"I don't want to be here." Yohan said to himself, as he saw the place around him form like some kind of castle. "I want out." He spoke again, reaching forward to touch a mirror before him with sparks of light emitting upon touch and showing his arm now mainly looked white like a sketch. "Let me out!"

"Calm down." A white haired boy appeared from out of thin air. "There's no point in getting angry."

"Who are you?" Yohan demanded, a tone of anger lashing out.

"You may call me Shiro. I suggest you calm down now, sir." Raising up his right hand, a plate poofs itself onto it as he takes hold of a fancy looking cup and places it down before Yohan. "Have some water. It's cool, refreshing and will help calm you down in a jiffy!" Yohan looked to the cup with hesitation, but decided that he did feel dehydrated. Yohan takes hold of the cup and lifts it up, drinking it all down as his form quickly returns to how it should look.

"There now. Feeling better?" Shiro gave a smile upon seeing Yohan nod, taking the cup from his hand and putting it back on the plate and allowing it to poof. However, Yohan sees the boy grow older as the plate poofed away, now Shiro looked older and now stood taller than Yohan! "We don't have a lot of time, although it will feel like that's not the case here. But I have some things to explain, though I'm not sure if you will remember once you wake back up."

"Wake back up...?" Yohan sat down and put a hand on his head. Had he done something before now? He... Couldn't remember. Shiro said he would explain some things to him, so he decided it was a good idea to listen to him for now. "Alright, I'm listening."

"Well, for starters, the reason I had you calm down is mainly because of the connections you have right now." This caused Yohan to become confused. Connections? "Right now, the others must be in a fragile state after what you all just went through. When you were angry, that feeling must of briefly made it's way over to the others. Though I see one of them is currently not fully connected yet, that anger could of had a negative impact on the others."

"What are these connections you are talking about?" Yohan rubbed his head while trying to remember, but he could only come up with a blank.

"My apologies. Right now, there are other people seeing through your eyes, though I am not sure if they will remember anything from this either. Let's just say these connections will be important to remember for when you come here."

"So..." Yohan looked around, finding himself sitting in some kind of big castle like hallway. "Where exactly am I?"

"Ah, yes. You are currently in your own world." Shiro's words caused Yohan to blink rapidly a few times in disbelief.

"My... Own world?"

"Yes. Everyone with The White or The Black has one. The mind is a powerful tool, and well, you can think of this place as sort of a safe heaven among all the wild and crazy power in that brain of yours."

"So this place is somewhere I can relax?" Yohan rose up to his feet, looking up at Shiro. "So, do these others have a place like this?"

"But of course, sir. They have been given this power as well, though I imagine they won't be able to enter this place for quite some time."

"They can enter into my place?" Yohan rubbed his head as he tried to let all of this sink in.

"Yes sir. Those connections I mentioned before will largely affect how that goes. Though I don't know if they'll have reason to enter here. I can't really see anything being here waiting for them." Shiro looked over his shoulder really quickly before turning back to look at Yohan. "Though I have been wrong before. There are some things about this place even I do not know of. I have been here for years, searching and exploring everywhere I could go, but there are parts I do not have access to. Then there are the parts I don't want to have access to. You must be feeling tired though, come. I will show you around."

"Alright." Yohan slowly rose up to his feet and followed Shiro through the hallway. As he walked, he took notice of passing by multiple doors, some of them having different symbols on them, others having different colors on them entirely. "So uh, what's up with all the doors?"

"Each door has a different purpose. For now, all you need to know is not to mess with any of these doors. Opening even one of them could have some kind of negative effect on you. However, there is only one forbidden door." Shiro and Yohan stop as Shiro points towards one of the last doors, and Yohan's eyes widen to see a menacing dark red door.

"What's wrong with that door? It's not natural."

"Indeed, that door holds behind it something I've been trying to keep at bay for as long as I've been here. It grows stronger over time, and it's always getting free whenever I'm not able to keep it locked up. You won't hear any noise if you try to listen in, but there is something in there. That thing is dangerous and you should avoid it at all cost."

"So... Do the others have a door just like this one?" Shiro paused at Yohan's question, closing his eyes as if hesitant to answer. But after some silence, he opens his eyes and slowly nods.

"I hate to admit it, but yes. Everyone has a door like this, I wish I could say no one was tempted to open it. Well, hopefully the others don't have to deal with it like this troublesome one likes to act."

"But, how is it a problem for us? It was never opened before, right?" Shiro paused again, giving some time to choose his next words carefully.

"Things... Were different when I first arrived. By the time I got here, the door had already been opened and I barely managed to lock it back up. I wish I had known sooner of the dangers of this door, but nothing can be said of that now. Come, I have something to show you before you go." Shiro began to walk again, Yohan stared at the ominous door for a little longer before following after Shiro.

"This place is so big, Shiro. But if that door exists, does that mean there are other bad doors as well?"

"Yes, afraid so. Many bad doors exist within this place, that red one I showed you is the most dangerous of all. This place isn't perfect I'm afraid. I have taken it upon myself to learn of the ins and outs of what I could about this place. As long as you seek me out when you return, you will be safe. Should I ever be missing, however, you must take it upon yourself to take the path I show you now and not open any of the doors or mess with anything else. Understand?"

"Y-yeah. I think I get it." Yohan nods as Shiro and him come to a halt in front of the biggest door yet. Shiro pulls out some sort of stone and holds it up to a key that was hung nearby the door, the stone glowing and poofing as the key began to glow.

"This key will always open any door within this place. I must use special requirements in order to use it, but for you it will always be available." Shiro takes the key and inserts it into the keyhole, twisting the key as the key poofs away. The big door began to shine as it creaks open before them, the light that once shined behind it fading away to reveal a large room. "This room is special. It connects to every area of this castle."

"I don't get it. I don't remember any castle. Why is it like this then?"

"It depends entirely on the person, I suppose. For you, it seems as if you consider this castle to be the safest haven you know. In your case, this castle is designed to comfort you. But we can discuss that more later. For now, we must observe the dream you are having." Shiro walks into the room, leaving Yohan to stand there for a bit looking confused.

"Wait... I'm dreaming right now?" Yohan walked into the room slowly while Shiro tapped a crystal ball lightly. Yohan looked closer at the crystal ball to see some images flashing briefly in it.

"Why, of course. You couldn't be here if you weren't. This place is not set in reality, nor is it set in the fantasy. It is hard to explain properly, but I think you will just have to experience it for yourself to find out." Shiro looked over the images appearing in the crystal ball. "Interesting. This appears to be a dream you and someone else are sharing right now. I wonder if it will reach out to the others. They may awaken before you do, which could serve to our benefit."

"Our benefit? How?"

"Well, there is one more thing I would like to show you before you go. It is the only thing left I can do before you go. If you are interested in finding out, that is."

"Of course I am. If I can help out somehow, I will!" This caused Shiro to laugh lightly.

"I didn't expect you to be so cheerful, but very well. I will show you a secret about this castle, one that even I have not unraveled the mysteries of yet!"

Taja glared at the perverted man in front of her, she wasn't about to fall asleep in the same room as that man. She was extremely tired and if she didn't act fast she would fall asleep right where she was, which was in direct view of the perverted man. Everyone had passed out including the Great Yohan himself. "Loser." She whispered.

Wobbling towards the stairs she climbed each one with the last big of energy she had before opening the door and rolling into a seemingly hall and closing the door behind her. She had made it, her eyes barely opened. Raising her hand to her shoulder she gave herself a job-well-done pat right before falling asleep pressed against the closed door.

If someone was to try and open the door, say by the perverted man, than she would be awakened and ready to fight off the attacker.

---

---

Taja woke up in a large pink room and lined up along the walls were tables covered in grey sheets and on top of it was plated of food. Hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, and more! Her mouth watered just looking at it. She hadn't eaten since she the morning she heard the voices. Her brows furrowed, if she would have just stayed home and called her mother about the voices in her head, then none of the events would have happen.

"Momma is probably sick with worry right now and what about daddy?" She said to herself, though in the middle of the room was Sienna pigging out on plates of food. Her face twisted with disgust. "Just what can't you shove down your throat?" She asked the dream Sienna. She just looked up at Taja, her expression blank and she kept shoving food down her throat.

Shivers ran down her back as she moved away from her and towards one of the tables. A sigh read ALL YOU CAN EAT! on it. Well she was hungry and if it was free she might as well. Taking a plate she started to fill it up with hot dogs, a hamburger, some fries, a donut, some gummy worms, and headed to a safe spot away from the lifeless expression of Sienna.

She took a bite of the hamburger and squealed with delight, "Sew gewd!" In six bites she was done with the burger, she understood why Sienna was eating it as fast as she could. The food was amazing! She watched as Sienna got up and grabbed two more plates and return to the place she was at. Taja counted the plates that were stacked in next to Sienna. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Oh there are some more behind her." Taja leaned over, "eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen! How is she eating that much? And why isn't she stopping?"

A voice from under one of the tables could be heard, "Well you see, she is just a pig. Though her thighs aren't as gre-" Taja had shoved her plate into the perverted man's face.

"What are you doing here?! Get out! Get out! GET OUT!" She had kicked him back under the table and ran over towards Sienna. "We have to go! Stop eating!" She screamed as she shook the expressionless red head. Sienna did nothing but eat and look up at her. Taja took a deep breath and slapped Sienna's face. "WAKE UP!" But to no avail she kept eating.

Behind Sienna two doors appeared, one red and one blue. She looked behind her and the perverted man was smiling at them in a very creepy way. She grabs Sienna's hand and runs towards the red door. Behind her the perverted man danced with a broom after them. "Come back my lovely ladies!"

The nightmare came again, the man in the room walking towards her as she lay prone and bound to a table. He smiled down at her while he recited some sort of words she couldnt understand. He laughed at her fear and trembled with delight when she tried to pull herself free from the bonds. He went to a table to grab something from it and withdrew a melon baller from it then placed it over a flame to heat it.

"With this final sacrifice, I shall be ascended to the hand of God himself. You my dear...shall be my offering...an Eye to see the world around me. An arm to open the door...and a soul to burn the lantern to guide me through to the Dark"

He turned and walked towards her and she let out a blood curdling scream as the melon baler was brought to her eye...

Sonea lurched forward and panted hard, thrashing off the blanket that covered her and sat at the edge of the bed. It was a dream...just a dream. Albeit a horrific nightmare but still just a dream. He wasnt there anymore, he couldnt hurt her anymore. She brought her one arm up to rub her face free of the cold sweat that covered it and then stood up. Turning to look out the window, she saw the rain, now being around mid morning. She shook her head and let out a grumbling sigh of frustration.

"Why couldnt it be evening?" She asked herself then went to the other side of the bed so she could retrieve her arm. Her fingers gripped the wrist of the prosthetic and slipped it into place while testing to make sure the connections still worked. Gripping tightly with her fist, she nodded once to herself then headed for the bathroom to start her routine.

It was always the same, first check the eyes, then the nose, then her torso, rear, back and arm to make sure there was no bleeding. Sadly to say, there was a rather long cut on her leg, probably from the nightmare and grumbled about how much blood had already been lost and set to bandaging the wound to stop it. There wasnt any pain, there never was any pain at all. She was at least thankful for that at the very least.

After her shower and check up, she went down into her kitchen and started to fix herself some breakfast and turned on the news to read what had happened over the course of the night. Of course it was nothing special until she looked next to the television and saw the calander. In big, red letters it read "Groceries Today". Of course it was grocery day she reminded herself and finished her meager breakfast of cereal and milk then gathered up her pocketbook, bags, list and bus fare and headed out into the marketplace. She kept her arm covered with a glove as to avoid people staring at her and pulled her hood up to keep her dry from the rain. It was a very nasty day after all.

After a few hours, she arrived at the market and proceeded into the district with her list in hand.

Frederick simply lay on his back and ate his burger in thought. What was he going to do now?...Well he cant just walk back home right now. What if someone sees an unknown man walk out of their neighbors house? What would he tell the police? "Hello officer! This seems to be a mistake, I was inside a parrallell dimension and then appeared in this hous's basment after a teen grabbed a strange device and said magic words!" They would think he was a mad man! He did not need to read books, or watch cartoons to know this was a very bad idea.

Once Frederick finished his burger he soon sat up. Well...there were two teens sleeping in a dark and decrepit basment...which was also dusty he had to add. Well, this was a house...must have a bed somewhere...With a shrug and flex of the arm. He lifted Yohan over one shoulder and Sienna over the other shoulder. And they say Janitor work did not build some muscle. Well he was proving them all wrong! Like...right this instant even though no one was here to look at his acomplishment.

The man easily noted the little girls missing person. He just guessed she had found a secure place away from him. Come of Frederick! Even though a human with horns and a tail are almost impossible...now a girl thinks your a pervert...well, what could he do? He just drew comics and manga, cooked food food and cleaned house very well...man...this kinda stinked but maybe he dould make this up!....somehow!...

With a simple shrug Frederick climbed the stairs from the basment into the house above. There might be a few rooms with beds right? Well...they could be locked for starters, I mean how easy would it be if he placed his hand on a doorknob and...twisted...and...it opened...

How...covinent! The room led to a single bed which looked like someones personal room. Well he plopped Yohan right in bed and pulled the sheets over him. Then after looking around the house descovering almost every other area in the process, he soon found another empty room and got Sienna tucked in...

Now what? He had nothing to...Oh! Thats right! This house was dusty! And dirty! He was going to clean this place up! Easily grabbing a broom and with a mop and a bucket of cleaning water. He got to work cleaning this house at a quick pace. "A janitors work is never done!...maybe I should cook some food afterwards...yeah...more burgers sounds nice..." He nodded ro himself as he dleaned the house.

Shiro and Yohan traveled along a set of stone stairs. With each step they took, the spiraling motion they underwent as they ascended upward messed with Yohan's mind. How could the place have been built and yet he could only see the same pattern over and over again? How could he not see any differences in the steps when he could see things like cracks in them? Perhaps they were minor things to complain about, but to him it was like a bad itch that just wouldn't go away.

It finally came to an end when they ascended up to the top of one of the castle's towers. Seeing the castle itself like this struck Yohan in a way only his body seemed to recall, a feeling of overwhelming excitement that made him want to see the castle in full. His attention quickly was drawn back to Shiro when he pointed out towards the land around the castle. When Yohan rushed over to where Shiro stood, the excitement was quickly gone and replaced with horror.

Barren. It was a barren wasteland that surrounded the castle. Not a single fire to light up the land, not a single plant could grow here, not a single sign of life was here. "Why?" Yohan spoke with a growing despair to his tone. "Why is it like this?"

"This is the struggle everyone eventually faces. Ruin, Desolation, Destruction, Death, Despair, Madness, Agony. This is the world outside of this castle now."

"But... How could it have gotten to this point?" Yohan's question forced Shiro to inhale greatly before releasing it slowly. The expression on Shiro's face showed the pure sorrow he held for his next words.

"Because hope dies out. When hope dies out, one loses the will to fight. When one loses this will, they want only the end. This is that end now, creeping it's way into the mind and infecting everything around it with corruption. If nothing is done, there will only be nothing. This castle is the last stronghold against this nothing. When this castle falls, death will come."

"What... What can I do about it?" Yohan turns his head to look at Shiro, who's eyebrows rose before quickly lowering as his eyes closed.

"Believe. You must believe." These words left Yohan confused, yet when he went to speak, everything became blurry to his sight. He felt tired, his eyes closing as his mind drifted off.

---

Back we shall go, for all of you connected. The feeling of shared bonds shall pass on similar feelings. A tightening grip of visions shall now take hold for this point of time!

The loud noise of thunder caused his eyes to open, if it weren't for his helmet rain would be dripping all over his face. He rose up from the ground to find he laid upon grass, his body shaking with upmost fright! His head felt foggy, his chest heavy with fear, while his skin crawled with pain that cut deep into his soul. A terrible night had striked his home, and only he had lived to tell the tale.

His body shot up to rise, quick with adrenaline, as a storm rained down upon his armor. The heavy force of rain clashed with his armor, an eerie darkness tried to cut off his sight! With his newfound energy, he pushed himself up to his feet to look for his parent's castle. Alas, with a flash of lightning and a roar of thunder, he had found his home. The darkness was not there merely for looks, it had somehow creeped it's way to the physical realm!

The castle he once called home had now been consumed, the darkness before him reeked of something born of wicked desire. Visions struck through his mind of how he had been inside the castle, of how he had traversed his way through it and saw the fallen bodies of his comrades before it appeared. The sudden darkness that had consumed his home had now latched itself onto the castle, everything inside was more than likely lost. Within minutes, the sound of horses came in the distance, the knight looking over to see his friends approaching his position. Someone had found him, and that could only mean more disaster awaited him.

"My prince, thank the gods you survived!" One of his fellow knights spoke up, with all of the horses stopping before him. "Thy castle was attacked by a wicked force of magic! Where is his Majesty?!"

"I cannot say." The prince said. "I did not see him come out. I, too, had thought myself consumed."

"Thou mustn't speak lies, m'lord!" The knight proclaimed with disbelief. "No man could hath survived from within!"

"'Tis only the truth I speak! I was within, and here I stand before thee! Would thou question me in a moment of crisis?!"

"T'was not my intention, but that would make thee the first man to hath survived! This evil has spread throughout the lands, m'lord! Our forces dwindle each time we attack! This could very well spell the end if his Majesty truly is dead!"

"There is a way, but thou would hast to take me to a wizard!"

"Hath thou lost thy mind?! Wizards hath brought nothing but misfortune upon the lands! What makes thou think any wizard can be trusted?!"

"This one owes me a favor, and I intend to find out from him the truth of this evil! If my father truly is dead, he will know. I will ride alone if I must, but either way I am seeing this wizard!"

---

Yohan's eyes slowly opened as his eyes narrowed. He could hear it raining, again with this huh? He reached out slowly and grabbed hold of the time near his bed, his eyes shifting tiredly to look over at it. Eight A.M. huh? That was unusually early for him. Oh well, he could at least get people out of his house so he could go back to sleep. He already heard the noise of something moving about, no doubt it was that weird adult they had met before.

He got up to his feet and walked out to the living room, as he did so, he heard the sound of a television already playing. His eyes slowly narrowing until he walked out into the living room to fully see and hear it. "Yesterday afternoon saw a terrible tragedy." The news was on, and they were talking about yesterday of all things? "A model crashed her car and died immediately upon impact. Police suspected her ex-boyfriend Richard Leonard to be behind the case, however when coming to his home for questioning, they found Richard nowhere to be found."

Wait a minute, yesterday, accident... No, it couldn't be. They were talking about that lady who just crashed and died before they were sent off?! No, he had to calm down, he was overthinking this. He still couldn't entirely believe that everything yesterday was connected, it had to be just coincidental. "Richard Leonard, known by some as Little Ricky, is the son to Walter Leonard, the very same wealthy man who owns Leonard Industries. Richard has been known from an early age for getting into trouble and if found linked to this new murder, could find himself arrested for the last time."

"In other news, five individual's suddenly vanished yesterday without a word. How do we know this? Well, let's now go over to the man who was called in to start the investigation." Yohan had to sit down for this, he had a feeling he knew exactly what was going to happen next. Sure enough, a man wearing a large coat appeared on the television screen.

"This isn't the first time I've been called in for this. Lately, groups of people seem to be going missing like these five from Timberland. A man in a nearby town also went missing, we got reports of him heading off to work when people say he just suddenly never turned up to it." Yohan's mind turned to the man he had seen getting devoured last night. It had to have been him, someone who looked ready to go to work suddenly being attacked. This was starting to make his head hurt, if only he knew how that device in his basement worked!

"We couldn't get anything positive until we discovered another unfortunate accident. Sadly, there was another crash sometime last night, and it took the life of yet another person. Luckily, what we could find left lead us to find out it was a person linked to one of the five who went missing." Another crash, another death. Unfortunate, perhaps they'll go more into this second crash when they aren't so focused on the missing people.

"So where did this lead you next?" A woman's voice asked the man with the large coat.

"Well, we were able to find out about a girl named Sienna Cartlow. Wouldn't you know it, she was supposed to be at work only to dissapear just like the man in the other town. Through this, we were able to get into contact with a man, who you'll hear from later when the second crash comes up." This wasn't looking good to Yohan, how the heck would the others react to hearing this?

"So I hear you worked all night to find out where Sienna had last been seen, is that correct?"

"Yes, it is. We found ourselves going to Timberland Gym, where some passerby's who had seen the crash had apparently spotted a woman who fit Sienna's description. We don't know exactly why she went there, but if my assumption is correct, she was snatched up with the others and taken away. This is where we found out about the other four, and that's where we stand now. Two people dead, five missing. I had heard the crime rate with this town had gone up recently, but to think things would all come together like this here is unfortunate."

"I'd just like to personally thank you for all of your hard work in discovering this." The man with the large coat gives a quick nod to this.

"Well, it wasn't just me, you know. We had parents to a little kid who kept calling us, asking where their daughter had gone. We had some school staff members who told us of a man who went missing and just left his keys strangely out in the front. The owner of the Timberland Gym suddenly going missing when she had last been seen there and not going home. And, of course, the helpful young man who helped us out with the second crash incident."

"Thank you again for all that you have done in this. Now, we will present picture ID's of the five missing individual's with the names of each. We can only hope that the worst hasn't come for them and that they are all still safe."



"Rina Jasmine. Sienna Cartlow. Taja Halterman. Miranda Wallace. And Frederick Bell. See, I told you we'd find out who they were." The man sitting next to Ricky spoke out, giving a devilish grin to him. Ricky just kind of gave an awkward stare while continuing to eat for the first time today.

"Well, well, well. You said it, and it happened. Wow, sir, how did you ever do that?" Ricky gave a taunting chuckle to follow. "But seriously, how did you do it so fast? People shouldn't of given these punks five seconds."

"I told you, Ricky, I have ears and eyes in the best places. I knew people connected to them wouldn't resist hearing that someone important to them had gone missing. If that second crash had never happened, we would of never been able to confirm a connection. Poor girl apparently went out searching last night for her friend, and ended up dead instead. Lucky for us, since we would of had to deal with her if she got too close."

"Haha, I know exactly what happened to that girl!" The Djinn couldn't help but give a sinister laugh. "I ain't telling you buttheads though, it's going to be my little secret." Another chuckle to annoy Ricky, who raised his arm and swung it through the demon to swat him away for a bit like a fly. The food was just too damn good to waste with such an annoying loudmouth to spoil it.

"So what do you want me to do about it? If they go home, that's the end of the story right? Nothing can be done then!"

"You underestimate our power, Ricky. We have roots deep within the world of Gaia. Think about it, Timberland is a dump of a town! Nobody cares about some little place that just barely got put on the map. The only reason the news is even like this today is because we demanded it to be as such! You already saw yesterday first hand what this power can do when you put your mind to it. Tomorrow, you will begin searching for these intrusive little brats."

"Oi, you ask a lot out of me, you old man. How am I going to find them among so many?"

"Oh, don't you worry Ricky, they stick out like a sore thumb, just as you do now. They have only just begun to live a life of fear, we will have answers out of them yet. And if they are the sources we picked up on last night, well... We'll just have to take care of them, won't we?" A sinister laugh escaped the man as he stood up and walked over to a window.

"Sure, as long as you keep your word to give me Timberland to do with as I please." The Djinn flew back over near Ricky and gave a sinister grin upon his words. "I'm going to have fuuuuuuun~"

A sudden crash was heard Somewhere in the house as the resident werewolf awoke from her sleep, flinging whatever was on top of her off of her body and onto the ground. Sitting up she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, her Demon staring at her as it lay next to her, like a lover from a one night stand. "Here you are, in the house of a young man, and you're not going to take advantage of that?"

Silence.

"Oh come on, you haven't done anything fun in a long time." Again, silence. "Raid the pantry at least? Fucks sake Miranda you've gotten boring....and you smell." it was that that merited a response. A Grunt in the affirmative. Of course, the noses of mere humans, magical or not now, wouldn't be able to detect the smell that Miranda and her Demon could pick up, but it was time for a shower regardless.

Standing with a grunt, she stretched out her tall, muscular body, bones and joints cracking in relief as she did so. Walking out to the living room, where Yohan watched the news, the woman grunted and leaned against the wall. "Yo....boy....Yohan, whatever your name is....you got a shower and some extra clothes for me to wear till I can get home?" She asked, looking at the boy with lazy, but still predatory, piercing eyes.

Leo Pichard awoke in a mess of white bed sheets, his monochrome simple patterned doona halfway to being completely on the floor. Stretching his toned arms above his head awkwardly as they lightly knocked at the timber headboard behind him, he let out a long loud yawn. "Well. Can't say that was the freakiest dream I've had but close to it." He mumbled lazily to himself in a series of strained tones as he stretched. Sliding on out of bed in a simple pair of black trunks he recalled at first seeing some really hot chick but then she suddenly transformed into some messed up dark entity and chased him out of a hotel room. Plus it was raining. Glancing outside as the sound of rain caught his attention he assumed that's where the weather in his dream came from.

Throwing on a grey knit sweater over his long sleeved, tight fit black shirt, followed by a pair of dark blue denim jeans and chocolate brown Chelsea boots he turned on the TV as background noise. Finishing up in the bathroom the reporter announced a car accident that had happened the other day. Bad stuff always happened on the news. It was always: blah blah school shooting blah blah someone got stabbed blah blah England versus Germany in soccer this evening etc etc. So he didn't pay it much attention.

Grabbing his long black coat, umbrella, keys, wallet and phone, he headed out locking up his small terrace behind him as he headed for the marketplace. Was best to get groceries over and done with in the morning to avoid the last minute horde of shopping soccer mum's with their spoiled kids. As he walked through the aisles trying to choose between a cheap brand and expensive brand of bread, he whipped around probably too quickly, almost bumping into the sandy blonde beauty. "Whoa- ha sorry didn't see you-" Her azul blue eyes piercing his heart as he paused for a moment captivated by her. Mouth gaping like a fish out of water. "...there. Uh." Leo finished as he recollected his thoughts, standing up tall as his chestnut brown orbs stared back into hers in a rather awkward silence. Smooth Leo. Very smooth.

Frederick crossed his arms together as he looks over at his finished masterpiece. A now clean house! Not a speck of dust left, every item organized and it smells clean and not dusty anymore! Heck, the basement was so clean you could hold a skating ring down there!...it would be wise to actually not try skating down there actually, its just very clean and you would just likely fall down...

Well with a whole house clean...now what? Oh yeah! Breakfast or...something...eh, everyone likes bacon. Unless they were vegetarian. Or hates bacon in the first place...Alright he should just cook the bacon. Heading to the kitchen and basically raiding Yohan's fridge, Frederick took out a tray of bacon and began to fry it on a frying pan because what else would he use? His coat? Nah, that would catch on fire and that would be bad!

Food for Six maybe? Some people might have more appetite than others though...Eh...Cook the whole tray of bacon! That will solve the problem. Wait a second...forget just bacon! He would fire up another spot on the stove and Raid Yohan's fridge again and get out a few trays ground beef. He was making some burgers! Because burgers were awesome and delicious!

Frederick whistled to himself as he began to mix the ground beef with some spice and bread crumbs giving it that extra crunch when people bit into it. A few eggs to loosen it up a bit and presto he made himself some meat patties. He soon threw that on the frying pan after spraying it with a non-stick spray and whistled to himself as he cooked. The smell of food filling the house.

Eh...He'll pay back whoever owned this house...Wait? Why was he just raiding someone's fridge to cook?...Ah who cares! He was going to pay them back with money so in a sense...he was just cooking food like normal, he just had to pay for another persons groceries instead of his own groceries.

Amber opened her eyes slowly as the light streamed in, smiling at the classic summer weather she saw outside her window. Pretty soon, she'd be starting school again, and that would mean having to bolt up at 6 in order to get ready.

She'd been fairly busy over the summer, of course, doing odd jobs here and there, taking things like SAT and ACT prep, and searching around for potential colleges she might go to after the next summer, but even with all that activity, there was a lull that happened right around August, and she treasured it. She treasured the roaming she'd done with her friends, the beach, and, to sum it all up, the freedom.

After a fair amount of time spent getting dressed (she'd been waiting for a chance to try on one particular little number that she found during a mall trip a few days prior--a small, solid red top with gold buttons on the wrists that she thought went especially well with a skirt), she went downstairs to fix herself something to eat (her parents having already left for their jobs), checking her smartphone while she waited for the food to cook.

Her brow creased a little bit as she read the news--five people had been reported missing today. She knew it was silly, but, what with the news, she checked to see if there were any pictures of the missing people.

...whew. Her friends, at least, were safe. That said, she still hoped that the people in the bulletin were okay.

Sonea hummed as she walked along, pushing her cart as she looked through the isles. She seemed to be deep in thought while picking up various things along the way. Eggs, milk, sandwich meat, ground turkey meat...oreos.........olive oil....

By the time she reached the cereal isle, her body was just going through the motions of picking things up as her mind was completely elsewhere. Her eye moved about the isles almost with a glazed look to it as her ears twitched as she strained to listen to some sort of sound.

"It was your fault...You lead him to you. Do I take life or give it? Who is victim and who is foe?"

Cereal...Coffee....milk again.......flour...........chef's knife........

"Like water I ebb and flow...defeat is simply the addition of time for a sentence I never deserved. But you imposed..."

Heart......lungs......................liver...........arm........eye..........

Her world warped around her and distorted itself as the items she was grabbing were no longer items in a super market, but some sort of nightmarish hellscape of body parts, organs and the sounds of screaming things. Shadows danced across her vision of an eye that was no longer there. She could 'see' everything. A barren land, empty in ever detail. Devoid of life but for a single castle in the distance.

Kidneys.........brain..............

"I wish to be free...Release me! I seek a new freedom......."

The voice now clearly her own but harder, sounding more angry and tyrannical then her own as something came out of the Black and grabbed her, it's hands wrapping around her neck with an arm and a black tendril of force. It was her left arm with her eye glaring back into her own.

"I WILL KNOW ALL THAT I POSSESS! RELEASE US! RELEASE US! RELEASE US! SET LOOSE YOUR POWER AND MAKE US WHOLE!"

As this being grabbed her, she bumped into Leo and her vision ceased and she promptly fell backwards onto her ass with an unlady like thud. She winced as she rubbed her eye with her right hand and shook her head a few times to try and free herself from the remainder of her vision, some of which still lingered.

"No no I am sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going" She said, pulling herself up off of the floor and dusting herself off "I wasn't exactly here you know? I tend to shut my brain off sometimes while I am doing my chores. My name is Sonea, whats yours?" She asked, holding out her right hand to shake while moving her left behind her back.

This Leo fellow was really easy on the eyes and they way he looked at her, it was as if there was a thunderbolt going through him. The slack jawed stupor left him stunned, and she did giggle a bit at it while she had her hand extended outwards towards him. He was really cute...lets see where this conversation could go. But the niggling voice in her mind lingered...and a new form took shape behind him, through her missing eye.

It appeared like a shorted haired cat, much like the Cheshire from Alice in Wonderland...but much worse in appearance.

'Ahh Sonea...we cant go back again. No surprise really...only a very few find the way and those do who do, don't recognize it when they do. Illusions too die hard. You have taken the first step even if you didn't know it before'

The cat grinned and jumped up into her basket, staring at what she bought and sniffed at it.

'To forget pain, is convinient. To remember it, agonizing. But the truth is worth the suffering...and our world, though damaged can be restored. Remember your pain...remember the ritual and know what purpose to the Black you serve. Your important in all of this...and you will soon realize it. I will guide you but you must listen. I will await you when you reach a quieter place'

With that, she looked into her basket again and the cat was gone...and she was smiling at the man as if nothing had happened.

Sienna Cartlow

“She gets too hungry, for dinner at eight…~” Sienna scrunched her eyes tightly as the voice began to filter through the air. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant. In fact, there was a talent buried in it, and the lyrics itself that were being sung were familiar, though she couldn’t quite place them. “…She wouldn’t bother, with someone she hates…~” The song continued, despite Sienna pulling the nearby pillow over her head. She had a pounding headache, and wasn’t even considering leaving the comfort and warmth of the large, fluffy… Wait, this wasn’t… Where…-?

Opening her eyes with a start, Sienna sat up rather quickly, looking about. Looking to the window sill, she detected the source of the voice, the small feline of Sinopia bopping back and forth to an unseen rhythm as she continued to sing. As Sienna began to clamber out of the bed, the cat turned to look over its shoulder, punctuating the last line of the verse. “That’s why this lady… Is a tramp~” Perking her eyebrows once as she met Sienna’s gaze, the girl returned an eyeroll as she stretched slightly, looking about her accommodation. “Was that supposed to be an insult? I-“ Sinopia hissed in Sienna’s direction, cutting her off and leaping off the sill to the floor as she began strutting towards the door, each step continuing to move in time to a beat, though Sienna noted that the rhythm seemed to have changed. “The best is yet to come and babe, won't it be fine?~”

Leaping up towards the door, it loosely swung open, allowing the cat to stride through. “The best is yet to come, come the day you're mine~” The voice continued to filter to Sienna’s ears, even as the feline descended the stairs towards the kitchen. Sighing, Sienna groggily took a moment to slap her cheeks and fix her hair a little, stepping back into her shoes which had been left neatly by the side of her bed. The moment she took to collect herself had begun to bring back all the memories of the previous day. Briefly, she wondered if she’d had too much of a drinking spree and some sort of lucid dream, but the singing cat told her otherwise. “…We've only tasted the wine, we're gonna drain the cup dry…~” As Sienna followed the sound and rounded the corner, peering her head about the room, she noticed a pleasant smell in the air, and realised just how ravenous she was feeling. Seeing that weird guy cooking, Sienna moved over, leaning in to see what was in the fry pan. She wasn’t disappointed, but it did look like it’d take a while to cook.

“Let me know when that’s ready for me.” Sienna stated unabashedly, not bothering with a greeting or anything else to the man. He looked like a wimpy pushover anyway. Moving past him to follow Sinopia’s swinging voice, she stepped into the lounge, spotting Yohan and Miranda in some degree of conversation, maybe about the news on TV. Hesitant as she was to stay around much longer, Sienna’s stomach refused to let her leave without a meal, so she may as well get comfortable until then. “My head keeps - spinning, I go to sleep and keep - grinning…~” Sinopia’s tune had changed again, and Sienna wondered exactly what the cat was playing at. The freakish feline had proved itself strange enough, so whether this was another game or just a weird aspect of the demon she couldn’t tell. "If this is just the be-ginning, my life is gonna be; bee-you-tee-full~”

As the cat was singing, Sienna couldn’t help but notice the way her eyes kept darting away from Sienna to something beside her. Furrowing her brow, it took Sienna a moment in her sleepy state to follow the gaze to the television. What, was there something importan-

“Friends and family described the girl as one with a passion for life, learning and helping; an energetic and promising young engineer. This tragedy, along with the missing individuals…” Sienna froze where she was, staring in silent shock at the screen as she listened. The photo in the corner was of Rio. Somehow, that and the words on the screen didn’t make sense to her. ‘Tragic Fatal Accident’. It had to be some sort of joke, it- “I’ve sunshine enough to spread, It’s just like the fella said…~” Leaping up to the television cabinet, Sinopia crossed in front of it, meeting Sienna’s vacant stare. “Tell me quick, ain’t love a kick in the head?~” Her face and tone was mocking, and the reaction from Sienna was immediate. Grabbing the nearest vase, Sienna immediately threw it at the feline, who leapt to the side, moving to the floor. “…Like the fella once said, ain’t that a kick in the head?~” The singing continued, and another piece of the lounge décor flew at the cat, this time Sinopia leaping from where she was to the seat where Yohan was resting. “Like the sailor said quote, ain’t that a hole in a boat?~” Sienna practically screamed in anger, and Yohan nearly had a painful encounter with a picture frame had Sienna been a little less accurate. As it was, he still had to duck down.

Leaping down from where she was to just in front of Sienna, Sinopia stopped singing, smirking with sinister satisfaction. “Hmm, fun as this is dewdropper, you’ll miss the best part if you focus on little ol’ me.” Sienna practically exploded as she made a lunge, though the cat was far too quick, and probably intangible anyway. Hitting the floor hard, Sienna watched Sinopia slink her way back upstairs, pausing only to talk down to her from her new vantage point. “Just watch the gogglebox, then come and see me. Should be easy for a sap like you to laze about like that.” Darting up the rest of the way, the faint words of another song could be heard, this time something about a shark and teeth. Sienna could only roughly push herself off the floor, briefly looking to Yohan and Miranda before she got to her feet, moving over to the television screen as she stood and watched with something akin to determination.

It continued to talk about Rio and her fate. The crash. Instantly fatal. Thought to be unrelated to the crash earlier in the morning, but found to be connected to a number of missing people, Sienna amongst them. Dimly, Sienna fumbled with her pocket, finding her phone. Punching in the number as she continued to listen to the show, the words she heard on the other end of the line sent electricity through her body. “Hi!” Rio spoke, full of enthusiasm. “Rio! It’s Sienna, I-“ Sienna stopped as Rio interrupted her. “This is Rio! So sorry! I must be busy or something, but trust me when I say you’re really important to me! Leave your name and number, and I’ll totally call back. Unless you’re like, a telemarketer or something. Anyway, uh, here comes the beep!” Sienna listened to the whole spiel in a hollow trance, before lowering her phone to her side, clicking the button to end the call. Unwilling to turn around, tears were dripping down her face as the reality began to finally settle in.

“Now, we’ll have a re-run of the interview we had with Tate Rosenfell, roommate and friend to Rio Rillia, as well as the missing Sienna Cartlow.” The television announcer continued, Sienna faintly looking up as she saw Tate, seated opposite some local news anchor. He was asked all sorts of questions – About Rio and about Sienna, and although his sadness looked genuine, Sienna had no doubt that it was some bullshit act. The crocodile tears caused him to stop mid-talk, the interviewer comforting him. “Rio was… She was so special to me. I never… I never got to tell her how I really felt…” Tate continued to sob, taking a moment to ‘compose’ himself before speaking again. “I... I just want to know what happened to Sienna. Please, work with the police. Anyone that sees her, please, please tell them… I-I’m barely coping by myself as it is…”

“That’s fine, you’re doing great Tate. It’s at this time that I’d like to bring up something Tate spoke to me about, but was too embarrassed to ask for. The three were struggling financially, and by himself, Tate can’t afford a funeral service. Any charitable souls willing to donate to this cause and help get Tate back onto his feet, as well as make a tribute for Rio, please, call…” Sienna fumed, practically about to knock the TV from its stand. That slimy bastard! He wasn’t poor! Rio wasn’t in the same state she was either; her parents would definitely be able to pay for something like that! That disgusting creep was using this situation as some sort of scam to mooch money off dopes sucked in by that act! Practically strangling her roommate through the TV, Sienna would’ve stormed off if not for the fact the interview was still going.

