-| LORD OF ILLUSIONS |-
-| 'Illusion' |-
-| 'Illusion' |-
A small smile sat upon Illusion's pale face as she watched the people before her react to her little trick. It had been fairly simple to do what she'd done. However.. she did have business elsewhere.
She closed her eyes for a moment.
It had come to a shock to everyone.
Pierre Zeller had always been a gentle and kind man. He donated to local charities. He volunteered at homeless shelters. He worked 9 to 5 at a local grocery store, always with a smile on his face as he bagged breads and eggs and breaded eggs. In fact, most people who knew him described him as almost boring in how normal he was. So when it was discovered that he had kidnapped several men and women, held them in a deserted warehouse, and tortured them to near death over the course of several weeks, hardly anyone could believe it. It was only after one of the victims testified, displaying the missing parts of his jaw, describing in sordid, shaky detail the crime that had been comitted, that people fully grasped the monster that Pierre had become.
However, Pierre wasn't going without a fight. Time and time again, he somehow managed to escape- slipping out from beneath the noses of his pursuers and going back on the run. Bodies were left littered in his wake as he fled, doing near whatever it took to stay a free man. However, for all his luck, he was stilll very much a mortal man, and soon found himself cornered in a ratted old apartment.
Pierre sat on one of the molded couches scattered around the base, listening to the squeal of the sirens outside, the voices of the men who had come to apprehend him. He didn't seem to notice them, his eyes fixated on a splotch of some unidentifiable yellowed substance on the wall. In his hands was a freshly polished carving knife, and on his throat was a tattoo of a golden apple. He sat silent as the door beneath his was slammed open, only staring.
It was only when the sound of boots began to thud into the hall outside that he seemed to jolt into reality. He glanced down at the knife in his hands, and smiled benignly to himself.
"The contract is completed," he whispered. "Do what you will."
The tattoo faded, and Pierre plunged the knife into his chest moments after.
Somewhere in another world, in another time, in another place, Gael gave a small frown. It was a pity. That one had been one of his favorites. Given how careless he had become with Mister Zeller, however, he supposed it was only a matter of time. He'd just have to find a new one, now.
Sliding out of his chair, Gael drew a single cherry lollipop from his pocket, and swiftly unwrapped it. The room he was in was large, painted a soft, pastel pink and filled to the brim with anything a child could desire. Stuffed animals littered the floor, surrounding dollhouses that were almost the demon's height. There were claw machines, clockwork birds that fluttered and sang overhead, video games, rocking horses, action figures- and even more outside. This slice of hell was his oyster, and it bent to his will as easily as clay.
And he was a bit bored of it all, currently.
It didn't bother him. Humans, he had found, were as fun as any toy or game he had his disposal. Moreso, perhaps. It would be a delight to visit the mortal plane again to meet more "friends". Smiling, Gael grabbed his bag and began to pack, humming softly all the while.
A soft cough from behind him would grab his attention, and a very familiar figure was perches haphazardly on his ceiling, staring down at him with a look one could describe as.. amused. "Such a shame about your good friend Pierre. His show was as fun for me as it was for you." Illusion descended- slowly dropping down, more like the world moved around her, before uncurling her body and flipping gracefully to the ground. She tucked her hands behind her back, giving Gael a warm smile and a small bow. "Good day, dear Gael. How art thou this wondrous occasion? Barring your loss, of course." Her features were the same as always, her petite and thin body barely concealing her immense strength. Of course, she could let loose around other Demons such as Gael. Idly cracking her neck, the blonde girl moved over to the other Demon, silently looking over his bag and belongings.
"I have some information you may take interest in, little brother~" she teased, putting her hands on his shoulders and tapping them.
It had been far too long since they'd even spoke. She was excited.
Gael had ripped open a giant bag of candy- larger than his own head, even- and was in the process of pouring it all into his backpack when the sound of a cough made him stop. Resting the bag in his lap, he turned his head, and smiled cordially upon seeing who had come to visit. "Oh, hello, there, Miss Illusion. It's very good to see you again." He scooted a little to fully face the other demon, pawing about through the sweets as he did so. "I see that you've heard about what happened to Mister Zeller, then. Yes, what happened to him was quite unfortunate. Left their world far too soon." Gael hardly seemed torn up by the event, pulling a handful of caramel from the depths of the plastic and offering it to Illusion. "Would you like some, by any chance? I have plenty to spare."
