Jonathan Black's Story

Leviathan put on a pretty good performance of looking shocked as he was seized upon, striking eye contact briefly with the form of his adoptive daughter just as the doors of the van swung closed and she was driven off elsewhere.

The look of worry evaporated from the man's features once the young woman was out of sight.

When the men relinquished their hold upon him the demon took a moment to adjust his jacket and gave a magnanimous smile in response to their apologies.

" No need to apologise. I quite understand. Pleasure working with you gentlemen."

Once they had departed he paused in order to scoop up Helena's phone and bag from the ground by the bench. The head of the rabbit toy protruded from the bag.

Hm. He'd best make sure that Helena received this back. And he had just the person to make sure she got it.

----

Helena was feeling about as good as someone could after being drugged and flung into the back of a van by a bunch of strangers. Her head was pounding, her mouth was dry, and she had lost all feeling in the arm she'd been lying on top of since... when exactly had she ended up in there? Helena could more or less remember sitting in a park messing round with her phone and waiting for something and then...

They were in a garage, several armed men beside her. The man, noticing she was waking up, spoke. "Move your legs. We need you to cooperate with us, okay?" There was concern in his voice, however he hurried Helena forwards.

She felt herself being hauled onto her feet and caught a glimpse of men and guns, a thing that regardless of what she remembered was a cause for alarm.
A guy was telling her to co-operate. Helena wasn't sure she had a choice. The young woman was pushing her limits even trying to keep up as she was half-dragged along and not throw up, so fighting anyone off seemed pretty much out of the question.


It was at least in part due to this that it took her a few moments to look up when another spoke up.

A voice broke out into the room and into Helena's thoughts. " I'll take her from here, gentlemen.."

The girl lifted her head, peeing groggily between wavy frond of ginger hair in an effort to try and work out what on earth was happening.

Illusion smiled down at the girl, gently taking her hand. Despite only holding Hel's hand, the girl felt herself being kept upright by the lolita she was now being escorted by. " I must apologise.. Our time is short, and we needed to get you here as soon as possible. Rest assured, your father will be informed of your safety- I'll make sure of that personally.." She smiled warmly at Helena, a comforting smile, much like that of a mother.

With the introduction of the newest individual, who, at the very least was not pointing weapons at her, Helena followed along, not sure what else to do, as she began to recall more of the situation.
"Wait.." she mumbled, pushing some of her hair from her face.
"Did...did I just get kidnapped?."

Illusion smiled at the petite girl beside her, smirking. " Yes. Technically. But don't worry, you're actually safer here than you were with your.. Father.." She lead Helena to a stairway, and took her up it.. " I'll be frank with you, little Helena, you're not human. In fact, you're far from it."
The small girl shrugged, looking back over to Helena to make sure she wasn't staggering too much.
"It'll wear off eventually, don't worry.."

"I don't FEEL a lot safer.." the girl responded as she tried to work out where to put her feet on the steps.
That was pretty true. Life with her father had been, if a little weird at times, never quite as bad as this.

" Well, now that you're here, we're going to teach you how to defend yourself well enough that you'll be safe anywhere. There's six other people in very similar positions to you, so try to get along with them." Illusion smiled.
""I'm Illusion, by the way. Sorry for the kidnapping, but there were some other people after you, so we had to get there first."

"Other people?" Helena asked.
"Um..I can't help but wonder if you um... got the wrong person or something? I mean... I'm not..very.. important. "

" Helena Kingsley, raised by one Mister Green. 18 years old." Illusion grinned. "We have exactly the right person."
Eventually, the pair reached the top of the stairwell, stepping out into the sunlight. Illusion smirked.
" However, I don't have enough time to spend with you, so if you'll forgive my rudeness, I'll be doing this." Illusion clicked her fingers, a portal opening wide like reality was cracking like a broken mirror, She gently pushed Hel through the portal, stepping through after the girl herself. A small smirk on her face as the two arrived just as JoJo began to walk out of his room.


Helena had just been pushed through a portal. Even without considering the fact that she had literally just crossed through space into another location, if she'd not been feeling sick enough before defying the laws of physics, she definitely was now.

The girl stumbled forwards and clasped a hand over her mouth, strong feeling of nausea at least temporarily overriding some of the very important questions she was contending with. Like what she was doing there, why these people even knew she existed, let alone wanted to kidnap her and teach her something, and what on earth was meant by 'not human'.

As it stood her primary concern was not throwing up onto the shoes of the young man who had just strolled out of his room in front of where she'd materialized.

Achievable goals.

Illusion held a bucket under Hel's head as she gagged, looking up at the obviously startled JoJo.
"Don't mind us, she's your sister. Walking through space isn't something she's very used to."

JoJo, taking a step back to avoid any excess vomit, chuckled softly.
"Just.. how many of us are there?" He looked at Illusion, obviously confused. "Seven. Rick, JoJo, Caius, Ash, Vistra, Vesper and Helena."

JoJo nodded.
"So.. we're all here now?"

The vampire girl, still holding the bucket, nodded.
" About time.. I'll be late for my meeting."

JoJo bit his lip, his thoughts taking him elsewhere as Illusion bent down a little and asked Helena.
"Are you feeling better?"

"Not really..." Helena mumbled, clutching hold of the bucket in both hands, stomach acid burning the back of her throat. She had been kidnapped, drugged, catapulted through the fabric of reality... admittedly social humiliation seemed like a pretty minor addition to her problems at the time, but publicly throwing up was still far from a wonderful way to introduce herself.

Vistrawasn't sure of what to say about her new room. On one hand, Yay an actual bed to sleep in. She finally had a roof over her had again after a year of sleeping under a bridge. Plus, this place was so much bigger than her old room. Since she lived at the church she shared a room with her dad. It was rather cramped, but very cozy.

The thing that bother Vistra about this room was how dull it was. It had everything one needed to survive, but it looked like no living person had ever stepped in her before. She pursed her lips and shrugged her backpack off. Luckily nothing had broken in her fight and hurried flight. The blood vials were fine, as was everything else. With the two hundred dollars she had and whatever she got paid here she could spruce up the room. The one she shared with her dad was filled with book and movies posters, as well as piled high with books. She knew her dad thought the vampire movies were stupid, but he let her decorate the room with their posters anyway.

Maybe she'd get him to mail her them.

Vistra sighed, and pocketed one of the blood vials and her knife. Her bible she put on her bed, and everything else stayed in the backpack for now. She'd fully move in later.

Making her was back to the group Vistra noticed that they had a new arrival. She smiled, and waggled her fingers at the girl. 'Hello! Nice to meet you. Do you work here, or are you new like me?'

Rick Brackwall

What would a day full of unexpected surprises be without another unexpected surprise?

Illusion dropped into the hallway they were in, bringing with her yet another young lady. The ginger girl was mostly occupied with a feeling of nausea whilst Illusion stood by with a bucket.

"I hope the uneasiness is not too great. Everyone's first time translocating via spacial repositioning is certainly an experience." He assured the girl, for what his words were worth.


Of course his attention was brought back over to Vesper who had previously been holding onto his sleeve. He'd of answered but it was rather concurrent with the arrival of Helena. Naturally he'd accept, understanding that she has an important reason for doing so. Well, important to her, which is what mattered. If it comforted her he would be remiss to tell her otherwise.

When Vesper offered her own tincture of motion sickness remedy to Helena Rick's smile grew just a subtle shade warmer. It was nice to see the others offering genuine care for each other. It was the kind of nature he welcomed to any group environment. Of course it was rarer in martial institutions such as the WDL where loss can create emotional detachment and callousing. While care bred unity it also invited greater repercussions from such losses.


Of course Vesper returned to grasp his sleeve and Vistra had returned from seeing to her room to also greet the new sibling. It was all going well enough so far. Of course before she could disappear he figured he'd mention Angel's message to Illusion even though she was quite aware of the meeting already.

"Ah yes, Angel had mentioned the meeting earlier when he was detaining an individual earlier. I doubt he'd wait on attending the meeting to interrogate the intruder but it certainly is a curious happenstance."

Might as well mention that matter since talking solely about the meeting would be redundant he figured. It definitely was a curious matter, not a common occurrence. The fact that it happened on this day in particular was even less common. As a matter of fact it seemed the way that all these seemingly disconnected occurrences weren't a matter of coincidence. After all, it was years before another one of his blood showed and all of a sudden all seven of them were gathered in one place. Surely this couldn't simply be the result of random luck. It seemed much too far from random.


Naturally he bent over to assist Helena up from the floor once she regained her bearing. Afterwords he proceeded to introduce the remainder of the rooms until they were all acquainted with their living spaces. Giving time to let them settle in first he let them know where to find him when they were ready for the tour.

After they were done most of them arrived to join the tour. Caius was notably absent but Rick knew with a fair degree of certainty where to find Caius if he was needed. On the other end of the spectrum Vesper had not left him for the duration of the wait, still clinging onto his sleeve. He wasn't going to question the matter, not right now at the very least. It was rare to see her quite so invested in the going ons around them so he was quite wary of asking too much and spoiling this progress.

With the rest it was a varied arrival. Some were more keen to linger than others but luckily his promise of free lunch at the end had sparked the interest of all who weren't previously inclined. Food was an excellent motivator it seemed.


And with that, they were off. They saw the grounds as Rick discussed the various buildings and their respective functions. By the end those who were attentive enough would be certain to confidently navigate the WDL base, sans restricted areas of course. After all was said and done Rick, true to his word, took them out to eat.

They approached the entrance to a rather lovely upper end restaurant he knew in the area. Given how they were in Rome it was easy to find a good Italian restaurant. It was called The Capelli D'angelo, alternatively known as The Angel's Hair. Rick ate here on the rare occasions he decided to eat out. Usually he reserved such occasions for when he wanted to better relations with another member using expensive Italian food and relaxing atmosphere to produce a fruitful conversation.

Coming up to the door he stepped in, welcomed by a greeter as he entered.


"Hello there good sir. Table for... ?"

"Seven."

Rick answered the greeter. The man went off to find them seating. Luckily there was relatively few customers right at this hour so the wait was fairly short. After a brief period the man returned to show them to their table.

It was a nice seat, a large booth right by a window with a rather lovely view of the main church, the WDL headquarters. With pleasant lighting and decor they were now free to order from the menu's distributed to them.

"Here you go. Order whatever you like, it's on me."

