happening is impossible. But, really it was hard to do so.

Anyways, he took a seat even before the nerdy boy said so. That's because he still needed a few seconds to straighten himself and to prevent himself from directly rejecting everything happening around him. Once he had reclaimed his casual place, that was the only moment he was able to hear what the rule-kisser was saying or even took noticed that the lights were once again due to the projector being used. And what met his sights was the picture about of a man transforming into that beast. he had fought... the thing they call werewolf.

The guy was right about questioning his sanity, but there was no way he was crazy It was them who were. Anyway, he needed to have tolerance and so he did. The freak show was soon over and like some kind of two-bit class, a question and answer portion was thrown as the room brightened again. The first one on the plate was certainly not his friend, JoJo. His questions were reasonable enough and somehow made his head ache a bit as he massaged the bridge of his nose. It was mentioned about paper moving.... or spider monster attacking... The rest he could careless. "Tolerate. Open mind, Caius." That was his mantra and was actually for a very long time.

The answers that two-color eyed boy were actually in his ear and out next on the other. Well, he doesn't have any personal affairs that need any call or does he have anyone to call. He doesn't have any stuff that can be said as personal belongings. He already have everything he needed currently on his person. Then, the talks of hunts or everyone carrying weapons never interested him so, he zoned out and thought of other things. It didn't even registered to him when the Wednesday wanna-be was next on the list or that the girl who deemed all of them as siblings was called. The paper continuing his supposedly schedule also went unnoticed. He was off to his own world. The only time he was retrieved from that was when he heard his name. "Huh?"

He did not even hide the fact he wasn't listening as those golden eyes looked at the one who called him with a haze and a clear show of disinterest. There was a notable amount of silence as Caius really had no idea what was expected of him, when mental bells rang in his head. That's right, questions. "Oh. questions." He muttered to himself. Actually, there were a lot because his head was still swimming on many issues he has no idea about from the very beginning. There were questions like... Will his body change? Will he turn into something like that werewolf? Are there others like him, like them out there? What the fuck do they really want from him? From them? Will they ever let him go? Why was this happening NOW!? There were other questions, but those were some that echoed strongly inside of him.

But, he chose not to say it because he has no confidence that the guy would even answer it. He just has this feeling it won't be that easy and he hated it when his questions are like glossed over. You just answer it or you don't know. That's why he didn't bother. Still, he did have a very important concern. It took the top spot against the other questions inside of him. "Just one thing." He raised his index finger in the air to make a point. "I need a drink. Where's the bar?" This part, he was dead serious and wasn't joking at all. He really needs a drink to null his headaches and also to make himself stop from thinking. He hated using his brain for such annoying things. Just like that, his golden eyes cleared from that glaze of uncertainty. It was time for him to have a serious conversation with his good friend alcohol.

---

As Candice spoke, Madison had risen from his spot at the table and began to pace about the little kitchen space that the lounge offered, grabbing a pair of mugs, switching the hot plate off, pouring himself and his coworker tea from the kettle. Free from its confines, the scent of chai spread throughout the room, filling it with its mild spice.

“They must be quite close, then, if they met each other before we brought them together,” Madison noted. “After all, I’ve never seen Ms. Himemiya so comfortable with someone.” There was a soft plink as he set the mugs upon the tray, and drew a gallon of milk from the fridge. This went into a separate pitcher, which was set between the tea. After a moment of thought, Madison added a small dish of sugar and honey, then set the tray and its contents carefully upon the table.

“And while I’m sure that neither of you need it, if either you or Rick needs any assistance with the others, I would be more than happy to lend a hand. I’ve been hoping to ask the newcomers if I could take a few samples from them, but that most likely won’t make for the best first impression.” He laughed, gently, adding a bit of milk and honey into his cup and stirring it.

Madison did not speak for a bit, concentrated on the chai. It wasn’t anything fancy- just a few packs of the stuff he had bought on a trip outside the WDL- but it was still good by his standards. If he was honest with himself, Madison wasn’t too fond of the tea that was shipped into the base. Off-brand, with a taste that was more akin to syrup than anything else. He was hardly a tea connoisseur, but he still made an effort to stay as far away from the base’s supply as possible.

Yes. This was far preferable, in his opinion. Madison threw in a pinch of sugar, then brought the mug to his lips.

“It won’t be immediate, that’s for certain.” His eyes had turned back to the window, where a few of the children had begun asking questions. He gave a small chuckle as one of them asked about a bar- Madison knew that urge quite well, himself- but for the most part, he simply watched. “My family has always been here, of course, but it seems like a few of them are a different case. They’re leaving behind everything for a life they didn’t even know existed before today. Hopefully they’ll get as fond of the place as we are.” Another swig of the tea, followed by a faint sigh.

At Candice’s observation, Madison gave a short blink in surprise, before smiling brightly at the woman. “You noticed?” He asked. “I bought it a few weeks ago, and it was just lying in my closet up until now. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion, and, well. Now seemed as good of a time as any.” He laughed, gently, brushing a few stray locks of hair back into place.