With his gift still extended, Gael dragged his backpack over with his free hand, and zipped open another pocket of the thing. "I'm doing very well, thank you for asking. And yourself?" He waited a few moments, then tipped his head slightly, eyes gleaming with almost childlike curiousity. "Would you like to tell me this information, Miss Illusion?"
Her "little brother" designation passed without inquiry. Given their similarities, as well as Illusion's nature, it wasn't too surprising of a comment.
Illusion took a caramel and popped it into her mouth, still smiling. "Thank you, Gael. I'm doing fine, actually. Currently helping some lovely new students along with their first time at Boot Camp on the side." There was a sly smirk slowly sliding across her face as she spoke. "I would enjoy telling you this information very much, Gael." Pausing for a moment, she extended her hand and opened a small portal, a tiny hole appearing above those at boot camp and just out of view. "These are our lovely new recruits."
She paused for dramatic effect.
"And they're the children of our good friend Devi LeRouge."
Her smirk becoming a grin, she shut the portal quickly before anyone below could notice it. "How interested would you be in.." She leaned in close, whispering into his ear softly. ".. introducing yourself to them? You'd enjoy yourself, I'm sure." She paused. "However, there's some.. details.. you'll need to be aware of. Certain.. things.." she leaned in again, whispering inaudibly into Gael's ear.
After a little while, she pulled away once more, her cute face the proud owner of a devious grin. "So. Shall I be registering you as one of those unfortunate orphans in the WDL's company?"
"You're very welcome. I'm pleased that your work with the WDL has been going well for you." The light of fascination in Gael's eyes flared as Illusion split open one of her portals, displaying her recent batch of very, very intriguing recruits. "How interesting," he said. Unlike Illusion, his expression was hardly malicious- his smile as serene as a disciplined schoolboy's. "They seem like quite the group, Miss Illusion. I would love to get to know them personally."He shifted the lollipop around in his mouth, scraping it with his teeth.
Gael took a moment to let the remaining caramel fall into his backpack, and began to add even more candy to the heaps as Illusion leaned in. After all, if he was going to meet such an important selection of people, it would be important to make a good first impression. Sweets helped to do just that.
He showed no shock at Illusion's next, quiet, hushed words. However, his smile had visibly grown after the other had broken apart, looking as excited as the hellspawn could manage. "How very interesting, indeed." There was a loud crunch as Gael bit through the candy in his mouth, breaking it into irregular shards.
"With all that in mind, I would be incredibly grateful if you were to orphan me, Miss Illusion."
Illusion clapped loudly, clasping her hands together and exhaling hard, her smile was wide and, for a moment, outright malevolent. "Oh, dearest Gael, you never disappoint me!" Her voice was loud, alive with enthusiasm and joy, as she continued, spinning around the room. "Ah, how much fun it will be to have you there with me! My own cute little brother hellspawn right in the middle of such a place, playing such a dangerous game, with such severe and fatal risks.." Her voice lowered as she spoke, ending in what might as well be a purr as she flicked her crimson eyes over to Gael, licking her lips.
"You'll be of much use and entertainment to me, little brother, so I think this arrangement benefits both of us very, very much." Spinning around happily, the blonde girl extended her arms and spread her fingers as she rotated, her crimson eyes glowing for a single moment before a red shockwave shot through the room, changing the lighting for only a moment and making everything bar Gael shake.
"Before we leave, however, would you like to play a game with me, little brother?"
Her killing intent was clear as day.