“T-thank you… I don’t know what I’d do if not for people like you… A-and as for Sienna… I… I don’t know what to say. She… She didn’t sound well when she called. She said something about someone stealing the keys to the register and stuff, but the money was gone and she wasn’t there and… Well, she might’ve gotten involved in some bad stuff… Drugs or… Sienna, I don’t know where you are, but I’m worried and…” Tate broke down again, and Sienna looked incredulous. Just what was he saying on local television about her!? Not only that, but somehow she KNEW that slimeball was the one that emptied the till and blamed it on her! God, this crap was… What the hell was wrong with him?! As If she didn’t have enough to worry about right now…

Slowly, steadily, Sienna began to sob to herself. It was getting harder to hide and hold back now. It was getting overwhelming. Just what… Why…? Why was all this happening to her? Why’d it have to happen to Rio? What-… Sienna stopped for a moment, taking in a sharp inhale and holding her breath. The tears stopped as she clenched her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. Maybe Yohan or Miranda had started to try to speak with her, but something else had reached her mind. That cat. It had known. It had mocked her. It. Knew. The pieces were beginning to snap into place for Sienna. Squeezing her hands into fists, she shoved her way past to head back to the stairs, climbing back up towards the bedroom.

And as she got closer, she heard the lyrics of song to mock her once more.

Sebastian would awaken not only to his alarm blaring at him, but his sister’s cat pawing at him through the covers of his bed, the sunlight blocked by the heavy thick curtains covering the window, he sat up and reached to pet the cat, the little creature hissing viciously. Seb’ gave an unamused look to the cat, and grabbed the cat by the skin of its neck, the cat getting violent trying to claw at him, he got out of bed and put the cat outside his room, listening to it patter off elsewhere in the apartment, “that’s new” he moved to the ensuite and showered quickly before coming back through into his room to dress.

Simple black shirt, rolled up sleeves, jeans, belt, eyepatch, the eyepatch wasn’t in the usual place, Sebastian sighed heavily and looked about, finding it dragged under his bed likely sometime when the cat was let in. he checked it over before putting it on, once dressed he grabbed his mobile and headed out into the rest of the apartment, the damned cat racing by his feet to claim his mess of a bed.

“bloody thing, why did i agree” walking through into the kitchen and lounge area he noticed the note and list, left for him by his twin sister Rebecca “could you pick up the listed stuff from the shops” with a heavy sigh; he turns to the fridge and opens it up, no milk and something smells bad, Sebastian, goes through the fridge finding what was reeking.

Quickly launching the rotten lump of vegetables into the bin, he shook his head and slammed the fridge shut, almost breaking it, again, luckily the cat wasn’t in the way this time. Without breakfast, he’d get by with black tea.


A half hour later and he was leaving the apartments building: keys, mobile and jacket. Sebastian’s apartment was centralised so it wasn’t a long walk to the shops. He entered the store and walked through gathering his stuff from the list, stopping to look down one aisle as two people collided into one another. He stayed put long enough to see if they were alright, but moved on with his own business.

As Frederick was busy cooking the food, he heard a voice call out to him. The voice was of course female, and she wanted him to let her know when the food was ready for her. "Don't worry, I am making enough for everyone and enough for extra's!" He laughed to himself as he continued to cook the food.

Suddenly Frederick felt a chill up his spine, he felt like someone was standing right behind him. Funny...there were a bunch of people in this house and he was getting a little freaked out. What? A scary ghost was behind him now?

"I think I am much scarier than any silly spirit..." a voice spoke right behind his ear. Frederick himself jumped as he turned around, hands in the air with surprise plastered all over his face. "What's the big idea sneaking up on me while I am...huh?" Frederick paused his rant when he noticed whatever whispered in his ear was gone.

Strange...He could have sworn he heard something. "You are indeed hearing something." The voice spoke again.

"O-Oh! For a second I thought I was going crazy. Pleased to meet you random voice! Now if you excuse me, I have food to cook rather than listening to some unknown voice that suddenly popped up in my head." Frederick shrugged and began to cook his food.

"If you think you can ignore---"

"Cooking food is serious business, if I lose concentration it could cause a fire. And paying for a whole house takes much more money than groceries."

"Will you---"

"And secondly, I could accidently burn myself as I cook. If I focus more time on talking to a random strange voice then there is a good chance I will burn my hand."

"Could you let me---"

"Also! As a cook I cant let myself be distracted! Unless I improve by abilities as a cook and make sure my communication is great I have to only listen to orders! I cant do small talk yet! I gotta level up for that!""

"Can I speak? Good. Now shut it for one minute. Are you really going to let people keep on pushing you around like that? You are too nice for your own good, that woman that was just speaking to you could easily tell you were a pushover. If you are going to let any little person just do whatever they wish, then you are no better than a dog." The mysterious voice finally got a word in.

Fredrick on the other hand seemed to have ignored the voice's words and was just whistling to himself. "Will you listen to---"

"Remember! Cooking! No time for idle chit chat!" Fredrick raised his hand as he silenced the voice.

"He did it again...Leave it to me to get the idiot..."

Rina listened to Fredrick, her face growing more drawn the longer he spoke. Oh, hell, maybe he'd be easier to deal with tomorrow? His observation of her outfit made her uncomfortable, especially as she became more aware of her bare midriff. She'd never liked her stomach on the best of days, but now..."Cool," she said once he had wound down and Sienna had made her comments. "I'm Rina."
She rubbed the back of her neck, watching the others follow Yohan out. It didn't take long for her to decide to tag along as well. She didn't know what else to do. Besides, judging by Yohan's waving around and the vague sounds of voices, it looked like he might need the company.

The walk passed uneventfully enough and she scampered up the stairs into the "house" as quickly as she could, praying that the insides would be safe. As her eyes adjusted, though, she noticed sketches and words all over the walls. A shiver ran down her spine. Worse for her, she was hardly paying attention to Yohan, bizarre behavior seeming normal coming from him. The stairs and door snapped shut, bringing forth immediate panic that sparked in the back of her neck. She nearly cried when she felt herself being pulled into the wall with the others, but she heard her demon speaking in her ear.
"Don't worry, kiddo," it said. "I'm not going to let you die now."
And as it turned out, she didn't have long to be frightened: soon enough, the bizarre feeling of being transported wore off and she found herself in a strange room. Common sense would dictate Yohan's house.
Rina plopped down on the floor and pulled out her phone, leaning her back against a wall. She fought to stay awake as she texted her uncle, telling him that she was safe, but before she could finish, she dosed off.

In the morning, she woke feeling stiff and sick. It took her a moment to get her bearings, but the momentary panic made her more alert. She stretched, checked the time and started up the stairs. Her leg caught her attention, warped by the pact with her demon. Well, now she knew it wasn't all a dream.
Rina followed the sound of the television to the lounge. She looked from Miranda, to Yohan, to Sienna crying on the floor. Then she caught Sienna's name on the TV. Between that and the headline at the bottom of the screen, she put two and two together and backed out to head to the kitchen.

Taja woke up, the noises from television causing her to slowly sit up. She was away from the door. She was to hungry to care at the moment though. Standing up she followed the smell of food till she reached where the television was. Some people were missing and there in the photo of people were her. Her family had to be worried.

"Of course they are, they probably fired your stupid nanny too. Way to go, Taja. The great Taja. The Sweet Taja." Elsworth had appeared out of nowhere, standing next to her like he somehow belonged there. Her tiny hands curled up into a fist.

"Why can't you just leave me alone. Obviously you aren't wanted." She turned away from him and walked into the kitchen. It smelled really good, her mouth watered, and her stomach growled. In a low voice she asked, "Hey, Pervert Man, when will the food be ready? I would like to go home as soon as possible."

---

---

Cayson laid in bed staring up at his action picture poster on his ceiling. He wasn't supposed to have anything on there, but his parents never looked up to see it. It had been a month so far. Yesterday he had went over to Taja's house to see her, but there were cop cars. He figured that something serious was going so he ended up at the park with a few friends. His friend, Gregory, told them that he overheard his mom telling his dad that Taja had went missing and that there was a note from her saying that she had went to the store, but that she never returned.

When he heard the news he was angry. Who could have taken his Taja? Whoever it was was going to get a fist to their face. Rolling out of bed he got dressed and headed down to the kitchen where his mother was cooking for everyone. The news was on and he wouldn't have paid attention if it wasn't for Taja's picture on the screen. So Gregory's mom was right. He shoved some bacon into his mouth and grabbed a toast before sliding his back pack on and heading towards the door.

"Where do you think you are going?" His mother said.

Cayson swallowed his bite and smiled, "Out."

"Not till you brush your teeth." She said sternly, not even looking up at him.

"But I did already!" He whined.

"Mind coming over here to let me smell your breath?" She asked, smiling up at him now.

He grumbled, running upstairs to brush his teeth before running with the toast in his mouth out the door.

I will find you, Taja. Don't be too scared. He thought as he ran towards the closest store to Taja's house.

Starting Off Good

"At last, I have ascended up in the world." Ricky said as they walked down some stairs to get to a Gateway to prepare for tomorrow. "My place is here, among the strong, among the elite, among the great! I, Ricky, am going to show this world who is boss! I will be the one who will be remembered for a great new era in humanity's history! I will --"

"Little Ricky had a little lamb!" The Djinn interrupted. Ricky stopped to give him a quick glare before looking forward to resume walking.

"I will march upon the bodies of my fallen enmies! With this power, I am --"

"Little Ricky had a shortcoming!" The Djinn interrupted again. Ricky stopped and gave him a very annoyed expression before taking in a deep breath and shaking his head.

"Ahem... I am the harold of chaos, of darkness, of hatred, of sin! And then, and only then, shall I look upon the sky and declare --"

"I'M LITTLE RICKY! I compensate for my little dick by making up stupid bullcrap!"

"SHUT! UP!" Ricky turned and glared darkly at the Djinn.

"Okay, okay, I will." The Djinn held up it's hands and shook them briefly.

"That's better..." Ricky raised his head and closed his eyes, puffing out his chest as he gripped his jacket with both hands. "I look upon the sky and declare --" He turned to look at the Djinn, who said nothing. "And declare...." He watched him carefully, slowly turning back forward before smirking. "And declare --"

"I. LIKE. DIIIICCCKKKSSS!!!!" The Djinn burst out with laughter as it spun around Ricky.

"RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Ricky was overwhelmed by rage, swiping his arms furiously at the demon as his face went red with pure rage, you could almost see the smoke coming from his ears. "I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL FRIKKING KILL YOU!!! GET BACK HERE, YOU SON OF A WHORE!!! GOD DAMMIT!!!!!"

"Aaww, is that any way to treat your betters?" The Djinn slipped itself through a wall, Ricky pounding his fists on it repeatedly in frustration.

"COWARD!!!" Ricky began slamming his head on the wall, only for his eyes to widen as The Djinn poked it's head back out, but now twisted and malformed.

"Boo~"

"WURAAAHH!!!" Ricky fell back and fumbled about like a scared little child. The Djinn slipped back fully into the room and laughed hysterically at Ricky fumbling about.

"Ah, I'm just pushing you, kiddo. You talking in a loud speech to purposely annoy me is one thing though." The Djinn shrugged as he began to float forward. "C'mon! Those kids make you look like a pussy!"



It didn't take long for people to come out, almost as if all at once. It was unusual, really. It had been so long since he had bothered to pay attention to actual groups of people, sure there was school, but he had zoned out more often than not. Life had changed itself in one single day, and today felt like it could all go wrong. "Come back here tomorrow night." The man's voice came back to him, it felt like it had just been a few minutes ago he was talking to the strange man.

Why should he bother, none of them had any real reason to -- "Because you are now targets." He put his hand on his head. "If I could feel your power, what would a person with actual harmful intentions do?" They could be sensed? By who, when, how close did they have to be, what special conditions had to be met?! "There are people with this power on Earth that have connections, some darker than others." They are... living among us? Living as common people?! "They could easily find you and your family or friends if they so wished it." ... What time did they have to meet him again? "Eleven PM."

He heard Miranda call out to him and he got up to his feet, looking over at her. She still had that same look from yesterday in her eyes, even if it seemed more hidden today. "Yeah, I do." He spoke up. "It's not that far up the stairs. Second door to the right. There's some unused clothes in the third door to the left, nobody cared for those clothes anyway." He wasn't going to follow her up those stairs, he felt unsafe around her. Maybe it was because of yesterday, or maybe it was multiple things. Whatever the case, the appearance of her inner demon last night meant she could be trouble.

By the sounds of it, and the looks of the entire bloody place being cleaned from head to toe, Frederick was currently making something in the kitchen. For some reason, it made Yohan think he was the perfect fit for the old definition for a housewife. Suddenly, Sienna was throwing things like left and right, holy balls! He had to duck to avoid the picture as his eyes shifted to Sienna and stared at her for a little while as if she was about to do something again. Luckily she didn't, but it was obvious what was going on the television right now was upsetting her. He started to feel bad for her, he wanted to say something to her, but she began to walk without another look or word. It was probably better not to say something anyway, he didn't want anymore stuff being thrown around.

He could hear more movement in the house, but it didn't sound like anymore trouble was going to happen. He walked over to the painting she threw and picked it up, looking over at the picture. Yohan, five years old, with his parents. All of them were smiling, Yohan looked like he was so happy, his parents looked so satisfied here. Ten years already, huh? Time sure flies by when you are lost. He would have to fix it later, it was the last thing he had left to remember his parents by. Placing the broken picture on a desk, he decided to pick up the broken pieces of the things Sienna threw, being careful not to stab or cut himself as he sighed. He'd have to get a bag to get rid of the broken mess later.

Yohan decided to experiment with something, looking to fingers on his right hand and focusing on them. He walked over to the nearest wall and tapped it lightly with the tips of his fingers, but nothing happened. It couldn't work with this? He looked over to the television. "Oh, that'll do." He pressed the tips of his fingers on it as he focused. Sure enough, the sound began to change to a certain rhythm instead of the news talking about typical news stuff. He couldn't help but smile a little, his spark was back and he wasn't about to let some corrupted people scare him down. He walked over to the window and stared outside of it, tapping his foot to the beat playing from his television, though none of the lyrics were actually being sung.

---

Ricky stopped once he was back home and pulled out some headphones, putting them on and plugging them in as he began to walk, hands in his pockets as he began to move his body side to side with the beat he heard. The Djinn stared at him curiously, unable to hear the beat, but shrugged. He taps Ricky's shoulder and motions for him to speak out the lyrics, to which Ricky shrugged and decided that was fine. No harm in doing it, right? After all, the demon and him had been working together just fine so far, why not?

---

"You think you got your game planned out?" Yohan started, boping his head to the beat. "To a T. Yet I'm two steps ahead yeah."

---

"So you step into my way, stand down. It's a trap, one more step, and you're dead (yeah you're dead.)" Ricky continued.

---

"Why just a picosecond ago, clear blue skies, but now lightning's struck your last resolve." Yohan picked it up.

---

"It's not an accident that no one hears your cries, as your last strength seems to dissolve." Ricky finished.

[ALL TOGETHER NOW!]

"You'll never see it co-miiinnnngg!"

As Frederick was finishing up his cooking, a sudden crashing noise made him jump a bit. "Oh come on! I just cleaned the whole place..." He sighed to himself as he turned off the fire meaning he was now done cooking.

"Why must you clean up another persons mess? Obviously whatever happened it was the fault of someone else, you should let them do it instead of just paradeing yourself through filth and muck." The voice in his head spoke. To this he had an argument for.

"Wanna know why? That's because I get paid to clean up messes! Just like my dad before me he was possibly the greatest janitor that ever lived! He was the most amazing father I could ask for so I will follow in his steps. Of course a disembodied voice has no use for money because you probably don't need to eat. And you seem to not need any place to sleep in. heck, you might be mooching off in my mind right now and chilling like a moocher you moocher!" Frederick spoke firmly as he began to plate the hamburger.

"Me?...a moocher...and...forget it for now then..." The voice decided to give up this battle for now. Obviously, this man has something wrong in the head.

"Hey, Pervert Man, when will the food be ready? I would like to go home as soon as possible." A small voice spoke, directed at him. Only one certain girl called him a pervert...And her insult was upgraded! That was mean...Frederick sighed but regained his smile as he began to stack burgers on a massive tray. "They are all cooked to perfection! A stove cooked meat patty! A nice small stack of bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and a nice homemade Barbeque sauce! I call it the Texas Burger! Fit for any burger lover! Breakfast!...Lunch...Dinner? Forget it! Foods ready!" Frederick raised a fist in the air as he laughed proudly at the twenty burgers he had cooked.

"Have thou sinned now? Its not enough that you degrade yourself for meager janitorial work but now being perverted to the younger generation. How low can a human go I wonder?..." The voice spoke.

"Well excuse me random disembodied voice! I am neither a Pedophile nor pervert! I happen to look at the tail growing out of her back, and my eyes noticed her thighs. Have you seen a child's thigh that thick? I Don't think so whatever you are! I looked for a total of two seconds, that's it. And for your information if I was lonely I would find a girl that would like to get with a janitor cook comic writer! Thank you very much!" Frederick spoke in his own head as he gave a huff before he nabbed himself a burger and bit into his hard cooked meal.

Delicious!

"And now you are deluding yourself...One must---"

"Hush nwow! Ish fwood twime! Shve complicwtd twlk fer lwter!" Frederick spoke in a mouthful as he happily ate.

The silence was broken as the female with an eye missing spoke up, also apologising. She seemed to have a kind nature. Considering how easily she introduced herself to him after he rudely bumped into her, he felt that she was quite social and friendly too. Snapping back to reality, his lips curled into a coy smile. Leo gladly extended his arm and grasped her hand firmly and gave it a brief shake. "Leo, nice to meet you." He finally replied before releasing her soft hand. Her giggle certainly quite addictive, he felt the need to make her laugh more after hearing it. "Need any help with the groceries?" He questioned politely. He found that her missing eye made her quite unique and interesting; it certainly didn't bother him. He couldn't help but feel a tad nervous in front of such a beautiful woman he had just met though. Nervously, Leo ran his fingers through his pale silver locks. Leo also liked to try and be unique. I mean, if it's no trouble? I would just like to get to know you more. I mean you know talk and stuff. And help. Groceries. Yuuup." Okay you can stop talking now Leo before you hurt yourself. Despite your looks you weren't best with words huh? Guess that's what the looks made up for.

---

Iris had spent most days inside whenever she could lately due to the terrible whether. Iris hated thunder storms. The noise, the rain, everything. It always startled her and she hated that.
Crouched on the couch seated in front of the television she stuffed her face with potato chips as she watched a show about a dad who hated being a dad and swore at kids a lot but loved his own kids nonetheless. It was pretty funny as she giggled away, until her mother rudely interrupted and stood in front of the TV.
"Iris--"

"No." Iris was quick to interrupt as she swayed to the side in attempts to continue watching TV, chewing away.

"Sweetie be reasona-"

"Nope."

"Iris it's not even raining anymore! You have no excuse!" Her mother scolded. Iris simply pouted and looked up at her with a frown. She had a point.

"Ugh. Fiiiiine what do you want?

"We need your favourite. Food. You can't live off snacks so I wrote a list of things you need to get." Her mother placed the note on the table in front of her then walked away. Iris eyed the note and didn't deny she quite enjoyed grocery shopping. Most of the time she was scolded for bringing home something extra home that wasn't on the list.

Iris didn't over do it today with her outfit. A simply nice fitting, grey winter dress, some sheer, tan stockings and some white canvas shoes. Grabbing her phone and wallet she headed to the marketplace.

Upon arrival she had a basket of things ticked off the list. Walking through the aisle with her head down looking at the note she muttered to herself. "Eggs...Bread, milk..." That was when she heard a bit of commotion beside her followed by a female falling over only to be greeted by some tall guy with cool hair. She couldn't help but cringe at how cliche their story already looked. Is she in a movie? Glancing around in search of a camera she shrugged.

Suddenly pausing. There it was. Her favourite cup of instant noodles. Sweet ole teriyaki chicken and beef oh how her mouth watered just thinking about it. Of course this wasn't on the list, and it was far too high up for her to reach. That wouldn't stop her though. Standing on her tip-toes she reached up, grunting at the struggled as her dress lifted ever so slightly. Letting out an irritated sigh she thought about possibly asking for help? Staring at the two tall love birds she gagged and shook her head. Looking around some more a guy with an eye patch who looked around her age was looking at various items on the shelving. Okay where's the director? This has to be a movie. She felt almost plain among these people, and she had naturally pale violet hair and candy red eyes for crying out loud.

Deciding against all options she placed her shopping cart down, rolled up her sleeves and jumped. No noodles. "I'll climb you cursed shelf if I have to..." Actually. That's not a bad idea. Or so she thought as the female placed down her shopping cart and began attempting to climb the shelf for her beloved instant noodles.

Miranda let out a small grunt as Yohan showed her where the shower was, and told her that there were fresh clothes in another room. Moving to the third room, she quickly found a set of clothing that would fit her; some leggings, a tank-top, and a hoodie. Folding them and then grabbing a towel before moving into the bathroom and locking the door, the werewolf proceeded to strip as she waited for the water to heat up.

She was quiet, staring at her body in the mirror. She wasn't overly-proud of her toned, muscular body, but she wasn't ashamed either. She looked good, and she appreciated it. Biting her bottom lip she shifted her hip to one side, thinking about the events that had just transpired. Another world, hell-hound things....a new power, and a demon following her around, doing lewd things in the corner of her eye.

Waving the sight out of the way, Miranda growled softly and stepped into the shower. She wouldn't linger however, taking only perhaps seven minutes to wash her body and rinse her hair before turning off the water and stepping out of the shower, grabbing a towel and drying herself quickly and effectively. Grabbing the clothes she'd found, she put them on, leaving the bathroom with the hoodie draped over one arm, and the towel rummaging through her hair to dry it, but otherwise in a kind of provocative outfit until she put the hoodie on over the thin tank-top.

Sighing she licked her lips at the smell of the food the man in the kitchen was cooking, and was drawn to the kitchen to wait until it was finished. Once it was, she wasted no time in picking up two fully stacked burgers and a plate before sitting at the table, and eating quickly, her canines flashing themselves into view every time she went to take a bite of the burger. Large, sharp, and intimidating, it only solidified the fact that she wasn't human.

Her phone went off. Standing, she quickly found it and answered it with a loud, almost growling huff. Her father was on the other line. "I'm fine. Yes, fine. No, I didn't officially leave. I'll explain when I see you again." there was a pause as her father lectured her about staying on duty even if no one showed up to work out. "I know, Father...look, it's something you need to hear to understand. I'll be home soon." Another lecture. "Understood, Father.....Yes....Okay. Goodbye." she hung up and a low growl rumbled from her throat before she sighed and turned back to the table, moving to finish her food.

She looked straight at Yohan, knowing he'd heard some part of her conversation, it would be impossible for everybody to not hear anything, she spoke loudly and clearly, yet for such a strong voice, it had an almost...beautiful quality to it, one that made people want to listen to her speak. Either way, she needed a car and to know where she was, as was the question in her eyes as she looked to Yohan, expecting him to know what she wanted based on how her own family spoke in person with each other.

This boy was really rather cute to offer to help her with her shopping. A heavy blush came over her face as she could have sworn that there were candid cameras somewhere in this super market. While she gave him another warm smile, she noticed above his head were two pointed cat ears with two eyes peering over his head. She looked slightly confused for a moment then shook her head as she nodded

"I wouldn't mind a little company sure" Sonea said while gesturing for him to follow. When the other eye patched man approached them she offered a curtsy to him in thanks.

"Oh yeah I'm fine. I was just kinda lost in my...head for a second. I did not feel any pain anyways"

Above Sebastian's head, the same ears and eyes peered at her while floating upwards to show the Chesire Cat floating above the two of them. He purred contently as he reached forwards with a paw to touch their foreheads

"These two will make excellent use for you Sonea. Best not dawdle or slow yourself down. This is where we begin to build. These two will be keen to you for the future ahead. I shall keep my eyes open and wait for you to get somewhere quieter" The cat grinned from ear to ear and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Neither of them could feel this "touch" as it was all going on inside of Sonea's mind and a paw print remained on their heads until it too vanished. She blinked and rubbed her eyes for a few seconds while turning her head towards Sebastian with that same smile on her face.

"I'm Sonea by the way. Sonea Almsworthy, Engineer and Blacksmith extraordinaire. Wanna come with us? We were gonna go shopping together and I certainly wouldn't mind making some new friends"

The cat now reappeared and sat on the top of her head while patting her hair with a paw. She was off to a good start it thought and now she was beginning to grasp what was to come. Even if she didn't realize it yet. For now, he would remain silent while Sonea chatted with them as she began to push her cart forward while waiting for the other two to follow with her.

"I am still sorta new to town and haven't really gotten much in the way of interactions out here with the local populace. Mostly I tend to do my work in the smithy for the farmers and the like so I would absolutely love some company today. If you both want to come along. Hey maybe we could even go to a coffee house or something for some java. I certainly wouldn't mind splurging for some potential new friends"

Sebastian glanced up from what he was looking at a carton of soymilk, too the two strangers “Sebastian...yeah, thanks for the offer but no thanks, looks like you’ve already got yourself some company” a pleasant smile and he’d walk away to look around for the other items on the list.

Stopping to watch the pale violet haired young woman climb up the aisle, he approached before she could get any climbing done. “would you like help or are you happy to just climb and try to get the noodles?” Sebastian hadn’t approached all that close leaving a five foot gap between himself and Iris,

From the earbud hanging lazily from his collar the tunes of Ozzy’s Crazy train was playing, Seb’s head lightly bobbing to the tunes, from the other bud in his ear. Seb’s yellow eye examining the scene before him, for now his eye didn’t wander, he glanced to the three remaining pots of the noodles and approached reaching up and grabbing one of the pot noodles for the pale haired stranger and one for himself.

“there, take care” his good deeds done he moved on to finish the shopping he had to get done. “alright where’s the cat food.” mumbling to himself, he took out his mobile and flicked through his songs, and then shuffled the songs. The new song, Sabaton’s Firestorm.

Sebastian’s head bobbed along as he whispered along “better run for for cover, you’ll be quick or be dead...” he continued to wander collecting together his needed supplies. the music gradually spiralling into heavier and darker songs.

Amber's breakfast was fairly light, and so it took no time at all for her to finish it and start contemplating what else to do with her time. She had a few plans later in the day, but there was a gap of a few hours she would have to account for in the meantime. She was caught up on television, and wasn't quite in the mood for reading (that was planned for tonight, since she hadn't heard of any outings), so, bar any interesting contacts popping up on her phone, she'd be going out!

She really was dressed for it, anyway.

She made her way to the car, pausing to think about where she wanted to go briefly before deciding on a place--a quick stop to replace some things, and then perhaps a further look in the mall to see if she could spot a birthday present for a friend of hers. She hadn't seen it in stock anywhere a few weeks ago, but with luck she'd be able to find it in time.

However, she realized quickly she'd need a list to do the first thing. Luckily, that was mostly taken care of (she knew she was running low on some things), though she would need to add a few items as well. It wouldn't be hard at all to do so.

Once she had reached the marketplace, it wasn't too hard to find anything. Simply a matter of checking things off the list--which was why she made such things. However, as she moved about the shops, she noticed someone familiar-looking...she didn't quite catch their face, but it looked like that of one of the girls a year or so ahead of her. She decided to go up to them and see if she was right. Of course, she also was looking for supplies in that direction, so she had a sort of "out" if she was wrong and about to embarrass herself...so...

"Hey, do you know where I could find mayonnaise?" Amber asked, waiting for the face to turn.

Cayson ran past the market, but stopped right after when he realized there were pickles that were supposed to be on sale. He stood there, letting people pass him by as he thought about what to do first. Taja loves food, so if he got some pickles now when he rescues her she would be so happy to be saved and have food! Maybe he could buy her some of those crackers she liked.

Turning around he galloped back to the market, dodging people, and even jumping over a dog. He had to hurry if he wanted to get to Taja fast fast. "Watch it!" An older man yelled as he accidentally crashed his shoulder into him.

"Sorry." Was all he said as he made his way through the market for the pickle aisle Once there he started to do a small dance while singing the pickle song. He skimmed the shelves looking for the perfect jar of pickles.

Sienna Cartlow

“That's life, that's what people say. You're riding high in April. Shot down in May~…” Pushing open the door to the bedroom, Sienna’s expression was one of deathly seriousness, a stark contrast to Sinopia’s more whimsical tone to her singing. At first, Sienna hesitated, as she didn’t spot that cat anywhere about the room. Then, as she looked to the vanity chair, she saw her. Not the feline that she was used to, but the full-sized adult women from before. Or at least, that’s what the reflection showed, the chair itself looked empty with Sinopia’s cat-self hidden behind the back rest. Eying Sienna in the reflection all the while, she continued to sing as she tidied her hair and did her makeup, the cat preening herself in reality. Then again, was the delusion that Sienna saw any more real than the woman in the mirror?

“…I said, that's life and as funny as it may seem. Some people get their kicks. Stompin' on a dream~.” Pivoting to look around the chair, and now stare directly at Sienna, reading between the lines made it all too obvious what Sinopia meant. “But don't let it, let it get you down. 'Cause this fine old world…~” Smiling sweetly, Sinopia leapt from the chair, moving onto the bed closer to Sienna, looking up to her. “…It keeps spinnin' around~” Suddenly, the door behind Sienna closed by some unseen force, giving the two privacy. Turning to look to it briefly, Sienna then returned her stern glare back to Sinopia, having not said a word yet. Finally, as Sinopia winded down her singing, she decided to actually speak with the girl that she represented.

“Sienna, darling, relax. Why, you look grimmer than that Rio girl before that truck hit her…~” The mocking sent fury through every inch of Sienna’s body, but she managed to hold herself composed for the moment. She needed answers. Though that didn’t stop her fist from trembling. “Why… What did you do?” Sienna asked, and was caught a little off guard by the immediate laughter that followed. “Really, sweetie? That’s how you start this? I took you to be smarter than that, but I guess you’re just a tomato after all…” Strutting slightly away from Sienna, Sinopia stopped as she reached the edge of the bed, glancing back over her shoulder. Sienna’s glare hadn’t changed, and once she was certain she had the cat’s attention, she continued to press for answers.

“I heard what happened. But I want to hear it from you. I want to know why. How. I want you to try and explain yourself, because so help me, this is not what I wanted!” Sienna’s tone raised a few octaves at the end of her demands, losing her composure as she swung her hand wildly behind her, striking the wall. Sinopia watched this a moment, then relented. “Really? That’s not what I remember. You and I? We had a deal. My power and keeping you alive, in exchange for what you consider most precious to you.” Striding back towards Sienna, Sinopia moved to the edge closest to her and took a seat. Sienna herself remained standing over her. “That’s not what we agreed on you piece of shit! I didn’t think-“

“Didn’t think what? Didn’t think you cared about her? Oh, I know. I’m just as much you as you are. But see, I’ve tapped into much more of your potential than you seem to realise you have. I suppose I’ll have to explain the beauty of my work…” With another leap, Sinopia moved back over to the vanity, sitting on the edge of the desk. “I took that which was most precious to you. Or rather, I took all the things that were most precious to you, past and present.” With a wave of her tail, images began to filter through the mirror of the vanity. “You didn’t care about Rio, you cared about yourself more than anything. And I took that from you, by taking her. I made you realise just how much she meant to you. But by then, it was too late. She was already mine, even as she became the most important thing to you.” Behind Sinopia, images of Rio’s final moments flashed across the reflection, Sienna able to only watch in a stupor.

“So you see, I really did make the most of my bargain by taking multiple aspects from you. You have no one to blame but yourself - I mean, I am a part of you – but that aside perhaps if you’d thought things through more or weren’t such a pathetically selfish human being I would’ve chosen something else. The you in that moment found your life to be worth more than hers, and the you now finds things to be the other way around. That’s not my problem, sweetie.” Having shut her eyes for part of her spiel, Sinopia didn’t realise Sienna had moved up closer to her, swiping her hands to grab her around the neck. Just like before however, they phased right through. “Like hell it’s not your problem! I want nothing more to do with this crap or you or anything! I’ll kill you you –“

“Kill me? Hah, please. You can’t do anything to me. I’m a part of you, not some physical thing, so you can’t just-“ Sinopia was cut off by the sound of glass shattering, Sienna shoving her fist into the mirror enough that it splintered to the floor around her, small bits of glass causing her hand to bleed. “Dearie me, that’s bad luck, you hear? Just what do you think you’re…” Sinopia stopped as Sienna picked up a particularly jagged piece of glass, holding it towards her own neck. “Part of me huh? Well, I can only assume this is one way to hurt you.” Sienna laughed hollowly as she watched Sinopia’s eyes dart between the sharpened glass and her neck. The two sat like that a moment, before the feline broke the silence.

“You won’t. I know-“

“Won’t I?” Sienna interrupted, her tone daring in spite of the situation. “You’re a part of me, right, Sinopia? You know what I’m thinking. You’ve taken what’s precious to me, so why shouldn’t I?”

“You’re too scared to-“ Sinopia started, but never managed to finish as once again, Sienna interjected.

“Shut the hell up! If you’re gonna ruin my life, my friends, everything, then I won’t hesitate to end it, and you, got it? You played me for a fool, but if you’re going to be a part of me - if your sorry ass is gonna be sticking around - then we play by my rules from now on! No secret manipulative backstabbing shit from you, you play it straight, or you don’t play at all, got it?!” Sienna was shouting now, and as she finished, the two slipped into silence. Sinopia’s eyes moved about, as if contemplating the situation, watching the blood drip from Sienna’s hand. She was trembling and squeezing the glass shard a bit too hard, and it was cutting into her palm.

“…You win, darling. For now, at least. I like the fire you’ve shown, bearcat. Dealing with your own devils like this… It’s ingenious. But…” Sinopia trailed off as she climbed down from the vanity, heading for the door. “I’m you. So like you, I don’t like losing, and I don’t like playing second fiddle. And just like you, if I see a chance, I’ll be seizing my opportunity to take command.” With that said, the door opened, Sinopia heading out before calling over her shoulder. “So put that away Mrs. Grundy, you’ve made your point. And go get cleaned up, you’re making a mess.”

Finally dropping the shard of glass, Sienna stumbled to sit on the bed, holding her head briefly despite the blood on her hands. This was all so crazy… Why… Why had all this happened to her? Still trembling, Sienna patted down her pockets to retrieve her cigarettes and lighter. Doing her best to compose herself as she made her way to the bathroom, lit-stick in her mouth as she filtered smoke into the air, she could still hear song drifting down the hall as Sinopia began once more. “Don't you know little fool, you'll never win. Why not use your mentality, come on step up to reality. But each time you do, just the thought of me. Makes you stop before you begin. 'Cause you've got me under your skin~.”

Felix Tolbert

Felix woke with a yell as the ringing of his alarm broke the morning silence. Still not entirely aware that he was awake, he continued flailing his arms and legs in a similar fashion to a turtle stuck on its back, before promptly sliding off the bed and thumping his head painfully on the floor.

Groaning, he pushed away the pile of pillows and sheets he had buried himself in. One hand rubbed his head while the other searched for his still blaring alarm. Slamming it quiet, he yawned and stumbled to his feet. Golden sunlight was seeping through the drawn curtains, which he pulled open, so it was now flooding his small student room. He remembered having some kind of bizarre dream in which he could have sworn he was being chased by giant goats with teapots with heads. Why he’d even been scared he couldn’t guess but he just felt stupid now.

Shortly, having showered and checking the mirror to see how his - for want of a better word - ‘beard’ was coming along, he dressed himself in his usual attire of dark blue jeans, a medium blue shirt and his favourite caramel brown sweater. After slipping into a pair of black shoes, he strolled into the flat kitchen to pour himself some cereal and a rather strong cup of coffee. He was happily munching on his breakfast when something on the news caught his attention. There had been two car crashes yesterday, both fatal. Not only that, several people had been reported missing. This shook him slightly, and his expression fell as he stared at his flatmate’s laptop, open on the table.

“Don’t worry about it man,” he said, noticing Felix’s apprehension; it was no secret he was a bit of a coward. “I mean, you saw that storm, right? That was really bad weather. And they’ll probably find those people soon enough.”

“Huh?” Felix replied, indignant. “Pfff. I’m not scared. Really. Heh...” He cleared his stuff away and made his way out of the door, his flatmate shrugging.

At least the weather’s improved since yesterday, he thought to himself as he pushed open the door of the accommodation building. Leaving his grey waterproof unzipped, he set off to the supermarket where he was working a shift today. Despite himself, he kept making wary glances at the roving traffic, as if certain a truck could spin off course and plunge him into instantaneous death at any moment. He shook his head in embarrassment, eventually reaching the store. After clocking in and stowing his coat away, he donned his work jacket and name badge and got to work at the checkout, greeting each customer with a cheery smile and as helpful an attitude as he could muster.

Taja eyes went wide at the plate of burgers that were in front of her. Her stomached growled in approval. She scooted closer to the table and took two, just to be polite, and nommed on it. She looked up at Fred the Perv. maybe he isn't so bad, from a distance... away from my thighs. What if he tries to touch me?

"You could kill him," said Elsworth, a simple smirk on his lips.

"That I could," was all she replied with as she finished off the first burger.

---

---

Rina looked over the chaos that had unfolded in front of her. She was clinging to a now lukewarm coffee and wondering how she could explain any of this to her uncle. He would think she had gone nuts and maybe she had. Her hand gripped tighter to the mug. She couldn't go back to him, not yet. She looked down at Taja and wondered if she was secretly crazy too. Didn't she say she heard voices? What if I got whatever crazy bug she had? Maybe I am not even in this Yohan guy's house, maybe I am in her's. She looked down at the mug that she held in her hands.

What am I even holding or drinking? Oh god, what if I never met Taja? Is she even real? Is anything real?! Rina looked all around, patting down things, and even feeling Frederick's arm. "A-Are you real?" She whispered to him.

She took a step back and stared at the entry way of the kitchen. "How could I have gone to a different world? Maybe I am already dead and this is hell or where I was just hell." She looked at Taja and walked around the table, gripping the side of the small girl's arms.

"I-I bet you aren't even real you little brat!" She laughed while shaking her hard. Taja kicked Rina the stomach before backing herself into a corner. The girl looked scared of Rina.

"I am r-real!" Taja screamed back through teary eyes.

"Of course you are! That is what an imaginary person would say. What kind of ten year old would wear something like that with thighs like THAT?!" She laughed.

"I need to get out of here. This house is all in side my head. You are all inside my head. Head, head, head, yes my head." She looked around the kitchen. "I just... I just got to get out of my head. Yes, that is what I have to do."

Rina got to the counter and repeatedly slammed her head into the counter. Pieces of skull and brain flew.

---

---

Taja wasn't expecting Rina to go crazy. This whole time she had been in the corner of the kitchen being quiet. She had thought Rina was just thinking of taking a break from everyone. So when Rina started muttering things she had looked up.

Maybe she shouldn't have looked up because Rina came over and started shaking her hard. "I am r-real!" She screamed. Taja didn't want to cry, but between the pain and Rina going crazy she didn't know what else to do. So she picked up her foot and kicked Rina in the stomach hard enough for her to let go before standing up, dropping the burger, and backing into a corner. She was afraid to move.

That is when Rina started talking about her head, she didn't know how to calm Rina and looked at Fred the Perv to help out, but it was too late. Rina was bashing her head into the counter. Taja screamed bloody murder and she curled up into a ball. As Taja cried she could smell the iron in the air, blood. She didn't dare look up, not right now.

Though she was scared and angry, she forced a giggle back. Why did she want to giggle at such a time? This was crazy. Did that place do this to them? Or was it the things that appeared before entering the other side? She didn't know, all she did know is that she wanted this nightmare to end.

