Armand Townsend's Story

Armand, as always, was up with the sun. Not that it was hard to do when you never really slept. It wasn't that he didn't need it, even the undead need their rest, at least he did, but sleep had never come easily to him. Even when he was alive, or so he liked to think. Truth was, for all he knew, when he was still alive he slept like a baby. Today he would be running on a total of maybe three hours of restless sleep filled with darkness. He never dreamed. He waited until the sun was high enough in the sky for to be called morning before making his way out of his small, third floor apartment, and into the hustle and bustle of the city.

A request had been put in at The UE, and Armand, having nothing better to do, had accepted it. Jobs were the only thing that kept him busy most of the time. Without them, or the people of The UE to spend time with, he would probably just retire to his room with a few bottle of whiskey and say goodbye to the sun for as long as he could. Of course that wouldn't be long, since his new body filtered out the alcohol he drank twice as fast as before. Putting such thoughts aside now as he saunters down the street he recalls the request. There had been some trouble at a local park. It was a big, nice place with a small road going around it for people to walk or jog around, a few old trees, a playground for the kids, and on the south side, a small pond. The pond was supposed to be shallow and safe enough for kid to play in it, but that hadn't been the case as of yet.

In the past two months two children, a young boy and girl, had been found in the pond, dead. Their lungs were full of water, but there was no signs of foul play, nothing to show anything except that the children had gone into the pond of their own free will, went under, and never came back up. The only odd thing was the expression frozen on their faces. A look of sheer terror. A water elemental was expected to be inhabiting the pond, maybe feeding on the souls of the children, maybe just drowning them for the fun of it. In either case it was up to Armand to get the the bottom of things.

At this time of day the park was mostly empty. There were a few joggers, but because the park was so wide all Armand needed to do was wait until they were on the far side. At that point he was practically alone. Sliding his hands into his duster, as if he would slip his hands into his pockets, he instead draws his coat back, revealing his revolvers. With his hands resting on the butts of the exposed guns, Armand then takes a step into the cool waters. At first nothing happens, the ripples of his intrusion simply move across the surface of the water...but then they freeze, and reverse themselves. The ripples come back towards the gunslinger, stopping a few feet before him and coming together, making a circle as if someone had just dropped a rock in the pond at that very spot.

"Why have you come here, Exorcist? A voice asks, the source of said voice being the ripples of the pond.
"I was sent here with a job to do, nothing more." Armand answered simply. As he spoke, a small spark flits between the palm of his right hand and the revolver only an inch or so away. "We can do this clean or dirty, you're choice."
"You're nothing but a tool. Surely even a foll like you can understand that simple fact. You should be dead, long dead by the look of you, but instead you were brought back, just so they could use you. Like one might use a screwdriver, or a hammer." The voice was a bit louder now, as if the source of it was becoming stronger. The ripples on the surface of the pond also seemed to be larger. If they were any indication, this elemental was a big one.
"A hammer, huh? Funny, I was just thinking about hammers." Armand says with a smirk. The elemental had thought it was being sneaky, concealing its movements under the water, but his senses were sharp, and he was able to feel a part of it moving behind him. Likely the monster was going to try and drag him under and hold him there, as it had done with the children.

In an instant the revolver on Armand's right hip was in his hand. This movement was accompanied by a bright flash of light and a clap of thunder as, once the revolver had cleared leather, he'd let off a single shot, right at the spot he imaged was between the elementals eyes. Electricity passed through the water like a wave and a moment later everything was quiet. Before anyone would be able to react to the sound Armand had his revolver holstered, his guns hidden, and using his supernatural speed, was already on the far side of the bank and moving into them small grove of trees on the other side. A short time later he was back on the streets and headed for his usual watering hole, The UE.

Although his job had been only to slay the water elemental, Armand decided he could make a little extra money by taking a sample of the water which made up the creature. If nothing else he though it might be worth enough for a glass of whiskey when he got back to the EU. Which was the direction he had been traveling in before becoming...distracted.

Sometimes Armand was called a gunslinger due to the weapons he carried and the way he fought. Sometimes he was called an outlaw because, like today with the elemental, he didn't always go through all the motions he should to keep people from knowing about him. But most often he was called a lawman because, even when he wasn't being paid to do so, if he ever came across a monster from the other side doing evil, he would put an end to it. Usually it was no big deal. A problem was solved before it could get worse and he made a little profit from whatever he scavenged off the thing. This afternoon, as he skirted around the city to avoid the crowds, the 'thing' in question happened to be a shapeshifter.

No one on the streets noticed what Armand had. Then again, most of the people on the street were just that, people. There were no other Exorcists around that he could sense, and even if they were not all of them had what he referred to as gunslinger eyes. It was something he had had back when he was alive, of that he was almost certain, and was usually a skill one had to acquire over time. It allowed him, not to see more than others, but to take in and understand what he was seeing much more quickly. He could tell someone was about to run or draw a weapon by slight muscle or eye movements they probably weren't even aware of themselves. Anyone else maybe would have noticed a somewhat shady looking man stepping out from an alley, slipping something into his pocket before starting to walk down the street. What Armand had seen as he walked past the alley was a body slumped at the far end, missing a face, and a man slipping a wallet into his pocket after looking at the contents. Most likely to see what his new name was.