Rianne's Dorm

For once, there wasn't a trace of smoke to be found inside. Instead, an even heavier air hung about the space that Rianne knew as her dorm room. Sitting on the bed, her foot tapped against the floor, one hand balled into the other as she shifted her entire weight onto her knees. The covers were strewn haphazardly across the floor and the trash bin was overflowing with balled up tissues. Her eyes were red and sore, but she brushed away at them anyway with her sleeve, sniffling as she glanced up at the clock.

About ten hours left until midnight.

Her gaze fell down toward the carpet again, where it had last been. In the corner of her eye, she would be able to see an electronic bracelet strapped to her ankle - if she were to leave the room without permission or tamper with it, an alert would go off and staff members would track her down to send her back. Not only that, but her things had been taken away as well. Her exorcist equipment, her cell phone, even her internet was disconnected. Briefly, she thought of Kane and his appointment with her. Would he even be allowed in here? Would he think less of her now?

Why was she even having such thoughts? There was a much more pressing matter at hand and the only thing she could do was stress out about it until her hair fell out. It hadn't even been an hour yet and she was already growing tired of this waiting game. If it came to it, she'd try her best to slip away. But for now, she'd wait.

Capelli D'angelo

Charlotte sipped on her coffee. There was a light chime as a young man stepped through the front door with six others in tow - the devil's children, presumably - most of them were of a similar age and only one of them seemed to be acquainted with the compound, as evident by his armband. That must mean that the one leading them was 'Rick.' As they followed him inside, she surveyed each of their faces with an absent-minded stare, committing them to memory behind those indifferent eyes. Now that she knew what they looked like, she could probably form decent impersonations of them, though it would be better to wait and find out more.

She was a new arrival herself, but she'd learned much during her brief time here so far.

The leader of the pack appeared to be Lower 2nd Class upon inspection of his armband. The way he carried himself was professional and decisive - he spoke with confidence and carried himself with composure, but knew how to be polite at the same time. He's quite observant, I imagine, but doesn't look like the prying type. He probably won't be too much trouble.

Clinging on to him was a girl with long, silvery hair. For a moment, Charlotte's eyes narrowed just a little. She couldn't get a clear read on her, like she wasn't even there. Her posture, her expression - she was still, like a doll. Fascinating, in a way, but ultimately there was nothing of importance to her. I think I can write that one out for now. Doesn't look like she's going to do anything of note any time soon.

Shifting one over, there was another young man with messy brown hair and a nasty look in his eye. Charlotte blinked. No, that wasn't quite it. He just had a bad squint, was all. Curiously, he had a glove on his right hand but not one on his left. She wondered if it was some kind of fashion statement, but from the way he dressed it didn't look like he was too picky about what exactly he was wearing. Might be hiding something. I'll have to make note of that.

Next in line was tall, dark, and moody. She looked perturbed by a couple of things, but didn't neglect to put on her sour face. Whatever was on her mind, it didn't look like anything important. She wore a mix of emotions, but they were all as clear as daylight - this one seemed like the type of person to be easily swayed by her emotions and, by extension, easily manipulated.
I'll see if I can get a rise out of her some other time.

Then, there was the girl in the red scarf. Awfully chipper, this one. There was a genuine nature about her and the smile on her face certainly attested to that. The way she presented herself reminded her of a child. Definitely naive. Moving on.

Perhaps the first thing drawn to her eye was the stuffed toy. If the other one was not unlike a child, what did that make this specimen? The look on her face clearly showed that she was very uncertain, very confused, and very impressionable. If she were to find a comfort zone in this frightening and unfamiliar place (me) then perhaps she may be of use. Interesting. I'll have to look into her case further to see what I can gain from this.

The final, seventh member in their group was in a similar boat, though not to the same degree. She did seem perplexed, but as far as she was aware, not too bothered. This one was taking things at her own pace. Impressionable? Probably. It was hard to describe her as anything other than 'normal,' but she supposed that being a spawn of the devil didn't necessarily mean that you have to stand out.

Charlotte took another sip of her coffee. I think I can work with this.

Just as the little tour of theirs had begun to move on from one room to the next, there was another addition to the party- shoved from a rift in reality itself to join them, by nobody but the Principal herself. A young woman with reddish hair, who currently appeared to be having the proper reaction to travelling through space and time itself.

Said reaction being fighting a losing battle with nausea.

Eyeing Illusion and the rift the two had stepped from for a moment, Dawn turned her attentions upon the victim of the sudden transport. A few of the others were tending to her already, but she still felt prompted to give some kind of help. Fishing around in her purse, she drew out a small blue box, shook a tray of pills free, and offered it to the girl.

“Hey, um, after you drink the honey, take two of these. It’s Bonine- really good for motion sickness. You can keep the whole box if you want.” Having been on a plane only a few hours before, there were a couple of pills already missing, but most of the box was still there. As she stepped back, not wanting to crowd the poor girl, out of the corner of her eye she noticed one of the other members of the group- Vesper- walk over and cling to Rick. Interesting. Idly, Dawn wondered if the two were together. The others seemed to have been there longer than she and Jojo, so it wouldn’t be all too surprising. The thought was soon dismissed, however, in favor of other matters.

After the tour- during which the man, who had been silent throughout the entire time Dawn had been there, left (admittedly, she wasn’t too surprised- he reminded her of a cat that was forced into a bathtub)- Rick led them outside the WDL’s core and to a particularly fancy restaurant. The smell of fresh Italian food hit her almost immediately upon entering, and she immediately broke out in a grin. While she wasn’t particularly picky about what she ate, Dawn sometimes missed eating pizzas that weren’t larger than her head.

Rick’s comment, however, wiped the smile from her face. She quickly shook her head, eyes widening as she sat down. “No, no, it’s fine,” she said. “I’ll, uh. I can pay for myself. It’s the least I could do.” Just by glancing at the menu she could see that most- if not all- of the prices were in the double digits, with some meals reaching easily above the twenties. Not to mention the drinks…

“I’ve been saving up to go out like this, anyway.”

| Jonathan |

Jojo snapped out of his daze, his thoughts having really been about whether he should decline lunch and go and hunt down some place to get dinner. He looked back over as a few people crowded around the newcomer. Noticing Illusion's name listing, he figured she must've been the one called Helena. He noticed Vistra, Dawn, Rick and Vesper all chime in with assistance or introductions, and he leaned against his doorframe as he closed the door, smiling warmly. If they were gonna be family, then they might as well enjoy being family, right? He looked down as Rick helped Helena up, and nodded. "These guys seem pretty alright. I think I'll be staying for quite a while, actually. Seems like a pretty chill place, as long as I get my hands on a sword or two as well.." Jojo's inner monologue was cut short as he looked up, Rick showing the others to their respective rooms. He heard the slam of a door and noticed Caius was missing, and he shook his head. He hadn't changed at all- although he wasn't in the middle of getting his face beaten in, so that was an improvement. Jojo chuckled to himself softly, pushing off the doorway to begin moving after the others.

His eyebrow raised softly as he noticed Vesper cling to Rick's arm. A small smile crossed his face. "Well, I'm glad she's found someone to be close with. I was a bit worried after.." Jojo sighed a little hard, he'd had enough of the depressing thoughts, so he hopped in place once and grinned. Fake it 'til ya make it was his motto in times like these, and if anyone had noticed his mood dampen slightly before his little bunny hop, they'd also notice it had evaporated as soon as his feet had touched the ground. "Okay, alright. Let's have a good day, and a good lunch, I'm starving!" His dialogue was mostly to himself, but anyone near him would've heard it. He eagerly followed the others, his face set in a kind of permanent half-smirk.

"I'm gonna treat my new family like the best darn people in the world."

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| Illusion |

Illusion smiled as the others took over for her, stepping back, but leaving the bucket on the floor. A small smirk lit her features as she crossed gazes with Dawn, her grin widening slightly as she turned away. Everyone was finally, finally in one place. Her job was done, and she could never see them again if she wanted. Honestly, she really just wanted to go and have some nice, warm blo- Rick broke through her thoughts, reminding her of both her meeting and Angel. A small groan escaped her lips, and she put her hands on her hips. "Psh, Angel is a meanie anyways! But I gotsta go." A long, over-exaggerated sigh followed the sentence, and the lolita crossed her arms. "Party pooper, Rick. Party poopah~" Her lips formed a pout before she took a step backwards, saluted cutely, and tumbled into one of her broken-mirror portal things.

As she fell through the shattered space, she crossed her arms, hovering midair in the empty darkness. A sigh left her lips as she closed the portal behind her, floating upside down in the shadow-filled abyss. She closed her eyes, opening them only when one of her portals opened and another voice filtered into her private darkness.

"So, they're all there?"

"Yup, Lusy promised and Lusy provided~"

"And?"

"And what, ya old fart? I did what you asked, and somehow that Helena girl turned up outta nowhere, so that's that. Can I go home now?"

"Do you mean your region in Hell, or your quarters in the Warriors of Divine Light?"

Illusion chuckled, rotating midair to look down at the reddish-golden swirl that floated below her.

"Tsk. No answer? Boring. I'll be off now. I'll have a little request for you later on."

"Of course you will," her eyes flashed, a smirk playing across the corners of her mouth. "You know I'm the only one you can trust. Not even your wife could be trusted with something like this, am I right?"
A long, hard sigh came from the swirling light, before it slowly began to recede into the crack it had come from. "You're expected back here for a meeting, too." With that, it was forced out of her dimension, and Illusion was alone once more, She raised her hands, a small piece of glass moving just before her outstretched palms. It contained Arthur, waiting in a chair in a board room, several members striding inside- noticeably missing was one Angel D'Brightaine. Illusion shook her head, pushing the fragment away and turning around.

There were thousands- millions, even- of fragments. She giggled softly, before pulling the fragment from before open and sliding through it to plop down onto a chair right beside Arthur. She giggled again, looking around the room. "Heya, guys~!"

---

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| Angel |

A soft knocking on Rianne's door would've gotten her attention- unless she was too busy crying more. After a few moments, another few knocks hit the doorframe- a bit louder and more forceful this time.

"Door's open."
The door slowly opened, and in stepped one Angel D'Brightaine. He looked around the room, eyebrow raised, before his eyes fell onto Rianne. Compared to his sneer from before, his face actually fell a little. "I, uh, seem to have caught you at a bad time. I won't be here long." Rianne didn't look up, but acknowledged his presence with a small grunt. She shrugged. "What happened to your big boy attitude? Go on, it's not like I can cry anymore."