Well...at least she did not call him a pervert this time...Frederick thought to himself as Taja was really the first one down to come and eat. In fact...no one else came to the kitchen to eat...besides Rina. She was busy enjoying a coffee when she started feeling her surroundings. Eventually she began to grab and feel his arm and asking if he was real. "What? Of course I'm real...I mean I'm literally sitting down in front of you eating a burger. How much more real could I get?" He replied as he went back to eating his food as she continued to fumble around.

"So thou hath not tried to become a further pervert to the little girl? Are you trying other means to sate thy lust?" The voice spoke as it pestered him about being a pervert.

"I am willing to bet my janitorial badge that you are just doing this to mock me at this point...wait, never mind. I am not betting my badge of honor. I'll just bet a few hundred bucks so you can mooch off of some other thing. And for your information, if I wanted to get married and have a family I would actually go out and find a woman who appreciates a Janitor Cook Writer." Frederick replied in his mind.

However, when he began to hear something being slammed against the counter along with screaming. Almost jumping at attention, he noticed Rina bashing her head against a counter. "Holy moley lady!" Frederick exclaimed as he rushed forward and took a hold of Rina.

"Woah there lassie! Heel girl! What on the name of Earth are you bashing your head!?" He spoke to Rina as he struggled to prevent her from bashing her own head in. He was decently fit, but of course he had very little experience holding back a person who seemed hell bent of slamming their face into a hard counter.

"To think the most crazy person would be the most reasonable right now...I suggest you just---"

"Hey! I know there are more people in this house! A little assistance in helping me prevent someone from committing counter smashing suicide!?" Frederick called out as he was getting a bit of blood on himself.

Well, everything was going smoothly. The tunes stop as soon as he had finished saying the words and everything after that was silence. Not a word spoken from him or making any more noise in order to relax for once since, well, waking up yesterday. But he could never fully shake off what he had seen in that place, a place that they could now access at anytime through his own basement. The sketches had not revealed why it was put there or how his parents had obtained such an "interesting" object, but he certainly couldn't reveal it to the public now.

It was a simple decision, one that he hoped the others would come to realize as well. Visions of the beast's face, if it was indeed a Hell Hound, that sinister look in it's eyes and the demented smirk it gave before... It was at this moment he realized: They had no plan. How were they going to meet back up with this man if that thing was still around? His mind had started to wander again... He let out a deep breath. For now, at the least, there was no need to worry about it.

Noises from the kitchen and a lingering smell of food making it's way to his nose confirmed his suspicion about people enjoying themselves in the kitchen. It mattered not to him, he would simply move in and eat whatever was left after the others were done. If everyone else had already eaten, so be it. It's not like he personally cared what happened to himself anyway, nothing about his body would change despite others worrying about possibly starving himself.

Just when he had settled into a few minutes of silence, his ears catch the attention of Miranda on her phone. Well, guess he had quickly relaxed more into his position than he had realized. Once the call was over, she looked him straight in the eyes. It just had to be him of all the people in this god forsaken household right now, didn't it? It couldn't be the actual adult in the kitchen, it couldn't be the cranky ruthless person upstairs, it had to be him. If there was such a thing as fate, it certainly had it out to make him thrown into situations he never wanted to be thrown into!

Her eyes said it all: Where Am I, and how do I get the nearest car? "Well." He started off, his voice sounding a bit strained and tired as he honestly was holding back the more forced push he was giving himself right now. "We're in the north part of town. I hear there's a car shop just to the left and down the street." It didn't sound like much, but he figured if he just got to the point sooner, she'd leave him be so he could enjoy the silence again. Maybe he'd get lucky and she'd actually leave the house. He could only hope though.

When he heard some noise, he thought it sounded like it came from upstairs. What was that girl up to now? If she was breaking more things, he would have some fierce words to say... Well, if he cared enough. The sooner he could go back to being alone, the better for him. He never seemed to get any luck when hanging around others, it usually lead to disaster. Oh, had he only known the irony of his own thoughts right now.

WHACK! A sudden noise erupted outward, he thought it came from upstairs, but it sounded closer somehow. He became startled, was someone attacking them, now?! WHACK! In rapid success to the previous noise, the same noise carried with a bit more weight behind it this time. He definitely heard it coming from the kitchen this time, just what was going on in there?! WHACK! Well, that sealed the deal, something was very much wrong. Even though the noise had stopped, that didn't mean his fears had.

Without much thought, he ran towards the kitchen's direction. He almost made it there when he stopped to see the scene. Rina's body, being held up by Frederick who was now being covered by the mess that was coming from her body, and somewhere Taja was hiding herself he could only presume in this moment. He had stopped as soon as he had discovered the scene, and his mind immediately raced back towards that sudden scene of his parent's car again. He had no choice, he had to run away, there was no other choice for him in this instant. His body was going too far out of his control, and he felt that tightening grip over his heart.

He felt himself hiding back in the spot he had originally started from, he could hear the news from the television going on in the background as he kept himself away from seeing that again. That girl was... Dead? That sound, was it her that did that or had it been one of the others? His mind raced at the assumptions, she had been one of the more quieter ones of them and had always seemed more distant... Had she tried to do something and they had retaliated? He just couldn't come to grips with the reality that she tried to take her own life, no, it looked more like she had taken it. What was happening? Was he in danger, was he about to die too?!

"In other news!" A familiar voice came from the television. Oh no... When he turned to look at the television, there he was, with one smug of a smile and actually appearing to have taken the place of the reporter just now. "Rina Jasmine is found dead!" The white haired male fake gasps at this, putting his hands up to his cheeks while his eyes dart left and right constantly. "But where did it happen?" He suddenly stared directly at Yohan, a sinister smirk growing on his face. "Why, it was you! YOU caused her death!"

"No, no, I had nothing to do with it!" Yohan tried to defend himself, but it wasn't working.

"How sad. Denial is a thing, you know. Let's see that instant replay!" Happy cheers came on the television as Yohan is forced to watch Rina slam her head repeatedly until she is stopped by Frederick, but by then, damage had already been done. "Oooh, I guess you could say she's got a few brain bits from that huh?!" A laugh track plays out of nowhere as he smirks while snapping his fingers. "Keep it on repeat." The same process was repeated several times, each time more gruesome and violent than the last. Everything was starting to get red, he felt his heart racing, everything was starting to feel faint...

Until the last play, when she doesn't hit her head strangely. She looks kind of scared actually, hesitant. "Please, no, don't do this!" She cried out weakly, looking hurt and limping back as best as she could. A gun came into view, pointing at her head, tears ran down her face as she continued to beg. "No, please! I want to go home! I want to go ho--" BANG! Her word were interrupted and she fell to the floor, cold as ice. When the man with the gun turned to the screen, he looked just like Yohan and gave a nasty grin of pleasure.

"N-no... Stop..." Yohan had tears running down his eyes now, the screen suddenly went static as everything now had a red tone to it. Sitting in front of the television was the boy... But something was off as his pupils turned red and the smirk melted into a frown.

"Death does not wait, my boy." He rose up to his feet, his form partially malformed as he had rags all over him, only his red eyes were visible in the darkness as his bony long arms gripped each other over his chest. He stood hunched, yet his form towered over Yohan's to cast his shadow over him. "It's time you joined her. It's what you want." He pulled out a gun and slowly pressed it right up to Yohan's forehead. "You can't deny what you feel any longer. It's only going to get worse from here." BANG!

Everything went back to normal, and he found himself holding a piece of shattered glass. His eyes widened and he threw it away, it had only been inches from his neck. He gripped his hand lightly and looked it over, tears running wild down his face as he got up to his feet and ran right back into his room, the door slamming shut and the lock turning to keep anyone unwanted out. Then, only silence. But the four others would all hear a ghastly voice suddenly call out to them. "Strike one."



"Knock, knock." Ricky stated before the door. He didn't bother to actually knock, which didn't surprise him when no one answered the door. He groaned and looked down at his wrist, tapping his foot three times before raising up his right arm and pounding it on the door. "I SAID KNOCK, KNOCK YOU ASSHOLE!"

"Ugh. Go away, Ricky!" A voice screamed out from the other side of the door.

"Let me in to see the boss, god dang you!"

"The boss don't want to see you. You aren't wanted here right now, Ricky. He's in a bad mood right now, trust me, you don't want to --"

"I am the one who sent that threat, you moron!" The door slide open almost immediately and a gun was pointed right in Ricky's face. "... Well it's nice to know I'm as welcomed as ever."

"Follow me, Rick. Ain't no saving you this time." Ricky rolled his eyes as he was brought in, his hands casually in his pockets as he whistled. "Hey, what's with the whistling?!" Ricky shrugged as if to apologize, but The Djinn knew better. He grinned as he reached down and placed a hand on Ricky's left shoulder.

"Wish granted." He stated, chuckling as he watched Ricky brought into a room where he could see everyone pointing guns at him almost immediately.

"Ricky. You were like a son to me." The fat man who ran the group turned his seat around to face Ricky, his gun pointing in Ricky's direction. "Tell me. Why would you betray us like this? I gave you a gift yesterday, and now today, you come here and threaten my life? You get this much to say before you are filled with lead."

"Ah you fat piece of crap, I'll tell you something. You've held back this group's true potential for far too long. Think about it, back before we knew magic existed, what did you do? You ran this place like a family, no? You said you would treat everyone with respect and that everyone would get a fair share. Am I wrong?"

"Get to the point, Ricky. My patience is running out for you and the waste spilling out from your mouth." Ricky grinned at these words.

"We were offered a deal one day, were we not? How everyone could have a better life if they accepted the responsibility of their actions. Yet you got greedy. You fell under the influence and became afraid of it's own power corrupting you from within, so you withheld us from truly obtaining it. You exposed everyone briefly to it, but small doses are not enough! You lied to everyone in order to keep us all limited!" Everyone started looking towards the boss, who was starting to shake and sweat terribly.

"I've heard enough! I'm through with you! Everyone, shoot him!" But no one fired, causing the boss to look around at the others.

"Boss, you told us that if we exposed ourselves to a small dose every week, we would eventually rise above the average human. Why would you lie to us? We all agreed to share in the power together!"

"Y-you don't know what it does to normal people! This whole magic business is bullcrap!" The boss glares back at Ricky. "The White, The Black... Don't you see?! Neither side really matters! Both are bull in the end, both of them end up becoming corrupted! If The White or The Black are allowed to run wild through Timberland itself, everyone will die! This town will crumble! There are some forces you should never get involved with, and I will not allow myself or my family to become slaves to those monsters sitting at the top! You were always trouble, Ricky. It pains me to have to kill you, but I never considered you a true member of this family!"

"Go ahead and shoot me then, old man." Ricky's smirk ignited a fire within the boss' eyes, as he and the others all opened fire on Ricky. For a minute, all anyone could hear coming from the room was the flurry of gunshots. However, when the guns had stopped, a wave of silence crept it's way over everyone. Ricky was still standing, and not a single bullet had even hit him.

"What...?" The boss could only managed to get out these words as he watched the bullets slowly being crushed in the air. A dark aura slowly became visible to everyone, this dark aura resembling an outline of smoke around Ricky as each bullet had been taken in and crushed by hands that had manifested from the aura. The boss' eyes widen as his worst fears come to realization through Ricky.

"Get 'em." The Djinn stated to Ricky. Suddenly, Ricky was gone to everyone.

"W-what?!" One of the others looked around, sweat starting to form as they couldn't help but start to freak out. "W-where did he go?!"

"Find him!" The lights start to flicker at this moment, everyone freezing in place as they all slowly looked up. "What is going on with the power?!" The boss looked around quickly as he got up to his feet.

"Hey there." Ricky said, grabbing the boss' shoulder from behind. "I got you."

"WHAT?! WHEN DID YOU --"

"Kidding!" Ricky backed up with his arms in the air, everyone's guns returning to focus on him. The lights returning to normal as he smiled, the aura now gone.

"Alright Ricky, enough games! Time to sleep with the --" The boss stopped speaking, his body shaking violently as the others looked over at him with concern. Cracks started to appear all over his body as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his body boating up before BOOM! His body erupted up into a literal explosion, everyone becoming surprised as nothing was left of the boss but a big scorch mark on the ground where he once stood.

"That is the power of The Black." Ricky raised up his left arm, showing how it had been changed and the ring had been infused with his middle finger. "The power I just used is called... A Dominion~"

Leo felt more confident once Sonea agreed to have some company. Knowing that she was new to town and unfamiliar with the area gave him plenty of excuses to ask her out and simply get to know her more. Wow Leo already so interested in a girl and it hadn't even been a whole day with her. For all he knew she could be one of those creepy stalker chicks that had pictures of him all over her room. But in his world this female was most beautiful, cute and quite friendly. Although she seemed distracted by something from time to time; perhaps it was just nerves?

Nonetheless he gave the other random man a short wave although he was about to introduce himself, he seemed busy with his own shopping and helping the strange girl reach for something? Must be in a hurry so he simply went back to concentrating on Sonea. In all honesty he couldn't help but be happy that the man with the eye patch declined Sonea's offer; feeling quite possessive already. Perhaps the kid could sense this? Like a strange guy code or vibe for could you kindly let me have alone time with this cutie.

"Ah well lucky for you I pretty much grew up here. My whole life has been spent in this town. Although I am fond of it, it would be nice for a change of scenery I must admit." Leo grinned before continuing. "I would love to show you around. It'll be much more pleasant knowing I'm giving you a little tour." The company was always nice and he was already planning ahead in his mind some interesting and important places to show her. "Oh how interesting! You're a blacksmith? That's actually pretty cool." Leo was quite surprised such a pretty thing wasn't afraid of getting a little grease and cinders on her. Plus not many females particularly took interest in the trade, it made him more keen to get to know her.

As they began walking down the aisle with their shopping, he felt more and more comfortable talking to her so casually. He wasn't sure why but she had a very welcoming aura. "Currently I'm just a programmer but to be honest it's not my thing. I mean it's easy and it pays well but I'm more interested in becoming a journalist."

---

Iris was just about to start climbing the shelf in her winter dress until an unfamiliar voice seemed to be directed her way. She froze as her eyes scanned for the owner of the voice before landing on eye patch guy. Iris was surprised he spoke to her at all, thinking normally people would just ignore others and go about their business. Did she look that distressed? Apparently. Not really understanding how desperate and quite reckless she must have looked being caught trying to climb the shelves.
"Nah I'm fi-" As she was about to decline his offer for help, she was caught off guard to see the male approach her, reach up and grab the instant noodles. One for her and himself. She would admit he had good taste noticing the flavour he had chosen. "Or not. Uh thanks." Iris couldn't help but feel a little nervous by the random encounter. Her heart beat slowly calmed as she hopped off the shelf and watched as he went back to shopping. Tilting her head to the side he studied him from afar, as she couldn't help but get a sense of nostalgia from him? Strange.

The pale violet haired female shrugged it off and turned to place her noodles into the basket until she jolted at the random sight of a young blonde girl who asked about mayonnaise? "Jesus Christ-- You scared me." Iris let out a relieved soft awkward laugh as she sighed before grinning at the female. "Mayonnaise huh? Hm I think that's in the sauce and dressings aisle." Iris then studied the girl more closely, she too looked familiar. From school perhaps? She would take note to pay more attention to the people around her next time. Even though she would most certainly not do it anyway. "I can show you if you want?" The female then placed her noodles into her cart and picked it up glancing at her own list for a moment.

Miranda blinked as Rina began to bash her head into the counter, the werewolf frozen in uncertainty. While she had no problem with gore, death, or normally traumatic events due to her upbringing and ancestry, the fact that someone was willingly smashing their head into the counter surprised her. And Dissapointed her as well, someone too weak to live on by themselves wasn't worth living, in her opinion. Standing after the deed was done, and looking at the bloody carnage. Without thinking, her hand twitched, and so did the still dying body of Rina.

The blood stopped abruptly, and the body shuddered and made a sickening gagging noise before dropping to the ground. Miranda blinked again, her Demon smirking as it leaned against the wall. "You just mutated a fellow human. How does that make you feel?" it asked, a devilish smirk on its face. Miranda only glared. "You're right. She was already dead. I suppose it doesn't count all that much, then. Does it?" again only a glare.

She turned to Yohan, seeing the boy freak out over the fact that there was a dead body in his kitchen. She picked up her phone and called her home. "It's me. Something came up....I can't return to the gym today. I know....I know. Yes. I promised I know. One day will not hurt. Okay. See you soon." She hung up the phone, and moved to Yohan, grabbing him by the shoulder rather gently and guiding him back to the couch, sitting him down.

She paused for a moment, showing what could be described as an uncharacteristic sign of affection to help calm the boy down, patting his cheek gently, her thumb tracing his cheek-bone before leaving him there, and moving to the body of Nina. She looked to Frederick, nodding to the blood. He wore the uniform of a janitor. Surely he'd know what to do. She knew how to hide a body well enough.

Grabbing her by the collar, she hefted the body over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and moved to the back yard of Yohan's house, looking around for something to bury the body under. Then it occured to her. It'd be easier to call the authorities, tell them it was suicide.

She knew just the person.

Pulling out her phone she put the body down, and rested it against the wall of the house. "Ches', it's Mir. My...friend just committed suicide, need the body buried properly....she had a mental breakdown. I'd prefer it this was kept quiet....The home-owner is....young, shocked, inexperienced." she paused as her cousin talked. "Yes I realize what I'm asking. I'm not telling you to just get rid of the body. Inform the family, let her have a full burial, the whole thing. But normal cops won't believe me if I say it's a suicide. You know they don't like...us." she said.

"Thank you."

Frederick mind went on pause as his efforts to help stop Rina ended in bloody failure. Her limp body falling to the floor along with the pooling of blood. He just remained silent as someone who was just alive moments ago was now dead, literally right in front of him.

He backed up a bit to let his mind calm down for a bit. "She's...She's really dead huh?..." Frederick questioned himself as he took steady breaths.

"And such was the fate of that young woman...her mind lost and broken...poor lost lamb." The voice went silent almost as if it was taking the moment to have silence for the dead in front of them. Of course Yohan was obviously frightened by the sight but for Miranda. She just hefted the body and motioned for him to...clean the blood?

Okay, he was a janitor. But this was technically a very illegal thing to do. Its like tampering with the scene of a crime. But...how would they explain their disappearance and the death of her? Like...He would be the most likely to be jailed here.

"I can't belive I am going to do this..." Frederick sighed as he tried to cheer himself on the inside as he left for a bit and got a mop.

"And thou haf sinned once again...Removing evidence of a death...In a day you have already sullied yourself in lust and death now...Such a shame...But everyone has sinned one way or the other. No matter how pure their soul may be." The voice spoke as it continued its strange habit.

"Could I please...have like a small moment to myself...someone is dead and...jeeze..." Frederick replied as he finished cleaning the mess making it like nothing happened. He soon put the mop away and sat down on a chair and grabbed a burger to finish his meal...funny, it tasted worse now...

"Do not fret now, if you lose yourself you too shall become lost like she has. Do indulge in yourself, maybe find someone to spend your night with. Lest you sully the young girls body."

"Goodness graces random voice, I am no pedo. Stop trying to insist on that! If anything you are one naggy ghost spirit thing." Frederick responded as he waved his hand around his head.

"Trying to touch me now? My, someone is desperate now..."

"I cant even tell if you are male or female! GAH!"

As they walked through the store, Sonea paid Leo some attention, more worried about what the floating cat was doing. Above her head, the Cheshire floated along lazily, as if drifting on a cloud of non existent air, moving two and fro as he scanned along the lanes of groceries. It hummed a cheerful tune from Sonea's childhood as he went along before spotting several new candidates. A young boy, no older then eleven, another blonde haired woman and a cashier at the registers. His grin got wider and soon he evaporated.

Sonea couldn't do much of anything to tell the cat to stop and soon he appeared to each of them and patted each on the forehead to leave a print upon their foreheads. None could feel the mark whatsoever but now his work was now done.

"Puurrrfest. Now we have our members and the Black can now be summoned. Wander home Sonea...and prepare for our guests" The cat said and soon vanished into thin air once more, leaving Sonea alone with the rather handsome man that was Leo. She smiled a bit and reached into her bag, only to pull out a business card "By the way, if you ever want to stop by, here is my card and address. Lemme give you a couple. I am trying to get my business off the ground...word of mouth is the best thing I can get in a small town like this eh? If you wouldn't mind handing these out? I'd really appreciate it. But I have to go now...stop by my shop sometime. Id love to talk to you some more. See you later Leo" She smiled and drove her cart to the blonde haired cashier and started to hand her groceries to him to ring.

She smiled a bit and looked intently at his forehead to see if she could see the mark on there. Which there wasn't one...this day was just getting stranger and stranger.

After paying and leaving a few more of her business cards there at the cashier's register, she was sitting on the bus and put in her earbuds and turned on her phone so she was looking like she was having a conversation.

"Who are you?" She asked

"Who am I you ask? Why I am me that's who silly girl. By the way, very sneaky..."

The Cat reappeared sitting on her lap, grin in her face as he reclined against her, resting his head on her busom to which she did not move. She hmphed loudly and soon the cat began to laugh just a bit.

"Come now Sonea you know better then to grump about. Your not at your best if your not smiling..."

"You still have not answered my question. Who are you exactly?"

"Really Sonea you have no sense of imagination. I am you...a part of you as you are a part of me. We are one in the same but I represent something you lack, something you want. Something you need. I am here to guide you towards it but only you can choose to walk through that door"

"What do you mean?"

"Clearly time has dulled your senses and caused you to forget. You have forgotten much Sonea and I am here to get you back on schedule. Now...your stop is here. Go inside and set some tea...I'll gather the guests"

As the bus stopped, the five people the Cat had touched all began to recall rather vividly a shop. It was an alien memory, something that had absolutely no right to be there as it was from a perspective that was not their own. It lacked depth and seemed to be half complete as if one of the eyes was missing. It was of a shop, the shop named The Sunny Shield. Leo and the Cashier, Felix Tolbert would know from the cards Sonea had left.

In bright red letters, the words "Come for Tea and Stories of a far away land and a strange murky place...You wont be disappointed" read on a sign hanging from the door with each of the names Felis Tolbert, Cayson Arlo Rinar, Amber Hill, Leo Pichard and Sebastian Winters as the name written at the bottom of the sign. There would be a certain feeling of...unease that would come from the memory. A sort of desire to visit this place relatively soon.

Infact on the sign was a time written on it: 8:00pm with a secondary note reading "Bring a food item"

It was an invitation to come to the Sunny Shield at 8:00pm...and everyone was clearly invited. The Black was now beginning to form.

“Good morning!” Felix greeted Sonea with enthusiasm as she approached the checkout, noticing the eyepatch. It was slightly intimidating but he didn’t think much of it, and instead began checking and bagging the groceries. Of course, he remained fully unaware of the strange feline creature patting him on the forehead, instead carrying on with business, cheerfully ignorant of what was really happening. As he looked up at the customer again, a look of slight confusion flickered across his face.

She had been staring at his forehead for just a few moments. He was about to ask if she was OK, but she continued as if nothing had happened, smiling and paying for her items, before making her way out. She also made sure to hand Felix several of her business cards before she left. He wasn’t exactly sure what store policy was on this, so he decided to accept them, smiling, deciding that he would hand them out to people later.

Well, that had seemed odd, but Felix shook the thought from his head and carried on serving customers, pocketing the business cards for now.

Unfortunately for him, this was not going to be an ordinary day as he’d expected. While Sonea’s bus stopped somewhere else in town, an unfamiliar but distinct image imprinted itself in his mind, a view of a shop called the Sunny Shield…wait, that sounded familiar. Pulling one of the cards out, his eyes widened a little as he recognized it as the same name. What the hell? Was he just creating false memories, or were these cards spiked with something? Wait no, that was ridiculous, he was making up crazy scenarios, yet again.

But the image wouldn’t go away. I fact, it was becoming more solid and detailed. There was a sign above the door telling people to come to the shop, and the rest sounded rather sinister, like something out of a blurb. Hmm, perhaps he had read something similar in a book and was imagining - as if in response, the picture became more focused yet again. Now he saw, with a slight constricted feeling in his chest, his own name, along with several others. And a potent sense of unease enveloped him, somehow urging him to find this place. Yes, then he’d find out what was going on…He shook his head, trying to clear the silly thought away, but it persisted. He wasn’t feeling too good now.

Felix continued his day as normal, albeit slightly shaken. At the end of his shift it was about 6:00pm. He checked the address on the card, deciding he would go, if only to stop these thoughts plaguing his mind. After quickly buying something from the store, as per his instructions, he exited for this strange destination.

Along the way, he handed out the remaining cards to a few people. While he felt uneasy about this, it wasn’t like him to refuse helping a small growing business looking for publicity. Besides, he reasoned, it was probably all just a figment of his imagination. Although that made him feel a bit stupid, carrying a lemon drizzle cake around and all.

Sebastian had gathered his listed items and extra, he looked down at the tub of chocolate ice cream in his hand and shrugged, putting it into the basket, heading for the till; paying for his goods and then leaving. Returning home he locked the door and went about restocking the kitchen.

As Sebastian finished packing everything away; he heard the sound of hissing and turned to see the cat hissing and preparing to attack, Seb sighed and glanced to the small mirror that hung in the empty door frame. Moving past the hissing cat, that batted out with a clawed paw at Sebastian’s ankle.

Closing the door to his room with a heavy slam, his vision faded as he looked out at the sunny shield, due to having only one eye himself, it didn’t feel sickening or off putting but still an alien memory, seeing the words form and then sign, his name amongst others, and then the date and time for ‘tea time’.

Shaking his head, he sighed and glanced to the door “the fuck was that?” he stepped back and thought on it some more “Sunny Shield, the hell kind of name is that.” Sebastian checked the time and nodded to himself before heading through into the kitchen, looking about okay what can i bring...the ice cream? nah. thinking to himself.

When it came round to near seven; Sebastian just took an icebox and the ice cream, he couldn’t be arsed to cook anything and on his bike he didn’t have much space for it to be honest, just enough for the icebox filled with ice cream really.

Sienna Cartlow

“Huh… Have I lost weight?” Sienna mumbled absentmindedly to herself as she patted her stomach. Though her showers were normally lazy, drawn out affairs, she hadn’t soaked too long; just enough to clean up the cuts she’d made on herself before finding some bandages and ointment to help fix it up. Oddly, a lot of her minor abrasions seemed to have already disappeared, and part of her assumed that had something else to do with the powers she’d inherited from Sinopia. Still, the point was that her jeans definitely felt looser, enough so to warrant using the slightly tighter button. Weird, but not an unhappy weird. She still wasn’t super fit or anything, but it was nice to see she probably could’ve had that noodle cup earlier. Stupid 10 year old didn’t know what fat was through her stupid fat head.

Taking her time slightly to dry her hair and examine herself in the mirror, she still looked pretty worn out and beat up, but respectable enough. She normally looked pretty dead inside in life, so it wasn’t that far off her normal resting bitch face. It was enough of a façade to hide all the craziness going on in her head, and the guilt and agony she was feeling over her loss. To think, she’d thought herself lucky when she’d seen Yohan and the others. Now, she’d trade practically anything of hers to just feel the pleasant warmth of having Rio by her side. Or yelling at her to stop being lazy. Or doing that goofy thing with her ears when she tried to make her laugh. Or… Or that would never be coming back. Sighing again, Sienna was grateful that Sinopia was giving her at least some reprieve to consolidate her thoughts. She needed a plan of what to do here. But where was she even going to begin?

She was wanted for questioning and who knows what else after her disappearance; and frankly, no one would believe her if she told them half the shit. Heck, she struggled to still believe it even now. Still, there was Yohan, Rina and Taja. Something like their arms, or Taja’s… monster stuff (Fitting for the little brat) would surely go a long way to helping that. Then there was also… Patting down her pockets again, Sienna retrieved another of her crumpled cigarettes, spinning it in-between her fingers, before she held it towards her pointer on her other hand. Just like magic, a small flame sprouted forth, lighting the stick as she drew it back up to her lips. Well, if there was anything to take away from all this shit, at least she wouldn’t have to bother bringing her lighter with her anymore. Regardless, being able to do crap like that would be proof enough, yeah? Then again, all this crazy horseshit… Did the government already know about it? Was stuff like this kept under wraps? Screw the aliens at area 51, maybe they had freakin’ wizards and witches and demons…

“I have to do something…” Taking another deep breath from her cigarette, Sienna leaned on the bath tub edge, letting the extractor fan do the work for her in clearing the smoke. Weird. Normally her smokers lung would be bothering her by now after having so many in quick succession, but she hadn’t coughed once in ages. Shaking her head, she reminded herself not to get side-tracked. She had to tell someone and get back out there. It wasn’t like she could avoid society indefinitely. Whatever consequences that held from there, well, she’d have to face them as they came. It wasn’t like she could just return after what happened, even if she did want to go and slug Tate in the face. And Rio… Were they already planning that funeral? Would she get out of police custody and all this crap in time to attend? Then there was the others. What would they want to do about all this crap? She could talk it over with them after eating, speaking of which…

Heading downstairs and oblivious to the events that had transpired, Sienna walked in on the end of a horror scene. Rina’s body lay slumped on the ground, pieces of… Her just… across the counter, part of the wall, floor… Blood… And on top of that, her head looked like… God it was… Covering her mouth in both shock as well as to try and stop the involuntary reflux, she turned back out of the doorway, dry heaving in the corridor. She was kinda grateful she hadn’t eaten yet. “What the fuck guys?! What the hell happened?!” Sienna called from the corridor, refusing to re-enter the kitchen just yet. Slowly, her mind began to process the rest of the scene in the kitchen – Taja in the corner, that weird man covered in blood and at the counter, Miranda on the phone…

“That is the fate of one who can’t change. One who can’t see the world differently, who rejects themselves and fails to face their inner demons.” Sinopia’s voice came from seemingly nowhere and everywhere, perforating every facet of Sienna’s mind to ensure that she heard it. “That could be you, in time. Remember earlier? You weren’t too far off from a cadaver yourself.” There was a certain smugness in Sinopia’s voice, Sienna just trying to steady her breathing and take it in. She certainly didn’t feel like eating anymore. Shit shit shit, this day just kept getting more fucking brilliant every second. As if she didn’t have enough crap to deal with in her life, now this shit? God, she’d probably be questioned about this crap too, ugh. I mean, she didn’t know Rina at all really, nor did she really care for her but jeez, she didn’t want her to die or anything! Resting against the wall in the corridor, another voice filtered into her mind, and this time, it wasn’t Sinopia’s.

“Strike one.” It said mockingly. Sienna had no idea what that meant. Other than the obvious ominous implications of striking out. “Sin, what was that?” Sienna asked, and weirdly, could feel the cat shrug. “A warning. Suffice to say, having your comrades die would not be wise. Lame as they may be, you and I are now connected to them, like it or not… Well, except the dead one.” Sienna grimaced. This shit was getting to be too much. Just… There was way too much to handle. What was she supposed to do? Breaking through her panic to be rational, she realised that they needed to start taking some direction. “Guh… Hey, are you calling the cops gym girl? We’re all probably going to have a lot of explaining to do at the station…” Thankfully for Frederick, Sienna hadn’t entered the kitchen again to see him cleaning. She’d probably have had something to say about that.

No, Amber definitely knew the face of the girl who turned to talk to her...but from where, she wasn't quite sure. Well, probably the school, since that was where pretty much everyone she knew was, but there were a couple other possibilities that she couldn't necessarily rule out. A camp, for instance, or even the street, if she was really combing her own brain.

Wherever Amber knew this other girl from, she realized that she wasn't going to satisfy her own curiousity unless she kept the interaction going. "Oh, sure! Can't believe I missed it, but the market's a pretty big place, isn't it?" She said, though she could probably have found it herself if she wanted to. She waited for a moment before moving, in case she would have to let the other girl turn around as the two of them located the sauce and dressings aisle, then looked around briefly for things she might have wanted from this aisle before heading off to get the mayonnaise.

As she and the other girl walked, Amber made sure there wasn't any dead air. "I don't know what happened, but there used to be another store, Emporia, that I'd always go to to get mayonnaise and things. I can't believe they closed." She'd have plenty of time while they were hanging out to figure out where she remembered this other girl, introduce herself, and so on, so it was certainly possible for Amber to make her conversation partner a little more comfortable. "Did you ever get stuff from there?" She added, making sure that the other girl had something to work with.

While this was happening, Amber also made a mental note of the blacksmith's shop that she could see something pointing to from outside the market entrance, which there was practically a straight line to from where they were. She might check it out later, she decided, once she'd gotten everything she needed. It wasn't every day you saw one of those in Timberland. Or, well, anywhere, really.

Taja's body went numb. Strike one came a warning from nowhere. She didn't even think anything of it as she got up and turned to walk out of the kitchen. She passed up the group she had been with and walked towards the front door. You know, kid, you could have stopped her. Elsworth appeared next to her. Taja kept her head down, she didn't feel like talking or listening to the stupid thing that always kept coming around when it was clear he wasn't wanted. I mean, why did she come after you and not the pervert? I just find it so str-"

Taja interrupted him, "Probably because it was me who had her go to the stupid gym, ElsWORTH." She said his name, mocking him like he was actually something of worth. "If I hadn't listen to the voice or the visions she wouldn't have ran after me! She would have gone home." She was screaming at him now.

The image of Rina bashing her head over and over again brought her pain, but somewhere deep inside it also brought her joy. Shaking her head ran towards the living room. "Where is the gym from here? I am wanna go home. I need to go home..." She glanced back towards the kitchen and saw just the feet of Rina. Her eyes started to water, "Someone needs to call the police..." She wasn't aware of her feet moving but she saw the phone behind where Rina lay. Before she knew it, Taja was walking in the blood was tippy toeing to the phone when she slipped in the blood. It took a few moments before she lifted her hands and saw red. "No no no..." She quickly got up and to the phone, dialing 9-1-1.

"911, what is your emergency?" A female voice came over the phone.

---

---

Cayson felt a chill near him and looked around. "Strange." He said before going back to his pickle selection. "Pa, pa pickle pa pa pa pickle." He sang as he looked through jars of pickles, making sure they were in good conditions and looked as fresh as a fresh pickle could be. He was just about to pick when a vision flashed before his eyes. He was to go to some kind of tea party at a place called The Sunny Shield at 8 p.m. and to bring food.

Once the vision ended Cayson stood up tall, he didn't like the feeling that was going through him. He looked around and saw an old couple and a lady in her twenties staring at him like he was some kind of piece of cake. Smiling awkwardly he went back to pick the jar of pickles he selected and then a couple more. "The vision did say to being food." He said to himself and walked to one of the cashiers and looked at his watch. It read 11:13 a.m. He had a good amount of time to go looking for Taja before he had to go have tea at the sunny place.

"Eleven dollars and ninety-four cents is your total." She said. Cayson dug around in his pocket and gave a fifteen dollars. "You sure do like pickles, huh?" She asked before turning to get his change.

"Yeah, plus going to bring some to a tea party." He said nonchalantly.

The cashier gave him a looked and laugh, "Well that is a bit odd to have, but hey if you like it then that it is all that matters." She said while she gave him his change. "You have a good day."

"Thanks, you too!" He waved as she jogged out the market. He headed towards the corner store that was near Taja's home. He planed on going around the block and towards the gym where that other girl who was too skinny was walking towards.

His mind was empty during the moment, nothing seemed to really matter but getting away from it all. His heart raced, his body leaped into action and now he saw the door in sight. It was all he could think about, throwing himself onto his bed and just closing his eyes and forgetting the painful memory. Honestly, something in the back of his mind wanted to destroy the body, to get rid of it all in order to push out his emotions right now. But running came first, for whatever reason, running felt like the only option he had left in this situation!

Then, it all came to a sudden halt. He found his body easily being lifted up and being put down on the couch, his eyes wide with surprise as he could only blink right now. He thought he had done it, that he had gotten into his room and that everything was gonna be all right from there. Instead, he had been dragged back to where he had struggled with before. He felt something move along his cheek before going away. This seemed to bring him down a little, enough that he could accept being out here for the time being.

What else was there left to do for him? He could only assume the cops would eventually come over and notice this, what would they say to him? He wasn't one of the five listed missing, he already knew he had no records or anything except for the last ten years he had been living in town. That was all though, the only reason he seemed to have gotten away with it up until now was because of his parents. He no longer had them here with him though, he had avoided trouble for years and now finally karma had come up before him and told him it was time to face the music.

It felt like an eternity now, being trapped in limbo and forced to endure the everlasting torment it had in store for him. She had just up and killed herself, why? Why had she done such a thing?! She seemed perfectly fine up until just a few ago, he should of been more cautious and more alert, he should of been to stop her from doing it. It was ultimately his fault, how could the others be expected to do anything about it? They had been dragged into this, just like she had been. Her death was on his hands, yes, his hands!

He had known for years about this stuff, not enough mayhaps, but enough to warn people. He should of warned them about the dangers, he should of warned them about staying away from him instead of drawing himself to them. Why had he done this terrible deed today? She went crazy because she was thrown into a whole new world, and here he was, feeling sorry for himself. He should be the one that died, not her! Why had he survived, why had fate cursed him to a life of misery?! Wasn't it suppose to go better, wasn't everything suppose to be better now that he was finally here before the door?!

His mind went silent for a bit, he had no idea how long he had been sitting here. He ultimately decided to just lay down, face away from everything that was happening right now. He had to calm down, he had to relax, this was the only way to do it. Ultimately, ultimately, ultimately... His mind pushed itself to the brink of insanity, words started to repeat themselves in the process of relaxation. He had no idea what was even happening now, where was he even, why was he here instead of home, had he gone and just died, finally given up attempting to live?

He could remember so many things, to a point at least. Ten years already it had been, ten long years of this damned life. Negative, negative, negative. Always so negative. Yes, he had always been so negative. Why bother trying to hide it, he had nowhere left to run. People were now running around his house, screaming and yelling here and there, it was madness. Panic was surely running through the minds of the others, how could he blame them? Sad, all so sad, too sad for you. Yes, it was too sad for him... Or was it?

What was he doing right now, laying here and thinking he could get away from everything? The truth, the truth, THE TRUTH! Yes, suddenly it was all too clear. He had even admitted to it earlier, he had finally reached the door. Now was the time, he had finally reached it and now he was about to let it get away?! Nonsense! A person killed herself because she couldn't handle what she had seen, but not him. He had thrown it away, even if for today, and he knew then and there what had to be done. It's time you learned the truth, the truth, the truth, the truth.

Suddenly he rose up to his feet without another moment to waste and headed for the basement door. He grabbed hold of the doorknob and opened it, walking down into it as he stopped down at the stairs. "Okay, so, like, no one let anyone down here. Trust me on this one if you don't believe me." There was no way any of them could explain what this thing was or why it was here, but he could investigate it. Yes, yes, yes! Obviously he left the door open in case any of them wanted to come down here, after all, it would be some time before the cops came. Surely they would be too busy with the body to come down here, and even if they weren't, he trusted someone like Miranda could handle them.

Well, here he was again, down here... With the device. It certainly felt strange being here, after all, this was the device that had brought them back, and yet it was the only real proof that they were all still alive in some form or another. Those sketches had to be drawn by someone, there had to be a clue or some clues down here or somewhere in his house that would explain about this device. There just had to be, he knew there was no way his parents would just have a device like this for no reason! Well, one thing was for sure, they would have to use it tonight to go back and return...

Return, return, return.



Ricky wasn't too keen on what had to happen next, somehow, deep down, he knew it would come to this. Even when he explained to them or tempted them with power, they still had the nerve and the gull to pull out firearms on him. Needless to say, they were no real threat to him, and so he decided to demonstrate how hopeless it was for them. The dark hands came forth like a nightmare, a faint howling like noise came along as the two shivered with fright as Ricky went on the offensive. Loyal or not, they were still the lackeys of a now dead man.