“Your outfit is quite lovely, by the way. The necklace is a nice touch.”

He lifted the mug, inhaling the steam deeply.

“I can’t wait until we can go out and meet them.”

JoJo picked up the phone, grinning at Rick in appreciation as he began to dial the number he knew by heart. He pulled the phone to his ear, moving to the back corner of the room away from the others for at least a tiny bit of privacy. He waited anxiously as the phone rang, half concentrating on it and half concentrating on Rick and the others. It rang and rang, and he swore under his breath. As the call ended, he hung up before trying again. Hopefully Dawn would realise who it was and would pick up this time.

No deal. JoJo sighed hard as he tried for the third time, this time deciding to leave a voice message. "Hey Dawn, it's JoJo. I was just calling to tell you that I'm fine and that I, uh, probably won't see you for.. a while? Some crazy stuff happened that you wouldn't believe, heh. Anyway, hope you and Iggy are doing well. Don't break my console or I'll kill you. Uh, bye. Don't call this number back. That'd be.. That'd be really awkward." JoJo ended the call, the voicemail being sent to his friend as he walked over to Vistra, hanging her the phone, before moving back over to his seat at the table.

He tuned back into the conversation in time for Caius' question- but also for JoJo to realise his most important question had been answered. The paper in the room seemed almost unnatural, although somehow Rick was also quite unnatural himself. JoJo still had that bitter taste in his mouth, and he'd also wondered how Rick had known exactly what type of crazy monster to conveniently pull up. Maybe they had files documenting their lives here? JoJo grumbled to himself, wondering just what was being hidden from them. Honestly, if these guys were the types to constantly be hiding things, JoJo was going to book a flight back to the US as soon as possible- and he'd totally drag Vesper along too. Sure, he wanted to spend time with his new family and all, but they weren't exactly JoJo's focus at the moment. Although, if it came to it, JoJo would gladly bring them along for the ride outta here as well.

"This place has a weird feeling to it. Although.. I'm sure it's just Rick trying to make us feel more at home or something. Maybe he's actually a super antisocial person and is just forcing it? I'm not letting him weasel out of my paper question, though, not a chance in hell. If there's magical spider girls, there's magical humans, too. Or paper demons.

But are we really safer here?"

---

'I've provided what you asked at the location specified.
I very much look forward to seeing what you have to show me.

- :)'

Within a few moments of the button being pressed, Leviathan's phone would vibrate in his hand as a reply was delivered.

Leviathan's phone lit up as a message was received;

"In five minutes the package will be acquired.
Please be at the location to witness retrieval.
The men that will restrain you will mean no harm and will leave when the package is out of sight.

Thank you for your cooperation.
Tor."

As promised, Leviathan only had to wait for five minutes until, right in front of Helena, two black vans pulled to the curb. A man, a blade at his waist, exited the car. He walked up to Helena, crouching down before her. He looked her right in the eyes, and spoke. "Helena Kingsley. We're here to take you someplace safe." He lifted a small container from his pocket as she focused on his face, spraying her with it. The concoction in the container was potent, and the girl would've dropped her phone as she fell. The man grabbed her, hoisting her up onto his shoulder as he began carrying her to the back of the van.

If Leviathan had agreed to the instructions, he'd be accosted by two men who grabbed his arms and pushed him to his knees, a third pointing a gun at his head. Helena would be 'accidentally' turned on the man's shoulder, allowing her to see Leviathan through half-closed eyelids as he did what any good father would do. However, for poor Hel, the back doors of the van would quickly shut behind her.

A man sat beside her, keeping a close eye on her as she lay on the floor and the van drove away. The men restraining Leviathan would let him go, nodding briefly and muttering apologies under their breaths before getting into the second van and taking off.

---

A little while away from the group in the auditorium and just down the road from where Kane, Rianne and Yohan were, an Exorcist clutched his head. The flashbacks kept haunting him, day and night, but still that was no reason for him to have antagonised them like that. Lately, he felt as if something was pulling at him; plucking at his insides and making his blood boil for absolutely no reason at all. He slammed his fist into the wall, grunting angrily as he stormed away. The meeting wouldn't wait- his flashbacks could. "I swear to God." He began to walk again, idly noticing a cat wandering down the opposite side of the road as him. He glared, and the cat seemed to glare back before running around into a nearby alleyway. He sighed hard, shaking his head. "Animals." He straightened up, shaking his head to clear it as he resumed his march to the building in the center of the WDL complex at full speed.

Rick Brackwall

"I need a drink. Where's the bar?"

Walking past Caius Rick simply gestured to the paper before him. It now had an address written near the bottom. It was a pub that was fairly popular among a number of the third class exorcists. Decent wings apparently, although Rick would never know as such an establishment was of no interest to him.

"It's on your schedule sheet."

He simply informed him as he passed by on his way to the doorway. As he opened the door he turned to address the group, standing in the exit as he did.