Angel strode over to her, a sigh escaping his lips. "I actually came to apologise, Ms Rianne. And, well, it seems like my apology couldn't have come sooner." Once he was nearby her, he knelt down, and pulled a key from his pocket. He slid it into the tracker around her ankle, causing it to pop off and fall to the floor. "Consider your house arrest lifted- your items.." He stood up, and left the room briefly before returning and dropping a duffel bag on her bed. ".. Are also back in your possession. Consider this my apology for being so crude earlier." He bowed at the waist slightly, expression somewhat stoic.

Her eyes followed his movements - although she appeared to be totally exhausted, she was attentive enough to catch the fact that he had just snapped open the lock on her ankle bracelet. The words that came afterwards could not have been more heart-lifting, though that wasn't to say that Rianne was going to immediately be on friendly terms with Angel. But someone like him... well, certainly he must have expected as much. "Apology not accepted," she said, kicking the stupid tracker away, causing it to fly toward the back of the room until it hit a wall. She zipped open the bag and procured her things, giving another side glance to the blonde haired man with a scowl. "Not yet, anyway. I'll give it some more thought and see if I'm still mad tomorrow morning."

Angel chuckled. "As expected, but you should take the tracker and give it back to Isaiah yourself- I'm sure you'd love giving him the finger to his face." He gave Rianne, a nod. "By the way, contrary to what I said earlier, you're quite the proficient exorcist. That Kane boy chose a good person to follow- despite her smoking habit." A wry smirk spread across his features as he left the room. "Take care, Sister." And the door shut behind him.

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| Rinne |

Rinne watched from a distance as Kane and the new girl entered the dorm together. A sly smirk crept across her face as she observed them. "Wow, Candy, you're doing such a good job at keeping an eye on him. Really good. He's being seduced by a cute girl as I speak." With a sigh, Rinne went to go over to the dormitory, but she paused. "Ah, this is gonna be super suspicious. Which is precisely why.."

Rinne quickly ditched her gear on the top of the roof she was on, pulling open a duffel bag and changing into its contents. Within a few seconds, she'd effectively changed into a copy of the WDL's uniform- ironically, it was given to her for the very mission they'd asked her to undergo on their behalf, for the explicit reason of infiltrating their own compound to gather data- they'd not exactly wanted to have their affiliation with her organisation known if things went sour, so the sly cat had offered an excuse. Admittedly, it would've been much funner to meet Candy using the uniform and cornering her in an alleyway and-

Rinne coughed, narrowing her eyes as she adjusted the cap on her head. It'd been a while since she'd seen the boy.. would he recognise her? Did she look older? Did she get some weird wrinkles on her face? "Ha, seriously, c'mon." Rinne chuckled softly to herself, leaving the duffel bag on the roof. She shifted into her feline form, leaping down to the ground floor and sneaking in as a pair of students went through the door. They barely noticed her, and she moved over to the stairwell and began to move up it. Her intuition lead her to Kane's floor, alongside the fact that he wore the exact same deodorant he'd always worn, and Rinne would be damned if she couldn't recognise the scent.

A few moments later, Rinne in her human form with her uniform tucked in all proper and her hat covering her cat ears, happily knocked on Kane's door. She briefly paused, then knocked on the door loudly. If Kane remembered, it was a fairly specific three-knock pattern. Hopefully that girl wasn't there- and if she was, if she answered the door, that'd be a problem.

Rinne prepared her cutest smile just in case.

---

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| Jonathan |

Jojo entered the room behind the others, idly following them as Rick lead the to a table for the group of them. Jonathan paused slightly, looking around the room. He'd gotten this odd chill down his spine a few moments ago, and he looked around the room for the cause. His eyes landed on a fellow academy student for a brief moment, before her looked away. Eventually, he shrugged, and followed the others to the table. He sat down at it, quite eagerly grabbing a menu. As Rick offered to pay for anything, Jojo chuckled. Part of him wanted to abuse Rick's offer, but he knew that'd just be plain rude. He eyed the menu, choosing a good old combo of spaghetti and meatballs- can't go wrong with that, right? He nodded to himself as he chose his meal, putting his menu down with a warm smile.

Once the others had settled down, he spoke. "So, uh, how's everyone doing so far? What a day, am I right?" He grinned warmly, leaning back into his seat. On the bottom of the menu was an advertisement for a stage play- Jojo didn't bother reading much more than the name, actually. He had much bigger priorities right now. Though, the name of the play stuck with him for some reason..

A Tale of Seven Children was quite the odd title for a play, after all.

---

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The machine beeped softly in the background. A white room, with the blinds drawn. It was almost completely black inside, the sunlight barely reaching inside.
In the hospital bed lay a pale-skinned man, not moving an inch, nor very visibly breathing, but his heart rate was fine.
A few moments later, a nurse came into the room, carrying flowers. She placed them into the vase, looking over at the man, before checking the machinery beside him.
Everything seemed to be fine, and the man stayed sleeping peacefully. The nurse, nodding to herself in satisfaction, left the room.

She didn't notice his finger twitching.

Ashley “Ash” “Soot” Clade

It seemed like it was impossible for the group to go more than a few steps before another interruption, Ash impatiently tapping her foot and growing more agitated and hungry after each one. First another girl was added to the group, then they were stopped by a golden haired pretty boy who acted just a little too full of himself for Ash to like him at first glance. Not that she liked many people at first glance. Tuning out most of the conversation, the next stop was the dorm building, a place Ash was already well acquainted with. Briefly, she noticed her bike parked out front and reminded herself she’d have to work out exactly what the deal with it was. If it was alive she’d have to learn to work with it to some extent, and if it was going to disappear anytime she went inside somewhere that was going to get inconvenient fast.

Ignoring her bike for the moment, she joined the others in heading up to their floor, deciding to neglect the tour of what she assumed was rooms very similar to her own, and instead deciding to take the opportunity to have a brief rest in her bedroom until it was time for lunch. Maybe that would help take her mind off her stomach? Stepping into her room, she called down the hall for Rick to grab her when they were going before shutting the door, striding inside. Like the others, it was bare inside. All that remained of her belongings was left neatly in the corner of the room, but it was far less than what she’d originally packed; no doubt a result of the incident before her arrival. Thankfully, there was at least a bed provided as she flopped face down onto it, giving a deep sigh before rolling over and staring up at the ceiling. She told herself she was staying in here to take her mind off her stomach. But that wasn’t really the reason, was it?

**********************************************************

“Hey! Hey, can me and Louise come to the ball too?” The eager young girl looked up to her sisters with bright blue eyes, clutching her doll in front of her in anticipation. She was a small young thing, little more than five or six, and always eager to join in on the games with her elder sisters. “Uh… Sorry Ash, Louise can’t come.” The youngest of the trio, Penny, spoke up; not meeting eyes with Ashley as the other two sisters began snickering with laughter. “What?! Why?!” Ashley asked indignantly, pouting a bit as she looked to them in surprise, her face falling significantly. Why wouldn’t they want to play with her? She just wanted to join in…

“She needs a dress to go to the dance, stupid.” The 2nd eldest, Jasmine was the next to speak, pointing to Ash’s doll, Louise. “She can’t go looking like that.”

“B-but Louise is like me – she doesn’t like wearing dresses…” Mumbling to herself with her head downcast, it was barely audible enough for the other girls to hear, but it was enough for the eldest sister, Cindy, to pounce. “Well maybe she should sit out and play with her toy cars like you! Haha!” A chorus of laughter went out amongst them as Ash began to sniffle to herself, wiping the beginnings of her tears from her eyes. It was true that she normally played with the cars her daddy gave her, but she still wanted to play with her sisters.

“Come on, I just want to join in…!” Ash was sobbing a little now, blubbering as she wasn’t able to hold back her tears. Still her sisters laughed at her. “Aww, poor Sooky Sooty’s upset!” “As if we’d let a cry-baby in to the dance!” “Louise is probably a wuss like you too!” The demoralising laughter continued to echo about the room, and no matter how much the little girl protested, she was not heard. Finally, she could take no more, crying out as loud as she could. “Fine! I don’t care! I didn’t even want to go to your stupid ball!” Tears streaming down her face, Ash ran from her sister’s room and down the hall, escaping to the solitude of her bedroom. Sobbing into her bed, she continued to cry to herself. No matter how many times she said it, she couldn’t convince herself otherwise. She would’ve loved to play with them…

**********************************************************

Ash awoke with a start, sitting up swiftly. Slowly, she released her legs as she uncurled slightly, before falling back down to lie on top of the bed, sighing a bit. Why’d her mind drift back to then? Things were different now. As far as the others were concerned, she was a part of their group. She was invited to this lunch, whether out of friendship or obligation. She didn’t have to act like she didn’t care or anything. She didn’t have to worry about any of that stupid stuff. Frustrated, she grabbed her pillow and tossed it against the wall. It was stupid, and so was she for letting it still bother her. Even if she kept on telling herself to relax, there was always that nagging thought reminding her to keep her guard up. That’s what this was about. Just the perfect memory to remind her that anyone could turn on her. Even family.

By the time it came to the tour, Ash was feeling a bit more sombre. She’d lost a lot of her appetite, but it was steadily coming back to her as she looked over the different facilities, taking note of the ones that interested her. She’d definitely give the gym and sports facilities a work out at some point, not to mention she’d have to head in to the maintenance garage at some point to tune her bike. She was dimly aware that they now had ANOTHER tag along, but she made no effort to be friendly with her. It was hard enough maintaining a semblance of pleasantry this long, and she saw no need to push herself any further, especially in her now, much fouler mood. Finally however, the formalities were done and they got to head to a restaurant. It was a fancy looking place, well ritzier than Ash would have ever considered entering of her own accord. Still, she wasn’t going to be paying, and free food was nothing to scoff at.

Browsing the menu, she eye rolled at the goody-two-shoes offering to pay her own way, as well as JoJo’s obnoxiously bland means of making conversation. Setting the menu down, she decided to interject into the conversation, having already decided what she’d get, and having had enough of the niceties floating around the table. It was time to liven things up a little and stir the pot. “Well if the little miss here is too much of a suck up to accept your hospitality, I’ll take her share.” Ash stated boldly, folding her menu and placing it back into the centre of the table. “Though can we order now? I don’t want to wait another hour listening to JoJo prattle on before the food arrives.”