A little while later, Illusion sat on a chair, legs crossed and arms utterly soaked with blood. Her entire front was bloody, staining her clothes and even her face black. None of the blood was hers. She licked her lips, giving Gael a warm smile. "Thank you very much for your assistance, Gael. As you can imagine, it's very rare for me to.. partake of much blood. Yours is truly disgusting, but it will do. Hopefully we get to spar again sometime, but with you pretending to be very definitely certainly human, please avoid Rick. He has.. a very annoying object in his possession. Also avoid a certain little shop in the middle of the WDL. You'll be recognised immediately by our lovely information broker demon, who you may also recognise."
She grinned and chuckled to herself, laughing until she ran out of breath and kept going.
"Seriously! There's so many demons in the WDL now that I could murder everyone inside!"
She paused.
"Well, that was the case even when I was alone, I suppose. That silly Arthur. He's very lucky to have me on his side."
Gael didn't reply.
After all, it would have been a bit hard to speak with his lower jaw detatched from his skull.
Illusion's idea of "playtime" had left the bedroom a complete and total mess, and the demon himself in pieces. It hadn't taken long for him to pick through the chaos- in the absence of his arms, his ribbons did just as well, if not better- and his assorted parts currently sat in a neat pile at his side. They would writhe, sometimes, twitching in their impatience to be reattached.
Lifting one finger in a silent "one moment" gesture, Gael plucked his jawbone from the bundle of flesh and held it against his face. Most of the skin reattached upon being reintroduced, but the rest, which was just a bit too mangled, required other methods. Keeping the jaw held fast with one hand, he deftly began to sew the rest of his face back on, using needle and thread produced from one of his many pockets. As soon as the job was done, the stitches fused into Gael's flesh, leaving the skin just as soft and unblemished as before.
He wiggled his chin a bit with his thumb, rolled his tongue, then, finding the job satisfactory, smiled charmingly at Illusion. "You're welcome, Miss Illusion. Although, if you wouldn't mind, could you please leave me a bit more intact next time? It's rather bothersome to have to put myself together like this." Gael took a moment to drag over one of his legs, and repeated the process of holding and sewing. "And if you find my blood so disgusting, Miss Illusion, then perhaps you should keep from drinking it. It wouldn't be hard for me to find a suitable donor for you."
Leg done, Gael grabbed his other foot, examining it for a moment before putting it in its rightful place. "I have to admit," he said, "I'm curious. For all that you say, you seem to be quite fond of those humans, sometimes. Are you keeping pets, Miss Illusion?" His eye- only one, the other was still currently on the floor- was wide, the look on his face almost kittenlike. If one didn't know the Lord, one could mistake the look for innocent confusion.
Illusion chuckled softly. A dubious smirk slid across her face as she idly wiped the blood away, flicking her wrist and watching the black stain the floor. "Pets? Whatever could you mean, dear Gael? I don't keep pets, Lusy swearsies!" Her dubious smile didn't falter one bit as she leaned forward, putting her chin in her hand and giving him an obvious wink.
"I'm not going to make any promises I can't keep, Gael dear, but I'll try not to turn you into mincemeat quite as badly next time. Disembowelment and getting limbs ripped off are part and parcel of my playtime, however, you know." She paused, shaking her head. "No thank you, Gael, I have plenty of loyal cans of drink myself. I've been abstraining a little as of recently, however, and it's quite odd."
The sight of Gael casually sewing himself back together didn't disturb the tiny girl at all, instead she watched with the eyes of one accustomed to the sight as he casually put himself back into a human shape.
"Of course." Gael smiled placidly at the other, sleeve rolled up to allow him better access to the wounds beneath. There was no blood- only pitch dark lines and cavities that he sealed without effort. "If you did happen to have any pets, however, I would suggest not letting word get out of it. There are many of our kind who would enjoy spiting you, I'm sure." He paused, taking his abandoned eye from the floor and rolling it around in his palm. It was hard and perfectly smooth- a doll's eye, not something that could feasibly belong to any organic being.
Gael gave it one final glance over before bringing it to his lips, licking it, then plugging it back into its socket. He had put it in the wrong way, but as soon as the eye was in place, it snapped back to its original position. The effect tended to be a tad...unsettling, to say the least.