"With your questions answered I feel it's only appropriate to show you all to where you will be staying. After you are settled into your living quarters I will provide a tour for any who wish to learn their way around the WDL grounds and afterwords lunch for those who've yet to eat. Since it's your first day here I'll handle the bill, naturally."

He stepped through, allowing passage for the rest of them as he waited on the other side.

"Oh and Vistra-" He motioned to her from beyond the doorway. "Once you are finished your call do please remember to return my phone to me."

| Illusion |

Illusion stood beside the doorway, smirking slightly. "You suck." She didn't look at the girl behind her, but straightened up when the door opened and Rick stepped through. Waiting for him to finish and for the others to gather near the doorway, Illusion grinned and waved. "Late addition, I know, but I thought you guys would enjoy the extra company. You see, this girl here walked into our grounds because she's a super big idiot who doesn't know her rights from lefts, so now we have to keep her here for eternity because she's a super-duper idiot girl." Illusion smiled happily, looking over at the group, particularly JoJo as he arrived beside Rick and froze up. She raised her hand to motion to the girl beside her. "This is Dawn Memoli. Take good care of her because she's an absolute idiot and will believe anything you say." Her gaze once again shifted to JoJo, the sly smirk on her face only growing slightly larger. "Well, with those introductions out of the way, she lives on a diet of pet food and needs to be taken for a walk every day, so do have fun, ha ha~" With another wave, then a glance at Dawn as her eyes flashed ever so slightly, Illusion fell backwards into one of her portals and vanished. "Just kidding, she's fine, so treat her well~!"

JoJo blinked hard, narrowing his eyebrows.
"Dawn?"

The woman standing behind Illusion lacked much of a presence- especially in the face of the principal’s...eccentricity. It wasn’t that she was small in stature- although that was most likely a contributing factor- but the conservativeness in which she dressed herself. Dark colors, hardly a hint of skin showing, the rim of her hat tipped at such an angle that it hid her face. The only thing particularly eye-catching was the locket around her neck, which winked in the overhead lights above, and the apparent lack of surprise on her face as Ilusion began her introductions.

It seemed that, in what time that Dawn had been inside the base, she had already gotten to witness one of Illusion’s demonstrations. That, or she was attempting to manage a level of politeness in the face of an authority figure. Either way, the only real sign of expression was the purse of her lips as she listened, the tension rooted in her shoulders, and, as Jojo stepped forth, a widening of the eyes. Dawn didn’t speak immediately, however- it was only until Illusion had left that the formal stiffness melted away. A slight, relieved smile touched her face.

“Hey, Jojo.”

She lifted a hand, grasping the necklace around her throat.

“Sorry for not picking up. Was talking to the principal- it’s a long story- but, uh. You aren’t hurt or anything, right? I got your message, and then I got home and the apartment was a wreck…” Dawn shifted, wrapping the links tightly about her fingers.

“But you seem okay. That’s good.”

Her gaze moved away, suddenly, as if properly noticing the others filing behind him for the first time. Dawn smiled again, albeit a tad more sheepish than before. She extended a free hand towards the closest of the strangers- Rick- and stepped closer.

“Oh. Um. Hello. Sorry, I didn’t, um. I was Jojo's roomate, back home. I'm Dawn Memoli, but Principal Illusion already told you all that.”

Ashley “Ash” “Soot” Clade

Rick’s reply was as cordial as she expected, agreeing and not even batting an eye to the nickname she had given him. Either way, her request seemed to be deemed enough to move the focus away from her and on to little Vistra, who, like JoJo and herself, was concerned about her family. No hesitation or second thoughts. Just immediate genuine concern. In some ways, it made Ash feel worse that she hadn’t just spoken up and asked her own questions immediately, though it was mildly comforting to get some of her answers indirectly thanks to the kid. Well, it was too late to regret it now. She’d sort it out later, without all these dweebs eavesdropping. Sighing a little, she listened listlessly to the conversation, only briefly sitting up as Rick somehow tossed a piece of paper over to her, a cute trick he must have practiced a lot.

Catching it, she looked the sheet over; finding it to be some sort of schedule, detailing classes and the like, and it even had a few useful bits and pieces on it, including a map of the local area and some phone numbers. Where was this earlier when she’d first been trying to find this place? Waving it above her head, she briefly asked why she was only getting it now, Rick politely reminding her that she had been handed one when she first arrived. Not entirely surprising that she’d already lost it, and she was happy the attention didn’t remain on that point for long at all, as Rick swiftly continued on to allow that other boy a chance to ask some questions. Caius was his name, Ash giving him a bit of a sideways look. Seemed he’d pulled his head in a little at this point.

After a delay, it seemed he finally settled on a question, raising his hand into the air with a pointed finger. "I need a drink. Where's the bar?" He asked, though unlike Ash’s half-joke with the catering, this one was dead serious. Honestly? She could do with a stiff drink herself, so she couldn’t exactly blame him. It was a lot to take in at this point. Rick was surprisingly prepared to answer the request, having already added the address to the bottom of his sheet, causing Ash to raise an eyebrow. The boy probably had a past history of alcohol addiction, so assumedly, this was another showcase of the amount of research Detective Dick had done into each of them.