"Not on my watch friend..." Armand says under his breath, picking up his speed to that he reaches the crosswalk before the shifter. Making his way across the street he slips into the crowd where the monster was attempting to blend in. He was doing a pretty good job of it, except to Armand it seemed as if he looked down on everyone, like they were less than he was. A lot of monsters were like that, he supposed. As they passed another alley, Armand takes a step closer, grabs the shifter by the arm, and drags him in. A moment later the crowd passes and he initiates the Zero Space spell, containing the alleyway between two dimensions. It took less than a minute to do this, draw his revolver with his free hand, and fire a round into the head of the shifter. That taken care of he holstered his revolver, grabbed the body in both arms, then leaped up to a fire escape, then to a roof, and ended the spell.

Twenty minutes later there was a couple of knocks on the back door of the EU Bar before Armand made his way inside. On the way he had wrapped the shifters body in some newspaper, and now it lay on the floor of the backroom. The wrappings were layered enough to soak up the blood. "Whiskey on the rocks, if you please." Armand says, walking up to the bar, on the same side as Roth and Daisy, before going around to the proper side. Once seated on a stool at the end he tosses the vile of elemental water to Daisy.

Daisy smiled at Armand, holding the vile up to the light and looking over the water inside. "Good job. This will definitely be worth a pretty penny. Add into that the fact no more civilians should be disappearing from that area, you could say things couldn't have gone better." Daisy looked toward the back room, rolling her eyes and turning back to Armand. "Based on what I'm sensing, you also brought home another prize. I'll inspect in later, see what we can get out of it. Until then, congratulations guys. Drinks are on-" Before she could finish, Rolan and Asther entered the bar and shot her a glance. The alliance between them and Daisy was strained at best most of the time. They were nice enough girls, but everyone knew they would sell them down the river to save their own skins, or make a quick buck. However, the information they provided was always good, and never once did a job go belly up because of what the sisters did. They strolled cautiously through the bar, making eye contact with thee patrons, if only to cause them to jump a little. Asther walked up to the bar and sat right across from Daisy, a wide smirk on her face. Daisy made a simple motion with her hand, the patrons in the bar filing out as quickly as possible. "You can stay Kisoro. You may not be one of us yet, but this will give you a good idea of how we operate."

Roth moved from behind the bar and grabbed Lilith's hand, walking her up the stairs off to the side and up to Daisy's office on the second floor. Eric looked at his empty glass, sighing as he realized his favorite barkeep just left the room. He begrudgingly stood up and moved around to the other side of the bar, his eyes shooting between the different liquors, trying to decide what to drink next. "How rude, Daisy. We come in for a simple drink and you make all your valued patrons leave. We're hurt, aren't we, Rolan? Rolan?" Asther turned back to see her sister glaring at Kisoro. "Come on Rolan, we don't have time for this. If Daisy is vouching for him we have to go along with it. Distrustful as always." Rolan turned her attention back to Daisy, but kept an eye on the fresh face. "Damn, now I've lost my train of thought... shit, that's it. Something's going down in the northern part of town. We 'spoke' to a goblin club manager a short while ago."

Daisy raised an eyebrow, looking at Asther with apathetic eyes. "A club manager? Tell me, why didn't you share this information with me earlier?" Asther chuckled a bit, shaking her head in response to Daisy. "Why? So you can send your hounds and wreck the place?" Eric reappeared from behind the bar, having abandoned his glass in favor of just drinking straight from the bottle. "Hey, we're not that bad... sober. Tell you what, talk to me in thirty minutes and then we'll see how I feel." Asther clicked her tongue. "See Daisy, that's why I don't trust you guys with stuff like this. Anyway, the manage told us some things. Some potentially cataclysmic things. Apparently, something is crossing over the Boundary. Something big. You asked us to look into why there has been a decrease in activity, this is what I got for you." Daisy shrugged, an unimpressed expression on her face. "Really? That's it? You tell me this, but just today we had three hits. Four if you count what Armand has rotting in the back." Asther leaned back in her chair, Rolan looking to her to see how they should proceed. "Look, believe me or not, I don't really give a shit. Let's go, Rolan. This was a waste of ti-" Before she could finish that sentence, a loud crashing sound could be heard from upstairs, followed by the sounds of Lilith screaming. Without even saying a word, Daisy was up the stairs, bursting through the door. Eric dropped his bottle and followed her up, knowing the others would be following as well. Asther and Rolan looked at each other, deciding it was best to stay out of it.