With a complete lack of tact and patience, Ash, flagged down the nearest waiter, snapping her fingers. “Yo, we’re ready to order, drinks and all. I’ll get uh…” Ash leaned forward and grabbed the menu back again, not wanting to make a fool of herself as she failed to pronounce the name of her order. One by one, she pointed to a Pizza Ai Funghi e Salsicce, Ai Quattro Formagi and a Margherita. “Oh yeah, and a raspberry fanta.” She added before handing the menu to the waiter, leaning back in her seat before glaring at the others and expecting them to get to work ordering immediately.

---

“Hmm, a visitor?” Erica was the first to speak as she stood up from the chopping board, Kane quickly pulling off the pink apron as he tossed it onto the nearby hook and ran around the corner. Twirling the knife in her hand, Erica slammed it into the board, leaving it standing as she went to follow him and investigate. Kane knew there was only one person who used that knock, but what was she doing here? Turning back to face Erica, Kane explained as he grabbed the door handle. “Oh, it’s just my Aunt. She never sticks around long, but I’ll introduce you.” Smiling, Kane turned the handle and threw the door open. “Rinne? Is that you?” He blinked a bit, looking the taller woman over. Was that a WDL uniform? He didn’t know she was a part of the team here, nor had Candice mentioned anything.

Tilting her hat up, Kane’s aunt gave him a big grin. "Heya, kiddo. Been a while, huh? Surprised you still remembered my knock." She crossed her arms, eyes sparkling slightly, before she launched forward a little and wrapped Kane in a big, tight, warm hug. "Jeez, you've gotten big, haven't ya?" Kane gasped a bit in surprise, though he kinda expected Rinne to be a bit more hands on with him. She always was. Squirming about in the hug as he tried to surface, Rinne continued. "Got some news for you, actually." Finally managing to pull his head free, Kane gave a soft gasp as he caught his breath before looking up to Rinne. “Auntie, please, I’ve got company…” Kane whispered between gritted teeth, embarrassed, but genuinely happy to see Rinne. With a tilt of his head, he gestured towards Erica, who pleasantly waved, though her eyes never seemed to leave Rinne. “My name is Erica. It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms..?” She asked, though Kane was quick to step free of Rinne, answering in her stead as he smirked. “Oh, just call her Rinne.” Kane smiled to his classmate, before turning back to his Aunt. “News though? Is it that you’ve decided to join mum in the WDL?”

Rinne chuckled softly, crossing her arms as she looked past Kane, ignoring his question for the moment as she appraised the other female in the area. "You better take good care of Kane, Erica. He's a treasure." There was a slight edge to the remark, though Kane only frowned slightly wondering what Rinne meant by that. Erica didn’t seem to mind at all however, laughing it off as she replied. “Of course.” Kane looked to them quizzically, unsure what exactly he was missing, but he didn’t get long to dwell on it as he felt a hand ruffling his hair as Rinne saw fit to draw focus back to his questions. "And nah, I'm still uh, still working at the other company. Got a temp job here so they gave me this outfit. Not bad though, right? I feel like a schoolgirl or something." The non-human spoke to Kane, but her eyes flickered over to Erica every now and then. Rinne wasn't silly, but she also knew prying right now was a bad idea. Regardless, as long as Erica didn't hurt Kane, Rinne had no qualms. As Kane managed to shrug free of her hand and turn to look at her, he took a moment to fix his hair by messing his hand through it, before looking back up to his Aunt. He did have to admit, for someone in her late thirties, she really did look quite young.

"So," Kane’s thoughts were interrupted as Rinne spoke, meeting his gaze with another wide grin on her face. "Guess who just convinced your mother to let you start going into the field?" Kane’s mouth dropped agape, and he didn’t say anything. Slowly, his voice seemed to catch up to him. “No. Way.” Still frozen in near silence, Kane didn’t know what to say. His bad day had just turned from good to great! A large smile now forming on his face, his aunt continued. "Not even messing with you. I made Candy promise to start letting you go out." She paused after that, giving Kane an opportunity to let out his pent up excitement. “Yes yes yes!” Kane was practically jumping for joy, grabbing hold of Rinne and squeezing her well tighter than she had done to him previously. “You’re the best aunt ever Rinne! This is awesome! What are you doing for the WDL anyway? Am I going to get to go with you too?”

Embracing Rinne tightly, Kane didn’t notice the way Rinne froze up a little, but he did feel her hands lightly wrap around to return the cuddle. Watching from the doorway, Erica was still waiting patiently and unbeknownst to Kane, Rinne made a point of fixing Erica with a glare that indicated she was being monitored. With that done, she gently pushed Kane back, affixing him with another Cheshire grin before flicking him across the nose. "Psh, Kane, of course I'm the best aunt! Who else could be better than me? Oh, and I uh, I'm on a contract." She looked away from Kane, as if thinking on things for a moment. "And Kane, you know you can't come with me. Working here is dangerous enough." She put her hands on his shoulders and gave him a moderately serious glare. "I'm not sure you'd be safe with me." Flashing another sly smirk, she winked. "And Candy would totally kill me if she found out I smuggled you out of here, right?"

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right… Oh! But if you’ve got time, you should totally stay for dinner! I’m already making a bunch for Rianne and Yohan, but you can join us! Sister Rianne’s already offered me an apprenticeship, so you definitely have to meet her!” Kane asked, or rather, demanded. This was perfect! An opportunity to get them all together and have a meal! It’ll be like having a whole family together! Eagerly, his eyes shimmered as he met Rinne’s gaze from behind her sunglasses. Cocking her head to the side slightly, Rinne paused in thought, before finally answering. "Hm... I dunno, kiddo, your mother might drag me outta here by the ears." She laughed softly. "I'd love to stay, but I might get called away. I'll have to check in with my boss to see if I can take some time off." She crouched down a little so her face was level with Kane's, and as she did she whispered to him. "But do you really want me here when you've got a cute girl standing behind you?"

“H-hey! Rinne! Stop it!” Kane’s face went beet red, and he took a step back from her, completely unable to keep his voice down. “It’s not like that, I swear!” Behind him, Erica couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the scene, though she quickly hid it behind her hand. Rinne laughed a bit herself, before she leaned over on the doorway. "Alright, Mister 'Not like that', I'll stay for dinner, then. But, uh, I do need to go get some stuff, though…" She looked to the side, a sheepish grin sliding across her face. "I, uh, kinda ditched my gear outside before coming in- wasn't planning on staying for long, so I should probably go get it if I'm gonna stay, right?"

“Oh, okay. We’re still finishing up cooking, but uh, dinner should be around six at Rianne’s dorm. Do you need some directions?” Kane asked, unsure how familiar Rinne was with the WDL. It seemed he’d said something amusing, as his aunt’s smile shifted as she chuckled. "Rinne. Rianne. Gonna be fun. Though If it's at someone else's place, I probably shouldn't tag along, though. That'd be rude." Kane watched Rinne pause in thought, as if concerned about something, his own face falling a little. "Yeah, if that's the case, then I'll have to actually decline the offer. I don't wanna go somewhere I'm not welcome, and if Candy found out I overstayed my welcome-"

"Well I'll give her a call then and see if she wants to have it here at my place!" Kane interrupted her, not going to have his grand plan stopped by something that simple. Pulling his clenched fists into place behind him, his guard was down as Rinne leaned in and flicked his nose once more, breaking his form and forcing him to rub it. "Jeez, you're still such a kid, you know that? Don't ever lose that, okay?” She paused again, giving a bit of a soft sigh as she looked upward. “Mind if I go get my stuff real quick while you take that call, kid?"

"Oh, yeah! Don't let me hold you up! I'll see you at six then!" Grinning as he locked it in, Kane turned back to Erica. "Think you can handle the prep while I do that?" Smiling and nodding, Erica cocked her head once again. "Of course, whatever you need Kane." Heading back inside and giving the two a moment of privacy, Kane watched her go before turning back to Rinne. "Back in a sec, kiddo." With a two-finger salute, Rinne turned and moved over to the elevator, Kane waving behind her before heading back into his apartment. He had a couple of phone calls to make at this point.

Ringing Rianne’s number which he’d sourced through the WDL systems, he was a bit saddened to reach her message bank, but no doubt that meant she was probably kicking butt out there and slaying demons in full glory mode. Grinning to himself as he pictured the awesome battle scenes she must have been in, he almost forgot to leave a message. “Oh, hey, uh, Kane here. Things have got kinda hectic, so uh, mind if we have the dinner at my place instead? When Yohan turns up at your place, you can just head over to my dorm building. If you need directions or anything, gimme a call back, okay? See you at six!” Hanging up, Kane peered out to the kitchen, and was a little stunned to see that Erica was already finished with chopping the vegetables and grinding up the other bits and pieces. All thirteen of them. Wow, she worked fast.

Plumbing in the speed dial, there was just one more person he thought he better invite…

---

Candice Hallows

“Candice speaking.” Picking up her office phone and slotting it between her shoulder and ear, Candice continued signing through the paperwork on her desk before a pleasant voice filled her ear. “Hi mum, it’s me Kane. You uh, you busy tonight?” Candice looked over to the clock on the wall, then back to her stack of papers. “Yeah, I’ve got a long one tonight. Some things have come up, and I have to prepare for a special training session starting tomorrow.” Answering truthfully, Candice felt it was appropriate not to get his hopes up, even if it was a little painful to hear his sigh on the other end.

“Oh… You sure? I mean, you’ll still need to eat, and I’m having this dinner at my place-“ Candice stepped in to interrupt him. “I’m sorry Kane, but this can’t really wait. I’m glad you’re getting a chance to socialise though.” Smiling a little at the prospect of Kane making some friends, Candice stopped herself a moment as she realised she’d almost started writing what she was saying on the phone. “If that’s all, I’ll have to be going. Thank you for the offer though Kane.” She added, vaguely curious why there was such a long pause on the other end. Finally, Kane replied. “Yeah, okay mum. I understand, I’ll say you give Auntie Rinne your regards.” Candice blinked a bit, dropping her pen. Sighing, she pinched the brow of her nose, shutting her eyes as she rubbed it. “She’s going to be there, is she?”

“Yep, she stopped by just a moment ago. But uh, don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of fun-“ Candice hissed a bit in annoyance, a trait of hers that Kane was entirely used to when she was deliberating on something hard for her. Kane waited, letting the silence hang in the air. Twirling the phone cord in her hand, Candice didn’t speak for some time. Finally however, Kane heard the words he knew would be coming. “…What time is dinner?”