Rick, satisfied that he’d helped with the basic requests of the group, moved over to open the back doors, Ash eagerly climbing from her seat and ready to start moving again. She’d had enough of sitting still at this point. It seemed that Rick was offering another tour of the facilities, something Ash pertinently decided she’d do well to attend and pay a bit more attention this time. Not to mention the fact Rick offered to pay for their lunch, she was starving by this point. “That’s the most important thing you’ve said all day. I’m in.” Ash stated, confirming her attendance to the tour. It might give her a chance to speak with Rick too, depending on the others.

Filing out as a group, it seemed that Illusion was back once more, with what was probably another one of the half-demons. Folding her arms, Ash watched her be introduced as Dawn, simply scrutinising her appearance before JoJo pushed forward, a clear tone of recognition in her voice as he spoke her name. Honestly, who hadn’t this boy met at this point? Well, whatever. Didn’t really matter to her at all. Nodding only briefly as Dawn politely introduced herself, Ash cocked her head slightly as the conversation was slightly derailed overhearing Vistra’s phonecall. Turning back to Dawn, the chick from earlier that’d so rudely knocked her over seemed to go full ditz mode as she commented something about her not being a rabbit. Ash eye rolled, before coughing politely.

“With that ‘genius’ insight from Vesper, I’d like to keep moving, and eat sooner rather than later - before we end up meeting the clown JoJo had for his third birthday party.” Striding forward, Ash pivoted a bit, her hair whipping around. It wasn’t the best sarcastic joke, but at least it wasn’t directly insulting anyone that much. Leading the way, since Ash knew where her dorm was at this point, she glanced back towards the group, but was actually looking past them. She frowned a bit, but turned back to face the front, trying not to make it obvious that something was bothering her. Where exactly had her bike gone?

Rick Brackwall

It was almost as if Illusion knew his test of leadership was going too well and decided to throw another obstacle in his path to a smooth execution. After basically insulting the girl she had brought forth she disappeared, leaving him to pick up the pieces.

“Oh. Um. Hello. Sorry, I didn’t, um. I was Jojo's roomate, back home. I'm Dawn Memoli, but Principal Illusion already told you all that.”

At this point he was not surprised by the going trend that everyone JoJo ever met would show up here. The man certainly dragged a lot to this place when he arrived. Nonetheless Rick seemed no less pleased to meet her as he did the others.


"A pleasure to meet you Ms. Memoli. My name is Rick Brackwall. I see you've met our esteemed principle Ms. Illusion. I must say, what she lacks in tact she makes up for in spacial transit."

He shook her hand, his grip steady yet gentle. He was nothing if not polite to the new arrivals of the WDL, a standard policy for him. There was never a reason to be rude to someone. If he had grievances to settle he'd settle them properly.

"Thank you so much. It's been a year since I talked to my Papa and it's a big relief to know he'll be safe."


"I'm glad to hear that. Anytime you wish I'll lend my phone so you may contact him."

At least until they were given the clearance to own phones of their own and talk to their family freely. They'd need to start grasping their responsibilities first though. That much he was fairly certain.

"You're not a rabbit."


Rick questioned the response but had nothing to say once Ash chimed in.

“With that ‘genius’ insight from Vesper, I’d like to keep moving, and eat sooner rather than later - before we end up meeting the clown JoJo had for his third birthday party.”

Not much love for diplomacy this day it seemed.


"All joking aside though Ash does have a point. We should continue onward."

He turned and motioned for Dawn to follow as he started walking on his way to lead the rest to their rooms.

"Come, Dawn. I'll offer explanations on the way. I'm just showing everyone to the dormitories at this present moment."

================================

================================

"Sometimes, we all want
the endless silence to surround us
because it is comforting and
never wrong to just drown
in that quiet that could see
and rip all your doubts."

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██Well, his question had been answered promptly. Caius looked at his paper and nodded satisfactorily. He really didn't notice that the address wasn't there before. It's a good thing he wasn't nit picky or actually paying attention to what the paper contained initially. Because if he did, that would another headache. So for now, all that mattered to him was he could drink his share of spirits and forget this day ever happened or more preferably that night. It would also be awesome if he woke up in his cheap ass apartment like always. But whether that would happen, he would have to drink himself away. So, off he goes to the bar.

He stood from his seat and went towards the only entrance of this room. That's what he was setting his head on. That there was no other way in or out of this room than that perfectly normal door. He really didn't want to think about how he came here earlier. Yes, that event was neatly wrapped in paper and dumped into kerosene and then burned. But, it wasn't going to be easy as he found the cause of his beliefs shattering about what is normal and not. Illusion was there at the door and ranting with that annoying voice. Yes, it's annoying. But, he has to tolerate it, so he didn't say anything.