The hands first attacked the person on the left, cause they sure as heck wouldn't fight back now. They grabbed and restrained the user's arms and legs, limiting them on how they could move, not like it mattered all that much in the end. The person on the right only got to watch as his friend was bent backwards slowly and without any means of fighting back. Slow cracks came as they pushed the person's body further and went beyond the limits of what could be done. With a loud shriek, the person's back snapped and ended the life of a poor fool. The hands threw the body aside and went for the next target, who tried to run away from his frightening new enemy. Alas, he was far too late.

The hands grabbed a hold of his leg and tore a piece of it off. The man screamed with pain and fell down, unaware of the horror that was now surrounding him. And when he came to his senses, only terror could register in his mind as the hands blocked out any light and grabbed a hold of his body, now with aggression and force behind their grips! Ricky's sadistic grin grew as he saw pieces of skin fly about where the man was trapped, like pieces of paper being blown through the air. The sound of tearing and crushing made it's way outside the room, and anyone who heard it could only register the worst was being done.

Then, everything went silent and everyone could only stand and wait, guns ready to blaze through and kill whatever came out. No light could be seen to those who stood closet to the door, they knew something was coming, but what? Then, the door bust open, and hell itself seemed to emerge unto them. Darkness quickly swept out, seeming to engulf the walls and all visible light within it's craps, and they could all see the creepy little hands all stretching out, coming right for them. The sound of gunfire was the first to emerge, they thought they could somehow get rid of the menace. But they learned all too quickly that what they did was meaningless.

Ricky walked out of the door slowly, only his eyes visible in the engulfing darkness that was The Black as he watched the mayhem occur. When darkness engulfed this poor unfortunate soul, they panicked and tried all they could to escape. But the hands grabbed a hold of one of their feet, grabbing the person further into the darkness as the hands quickly made short work, the face being the first to go before red stained the walls nearby. Red would be the only color Ricky's mind allow to stand out in the dark.

Ricky continued his walk, hands in pockets, eyes showing no form of empathy for the people he once considered family. They all screamed the same, was the first thought to register into his current mindset. They were all the same to him: Scum. One person struggled to fight off the hands as they gripped onto the body to push it against a wall, and then the last thing they ever saw was two sharp looking fingers stabbing their way into the person's eyes. Another person tried to shoot themselves in the head before the hands could, but they quickly snapped the arm and let the gun fall to the ground. Oh how poor a choice, for the hands would not accept anything other than death by their own actions, and so the person's head was twisted around in an instant before the body was dropped and the hands began to tear the body into pieces.

He couldn't help himself as he began to laugh among the darkness, the only sound that he could register other than the cries of misery that filled the darkening place. People were being slammed until they were mush, some had their heads crushed slowly under the hands, others would not get such a mercy when they were thrown into the ceiling and dragged along it to make a red trail along it. One person almost got lucky, they saw Ricky and saw him as the threat, aiming a pistol at him and shooting in his direction. But no bullets would hit, and the eyes only got closer to the person's position. They kept firing until they were out of bullets, and then, they wanted to run. But before they could turn around, a hand burst forth through their chest, the person struggled to breath as the hand slowly twisted itself and began to race faster and faster. Ricky couldn't help but smirk as he was covered with a new paint job of red!

Five. Only five remained. When they saw Ricky step out into the light, they were horrified at the sight of the fresh red liquid dripping off of his body, and that horrifying grin that only a monster could make turned to them. One of them burst out into crying, another seemed to come close to a panic attack, while the others seemed to suffer from a lack of breathing. "Give it to me." Ricky spoke in a low tone, almost like a whisper. The five couldn't help but look at each other, what exactly did he want from them? What COULD he want from them at this point?!

"Bow." His demand was clear, and they all felt a crushing grip within their chests. Swear loyalty to a sadistic and cruel murderer, or join the slaughter fest. It all clicked that Ricky had spared them because he viewed them as the closet of the bunch, and they had a hard time coming to grips with the reality of the situation. However, when they began to see the red hands slowly make their way out and begin to spread, they all knew what to do and kneeled before Ricky like some kind of King. The hands stopped all at once, except for five, which the others could not see coming due to their heads being bowed and their eyes being tightly shut.

"Welcome to oblivion!" He shouted with glee, and the hands each grabbed hold of the faces of the five, they struggled to get free but the hands were just too strong for them. Ricky began to chuckle as cracks began to emerge all over the five, their eyes rolling as they were slowly engulfed in darkness. Ricky turns around and shakes his head, putting one of his hands over his face as he went into full on laughter, the hands slowly receding as the five bodies shook and twitching with The Black having consumed them. Then, they stopped all sudden movement and the darkness began to become absorbed into them, all of them getting the same twisted smirk Ricky had as Ricky throws his head back and laughs like the demented lunatic he always was!

By the time Taja could dial 911, Miranda had entered the house once more, and the werewolf could hear the dial tones clearly. Quickly snatching the phone from the young girl's hand, she answered. "This was a test call, please do not send anyone, there is no emergency." she said calmly. She looked to Taja, shaking her head and putting a finger to her lips to shush the girl before she could speak. Her glowing Amber Eye stared into the eyes of the girl, sending an unspoken message of "It's okay, I handled it." there was some more speaking on the otherside of the line before Miranda grunted. "Yes I realize the importance of this number, my little cousin does not, I told her to test it out and she accidentally hit dial. Yes...Correct. Okay, good bye."

She hung up and sighed. "I handled it, young one. I have a cousin in the police force. He's handling the whole situation so that none of us are being questioned by the cops. Myself especially." She said. She placed the phone on the counter, pausing for a moment. That janitor worked quick....blinking she shook her head and then rubbed Taja's head softly, another show of affection. Of course she was oblivious to the fact that most of the people in this house were considered missing, meaning that the cops would show up eventually anyway.

She stood straight and looked around, her nostrils flaring as she got a smell of the area. It still smelled like blood. Miranda's body shuddered, uncertain whether it found the smell of blood revolting or satisfying. She coughed, shaking her head before moving to the living room and flopping herself on the couch, her toned, muscular body relaxing as it lounged on the couch, her eyes closing slowly as she tried to drift into a sleep.

Frederick sat down at the table quietly. This day was just bad in more ways than one. He was not so sure what to think and feel right now, part of him wanted to take the blows the day gave him and get back up and the other just wanted to curl up on a bed and sleep. This was just bad all things considered.

As Frederick sat down...on the table with his thoughts as he finished his burger. "Man...What are we supposed to do now?...Someone is dead, people are losing it...and I got a voice in my head..." He spoke quietly to himself like that was going to help.

"Having a little crisis not so young one? I am here to guide you my not so little lamb. So feel free to ask me." The voice in his mind spoke softly and calmly. However her words were rather...peculiar to say the least.

For Frederick, without much to do and stuck in a little bit of a hole. He decided to take the voice up on its offer for some answers. "I will gladly ask some questions then. Why are you here? What do you want in particular?" He asked.

"Well my dear not so young child. I am here to simply guide you on a path that has been carved long ago. In the very bowels of history. A grand fate for a select few. However dear my dear not so little lamb...You are not ready to leave your pen. As for what I desire that time will come...and when that time comes more mysteries shall be revealed." The voice in his head replied calmly. Her response however left more question then answers however...it was clear that something big was going on.

"Well the biggest mystery right now for me is how you look like. I mean are you supposed to be a mysterious voice that guides me on my way?"

"My so eager to see upon my form...As you desperate to lay your eyes and hands upon me as well you sinful beast?"

Frederick in response reeled back in response. Now who was being the pervert now! Her mind was in the gutter, not his! "Hey now! I am no beast. I am but a humble janitor who's sole purpose is to clean any place that has a speck of dust on it!"

"My...still denying yourself?...Mayhaps I shall appear to sate thy sin so you may accept thy sins."

"Or how about just appearing normally like a normal entity of the spirit world? Your the one pushing the envelope here!"

"That may be true, but your mind was thinking of it was it not?"

"Because you kept on bringing it up. Not my fault that when you say one thing enough times it geos into your head!"

"I shall leave our story here at that then. Until next time my not to little lamb. Mayhaps you shall see me in my true form soon...If your mind is ready of course..." The voice chuckled as it vanished.

What the heck was in his mind? It was so...mysterious and strange...But he always did like a bit of mystery!

---

---

Abe paced around in his office, staring at the map he made on his own wall. Each picture of those missing was on his wall, one of them being his own daughter. His fist balled, this is why he should have be stricter with her. He knew the dangers of going out in the storm, now she was missing. Fear and anger ran through him, of all the mistakes he made in his life, this one was the worst. Abe hadn't been able to tell her his secret, maybe he waited too long. No, he would find her alive and when he did should would be so grounded and then he would tell her.

He looked over the pictures, next to the youngest one was the note she left.



The store that was the closest to her mother's work and her house was the same store Sienna, one of the missing, worked. Rina also went to the store, this same store. Something had to have connected them, besides being at the store. Miranda was last seen at her work, the gym where Sienna was heading. So what happened to the girl and Rina after Sienna left work? Did she do something with them? Questions ran through his head, but no answers came forth.

Abe gave the map one more look before grabbing his phone and wallet and headed down to his home gym. He needed to work out, just standing there was driving him crazy. He wanted to to punch someone, mostly himself, for letting his baby girl, the only thing left over from Serena, go. He knew deep down in his gut that he shouldn't have let her go. A feeling had clawed his way through him. What was wrong with him? Why had he gone so soft? This is what happened when you slack the grips on the reins. You lose sight and are overly confidant.

Abe changed out of his suit to sweatpants and wrapped his hands in bandages as he pounded against the punching bag. He pictured himself as the punching bag and with ever hit got harder. He deserved punishment for letting her go. She was probably scared right now, did she miss him? Probably not, he had been strict with her from the very get go. Or maybe he was too strict on her all this time and that is why she went missing. He shook his head, clearing it. Right now he needed to focus on bring her and the rest of the group home.

His phone began ringing. It took a moment before he realized the noise, jogging over towards his phone it read "Frank". Glaring at the phone he answered it, "This better be good, Frank." His voice was deep, angry, and tired.

"I thought it might want this information, might lead to nowhere, but knowing you you want every small detail." Frank said. Frank was his partner and a lot older than him. He had been in the force for some time.

"Spit it out." Abe grumbled.

"There was a 9-1-1 call from a house about five to ten minutes away from the Timberland gym. Apparently it was a lesson for a little girl, supposedly her cousin, but the dispatcher felt like it was cover up. Maybe the girl was calling for help and whoever had her caught her. I suggest you go over there. Becca is texting you the address as we speak." Frank's voice got a serious tone.

"Thanks." Was all Abe said before hanging up in time to get the text message. "Time to get some answers." Abe said before running up to the second story and showering.

---

---

Rina woke up feeling absolutely nothing, her eyes locked on the back of Miranda's head. "What the hell happened?" She looked around and saw the perverted old man cleaning the floor and Taja was covered in blood. "Oh my god, Taja are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?" She hurried towards the girl, examining her.

Taja stared at her in complete shock before letting out a blood curling scream. Rina jumped back, "What is wrong with you?!"

"Y-y-you d-died! Are you another person likes Elsworth? I can't take two of you." She cried into her hands, her tiny body shaking.

"Dead?" She looked around and there it was her mutilated body. "How...how did this happened?" She asked. Falling to her knees next to her lifeless form.

"You bashed your head into the counter after going crazy and Miranda did some of her magic to make you stop bleeding, though you were already dead." Taja whispered.

"Crazy?" She asked, looking back at the girl. She wanted to cry, but no tears had formed.

Felix glanced at his watch as he walked. Eight o’clock was nearing and he wasn’t feeling any less uneasy. Questions about what was going on were still flooding his head, but somehow, against his best attempts at reasonable thinking, he was visiting this shop. It felt like some unseen force was driving him there. By now he’d gotten to thinking that maybe he was developing some kind of issue and needed help. Not to mention, if he was imagining things, when he reached his destination he would likely find himself face to face with an empty shop door. And then what? Spend an hour walking back home. In the dark. Great, he thought to himself.

Trying to hold his cake under one arm without crushing it, he rummaged in his pocket to retrieve the business card he had kept. None of the messages from the strange vision showed up on it.

The sign hanging above the door soon came into view and he recognized it immediately, having its image pretty much burned into his mind by now. It was a relief to see his name and that creepy message not on it, at least. Oddly enough there were lights on inside the front room. Were they still open this late? Or maybe they were still closing up. Then again, he thought, it could be the owner’s house as well…Maybe he shouldn’t interrupt.

Nope, he’d come this far already. If it turned out he’d been mistaken, he’d just have to pretend he was looking for somewhere else. He strode up to the door, knocking on it.

6 PM

Sonea opened the door to her shop and stepped inside, quickly shutting the door behind her. Looking flustered, she flicked on the lights to her shop so they displays could be illuminated. Sure it was closed but she had to be able to see where she was going. Her eyes passed over the displays or armor and weapons, looking to see if everything was still in it's place. She hmphed just a bit as she stepped into the side door on the right which lead into her apartment and headed inside.

The interior was lush with decour, potted plants and a small sill outside sat with fresh herbs growing with a small garden outside filled with roses and other fruit bearing plants. It seemed cozy as she set down her groceries. No sign of the cat, at least what she thought was a cat...maybe she was hallucinating the cat. Or maybe that cat was some sort of playing of light on her eyes. She sighed once and began to remove the items from her bag and put them onto the counters of her small kitchenette and opened the cubbords to place them inside. While opening one, was the severed head of the Chesire, grinning at her.

"Good afternoon"

She screamed and dropped the item she was going to place inside and slammed the door to the cubbord on the cat's face. There was no noise from inside but there was a woosh of air as the Cat now rested upon the countertop, balancing a chef's knife on his nose.

"Your a bit tense..Puurrfect. When your not on edge, your taking up too much space"

It grinned as Sonea reached out with her prosthetic arm and snatched the blade by the blade and set it back into the slot in the block while growling a bit at the cat.

"Go away, you arent real. You are not real...."

"I am about as real as anything else inside your noggin Sonea. You cannot possibly try to deny yourself that luxury. I am here and I am you, a piece of you at least. There is much you have forgotten isnt there? Now that we are alone and company wont be here till about eight, we have plenty of time to chat"

"We have nothing to talk about because you arent HERE!" She exclaimed and threw a tomato at the cat, which went right through it. The Chesire tsked loudly several times before he pointed to the kettle which sat on the stove. Your going to need that...I set tea for six. And YOU need to listen to what I have to say. Things have been set in motion that cannot be undone"

Sonea ignored the cat and finished putting away the groceries before she left the kitchen to head for her bedroom. As she left, the cat followed after her, appearing before her face and placed a paw on her forehead. She stopped and looked at the cat with hostility and anger as she tried to swat him away. The back of her hand connected and the cat vanished with a puff of smoke.

She nodded to herself and went into her bedroom to find the cat rooting around under her bed, only to pull out a box and set it ontop of the bed. Her gaze turned jagged as she had not moved that box from under her bed in years. Ever since...no no she shook her head several times as she headed for her closet.

"You never once thought to open it. Why? Arent you afraid to see whats inside?"

"I know what is inside cat. You do not need to remind me"

"Do I?" He asked as he reappeared before her and gleamed into her eyes, his own sapphire blue orbs piercing her own as she suddenly felt afraid.

"An eye to see the way, an arm to guide the path. A soul to drown the Light of Man..."

"Shut up...shut up shut up SHUT UP!"

Sonea yelled and turned to the bed and grabbed the box from ontop of it and swung it at the cat, which did absolutely nothing as the cat seemed to only grin wider and wider, threatening to tear it's face in half. He chuckled at her while growing in size and ferocity of his words.

"An eye to see the way, an arm to guide the path. A soul to drown the Light of Man...remember Sonea. Remember the night. You still have the nightmares...I know you do. Open it Sonea....Open it"

Sonea put her hands to her ears and pulled herself down as she fell on her ass. Crawling away from the cat which now appeared more as a monsterous tiger then a simple house cat. Maw red with blood and claws covered in gore with splatters of blood on it's coat with a grin chiseled onto its face.

"You claim to see what is before you and the life you have. Yet you are living in a wonderland Sonea...You have forgotten because you cannot see what is around you! OPEN THE BOX!"

Sonea screamed in bloody fear as she opened the box and gazed within it.

Within it rested a knife, long and sharp with swirling runes intertwined within the metal. Cold and made of a finely wrought iron ore with leather handle and a hold at the end of the hilt towards the top. There were swirls of silver along the top of the finely made blade with a small gemstone set in the bottom of the blade and appeared to be coated in dried blood. Her blood...

"The Vorpal Blade is snicker snack. It is swift and keen and always ready for service. Ahh Sonea, we cannot ever go home. No surprise really. Only a very few manage to find the way and most dont recognize it when they do. Their delusions are too die hard...only the savage regard the endurance of pain for the measure of worth. To forget pain is convinient, to remember it is agony. But the search for the truth is worth the suffering...and our world was damaged but is safe in memory. For now"

The Cat, now appearing normal was resting on it's back in mid air, staring at her with glowing eyes. A giggle coming through his furred lips as she was visibly pale and staring at the blade. Reaching out with a quivering hand, she took the blade and upon gripping the blade, she felt a wave of nausea come over her and she passed out cold.

The nightmare had come again, the same as before...the same misery and horror as before but something was different. More could be seen....she was in a circle of sorts, herself and seven others. All of them were garbed in black robes, chanting in a tongue she did not understand. The man from before with the knife she had seen in the box hovered over her and held the knife up to her chest.

The gemstone glowed as it touched her chest and she struggled in vain to get free...

"An eye to see the way, an arm to guide the way. A soul to drown the Light of Man, A Servant to sway the Black. Young Sonea, the Black has chosen you...to guide our eternal flock to a realm far beyond here. To the Other Side...and you shall be our salvation"

The knife went down and she awoke screaming and panting, looking about frantic and eyes full of terror. She held up the knife in her hand towards the room and she gazed for a few moments longer. She lowered the knife and then looked down at it, staring at her reflection in it and ran her fingers across it.

"You are well on your way" Said the voice of the cat

"Set the pot for tea...a guest is here"

She breathed in heavy as she heard a loud knocking coming from her door. She breathed heavily and coughed a bit while fixing her hair up and placed her knife behind her back and under her shirt. The time read 8pm

"Coming!" She yelled from upstairs and quickly ran down to the shop's entrance so she could greet the man, Felix at her door with a bit of a pant.

"Good evening! Welcome to the Sunny Shield! I take it your here for tea? Well come on in. Don't mind the weapons and armor" She said and stepped aside for him to enter. One down, four to go...

Sebastian passed through town, drawn towards the sunny shield smithy, the vision playing over and over in his head. “well done Seb, another bad idea…” he chuckled to himself, coming up onto the end of the street with the bike, the closer he got to his destination the more he felt the shadow in the back of his mind grow.

Slowing the bike down to park it up as Sonea answered the door for Felix, he looked on at the two before kicking the bike stand out and getting off the Yamaha virago. He’d remove his helmet, moving towards the back of his bike flipping up the visor of the helmet he’d fetch the chain from the space under the seats and chain the helmet to the back bike wheel and the chain.

Fetching the icebox out and setting it down he’d remove his gloves; open up the protective plated jacket to fetch his cloth eyepatch out from an inside pocket, putting it on and tying it back into place.

He’d wait just a minute, familiarising himself with the building and glancing to the sign, his shoulders loosening up from the tension and step forward approaching the building. “seems I’m early, hello again Sonea, i’m going to ask as calmly as i can” he takes a deep breath and speaks calmly, forcibly so. “The fuck did you do to me to make have that ‘vision?”

He glances to Felix, recognising him from the College. “Hey i swear I’ve seen you about the College grounds a few times…” he nods to himself and then adds. “and at the supermarket. Names Sebastian”

Entering the building about twenty seconds after Sonea steps aside to allow entry, he glances through into the shop “that a Kriegsmesser on the wall?” he points to the sword on the wall in the store, a german renaissance sword used mostly in duels, he nods to himself and thinks back to his brief few months in a HEMA (Historical European martial arts) group. “Eh been too long to go about buying such a thing” he sighs.

Sienna Cartlow

Things were falling apart pretty quickly. For the most part, her comments seemed to have been unheard or ignored, though she couldn’t exactly blame them. Things had been more than a little crazy as of late. Vaguely, she’d heard Miranda speak about having someone ‘handle’ the mess before she’d headed out, the creepy cleaner had eerily mopped up the entire mess and had taken a seat at the table with his burger, and to top it all off, Taja was speaking with a floating, ethereal representation of Rina. Sienna’s worldview had been shaken and changed by recent events, but that was kicking it up to a whole new level of unfathomable change. She’d had enough of it at this point.

“I don’t want to be associated with any of this or these weirdos…” Sienna mumbled to herself, briefly looking to where Rina’s body was before reminding herself why that was a bad idea, grimacing and heading back out to the hall. Yohan had ducked out somewhere, who knew where. Frankly, she didn’t care. Maybe he’d had the common sense to bail before all this shit went down. Then again, it was his house; chances were he was hiding somewhere. Either way, she wasn’t about to go look. She’d had enough of dealing with these people. It was time she got herself out, did whatever she could to clear her name and maybe get back to something resembling a normal life. At first she’d considered consulting with them, negotiating some sort of agreed compromise into how to tackle the situation, but to hell with it! She didn’t owe them jack shit, what had they done for her? If anything, they were to blame for dragging her into all this crap!

“Stop smirking.” Sienna stated with a glare, Sinopia simply looking amused as she watched Sienna pick herself up off the wall, heading for the door. The cat had started being oddly quiet, letting Sienna work through things, but Sienna didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. It was refreshing, if a little strange now. She was almost used to the intrusions at this point. Pushing open the door and stepping outside, Sienna squinted in the natural light. Well, at least the sky was normal… Shutting the door behind her, she took a moment to get her bearings of the local area, not really recognising any nearby landmarks, it didn’t look too hopeful until she could spot a somewhat far off church steeple in the distance. Judging by that, she had a rough idea of where she was relative to her place, as well as the local police station.

“Well, that’s a start at least…” Sienna mumbled, beginning her walk. Though she wasn’t fit, she didn’t own a car since that whole mess with her parents, so she was somewhat used to it despite her laziness. On the way, she wasn’t sure if people were staring at her or if it was her imagination. It was a small town, and it wasn’t exactly known for big news like this. It wouldn’t be entirely unreasonable to think that she’d be recognised. Steadily making her way in towards town, as Yohan seemed to live further out on the outskirts, she slowly began taking in the sights, piecing together a mental map of the area. It never hurt to know your way around, and if by some unfortunate miracle she ended up in this area again, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. As she thought about it more and more, she realised that this was pretty much the opposite direction as they’d generally headed from the gym in that other parallel world. The place synced up in general topography too it seemed, with similar hills and valleys.

“If that’s the case, then…” Sienna looked to the side as she came past it. In the other world, it had been a somewhat large and dilapidated building. Here, it seemed to be a bar. Briefly looking to the exterior, she felt something odd in the pits of her stomach. She didn’t have any idea why, but it just… Made her feel uncomfortable. An unease. Dismissing it as simply her hunger catching up with her, she continued to walk on her way, not noticing Sinopia following behind her, intently staring at the woman that stood nearby. Perhaps the cat could have warned her of the danger or said something, but for now, Sinopia felt it was prudent that Sienna learn some lessons on her own.

Well, it looks like he was alone. He was better off that way, anyway. These people were running around his house, and it sounded like one of them had finally left. He thanked the heavens, but he knew the police were gonna be here and some of them were going to be around for just a little bit longer. They would have to come back at 11 PM anyway, but it was time he could use to reflect and get used to all that had happened. He could move on from that dead girl, get his place to himself and just relax.

That would be the case, if it wasn't for the... Stranger things in this house. None of them had triggered any of them yet, but he knew they were there. Like the Master Bedroom, a place he would often forget about and then see next to his parent's room and try to open, only to always get flown back into a wall the second he grabbed the doorknob. It was impossible to open it, brute force would only get you more hurt. It seemed like the door was made to curse anyone, no matter how smart or strong you were. That room was cursed, whatever was in there wasn't worth the amount of pain he would be forced to endure just to try to keep a hold on the bloody doorknob!

There were so many other things this house had done to him over the years, and all of them were still there somehow. It made him nervous to think about it, someone had been very careful with what they placed in this house and he couldn't tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, he suspected none of the others would be foolish enough to try and set any of them off. He should really focus back on the task at hand, who knew when those cops would be showing up.

Examining the device was... Not easy, to say the least. One such experiment had him trying to pull it off the wall, but to no avail. It wouldn't budge, not even for a second. He had to be careful with it though, he didn't know if it was easy to break or if it would activate just from him damaging it. Was it even possible to hurt this thing? He had no idea, but it seemed like something straight out of one of those stories his parents used to tell him. In fact, this whole thing seemed like it made his parents stories actually true. What could that mean, had his parents really known? He still doubted it, but the evidence was right before him, surely that was enough right?

As he continued to examine the strange device, his mind turned to the information he had been told. The time of The Wizard was a dark one, every time he heard it, it sent chills down his spine. Everyone always said it was false, but now, was it really with the new information presented before him? When The Wizard was defeated by The Warrior, magic was said to have been feared by the populace of the world. In order to keep the world safe, magic was taken away one day, by who or what no one knew. But be they human or non-human, no creature was ever allowed to naturally wield magic from that day on. True magic... How far did it extend? It certainly wasn't something any of him or the people he had survived last night with seemed to have. There was always the option of asking the man with shades, hell, it was the only option they had.

So what was it they had now then? This certainly wasn't the true magic he had been told of from his parent's stories. Especially that one he could recall, the one he adored the most... No, he had to focus right now! He had found something on the device, something worth examining. It looked small though, his hand reaching over to poke it when... ZAP!! He was blown back, his hand shaking violently as the other four could feel the same temporarily jolt through their hand. "Wow, that... Ouch, that really hurt! What the heck?!" He tried to sit up as he held his arm, his hand still shaking as he looked over to the device. So it too had one of those curses? That was annoying, he would probably have to search the house later when everyone was gone, but for now, there was another matter to attend to.

He remembered that he was running low on some things, no one else lived here besides him, what had he need for those things before? He knew he had some money, he would have to get them, but he didn't want the others tagging along. He really needed some space from them, like it or not, he could always do that... But that was rude. They were thrown into this position, just like he was. For now, at least, they could stay. But for how long depended on when the police would leave. He hoped they would leave shortly after, which reminded him of the one time someone tried to sneak into his house. He saw them coming, and he immediately called them out on it. Suddenly, the door swung open, and they were tossed out, unable to return inside the household. This house really was cursed, wasn't it?

Once his hand was better, he decided to test out the limits of his new power. He focused on himself, letting the sound around his body be temporarily silent. When he took a step, not a sound came. Excellent, this wouldn't be a problem. Walking out of the basement and closing the door behind him, he headed up to his room where he took hold of the money he had saved up for this kind of thing. Once he touched it, he let the silence consume them as well, he wouldn't take any chances, he wanted out and no one was stopping him. He may be overcautious as all heck, but these people weren't about to control his life. If they tried, he could always consider them a hostile, he didn't even need to say it, just think it, and whoosh, they'd be out!

But he hoped it wouldn't come to that, for now, he hoped he wouldn't come back to them having gotten the house angry at them or something. He sure as heck thought the house was alive, in some form or shape. He left his room and closed the door behind him, letting them think he had just gone into his room or something. He headed down the stairs and went up to his door, taking a look back before sighing out, which not even he could hear, before letting the front door's sound be caught in silence and opened it, walking out and quickly closing the door behind himself. Now, the silence was lifted, and as he walked away from his own home, he let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he was free from those people, and hopefully wouldn't see them again until tonight. Now, he thought to himself, what would he buy?

Taja stared at Rina in complete shock before letting out a blood curling scream. Rina jumped back, "What is wrong with you?!"

"Y-y-you d-died! Are you another person likes Elsworth? I can't take two of you." She cried into her hands, her tiny body shaking.

"Dead?" She looked around and there it was her mutilated body. "How...how did this happened?" She asked. Falling to her knees next to her lifeless form.

"You bashed your head into the counter after going crazy and Miranda did some of her magic to make you stop bleeding, though you were already dead." Taja whispered.

"Crazy?" She asked, looking back at the Taja.

Taja couldn't move, she didn't understand what was going on or how this all was happening.

Cayson couldn't find Taja. He had searched by the store, which had a couple officers in and around the area. He even went to the gym where the news said that one girl went before she was missing, but all he found here cops. Then he walked around the area and came up with nothing. He was getting angry and depressed. Where could she have gone?

He shifted his backpack and stood by the bus stop. He might as well go to that place his vision thing had. Maybe there was a clue there. He had no idea, this detective stuff was hard. All he wanted was for Taja to come home so he could share his pickles with her and she could teach him some cool karate moves. They were totally made for each other.

On the bus Cayson kept an eye out, just in case he saw her when the bus passed. He saw some kids from his school, but no Taja. This day was starting to turn sour for him. The bus stopped and he got off, walking towards this Sunny Side Up place. This was a part of town he never really came to, just because he had no reason to.

It took him a little while before finding the same shop in his vision thing. It was just as boring and eye catching as it was in his vision. He didn't even knock. Cayson slammed open the door and yelled, "I brought the pickles for the tea party!"

Suddenly, Miranda snarled, the sound canine and feral, as she felt a jolt of pain run up her arm without any prior warning. Her eyes snapped open; she was awake now. Looking at her arm, she shook it out, and her attention was then captured by the lack of sound usually made by Yohan as the boy moved around. This was weird. Her nostrils flared as she picked up the scent if everything in the House. There of course was the blood, now cleaned, what's left of Rina's body in the back yard, Taja, Sienna's fading scent, God knows what coming from Yohan's room, and then... ah there he was. Turning, Miranda stared at Yohan as he walked past, thinking that he was invisible because he wasn't making noise. She sensed the innate fear in him from his body-language, and let him be, knowing full well that people with power in corners often lash out. Her glowing amber eye followed the boy, but she did not for a while, letting him have a sort of head start. She blinked, and then looked to the clock on the wall. The Cops aught to be there any moment. She'd go out and meet them.

After a few minutes, the sound of cars traveling up the street with their sirens blaring caught her ear, and she made to walk out to the front porch. She crossed her arms as she stood on the porch and she looked down at the first man to step out and up towards her. Her cousin, Anthony Wallace.

"Miranda."

"Cousin. Body is in the back. Ghost in the kitchen." Her cousin pulled out a notepad and sighed jotting things down. He was much larger than Miranda was, a sergeant by the look of his uniform. However he was not as pure-blooded as Miranda, and thus never made eye contact with her to prevent a dominance struggle.

"I will handle the Body, you said the mess was already cleaned in the kitchen?" At her nod he nodded and sighed. "Still smells of blood, doesn't it?" At her not he groaned and turned to the other cops arriving.

"Alright, the body is in the backyard, my contact here said she was bashing her own head against the counter, mess is cleaned up, but to be sure, ask the others in the house." Anthony commanded, "Get the body bag ready, let's go see the extent of the damage, her father will want to see her I think. Let's move! Lunch is in an hour and if I miss more than thirty seconds of what my girlfriend made for me I'm skinning you all."

"Speaking of her father...he aught to be here soon...." he said under his breath, a half groan of annoyance. He didn't want to deal with an angry officer today, but it seems he drew the short straw.

Cops ran around then, also notifying that the people who had been filed as missing were found while they were at it. An officer, female and gentle in her tone, went over to Taja and Frederick, unable to see Rina's ghost, and began asking him simple questions. "Did you see what happened? Describe what happened. Take your time if you need it, where are the others who saw it?" And so on and so forth.

Pictures were taken, statements reported, the body bagged up and taken to the vehicle that would take it to the morgue, and the deal closed within forty-five minutes. Officially, anyway. Anthony returned to Miranda, nodding. It was done. Miranda smiled and nodded, commending her cousin for his swift and excellent work, he smiled sheepishly in thanks and she patted his shoulder, nodding to his car. She wanted a ride back to the gym, and he paused, grunting softly; Rina's dad was nearby.

The Black

The light, he thought he would never see it again. After last night, he was kind of still in doubt that he was even alive. What was being alive at this point?! He was overthinking it again though, he had to stop for now, everything would be answered tonight. But now new questions were rising, and he couldn't entirely suppress them, but at the same time, he could just save them up for tonight and such. What could he really do in this situation?

As his mind went on another ramble, something unusual came about. BOOM! His body collided with another person's, causing both of them to collapse. Yohan rose a hand up to his head and rubbed it, even though she hadn't hit it. As he looked over to see who exactly hit him, his eyes spotted, uh, well... Someone he knew, kinda? "Oh, you're uh... The girl who always sat next to me last year." Oh boy, suddenly things came back that he had tried to repress and his mind felt like it had just exploded over it.

Sakuya Lecarde. For whatever reason, she was the one person who always took notice of him and made him feel like he was a god damn person. She was nice, from what he could remember, and seeing her talk right now made him, well, remember that. "She's a cutie, ain't she?" A voice crept into his mind, which he promptly shut down. Now was not the time! He rubbed the back of his head as she tried to make herself out to have been the problem of the current situation.

"No, no, it's... It's fine. I wasn't really, uh... Paying attention anyway." He tried to make himself seem as natural as possible, but he just... Ugh, he really had sunken to the lowest point, hadn't he?

"It doesn't help that I'm here, ain't it? Well, that's okay, at least I can play around with your mind." Wait, what did it mean by that? "Oh Yohan, you haven't realized yet, have you? I can alter what your mind perceives~" He shook his head real quick, that was not going to happen, not now! This is when he also realized that he felt fatigued mentally, perhaps it was from using his power earlier? Could be why he was hearing the voice right in the middle of a conversation like this!



It wasn't all that bad to think over now, he felt his power growing inside of him as time passed by today. It had not been long since Ricky had been given the ring, but in that short time, he had been through quite an experience. He had taken them all out, all the traitor's who had once accepted him as part of the group, now the only ones who had survived were his loyal dogs. He felt great, greater than he had ever in his entire frikking life!

How long had it been, since his father had first introduced him to this dark world? When his father opened those doors and showed him that simple little gun, a real gun mind you, he knew there was more he could do. Even at a young age, his father had him practice how to shoot a person and where to shoot them in order to get the most damage. Was it really no secret when Ricky kept getting thrown behind bars, only for his father to bail him out and scold him, only to secretly give him a pat on the back? This was different though, this wasn't the same feeling his family could give, this was... something greater than anything.

"Hey Rick!" One of the five called out to him, catching him off guard as he had been distracted. He turned to the man running over with a grumpy expression.

"What is it?"

"Someone's calling you... I tried to answer, but I can't understand a word they are saying!" He saw the phone in the man's hands, taking it from him as he opened it and looked at the number. His eyes went wide as he pushed aside the man and quickly walked his way to the center of the room before answering the phone.

"Uh, hey there, boss! Ricky here, sorry for the confusion if there was any, I lent one of my phone to one of my new... Co-workers, shall we say?" The five new servants of Ricky tried to listen in to what the other person was saying, but they couldn't understand a word of it.

["So how are things going? Did you take care of what you had to?"]

"Yes indeedy! I took care of it all, and with relative ease too! They were no match for the power of my hands!"

["I don't need to know any further details. Just tell me if you have all the required info or not."]

"I do so have all the info I need on these little people. The exploration tonight will go as smooth as butter. Once I have the location of the problem down, we'll capture whoever is behind this and I will give them the most horrible beat-down they ever done experienced!" Ricky couldn't help but grin after saying all of this.

["... Uh, what are you sounding like that for?"] Ricky was caught off guard for a minute by this.

"I-It's just a little thing I wanted to do for some time, y-ya know? Like, I, uh... Hoo boy." Silence came from the phone for a few minutes. "U-uh, h-hello?"

["Ricky. Richard. Do us all a favor in the near future."]

"Y-yes sir. Anything for you, sir."

["Don't. Ever. Speak to me. That way. Ever again. Understood?"] Ricky reluctantly swallows as he felt an unknown feeling creep up behind him.

"... Y-yes sir."

["Don't make tonight as stupid as this just was."] Then, the phone hung up, and he closed it. His body shivered as he looked over his shoulder to the others with a zombie-like look on his face.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE CHA DOING?! GET BACK TO SETTING UP CRAP FOR TONIGHT!" This caused the others to scatter in a panic! "... Tch. It's not dumb how I speak. It's not!"

Amber was in luck today, though it was hard to say if it was good or bad, because a friend of hers who'd gone off to college last year came back to see her briefly. It wasn't the longest possible hangout (Marla said she was tired, and Olivia's parents were really strict) but it was still definitely the fine-pointed end to a good day. She'd met some new people, been with the ones she knew already, and, more importantly than she even knew....

Found out about this blacksmith's shop. She wasn't expecting to come across it in the evening (indeed, she might have forgotten about it the next day), but there it was, just a little ways down the road from her. Amber figured it was probably closed, but she might take a peek inside if she had a good opportunity. She wasn't quite sure what to expect (where would they make weapons? Would they even make weapons? It's not like people here would have much of a use for them...) but it was about the level and kind of unexpectedness she was best suited to. She wouldn't have to buy anything, after all.

She drove down a bit further, and as she approached it, she noticed it actually was open still. She pulled over, and looked in for a second. On the one hand, she figured it'd still be there in the morning, and she hadn't made any plans to go in, but on the other...she didn't know what. There was almost a pull she felt from the store.

She didn't like that, but it worked. She got out of the car, and walked in.

"Hello?"

Despite the rather depressing atmosphere, Frederick regained his rather cheerful self thanks to the combined effort of his willpower...and the constant comments of his ghostly neighbor in his head. Of course breakfast was long since ruined and most of his food was about to go to waste so he decided to do the reasonable thing. Wrap them all up and stuff them in the icebox.

Whenever someone got hungry they could just heat it up...or eat it cold if that's their deal. Honestly, after a day like this he just wanted to just relax a bit. Maybe read his books, but of course he left them all at home. The first thing he should do however is get his coat cleaned. It had blood on it and well...walking around covered in blood was just asking for trouble.

Heading to the laundry room, she stuffed his coat inside the washer, but some cleaning detergent inside and fiddling with a few dials began to wash it. Well that was done...now what? He had to wait until his coat was cleaned. He decided to sit on the couch and lean back on it.

"What is going on now? I feel like we are like soldiers drafted into the army about to fight some evil threat to save all of humanity...I might be overthinking it really..." Frederick spoke to himself with a sigh as he turned on the television and turned that on before switching to the cartoon channel. Something about a mouse and cat...it was a great and funny show which already made him smile and laugh at the antics.

Sienna Cartlow

“Huh?” Was the first thing out of Sienna’s mouth once she realised that someone was talking to her. She missed the first part of whatever this woman said, something about the dangers of being alone? I mean, maybe in other neighbourhoods, but Timberland? With the exception of those car crashes, this place was quieter than a nun’s bedroom. Pausing a moment at that thought, Sienna wondered if Sinopia was perhaps affecting her in ways she didn’t realise. Regardless of that, the comments that Sienna should be returning to the people she’s ‘connected to’ gave her a little cause for concern, but it was probably just paranoia after all the crazy events that had happened. She was calling her cute after all; maybe she thought Sienna had a partner? That and it wasn’t safe to walk alone. Weird way of saying it, but for some reason, Sienna could tell that this woman wasn’t exactly normal.