Daisy burst into her office to see a large section of the wall busted out and Roth on the ground, his knee pressed against the back of a hooded figure. "Daisy?! There were too many, I couldn't stop them all." Daisy motioned for Roth to stand up, the hooded figure rising to their feet. With a simple raise of her hand, Daisy forced the person against the far wall. "Where did they take her?!" Her voice cracked and her eyes were watery. She started to pull her hand into a fist, the person crying out in pain. Daisy walked up to the person and tore off their hood, revealing the woman underneath. She looked human and didn't have any signs of being anything else. Daisy started piecing it together in her head, knowing that only one group could get the drop on Roth and know whose daughter Lilith was. "Shepherds? Why would you take her?!" The woman simply smiled, despite the fact blood was starting to seep out of her mouth. Eric walked up and grabbed Daisy's arm, trying to calm her down before she killed their only clue to where Lilith had gone. Daisy released her hold, Roth picking the woman up and dragging her passed the others and down the steps. He knocked her unconscious before throwing her into the back room, letting her fall right next to Armand's last catch.

Daisy regained her composure, turning to the others with her eyes a little red.. They had taken the one thing she cared about, and she had no idea why. "Find them. I don't care what you have to do." Daisy raised her hand, the destroyed wall reforming to how it had been before the kidnapping. "Please, find my baby girl." Her voice was shaking. Eric simply nodded, pushing the others out of the room. She just needed time. Truthfully, none of them had seen her like this before, but no one had ever been foolish enough to do something like this to her before. Witches were not allowed to lay their hands on Shepherds. It was a part of an old treaty signed before Daisy was even alive. She had to keep to this promise, or else face the consequences. Not those from the Sect, but her own circle of witches. Luckily, the treaty did not pertain to the Exorcists, so they were free to do what needed to be done. Once they got down the steps, Eric looked to see the sisters sitting at the far end of the bar. They could hear what happened, so Asther and Rolan thought it best to simply sit in silence and not try to antagonize them further. Roth made his way back behind the bar, knowing he had to at least keep appearances up should people enter. Lilith was nigh untouchable, but if the wrong types found out she had been pulled from Daisy's grasp right under her nose, it would be very bad.

Eric turned to his fellow Exorcists and Kisoro, unsure of what to say. "We're looking for Shepherds. Gabriel and Kisoro, Shepherds are like us, but a whole lot of wraith and death. They don't think twice about killing those from the Boundary regardless of good or bad. Most will also kill any that get in their way. We have a trail, but its getting colder by the minute. Mila, take Gabriel and Kisoro with you to St. Anna's. Its an old Cathedral that's been here since the city was constructed. That's were the Shepherds usually stay if they are in town. Kisoro, I'd hate to wrap you up in our shit, but we could really use your help with this. Me and Armand will check out will check the Underground." The Underground, a place where collectors and those with a certain amount of knowledge can buy and trade artifacts and "parts" amongst each other. Its where Daisy would usually take their prizes from battle, but she didn't like the Exorcists going there. There were not usually welcomed, but if anyone would know about Shepherds getting into the city, it would be someone there. "We'll meet back up here in the morning. I have a feeling this night will just keep getting longer."

Kisoro

Kisoro crouched in the shadows next to Mila and Gabriel, the three of them preparing to infiltrate a cathedral that served as a local base for Shepherds, who of course would try to kill them as soon as the three made their move. Thoughts raced through Kisoro's mind as he tried to organize the events of the past hour and figure out what exactly was going on. It started with those two girls entering the UE together, that's when the atmosphere in the room had changed and the string of events leading to this moment had begone. No one seemed too interested in what the girls had to say, but Kisoro was intrigued by it. Activity slowing down and something big coming across the Boundary? He had kept tabs on such things in the past, but he had been locked in an Ash Born prison for some time now, obviously unable to keep tabs from there. On top of that, he was now cut off from all his usual sources of information and would have to start from scratch when investigating it. Regardless, he felt it was worth noting and looking into when he found a way of doing so.

What was of more immediate concern was what happened next. A scream from upstairs, everyone rushing up there, and Lilith being kidnapped. Lilith was the daughter of a witch, there aren't many who would dare to harm her, yet someone had dared. Kisoro had been given a chance at the UE to leave and not become further involved but he had chosen to stay. Now Mila gave him that chance one more time, this would be his last chance to back out. "A little girl was just kidnapped, if I can help, then you can bet I will help. If you two draw them out and distract them, I can sneak in. I'll look for Lilith or anything that might tell us where she could be. You distract them as long as you can, then pull out. If you don't see me leaving the cathedral, then meet me at that diner we past about six blocks back in an hour. If I'm not there, then assume I've been captured or killed. That sound reasonable?" Kisoro looked to both Gabriel and Mila for conformation.

Despite the imminent danger of the situation, Kisoro was curious to see how both Mila and Gabriel would do in a fight of this scale, though more curious about Mila. Seeing Mila fight the night before had largely been what initially made Kisoro decide to stick around her, after all, you can learn a lot from how a person fights and when they choose to fight. He was excited to see more of her fighting, even if it would only be for a brief time before he snuck into the cathedral. That having been said, his focus was on saving Lilith, he wouldn't let his curiosity get in the way of that.