The interactions of the other people around him was pretty much a blur. That's because he wasn't even listening or have an ounce of care of what they do and say. He just stood there waiting for them to finish so, he could get out of this place. He even went through great effort to ignore Illusion who went up and disappear into thin air. Eventually, the talks stopped and the two-bit nerd began to move away.

He would finally be free of them. Well, there were talks about rooms. That would be good. So, he would follow them up to that. After that, he was going on his separate way. The talks about demons, monsters, divine, or whatever truly just hurts his head. It would be considered illogical of him to deny them anymore and he knew that. However, it was just something that can't easily be put inside of him. At the same time, there was something inside of him that prevents him to accept it smoothly like everyone else. He wasn't certain what it was, but he has a feeling it was not simply his stubbornness even if he wanted it to be.

Well whatever, it was he didn't bother with the newcomer or greeting anyone else. He didn't even say anything to anyone. This was different from his rather rowdy and violent outbursts. But even so, he has this presence about him that was repulsing everyone or more like telling everyone, to leave him the hell alone. Maybe, they would get that hint and just let him do his business and if really he was the most unlucky fellow in existence. They would test the limits of his tolerance.

---

Rick Brackwall

Upon first stepping outside Rick was treated to a sight. Angel, a man he knew quite well, was leading a group of men through the area he was passing through with a prisoner in tow.

"Ah, Rick, I was wondering if you'd be able to, at your earliest convenience, get that.. lovely.. Principal of ours to attend the Council meeting. She seems to be running somewhat late."

At this point there were a few details Rick picked up on whilst listening to his request. He noted the slight curling of his lip betrayed a less than pleased feeling of his, likely to do with the subject matter as it changed around his pause. That wasn't all however.


Angel's face seemed pleasant but told of a possible irritation or maybe even pain. It was nothing to go on by any substantial means but it hadn't failed to pique Rick's curiosity to some extent. He'd perhaps speak with him later, if he wasn't too busy given the duties Angel's position required of him.

Ever since he arrived Angel had been working his way to where he was. He was impressed by his dedication and talent for battlefield tactics however his zeal was somewhat untempered. Pride was also a fault that tended to impair his judgement in certain cases, pushing himself with a fervency that only slightly surpassed Rick's own sense of drive. That was mainly because his own goals and Angel's were different to an extent. He couldn't dedicate his every waking moment to serving the WDL quite like that and pursue his own demons at the same time.


"I'll remind her the next time she manifests within my general vicinity." He looked over, taking a good look at the man they had in custody. "I should come over by the detention center after I'm finished acquainting the newcomers to the grounds. It's not every day the gate men let someone in who didn't belong."

Rick was more than discrete enough not to glance over at Dawn but his gaze did divert down momentarily.
"Though today's been a rather unusual day." He admitted, curtailing his thoughts as he was fairly certain Angel had somewhere to be and didn't want to be stalled for a chat. They both had places to be, roles to fulfill.

"Come, let's get you all acquainted with your living spaces now shall we?" He turned, addressing the six others in tow before setting onward to get them to their new homes.


He proceeded onward to the dormitory building they had selected for them. It was a very nice building, almost like a rather high end hotel. While there was no garish decor or such the main lobby certainly was open and well furnished. It had a smooth, clean modern decorum to it. All metal surfaces were well polished and everything just was fairly straight and clean. The kind of housing that while not absurd was definitely more expensive than any one of them might of been able to afford on a regular basis.

There was a hallway to the left and right which held two elevators each and a staircase for both halls. In the middle of the lobby was a desk. On the desk rested a bowl which held a fair quantity of wrapped mints.

"Now to show you to your rooms." He informed them, leading them into the elevator. It was a fairly roomy elevator, enough to hold ten people comfortably and fifteen people if they packed in close. It had a similar smooth metallic aesthetic that the lobby had. He hit the number for the seventh floor, the floor they'd be living on for the days to come.


The first room to be visited would of course be... JoJo's.

| Jonathan Black & Dawn Memoli |

Dawn returned Rick’s grip with her own- firm and formal, as if she were speaking to an interviewer of some prestigious company- and gave it a single pump before releasing. From what she could tell, the man was serving as the de-facto leader of whatever she had walked in on. Showing respect at a time like this was the least she could do. Her professionalism wavered a bit at one of the group’s more...curious reactions, and faltered even further at another's rather surly response. Taking a step back, Dawn rubbed at a spot somewhere on her face, in an attempt to hide her sudden grin. Her hand dropped after a few seconds of this, although a hint of a smile remained on her lips.

“I, um, don’t think I am, no,” Dawn said, grim. “Sorry.” She wiped again at her face, and the smile disappeared entirely. Now you see it, now you don’t. Modern day street magic. Stoic once more, her attention wandered to the other two, who had been preoccupied thus far- the golden-eyed man with his own thoughts, and the girl with a call. It seemed as if she had been taken into this life without much notice, as well. Dawn greeted the girl- Vistra, she amended- with a wave of her own, the smile on her face now one of pleasantries, not of surprised amusement. Dawn had just lowered her hand when JoJo walked up to her, just as... JoJo as she had remembered.