Though Sienna wasn’t in a particularly good mood, nor did she feel like being cordial, it was easier just to say thanks and be on her way. In fact, she began doing just that, muttering a pleasantry and continuing on her walk. It was only after she got a few steps away and the woman’s voice came in from behind her did she stop cold. "It really won't be safe for you if you stray too far. There's more of those who are like us than you think...and not all of them have good intentions." Sienna whirled to meet the gaze of the woman, staring her down intently. There was no more ‘coincidences or other explanations for what that lady was hinting at. She knew. What she knew, Sienna wasn’t sure, but she was definitely talking about what had happened in that other place.

“Just what are you-?” Sienna started, but the woman had already said her piece, waving and making her way away from her. “Hey, I was talking to-“ For the second time, Sienna found herself getting cut off as she heard her name, a member of the police calling to her and making an approach. They’d been sent here to investigate an altercation at the bar, and instead found themselves encountering a missing person. Relieved but also a little intimidated, Sienna turned to face the young man before her, nodding. “Yeah, that’s me. I was uh, making my way to the station…” She admitted, before getting a barrage of questions. Where had she been? Was she okay? Did she know about any other girls that had gone missing? Those and more were thrown her way with increasing urgency, though she managed to stay calm throughout, nodding. “Yeah, they’re down at Yohan’s place.” Thumbing behind her, Sienna wracked her brain a bit, thankful she’d taken the time to familiarise herself with the area as she gave the street number.

From there, she answered the simpler stuff as best she could, but asked if maybe they could continue the discussion at the station. Maybe get a formal statement made, as well as some privacy. As a small aside, she also indicated that she was really in need of some sustenance. The cop seemed nice enough; he obliged with helping Sienna to the vehicle while his partner checked the inside of the bar and fixed that up. Relaxing in the back seat, Sienna vaguely listened to the man speak over the radio to his superiors and colleagues about finding her, as well as the lead towards the rest of the missing people. There were lots of questions and discussion, Sienna occasionally asked for comment, but it was clear neither he nor the operator on the other end of the line were too experienced with a situation like this.

“Sit tight kid. We’re uh, on the case. We’ll talk about what happened back at the station, but uh…” Eying Sienna over, the man seemed to be trying to work something out. “You look alright to me, no uh…” He stumbled over his words a little, Sienna nodding. “I’m not on drugs or anything no. Other than cigarettes. Do you mind if I-?” Sienna asked hopefully, the man shaking his head. “Oh, sorry. No smoking in the back. Don’t worry; we’ll get to the station as soon as Officer Milroy gets back.” Nodding again, Sienna sighed and slouched, leaning her chin in her hand. It was going to be a long day.

Relax

Well, that was unexpected. Between dealing with the voice constantly bugging him in his head and talking about his life to a person he barely knew from school hadn't been exactly on his list of things to-do in his life. What had he even originally come out here to do, get some food and stuff so that he wouldn't go hungry? Had he just assumed at the time of leaving that people would of just eaten up all of the food he had there? Not like he had anything that might appeal to their tastes, although that janitor somehow made food... Food he realized he should of grabbed on the way out. Well, that's what he gets for leaving in a rush.

For now, it seemed like he was staying. She just seemed happy to have some company... Maybe that whole talk earlier was getting to him. From what he could gather, they were in a similar position and she hadn't really made any close friends in her time here. It got to him, thinking about how alone one could be without having anyone to really talk to about how you feel or just to share how the day went. It didn't help that he felt like she was the one listening to him, when really he should be the one listening to her. He could always try to change that, why not try now?

He took about two steps when he was bumped into by a rather annoyed looking man. Stopping to look over, the man glared at him with the meanest look in his eyes. "Hey, kid." He started, turning to fully face Yohan. "Watch where you're going!" Yohan couldn't help but turn over and bow his head lightly, it was what he was used to doing after all. "... Hmph. You think that's enough? I'm going to need more than just --" The man stopped when his eyes glanced down to notice Yohan's right hand. When Yohan looked up, he saw that the man's face had gone pale and the angry had been replaced with a strange fear.

"Something wrong?" Yohan asked the man. The man took a step back, swallowing nervously as he tried to find the courage to speak up.

"Ah, it's, uh... F-forget it. I'll accept that apology." The man quickly opened the door with a forced smile, sweat already forming on his face as the uncertain fear of what he just saw struck many emotions off in his head. Without another word, the man quickly turned and fled, running into his car as Yohan could see it speed up and away as fast as it could go. Blinking in confusion, he turned to look at the others there besides Sakuya, but everyone had already drawn their attention from him by the time he looked.

Well, whatever. That guy was clearly having a rough day anyway, why should he let it bother him now? Moving over to have a seat, he let out a sigh in relief as he shook his head before putting his hands on his head and closing his eyes. Everything was still just a little hard to comprehend, why did he have to get thrown in the middle of it all? Being forced around from one place to another really left him feeling drained mentally, not to mention the sudden death of someone right then and there kind of killed any chains he may have put up to try and hold himself together. If he had to see any of those people again anytime soon, he may very well lose his mind. Stress was a cruel mistress after all!

That's when he noticed a funny feeling on his body, had he forgot about something until now? Looking over at his right hand, suddenly, everything dawned upon him about last night. There was that whole deal thing and such, perhaps it was the stress and confusion he felt right now, perhaps it was the strain of what that place had done to him... Either way, it turned out that crazy arm thing had become true and now he was left with scaly looking hand, coming equipped with claws as well. If he had been in any other mood, he would of called himself looking a bit edgy right now. That's when it dawned on him that he had been walking around like this the entire time... Oops?! Guess he would have to make up an excuse for this and cover it up if he planned on going to school like this.



Ricky didn't really know how to handle boredom that well. Upon reflection, he realized he had been too quick with the slaughter of his now old group of criminals. He wanted to take his sweet time with things, wanted to enjoy every second of pain and destruction he spread across them... But in the heat of the moment, instinct took over and made him do it at the pace he had done. It upset him now, to know that he wasn't fully in control of whatever was within him and that there was more potential that could be brought out of him that could help in making things easier or more enjoyable for himself. Regret was a word Ricky had not thought of in a long time now.

"Yo, Ricky!" One of the boys called out, as his eyes shifted lazily over to the screaming man down below. "We're almost ready to make the transfer!" Ricky gave up a lazy thumbs up with his now demonic left hand, watching the man walk away with half closed eyes before laying down on one of the couches and fully closing his eyes. Ricky, Ricky...

"Ricky!" His brother called out, as a much younger Ricky jolted awake and looked over at his brother. "Finally. Anyway, father called for you." His brother gave him a quick expression of worry at him. "You know what that means." Ricky gave a nod before standing up and walking past his older brother. Ricky knew all too well what that meant, and he hated to think what his father would think up of next. After making his way up a long set of stairs, he came upon his father's door and saw it sightly opened. Deciding he would rather not keep his father waiting, he opened the door just enough to poke his head in when he saw his father's back as he stood looking out over the city Ricky used to live in.

Walter Leonard, a powerful man in the public eye who had worked to the bone to get to where he stood now. Although Ricky couldn't see his father's features due to standing in the darker half of the room, he felt a shiver go down his back just from looking at the outline of his own father. "Yes, the deal went off more smoothly than expected. He should be proud of the progress we are making over here on Gaia." Walter spoke up over the phone, oblivious to the fact his own son was listening in. Then again, to Ricky, he may just not have cared.

"I've checked the data on our progress. We should have just enough positions now to make it even. I already got in touch with the others, they all said everything was going good as well. Tonight is the usual picking night... Let us hope it does not go like last week, where a certain coward dared to try and back out now." Walter couldn't help but chuckle, raising a cigarette to his mouth as his head turned to look over in Ricky's direction. Frozen with fear, he could only watch as his father pulled the cigarette away, slowly blowing smoke out of his mouth as his eyes watched Ricky like a bird would upon finding it's next prey.

"Apologies, but family matters just came up." Walter turned away, walking over to his seat as he began nodding. "Yes, I know, but I have something important to do. I'll call you back. Goodbye." Hanging up the phone and putting it down on his desk, he slips into his chair and turns to face Ricky, motioning for him to enter the room. Swallowing, Ricky walked in and closed the door behind him, making his way to stand in front of the desk.

"S-sorry, I know... I should of knocked." Ricky couldn't make eye contact with his father as he spoke.

"We can talk about manners later, Richard." Walter spoke up, surprising Ricky as he looked in his father's general direction now. "For now... I have something I need to talk to you about. It's very important you remember this, got it?" Ricky nodded in response. "I think you're old enough now to start what your brother started a few years ago." Ricky's eyes lit up at these words. "I only hope you can survive like he did..." Walter pulled out a vial and placed it slowly on the desk for Ricky to see. Ricky couldn't help but smile as he saw what was swirling around inside the vial.

"Hey Little Ricky, you coming down here?!" Ricky's eyes shot open as he looked around for a minute before rising up to his feet and letting out another sigh. He looked over at his left hand again, seeing it shaking while he couldn't get the feeling of doubt fully out of his mind. Relaxing his arm, he began to head down to see how progress went. Hopefully it would take his mind off of the conflicting emotions he was going through right now.

---

---

Abe got to the house, his car creeping slowly up the driveway. The house was a plain jane kind of house. It didn't stand out at all. He calmed himself in his car, his hands gripping the wheel tightly. If he went in there with guns blazing it would only cause trouble. Please, Rina, be in there He begged.

He opened the car door and gently closed it before making his way up the to the front door. His face was expressionless, but stern. Abe knocked on the door loudly three times. "Hello! Is anyone in there? I am Abe Jasmine with TPD! A phone call was made from this house. We are just checking up to see if everything is okay." His voiced boomed.

As Frederick sat down on the chair simply watching the television, he gave a deep sigh. What was he supposed to do now? Maybe he should go home...It was the time of day where most people was at work...Yeah, he should go home read some books and...His thoughts were interrupted when a few knocks came to the door. Someone called out and instinctively Frederick got up and walked over to the door and just...opened it up when he failed to relive TPD probably meant Timberland Police Department.

Frederick met face to face with an officer, oh...this looked rather bad huh? He got a call from the house apparently and wanted to check up on things. "Oh, hello officer. Feel free to look around I guess." He replied rather casually as he opened the door. In fact, this was not his house and he was letting an officer in. Oh well.

"Oh my not so little lamb...Have you seen or heard the news? You are supposed to be missing. And here you are at a house that you should not belong in in front of an officer. Oh my~! I never knew you were such a man of sin. Maybe you are letting him in to see the teens and that kid and take all the credit for kidnapping them all. Maybe this is the day you finally tell the truth that you enjoy the younger generation." The voice in his head returned with a giggle.

"Hey! I'm just here to let him look around. Besides, its not like the others are gonna throw me under the bus right?...I just hope my coat is done washing...Besides, if I don't let him in he would get more suspicious...at least more suspicious than he already is. So you can hush your mouth shepherd. Stay in the back seat!" Frederick spoke in his head as he moved to the side to let the man look around.

"Ah, but I am indeed your shepherd. I am here to guide you and make you realize your sin my dear lost lamb. I wonder...How will you react when everything comes crashing down around you and your peaceful life is full of fear, stress and death...This might be the start."

"Oh please, you write and draw a comic in two weeks then come back to me."

As Abe barged into the house, he made an impeccable amount of noise, the noise that annoyed and awoke the Werewolf who was dreaming on the couch. She sat up, glaring at the man with her glowing Amber eye, her other eye still shut with grogginess. She was quiet, aside from the small, almost cute feminine grunts she made while waking up, yawning and stretching out her muscled body. While she yawned she would accidentally show off her massive Canine teeth, and while she stretched her joints cracked audibly.

In her groggy haze, she blinked "Huh? Phone call?" She yawned again, hiding her teeth this time. Then it hit her; the phone call Taja had made, the one she'd made to her cousin earlier. Speaking of which, her cousin would be arriving shortly. Her concentration was broken when Frederick decided to give the guy permission to search the whole house. He'd find the body...they'd do finger-prints, they'd find her fingerprints on the body, they'd know she's a werewolf, only she could do that much damage to a human skull with her bare hands.

Fuck.

The sound of another car pulling up filled her ears and her chest tightened. This was getting complicated. By the smell of it, that'd be Miranda's cousin, Anthony stepping out of the second cop car, walking to the door, and entering. He'd stop upon seeing Abe. "O-oh...Abe, sir.. I...wasn't expecting you here?" he said. Miranda bit her bottom lip in annoyance. This was going to get annoying really quick, and with the annoying numbness in her arm from Yohan's little trick earlier, she wasn't in the mood for it.

Oh well.

Sebastian sat on the couch in the lounge, sat back he was no longer in his travel gear, the leathers elsewhere in the building out the way. With Sonea brewing up tea or coffee for the guests, he glanced around to everyone, likely awkward silence, for the first few minutes, what with four strangers brought to the same place, by the same dream, vision.

Sebastian glanced to the one chair empty in the room, he stood up and stretched.
“i need to check my dead eye, please excuse me” he walked from the lounge and towards the bathroom, after getting directions from the host in the kitchen; fetching, his medicine and heading there. He’d close the door and look at himself in the mirror, Removing the eyepatch he’d, push his hair aside to expose the scarred tissue and the fleshy fused ball that was once an eye. The remains fused with his eyelids.

He began his common procedure of medicine and applying the cream, to keep it from drying out and otherwise becoming worse, as he finished up he glanced to the toilet seat where something. Someone was sat watching him.

“I don’t like being ignored, though you’d know that aswell” Sebastian, stumbled back nearly tripping over, this stranger was identical to himself everything down to the scars.

“who the fuck are you!?” the other Sebastian just laughed standing up and crossing its arms a smirk on its lips.“poor little Seb, not a clue what’s going on; I’m you, dumbass. But I don’t let the petty things such as morality and being good...stop me getting what i want.” the inner demon swung its leg in catching Sebastian’s knee and buckling it, before slamming its hand against Sebastian’s throat.

In reality, to any other, watching Sebastian if they could, he might have been fighting his own limbs or fighting something not visible. “and that thing i want: is control” the grip tightened but Sebastian forced out “Fuck you, shithead” the demon grinned and threw Sebastian to the wall. When Sebastian, regained composure he glanced about the room and saw nothing.

He pulled himself up from the floor and looked into the mirror before putting the eyepatch back on, his neck bruising a little from the grip he had on himself. He came back into the lounge with a stranger there, going on about ‘being new to it as well’

“New to what?” his eye fell upon where he was seated before, sat cross legged as if nothing happened, was the other him, that sadist’s smirk on its lips.

“the fun is only just beginning...friend”

Felix was a bit startled to be met by the woman he’d seen at the store earlier. What’s more, the way she greeted him suggested she had been expecting him to arrive.

Rather shaken by whatever crazy stuff was happening right now, he stood blankly in the doorway for several seconds. It wasn’t until the young black haired man currently talking to the shop owner introduced himself that he came back to his senses.

“Oh, hi. I’m Felix, good to meet you both.” he replied, brightening up and offering to shake hands with Sebastian and Sonea. “But…seriously, what the hell is going on?”

“Yeah, actually, I think I’ve seen you around too.” He told Sebastian, still shaking slightly. As he looked around at the array of weapons, he made a sort of silent ‘whoa’. He didn’t have a clue what any of them were called, but he still thought it was pretty cool. “I know the card said this was a smithy but I thought it would just be, I dunno, horseshoes or something.” he remarked, placing the cake he'd brought on one of the tables our counters absent-mindedly.

Felix turned to the doorway at the arrival of a young blonde haired woman, around highschool age if he had to guess. He was about to greet her when yet another new arrival appeared. This one seemed…different somehow. What shook him was that she seemed to be suggesting she, in fact, knew exactly what was happening. And apparently, the shop's owner Sonea didn't. This was just getting more confusing by the second

“Er…yeah,” he began, after Sebastian had come back into the room and asked about what exactly was new. “I think we’d all kind of like to know what’s happening here.”

As the people began to make their way to the Shop, Sonea ushered the collective people inside. One by one they would enter and Sonea would smile a bit sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck as she had no idea what was going on herself. She smiled warmly at Felix and rubbed the back of her head again.

"Honestly I haven't the faintest clue. I kinda hope to try and figure it out myself"

There was clearly a look of confusion on her face as she laughed a bit nervously at Sebastian's statement about what she did to him and simply replied to him.

"I really don't know. It just kinda happened...I am honestly just as confused as you are about the whole thing. Also yeah it is! I made it myself. I made everything you see here"

As more guests came, the door opened loudly to show the eleven year old boy with a jar of pickles, Cayson. Sonea couldnt help but laugh at the adorable child and ushered him past all of the weapons and armor into her apartment area, next answering the door for Amber, whom had already called inside.

"Hello there! Welcome to the Sunny Shield, I am Sonea. Please come in and join us for tea. Everyone is in the living room past the open doorway"

Sonea remarked and then she shut the door once more and started to head towards the apartment section before the door opened again to reveal Kogo. This took Sonea back a bit, surely she had never seen this woman before in her life and she knew for certain that the cat had not touched her at all. The confusion was evident on her face as she ahemmed a bit and put on her best smile for Kogo while looking down at her a bit.

"Hi I am Sonea...and I really have no idea what is going on at this point. I am a bit fuzzy on this whole situation"

Above Kogo's head, now appeared the Cat whom lazily floated above her with a small purr on his lips

"Now this is interesting...I would instruct your crew to keep this woman's opinions in mind. She might have a few more keys to that thing you call a noggin"

"Though if you do have any sort of information Miss Kogo, I am sure I would love to hear it. As the rest of the people here would love to know" She gave her a grin and then disappeared for a few minutes, now having everyone in the main living area of the apartment and a tray of tea with crackers and cheese spread for everyone.

Now all attention focused on Kogo...

---

Rina heard the familiar booming voice coming from the front of the house. "Oh no no no, Uncle is here. He is going to be so pissed. Can't one of you like...hide my body?" She asked around, but stupid Frederick welcomed him in like a needy wife welcomes her husband home. She peeked out of the kitchen and saw him standing there looking at Fredrick like he was crazy. "I wonder if he can see me." She whispered to herself.

---

---

---

Taja peeked out of the kitchen also before hiding back in. She was covered in Rina's blood. "He is going to kill me though you killed yourself." She wanted to cry, tears stung her eyes. She took a deep breath and walked out. "S-Sir."

---

---

---

Abe could smell iron and bleach. He knew something was up. All these people were the ones to go missing, so why were they all here? He was about to ask what was going on when one of his officers walked in. "O-oh...Abe, sir.. I...wasn't expecting you here?" He said. An eyebrow arched, "Well yeah, why wouldn't I be? The question here is why are you here? Stay right there and call Frank. Tell him to come here and bring a forensic, an ambulance, and backup." He ordered before turning around in time to see Taja, the small girl who went missing. She was crying and full of blood.

Abe rushed over, "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Who did this?" He looked her over. Her small hand stopped him.

"I-I am okay, but... but..." She started crying. "R-Rina she... she just... she couldn't handle everything and t-took her head... a-and Pervy Man Fred t-tried to clean up the b-blood because h-he is a neat freak and I just want to go home!" Abe froze. He held the girl close, picking her up.

"It is okay, Taja. We got you." He said as he took a step towards the kitchen and saw his daughter's body on the ground. His breath got stuck in his throat. He wanted to scream, cry, punch someone or something, but he just held onto the crying Taja. "Everyone, stay where you are. Don't move till backup comes." He ordered everyone.

Sebastian glanced to Kogo and then when she mentioned ‘seeing someone or something’, Seb looked at the smaller woman and sighed. “So the identical looking bastard over on the couch, only i can see him?” he pointed to the empty spot where he had been sitting, the inner demon shakes his head chuckling at Sebastian’s animosity towards it.


“It’s not all that bad, you’re never alone” it smiled a big shit eating grin at Sebastian and let out a laugh. It stood up and stretched wandering from the room and out of view.

Sebastian shook his head mumbling “that’s fantastic” he fell back into his seat and looking rather annoyed and generally irked he kept his only eye out for whatever his demon was up to, for all he knew the damn thing was plotting to get him hit by a bus.

“that’s a good one, i’ll take notes” the voice suddenly back Seb glanced around curling his dominant hand into a fist. “easy hot blood, i’m in your head, though i think you’d need to ask the important questions.”

Seb looked to Kogo and raised an eyebrow, “you never introduced yourself, how can we trust anything you say and secondly how the hell do you know so much” he crossed his arms and leaned back, he wasn’t in the best of moods, no thanks to the asshole in his head.

"Oh dear, looks like the chains of justice has wrapped itself around you my dear not so little lamb. It looks like all your good deeds did go rewarded...to jail that is...how unfortunate." The voice is his head spoke up at the rather...bad situation.

Frederick began to sweat bullets, she just had to tell him that he cleaned up the blood. This was it! He was done for! This is where his life as a janitor and writer comes to an end! He was going to have a new occupation that was for sure, prisoner janitor for years! His father would be so disappointed in him! He could only hear him now!...

"I did not raise my son to clean up prisons as a prisoner! When you get out boy I'm going to make you wish you stayed in prison!" The bearded man yelled in anger as he raised his fist and a mop. "No dad please! It was a misunderstanding!"

"You are also a pervert! To a young girl at that! I will clean up your act! YAHHHHHH!"

"Not the face!"

Yup...This was very bad. What should he do, if he stayed here he had a chance to prove himself or something. But Taja called him a pervert and told on him! If he does not go to jail for getting rid of evidence! Then she would get him in jail for being a pervert! Everything was bad.

"Hey moocher! Don't you like...Have anything to get us out of this situation!?

"You could always run my dear lamb...If you don't want to take the fall for everyone then just run. You always follow rules and everyone. You should break it even when you know its the wrong thing to do. Sure, its the rule to go to jail but you know its not fair when you are the one person. An adult? Surrounded by teens and a child at that? A pervert kidnapper...I wonder who that officer is going to belive in this situation...Oh dear...Just waiting for you to finnaly sin is such a grand feeling, if you want to remain uncaged my dear lamb make a break for it."

"I would shame myself and my fathers legacy as the best janitors! I am no criminal!...But jail sounds bad though..."

"You can only remain sin free for so long...Let us see where your 'good deeds' get you in a couple more minutes...You can trust me my dear lamb...I will lead you to salvation. But if you continue to ignore my recommendations then the path you follow will lead to despair..."

"And the path you follow is mooching! I like to see you in my shoes for being a pervert and kidnapping!"

"But I am not in that situation. You brought yourself in this situation, not I...Looking at a childs thigh, if you want something to look at how about that girl's ghost?"

"What! Ghost!?" Frederick exclaimed as he looked around and noticed Rina...Wait she was dead. That meant she was a ghost! Oh no! She came to haunt him from beyond the grave!

"You are...such a strange lamb..."

Crouching behind the parapet of the roof of a small convenience store, around half a block way, a curious figure spies in on the strange events surrounding a single house. This figure, a woman dressed like some bizarre rabbit themed action movie reject was Saiph Grimms, the not-entirely-human daughter of the mysterious Mr. Grimms. Were this just something simple, say a burglary, she would not have bothered, small ripples, but multiple bodies had recently passed to and from the other side. It certainly caused ripples for beings like herself... well, not just ripples, it was more like a fat man performing the cannonball at a pool party, multiple times.

Through the digital lenses of her helmet, she zooms in and focuses, scanning each figure that comes into view, the lenses whirring softly. Who called the coppers? Oof, how annoying!

"Oh dear, Maddy, I fear things are getting rather convoluted by the second," she says quietly in a digitally pitch raised voice, speaking back to an unseen entity. "Is it tea time already?"

"It's always tea time," a distorted voice responds, almost glitchy sounding in its nature, and vaguely feminine.

"Well, I'm afraid tea ain't gonna solve this one bit," she responds with a chuckle. She then zooms in on the open door, on the man in particular opening it. "Oh my, Maddy! Look, look there, that one, is he... surely I've gone mad!"

"Absolutely bonkers I'm afraid, but here's a secret, my dear," the voice says, as a figure, twice her size at least, looms over her, and a large dark hairy clawed hand, big enough to grip her entire head and then some, bumps her on the cheek of her helmet with its index finger. "All the best people are."

"Aw, Maddy," Saiph says, hugging the claw warmly. She then holds out her left hand, a large mechanical claw covering it, a hole in space above it opening, dropping some kind of comic down into her open palm. Looking over the comic, something apparently titled Planetary wars- War for Planet Hopitus, authored by none other than a Frederick Bell. The revelation causes her to shriek in glee, before slapping her hands over her mouth and slips down with her back to the parapet wall and snapping out an expensive smartphone, covered in rabbit decals. "Kaloo Kalay, t'is my lucky day!"

For Frederick, along with the pressure surrounding him, soon he would receive a few text notifications.

---

"He is here because I called him here." Miranda spoke up, looking to Abe as her cousin froze, and then began to do as told, calling those qualified to handle a body. "I wanted this to be handled...quietly." she said, not looking away as he spotted the body on the floor, hugging the now crying child that was Taja. She rolled her eyes, the Amber one glowing dimly. "As for the girl...Rina....what Taja said is true; she..." the werewolf paused, pretending to be a bit more human than she was, "...started bashing her head against....the counter...I...couldn't handle the smell of the blood....So I had our Janitor friend...clean it...." she shuddered, convincingly putting on the human-girl act. Though if anyone knew who she was, which Abe likely would, or at least know of the Wallace family, they'd know she was...different.

She wasn't planning to move anyway, so when he told everyone not to move, she just laid back down, yawning, not bothering to hide her canines as she yawned, the sharper-than-average, and much larger-than-normal teeth in plain view to anyone looking over the couch. Like her cousin Anthony, who looked away at the sight of her teeth. Yawning, much like bearing one's teeth was a way of displaying dominance over others in Werewolf Culture. She closed her eyes and continued her yawn, loudly doing so while finding herself growing comfortable on the couch. She'd have to either ask Yohan where he got it, or steal it. Either one.

Everything seemed quiet so far. You know, what with everyone avoiding him and all due to how his arm looked right now. It didn't really bother him at this point, he was used to being different by now anyway and everyone avoiding him. Could he really just throw this off as some little thing he made up, though? He didn't know how to get it to turn off, if there was even an off switch for whatever the heck his arm was right now. He didn't know what to do at the moment besides sit there... Until Sakuya came over to talk to him.

He felt her pat his arm lightly, causing him to look over. But when he did, she kind of cocked his head towards the door, getting her point across very quickly. Well, he didn't like sitting here anyway, around these jerks. He would go on to open his own store, with... Ah, he couldn't bring himself to finish the joke, just deciding to quickly follow her out before he made things more awkward for himself. They arrived at the side of the building, which was alright with him, as he saw her taking in a deep breath suddenly. Oh boy, here we go.

"Uh, well, I mean..." Yohan decided to shrug. "He was a jerk anyway, didn't appreciate the whole work I put into the arm and such. Look at it, it's so sparkly and... Oh, right, I have claws. Those don't look fake." Yohan looked around before looking back at her. "I, uh... I can explain." However, it appeared he didn't need to explain. Her next statement confused him, she could of been meaning anything at this point. It wouldn't surprise him either, though he had a feeling deep down he knew what she was really hinting at.

That's when she asked about it, a deal. This confirmed any doubt he had in his mind: She knew. She knew about things he did not, and he could see the look in her eyes... Wow, she had really pretty eyes -- Uh! Damn, he felt himself lose his train of thought for a moment, gripping his head slightly out of embarrassment as he took in a deep breath before letting it out. Back to the topic, come on, back to the topic... Alright, he found his thoughts again and looked back with a serious expression. She could obviously tell he was straining himself to put it on though, to distract his thoughts or something.

"... I don't know how much you know, or why you were sent here. It doesn't really matter to me all that much, I have questions, sure, but I'm not going to force them on you. Let's see, how to put this right..." He closed his eyes briefly as he thought over how to word his next words carefully. "I don't know who I am. I'm Yohan Belmont, but I feel like I'm... Someone else sometimes. Almost as if I have a different personality altogether that I didn't even consider before."

Yohan took in a breath and let it out slowly before continuing. "It's... Almost pathetic, really. I made a deal just to keep myself alive, when I don't even care about myself anymore. I've heard myself say I want to kill someone before, I've heard myself say I want to just lie down and forget everything. When I was brought over to that other town, I... Felt something pop inside of me. I felt excited, a rushing feeling... Finally, my life could finally get interesting. I could finally be a hero... I pushed it off as a dream at first. But when I woke up, I had... This." He gestured toward his arm, forcing a smile.

"I... I'm sorry. I never meant to break any rules by going over there, really. I don't know what you intend to do to me now, but well, I can't exactly hide this well. Heh. I just felt like I should share that with someone, in case you have to take me away now." He hadn't really had the chance to express his feelings about the matter, and well, now he found someone who he could. She felt the threatening feeling inside of her slowly fading away, Yohan no longer presented himself as a stranger. Somehow, by opening up about his own confusion and feelings, the magic within them had changed in response.



Ricky stared up at the sky from where he sat outside on the end of one of the trucks they had under their possession now. Everything had been loaded onto and set upon each one, they were just waiting now for the right moment to begin execution of the plan. Oh, yes, he could only imagine the looks those idiots he had to chase down would get when they realized everything. Ricky grinned to himself, raising up his left arm and looking upon how it all looked black now, except for the middle finger which was dark red thanks to the fusion of that ring. As Ricky almost lost himself in his own thoughts, one of the others called out to him.

"We're all set to go, Ricky!" He turned his head to look over, a sinister grin spreading across his face as he hopped off the back of the truck and chuckled. He rose his arms upward as the others all shifted their attention over to him now.

"We all have our orders, remember that. The punks who went missing last night might all have turned back up now, and whether they stay or not doesn't matter to us. They are all to die, every last one of them! And should they survive tonight's little planned party event we have set up for just them, well... We always have the back-up plan." Ricky couldn't help but chuckle gleefully at his own words.

"Well done, Ricky. You've made a full transition to the typical bad guy you see in those kid's television shows!" The Djinn couldn't help but mockingly clap at Ricky. "Bravo, bravo! Now, get serious for a bloody second and tell them the rest!" Ricky glared over briefly at the Djinn before shrugging and smirking.

"Yo, Franky! That's what I'm calling ya now!" Ricky pointed at one of the guys. "How are the little "pets" we got doing?"

"Uhm..." The man who was now being called Franky shivered for a minute, peeking over inside the back of the truck at the cages before slipping out and looking over at Ricky. "T-they seem to be doing just fine. I-I don't even think they look like normal dogs though..."

"AH, WHO CARES!" Ricky's sudden shout caught the man he called Franky off guard. "Those mutts will sniff 'em out. But remember, if you see any idiot with blue hair, keep 'em alive! I got plans for that dude or dudette, either way, they going to get it good soon!" Ricky placed his hands on his hips as he looked over at all of them. "It's getting close to being dark now... It'll take us half an hour to drive all the way back to town. Stick to the damn plan, or lose your head." He saw all of them nod as he couldn't help but grin again.

"So, the mutts are all prepared, the special delivery's we have set up are all prepared to go... That being said, what will you do Ricky?" The Djinn crossed it's arms over it's chest. "Ya never told me what you planned to do in the middle of all this."

"Oh, about that..." Ricky looked over to the Djinn and grinned. "Come here for a minute or two. I got a wonderful idea to discuss with you." The Djinn's eyes lit up suddenly, glowing yellow for just a moment before he too gave a big grin on both ends.

"Oh-ho-ho, you better not let me down on this idea of yours, Rick." The Djinn hovered over next to Ricky. "Well, what's the plan then for us?"

"Well, here's what we're going to do..." Ricky began walking back inside as The Djinn floated with him.

As Frederick continued to mentally panic to himself, a sudden alert came from his phone snapping him out of his panic. A text? Despite the looming danger of the officer in the room he reached into his coats pocket and took out his phone. He swiped to opened it up and it was not from his father, it was from some...'B. Rabbit' person. Hold up a tick? Did he give out his number? Maybe he wrote that on one of his comics.

That would be the obvious answer however what was on the text was the most important bit. Apparently, whoever this B. Rabbit was, they were currently looking at his situation and offered him some sort of get out of jail for free card. That was hard to belive but why not. "Hah! Told you moocher! Told you good things can happen!"

"I will admit...this was a rather unexpected outcome...But surley this is just a---"

"Hush now! I got a text to make!" Frederick began to furiously reply to the message

F. Bell
"I would love a get out of jail for free card! Name your request and I will get it done! >-<
I don't wanna go to jail! And I am taking this opportunity! You might be a random stranger but I am deffinitly trusting you!"

He soon gave a sigh. "My perecious lamb...are you whole heartingly trusting a stranger? You are...such a strange man..."

Felix was still staring around at the weapons on the walls, mouth agape, as he was ushered into another room. This one seemed more like a living space, he noticed as he drew his attention away from the armoury and toward the apartment they were now standing in.

It was at this point that the mysterious woman known as Kogo began explaining the current situation. Saying he didn’t take it so well…would be an understatement. He let out an abrupt, nervous laugh.

“This…this is some kind of practical joke, right? What did you put on those cards?” He asked, rather shakily. There was no way in hell he believed what he was being told right now. Somehow, he’d been manipulated into going to this shop - a smithy, with actual weapons, of all places. Then, once a group of likewise clueless individuals had been gathered, someone who looked like she was lost in her way to a re-enactment was telling them they had magic powers now and were all in danger. Safe to say he was feeling quite sceptical.

“Is this some kind of publicity stunt for LARPing? Or…” He appeared to think for a few moments, before his eyes widened and he seemed to shrink a little.

“You…you didn’t give us all Black Plague did you?” he asked in a very quiet voice. It was a ridiculous idea but he sounded serious nonetheless.

Out of sight, laid back, Saiph had started playing some kind of cutesy colorful side-scrolling shooter on her phone to pass the time, until a musical chime rattles her and causes her to to crash into a parade of kittens. What a tragedy. Exiting the game she checks the message and after a brief pause nearly shrieks in excitement, kicking her feet in the air.

"Contract?" Maddy asks.

"Oh yeah, it is official," Saiph responds enthusiastically, giving a thumbs up with her weird mechanical claw and showing off the phone message. "Lets put on a magic show, baby!"

She scrambles into a cross-legged seating position as a black laptop covered in rabbit decals falls from a hole in the air above her and neatly landing onto her lap. She begins to type away at a maddening pace, screens flashing by briefly as forms are filled, some of which have governmental seals.

After only a couple minutes of this she abruptly snaps down the screen, and flips the laptop into the air and down into a hole that appears. She then rolls onto her back and snaps out her phone with one hand, and reaches in a hole to pull out a card in the other, spinning it with her fingers. It was a rather official looking card, placing Frederick as some kind of agent dealing in missing persons. With one last sleight of hand, she uses the portals to stealthily sneak the card from where she is, into one of the back pockets of Frederick.

Back at Frederick, he'll soon receive a new message. "meetcha 4 terms of bsns l8r, check pocket. msgs will dlt in 30secs. Hav fun, bby XD." With this message received, a small cartoony rabbit skull with black ears appears at the bottom right corner with a bomb fuse out the top of its head.

---

Cayson looked at the short girl who came in. Apparently she was the one leading everything. He didn't know nor cared. He just wanted this to all hurry so he could get back to finding Taja. She opened a jar of pickles and started to eat one. He listened, apparently he had magic. Maybe he could use his magic and find Taja. He was getting excited already, but then she mentioned that if the robot girl died, so would they. "So we also have to protect her?" He asked, mostly to himself. "I guess I could do that with my awesome moves."

She also mentioned that they would see things. He looked around and saw himself in a pickle suit. "Holy... that pickle suit is sick!" He walked over and looked the suit around. "I can dig this."

"So lady person, can I use my magic to find my love? She was one of the people who went miss." He asked her.

---

Taja held onto him and watched.

---

---

---

Backup arrived. They gathered everyone who was there. Abe walked around and looked at Frederick. "I want everyone brought to the station and question. Keep an eye on this one, " He motioned towards Frederick. Forensics started to close off the kitchen and paramedics started to check everyone out before they were ushered to the back of the cop cars. "I will bring Taja, you all can go." He ordered.

With one hand he held onto the girl's and with his free hand he rubbed his neck. "I think we should get you to the station and let you call your parents, okay?"

Taja nodded. Both walked to his car and drove off to the station.

Sonea listened on to what Kogo was saying, her eye widening as she felt her mouth drop a few inches so it was agape. All of this seemed to go over her head in it's entirely. She shook her head a few times as she moved back and forth in a sort of pacing motion as she tried to take this all into account. When Kogo finished, she was still pacing with her hands behind her back.

"But this doesn't make sense. Magic doesn't make sense I mean...no one has magic. It's just some superstitious mumbo jumbo that ancient people made up to explain the unexplained. How can magic be the source of all of this?"

But her question was soon answered, the cat floated above her head and leaned forward so his eyes were looking into her own. There was a grin on his face so wide, it threatened to split his entire face in two before he floated away and landed gracefully on Kogo's head.

"She is right you know Sonea. There is a part of you that you cannot see, smell, feel or touch. A primal something that you dont even know you had. If I were you, I'd speak the following words: There is a cat floating about your head. He is fluffy, puffy and grinning with a toothy grin. He tells me of a place that no one has seen but a place I know. Yet I dont know what this place is...and I havent seen it since. A dog with fangs and claws and teeth of red with gleaming red eyes stalking a dead village. See what she says...You will love this Sonea I am sure"

While Sonea listened, she stared at a space above Kogo's head, dead eyed as if her eye showed her looking out a thousand miles away. She then blinked several times and rubbed her eye with one hand then let out a long groan of a sigh before she went to sit down in her favorite arm chair.

"There is a cat floating about your head. He is fluffy, puffy and grinning with a toothy grin. He tells me of a place that no one has seen but a place I know. Yet I don't know what this place is...and I haven't seen it since. A dog with fangs and claws and teeth of red with gleaming red eyes stalking a dead village. Does that ring any sort of bells with you?"

She asked, looking clearly skeptical as she reclined in her chair and gazed out towards the others, choosing not to say anything but clearly struggling to try and quantify this. While she did, she saw the cat now nestling itself in her lap and stared at Kogo with a wry chuckle

"Now lets see what might happen if this were the case Sonea. I think something in that noggin of yours might finally open up to you. Lets see if she takes the bait"

Kogo’s attitude was unnerving to Felix, that was for sure. But when she approached him and two orbs of some kind of energy appeared in her hands, he let out a short yelp and leaped back, falling roughly onto a chair.

This didn’t stop her, though, and she continued to demonstrate this ‘magic’, changing her own appearance right in front of him. By now his face was simply blank, and he seemed to be staring miles ahead at nothing in particular. He didn’t appear to be paying attention when Sonea spoke up, apparently he was so shocked he had disconnected himself.

It wasn’t until he heard Kogo say something about danger, pulling out the small book, that he jolted upright. Something didn’t seem right here, it was if some kind of energy or signal was being emitted by it.

"Hey, now, what are you-" he piped up, but before he could finish, he saw a burst of light. This was followed by a sudden feeling of weightlessness cut short by landing painfully on his behind.