Rianne's Dorm

Bastard, showing up to my place like that trying to be all friendly, Rianne thought to herself as she put the rest of her things away. Her hand hovered her phone, one of the things that had been confiscated from her - her gaze drifted back to the tracker she had kicked away and she felt her expression souring again. Twice on the same day. She cried twice on the same day and she couldn't feel more humiliated. She could hardly even remember the last time she genuinely bawled her eyes out, what was it about today? Those children all showing up at once. . . it was like a bad omen. Even Melody got caught up in this mess somehow, but she couldn't quite gather why.

Rianne shook her head and picked up her phone, flipping it open to see if anything new came up. It seemed like there was - some unknown number left a message on her cell. More spam? Man, I'm getting real tired of deleting all this crap- Her finger froze over the button. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't ignore it. Could be Melody calling from somewhere else, or that motherfucker that arranged our midnight date.

To her surprise, it was not Melody, nor was it the motherfucker. Instead, it was Kane's voice that greeted her on the other end. What the? How did he even get this number? she thought to herself for a moment. Whatever, I'll pester him about it later. Change of plans, huh? Well, Yohan definitely wasn't going to show up and she didn't feel like moping around in her room for the rest of the day so she grabbed her bag and left. I'll deal with Isaiah later, I don't feel like looking at his stupid mug today.
She sent Kane a quick text on her way over.

[Rianne: johanns busy im coming over early]

-

When she arrived at his doorstep some untold minutes later, there was no knock. Rather, she threw the door wide open and let herself in. There was no sense in locking a door if you were expecting guests, but she didn't expect another guest to already be here. Not that she minded, anyway. In fact, she looked to be one of the newer recruits, Erica.

"'Sup." Rianne grinned. "Didn't know your girlfriend was gonna be over."

Capelli D'angelo

With a few blinks, the girl sipping coffee seemed to suddenly become aware of her surroundings, like she had just woken up from a long daydream. Her mouth opened as if to speak, but it closed for a second before she was able to formulate any words. "Hey! Um. . . is there some kind of orientation I missed?" Charlotte called from her table, her eyes lighting up as she mustered the courage to speak up to the group of seven. "Y-You're all new recruits here, aren't you?" she asked sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck. "I'm pretty new here myself so I'm not too familiar with how everything works. . ."

Nervously, the girl stood up and tried to look somewhat presentable, flattening out the folds in her clothes as her eyes shifted from the group to the floor a couple of times.

"Sorry if I'm being a bother to you guys, I guess I just wanted to say that I haven't made any friends here yet. . . and I was wondering. . . if I could at least sit with you all and have lunch together. . ."

Charlotte's hands trembled a little and she maintained an anxious smile throughout - it was hard to call it acting, because her body naturally reacted this way when speaking to more than a few people, no thanks to some of the unsavory quirks she picked up from the miserable people she'd devoured. All the better to sell her performance with.

That should suffice, with any luck. If not, I suppose I'll find something else to check off my list.

This was the most amazing restaurant Vistra had ever been to. She and her father had never been rich, most of their money going into the Church where they lived. At the most she and her father only went out to eat two or three times a year. And this place was the fanciest she'd seen. Not to mention the most expensive.

'Rick.' She said, speaking up after Dawn and Ash. 'I have to agree with Dawn. Let me pay you back when we get to our rooms again. Do you take Canadian money?' By now the waiter had come to her side and she smiled once at Rick before turning her attention to the worker. Her order was simple, as to save money and because she had no idea what half the things were on the menu. She ordered a water to top it off, never being a big soda fan and still too young to drink alcohol.

With that out of the way she finally found a chance to respond to Jojo. 'It's been a strange day, that's for sure. But I'm actually very excited to start all of this. I really think we can make a difference here!'

Behind her, another voice came. Vistra turned round in her chair to see an anxious looking girl wanting to sit with them. Now Vistra was no stranger to feeling lonely so it was no suprise that she immediately stood, and offered the girl her chair. 'Of course! You can sit here, I'll bring up another chair. It'll be a tight fit, but the more the merrier right?'

Vistra moved to the side and grabbed an extra chair from an empty table. It was shoved next to her old one. Before sitting down Vistra offered a hand to the newcomer. 'My name is Vistra, it's nice to meet you.'

Helena was not exactly overjoyed by the situation. She'd followed along, mostly feeling too sick and unsure of the situation to formulate any other plan, and was rather regretting it. As she'd walked the events leading up to her arrival had become more clear to her. The men, the van, the people holding a gun to her father's head..

As the group settled down Miss Kingsley sat hunched up in her seat, casting her eyes round the room and trying to work out some way to escape from this horribly unexpected situation. She considered the possibility of writing instructions to call the police surreptitiously on a napkin and seeing is she could slip it to a waiter without attracting suspicion... but soon came to the realisation that everyone was speaking Italian..a language she had very little grasp of.

Would it get to someone who could read it before anyone noticed what she was up to? Seemed unlikely.

"I don't want anything." she murmured, before good old British social conditioning kicked in to some extent.
"Still don't feel so good, I mean...thanks anyway."

It wasn't as if they seemed like horrible people on the surface. The young man who seemed to be leading things had helped her to her feet, and she was still clasping the vial the silvery-haired girl had given her, unsure if she should try it.

There was at least one person, a dark-haired woman, who was being quite rude, and this prompted a mildly disapproving look from Helena beneath her hair in response to being glared at, but she had far more pressing things on her mind at the time.

They seemed friendly enough.. although from what she could tell many were in a similar situation to her. Yet she appeared to be the only one noticeably panicked by the development. She was happy to admit she'd lived a pretty sheltered life in rural England, but she didn't think that being captured and taken hundreds of miles away was something you ever became indifferent to. Was this some sort of cult?

The appearance of someone who was both outside the immediate group, and appeared to be an English speaker, caused Helena's gaze to snap up rather pleadingly in her direction. Maybe she could slip something to this woman and get her to call the police? Her father must have reported her missing by now...if he was safe.. who could even say. Regardless at least through that she might be able to get away from this madness. She didn't want to 'learn how to defend' herself. She'd never had any need to until someone had decided to kidnap her. Mostly Helena Kingsley just wanted to go home.








By all accounts it had been quite an eventful morning. The first intruder had been swiftly dealt with and escorted down to detainment. You couldn't simply stroll up to the HQ and begin snooping around without expecting retaliation.

The 'special' new trainees appeared to, for the most part, be a bunch of entitled children, so perhaps their title was appropriate. If it was up to her these creatures would be nowhere near the place, but it was made pretty unequivocal in discussions that it was not up to her. Until, at least, they gave her some reason to react.

Leaning back in her chair, ORIN moved her attention to more routine duties, the reboot. In order to properly maintain the system, she needed to update fundamental parts on a regular basis. In order to do that, she needed to restart everything, even her own internal components.

The software update generally happened only once a month and in itself only took a minute or so. For most people it would have been imperceptible. Some of the remote terminal screens could be seen to restart themselves, and network connections appeared out of action momentarily. Within the control room ORIN was sat silently, eyes shut, waiting for the restart. Most people might have been disconcerted as having to shut off large sections of their own mind in order to restart them whilst being completely aware of it, but she had extensive experience of it. Sit still, eyes shut, empty mind..

And it was back up.

She took a few moments to review all the files, make sure things were all in order...

It seemed off.

She was almost certain the file pattern was different. They were all legitimate files though. Metadata indicated they’d all been around a while.

ORIN frowned. Something about it bothered her.


Quickly though, her attention was taken with far more immediate problems, first they appeared to have another unexpected guest. ORIN homed in on Rinne and ran her data through the check. WDL contract, it appeared. Worth keeping an eye on, but nothing that needed immediate attention.

What she discovered next however, did,
as heat sensors in the lower levels indicated something very unwelcome.

Almost instantly ORIN snapped onto the surveillance system for the detainment level in order to catch sight of the demonic manifestation attacking the guards on the monitor. Almost immediately she had flagged the area and opened a communication line with any high level personnel and exorcists in the complex at the time.

“Demon sighted in Detainment. Deploying standard protocol and awaiting permission to terminate.” she announced, switching to the feed inside the cell, as she brought the heavy reinforced barrier hissing down across its front, the airtight seal shutting with a slight puff of air.

It would not, in theory, take too long to douse the whole room in holy water. The loss of the prisoner was a very minor concern as far as ORIN saw it. It was the job of other people to pontificate over matters (and she was aware if the irony there), it was her job to act upon these matters.

A demon had infiltrated the bases in broad daylight and was, it appeared, making an effort to possess the newly imprisoned intruder. This was exactly the sort of situation she was designed to counteract. ORIN's eyes narrowed as she poised over defence activation codes.

People were always so painfully slow to respond.

“Awaiting permission.”

Rick Brackwall

As they sat down the expected motions of any group gathering began.

“No, no, it’s fine, I’ll, uh. I can pay for myself. It’s the least I could do. I’ve been saving up to go out like this, anyway.”

"Rick I have to agree with Dawn. Let me pay you back when we get to our rooms again. Do you take Canadian money?"

Thankfully for Rick he never needed to look at the menu as, by simply touching it, he already knew every item on their list. Not that it was overly necessary as he was already mostly aware of the general dishes they serve and had a fair idea of his order already at mind. It left him with ample time to address conversation pieces and concerns like those of Dawn and Vistra.

"Perhaps you may wish to visit an onsite bank after the meal is concluded and have your money converted to euros. It would be some benefit for day to day local purchases."


With a small sigh his dominant hand went from resting on the menu to running it's index finger along the rim of the wine glass. He looked down from them, breaking eye contact briefly as he spoke, still friendly but somewhat reserved.

"I do not mean to impose but I simply cannot allow myself to take advantage of such generous people as yourselves. As you've just arrived you all will likely be needing a number of things. Furnishings to make your rooms more accommodating, more equipment to better serve you in the various duties available and funds to bank and keep in store for your future. It would injurious to my sense of decency to deprive you of such funds over something as minor as lunch."

He looked up to Dawn, meeting her eyes with his own. He was still somewhat serious but with a small smile, lightening the mood with a dash of positivity.

"If you do wish to repay me in some form tomorrow is the date we are setting out for your first operation, the aptly named Boot Camp. If you strive to perform your best and follow my command without issue during that time I'll consider any perceived debts well repaid."