JoJo stared blankly at Dawn as she shook Rick's hand and looked over the group. He was shocked, after all. Last he’d spoken to her was a text in the middle of running for his life from a crazy spider lady monster thing. Now, somehow, she was standing right in front of him.
Once he’d recovered, JoJo shook his head a little and took a step over to Dawn, a smile stretching over his face. “Well, I sure as hell wasn’t expecting you to pop up here. Especially with that loli vampire on your heels- what was with her, anyway? Did you piss her off on the way here, or..?” JoJo crossed his arms, fake pouting at the girl as he spoke. “You’re such a meanie, Dawn.”

“I guess you could say that,” Dawn replied, lightly. There was a brief flash of something in her eyes, but it faded as quickly as it had come. “It’s a, uh, long story, though. But I think just me showing up here would have done that anyway.” At JoJo’s “meanie” comment, her grin widened. “You know it,” she said.

JoJo waited until all the pleasantries were done with, and watched as Rick began to lead the group around. Giving Angel a quick look-over as he walked away, along with his men and the prisoner, JoJo turned back to Dawn. “Sorry.” He grinned. “I’m just glad the creepy spider lady didn’t eat your face, too.” He raised his hands defensively. “Now I know what I’m saying is super weird and not at all normal but, erm, just.. I’ll explain later on, okay?” He dropped his hands, motioning with his head for Dawn to follow as he began to walk behind Rick. JoJo waited a little for the rest of the group to move ahead, staying at the back of the group. Dawn gave a dismissive wave, shaking her head slightly. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “They told me everything before the Principal brought me here. It was, um, a bit much to take in.” And wasn’t that the understatement of the century? She gave a soft, quiet laugh, before going on. “It’s all still kind of hard to believe, but, um. It was better than the alternative, I think.” She scratched at a spot on her shoulder, walking in-step with Jojo as the tour progressed. “And it still makes more sense than the pope deciding to kidnap my roommate out of nowhere, at least.”

Dawn's attention drifted, briefly, at the circle of soldiers pushing by, carting some intruder away to the bowels of the WDL. The head of the small squad paused, however, speaking with Rick before going on his way. The comment of the gatekeepers did not go unnoticed. A reasonable comment, in truth.

JoJo paused, giving a small chuckle at Dawn's last comment. He suddenly perked up, exclaiming. “So, um, my phone is kinda missing. And I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Part of me wants to leave, but.. I mean, I just met Vesper- you remember her, right? The girl I used to spend time with that was a few years under us?” He turned to Dawn, grinning happily. “Didn’t expect to see her again, especially in.. here.” He paused, turning around for a moment as he caught Illusion standing a little while away, umbrella in hand. She smiled at him and waved before quickly popping into one of her portal things. JoJo grumbled, turning back to focus on following the others. “I was gonna leave and come find you, but.. You’re here now, so..” He stopped, turning to Dawn. “Waitwait, where’s Iggy..?!”

“I think I remember you telling me about her,” Dawn replied. “Didn’t think there’d be anyone we knew here- small world, I guess. Glad you’re getting the chance to catch up with her again.” The words were genuine- she was well aware of the closeness of JoJo and his friend. It was a secondhand knowledge, of course, but the two seemed to have treated each other well. “Wonder how she ended up here?” A brow rose at JoJo’s grumbling as he turned back, in silent inquiry. His own question prompted another gentle laugh from Dawn, the woman stopping so as to not leave him behind. “Don’t worry, Iggy’s fine,” she said. “I, um, didn’t think that we’d be staying here, so I asked a friend of mine to look after him until I could come and pick him back up. She loves animals, so I don’t think there should be much of a problem.

I just hope they don’t have a strict ‘no-animal’ policy here or anything.”

“The Pope totally just kidnapped me out of nowhere, though. Weird to think that the Devil’s my dad, ha.” JoJo grinned, looking over at Dawn once more. “Well, nobody really elaborated on that, but it’d be weird if there was a no animal policy in place where there’s, um, vampire lolis and Demon children, right? So hopefully we can get Iggy here too.” He chuckled softly, pausing again to look around. He had the awful feeling he was being watched, and that worried him. He slapped himself in the face. “ORIN. It’s ORIN.” He chuckled softly, turning back- and happy he didn’t catch a certain vampire staring at him like a creep again- as he continued following Rick. “They mentioned the whole ‘demon blood’ thing,” Dawn said. “They didn’t really, um, tell me much about that, though. I think they were just in a rush to get everything out, but- this whole day has just been really, really strange. It’s like we got sucked into a T.V. show or something.” She shook her head slightly, sending the plait bobbing with the movement. “I think I’ll ask about pets once this whole tour’s over. Rita’s very nice, but I don’t want to make her take care of Iggy for however long we’re here. She has enough on her plate right now already…” She frowned for a moment.