"Ah-ow." He muttered, struggling up. Upon opening his eyes, he guessed he must have hit himself pretty bad, since even though it hadn't been his head he could have sworn he saw two Sebastians. Looking around he saw that they were still in the same room, apparently. But…something was different. He looked behind him, and saw that the chair he’d been on was missing. Had she played some kind of practical joke? If so, he thought it was in poor taste. But looking around again, he saw that this place was definitely somewhere else entirely. They’d been transported somewhere? Somewhere dangerous, from the sound of it.

"Are you insane?! There are kids here!" He yelled, finding his voice again.

He watched his eye wide but his expression mute, as Kogo began tormenting Felix with her magic, though he kinda found it amusing, and terrifying, Sebastian’s Inner Demon reformed itself to watch Kogo’s antics.

Seb sat back, comfy, until she spoke the words ‘fieldtrip’ and ‘danger’ Sebastian almost got the words out but was too late he fell back into the couch having stood to confront Kogo, he shook off the disorientation and stood back up.

“What the hell did you do?” he glared at Kogo but beside him, now visible to everyone, the complete identical being, giggling like a murderer, clone/twin of Sebastian. “oh this is going to be fun, hope you’re up for a little life or death Sebby.” the demon grinned only for Sebastian to turn and clock it in the nose. To Sebastian’s dismay he’d feel the punch hit him, a pained yelp escaping Sebastian’s mouth followed by a string of curse words.
“Hunting dogs?, no i think we should get the fuck out of here”” Sebastian glared, moving his hand from his nose, his demon however removed its eyepatch, underneath were no scarred remains of an eye but it’s right eye was that of a beast, slit pupil, though beyond that normal colours.

“Now you’ll be able to tell us apart, if you must call me something, Wraith will do” the Inner demon pushed Sebastian a little and they both began to follow after Kogo.

Abe walked in, file in hand, and sat in front of Taja. They had to get her a booster seat because she sat down all you could see was a floating head and it made him chuckle. He had to be serious and her looking silly like that would not help. She looked scared, but he reassured her that she was alright and that her parents were on their way. She nodded, sitting there playing with her thumbs.

“What happened the night you went missing?” He asked softly.

She looked up at him, scared, “Momma had to leave and the babysitter wasn’t there yet. She was worried of leaving me alone, but I reassured her I would be alright. Then after she left I started hearing a voice inside of my head telling me to go get Sienna from her work and bring her to the gym. I also got visions showing me where to go. I wasn’t going to go, I swear, but then it wouldn’t stop till I left and went get her. She wouldn’t come to the gym, actually she thought I insulted her. I didn’t mean to call her a cow or anything, but it kind of slipped out. Rina stood up for me and I took the time to hurry and steal the keys before running. It was the only thing I could do to make her leave.” She was on the verge of tears.

He nodded, patting her hand, and asked, “Did you get abducted?”

Taja shook her head, “No. Once we all were in the gym things started to happen. Like a car crash and then us being all in pain. We got these marks and then went to this scary place where everything was the same, but a lot scarier. It was horrible.”

Abe smiled softly, “How do you all know each other?”

Taja looked up at him, “I have never seen any of these people before today. I am ten, my momma would never allow me to be near these other people, except Rina. I could see Rina babysitting me. She was a nice girl. I liked her a lot.”

Abe was glad to hear someone liked his daughter and that she would treat a young girl well. He raised her to at least be a decent person. “Okay, Hun, now who owns the house you all were at?”

Taja rubbed her eyes, “I think it was Yohan’s house. I am ninety percent sure it was. I don’t like him very much, but I rather him over Pervert Man, Frederick. He stared at my thighs for a long time. He even stared at Sienna and Rina a little longer than he should.”

Abe wanted to punch this man in his face, he couldn’t understand perverted men. “How did Sienna get away but everyone else stay? Is she working with the owner of the house?”

Taja shrugged, “I didn’t know she left. As for working with Yohan? I believe Miranda would be the one to work with him the most, though… I think he was just trying to get with them, “She leaned in close, “if you know what I mean.”

He chuckled before looking down at the next question and frowning. “Okay, what happened with Rina?”

She looked down at her hands again, speaking low she said, “I walked in to the kitchen after I woke up and Rina was holding a cup of coffee just looking up in space. I thought she was just daydreaming… I know I do it a lot when I am feeling nervous. Pervert Man was making breakfast, so I thought maybe she was nervous to be around him…” She started to tear up, “t-then she just… started freaking out. Asking if I was real or if she was going crazy. It scared me a lot. Then out of nowhere… she just started banging her head into the counter. Frederick tried to stop her and then help her stay alive. It was a mess. Blood was everywhere. I don’t know why she did that. I really really don’t.”

Abe tried to calm her down, “It’s okay. You are here and safe. I am sorry you had to see all of that. So, it was you who called 9-1-1, what happened? Why did you hang up?”

Sniffling she tried to calm down. Nodding at the first part of the question, “I did, I slipped in Rina’s blood trying to get to the floor. She needed professional help, but Miranda stopped me. I think she had someone to help with it. She told them I was her cousin, which I am not… I don’t think. Then she called her actual cousin and asked him to come over.”

“Okay I am going to circle back around to Yohan. You are doing great. Have you known Yohan before?” He asked.

Taja shook her head, “No, officer. The first time I saw him he looked like a loser sitting in the corner. He was a cry baby. I think he even puked in the back of the gym. Something is very wrong with that guy.” She shivered.

“Why was he not at the house?” Abe asked.

She shrugged, “I have no idea. He was there when I went into the kitchen. Maybe everything got him scared and he ran… like maybe Sienna got scared too and ran. I know I would have if I wasn’t so scared and wanting to call for help.”

Abe nodded again, “Could he be possible for Rina’s death?”

Taja shook her head no, “No, sir. Unless he threatened her before anyone got to the kitchen, but that percentage would be very low. Yohan is a freak, but I highly doubt he would have killed Rina.”

Abe patted her head and closed the files, “Thank you so much for answering the questions. You did very well and I know for a fact your mother and father would be proud of you.” He held out his free hand, the other was holding the file, and walked out of the room. They walked to the front where her parents were waiting for her. He let go of her hand and she ran to their arms. All three of them were crying. He called Frederick to the back room and walked away. He couldn’t look at the family anymore. It killed him that he couldn’t do that with his own daughter.

---

---

Abe walked in, file in hand, and sat in front of Fredrick. He had been one of the people missing. When Abe looked up from his file he saw Frederick pull out a card. "Sorry for the misleading attitude offer, Secret agent Frederick. I was working on the missing persons case when all this happened." He spoke as he held the ID for him. Abe took it, looking it over, and shaking his head. Something was off, but he was going to ask the same questions as the rest of the group. He decided that he was going to make Frederick stay for more questioning once he ran his name in the data base to see if he was in fact a secret agent. "Anyways officer, I will be answering your questions.”

“What happened the night you went missing?” He asked, writing something down on a pad.

“On the night, I went missing I was working at Timberland High School acting like a janitor when I went out into the parking lot to head back to my car. A well-dressed man was waiting there and before I knew it I was in a different place I had no clue where it was. That was when I met all the teenagers and the one child. Funny story, the child thinks I’m a pedo...Do I look that creepy? ...Ugh....Anyways this was the first time I met any of these kids." Frederick spoke as he placed a finger under his chin.

"After we managed to escape where ever we were locked up, one of the Kids...Yohan was his name brought us to his house. I would have headed to the police station but it was too dangerous so we needed to lay low.” He said.

The guy was a weird one, but he was answering some of his questions before he could even ask. “How did Sienna get away but everyone else stay? Is she working with the owner of the house?” He finally asked after shifting through his questions.

“As for Sienna...I guess she got out as morning came while we were resting she snuck out back home or something. So, I don't think she is working with Yohan.” He said.

“What happened with Rina?” Abe just asked.

As for with Rina, I was in the kitchen...making food, yes, I know I made food here. But everyone was hungry and well someone had to cook the food. So, I was there when Rina walked in. I did not realize it at first until I heard some banging on the counter and well...It was only her, so she just went crazy all of a sudden so I did my best to stop her. But she was going full force on the counter like she was possessed or something. I did my best and stopped her but... there was... a lot of blood... and matter...." Frederick shook his head to get rid of that scene from his mind before speaking again.

“Why didn’t anyone call 9-1-1 before Taja and why did someone say that she was just learning how to dial 9-1-1?” Abe asked, looking over his questions again.

"I was busy trying to keep her alive and that’s probably when Taja called 9-1-1. Honestly, I was busier looking and trying to help Rina.”

He nodded, Abe was beginning to like the man. He at least tried to stop her, though she never seemed suicidal before. “Have you known Yohan before?” He asked.

“As for if I know Yohan I never met the guy. All I know is that some girl probably came by and he left with her. I say he is having some private romance or whatever. But I highly doubt he was the cause for this..." Frederick spoke as he breathed a deep sigh.

Abe looked up at the man after taking some notes and closing the file. “Thank you, sorry that you can’t leave just yet. I will need you to sit in the hallway by the front desk. We need to run your name in the base to see if you are actually a secret agent, standard protocol is all and maybe a few more questions.” He said with a small smile before walking out and switching files with his partner.

---

---

Abe walked in, file in hand, and sat in front of Miranda. She had been one of the people in the house at the time he got there. She was the third one he interviewed. “Alright, Miss Wallace. I am just going to ask you a series of questions. Just answer to the best of your ability.” With that he began the series of questions.

“What happened the night you went missing?” He asked, writing something down on a pad.

Miranda raised her eyebrows and thought back, “Was a regular night at the gym, then these kids came in, and some...supernatural, magic shit went down; ruined my night." she said, looking back to whoever was questioning her. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was leaned back into the chair casually.

Abe’s face didn’t change, instead looked at her and continued his questioning, “Did you get abducted?”

"If by "abducted" you mean be transported to an alternate dimension without my knowledge or permission, yes." She shrugged. Despite the sarcasm, she was sincere as well.

He wrote some stuff down in his pad and continued on from his previous question, “If so who was he/she?”

"Think that was Yohan's doing. Not sure. White haired boy, cute face, much too young to be doing what he says he's doing." She looked up with her eyes, trying to remember the details as they came to her.

Abe nodded and gave her a minute before asking another question, “How do you all know each other?”

"Really, I don't. I know their names, I think...Like I said, they burst into my gym for whatever reason and offered little explanation." She uncrossed her arms and offered a full shrug in response to this question.

Abe nodded, “Now, who owns the house you all were at?”
"Think that was Yohan, or, his parents? Dunno much about him." Again, a shrug.

He was getting bone dry answers from her. His eyes narrowed a bit, “How did Sienna get away but everyone else stay? Is she working with the owner of the house?”

"Pretty sure she just walked out." She said, nodding after a second of thought.

“Okay, what happened with Rina?” He had been wanting to ask that question since Taja had told him, but he wanted to get everyone’s take on it.

"Lost her mind, smashed her own head against the counter. I had the Janitor clean it up." A slow blink, the tone of annoyance with the questions began to creep into her voice, and she leaned further back into the chair.

“Where were you when it happened?” He said, fighting down the tone of annoyance. This girl had something to her. She was hiding something, but he kept on with his answers.
"At the table, watching her. Lost my appetite." She looked down with her eyes, shuddering subtly.

“Was it a suicide or did someone do that to her?” He asked.

"She did it herself, I've never seen a human with such a lack of self-preservation." She put an emphasis on the word human with her tone, looking at the questioner with a stern expression.

Abe cracked his neck. Never in his life did he want to cross over a table and straight up punch a woman in his life, but she was getting to him. His fisted his hand around his pen, trying not to lose his cool, “Why didn’t anyone call 9-1-1 before Taja and why did someone say that she was just learning how to dial 9-1-1?”

"That's because I called my cousin, Anthony. I expected him to get there quicker and handle the situation quietly. Last thing this town needs is media coverage. I stopped Taja from calling because I don't like unnecessary bull-shit." She gestured around to the room around her as an example of what she meant with her words.

He nodded, “Have you known Yohan before?”

"No. Seen him walking around, never spoke." Simple shake of the head.

“Why was he not at the house?” He asked with a blank face.

"He left I guess. Chickened out when Taja called 911." Shrug and a nod.

“Could he be possible for Rina’s death?” Was his final question.

"All this shit went down after he showed up in my gym, so I'm going to say yes. Can I go now?" Finally she leaned forward, putting her hands on the table and looking as though she were about to stand up.

“You can go from this room, yes, but I am going to need you for further questioning after I talk to everyone. You can sit in the hallway by the front desk.” With that he got up and left the room himself. He gave his partner the file and took another one from him.

---

---

Abe walked in, file in hand, and sat in front of Sienna. She had been the first one here that was in the group, but with all of the chaos didn’t get the chance to interview her till last. “Alright, Miss Cartlow. I am just going to ask you a series of questions. Just answer to the best of your ability.” With that he began the series of questions.

“What happened the night you went missing?” He asked, writing something down on a pad.

“That’s… Well, hard to explain… You’ll probably think I’m lying or whatever, since it’s pretty absurd…” Sitting back in her seat with her arms folded, Sienna’s brow furrowed as she was clearly thinking, staring to the water left on the table. “Somehow, we ended up in another world. It was honestly like something out of a comic book. There were monsters and shit… I get it if you don’t believe me, but something… Changed while we were there. The only word I can think of to describe it is magic.” She paused, clearly looking to him to see what kind of reaction Abe would give. Leaning forward slightly, she unfolded her arms, placing her hands onto the table in front of her. “I could show you, if you don’t believe me.”

Abe’s face didn’t change, instead looked at her and continued his questioning, “Did you get abducted?”

“I guess? I wouldn’t know who was responsible though. It’s not like I ended up involved in this other world crap willingly...” Sienna scoffed a little, looking off to the side and staring at a spot on the table, maybe zoning out.

He wrote some stuff down in his pad and continued on from his previous question, “If so who was he/she?”

Looking back up at the question, Sienna sighed. “Like I said, I’ve got no idea. I guess I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Abe nodded and gave her a minute before asking another question, “How do you all know each other?”

“To be honest, I only know them all through this crap. That Taja girl showed up with Rina at my work, and the little… Brat.” There was a notable pause as Sienna held her tongue from a harsher expletive. “She stole the keys to the store. I ended up calling my roommate to try and look after the store while I gave chase. After that I met uh… Gym girl at the gym. Can’t remember her name. I think Yohan was there too? And I dunno when that creep guy showed up, but it was in that other world…” Sienna stopped for a bit, looking up to Abe. “Are they here too?”

Abe’s eyebrow raised, if he hadn’t of interrogated her first he would have thought the young girl would have never done such a thing. She didn’t have the background to up and steal a set of store keys. “They are, but that is all I can tell you. Now, who owns the house you all were at?”

“I guess it was Yohan’s place. Apparently, we had to go there to get back from the other world. It’s uh, kinda like a parallel dimension, the place has the same general layout as Timberland.” Sienna put her hand to her chin, before rummaging in her pocket. “I brought this paper back from there. It was in the basement of the other dimension’s house. It’s like, a design for the machine? Or part of it? Anyway, all that crap should still be in his basement. Well, the device at least.” Sienna placed the somewhat crumpled schematic down for Abe, wondering if it would actually be handy at all.

Abe tilted his head. He wasn’t expecting to get so much information from the girl, but he took the paper and added it to the file he hand on her, noting on a clean piece of paper that it was evidence and to check out the basement more. “Thank you, Miss Cartlow. This helps us a lot. How did you get away but everyone else stayed? Are you working with the owner of the house?”

“How did I get away? Well, shit went down and… I guess I couldn’t really handle it. I was coming here to turn myself in though and get some information. I honestly don’t know where to go from here. As for working with Yohan, I barely know the guy. I think we’re all connected now or some crap though…” Rolling up her sleeve a little, Sienna lifted her hand to show the strange symbol that had materialized on it. “I think we’ve all got this mark. ‘Cept Yohan’s is a little different.”

Abe leaned in, taking a closer look. He had honestly never seen a tattoo like that before. He made a not to get someone to look at it before she left. “Okay, what happened with Rina?” He had been wanting to ask that question since Taja had told him, but he wanted to get everyone’s take on it.

“She… “ Sienna stopped again, involuntarily flinching at the memory of the corpse she’d seen. It hadn’t been a pretty sight. “Well, I don’t know. I wasn’t there. I came down to hear the others freaking out and saw… Well, that. I think that’s why I kind of got out of there. That dude was cleaning the blood and Miranda was on the phone to someone about cleaning it up and… Well, that didn’t sound right to me. I was a little scared, but I honestly didn’t want to be associated with some sort of cover up. They said she killed herself, but… I honestly don’t know.”

Abe had to try hard not to curl his fist. So it was a cover up, but Taja had been there. She had seen it, maybe Miranda had threatened her to lie. I am going to have to talk to her cousin after this. “Where were you when it happened?” He asked after clearing his throat.

“Upstairs. After everything that happened I… needed some time alone. I kind of had a bit of a breakdown… The smashed mirror up there should be testament to that…” Sienna mumbled, unconsciously squeezing her bandaged hand.

Abe took notice of her hand, but continued his questioning. “Was it a suicide or did someone do that to her?”

“I couldn’t say. I didn’t notice until I came down and she was…” Sienna swallowed uncomfortably, then reached for the water, shakily pouring her glass and drinking from it.

Abe was noticing Sienna’s actions and took note of it all. “Why didn’t anyone call 9-1-1 before Taja and why did someone say that she was just learning how to dial 9-1-1?”

“Like I said, I didn’t even know until I came down and heard some crap about cleaning the blood and dealing with it. I wasn’t about to stay there and calmly dial the number, but I did tell the officers I met about it. You can ask them.” Sienna stated confidently that they’d back up her story, having nothing to hide in that regard.

He nodded, “Have you known Yohan before?”

“No, like I said, I met everyone for the first time.” Sienna repeated, a little agitated by the repeat question.

Shifting in his chair, trying not to seem so stand offish to the woman he asked her, “Why was he not at the house?”

“I dunno. I lost track of him when I went upstairs, so I have no idea where he went.” Answering truthfully, Sienna was trying to be as cooperative as possible. She was getting anxious to find out about Rio, but she needed to get through this shit first.

Abe could see her becoming anxious and tried to get through the questions as fast and thoroughly as possible, “Could he be possible for Rina’s death?”

“Possibly? I don’t know. He was pretty quiet for the most part, but he didn’t seem crazy murderous. Then again, Rina didn’t seem crazy suicidal…” Sienna muttered the last part as she thought out loud on it.

Once the questions paused for a while, Sienna sat up a bit, looking back over to Abe. “Um, I… I saw on the news that… My roommate Rio… Can you tell me what happened?” Sienna asked hesitantly, but there was a strained desperation in her voice.

Abe looked up, his lips twisting down in a frown. “I am sorry, it seems like she had spun and hit a wall. She would have made it, but then another vehicle crashed into her, which sadly lead to her death. That is all I can give you since it is still an ongoing case.” This night had turned out to be one of the shitiest nights in his life. “You are free to go, Miss Cartlow.” He said before walking out. He looked at Frankie and shook his head.

"We are going to be having a long night a head of us. I kept a few for more questions. Also, Frederick claims to be a secret agent. I need you to run his name in and tell me what you get." He said. Frankie nodded and walked off to do just that.

"Hold!" Ricky shouted out, raising up his left hand with his all black fingers. All of the vehicles came screeching to a halt as they stopped in the middle of Timberland. It had taken them some time, but they had reached here just in the nick of time. Ricky got out of his truck to see the sun setting in the distance behind them, causing him to lick his lips. This was looking all too sweet, everything started here and now! "Yes, excellent, most excellent! Everyone, you know what to do!" Snapping his fingers, all but his own truck road off to begin travelling throughout the town. It was going to take them all night, but he could tell luck was in his favor tonight.

"Alright, it's just me now." Ricky reached out his right arm to pat his truck gently. "We've been waiting for this moment, too long it feels like. Such a small amount of time, stretching out over what feels like an infinity." Ricky couldn't help but laugh now, throwing his arms up into the air as he bent backwards while raising his arms up. "What an exquisite feeling! What more is there to gain from life than what I am feeling right now? Ah, to be alive, to be human, to be the dominant predator!" Ricky went back to standing normally and cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes to get a more serious look about them before walking over to the back of the truck.

Looking over the five cages he had selected, he raised his hand up and his eyes glowed yellow briefly. Multiple hands came out from behind him, grabbing hold of the cages and setting them down on the ground next to each other one by one. Having a hand reach over to unlock each cage, the doors swung open without hesitation and at first nothing really seemed to happen. Then, the dogs mentioned before slowly began to each walk out of their cages, causing a small trail of darkness to be emitted behind them until they each stopped next to each other as if waiting for orders.

Ricky couldn't help but once again admire the almost strange beauty that came off of these mutts. One would assume at first glance they were looking at a skeleton of a dog, but they were far from it. Having no real eyes in their eye sockets, these pale blue mutts were more akin to that of how ghost dogs, at least to Ricky that's how they looked anyway. They weren't actually ghosts, but close enough no? No liquid came down from their mouths, and petting one of them would make you think you were touching something reptilian instead of mammal. They had been sent for one purpose only, and pulling out a little white orb, he was going to send them out on that purpose.

"Gotta love you magical dogs." Ricky walked over in front of them and knelt down, waving the orb slowly in front of each of them. The magic dogs each began to sniff and become familiar with the scent he was giving them, and one by one they all started to emit an eerie growl unlike that of any regular dog. "Can't be seen, felt or even heard by normal people! Only those with magic can do anything about you." Ricky put away the orb and rose up to his feet, walking back over to his truck.

"You can't see normally, so you use your other senses to track down the target. Able to track the scent of your targets, able to sense out the magic within them once you locate them. Shouldn't take too long for you to find them." Ricky snaps his fingers. "You know who I want tracked down. Find the missing people that were on the news earlier today, track them down and don't stop until either you or they are dead. If you manage to kill even one of them, bring me their bodies as proof."

The dogs eerily began to move forward slowly, a blue glow briefly appearing within their eye rockets before fading out just as quickly, continuing to flicker like this in a matter of seconds for each of them. A car flew into Ricky's sight and headed straight for the dogs, Ricky couldn't help but smirk as the dogs only continued to walk slowly before the car ran over their position. The car continued about it's business as usual, but the dogs were perfectly fine, as if the car hadn't even touched them.

A blue flame appears within each hound's eyes sockets, a terrifying roar emitting from each of them now as blue flames burst forth and covered over every one of them, acting as fur and protection at the same time. The blue flames only covered certain parts of their head, making the blue flames within their eye sockets stand out all the more. Wasting no time now that they were active, they each began to run forward and search out for the targets Ricky had specified, each of them holding a terrifying grin as they left a brief trail of darkness behind them before it faded away.

"What a waste to use them on regular people." Ricky leaned back against his truck as he closed his eyes and smirked. "Ah, well. I got a job to do and I ain't wasting no time about it. I wonder, who shall prevail in this fight? Either way, I wish I could watch it with my own eyes, but that will have to wait. Don't fail my expectations, Hounds of Despair." Ricky bursts out into an evil laugh as he rears his head back.

With Frederick waiting inside the station after giving his statment, he sighed in relif. For now that ID was saving him a whole lot of suspicion, sure they are going to check their database which unnerved him to no end but for now at least he was not already in cuffs. He soon brought out his phone to pass the while while he waited and wanted to give his thanks to the unknown helper from beyond...well, a better helper than the moocher in his head.

F. Bell

"Hey! Thanks for the help! Your assistance saved my bacon for the time being!"

"Once this whole mess is over feel free to message me what you want done. I may not be the president, or a very important business owner but I am a dedicated Janitor, Cook, Writer and comic and manga artist! Well, Thanks again!"


Frederick texted to the B. Rabbit name as he pocketed his phone and looked up at the ceiling. Inside a police station, not for cleaning but under some heavy suspicion like the rest of the younger people around him. He would rest alone but of course he knew better. "How are you doing my precious lamb? Still awake I presume, and under a deal of stress." The voice in his head lightly chuckled. Frederick sighed as he felt a bit tired. "I have to know, what is it you want? Now I may have not questioned it but I know you have a motive hidden under your calm and mysterious demeenor. What is your game here? Trying to possess me? Getting me to do something great and fight something terrible? Or did you just pick me to have a free host to live in?" Frederick questioned as he poked his own head in an attempt to do something to the voice in his head.

"My poking your own head? You must look a bit weird to everyone. And if you think that will be touching me then I'm afraid that you will have to wait to get your sinful paws on me. But my precious lamb, I suggest you stay awake for the time being. If you wish to learn then follow the wise words of the Shepard. I will guide you and clense your sins. And in order to do so you must acknowledge your love for the opposite gender. And to be free once in a while, and stand up for yourself. Only then will you know yourself." The voice in his head chuckled. What did it mean stay awake? And acknowledge his sins? Man why did he get the strange spirit, angel demon thing? It would be so much better if it was stright up...Granted its always the mysterious ones that speak in riddles that always have pretty wise advice at the end...like some sort of trial! Hah! It cannot fool him just by acting strange it was like a trial! The voice in his head seemed to have laughed at his thoughts. "You are one strange lamb...But you are on the right path. I wonder if you can keep it up? I will have to see...So don't die now my Lamb, we have many things we must do to wash away the sin that stains this world..."

"Does that mean I have to bring some extra strong cleaning solution and a mop?" Frederick asked and he could feel the voice in his head reel back from the ridiculous response. "I stand corrected...You are the least brightest Lamb I have ever laid my eyes upon...Leave it to me to guide the one that could die of thirst even if he was trapped in fresh water..." The voice spoke clearly still reeling from its shock and Frederick scratched his head in confusion. Did he say something wrong?

Sakuya listened as Yohan awkwardly explained what had happened. It seemed he didn't understand everything that was going on. The feeling deep down within her subsided as he was clearly not a threat to her. He was worried she was going to take him away? The girl couldn't help but chuckle at him. "I don't have the authority of taking you to someplace dark and scary, Yohan." Sakuya sighed. "I wasn't sent after you. However, I was sent here..." She gestured to the area in general. "Look, it's probably not a good idea to show that around. Most people from Gaia....don't understand that sort of thing." Sakuya pushed them back a bit farther away from the public eye. "Does anyone else know?"

Yohan blinked as she began to explain things, she could see a more innocent expression coming across his face now as he looked at her. If she thought he was cute before, well... Opinions might change now that she got to see more of the "real" him coming through now. "Uhm... Me and five others were sent to this weird looking town with this big Hellhound. A girl among us committed suicide, so I think that leaves four others. I have no idea where they currently are though."

The girl nodded. "Five others? That's..fairly unheard of. Maybe this place really is..." Her voice trailed off. "Regardless, you need to hide that arm of yours. I don't have the power to conceal it." Suddenly, something felt wrong between the two of them. There was a huge and menacing presence that seemed to overtake the town. "Oh no..." Sakuya whispered, hiding them both behind a dumpster. "We need to be careful..."

Yohan couldn't help but be pulled along, though he did feel a shiver run down his spine. He never felt anything like this... This feeling of fear was gripping him tightly. Even worse, it reminded him of those years ago... He had to worry about Sakuya right now. "What's going on?" He asked, she seemed to know more than he did right now, so there was that. He couldn't help but swallow quietly out of nervousness, He worried for his own life, but protecting others was his top priority always.

"Shhh!" Sakuya said suddenly, covering Yohan's mouth. They felt the pressure coming towards them and faint barking. Sakuya didn't quite know what they were, but for her to feel this much fear, there must be something up with them. Speaking out from the other side of the dumpster, she could see the head of a hound sniffing around. The almost lizard like skin and blue flames almost made Sakuya gasp aloud. Keeping her fear down, she pulled her head back quickly and held her breath. However, she could hear the hound coming closer to them. Her magic was hidden...Yohan must be too new to realize what he can and cannot do. Sakuya started to panic. In a last ditch effort, she uncovered Yohan's mouth and pressed her lips against his. 'Please work, please work!' Sakuya whispered in her mind. She held on for about a minute. In those long 60 seconds, she could hear the dog walk away from them and a horrifying growl as they left. She broke the kiss immediately and ran out towards the road, watching them head down towards town. "Yohan, you said you didn't know where your friends are, right? I got a feeling that they know and it won't be pretty if they get a hold of them."

Yohan's eyes widened when he saw her clap a hand over his mouth. He grew nervous all of a sudden, swallowing nervously until his eyes shifted over and saw... The damn hound! That bloody grin on it's face, the desire to devour it's prey... He could sense it, clear as daylight, he remembered! The Hellhound's gaze, it's crazy grin and the way it almost found them and was ready to attack at a moment's notice. He could sense the same thing off of this creature, his body starting to shake as he saw it approach. Why him? Why was it coming here?! What did it want?!? That's when she pulled him over and... Oh dear, his face went red and his eyes widened as she did this. A minute long kiss?! His mind couldn't handle it, yet he didn't resist... For whatever reason, he couldn't tell you. Once she saw the beast walk away, she broke it and he was dropped to the floor with a dazed looked in his eyes. "Did you get the number of that donkey cart?" He mumbled, shaking his head as he regained himself and stood up to his feet, looking over at her, his face still blushing madly. "... Shoot. I have a feeling I know what you are talking about. Alright, let's go!"



The clocks all read 11 PM in the police station now, the sun no longer visible as the night had taken over the sky. It wasn't known for how much longer Abe would be keeping them there, nevertheless, they had already been there for a long time. However, a familiar figure suddenly appeared before all of them, and as the white haired boy looked out to each of them, a red shine would flash over his eyes before reverting to normal. "Hello everybody!" He said, giving a quick little bow from the waist in a mocking gesture, rising up to look over at Abe with a smug look.

"You've been hanging out with this old fart instead of me?" He pretended to look hurt, putting an arm over his face as he leaned back while faking some sniffling. "I'm offended. You left hanging out with me on The Other Side to try to repay a debt to some dead girl." The white haired boy couldn't help but smirk now, shifting his form suddenly to resemble how Rina's inner demon had appeared. This... Was certainly new! "That's silly." The voice came out, sounding way more aggressive and twisted than Rina's inner demon would normally sound like. "You can't run from your problems forever. Hiding like little cowards..." The inner demon began to spread it's arms out to the sides, all of them would begin to see the room forming cracks and gaining a menacing red color to it.

"You think you can ignore me?!" The inner demon's voice suddenly grew louder, becoming more aggressive, more twisted, the room beginning to violently shake, making them all feel threatened while also giving them some motion sickness. "You think you can deny what I want, DO YA?!" The room would be shaking now, pieces of it breaking off to them as the inner demon slowly began to approach them, each step growing louder with each stomp, causing twisted cracks to spread wherever it stepped. "I WILL NOT BE DENIED!!!!!"

Everything returned to normal in an instant, Rina's inner demon suddenly gone and the white haired boy having returned with a mocking little grin on his face, once again, his eyes glowed red. "Another time, perhaps." He licked his lips as he walked over to Abe. "Well, no one better to replace her with than family, right?!" The white haired boy grinned to them all, smacking Abe's back without hesitation, although Abe wouldn't feel a thing as his hand passed right through Abe's body. However, Abe would feel a strange sensation coursing through his body, and as the white haired boy walked towards the entrance, Abe could suddenly see him now.

"We can save introductions for later." The white haired boy leaned on a wall near the entrance to the police station, looking down casually at his hand. "You've got bigger fish to worry about." As he said this, the five hounds from before began to enter into the building... But not in the way you would expect. They were walking right through it?! They looked like ghostly dogs, so maybe they were... But it was highly doubtful. Something was off about these dogs, and despite them having entered into the building, none of the officers around them were panicking. Each of them covered in blue flames, having blue flames in their eye sockets and a deadly grin resembling the Hellhound's across each of their twisted mugs.

Yohan and Sakuya arrived too late, only able to watch as the dogs entered into the building, Yohan's eyes widening as he saw the dogs just... Phase through inside?! "Ah dang it!" He couldn't help but state, looking around as he saw no one around, but he couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched right now, by someone... Or something. "They have to get out of there! This isn't good, I can't use my power from out here without drawing attention to us!" To say the least, they were in a tight situation!

Meanwhile, the hounds began to move slowly towards the group, as officers began to walk around near the hounds, they would simply walk through them, the hounds not even bothered by any of what was going on right now. The white haired boy couldn't help but let out a delightful little chuckle, Yohan was right outside, yet he couldn't even see the white haired boy in here? Things just weren't adding up right now, but again, they had bigger fish to fry right now. "Well I would love to stay and help you all, but it looks like two of you have some opening of the eyes to do!" His eye shifted to Abe and Frederick with a twisted grin on his face. "See ya, if you make it out alive of here that is." He let out one more mocking laugh before fading away completely, leaving them with the hounds slowly getting closer to them!

Despite the attempts of the White haired boy and his little demonic friend to frighten everyone present, Miranda would only slowly open her eyes, the different colored orbs filled with annoyance. Speaking of demons. She glanced to the side, where her Demon was staring at her, a sadistic smile on its face as both of its eyes glowed amber. Thinking for a moment, she supposed the imagery there was that so long as she had both of her eyes, one Sapphire and the other now permanently Amber and glowing, her Demon would be sticking around.

Flaring her nostrils, the werewolf stood quickly as the five hounds entered the building. "Such Insolent Dogs..." Miranda's Demon growled. Miranda agreed, lowering her chin and growling, her growl not one of a human imitating a wolf, but of a feral wolf itself. Slowly the girl's lips peeled back, exposing her savagely long teeth as she stared down the five hounds; knowing full well that she'd be unable to harm them physically with her body. She only hoped the others didn't bolt like scared children. "What if they do run? Hm? Leave you to fight for yourself against five hungry mutts? Like cowards; they want you to die. They want your power for themselves. Our power....for themselves!" her demon growled.

Miranda snarled loudly, her throat rumbling with the feral sound and the sound echoing in the halls of the police station. Miranda's demon became more bestial with each passing second and Miranda lowered into a stance that would allow her to move in any direction at any moment without any hesitation or pre-warning. But suddenly she blinked; she had no room to fight here...she needed to leave. Narrowing her eyes she took a step back, hoping the humans with the White could see what she could see, and knew to run. Slowly the werewolf kept eye contact on the hounds, but moved towards the back of the police station. She knew there was a back door; there had to be; for safety reasons, right?

Snarling, the Werewolf's Amber eye began to glow brightly and she reached out her hand towards the hounds, attempting to grab them with her powers of mutation and at the very least, make their legs snap to slow them down. At the most, to make their organs rupture and make them die quickly and painfully. If it didn't work, she'd try again, if only to cause pain at the very least.

Sonea listened with some slight amount of confusion. Field Trip? Danger?! She was about to protest when suddenly, her vision was overcome by a bright light and the vision before her eyes was shocking. They were still in her apartment but...it looked all wrong. There were holes in the walls, windows were missing or shattered on the ground. The chairs which she and the others were sitting in were gone or so shredded they were unusable. She gasped and stared at the destruction around her and covered her mouth with her hand. Stumbling, she followed after Kogo and went out into the shop.

Even here, the walls were adorned with her weapons and armors, but they seemed to have degraded so poorly that nothing was even remotely usable. The blades were rusted, brittle and full of holes from years of age and no maintenance. Even the armors which once gleamed with oils and countless hours of work were nothing but useless hunks of metal and scrap. Maybe something in them could be salvaged but not for now...

Sonea's mind was whipped up with a flurry of unfelt emotions: Overwhelming terror, dread and the overbearing desire to run away and hide. She reached behind her back under her shirt and pulled out the sacrificial dagger and held it in her right hand. She was breathing heavily, panic clearly evident on her face as she could swear this place knew what she was thinking and going through in her mind. She could hear herself screaming in pain? No...she couldnt feel pain. She couldnt ever feel...pain? She was terrified...as memories started to make themselves known in her mind.

At once as she was outside the apartment, the animal within caused her to bolt. Running...running as fast as she could from the group as terror washed over her senses. Animalistic fear and overwhelming dread gave such speed to her step that she didnt even know where she was running to. She just had to get away, she had to hide. She had to go somewhere where she could not be found. Somewhere safe...in this nightmarish land. She passed by several buildings, all burnt out and shattered. Books torn to shreds littered the streets and long gone scorch marks depicted people burned alive or eaten. The terror made her see things that werent there, her arm now gone and replaced by a bloody stump. The smell of fresh copper on her nose and her head and hair matted with blood. But something up ahead looked familiar, safe: The ruins of Town Hall. She bolted for it and slammed the door shut and brought up several ruined chairs to brace the door and hid underneath a desk.

She began to sob, hiding herself in a small ball underneath where she thought she was safest.

"Where am I? Why is this happening to me? I just want to go home...why can't I remember anything anymore?"

"Ahh Sonea...your finally starting to get the picture aren't you? No surprise really...only a very few manage to find the way but most don't recognize it when they do" came a voice as the Chesire Cat lay down before her. Big blue eyes stared up at her with a savage grin on his furry maw.

"You are where you once were so long ago. Back when you and I first met little Sonea. It was such a long time ago...and where it happened the first time round. Something dangerous lurks in these ruined halls. But you are going to need to get a grip on yourself and put a stiff upper lip if you want to survive"

"Survive? Survive what? This is just a dream...I am not losing my mind. I cant be going crazy. I just cant"

"Focus Sonea...if you do not then all will happen as it did again. Find the dog...before he finds you" He said and floated up and out of her sight. Sonea came out hesitantly under the desk and watched him float upon the wind then reappear infront of her.

"There you are Sonea...perhaps you might have the spine to fight not unlike the last time you were here. Mayhaps you might even realize what you are. I just hope that it wont be too late for you...or stay here and be eaten. Its no skin off of my whiskers if you do. All I can do is simply...give you a little...push" He said with an even more savage and bloodthirsty grin and a deep chuckle.

"The time has come to unleash what lurks inside that tamed heart. Time to unleash your inner beast and best do it soon. I am sure he has your scent"

As he said this, he would turn into a thin vapor and snaked his way up into Sonea's nose and disappeared from sight. But as she looked around, all she could really hear was Chesire's words echoing in her mind. Taunts and jeers and stabs of insults. Pushing her, mocking her, antagonizing her and putting even more mental strain on her mind. She puts her hands around her ears and tried her hardest to block out the constant beratement and pushed her way back outside. Images flashed in her mind as she held her dagger up and started to snarl and growl at every direction, feeling her sanity slip away bit by bit. She felt cornered...trapped and caged. If something was coming, she would rather die on her feet then hiding like a foolish child.

The night was certainly young and full of surprises. While beasts had been let loose in the real world, another beast had just awakened. It was time to hunt once again, and the Hellhound began to rise from it's current resting place. The random building it had taken residence in collapsed around it, causing the others to notice as the pieces of said building collapsed around it. The Hellhound shook it's body off briefly, a dark expression looming over as it looked around, letting out a low growl. It could smell something, intruders again!? But one of the scents was... Familiar to it. The Hellhound's eyes widened slightly, the growl slowly coming to a halt as it tried to recall where it knew this scent from.

"Oh, dear." The man in shades spoke out, suddenly poofing near the others as he cleared his throat. "Greetings to you all. I wasn't expecting visitors such as yourselves, but I can adapt. Welcome to the sporting event tonight, since you are here, you may as well help me with a little problem." The man in shades pointed to the Hellhound that stood unmoving now. "That Hellhound has been causing me problems lately, I can't exactly get around when a guardian of the dead keeps pushing people away from here. Do not worry, however, I have come prepared." The man in shades sat down in a chair that had appeared with him, grabbing hold of the sheet he made appear next to him as well, pulling it off to reveal... Weapons?