With that said he looked over to Jonathan who was attempting to spark some conversation of his own.

"I imagine it must be a fairly strange day for everyone here. Usually we only see one of our unique circumstances arrive here once if we're lucky."

That was no lie. He alone had been the first among his kind to arrive and quite frankly he hadn't anticipated seeing more like him arrive at the base in his lifetime, let alone six. Vesper was a great surprise but nothing was remarkably sinister about her arrival. The other's circumstances were nothing if not uncanny.


"I don't want anything. Still don't feel so good, I mean...thanks anyway."

He looked over and nodded understandingly to Helena, respecting her wishes as she seemed to still be under the weather.

"Rick"

He turned his attention to Vesper, soft-spoken as ever.

"Helena is confused. She has not been oriented, I believe."


"Ah, of course."

He looked back to Helena, calm yet open and inviting in posture and tone.

"I do apologize if you've had little explanation regarding the WDL. As I've yet to be made aware of both Vistra's and your situation's I'm unaware of what you might already of been told regarding our order. Do know that if you have any concerns or questions I'd be happy to answer them."


Before he could hear her out somebody he did not recognize spoke up from another table.

"Hey! Um. . . is there some kind of orientation I missed?"

Looking over he spotted the owner of the voice, a recruit he hadn't seen before.

"Y-You're all new recruits here, aren't you? I'm pretty new here myself so I'm not too familiar with how everything works. . . Sorry if I'm being a bother to you guys, I guess I just wanted to say that I haven't made any friends here yet. . . and I was wondering. . . if I could at least sit with you all and have lunch together. . ."

From first appearances she seemed rather awkward, shy and good bit self-conscious. If she was a new recruit there he had yet to meet her. He'd need to check her records later. Before he could respond it seemed Vistra beat him to the punch.


"Of course! You can sit here, I'll bring up another chair. It'll be a tight fit, but the more the merrier right?"

He watched as Vistra stood up, offering her chair to the recruit and finding herself another. Already his mind was full of questions regarding this new recruit that had chosen to sit with them.

How is she so new that she hasn't heard the gossip regarding the newly arrived children of the devil and yet specifically ask to sit with the exact seven who are being spoken of? What is a recruit doing eating at a place this expensive to begin with and not eating at some of the locales recruits frequent more commonly? Why is it that she looks so uncomfortable around company yet is compelled to sit with us and dine despite seemingly not having a very outgoing personality?

Those were just a few of his questions.


Naturally, as Ash so kindly brought up, the waiter had come and was taking their orders and she was impatient in getting their orders through so she didn't have to wait.

"Avrò il risotto al nero di seppia con un bicchiere di Lambrusco favore."

He passed his order on to the waiter, taking a moment to look about his company before returning his attention to the waiter.

"And an appetizer platter of bruschetta."

For all of the man’s reservations, Rick’s status as leader was understandable. There was a structure to his words and actions that hinted at experience- a necessity, given the fact that it appeared Dawn and Jojo were not the only newcomers among their group. After a moment of pause, she clicked her wallet shut- she had taken it out sometime while the others were talking- and slipped it back into her purse. There was still a trace of hesitance on her face, as if a protest was right on her lips, but none came. No point in pressing such a small matter, after all.

“If you’re sure,” Dawn said. One hand returned to her lap, while the other lifted the menu, allowing her to better see the contents. “I really do appreciate it, though. I’ll make sure to give the camp my best shot when we get there.” She pursed her lips for a moment. Boot Camp. So they would be training them immediately, then. Before she could get too deep into thought, however, one of the group- Ash, if she recalled correctly- spoke up, prompting an almost amused smile from Dawn.

Upon hearing Jojo’s comment, the grin became more noticeable. “It’s been something.” She wound the chains of her necklace idly around her fingers, tightening them. “Definitely exciting, at any rate.” It was at this point that she noticed that the server had moved on, and was now waiting expectantly for her to order. Smiling apologetically, she quickly rattled off her order- a chicken parmesan sandwich with ginger ale, one of the cheaper options on the menu- in clean Italian, thanked the waiter, and turned back towards her company. Helena still appeared quite ill from the looks of it, and in the time that she had been distracted, another person had joined the table. A girl, who seemed like she wanted nothing more than to sprint away to the safety of her old seat. Dawn looked up at the stranger, blinked, and then beamed.

“I think it’s fine. I mean, I don’t really mind, at least.” She brushed a few stray locks of hair out of her eyes, tucking them behind her ear. “It’s good to meet you, Charlotte. I’m Dawn. You don’t have to be nervous or anything- I think most of us are kind of new here.”

Jojo eagerly listened to everyone's replies, smiling warmly as he looked at them each as they spoke. He noted Vesper breaking her stoic attitude to reply to him immediately, and he grinned extra wide as she did so- he'd missed his little sister after all. Waiting for everyone to respond, he was interrupted by the girl he'd caught in his sight beforehand joining their table. He didn't exactly mind, but he noticed Rick focus on her for a little more than just a regular gaze, and Jojo wondered what was wrong. He looked down for a moment, then shook his head- sure, he'd conveniently locked onto her when he'd looked around earlier, and Rick could've been thinking about anything, so that didn't mean she was automatically suspicious. Jojo smirked to himself slightly, imagining Rick in chibi form obsessing over Italian food. It'd be a funny sight if this were an anime.

Jojo was brought out of his thoughts as Angsty McBroodsalot spoke, and rudely called over the waiter. Jojo sighed under his breath at Ash's comment about him; this was the second time she'd called him out by name in the same day. He wasn't the type to get irked, but it seemed like she had something against him personally- besides, his 'prattling' was nothing but light conversation- she might be happy to sit around in antisocial, angst-ridden silence, but Jojo wasn't going to let this opportunity to chat go to waste. He wouldn't say anything to her about it, however, and he was much more preoccupied now with staring at the menu that was almost a complete mess of gibberish in front of him. He grumbled softly. "Yeah, right, I finally found a reason to have taken those Italian lessons I was offered. Fuck me for saying no, right?" Jojo put his chin in his palm and idly stared over it, before looking around the table again. He looked over at Helena, and decided to speak. "Hey, um, Helena, was it? You feeling better now? I mean, like, not wanting to throw up everywhere?" He gave her a warm grin as he continued. "Don't worry about it- I'm sure if any of us got shoved through that portal we'd get pretty messed up, too." He paused, looking around the table again. "You look super worried about something. Did they toss you in the back of a van, too?" Jojo chuckled softly. "They did that to me, too. Although I'd rather they'd have done that than let me get e-" He stopped himself, memories of the spider lady hitting him and causing him to frown slightly. "Anyway, uh, if there's anything you need, lemme know, alright? We're siblings, apparently, so it's kind of my job to help you out." He grinned again, before noticing the waiter and deflating a little.

He turned to the waiter and gave his order; simple spaghetti and meatballs with- Jojo paused noticeably. Rick had offered to pay, and they were selling alcohol here. His silence went on just a tad too long, and he coughed softly before turning back to the waiter and confidently asking for a glass of apple juice.

"I.. should've learned Italian. I would like something fancy, but all I know is 'spaghetti', really, so.. I'll just cook dinner for Rick some time later on as repayment for not getting something cheaper. And maybe start learning Italian, heh.." He looked around the room, and realised that Dawn, unlike him, was fluent in Italian- and so was Vesper. He tried not to sink into his chair a little deeper.

---

---

The girl sighed and sat in her chair inside the Capelli D'Angelo. Ironic for her to be there, despite her the core of her being. From this angle, she could just barely see the group of Seven chatting and socialising, and she eagerly eyed all of them. With a soft chuckle, she leaned forward and sipped from her glass. Noticing the nervous girl approaching them, her eyes flashed a little, and she subconsciously licked her lips as she stared at Charlotte- a Demon always knows another Demon, and the girl loved Demons. She chuckled softly as she stood up, watching the waiter leave with their orders and having seen all she'd needed to see. Her reconnaissance complete, she stood up and shrugged on her jacket before striding past the Seven as she exited the room. She, in the span of a moment, eyed them all and flashed a small grin that played across her features as she slid on her sunglasses and left the restaurant. Her eyes lingered on those mismatched orbs that belonged to one Rick Brackwall before she put her sunglasses on, however, and she paused a moment. Something flickered within her memory, and her smile became just a tad wider as she gave him a wink and finished sliding on her sunglasses. That action was enough to inspire their interest, although her objectives had changed slightly in the last moment.

In a few seconds, the girl stood on the steps of the restaurant, and giggled to herself softly.
Asmodeus didn't stay long, however, as she had some very important things to do before she was found out.

---

---

| Angel |

Angel stopped in his tracks as the voice of ORIN entered his thoughts. He groaned audibly, listening in to her announcement. Yes, there was a Demon in the facility- and Angel had just locked it up. Honestly, he sometimes wondered if ORIN had turned defunct over the years. With a loud sigh, he spoke quite loudly despite being patched directly into ORIN. "Request denied, ORIN. It's in the cell, and we want answers. Thank you for your assistance in the matter. That Demon is already in the cell, and has been for a while. You're welcome." Angel figured she meant that the boy he'd nabbed was a Demon- he couldn't have possibly known that an actual Demon had appeared and practically taken up residence in his body. Besides, Angel was late enough to the meeting as is, and he knew that a certain vampire would have some choice words for him in the form of insults if he were any later. In fact, she was already planning them in her head right now, and he knew it.

---

---

| Rinne |

Her ear was pressed against her mobile, and her expression was set in stone. She was currently receiving information about an attack on a hospital over in Istanbul. Electricity was cut, and then a few moments later the staff started screaming. Minutes after that, the entire hospital had gone down in flames- hundreds were injured, and even more were killed. Most patients were killed in the attack. Rinne swore under her breath, leaning hard against the wall, her bag of gear clutched tightly in her hand. "We've notified the two of the attack, and we're already here investigating before the WDL arrive to close it down." As Rinne stood there, she saw a helicopter take off and fly away. Seems they'd already began their movements.

Rinne closed her eyes, leaning against the wall and placing down her bag. She had eyes specifically on that hospital for exactly this reason, and they'd been killed before they could relay any information aside from 'something's going on'. Rinne, however, knew exactly the cause. The power had been shut down not on purpose, but because the energy had been drained and the resulting blackout was simply a result of that drainage. She opened her eyes again, grabbing her bag as she hung up the phone and marched back towards his apartment. For now, she'd enjoy her time with Kane. With this next case, she might not come back alive- her opposition wasn't some oblivious mook, after all.