“Not gonna stay here long? I figure I might stay here for a long while at least. Learn to, uh, not get attacked by spider people. Seems like a good idea to me.” He put his hands in his pockets, grinning. “I wonder if she’s still alive? I.. kinda…” JoJo stopped, staring down at the ground. “I, uh, fucked her up pretty badly. D’ya think spider people regenerate? I mean.. I know it was self-defence, but I wish I could’ve done something aside from hurting her..” JoJo narrowing his eyes, staring down at the ground hard.

He felt pretty guilty about the entire thing. Sure, she’d tried to kill his face for some reason he didn’t know, but surely her reason was valid, right? Maybe she thought of him as a monster because she could smell his Devil blood or something? JoJo slumped slightly, idly kicking a pebble. It lifted off of the ground and flew down the street, almost hitting poor Caius’ foot before it eventually stopped against the wall of a nearby building. “Right. Because I’m Satanspawn, as Illusion put it..” He shook his head, a barely noticeable gesture, before he gave his companion a sheepish grin and jogged slightly to keep up with the rest of the group again.

“ORIN’s the head of the database, right?” Dawn asked, adjusting her hat so she could see better. “I think they mentioned her, too...but, um. I don’t really know how long I’m going to stay. I’ll probably have to move out of the old apartment if I do end up leaving- place was a mess when I left, and I, um, don’t think that the landlords will be very happy with me when they find out about it.” She chuckled. “But it might be a good idea to learn a few things while I’m here, I guess- I mean, if there’s actual vampires and demons running around, it’ll be good to be prepared in case I ever run into one.” The somber tone Jojo had picked up didn’t go unnoticed, and, brows knitted, Dawn walked up to Jojo and clasped his shoulder for a moment before he took off to catch up with the others.

“Well, considering that she, um, apparently just attacked you out of nowhere, I don’t really think you had any choice. I don’t know much about...spider ladies, but, um, supernaturals are usually supposed to be a lot more tough than humans are, right? I’m sure that she’ll be fine after a while.” As JoJo suddenly launched a pebble right into the side of an opposing building, Dawn’s brows rose considerably, but aside from that gesture, she kept a remarkably straight face. “At least if this place doesn’t work out, you can become a pro soccer player,” she joked. It wasn’t too funny, admittedly, but JoJo looked bothered. As he ran ahead to catch up with the group, her lips pursed again for a moment before she followed, moving quite swiftly for someone in flats.

When Dawn was beside him once more, he looked over to her. “Say, did any of the stuff get wrecked aside from the doors and couch? That spider better not have erased my Dark Souls save files- I literally will kill her if that happened.” He chuckled softly, but Dawn, knowing him, would see that his change of topic had a much deeper purpose. JoJo wasn’t one to dwell on things that made him sad, after all.“I think she broke some of the wall,” Dawn said upon catching up. “And the fridge. And. Um. A shelf or two.”

Eventually, the group reached a tall building, Rick moving them inside and into the elevator. JoJo pushed inside, getting into one of the back corners of the elevator. “Last time I rode one of these, a crazy spider lady was trying to rip my face off. Hope that doesn’t happen again..” His joking tone made light of the situation, but he did seem a tiny bit stiff. The doors opened on the seventh floor, and JoJo stepped out along with the others. “But I think that the games were all spared.”The topic change went unquestioned by Dawn, as did the joke about elevators and giant, aggressive arachnid women. JoJo fist pumped. If he'd lost any of his games, he'd be killing himself over it.

He looked up, curiously looking over the first doorway, only to see his name on it. ‘Jonathan Black’, he pouted a little. “That wasn’t long at all.” He moved over to the door, turning the doorknob and stepping inside. Looking down the short hallway, he took a few steps down it before entering the main room. It was fairly large, a medium-sized kitchen to his right as he hit the end of the hallway. Next to, or, well, in the kitchen was a benchtop that seemed to double as a dining table. Further down was what seemed to be the living room area, and JoJo turned around to the others and grinned. “Fuck yeah, this is sweet.” He chuckled softly, moving back down the hallway and opening the door. It was an empty room, so he just closed the door again. On the wall next to said door was a piece of paper, which he grabbed. It included a floor plan, which he passed around the group if they were interested. “Furniture not included” was in big red letters at the bottom of the sheet, though. “I hope they have at least a bed..”

It took little time for the tour group to come across JoJo’s room, and even less for him to let himself in. Dawn stayed in the doorway, not wanting to just waltz into a place that wasn’t hers, but she did give an approving look around the loft from where she stood. “Nice place,” she commented. “Very open.”

---

| Angel |

The prisoner was tossed roughly into the cell, Angel standing with crossed arms as the magical cuffs were placed around his wrists. Preventing any and all magic usage, his was effectively disarmed as his weaponry was stripped from him and taken to be kept in the holding room. Angel grimaced as the door to the cold cell shut on Yohan, only his eyes visible through a small slate in the door- which was promptly covered by a sliding plate. Once the door was secured; three deadbolts a few inches thick each, on top of a much larger lock akin to that of a bank safe (complete with giant spinning handle thing), Angel strode away. He sighed, tapping the blade at his hip as he strode from the room. "24/7 surveillance. I want eyes on him constantly. He might be a demon sent to infiltrate us, so I also want to be notified if anything happens."