"I suppose that it's the thought that counts, then." Gripping the closest piece of furniture- a giant sheep made from cotton and genuine wool- Gael pulled himself to his feet, testing his weight. There were an assortment of wounds under his coat still, but manners had taught him to wait until company had left to address those. Straightening his bow, Gael plopped down into the sheep's lap, wrapping one of its arms around his shoulders and holding it there. "Have you not been hungry, Miss Illusion?"
Only moments after the word "hungry", Gael had fished another lollipop from his pocket and corked it into his mouth, letting the wrapper sink into the floor as if it wasn't there at all.
Illusion chuckled. "No, actually, I've been awfully not hungry as of late. I believe it's stress. Besides, I'm not allowed to eat people outright at my current position of employment so I'd best not toe the line very much." She idly stretched her arms, letting her joints crack loudly before rotating herself so she was upside down in the chair, her legs over the top and her head hanging off the chair. As per usual, the laws of gravity didn't seem to affect her one bit. "And.. if there are any out there who would spite me.." her eyes flashed dangerously, ".. I would hope nobody was quite that silly." The threat was clear, albeit it wasn't directed at Gael by any means. "I'd welcome the challenge, really. It would give me a wonderful excuse to.." she gestured over at Gael's form, her dubious smirk returning to her face, "play with some other people."
"It's awfully rude for them to deny you your needs in such a way. I would have thought that they would at least offer you some of their criminals to take care of." Gael had nestled his head into the crook of the sheep's arm, idly picking at some of the fur and pulling the looser bits free. He didn't react to Illusion's sudden dismissal of physics, aside from nestling himself further into his seat and adjusting the candy in his mouth. "Duly noted. And that reminds me-" he shifted free of the tangle of wool, although he hadn't left his seat just yet. "Some bothersome groups have been infringing on my territory lately. I've been hoping to go and let them know just how impolite they've been quite soon. Would you care to join me?"
Gael smiled. The sharpened points of his teeth glinted warmly.
There was no hesitation as Illusion returned the smile, her own sharp fangs glinting in the light. "I'd love to."
While her other self was enjoying her time with Gael, the Illusion present at Boot Camp opened her eyes. Blinking once, she looked up and stared at the sun. A loud sigh left her lips, and she casually pulled out her battle umbrella and held it aloft, clicking the button in the handle and having the umbrella pop open. The umbrella opening caused a gust of wind that blasted through the group, and the vampire held it above her head to shade herself.
In the shade, her crimson eyes seemed to almost glow.
"If you're so interested, Ash, why don't I show you our lovely obstacle courses and the like?"
An unknowable smile crossed her face for the fraction of a second before she spun on her heels and moved away, beckoning for the others to follow after her. "Come, come, don't be shy! Your time here will be.. fun! Yes, fun indeed! Rick should know.. how much of a lie that is." She trailed off, the ending of her sentence inaudible to all but herself and those close to her as she proceeded around the course.
It didn't take Illusion too long to go over the basics of the obstacle course- tomorrow at dawn the seven plus silly add-on would be dragged up in the morning and taken for a short jog through the forest. Then they'd go through the mandatory exercise routine and finally get put through the obstacle course. For one, it was an exercise that required teamwork and cooperation, but it was also a test of their physical capabilities.
Looking over her shoulder at the imposing obstacle course that had been set up, Illusion turned back to the ground with a sly smirk on her face. Behind her sat a few trailers- seven to be precise. With a loud sigh, she gestured to them. "You get one of these each for your time here. Make sure to lock your doors at night. Boot Camp lasts for approximately a week, so be on your best behaviour, and.. she turned to Dawn, giving her a look, "you'll be staying with Doctor Minerva so she can keep an eye on you. She volunteered which is nice because otherwise you'd be sleeping on the floor of my trailer. Twirling her umbrella in her grip, Illusion gave everyone one last look before motioning for them to follow her.
Firing ranges, archery targets, several weapon racks, a bunch of areas covered in charred grass surrounded by yellow spray paint on the ground were the next areas Illusion covered. "Here's where you learn to shoot, learn to use weapons, and learn basic magick. Some of you will excel in areas that others will not. For example, Jonathan and Caius will be great in regards to beating things up." She shrugged. "Don't get any ideas, though, Caius. Hitting the loli is not allowed."