Her opponent was a monster, and a smart one, at that.
And he was probably already heading here to act on his plans.

---

---

He dug his fingers into the wound, gritting his teeth as he pulled the thread through the skin and continued stitching his wound closed. The guard had gotten a good shot off, and as he sewed the gunshot wound shut, he dug in with his other hand and slowly, painfully, pulled the bullet out of the hole and yet did not flinch. Electricity crackled from his fingertips, keeping the bullet magnetised to his finger before he held it up. He flicked it, electricity crackling loudly as the already fired bullet became ammo for a human railgun and vanished into the sky. The man slowly stood up, golden eyes glowing unnaturally in the darkness. He yanked hard on the thread, clenching his wound shut with a messy-sounding wet noise before he bit the thread and cut it with his teeth. He tied a rather large knot at the end of the threat to prevent it from coming undone as he grabbed his shirt and put it back on.

He had one stop before he began his movements. He had twenty years of waiting on his belt, and he sure wasn't going to have that number get any higher. He put his hat on his head, a low chuckle leaving his lips as he touched a nearby shadow, silencing his laughter prematurely as he strode through the alley and left it behind.

The guard who had shot him lay in the middle of said alley, bleeding from the mouth, yet his body seemed perfectly untouched.

Rick Brackwall

With their orders the waiter left to deliver the instructions to the chef.

Rick himself looked over to the newcomer, the nervous girl who had placed her order while sitting at their table. It was interesting, her expensive tastes must of cost her quite a bit. The best explanation would be that she had a well stocked bank account, likely left over from her former guardians.

On an overall note it was going quite well. With only the absence of Caius the rest were at least talking in a friendly enough manner. Ash was still Ash and Helena still seemed concerned but overall the mood of the table was a friendly one. This at least gave them all a chance to meet each other outside of less pleasant circumstances such as the event they were to undertake tomorrow. It would not be easy but with his guidance it shouldn't be too hard either. The biggest difficulty would be the surprises the WDL had in store since no boot camp is prepared the same.


Out from the corner of his eye he gleamed a lady passing their table. Not an exceptional event save for a few small differences. He didn't recognize her, something he'd definitely remember since she neither looks Italian nor is there anything particularly plain about her. Her style of dress left little to the imagination, not that he was going to undress her in his mind. His thoughts were more occupied with other concerns.

... Until their eyes met. It was strange, really. She seemed to look at him for a bit of a drawn out moment, their eyes connected for that seemingly long period of time which was really no longer than a couple of seconds at most. She gave him a wink and a bit of a broad grin, something he didn't really understand. Having enough questions on his mind already the implications of what she was trying to indicate were many and it bogged down Rick's already worked mind further.


Was that wink flirtatious? Knowing? Did she see something in this conversation I and the others are having that I let slip? What am I missing here!?

As she turned and left Rick rested his arms, placing his fingertips together as he gently put his fingertips together in a slight arch whilst breathing out gently. He emptied his mind, silencing the storm of thoughts in his brain altogether. He felt a brief moment of reprieve from this over-calculation would sooth the stress starting to build in his head.

His hands folded onto his lap and he was now centered in the moment. Letting that go did him well, leaving him to peacefully watch over the proceedings of the lunch table at his own leisure.


Before long the waiter returned, their food resting atop the platter he carried. With relative grace the man set each of their dishes before them, each with it's own intoxicating aroma. In the middle of the table was the platter of bruschetta that Rick had ordered, a large plate with several pieces for the taking. It was a dish for everyone, along with the food everyone already received.

He gently hooked his glass of wine between his fingers, lifting it with measured delicacy.

"Enjoy." He took a light sip from his glass.

Ashley “Ash” “Soot” Clade

When the new girl approached and made an introduction for herself, Ashley gave an audible groan. With a visible look of disdain, she shrugged in resignation as the party of individuals let shy and stupid join the table. Eh, whatever. What would it matter if ANOTHER dweeb joined their group? She already hated group dynamics, and one more wasn’t gonna make it any more or less tolerable to her. Seeing everyone make a fuss over her and Helena, Ash didn’t see any need to interject. In fact, she didn’t normally function too well in situations like this. Instead, she made snarky looks with her eyes as Rick gave another one of those all too familiar but ever annoying spiels about getting their support at boot camp. Heh, yeah right.

Charlotte finally got her seat, and the group got in their orders soon enough. The table descended into small-talk and chatter as the group started to get to know one another, and Ash shifted mildly uncomfortably. She hadn’t been around this many people in a social setting like this in quite some time. The closest memory she could find was with her family, and they most certainly didn’t count as a good guide to this sort of situation. Thankfully, her drink arrived fairly quickly, and she amused herself with that, remaining clear of whatever idiotic topics they were discussing. She would’ve much preferred somewhere like a pub or the like, at least then there’d be a pool table or darts or something to distract her. There was nothing for her to do but make conversation with these people, and she had more than a few reservations about that.

Seeing as she wasn’t participating in the chatter, she was a bit more aware of their surroundings, and the odd sensation of being watched. Glancing about the room casually, she noticed another girl walking over in their general direction and began mentally preparing her complaint that they were somehow grabbing another tag-along. What was it about their group that seemed to attract so many weirdos? As she briefly stopped in front of them, meeting eyes with each before lingering on Rick, Ash honestly thought she was about to make some flashy introduction. Instead, with little more than a wink in their ‘leader’s’ direction, she made her way out the door and left. Huh. Maybe Dick had an admirer? She didn’t look nearly as much of a wreck as Charlotte, so somehow, Ashley doubted that a floozy like her would have the reservation not to just act on those feelings. Whatever the case, that hassle was already out of their hair, and better still, Ash could see the waiter making a return with several platters.

All grouchiness was forgotten as the intoxicating aroma reached her nose, the full spread of pizzas on display before her. “Now this is what I’m talking about!” She declared with probably the most enthusiasm anyone had heard from her. Without hesitating, she quickly reached to grab a slice, but quickly had to drop it back to the plate as the heat was still a bit too much. Blowing on her fingers a moment, she instead decided to take a different tactic, reaching over to the platter containing the bread. Lifting it, she shifted it over in front of her, taking out a piece to snack on without offering anyone else the appetiser. Food did her soul (and stomach) so much good, and best of all, everyone would hopefully shut up while they ate. Maybe she could have used some cutlery to make a start on her pizza, but she wasn’t that refined. Soon enough however, she began half juggling a slice between her hands before latching down on a large mouthful. Mmm… Okay, maybe she could get used to fancy restaurants like this if the food was this good. Happily munching away, she continued to watch and vaguely listen to the group, though it was clear the majority of her focus was on her meal.

---

Kane was happy to put some sugar into Rianne’s tea, lightening it up a little with some milk before sharing it her way. After Rianne inquired whether she could smoke, Kane realised a little late that any protests he may have had were a little bit overdue as the click of her lighter signified she had already made her decision, taking in a steady draught of smoke. Well, if she was going to be his master, he supposed he’d have to get used to it. Everyone had their vices. Moving to take his own seat, Kane was excited to talk about his apprenticeship under Rianne, what sorts of things she had planned and when they could start. At her mention she had some other things to deal with before really going into it, Kane nodded enthusiastically. That was reasonable, someone as tough as Rianne likely had a lot of important business to attend to.

Then… The conversation shifted. Listening to Rianne do her best to douse his hopes was painful, and Kane wasn’t quite sure how to take it as his eyes shifted downcast. Had he already done something to upset her? Further clarification came in that maybe he’d misinterpreted things, and that made him feel even worse. Here he was pressuring Rianne into these things, and she’d never intended on any of it – at this point, was she just being polite with him? It was a worrying thought, but Kane could sense that she was genuinely trying to look out for his best interests. Throughout her explanation, Kane began to pick up on bits and pieces of things. The way she regarded herself and her teaching ability, along with the barrier that presented. He’d always seen Rianne as a strong and talented individual, one that could compete with the best. Perhaps that wasn’t how she saw it.

Still not sure how to take Rianne’s rejection, Kane idly moved the conversation to Yohan, but that didn’t seem to bring about much of a talk. Still, that small moment allowed him to clear his thoughts some and mull over what Rianne has said. He was certain at this point that her rejection of him was less about Kane’s own capabilities, but Sister Rianne’s lack of faith in her own competence to teach him. The question was, what could he do about that? How could he help her help him? Squeezing his hands together tightly and scrunching his pants a little, he finally decided to speak his mind on it all.

“Sister…” He paused, thinking how best to say it. “I’m sorry but, I can’t accept that. I’ve made up my mind, and your own humility only serves to kindle my desire to be your apprentice. I know you’re busy, and I know you think that I’m making a mistake asking for your guidance, but…” He stopped again, sitting up. “Shouldn’t that be something I decide on? How can you say that you’re a poor teacher if you haven’t even tried? Let me be the one to prove to you that you have the potential to be a great instructor; and if not, well…” He sighed a little, settling back into his seat. “Well, I’ll have to let this go at that point.” Shaking his head, Kane met Rianne’s gaze again. “But I know that it won’t come to that.” He affirmed, smiling before looking to the side in confusion as Erica sat up.

“Well, I’ll let you two work all this out. I think I heard someone.” Erica excused herself, though Kane honestly hadn’t noticed anything. Still, he could hear her make conversation with a certain Aunty just outside the door, though he couldn’t quite hear what it was about. Regardless, his focus was on Rianne now. This had turned into a battle of conviction, she was testing his devotion. He’d prove right here and now he would not falter!

Ding.

Kane politely excused himself to the kitchen in order to turn some of the food over before returning.

An industrial estate, somewhere in the North of England.


Robert Parker sat at his desk, scrolling through emails and yet consequentially reading absolutely nothing. Most of a cold cup of coffee and a half-finished pack of aspirin sat on the desk next to him.

Off in the gloom of his desk unlit by the glare from the monitor, the phone squealed.

Robert massaged his temples for a moment before picking up the receiver, to hear the voice of his receptionist, Sophie, on the other end.

“A er… Mr Green to see you Doctor Parker.”

Robert’s mouth dried up the moment he heard the word. His hands closed reflexively around the cheap plastic enough that he felt it near give way in his grip.