Angel quite briskly exited the area. He was late for his meeting, after all. He sighed hard, starting to jog towards the building in the middle of the WDL's regions once more. "Cursed fools, I'll be late. Hopefully that vampire didn't decide to be early for once."

Rick Brackwall

Now that Jonathan was settled it was time to get the others acquainted with their rooms.

Walking on down the halls Rick brought them over to the next room: Vistra's place.

---

Meanwhile somewhere very dark...

---

It was a dark room. Little was visible aside from the red carpeting with black trim. In the center of the room was a a large stone table. The table had a large silvery metal plate bolted to it, four manacles attached to each corner of the plate.

Secured in these manacles was what appeared to be a girl. She appeared to be eighteen in age, roughly, and was wearing little more than a hospital gown. Her pale skin had seen better days, covered in stains of blood and dust. Her ankles and wrists had bruises where the restraints were secured. It was evident little care had gone to comfort.


She had not the strength to look up through her straight, bedraggled black hair at her captor. The man stood well away from the table, clear from the large turning stone rings which spun around the table, flipping about in controlled rotations. The runes upon these large archaic rings of stone glowed many different colors. Some of the runes weren't currently glowing, clearly not in use at the time.

He adjusted his circle-rim glasses, the lights reflecting off his lenses as the stone rings turned. The process was nearing completion. He watched carefully, taking care to adjust the process should the collar affixed around her neck accidentally cut off circulation of her blood or air.

The collar was most disturbing for the uninitiated to look upon. It was both a restraint and a medical device designed to administer fluids via six syringes, three for each jugular vein. Along the metal there were more runes engraved, as well as several tags hanging from a ring on the front of the collar, all also engraved with magical runes. Along the back of the collar are several plates which are attached to the spine, long needles pierced into the base of the spin while many little metal claws grip the outside of the bone all the up to where the spine and the skull join. All these places are also runed with etchings that seem to form many sets of malevolent eyes which gaze outwards with contempt.


Her breathing was shallow. Her silver eyes were glazed, lacking in responsiveness. He could tell however that she wasn't dying. Not yet, anyways. The runes on the circles started to die down as the process was nearing a close. Soon enough they gently descended into circular slots in the ground around the table. The manacles released and the girl simply laid atop the table, looking as if she were dead were it not for the shallow rise and fall of her chest.

Pain. It was all very painful for her of course. Unwelcome metal now rested inside her flesh, jabbed into her very veins, into her very bones. The man in glasses had been wary not to let her expire from the shock of pain. It wasn't likely given her inherent vitality but she wasn't a creature specifically known for their resilience. It was a measured blend of apathy towards her suffering and professional pragmatism which had her straddling the line between seizing until her heart stopped and screaming and thrashing until she was too exhausted to move.

"Stand."


The man commanded. The girl sat up, not by her own will but by a forceful presence which seized control of her very limbs. She pushed herself to her feet, standing atop the table doing little more than awaiting further orders.

"Follow me."

The man in the white, slightly bloody lab coat instructed. She had little choice but to obey, walking almost autonomously forward towards him. He lead her from the room out the large metal door into a hallway. The hallway was lit with burning basins suspended by chains from the ceiling. A long red carpet lined the floor all the way down. Large metal doors all line each side of the hallway, each one rusted and stained with blood. Screams echoed all along the hallway, the ambiance reminiscent of a busy torture chamber.


He lead the girl down into a wing of the halls which held cells to contain others like her. Stepping up he gestured to a passing guard, a thin demon with grey skin and no eyes dressed in meager leather armor with a steel cap and a chainmail shirt. On it's hip rested a pistol, a rather modern accouterments to it's rather dated armor.

"Hey, wretch, open that cell."

The man in glasses asked in no kind terms. He held himself with a commanding authority and the creature apparently was in no position to dispute that. Wordlessly it produced a ring of keys from it's pocket and opened the cell door as commanded.


"Enter." He commanded her. Without a noise she walked into the cell, standing there like an unwound doll awaiting a key to wind her gears.

"Now stay. Obey the guard's commands in my absence."

She simply stood there, not responding in the slightest. He knew she understood him. With that he stood the door, plunging the dingy bare room inside into darkness. The man in glasses turned to the demon, his eyebrows crossed with annoyance.


"Tell the rest to take care of her like the others and no more. I do not want a repeat of the dryad incident, am I clear?"

"Assh you command, Flessh Sshaper." The guard answered back, speaking through it's teeth with drawn, tight lips.

Like that it was off, walking casually with a forward hunch. The man in round glasses turned and went his own way. Work, the usual daily chores of a warlock.


Inside the cell the girl stood. Now that she had some time alone, free to dwell on the trauma, tears started to gently flow down her face.

"Mama... It's dark in here."