She spun on her heels again, grinning widely. "Honestly, that's it, really. Boot Camp is just a nice, quick way to get you settled in and get you used to using weapons and magick and the like. During your stay with the WDL, you'll be attending classes that you may choose from an extensive curriculum and you'll be going much more in-depth in those." Illusion twirled her umbrella once more, a sly smirk on her face as she extended her hand. A second Illusion appeared out of thin air, pushing a pile of papers into the main Illusion's free hand before vanishing.
Licking her lips, Illusion looked away and huffed. "I hate this part. If you could all prick your thumbs and put your bloody fingers on this here piece of paper, that would be incredibly useful. If not, I'll have to do it for you,"
Illusion waited for a few moments, holding the pieces of paper out and staring to the side. She suddenly pulled them back, grinning. "Aha, I should explain what these are, actually! These are lovely little pieces of paper that read into your lovely DNA and tell us just what it is you're capable of." A dark smile crept across her face as she held out the papers once more, extending her other hand, full of sharp needles, as well. "If you don't want to do it, I'll prick you, but I'll also drip some of your blood at the same time, so choose wisely. Bravery is a virtue, no?"
There were seven pieces of paper, one for each Child, but there were eight needles.
She paused for a moment then pulled both back again, laughing to herself. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Jeez! You know how unhealthy that is?" She idly took the bunch of pins and stabbed them into her arm, grinning widely and holding out the papers once more. Down the bottom of the page was a small pentagram surrounded by a circle, just enough space inside to place a thumb. "Put your thumb in the pentagram and bam, crazy magick stuff happens. It'll give us the names of your special cool ability things. Normally we'd use the blood thing, buuut.. well, do any of you actually want to prick yourselves?"
With that out of the way, once he papers were taken- Illusion idly pulling the pins out of her arm during the Seven's time doing weird thumb magick- the loli looked up and grinned.
"So, what've we got, my lovelies?"
-| ? |-
-| Jonathan Black |-
-| Jonathan Black |-
As Dawn questioned him, he simply nodded at her. Jojo had tagged along pretty happily, taking a look at everything they'd been shown as Illusion showed them around the camp. He hadn't had much to comment on, and he'd kept himself quite quiet the entire tour. He didn't have anything to talk about, nor did he really have any desire to mention anything. As Illusion mentioned him, alongside Caius, being good for beating things up, he raised an eyebrow. Did she know?
Jojo reached forward and took a piece of paper, except he didn't. Illusion yanked it just out of range and he pouted. After a few moments, Jojo glanced at the sharp, silver needles cautiously.
"I.. think I'd rather get bitten by a vampire than stab myself, honestly.."
Pouting harder as Illusion pulled the pins and paper away yet again, he sighed audibly.
As soon as Illusion offered the papers again, Jojo hurriedly snatched one for himself and held it firmly in his hands. Illusion was right. He somehow doubted that anyone there bar maybe Rick and Vesper would've been fine with the pricking. Looking down at the blank paper curiously, he placed his thumb in the spot and gasped as the paper began to scrawl on itself in black ink that oozed from the pentagram. Eventually, the pentagram had vanished and replacing it on the paper was a bunch of letters quickly rearranging themselves. Soon enough, there were letters.
Major Abilities of Jhinohatan Bukalc:
Void Mark.
Minor Abilities of Jnmtohnahaa Baclkk:
Break Mode.
Call to Arms.
Void Mark.
Minor Abilities of Jnmtohnahaa Baclkk:
Break Mode.
Call to Arms.
Jojo narrowed his eyes. His name was a jumble of words both times it had been written. He shrugged it off, however, focusing on the things he could actually read. Void Mark, Break Mode and Call to Arms.
He had absolutely zero idea what they meant.
"Void Mark, huh? Hm, I see.."
Jojo jumped as Illusion manifested behind him, a grin on her face. She gave a quick shrug, lowering herself to the ground and poking out her tongue. "So, who else's got what?"