Of course there were many Mr Greens out in the country, in the world. It was not the most unusual name. It could be any number of people. Any number of men who were perfectly sincere in their wish to visit and discuss business from a small medical supply company.

But in that moment he was certain that it was none of those people.

It was him.

“...Doctor Parker? Shall I send him in?”

Sophie sounded a little confused. Robert realized he’d been silent for far longer than he’d intended. Trying to clear the awful dryness in his throat, he spoke up hoarsely.

“No, no, I’ll come to meet him.”



It was a few minutes later that Robert Parker was able to navigate the dark and narrow corridors of Parker Laboratory Solutions and make it out into the reception area. It was a small, shabby looking place with some scratchy covered-chairs and a picture of a meadow on the wall that was faded to the point of appearing like some ghostly hellscape.

Sophie, a short, slightly chubby young lady with a colourful cardigan and a grating laugh, was currently engaged in lively chatter and occasional hyena-like bursts of mirth opposite a tall, silver-haired figure dressed in a shirt and suit-jacket.

Upon hearing the sound of the door both turned, and Robert regarded the man, trying to hold back the distinct feeling of sickness rising in his gut.

“Good morning Doctor. It’s very nice to see you again. Sophie here has just been telling me all about her dogs. West highland terriers apparently. There’s been a nightmare with groomers this month. Complete travesty apparently. ”

His contact lenses looked pretty impressive. You could almost think, looking on his face, that we were something remotely human.

Robert narrowed his eyes.
“Follow me.” he stated tersely.

“Can I get you anything?” Sophie asked, in an well-intentioned attempt to make up for her boss’s brusque response.
“Tea? Coffee? I think there’s some h-”
“No, we’ll be fine.”

Robert had cut her off.

Sophie shot the man a look but returned to the desk and continued playing minesweeper on the desktop.

The man in the suit just gavw a good-natured smile.
“Lead on Doctor Parker, I’m sure you know the way better than I do.”

Robert would have been perfectly happy for the walk downstairs to have gone by in awkward silence, but his associate was in a rather talkative mood, voice resonating through the gloom and the footsteps on the half-rusted metal. Even if the conversation was rather-one sided.

“Sophie seems to be a nice young lady. I’m very glad you were able to find a new receptionist so quickly. Lives with her grandmother apparently, rent prices in the area are quite crippling, terrible shame.”

“Leave her alone.”

“Oh Robert you know I have nothing but noble intentions. Anyway, how are the family?”

The doctor's gut wrenched as he knew the question was coming.

“How is your daughter?”

“Much better.” he muttered out through gritted teeth.
“From what I’ve heard.”

They stepped out onto the bare concrete of the basement level. The ‘Cold Storage’ sign had begun to peel away, letters loose at their top and bottom. Down here Robert’s breath misted up in the chilled air.

No such mist surrounded the man who accompanied him.

“Terribly sorry to hear about the ruling Robert. I’m sure the appeal will work more favourably for you. I’m sure you are a very capable father. “

Robert swallowed back bile and remained silent.

The two stepped into a narrow, utilitarian corridor alongside a row of old industrial freezer units. Stains were evident on the doors around the seals. If one were looking a little harder at the old, ugly appliances had been very meticulously altered from their original function. In addition someone might see the symbols carefully painted on the surface in an almost-matching shade of off-white.

Dr Parker approached one at the end. He could just about feel his heart in his mouth as he reached up to the controls and turned the dial down to the ‘Off’ position. There was a hiss of escaping gas into the ventilation.

Then silence.

This was broken when ‘Mr Green’ gave voice once more.
“I’m very sorry to pull you away from your work at such short notice Robert. I’m sure you have an awful lot to contend with at the moment. Unfortunately I didn’t have the luxury of prior knowledge about the situation. My daughter, you see, is apparently about to begin her education at a rather prestigious place.” he explained, as if the Doctor were paying any attention to his rather than to the aging freezer.

“Now, I think I’m rather old-fashioned. I’m quite protective of her. Perhaps a little too much, I’m sure she can take care of herself, but I always like to have a back-up in place. YOu of all people would understand the importance of doing whatever you can to protect your children..”

Doctor Parker sucked in a sharp intake of breath and turned back toward the smiling figure, rage quietly burning in his eyes.

“You know nothing abou-”

BANG.

A sharp metallic impact against the door.

The man took a couple of steps back, forgetting everything he was about to say.

BANG.

The whole unit shook from the second impact. The thick metal of the door bent outwards than the airtight seal broke with a momentary sound of sucking air.

Robert reached round in a panic, searching for anything that he might be able to use to arm himself.

BANG!

The whole door tore off its hinges. Gas pipes ripped loose from their moorings, and the man’s vision filled with swirling mists of freon and water vapour. He struggled back for the far wall and as he did some hideous shape burst from the fog, barrelling into him at top speed. Robert Parker felt the air forced from his lungs as he was smashed against the wall, held several feet above the ground by his throat. Some grotesque, misshapen set of claws held him aloft, and in his swimming, misty vision he could make out some horrific parody of a face. Elongated, chitinous, too many eyes and far too many teeth. It snarled and hissed, the nightmarish visage closing until it took up all of his vision. It stretched its jaws wide, too wide, so that all Robert could see were the moss green depths of the maw about to crunch down on his face.

“Rei. Please put Doctor Parker down.”

A voice from somewhere in the fog.

The thing stopped, too many eyes wide.

Robert felt the grip on his neck suddenly release, and he dropped to the floor, gasping.

The mist was beginning to clear away. Over the sound of his own laboured coughing, the doctor caught a few noises from somewhere out in the obscurity. Snapping, organic sounds, like someone tearing up meat.

When the room was fully clear, he could make out his visitor, and another person now stood somewhere in front of the industrial freezer.

A young individual, probably female, though it was a little hard to tell. She (he?) was skinny and rather sickly-looking, skin pale and sallow-looking. Long hair hung down to her waist, and she was wearing a very old, very badly damaged medical gown.

The silver-haired man gave a short nod.
“Thank you Rei.”
He turned his gaze back to Doctor Parker.

“Sincerely sorry about that Robert, misplaced enthusiasm, I’m certain it won’t happen again...will it?”

The new figure vigorously shook her head in response to the question.
“No. Nope. It won’t. Not again.”
With that she edged over to the man and helped him to his feet. Or rather, grabbed his arm and pulled him upright in a display of strength that far exceeded her build or size.


“Good. Now Rei, it’s good to see you again. I’m aware that there has been a bit of unpleasantness. Regarding you, and your quite hurtful and immature behaviour. However, I’m optimistic that you have used this interim time to...reflect on your actions. I do hope that now we can start afresh and work together for something positive.”

More vigourous nodding from the sickly creature.
Dr Parker stayed silent, propping himself against the wall, still overcome with shock from his near-death experience.

The visitor reached into his jacket, withdrawing a gun that had sat effortlessly disguised in an inside pocket.
“Excellent. In which case I have a small job for you. First of all I’d like you to be ever so kind as to shoot yourself in the side of the head.”

---

ORIN resisted her immediate impulse, to scream down the comm line that Angel was a cretin, and instead took a deep breath and attempted to relay the information again.

"I'm not referring to the detainee placed in the cell Knight-Commander D'Brightaine. I am referring to the entity recorded breaking into the level, entering the cell and appearing to inhabit the detainee. If you are sufficiently concerned that I, as the base's security system whose construction involved many years and considerable funding, are not doing my job sufficiently that you can trust my conclusion then I would suggest that you do your job and go see for yourself."

She had, of course, already captured the footage of the whole thing in order to send it out, she didn't truly trust anyone to listen without hard proof. However she was less worried about vindicating herself at that very moment, and more concerned about not leaving that thing to its own devices whilst she argued with that pompous idiot D'Brightaine.

And if it set his head on fire when he went to check, that was just a bonus.

----

[/left]

Helena restd her folded arms on the table and her chin on top of them, gazing round the table as the young an who appeared to be leading this whole show spoke to her, implored somewhat by a rather soft-spoken girl across the table.

"I'm concerned about the whole thing..." she mumbled.
"I'm still not really sure why these uh...people are so interested in me...why I got...kidnapped..that kind of thing."

Her gaze flickered round to the other young man present, who had taken it on himself to strike up a bit of conversation with her...something she felt rather pathetically grateful for. Least it appeared she wasn't the only one who'd gotten flung in the back of a van recently.

"Uh...yeah that did..sort of happen. I was just sitting in a park and they grabbed my dad and kinda...well it wasn't exactly great." she explained. Helena hazarded a bit of a smile despite the fact that she was not exactly feeling her best. Maybe this did happen out in the real world more frequently than she'd imagined. Who could tell. Whatever was going on and whyever they'd all been brought here under this 'sibling' assumption, if they'd wanted her to die or be harmed or something she probably have seen it by then.

"Th-thanks...appreciate it. And yes, I'm Helena. Kingsley. Friends call me Hel."

Or rather she would if she had friends that knew her by anything but an internet username.

She returned her chin to resting on her arms. Her stomach was hurting, though she could most likely attribute that to it being completely empty, her having violently expelled its contents not all that long ago.

She didn't exactly feel in the mood to relax and eat lunch but at the same time she wasn't sure she wanted to be tasting bile and stomach acid for the rest of the day.

Having been watching what was going on round the table an spotted the rather rude individual seeking to horde the plate pf bruschetta, she suspected that dealing with that was going to be more of a problem than it was worth. Evenso, she was pretty sure someone was going to have to say something, and it might as well have been her.

She straightened up a little before addressing Ash.
"Um...I think those are supposed to be for everybody."

When the meal arrived Vistra could hardly stop herself from digging in. With the severe lack of money due to homelessness, she never had the chance to splurge on a meal like this. It looked great and smelled greater. Vistra glanced up at Rick. 'This place is great Rick! I'll have to bring my Papa here when he can come visit.'

After tucking a napkin around her lap she began to eat. It was prehaps a bit fast, but Vistra couldn't help herself. It was an amazing meal. Warm, but not hot enough to burn her.

She managed to eat about half of it before she remembered her manners. 'So, um. Charlotte. Maybe we can take a look around here together? I'm new her also. I've been here maybe an hour.'

Since they sat so close together Vistra had to be very careful when she cut her food. She shifted again and smiled kindly at Helena. 'Are you feeling any better now? If you're still feeling bad when we get back maybe I can get you come Ginger Tea? My Papa always said it helps.'