The Hellhound's body began to shake, it's stomach growling loudly as the thought of feeding upon a tasty meal made it take that wide sadistic grin it had before when last seen. Smoke began to rise up from the Hellhound's body, the Hellhound quietly moving through the ruined town and coming closer towards that tasty smell. Smoke began to rise from it's mouth as well, it's tongue carefully licking it's own lips as pieces of itself began to fall off of it's body. It knew people had come here before, but they had gotten away while it was distracted. This time, however, one of them seems to have cornered themselves away from the other tasty smells... It wasn't going to let this chance go away!

"Behold, a fine selection of enchanted weapons, made for a specific purpose to help you all out in the inevitable battles to come." The man in shades couldn't help but grin. "I offer these weapons to you all, free of charge. Well I say that, but really, the price is more to kill that naughty little hound. Should you manage to prevail against the beast, I shall give you a magnificent gift. Let us hope you all live long enough for me to explain by then." A loud roar coming from the distance caused the man in shades to look over casually in the hound's direction. "Looks like we're running short on time. Your friend is in clear danger, I suggest choosing your enchanted weapon now before the beast kills her. Oh, don't forget to bring one to her as well. Trust me when I say, she won't break it."

Indeed, the Hellhound couldn't hold itself back any longer, letting out a vicious roar as flames began to erupt all over it's body, burning itself as pieces of itself burned away in order to reveal... Something more. Something that had long been buried away when the thought of no longer catching it's favorite prey crossed it's mind. But now, a familiar scent had returned and it had caused a long forgotten joy to return to the beast's heart! The Hellhound took a new form, a form more fitting for combat rather than just merely hunting. This form that had long been suppressed began to radiate with heat around itself, the beast's body brightly glowing as the blue moon hung overhead on the dark green sky. The Hellhound couldn't wait any longer, another terrifying roar escaping it's menacing jaws as it prepared to attack!

Things were now looking dangerious, not only did some white haired kid who had transformed into some kind of demon suddenly appeared. There was some...demon dogs! And thay phased through the walls and the officers could not even see them. They also looked angry! He knew a scenario like this, it was like murderious ghosts! Since these officers could not see them nor touch them they could kill them and no one woukd know their sudden cause of death.

They were getting closer to each of them! In response Frederick jumped up from seat. He was not a fighter, he was just a simple nice guy so he could not fight much. What was he supposed to do? Especially againt a foe where video game and comic dictates that he cant harm them unless he was a mage...or at least an epic demonslayer...

As he seemed to focus more on how to beat those demon dogs, and not his current saftey one of the dogs would lunge for him going in for the kill! It even phased right through a cop to get at him. He let out a girl scream as it was ready to bite him. "Bad demon dog!"

However as he closed his eyes the bite did not come, in fact he something hit his head instead along with a small ring. Letting out a pained 'ow' he rubbed his head as he oppened his eyes. A figure stood in front of him. It was a little bit shorter than him, maybe five inches shorter however...it looked feminine, on her back was a white feathery wing and a bone like wing from her back. Silver like hair which reached to her back and one of her face....one side had a bandage covering one of her eyes and a broken white mask covering the other side to reveal only a purple like iris.

Her long white dress adorned her body, one of her arms was covered with some sort of big arm glove while her other arm was bangaged. In her hand, was some sort of sheperds staff, wooden and bell included. This...woman had forced the demon dog back from her presence. Of course....he had a sneaking suspicion who this person was.

"Alright moocher...You saved my life! Thanks!" Frederick gave a thumbs up and the figure hit him over the head with her staff as the little bell rang. "Ow! Was it because I called you a mo---" Frederick was interupted again as he was hit over his head again. A jingle following it once more.

"Be quiet my dear lamb for this moment. This moment will pass, but they have made their move it seems...It is time my lamb to finnaly awaken to your fate. I ask that you offer up a part of your body to me." She spoke, however her request was more akin to giving out an order.

"Wait...What do you mean by that? A part of my body?...does that mean that you!---" Frederick was about to say as he was whacked over the head once more. The bell ringing once again. "A part of your body you care for...We have no time for jokes my lamb unless you care to be torn apart like a wolf who has found a defensless sheep..." She spoke clearly hiving him one last chance to decide before the offer ends.

"Alright then, my hands. There happy? A janitor, writer---" Frederick was about to give his speech again about his occupations before she grabbed his hands with her own. As suddenly as she did his hands caught on fire. Pain sirged through his hands as she let go. "Why!? My hands are litteraly on fire! Spirit fire probaly but fire!" Frederick called out no doubt causing some officers to look at him...and question his state of mind...

Once the fire stopped, he noticed he had kept his hands. However they seemed off...like these hands were like copies of his old hand. "The pact is made...Your fate is now set in stone until the end...Now, be a nice lamb and eliminate these dogs." Her form suddenly faded away as Frederick had one question.

How was he supposed to do that!?

Laying on her back, Saiph had fallen asleep on the roof, surrounded by various wrappers of food strewn about messily from staying camped out up there. She had lost track of time in her slumber, the sun had fallen, but in her helmet a blip kept tabs on her... little investment.

Maddy sat down the cup of tea onto a saucer, creating a clatter, Maddy's ears stand erect and wiggle, stirring from her slumber.

"Oh dear, it seems little Frederick has run into a round of rotten luck," Maddy spoke in that warped voice.

Abruptly, a hole opens up under Saiph, dropping her onto a roof close to the police department, rather gracelessly onto her back. She then grabs her feet and rolls over to the edge, flopping onto her stomach to get the best overlook possible. Maddy materializes beside her, presence denoted by four yellow eyes glowing in the dark, the glimmer of teeth, and the steam off of tea.

"Wuh-oh," Saiph says, as her lenses zoom in on the chaos that was unfolding in the police station. Several scaly dog things covered in blue flames had infiltrated the place. Oh dear, dear, dear..! There's five Hounds of Despair now? Wasn't there just... one? she ponders. How odd it was in the first place to see such things in the world of norms. Ohohoho, someone's been naughty! The lenses shift color from red to green, and she then starts to see through the station. Specifically, she focused on Fred, being pathetically harassed by one of the beasties. "Oh dear! My investment is gonna be doggy chow!"

"The time has come," Maddy says, creepily cryptic as it were. "To talk of many things."

Saiph stands up, raising her hands into the air and begins doing a series of stretches to limber up, making quite the racket. The few people still outside would hear strange sounds, looking up only to see nothing there.

"Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax, of cabbages, and kings," Saiph sings joyfully, opening a portal above her. She then raises both her arms into the air, her mechanical claws with palms facing upwards. "And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have..."

Her claws launch off into the portal, still attached by segmented mechanical cables to devices under her sleeves. Out the other end of the portal, opening a little ways to the side from poor Frederick. The claws shoot through, each one on each side of the beast, each claw digging into a wall, anchoring tightly into it, and then with a loud whir, out, in dramatic form, Saiph launches through slamming head first into the hound, with just enough force to send it sliding away. Rebounding from the force, she backflips into the air, dislodging her claws and retracting them with a zip, then landing on her feet!

"...wings!" she shouts, holding her arms out with theatrical flair, swinging her hair in the air. Looking to Frederick, she reaches out, grabbing onto the collar of his shirt. She takes a moment to look down at his hands, noting that a change has occurred with him, something awakened, but given his state, he seemed not yet sure. The modulation of her voice suddenly deepens, one of her lenses blinking a red color as she looks back at his face. "Come with me if you want to live."

As Frederik was busy waving his hands as the threat of death loomed over his head, something came to his aid. Not his...Spirit...angel...demon...He would figure out a name for her eventually. For now someone else came to his aid. It was someone...or something that looked kinda like a rabbit. Now this was weird, but what was weirder was that she grabbed him by the collar and pretty much told him to come wit her or die. Of course he nodded his approval. "Of course! I wanna live!"

"I've always wanted to say that," she says with a chuckle, voice returning to a shrill playful tone. She then raises the volume on her helmet's audio then turns away from Frederick. "Hey, noobs! Lets try taking this outside! That means you too, Ms. Bark N. Bite!"

After that she creates another portal and pulls Frederick in with her, for him, space warps around him briefly, before suddenly the rush of the cool night air wafts over them. The two were outside in the station parking lot.

"Wha? Huh? D-Did we just like warp like...Wha?" Frederick spoke as he looked around. They were outside the station. Of course it looks like they would have to fight outside. But wait...why would she help him unless...To test his theory he pulled out his phone and replied to B.Rabbit with the letter 'a' and waited.

Surely enough, Saiph's phone dings a cheerful little tune and she looks down at it then at Frederick, letting go of him finally. "Bingo, you got me, Freddie, the mysterious Black Rabbit, also known as Saiph Grimms, at your service!" she says, holding up the phone to confirm his suspicion, then bowing. Putting one hand on her hip, she leans back up slightly, tolting her head. Holding up a metallic index finger to his face with her other arm, then turns it downward, pointing down at his hands. "Now about this, any idea what your power is yet, hmmmm? Suppose not, otherwise you'd've used it against them nasties, must be something to do with your talents though... huh... well, oof, now I'm tingling with anticipation! What could the Frederick Bell's newfound super powers be!?"

Sebastian had followed Kogo, and soon enough Sonea ran past, he gritted his teeth and yelled after her “ARE YOU INSANE!? THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, WOMAN!?” to Sebastian’s disdain Wraith found this hilarious, falling over and laughing.

“She’d make great bait, if she weren’t the leader” through his hysteric laughter he spoke before getting up, opening both his eyes, now the both of them reptilian and slitted, he grinned and stretched. “now get moving, else you all end up dead. And that’s just problematic”

Sebastian had turned to run after Sonea when the odd gentleman appeared, when he revealed the weapons, Sebastian didn’t think, he’d snatch up a sheathed longsword; Turn and sprint for it, on his way he heard the roar of their foe, and it made his skin crawl.

Sebastian’s rage seethed under his thoughts; in the back of his mind. Wraith knew it and felt it, and the demon grinned at the others. “what are you lot waiting for? If he dies who’s going to help scaredy cat? And then if she kicks the bucket, well i’m sure you know the outcome of that” with another laugh Wraith fades, drawn back to his victim watching from the comfort of Sebastian’s mind.

And soon enough he saw it, from the looks of it, the beast had slowed itself down for its final charge at Sonea, he kept up his sprint moving until he was between it and Sonea, staring down a flaming mutt, not what he expected, but it was pretty cool, right?. Sebastian just glanced back, he stepped forward, holding the enchanted longsword up.

“Well aren’t you an ugly bastard” Sebastian chuckled, heaving in air and smirked, he had to keep himself stable, and not give an inch, else it was going to take a mile. “you can’t win alone, let me help you out, all you have to do is give me something and i’ll give a fair trade.” the voice of the demon whispered in his head.“Shut it, I don’t need your backstabbing now.”

“No, this is genuine concern, you won’t win this fight, either you run for the others, or take this chance to prove you’re stronger, better than them” Sebastian grinded his teeth. “Fine take what you want, take what you will” Wraith’s smile couldn’t be bigger and he laughed.

“Perfect” a deep thin aura began to seep from Sebastian’s form, his skin hardening and scales formed across his body, with the shade of a deep dark purple, and his only eye shifting to that of a reptile, his hands becoming clawed and his knuckles spiked with boney protrusions. Painless was the shift, into a more draconic form; fitting of the blood.

Seb grinned and thought now i just look like a fucking comic book hero Wraith laughed and left the message in his mind the price is paid, your familiar has come,for now, and your dominion is yours. Just swing your blade and watch the destruction

Sebastian would do so channeling his dominion, the kinetic movements of swinging the blade would create vectors and Sebastian’s mind quickly realised this and honed onto it, with the vectors, created by the sword swing he’d smirk and then swing the sword again in a large vertical cutting motion, though this time the vector created would be launched at the hound, if it were to strike, the vector would sever a limb clean away or an ear from the rest of the beast.

The small familiar a large dog sized dragon, coloured in a mix of purples with a yellow eye, in some way it was like Sebastian, though the familiar hung back watching from a distance. Sebastian didn’t hear or feel the presence of wraith, and he had pretty cool new magic, hopefully the scales will disappear when he returns home.

Felix began to shake in fear, following the others into what had been the shop just minutes ago. This couldn’t be happening, he thought to himself, it was just too…it just couldn’t be real. It was like something out of a story. The sight of the building as well as all its merchandise now ruined didn’t help to put his mind at ease. Instinctively, he slapped himself across the face. Then after nothing changed, he did the same again, several times.

“This crap is really happening, isn’t it?” he whimpered, finally coming to the horrific realisation, just as Sonea made a sudden run for it. That couldn’t mean anything good was about to happen, now the group would be split up. Also, hadn’t Kogo said something about them all being linked in some way? If she got hurt, it would affect the rest of the group, if he recalled. “Oh no…” he groaned.

It was at this moment that the stranger in shades materialised before them, greeting them. Poor Felix was starting to feel light-headed at this point, and boy, did his fearful expression show it. Once the man had finished explaining his ‘little’ problem, he stepped gingerly over the threshold, now seeing the Hellhound. He froze. Several more seconds and he swung himself round, slamming himself against the inside of the wall. He was breathing very rapidly now.

It was a sharp pain that made him snap out of it - He looked down and saw some kind of creature biting his ankle. “gah!” he yelled, shaking the thing off frantically, although the sandy coloured pest simply ran up his leg, running circles around his face and clawing at him. Growling, he grabbed the thing and threw it off, rubbing his face only to see that there were no wounds or scratches to speak of. Still hurt like hell, though.

He glowered down at the weasel like creature, which seemed to be snickering at him. “What the bleeding hell is that thing?” he asked the stranger, pointing. “Another one of your pests?” But he didn’t have time to wait for an answer, as he watched Sebastian grab a longsword and run off.

Felix waited for a few seconds, trying to calm down. “OK,” he said, taking deep breaths. It would probably be wise to help make sure no-one dies, he thought. He took another breath, before grabbing a weapon, which appeared to be a bow, and sprinting for it.

He skidded to a halt after a few metres, dashed back, grabbed another weapon at random, nodded at the shades-wearing person. “Thanks,” he said, before hurrying off again. The creature scoffed mischievously before following suit.

Felix stopped in his tracks, staring wide eyed at the wolfish monstrosity before him. But now he saw there were more monsters fighting it! Great, he thought, just-wait, is that lizard thing wearing and eyepatch and wielding a-

“Sebastian?!” he yelled, “What the hell - Gah, nevermind, I'll ask later!” he ran toward the nearest sturdy looking building, the town hall. "This just gets weirder and weirder..." he muttered to himself. Sure enough, there Sonea was, now with an unexpectedly savage demeanor.

"Er...Sonea?" he asked, tentatively, holding out whatever other weapon he had taken, "Listen, er...I don't think any of us are really in the mood for dying right now, and I'm sure you're not either, so, maybe this will help. If we stay together, maybe we can get away from that...er, thing." he finished, nodding toward the hellhound.

'I think its time for us to let loose a little huh? Lets shake off some of the dust'

Sonea's eye had become hazy, now lost in the panic and terror of the sight of the hound. Floods of memories left her paralyzed and entrenched in her total terror. Within her mind, she could see long forgotten memories of agony untold, the sight of the ruined down and the dog that pursued her relentlessly as a meal. But while her mind was gone, her body had kicked in to move on command of the Chesire Cat. He had to keep her alive...not out of love but out of the pure instinct of survival. Sonea's time would come very soon...and he had to ensure she would shift and end the fight. But to do this he had to ensure she live first.

Her grip on her dagger in her hand would tighten as her right hand flared with a brilliant light. The dagger soon took on an almost liquid like state, snaking up her arm along the forearm to make what looked like several metal claws, deadly sharp and coated in dried blood. Her left arm would whir and wheeze as it reconfigured itself to match, metal spines bursting from her shirt and the glove itself speared out in an identical set of claws. Her body began to crack slightly as everyone of her teammates would feel a splitting pain come from their backsides, at their tailbones. From her backside sprang a long tail: feline in nature with the coloration of a Bengal Tiger with the tip coated in a sharp metal spine on the end. Her ears changed and shifted with the same sort of pain as they took on more feline like features. Even her eye had changed to a feline configuration and glinted in the light. She cracked her body and soon moved with an unnatural speed and headed for a building. She pushed off the ground hard and landed on a building which she began to scale with her claws.

Upon reaching the top, she would begin to run along the rooftops towards the Hound. She could smell it: the Challenge, the Fear and the Hunger of the Beast. She bared her teeth and let out a deep, bellowing roar of challenge as she ran along the tops of the rooftops, jumping from roof to roof. Her claws extended, becoming more jagged and tough as she lept with a strength which cracked the aged wood underneath her and landed on the beast's muzzle. With a roar of pure fury, she began to use her claws and tail to try and go for it's eyes in a fierce flurry of swipes, hoping to blind it.

Within her mind, she could see what she had forgotten and how she hid. She cried, the agony was unbearable and she very nearly lost herself into the haze of death as a voice popped in front of her. A cat floated above her face, looking down with a grin on it's maw and put a paw to her head. He tsked and began to speak.

"Looks like that is getting infected" He pointed to her missing arm. "Ill bet it hurts doesn't it? Poor Sonea all alone...with not a friend or a hope in sight. You're very close to death's door. Either you bleed out or you end up dog-food...but lucky for you. I have a way out...if your willing to hear the terms"

His grin got wider and Sonea, now almost at the point of death nodded to him. Her breathing had gotten shallow and slow, each breath raspy and forced as if it were taking all of her strength just to breath.

He continued "I can take away your pain and make you stronger then you could have possibly imagined...but for a price. My price is a loss of memory...a loss of self. I will lock away your power and who and what you really truly are. In exchange I will take away your pain and take you out of this place. But you must decide if you are ready for such a thing Tigress"

Sonea saw her claws now, her tail thumping on the ground as the stress brought onto her. She panted harder now as a tear went down her cheek "Will I ever remember my mommy? My daddy?" She asked

"In due time...but I shall ever be present to oversee your progress. What do you say Sonea? Is it a wager?" He asked, holding out a paw to her. She looked down at the ground and reached up and took a hold of his paw and they shook. Pain immediately fled her body and her vision blacked out.

The memory ceased yet the constant torrents of hateful words spewed at her from Chesire were getting louder, the fear even more real as her eyes now could see the totality of the Hound. She felt her heart race...race so fast that her heart could give out at any moment.

'Nearly there Sonea...It is nearly time for the binding I placed on you to be broken. But we need a little more time. I will give you the time to see who and what you are...then the rest is up to you'

Well, this was certainly fun, and by fun the Hellhound was in total bloody pain! First it had seen the reptile boy try to aim something to slice it in half. The Hellhound was a better fighter than this, it felt angry that it was underestimated and went to move, but in the middle of moving, a blast of light erupts out and strikes into one of it's eyes! As the Hellhound stood paralyzed in place now, it's own ear is suddenly cut off from the reptile boy's attack! When it turned to look over at the woman who dared to strike out it's eye, suddenly, a blast to the chest! Pain, horrible pain! It was terrifying, the HellHound could feel it's body starting to lose it's once proud flame!

Then, of all things, some girl with animal parts came rushing in for the Hellhound and got up in it's face?! Truly horrible, a pitiful act compared to the Hellhound's initial attack upon what was now it's territory! All of these fools were attacking it, and it could do nary a thing in response?! Truly pitiful! Disgusting, a shameful act upon all other Hellhound's, even if it considered itself above others of it's kind it had seen prior. The Hellhound thought itself broken, about to crumble away into dust when a tight grip came about in it's damaged chest. What... Was this feeling? It had never felt this way before, yet something was rushing throughout the body of the Hellhound, making it shake faster over time. Suddenly, it knew all too well what this feeling was!

FEAR! A terrible grin came across the Hellhound's face, making it look like the devil's own face for just a moment before a strange light came from the Hellhound. Even in death, it will find a way to overcome these terrible prey that think they knew what hunting was! The air suddenly grew incredibly hot for all of them, the flames of the building quickly being snuffed out as the building crumbled away, despite the rock hard material that made it up. The Hellhound's damaged eye glowed with a menacing red color they all could see within it. The flames that now ran along all of the Hellhound's body had turned into a beautiful color, with the ones on the back now moving around like some kind of cape moving in the wind.

"Frakenstein is grooving." The heat now created by the HellHound was terrible, causing the nearby buildings to collapse from it alone. The flames on the Hellhound's body felt incredibly hot to get near, the once terrifying grin had now been replaced with a terrifying look only a true predator could muster. "Midnight Action. Whoa-hoa-hoa! Witches are sleeping!" The Hellhound slowly shifted itself into an attacking pose, the cape of flames continuing to move beautifully on it's back as it watched all of them with it's one good eye, the other one still glowing red with a menacing glare to it. "Midnight Action! Whoa-hoa-hoa!"

The man in shades couldn't help but grin as he watched this new event unfold. "That's unusual. Such good teamwork, only for it to backfire and the HellHound to gain something as they did. This certainly wouldn't have happened with the other group I had talked to... But maybe this is a good thing. Now this old dog can finally die in content, knowing it's last hunt is going to be the best one yet." He held up a glass of wine he suddenly had out of nowhere. "Go all out, you old dog. Run those flames wild to your heart's content. Let it all burn brightly before you pass on." He brought the wine to his mouth and sipped it all down in one go. "Ah... Delicious. Just as the night should be!"

HellHound Awakening: Hell's Flames!

Sebastian would be caught off guard by the sudden beast that lashed out and clambered itself onto the face of the hound, he gritted his teeth, the pain from the snap in his back still numbing, and then the intense heat, he only felt it for the briefest of moments, a field of vectors forming around his body clothes and his sword, this field cutting off and stopping the flames and heat roasting his flesh, though he still felt the pain of fire.

Sebastian gritted his teeth and marched forward towards the fight, picking up a stone and gently throwing it, speeding up its vectors and firing it off as if it was a bullet, towards the hind legs of the creature.

His strides carried him to within arms reach and the vectors grew stronger reflecting the heat and flames, Seb would reach up and grab a tuft of Sonea’s fur, the vector field encompassing her also just as unyielding in its defence, however, the field would shift and Sebastian would throw Sonea, using the vectors a safe distance away and pin her down, with equal force to what she applied to getting up, stopping her movements entirely, he could only do this briefly. For three or five seconds and because he was no longer in contact, his mind straining to keep on top of it all.

He,turns his attention back to the beast and smirks and reaches out to poke the creature, if successful, the hellhound is launched flying in the direction of the sky, straight up, and Seb wasn’t counting, he’d just released full force on it with everything, pulling his power back into launch the creature like a rocket. By the time it fell back to the ground, they’d have some time to think. That’s if it did fall back to the ground.

Felix leaped back in astonishment and his jaw dropped as Sonea began to change her appearance right before him. People kept doing this! First that Kogo person, then these two. What the hell was going on? Before he had time to mull over these questions, however, he found himself doubling over in pain. It took all his effort not to scream as he gritted his teeth.

Once it had subsided, he shook his head clear and looked around. Sonea was nowhere to be seen. What now? he thought. The pain had seemed to be in his tailbone, but he didn’t think much of it. That was when he saw her - now completely different, while before she had seemed calm and friendly, Sonea was now relentlessly tearing at their foe.

He had to admit, it was actually quite exhilarating watching the fight breaking out between the hellhound and the other three. He still had no idea what was going on, and a nagging voice in the back of his mind kept trying to reason with this, explain how was all a dream or a hallucination. But whether this was real or not, he still felt that he ought to do something. Kogo had mentioned something about magic earlier, and whatever was going on now certainly didn’t seem normal. He thought about Kogo’s beams of energy, and whatever Sebastian was doing right now. The idea if being able to do something along those lines himself still hadn’t really sunk in, but he did have a weapon with him at least.

He took a moment to look at the bow he had taken. It looked a bit like something out of an RPG - it definitely looked functional but there were swirls and ornate patterns carved into the dark, polished wood. He shrugged, since it looking nice wasn’t exactly a problem. Unfortunately, it was at this moment that the heatwave struck. Felix was far away enough to not bear the brunt of the damage, but it was still painful, and he felt himself getting singed and burned. He jumped behind a pile of rubble and curled up.

Glancing back, he saw Sebastian doing something weird with the motion of the objects around him. He understood none of this, but what he did understand was that the hellhound had now been launched into the air. Now was his chance to get ready to help.

He took a few deep breaths, heart pounding with adrenaline - then jumped out from behind the rubble, holding out the longbow. It was at this moment, he remembered that he didn’t actually know how to use a bow properly - and it didn’t get much better when an image of a quiver of arrows, which he had left with the shades-wearing stranger, flashed across his mind. There were a few seconds during which he took this in.

“Oh dear.”

There was a slightly annoying squeaky-like laugh behind him. He whipped around to glare at the weasel, which was sitting on its haunches and looking at him with a rather smug expression.

“What do you want?” he demanded, “Can’t you see we’re all a bit busy right now? Go on, shoo, you weird ferret thing.”

The weasel rummaged behind itself, and he noticed it was wearing some sort of pouch on its back, out of which was pulled, coincidentally, a large bundle of arrows. He paused for a second - was this thing trying to help him? Or was it playing some other trick?

“OK, listen, I don’t even know what you are or where you came from, why should I trust that you’re trying to help us?” It seemed Felix was completely ignorant of his link to the creature, which tutted and rolled its eyes, a gesture which was lost on him.

So, making the arrows vanish with a poof, the weasel leaned forward, opened its mouth and - incomprehensible squeaks chirrups came out. Felix stared blankly for a short while, now completely distracted from the highly dangerous magical battle going on only metres away.

“er…what.” He said. More chirrups, sounding irritable this time, were his response. He crouched down to listen better. “Look.” He said pointedly, “I’m not sure if you’ll be able to understand this, but I have…no idea what you’re saying. That is, if you’re saying anything at all…I can’t believe I’m trying to talk with a weasel.” he mused. The creature pressed a paw against its face in exasperation.

It was fortunate that he happened to be having this 'conversation' (for lack of a better word) while the hellhound was still kept occupied.

Sienna Cartlow

Sienna’s time with the police hadn’t been unpleasant initially. The officers who took her in were pretty friendly and helpful, even providing her some much appreciated coffee and food. Part way through however, things changed when she was taken aside and started receiving treatment more akin to a criminal or someone suspicious at the very least. Though she was assured it was just procedure, it was still a little unnerving to be left isolated in one of those rooms from those police dramas with the mirror and camera and told to wait. Soon enough, the man who introduced himself as Abe entered, and from there, she was asked a series of questions.

Still, it hadn’t entirely gone as planned. Sinopia sat nearby, offering only a couple of scant comments when she felt like she had something humorous to say, but Sienna mostly did her best to ignore her. It was concerning that the man didn’t make her show her power – Maybe he already knew? Or maybe he decided it was too farfetched and just decided not to entertain the idea? Either way, she’d show him herself when he went to accuse her of lying or the sort. Well, that’s what she thought she’d do, but instead she was just… Dismissed? The door was left open. She was free to go, apparently. Wait, what? Did he just accept all of that? No further questioning? No ‘You’ll be kept on watch?’ Nothing? That was… Maybe she was expecting more, but…

“Don’t complain. We’re home free to do as we please.” Sinopia stated as she climbed down, moving towards the door. Sienna faintly nodded, but she still wasn’t certain that this was what she wanted. She really hoped that the police would be able to give her some new stability and direction for what she should do from here. Honestly, she was hoping to get some sort of support and maybe some counselling. Guess that was too hopeful, but it wasn’t entirely impossible that she wasn’t going to undergo surveillance or something. Slowly, she made her way out of the room, closing the door behind her as she headed back towards the foyer. She didn’t exactly have anyone that could pick her up, so she’d probably need to ask the receptionist or an officer for a lift or something to get home. Then there was dealing with Tate… And work… And maybe even the media. That was gonna be a headache and a half.

Stretching and groaning a bit, she felt pretty worn out from all the waiting and interrogation. It was late in the evening now, basically eleven at night. Still, it was over now. She just needed to head home, curl up into bed, and hopefully she’d have the strength to get up and start dealing with all that crap tomorrow. Now that she was out in the open, she could see that Gym-Girl, Taja and Frederick were out of their rooms, but it didn’t look like they’d been allowed to leave just yet. In fact, the officer who interrogated her seemed to be grabbing Gym-Girl for a second round of questions when they were all interrupted. At least, those of them that could see the strange, white haired boy. From there, it was like a mini-apocalypse localised in the room with them – The walls and floors shaking and the world violently spinning as it threatened to crack apart at a moment’s notice. All the while the maniacal fellow (Now shapeshifted into something resembling Rina’s demon) spouted increasingly violent and livid ramblings. Then in an instant, the vertigo and damage reverted, as if nothing had happened; Sienna’s upturned stomach the only sign she’d even felt anything. At this point, a few of the officers around were giving the lot of them a bit of a look, given how they’d stumbled around, but that was nothing compared to the expressions they wore as the hounds made their entrance onto the scene.

Sienna lost track of herself in the following chaos. Sienna immediately recoiled into a slightly fearful but mostly defensive stance; the movement having Abe and the others look to what had her attention… Only to turn back to her like she was crazy. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. It was just like Sinopia. They couldn’t see them. The freakin’ cops couldn’t see the glowing flaming skeletal demon dogs that seemed to be intangible to the world around them. So much for relying on help from the law enforcement… Why couldn’t things be normal?! This was supposed to be her getting back to normal! She was done with this crap! As one of the monsters stalked her by striding through the nearby officer and moving in her direction, she backed up to the wall, trying to decide if she could bolt from the room without drawing the ire of the police. It certainly wasn’t like she could start torching them inside this building; that definitely wouldn’t work out well…

It was about then that Gym-Girl (She really needed to remember her name…) began to… Growl? It certainly didn’t sound human, and unlike Sienna, it seemed M… Mary(?) didn’t feel any need to conform to social normality amongst the police. Despite her aggressive noise, she backed up though. That didn’t exactly fill Sienna with confident. Dumb as that girl was, she was tough (The time she’d almost been killed by her was sign enough of that), which was worrisome if she wanted to back out. Still, Sienna didn’t need to be giving a second indication. Moving back in time to the approach of the canines, it wasn’t until Frederick jumped up in front of them that she stopped again, especially as one of the beasts took the opportunity to fly at him. Leaping towards him, maw at the ready, the beast seemed set to bite into Fred… When suddenly it flew back as a new figure appeared in a flash.

She was remarkably white, though the distinctive features were her shepherd staff, angelic and skeletal wings, and the strange mask and bandages that only seemed to reveal a single, purple eye. Judging by the conversation between her and the strange man, it was clear he was having a moment similar to her and Sinopia when they first truly met. Still, the energy rippling from this partnership was buying them time. Though the police were giving her and the rest of the group incredulous looks and trying to ask for an explanation, Sienna didn’t really feel she was at liberty to clarify for them. As the figure in front of Frederick faded, a new magical energy made itself apparent, a portal appearing from the ground before… Some sort of mechanical rabbit launched out and struck the nearest monster dog?!

“…wings!” Was the first thing the weirdo bunny said. Sienna had no idea what that meant, and even mumbled a faint ‘What?’ under her breath. Still, she wasn’t complaining to have more assistance. As she stopped to spout some more nonsense at Fred, the police finally seemed to have reacted on some level as they turned towards the rabbit and began telling her to freeze and place her hand… paws on her head. Of course, she didn’t listen. With some slight gesturing and the declaration that the ‘noobs’ should follow her, the rabbit slipped into another portal with Frederick, vanishing from sight. As the demon dogs turned their attention towards Sienna, she didn’t need to be told twice. Leaping through the portal, it was mildly disorienting, but she quickly got her bearings. They were outside the station in the parking lot.

With the moment to breathe, Sienna took the chance to look to the rabbit and Frederick, giving them both a glare. “Mind starting to explain who you are and what’s going on?” Folding her arms a bit, Sienna briefly looked to Sinopia who was at her side. She’d been weirdly quiet this whole time, and completely unhelpful given the danger. Waiting for the girl to answer, Sienna would likely have to wait for answers as the dogs leapt out from the walls to follow them, seemingly unfazed by the sudden relocation of their targets. Drawing back into another fighting stance, Sienna glanced over her shoulder towards the other two. “Scratch that. We deal with these things first, then I want answers.”

Pivoting to the nearest ghost hound, Sienna didn’t hesitate now there was no one in the way. As the dog ran at her, Sienna quickly shifted her position, thrusting her arm forward and unleashing a cone of fire from her palm. Scorching red and orange flames streamed forth in a spiral of intense heat, engulfing the monster before her as it vanished into the fire. Smirking as she kept up the wave of flames, Sienna was confident that she’d handled the threat. It wasn’t until Sinopia’s urgent voice yelled into her mind did she realise something was wrong. “Get down you idiot!” The feline shouted, Sienna barely having time to recognise the warning as from inside the inferno she saw the maw of death. Drawing her hand back and falling to the side, the leaping bite from the beast narrowly missed her wrist as Sienna hit the ground, the monster flying past her. Scrambling to get herself back to her feet, Sinopia’s scathing voice continued to chastise her in her mind. “What were you thinking?! Are you blind? Did you not see what those things are made of?! Why would you think fire of all things would work you tomato!”

Sienna was going to say something in response, but she didn’t have a chance to as the dog skidded to a stop and began its second run at the teenage girl.

Despair: Act 2!

Well, events were just happening now, weren't they? One after the other, Yohan could only watch as they unfolded right in the Police Station itself. First, it looked as if Frederick got his deal made, he could see the Familiar clear as daylight in there with them. That was good at the least. He noticed the officers and a couple of others weren't noticing the Hounds now. What was going on? It felt like he had lost some connections... It didn't matter right now. Some crazy rabbit girl suddenly came in and took Frederick and Sienna out of there, well, Sienna took the opportunity to go in with them. That was good, now all that was left was Miranda. But where were the others? As soon as he thought this in his head, he saw them appear right in the parking lot!

Back inside, the Hounds of Despair had all been attacked in one way or another. Two of them had been hit by Miranda's mutation powers and were being torn to shreds right now. Three of them had taken note of Saiph and noticed Yohan and Sakuya outside. That's when one of them noticed Yohan's slight change in expression and looking away. Just as Yohan was going to say something, he could feel an ominous chill run down his spine, causing him to have a horrified expression now. Three of the Hounds came rushing out of the Police Station, one of them looked to have strangely almost recovered fully from the attack before by the rabbit girl!

As the two poor Hounds were being torn to shreds, suddenly, they began to quickly stand right back up on all fours. Their bodies both regenerating and healing at a rapidly fast rate! Yohan could see the changes happening to the three outside as well, right before they charged in towards the others and one of them began to attack Sienna! What was that? It was quick, but he saw it! The Hounds inside and the Hounds outside had... Undergone the same recovery process? That shouldn't be happening! Miranda's powers had hit them dead on, and yet here they all were, recovering as if... No, it couldn't be!

Yohan could only look inside as one of the Hounds jumped up into the air at crazy speeds, moving quickly past Miranda herself and landing right in front of the emergency exit! The other one made it's way over to the front door where they all were and began to open it's mouth to reveal it now glowing with the same blue flames! This was bad, they were trapping Miranda inside and attacking the others on the outside! These Hounds were intelligent, too intelligent! The rate at which they were recovering, adapting and making strategies in response to each of their actions was insane! Yohan had to force himself to look away as the Hound inside unleashed a multitude of small blue fire balls for Miranda, each of them deadly fast and moving in to strike fatal blows if she wasn't careful!

Yohan panicked, in the heat of the moment his brain switched to overload mode and for a second it felt like everything had frozen around him. These hounds... What's with them? They weren't even coming for him, yet Sienna and Miranda were being hunted down like top priority? The recovery rate at which they can heal from even the strange mutation powers Miranda had, the way Sienna's fire wasn't even leaving a single burn on them. That's when it clicked to him, they were only targeting the people who had shown up on the news today! No, it couldn't be, he had dismissed it as just random chance! But now, he stood here, the evidence clear in front of them... "We were set up..." The others could hear him speak out, a hand reaching up to grab his face lightly as his hand started to rapidly shake.

"He was right... We're being targeted." Yohan felt like breaking down right now, but something in him pushed him to keep standing. He had to do something... He had to confirm it, there was no other choice. He also couldn't just let the others just be attacked while he stood here and did nothing! What kind of coward would he be if he just kept being an observer! Did the Hounds see no threat in him, did they think his power was weak?! It was now or never, the Hounds were completely distracted from him, and he had already started to charge up sound in his hand the moment he started to talk out loud. A little ruse right in front of everyone, and it was too late to stop the trap!

Quickly striking his hand outward in the direction of the others and the Hounds, he yelled out slightly as he unleashed a sound blast straight for them! It seemed like he was aiming for it to hit all of them, but that's when Saiph, Frederick and Sienna would all notice they couldn't hear a thing. But the three Hounds all could hear something painful, something like a dog whistle had just been set off in a very painful way as a strange liquid shoots out from the holes where the ears would be on the Hounds. He got them, even if they just for a minute, his attack had gotten through! If they weren't fighting for their lives, he would of taken the moment to smile.

There was no time to feel safe, however, when all three Hounds twitched briefly before the sounds of bones shifting could be hear within them. Yohan couldn't help but feel a chill again, his eyes shifted to the one Hound guarding the entrance to the station and see the same twitch happen with it's head. His eyes widen at the conclusion he made and turned to the others, his mouth opening to shout, when he saw one of the Hounds give him a death glare. It's mouth opened, and in an instant, something shot out of it's mouth someone just shot an arrow at him! It was coming straight for his head, and he barely had enough time to move just enough for the strange arrow-like tongue that the Hound had shot out of it's mouth to pierce itself right through his right shoulder!

He tried to tell them what he had learned, but nothing came out of his mouth, the pain was too much to allow him to speak right now. He fell to his knees and looked over at them, now only seeing two Hounds with them. He looked quickly over to his left to see the Hound that had shot at him with that weird tongue move, these things had more to them than just fire! The dog was now giving him a serious look, the flames in it's eyes gave it the look of a killer ready to finish it's prey. It's mouth opens and it's new tongue it had formed quickly shoots out to start forming a sword. Biting it off without hesitation, a human arm forms out of it's back and grabs hold of the handle of the tongue sword thing that was still morphing even though it had bit it off!

"So... You are the one." The Hound spoke without moving it's mouth, only opening it to allow the eerie, whispering voice to come out. "It looks like whatever pain you feel, my targets will feel as well. Perfect." The Hound began to raise up it's blade, Yohan's body beginning to shake now as he could only watch the Hound prepare to chop his head off. "It looks like if you die, so do my targets. I will make this quick and painless."

"Fuck!" Miranda snarled as the hounds healed themselves and then trapped her inside. Snarling, the werewolf dropped to hands and feet, dodging the first wave of fire-balls with ease before the next one came. Grunting, she leaped into the air and dodged the second wave. Spinning, in the air she landed just as Yohan got himself shot in the shoulder with the arrow. A loud, pained yelp echoed through the station as the sympathetic pain raced through Miranda's body. Snarling, she gritted her teeth and got moving again, adrenaline kicking in as she darted for the wall, her feet slamming into it before she bounced off of it towards the hound that was initially in front of her.

She aimed to grab it by the scruff of the neck with one hand, and hook her other arm around it's neck to get it in a sort of rear-naked choke used by many MMA fighters. The only reason she was doing this was due to the fact that if her mutation powers, which tore these things apart like they were nothing, did nothing to them, they wouldn't work again. She figured she'd find a new way to slaughter them, even it if meant with her bare hands. She wouldn't hold onto it for very long, however, straddling the back of the creature with her legs and pinching with her knees, she'd take both hands and place them on the snout before using all of her body strength, which was enough to lift a small car by itself, to press the snout down and into the neck, effectively trying to break the neck and tear off the head in the process.

If Miranda found herself on the ground with nothing in her hands, the werewolf would twist her body and aim to kick out the hound's legs before standing and aiming to grab it by the neck regardless if it fell or not, her right hand cocked back into a claw position. Her body would immediately begin to painfully morph into that of her werewolf form, the hands becoming twice the size and forming into sharp, deadly claws that would be able to easily tear into the body of the hound and tear out vital organs with one thrust of the hand.

Regardless of whether any of that worked, when she was done she'd bolt for the front door of the station, her strong, powerful legs propelling her at the speed of an Olympic sprinter at the least as she wound her way through the station for the front door, aiming to slam through the door with brute force if necessary, ignoring the pain in her shoulder as best she could.

"You could end it all now, you know. Shift into your true form, show those mutts who the real Alpha here is. Show everyone who the true leader and Alpha is." her Demon growled in her ear. Miranda huffed, ignoring the thing. "You know I'm right! Don't deny your gift! Your power! Your birth-right! Werewolves were born to rule over humans! You know this to be true! DO IT!"

Miranda shook her head and rounded a corner. With the front door now in sight, she took in a deep breath and began to run even faster and harder; it'd be nearly impossible to stop her at this point; she was simply running to fast to slow down or stop. As she neared the door, she raised her arms over her face and chest, and lowered her head: She was going to get out of here if it was the last thing she did in this life.

"Yes, yes, answers later," the rabbit girl responds hurriedly to Sienna, shifting away from Frederick. Her eyes now fixating on the hounds rushing them now, prioritizing particular targets over others. She shifts to the ones chasing after the werewolf, then quickly across to the one now threatening the life of the now wounded Yohan. She saw it in his eyes, he had realized it too, the trick behind their seeming immortality. There was no room for error, this had to be quick and precise.

As Miranda slammed her way through the doors, hounds at her heels, it was now or never. With a swift fluid motion she swings her right arm in a circle in the air above her like a cowboy out to rustle some cattle, extending the arm and building momentum, a whirring filling the air, then with a twirl, flings it out towards the the two in closest proximity, snagging them together and lassoing them together with a loud snap. Then like a sling, tosses them into Miranda's direction.

With that in motion, she had little time for the second part, snapping back her claw, she creates a portal underneath herself dropping down, the other end above the one near seconds away from claiming Yohan's life, landing on its back with her feet, leaning over towards the blue haired boy. "Daaaamn son, you better have that looked a- owowowow! hot foot, hot foot!" Broken from her though, she began dancing frantically as even her insulated suit didn't stop the heat. Flopping down, she creates one more portal under the creature, intent on dropping it on the set convergence point of the four other hounds.

C'mon, work, she thinks, as she drops down along with the last hound.

Yohan's heart felt like it had stopped for just a moment, seeing the Hound about to strike down upon him with that blade! That's when the rabbit girl appeared and appeared to be silly, but in caught the Hound off guard and that's when it just sunk down and was gone! At least, that's how it looked from his viewpoint anyway. With the two Hounds Miranda was facing, one of them had it's head viciously torn off, only for the head to have reattached itself as though the injury never happened. The two Hounds quickly moved after Miranda, but as they did, all the other Hounds suddenly came flying in towards them until...

BAM!

In a flash, the Hounds seemed to have vanished. It was strange, Yohan looked over and could no longer make out five Hounds. He couldn't help but growl slightly and grab hold of the weird tongue thing that had stabbed through him, pulling it out without another thought as some of the scales fell as well. He couldn't help but be thankful it was the right arm and not the left it had aimed for. That's when black flames suddenly burst forth, forming a ring now among all of them as there stood a Hound! But the Hound looked different now, maybe it was just the black flames covering over it's body instead of blue. Yohan watched as the Hound opened it's mouth and released some black flames temporarily before they stopped being emitted and that voice whispered out again.

"Well done. Had that rabbit girl not come here, the boy would of arrived to see his friends all die." The Hound of Despair cracked it's neck to the left and then to the right before staring at them all coldly. "I am the Hound of Despair. I have survived many battles, and my body has been pushed to the absolute limit. I too have a power similar to all of yours. You have what is called The White, while I have what is called The Black. The powers you are using now are Dominion's. I, too, have a Dominion. My Dominion's name is Despair." Yohan was surprised by this information.

"Despair?" He couldn't help but ask. It could talk, so it must understand them as well. It was telling them this, why not ask questions? Though those black flames it had were too menacing for him to try to step in and try another attack, he didn't know how hot they even were!

"Despair is a unique Dominion, as I said before, I have survived many battles. But I have never truly died during any of them. My body was even modified so that I could harness the true power of my Dominion. With every battle I survived, my body adapted and grew in power, granting me an infinite amount of possibilities along with it. All of this, in order to ensure my survival and growth as a hunter. As long as I live, my body and Dominion will both continue to adapt and give me more things capable of surviving any situation. This is the first time in many years that I have been restored to my one, original body. Before, I was split up into five versions of myself, all of them connected, much like you and your friends here. The difference being that if you injured one, it would adapt and survive." The Hound of Despair turned it's eyes briefly to Saiph.

"She came fully prepared, knowing of my abilities. You, boy, managed to figure it out, I saw that as a problem in the heat of the moment. I honestly wasn't expecting much out of any of you, but here we are anyway. There is one thing I wish to tell you, however." It's eyes set upon Yohan as Yohan felt scared now. "The one who sent me here to kill you... He told me that should I be restored to my original true form, that you have been invited for a special duel." Yohan felt angry, but he continued to listen just to hear everything. "He is waiting for you to come personally. I hope you can survive what he has in store for you." The Hound of Despair let out a creepy cackle, Yohan had to restrain himself in order not to go in and give the Hound a punch to the face!

"Alright, what's the point in telling any of us this though?" Yohan raised his left brow at the Hound. "You could of just as easily used it to prepare some kind of attack." Yohan heard an unusual response in the form of another cackle, creepily coming out of the Hound as if it knew he was going to say that.

"I knew you were all stupid enough to listen to me, in order to try to gain any information about the one who sent me here. Now, it is too late." The Hound gave a small smirk as best as it could before the black flames began to gather within it's body. "These black flames are the only thing that are natural to me. They have been with me ever since I was born. I got my name originally for bringing terror upon my enemies with these very flames! While we have been talking, I have been concentrating and gathering them up within my very own body. Should you kill me recklessly, I will lose control and I will erupt like dynamite!" The Hound of Despair laughed in a high pitched tone now, the black flames in it's eye sockets running wild before being absorbed into it's body.

"Why don't you just blow up already then?!" Yohan called out the Hound, his eyes narrowing slightly as he pointed at the Hound. "You talk as if you are alright with dying here. So why not just do it? You were sent here to kill certain people, right? Wouldn't it be best to do that right now?"

"It would be, yes." The Hound of Despair grinned at Yohan. "But I want to play a little game first. To see who is better at being the prey. You see, I have always been the predator, but never the prey. In this case, I feel cornered, trapped, knowing full well that if I were to try to attack recklessly against you all, I would surely perish. This way, it gives us all a fighting chance! My game is simple: All of you have a choice. You can attack me, you can run away and go home, you can report me to the police, you can do whatever you want! You can even do nothing, it doesn't bother me." The Hound of Despair chuckled upon seeing Yohan's expression shift. "I know what you are thinking. There must be a catch to this, right? Well, there is!" The Hound's grin grew bigger. "Should I fail to die before my attack is fully charged, I will kill one of you!"

Yohan couldn't believe what he was hearing right now, this Hound was playing some sadistic little game in order to get out of a fight it knew it couldn't win! "You little...!" Yohan flinched as he felt the pain rising up again in his wound, his body shaking as the Hound gave a mocking laugh.

"Do you hate me? It doesn't matter to me, that's the fun part of this game. If you leave right now, I can't kill you. If all but a few leave, my choice is obvious! That is the offer, I ain't giving any of you a chance to reject it! I will do nothing while I wait for your decisions, but don't forget I'm still charging up my attack all the while! I look forward to seeing the choices you all make!" If Yohan's injury wasn't so serious right now, he would send a sound blast right now at it! He didn't know what to tell the others, he didn't have any control over what they said or did. But to kill one of them... Would any of them actually be willing to just leave and let the others be easy targets to choose? It... Couldn't be true, right? He could only wait and watch while the Hound just stood in it's ring of black flames.

As Miranda slammed through the doors, she tumbled and fell onto her front, skidding to a halt as the Hounds were hit launched into a single place, their bodies becoming one, larger and more intelligent hound. Miranda's Alpha-blood was screaming at this point, screaming at her to instill order, and discipline upon this hound that dared challenge her. Her Demon screamed the same thing, the thing slowly fading into her body as she rose onto her hands and knees, her body heaving as she breathed heavily. Adrenaline flooded her system, Endorphin's ran on over-drive, and she began to shake uncontrollably. Looking up would reveal that both of her eyes had turned completely Amber, and were wild with emotions. Opening her mouth would only allow her to vomit the contents of her stomach onto the pavement below her, followed by one of the most blood-curdling screams of pain one could ever imagine.



Another blood curdling scream erupted from Miranda's throat as she leaned back, this scream turning into an equally blood-curdling, bone-chilling howl as she fell backwards and began to seize, her body shaking as it grew in size and muscles expanded exponentially. Bones could be heard audibly snapping and rearranging themselves as she continued her transformation. Tendons likewise could be seen under the skin deforming and reforming as her body shifted. Perhaps most painful to watch was the reshaping of her skull, from the fair-faced, stern but beautiful girl known as Miranda Wallace, to a large, intimidating Wolf. Her jaw from the nose down began to expand, her skull began to flatten, and her ears moved up on her skull as it elongated. The rest of her body became much more broad and her legs became digitigrade, their transformation the most noisy of the lot. She rolled over onto her hands and what were now paws as her clothing tore from her body, the tearing of fabric obvious as she grew in size. From her tailbone grew a long, shaggy tail, and her body grew thick, shaggy Black Fur within a matter of seconds.

She froze.

For another few seconds, nothing was heard. One final snap of a bone falling into place and she began to breathe once more, each breath haunted by a sinister snarling growl. Hands twice the size of Yohan's head lifted off the ground as feet the size of Yohan's chest spread the weight over the paw-pads and claws. For a moment she was quiet again, sniffing the air and taking in the cool breeze of the night before she lifted her nose and her lips parted slightly. A deafening howl echoed over the landscape of Timberland, and in the distance, two other Werewolves snapped awake in their home at the sound of their daughter's howl.

She slammed back onto her large hands, turning around and looking at everyone around her. Yohan, Sienna, Frederick, Sakuya, Saiph...they all meant nothing. They were nothing to her. Both of her Amber Eyes glowed now; her power had enhanced with her physical strength, becoming ten times stronger than normal. As those Amber-colored orbs made their way to the confident hound, her lips peeled back, revealing her razor sharp, pointed teeth as her ears flattened against her skull and she let out a bone-rattling growl from deep within her throat. Compared to the growls of wolves or dogs that anyone in the current vicinity had heard before, this was like a freight train in terms of the difference in texture, volume, and dominance.

Size-wise, Miranda was now about the size of a minivan or SUV, and weight about as much as well. She was bristling with muscle and fur, yet still retained a feminine-esque figure for a werewolf. One could only imagine how large she would be if she were male, which are generally even larger than their female counterparts. Despite her size, Miranda retained her smarts, not blindly charging in, but instead analyzing the situation before her. She had allies in the form of the humans and...bunny creature person thing. Perhaps they would be of assistance. Slowly she began to circle the hound, her fur standing on end and making her seem twice as large as she was. After a few steps she raised onto her hind legs, standing at ten feet in height now as she paced around the hound building up its magic to attack. She was analyzing it for weaknesses, for any faults in its guard.

She was hunting it.

With a flash of her eyes, Miranda launched all of her Mutating might upon the Hound at once, aiming to once more tear it apart at the most, mutating each body part until regeneration would be nigh impossible, or at the very least cause it to be locked in place as the legs became weak or began to physically melt into the pavement beneath it. After that, Miranda would turn towards the Hound, and prepare to charge it, and finish this the way her instincts were driving her to do so: With a very violent, bloody fight.

"Okay Frederick...let's recap here...We are outside in the parking lot. The others are following suite...The Rabbit Girl had helped them. The others were fighting the demon dogs, some leader of these demon dogs were here and speaking." Yeah, his experiance as a writer was helping him her. If Yohan died then they all died...Wait...What idiot designed this system? What was this chess? Yohan was like the king peice, if he got knocked out it was game over.

But that's dumb, that means if say he ate pufferfish sushi and the poison was not cleaned properly the rest of them would die. That ain't a smart system, it should be like a debuff at the very least. Whoever disigned this game of life and death sucked. He could write a better story than this."

Back at the moment at hand, as Frederick looked around him he watched as Miranda...Was changing into a werewolf!? That was cool, looks like she was indeed a werewolf. Strong, fast and deadly like the legends of old! And he saw this firsthand! That reminded him...what power did he have?

Waving his hands around in weird motions, he threw his hand forward expecting a fireball but nothing happened. Ok, he had no magic. Jumping forward he flopped on his face expecting to jump real good. Nope, nothing physical. The more he tried, the more he made a fool of himself. "Hey, you in my head! Where's my instruction manual to use my powers? We are in danger right now still!" Frederick spoke to himself as thankfully the woman spoke in his head.

"Ah, if you would have let me finished speaking before my time was up I would have explained something...but I will not let you have your answer easily my dear lamb. Your power is as white as a canvas. I hope even you can understand this very simple riddle."She spoke as her presence vanished once again.

Now he needed time to think! That hound was like a boss, probaly tricky and has hidden tricks under his fur! He had to hurry and think carefully. A challenging task.

Sonea, still on the beasts muzzle roared in fury and clawed at it as best she could. Until she suddenly found herself pinned for a few seconds and the dog was flung high into the air. Sonea's mind raced through so many memories she had forgotten as she suddenly dropped down to the ground underneath the dog. As she knelt down to the ground, she snapped back to reality as a large metallic screeching sound was heard. Around her was a shimmering light, spinning rapidly around her form. Filled with power, she placed herself down and felt the ground pulse. As the sudden and overwhelming fatigue gripped her, she could feel something getting free. Something primal...something deadly...but right now, she honed in on the source of the power and shunted an overwhelming amount of power into the ground.

"Come....to......me" She spoke and began to chant in a language she did not know nor could even begin to understand. The words reverberated and echoed throughout the destroyed town. This language was long since dead but to those who knew the ancient tongue, this was a summoning ritual being preformed. The earth began to crack and rumble, sink holes appeared around the town and everything rocked and shuttered at the sudden movement of the earth. From infront of Sonea, the earth began to mound, forming a small mountain and grew even larger as hundreds of tons of raw iron pushed out of the ground. It appeared almost liquid in it's appearance as it shifted and grew. A few moments and it was all too real what it was: A giant spear. Sonea's eyes glowed as she pushed hard upwards so it went straight for the helpless hellhound.

But through this action, she was on the brink of collapse and the demon within knew what was about to be unleashed. He was as giddy as a schoolgirl...the Beast was about to arise.

Well, the beast was certainly being tossed around like a bag of potatoes right now. Literally! The Hellhound had just unleashed it's Awakening, and the heat could be felt throughout the range it could go to. That's when a sudden tap launched it high into the sky, this was something the Hellhound had never experienced before! Before it could launch down a fury of it's new flames upon them, it was suddenly struck through with a huge spear that scattered blood all over their weapons. Each of the gauges on the weapons all filled to the max, each enchanted weapon's gauge having the color of the person's aura that they had bonded with. A mark suddenly appears above the gauges, each of them having the same color as within the gauge, and a little voice rang out from each weapon to them. "Blood requirement for hunt achieved! Power Up activating!"

A white aura flashes around each of them as they could feel themselves being granted power, as if being given a buff in a video game! The Hellhound's body crashed down into the ground, for the first time it could remember, it was the one who now laid upon the ground. It had been defeated. There was no doubt that it could feel the life-force within it's body fading. The last embers from the fire it had gained were quickly going away with it, it had lost the power it once held. The Hellhound's only good eye narrowed slightly, how long had it been since it had felt pain like this?

The man couldn't help but smirk to himself, seeing the Hellhound crash and fatally wounded. He rose up to his feet slowly, raising up his left arm and snapping his fingers, all extra enchanted weapons along with the extras he brought poof into smoke. "At last, you find peace. And at last, I find the missing piece in the puzzle. So, you met him, didn't you?" He talked quietly to himself while observing everyone being granted their Power Up's. "Yes, he is quite the cunning little beast. No doubt he moved around a lot throughout the years, devouring others as he hunted until he allied himself with some powerful people. You had waited for so long, guarding a Gateway, which you had considered a way for those to come to a place you considered might as well be a graveyard." The man's smirk widened. "I finally found him after all these years."

The Hellhound's flames were starting to fade one by one, soon it would be nothing more than a lifeless husk. Time felt like it had slowed to a halt for the Hellhound, memories it couldn't even recall flooded back through it's mind. It recalled it's entire life up to this point in an instant, in particular, something came back that shouldn't of. A voice, neither human nor beast, spoke up from a memory. "I have to leave soon." The voice said to the Hellhound. For some reason, recalling the voice brought joy to the Hellhound's heart. "You and I have spent a great deal of time together. You, who attacked this place and now guard it like an entrance to the realm of the dead. The irony, huh? ... Ah, forgive me. I forgot to teach you the meaning of certain words in the English language."

"My friend, I wish to ask of you something. It may be years before you have another tasty human meal, you love the taste of them huh? So do I. We are both beasts, you and I. We are outcasts among our own kind, so I only hope you can forgive me for the sudden harsh way this may sound, but... I wish to carry a piece of you with me. Don't give me that look, I ain't killing you! It is one of the perks of my kind, our strength comes from the prey we eat. I want to keep a part of you alive through me, my friend. If you will allow me, I know what piece I must eat too... Is that alright with you?"

The memory caused the Hellhound to feel sadness. It... Had been waiting for it's friend to return. The only true friend it ever had in this life. The Hellhound's red eye glowed, and with a tremendous amount of newfound willpower coursing through it's body, beautiful flames of various colors burst forth from it's body. As the Hellhound found the strength to stand back up for the final time, the spear within it's body shatters and is quickly burn, becoming beautiful little cinders that flowed around the Hellhound as if being blown through the wind. The flames around it's body now were too intense for any of them to get close to it, that was fine with the Hellhound. This last attack would be dedicated to the friend it had waited all these years for!

The red glow in the damaged eye burst forth and caused several red hot cracks to form along it's face, breaking throughout even the skull as it focused everything it had into that one spot. The Hellhound couldn't help but grin, a genuine smile that it got to die on it's own terms. It had but only one single regret throughout the entire life it held, but that mattered not now. It would die with pride and with joy, relishing in being able to feel like it belonged somewhere again! With the remainder of it's life about to burn away, it launched it's final attack, and the red glow shot out as a massive red beam!

As the red beam shot out throughout the entire town and even beyond that, the ground shook as the beam devastated all parts of the town within it's left, leaving only badly scorched earth around where it had shot it's most deadly attack. However, all of them had been unharmed by this... Well, they certainly felt the great force shake throughout all of their bodies and they certainly would feel like they just got put through a storm, but no damage was visible anywhere on their bodies. The Hellhound knew, even if they didn't. Those little weapons, those Power Ups they had received... It had protected all of them before fading away. So they were only temporary, huh? It didn't matter now, the beautiful flames were gone, the red glow within it's eye was gone... It was over.

The Hellhound's corpse moved slowly until it fully collapsed down onto it's side, ashes rising up where it crashed as the Hellhound's once mighty body now looked ravaged and weak. They could all hear clapping as the man in shades walked out over to them, grinning as he did so. "Well done, all of you. Well done." He chuckled as he pulled out a strange little device and placed it gently upon the ground. Pressing a single button on the top of it's sphere like structure, a barrier begins to construct itself over the entire town. "Did you forget already? I promised a gift, should you hold up your end of the bargains. Those weapons are all yours now, do with the body as you see fit. I have what I needed."

Pulling out what looked like a normal pen, he presses down on it as a black Gateway opens behind him. "Ah, yes, you all probably noticed before. That knife gave off the same feeling this pen of mine did. Do with that knowledge as you see fit." He began to walk back into the Gateway he had opened, bowing from the waist as he did so. "Well then... Until we meet again." Once his form was fully within the Gateway, it closed and vanished without leaving a trace of it behind. Once he was back within the town of Timberland, he sighs with content as he grabs hold of his suit with both hands and adjusts it ever so slightly. "Oh-ho, yes. We will meet again." He pulls out the device he had kept hidden within his clothing, smirking once more with glee as he saw the device successfully pick up the powerful magical energy being given off near the Police Station right now. "That is for certain."

The blinding light, the intensity of the heat...the whiteness of the world. All Sonea could see was white. She knew that her body was burned...and that she couldnt see. But that wasnt the only thing she was feeling. Something deep...something primal...something clawing to get out. It pounded the walls of her mind, barely held in containment as she had no strength left to hold this back.

Ba dum.....Ba dum....Ba dum

All of the members of Team Black would suddenly feel excrutiating pain, an agony overwhelming their senses as they could feel each bone in their body crack and snap. Structures shifted yet their physical bodies were not being harmed. Sonea, unleashed a scream. Not one of pain but of shock and horror. She could feel every bone and muscle slide into new places. Everything was hazy, her ears were ringing and everything was still white

Ba dum.....Ba dum......Ba dum

Everything felt wrong, sounded wrong yet she had no idea what was happening to her. More and more she could hear the screaming of her compatriots and she knew they were in pain but more of her mind began to slip away as she could barely make out some words "Its time...a long time coming" These words she could hear quite clearly as she let out another howling roar, this one sounding so much more bestial. It reverberated across the town's halls and walls. It resonated throughout the dead landscape as she could hear fabric tearing, metal wrenching and squeeling under duress. Something was going on and she could feel cold surrounding her.

Ba dum......Ba......Dum........Ba dum ba dum ba dum

One final roar was heard, a fiercesome roar of dominance as the pain would slowly begin to receed from her companions and from out in the ruined down, they could head the sounds of paws hitting the earth as a new creature stood in the fray infront of them. It looked like a feline, easily 11ft in length and brimming with muscle. It's body was coated in a thick, heavy iron plating with rivulets of red where the metal was still nearly molten from the Hell Hound's final blitz. Its lone, solitary eye glaring right for the group. It opened it's maw and unleashed a terrible sound. A roar of a tiger combined with loud, harsh grinding of metal on metal. It's body lowered itself to charge and began to do so. The group was not out of the woods yet.

But above Kogo's head a small, blue cat appeared with a very large and wide toothy grin "You look like your in a spot of trouble my dear...perhaps you might need my help before she kills you all. If you willing to hear a proposition" The cat sneered with it's wide smirk as the Tiger ran faster and faster towards them "For if you wish to survive this beast, you must do so without killing her. Lest you all wish to day. Say hello to the true Sonea, the inner Beast has awoken. Now you must tame her...Let me know if you wish to hear my proposal"

Saiph rolled back on the impact upon the asphalt, springing up in a sitting position. Only a short distance she sat from the now rejoined hound, black flames flicking across her face. There was a nonchalance to her, just staring at the hound, like this was normal life for her... and it essentially was. She simply listened to the creature monologue about his power and life, it went on for a little while so she opted to lay over on her side, propping her head on her arm, choosing to remain silent. Sheesh, there was no mention that the Hound of Despair could be a bit of a windbag.

The beast presented something of an ultimatum to them, fight, leave, do nothing, the whole villain final showdown kinda shtick. To this she finally rolled around onto her back, kicking her self up onto her feet and dusting herself off.

"Woo boy, that was a mouthful, am I right?" she says to no one in particular, resting her claws on the back of her head, tilting to the side. "So really, what I get from all this is that in the end what you've truly adapted into, is being empty. I mean, is really the hunt all it boils down to? That is the true extent of your very existence? Despair really does suit you then, because, wow, that is... actually pretty sad.

With this she leans the other way, taking one step forward, not breaking eye contact with the hound.

"What of things of aspirations and dreams? Do you even have those, or were those deemed weaknesses that were adapted out?" she asks the hound, taking another step forward. "Seriously... is this really living? Honestly I'm starting to think you perished long ago, and this is what remains. My auntie once said that the greatest despair was being one of a kind. I-"

Before she could continue, from behind something charged forward freezing her in mid-step, her hair blown forward by the gust. What she saw was a massive hairy blur, headed straight for the hound. It took her only a second, however, to realize what it was, and a sudden shock jolts through her spine, realizing what is coming next. A werewolf on the rampage wasn't exactly her ideal solution to this particular problem.

"Oh, are you kidding me right now!?" she exclaims, slapping both hands on the sides of her head.

Sienna Cartlow

As the dog began making a run towards Sienna for the second time, seemingly shaking off the damage from the assaults from Yohan, Miranda and herself; the girl was a bit more prepared for the strike now. Whatever they were doing wasn’t harming them, so for now, her main problem was making sure she didn’t get murdered by the creatures. Somehow she felt that if she was violently attacked like these ones were, she wouldn’t come out nearly as well as they had. Hunching down and preparing to dodge until she could think of something better to do, Sienna was confident that as long as it was just one, she’d be able to survive.

Then, pain. Sharp, shooting pain from her shoulder that immediately sucked the air from her lungs as she fell back, crying out as she gripped hold of it and hunched over. It was completely unexpected and unwarranted; the thing hadn’t even touched her! Gritting her teeth, Sienna glanced up just in time for darkness to loom over her, the shadow of the beast closing over her as it leaped down towards her face, Sienna barely trying to get her arm up in the way to shield herself. Shit, she was so screwed! Clenching her eyes shut, the whipping sound and yelp of the hound broke her paralysis as she wildly opened her eyes, watching the dog ripped away through the air. Watching its trail, she followed the elasticised arms back to that crazed robo-rabbit thing. Jeez, that was so weird, but she wasn’t complaining about being saved!

Stretching her arm and hand a bit, it seemed whatever injury she sustained was no longer impairing her, giving her the chance to get back to her feet and take stock of the situation. The rabbit was zipping all over the place through those little holes and rounding up all the monster hounds to the one place. That was when something akin to a horror movie occurred, the beasts fusing together in some dark ritual of flesh and bones, snapping together into a giant, upright, more human but at the same time even more monstrous dog. At first, she thought its focus was on her, but turning back, she realised that Yohan and some other girl were behind her now, though she had no idea how long they’d been there. Frederick and the rabbit had also fallen into line nearby, and that was when the beast began to address them.

Then it began to monologue. Yohan kept provoking it, and although Sienna wanted to tell the stupid thing to shut up and go to hell, this was buying them time, and in all honesty, she had no idea how they were going to kill this thing. Briefly, she tried whispering to Sinopia for advice, but the feline simply smirked and stated that she ‘wasn’t in charge anymore, so it was up to her.’ Grumbling to herself, it was then that the Hound of Despair revealed its master plan. It’d been setting them up this whole time, somehow storing energy in a final suicide bomber attack. Sienna swore at the revelation, and had a feeling that the monster wasn’t bluffing to try and weasel its way out of the fight. Far from it, instead, it was trying to initiate some serial killer-esque mind games by putting them into a lose lose situation to test their humanity.

“Bastard…” Sienna swore as it laid out the options in front of them. Fight or flight, basically. Glancing about the others, she waited to see how they reacted to the options. They couldn’t just run and let this thing murder someone, but at the same time… Sienna made sure that no one seemed to be bailing just yet. With her own security confirmed, her hesitation to evaluate the situation gave others the chance to act, the bunny going into her own chatter with the monster in what Sienna hoped was her own attempt at stalling for time. It didn’t last particularly long however, before every one of Sienna’s natural instincts went on edge as a terrifying howl pierced the air. It was loud, guttural, and terrifying, and one look back towards the direction it came from was all Sienna needed for more fear to claw its way into her heart.

She was huge, dark and intimidating – Everything cruel and monstrous about Miranda magnified tenfold as she became a hulking abomination, a look of frenzied violence in her eyes that gave Sienna’s flashbacks to earlier. She had no idea if this was related to her demons or what, but the now gigantic werewolf rushed at the hound, seemingly uncaring for whatever danger that might present the group as it began tearing at the beast with a fury that screamed of bloodlust. It was insane, primal and vicious, Sienna unable to tear her eyes away as the gigantic beasts clashed, all the while, the smile on the hound of despair got wider, cracks of light forming in its body and leaking out pressurised flames of black heat. It was happening now, all the energy it built up was about to be unleashed! Sienna looked around wildly for cover, but they were completely exposed.

“Everyone, behind me!” Sienna managed to yell out just before the deafening sound and rush of flames burst out in all direction, the teen placing her hands in front of herself to shield from the coming onslaught. She prayed that this would work, or they were all toast! As the blast of fire reached them like an infernal tidal wave, suddenly it would begin parting around them, whipping out in a fan shape around Sienna before collapsing back down, engulfing everything but the small area directly behind her. Sienna couldn’t see Miranda anymore. Or whatever that thing she’d turned into was. All she could do was hope that she was okay.

The Hound of Despair certainly didn't expect the new wolf in town to appear. But before he could draw his attention to it, he noticed the little rabbit questioning his existence. The mention of some relative mattered little to him, he probably never even met them to begin with! That's when he gave her a great big grin as he saw the wolf approach. "You wish to know my answer to life?" He asked her, not even seeming to care as the new big wolf caused his legs to explode out violently, remaining that way even as the wolf grew closer. He didn't seem to care, rapidly regenerating his legs as he had already lured one of them into his trap.

"I know not the meaning of death, child. It is a beautiful thing I have always been curious about. My entire life has been built on nothing but this one, single moment." As the big bad wolf started to attack the Hound's body, that's when he felt something and his entire body rumbled from it. His grin grew into a sinister smirk as his eyes narrowed just enough to make him look... Terrifyingly evil. "Ah, how fortunate. One last help from an old friend of mine. Be grateful I am in a good mood now!" That's when the Hound's body began to crack and the black flames somehow grew more powerful, intensifying as the dark light that glowed from his body became too much and the sight of both the Hound and the big bad wolf became impossible to make out.

That's when a rather large explosion of black flames erupted. It's power alone shot out pretty high above them, luckily Sienna was able to protect them from the deadly flames threatening to engulf them. It felt too easy, the power they could all feel from the explosion let them all know the Hound would of easily been able to take them all on in it's true form, so why this? The answer was unclear, and would probably remain unclear for a long time. As Yohan noticed, Sakuya's power seemed to be over healing, which confused him for a moment on how it was able to take care of his wound so easily, but he quickly grew to accept it and smiled at Sakuya. "Thanks." He couldn't help but look back over at the spot where two creatures just stood. Magical flames, huh? Left not even a scorch or a piece of ash to let the police know that something magical had just visited them tonight.

Although Yohan let out a sigh of relief, it wasn't all fun and joy. The big wolf that had attacked was simply gone. Not a trace left of her where she once stood, attacking the beast with all of her force. He tried to feel out with his connection that he had been told he had with her, but there was nothing. Only a null feeling now as he tried. It was a similar feeling that happened when Rina's connection was broken. Although this time, he couldn't be certain if it was broken due to something happening to her or if it broke for another reason. Well, at least things were calming down a bit. The threat was over, right? That invitation was just a joke... Right?

The police soon emerged from the police station, no doubt as a response to all of the weird chaos that had just went down. Just when he thought they were going to notice Saiph, they simply walked pass her. He wondered if, during the fight, the magic from this girl and the hound had caused some kind of rift to be opened or something. It was only a guess, and really, it would do him no good to think hard over it. Guess they were just down to three now, huh? Himself, Sienna and Frederick. One had ended up dead, one just went missing in action and the last looked to be going home back to a normal life. It was only now that the reality of the situation dawned upon him, that whatever new world they had each entered into, it was a world that could be more dangerous than real life. Whether the trio liked it or not, they were in this together now and they would have to figure out just what exactly this connection was and what it meant. It didn't seem like it lasted forever, otherwise he'd still be feeling one of them right now.

Well, the police began to investigate for the strange wolf girl they had seen doing crazy things. With her gone now, they would probably be investigating into her and her family. If the rest of her family was like this, he had no doubt they would probably go into hiding after all of this. That other place, this magic stuff, the way normal humans couldn't see it... He wasn't normal anymore. School was just coming up, and yet here he was, fighting off magical creatures like he was in some television show, or a movie, or one of those fictional novels! He had to not let himself get excited right now, for he knew what this meant. They each had some responsibility with this magic stuff now. Strange creatures would be showing up to town more than likely, more people would certainly be targeting them down, but they had some kind of superhero role now. Huh, maybe the costumes they had gained in that strange place meant something more than first meets the eye.



Rubbish, rubbish to it all! That stupid Hound had gone and blown itself to dust now! While it looked to have taken one of them out of the picture, there was no body of any sort to confirm whether she was alive or dead now! Blast it! He couldn't even enjoy the small victory he had. He was mad, he had been watching them all silently and this was the end result of it all?! It couldn't end like this, he wouldn't allow it to end like this! That's when the Hound's invitation towards Yohan came back to him. Oh, yeah, he did do that. Stupid kid wasn't smart enough to come up with that on his own... Oops, he almost spoiled the surprise! Oh well, his disguise was waning anyway, the stupid brat was probably ready to fight now. With a sinister grin, "Ricky" stood up to his feet and turned to smoke, quickly making his way over towards the others!

As the unusual smoke rolled into the area, it quickly reforms itself into "Ricky" as the police didn't react at all to his presence. Yohan was shocked to see him appear out of nowhere, but that face... It was from the news! It was that guy, Richard Leonard! Little Ricky?! He was here, but why was he just smoke a minute ago?! There wasn't much time to process everything going on as "Ricky" gave a smirk to him. "I see you've done well." He spoke to them, giving a mocking tone behind it as he reached a hand into one of his pockets. "However, I won't allow my master plan to go up in smoke just yet. You may be down some numbers from what you originally were at, but you can't stop me now! Not when I have information important to you."

Yohan couldn't believe his words initially, but... What was going on?! He felt scared for some reason, like some unknown fear was about to come haunting him again, and indeed, his fears were confirmed as "Ricky" continued to talk. "Your parents... Don't you want to know who is responsible for their deaths?" He gave one heck of a smirk now, Yohan's expression intensifying as he stared at "Ricky" with a cold look behind his eyes now. "I know the reason why they had to die. I'm also the one responsible for dragging you all into this mess. Oh, don't give me that. All I wanted was a little fun. You believe me, don't you?"

Yohan couldn't help but scream out suddenly as he rushed recklessly at "Ricky" with his white scales hand tightening into a fist. He began to pull it back, ready to punch this stupid fool right in his mug, when he closed his eyes and stepped to the side, now revealing a Gateway behind him. Yohan's eyes widened, his fist moving into the hole as he heard "Ricky" speak out quietly one word. "Purgatory~" Yohan was immediately caught up in it, being sucked away as he had no idea where he was going this time. When he came to, he found himself... Standing within a building? It didn't look like one of those black rock buildings from that unusual town, it looked like... An actual building?! Before he could get a grip on where he was, he heard a voice ring out from deeper within.

"Djinn." The voice spoke out, as "Ricky" grinned, the voice coming out from the active Gateway. Lucky for them the cops couldn't see this mess going on right now, had the Gateway not been activated they might of been in bigger trouble than they originally were. "The second wish is complete. You can get rid of that stupid disguise now."

"What? Ricky, you are far too kind to me." The left half of "Ricky" began to turn into darkness, the darkness moving like a cape flowing in the wind as his left eye turned demonic and sinister, The Djinn's cheshire cat smirk could no longer be hidden on that side of his body as he couldn't help but chuckle at the others. "Holy Diver, you've been down too long in the midnight sea." The words mockingly came out from The Djinn's mouth. "Oh what's becoming of me~" He couldn't help but stand right in front of the active Gateway, almost as if mocking them to come try to get in through him.

"Ride the tiger. You can see his stripes but you know he's clean." Yohan could hear that voice singing out for some reason, though they could hear it, Yohan couldn't hear what was going on with them. Yohan began to walk forward, almost as if moving by instinct alone now. Then, without warning, he began to run forward, until he was running as fast as he could right for where the voice was coming from! "Oh don't you see what I mean." The song both of them were singing mattered little to Yohan, as he ran along the single corridor towards where the voice was coming from. He wasn't going to let this go on for any longer, he was going to make a stand even if it killed him!

"Gotta get away." Both of them sung mockingly towards the others, The Djinn spreading his arms out as if ready to attack, his eyes glowing yellow as he did so. "Holy Diver!!! Yeeaah!"

Sebastian had stumbled back from launching the hellbeast into the sky, his brain running through everything, short circuiting due to the power it had gained, trying to catch up with all the information running through it, the pain, the numbness, the stress. He had gotten some distance before he felt warm liquid dripping from his nose, the crimson fluid only dribbling, it was fine for now.

He had used just about everything to finish off the beast, turning using the sword like a walking stick he’d see the impaled beast get back up. “OH FOR… JUST FUCKING DIE!” his voice breaking as he almost screamed the words in anger at the hellhound.

His body lagging behind thoughts, he’d move to raise the sword, sluggishly, still apparently ready to fight, his blade glowing a deep purple from his aura, and the cloud of energy enveloped him and shielded him from the Hellhound’s last cry of defiance.

Sebastian smiled, then the sharp pains, his bones felt like they were shattering, though his synapse and bio-electricity dulled, his nervous system switching off, everything going numb, his vectors manipulating his senses and his own body, keeping him moving.

The smile wiped from his face when he saw the metal tiger staring him down, he chuckled nervously, but before he could fry his own brain, he felt a rush of movement and it didn’t feel good, falling onto his ass in one of the buildings he saw Kogo rush off and back with Felix, Sebastian rolled to the side away from Felix, trying to push himself to his feet, his body protesting against him.

And then he’d empty his stomach contents, what little of it there was, from the fairly short tea party, his legs about to buckle under his own weight. “it feels like back in the crash.” he spoke softly and chuckled gently, a hand pressing against his eye-patch, a maddened grin on his face as he laughed to himself, his nose still slowly dripping blood.

"I don't know what is worse, the situation, or your sorry pathetic state, and you're supposed to be a prince"
Wraith made himself visible once more, crossed arms, much bigger now a pair of wings sprouting from his back and his body covered in scales.

As the hound was ready to overload and explode, Frederick hopped on his two feet and looked around for cover. There were cars around but...could cars really provide protection against magic? Nah...He saw enough to know that big powerful magic would turn his would be cover to dust along with him. However thankfully one of the teens...Whats her name? Sienna? Yeah, she had projected a magical barrier just in time allowing him to dive right behind her to protect himself.

As he crouched for a vain hope of more cover, he relized that he was fine. She had protected them but what about that werewolf? Or more accurately their compatriot who had turned into a werewolf. She was in front of the barrier so...oh...from the other side of the barrier. Sure, he may have noted that the hound let them live possible because of some far unknown reason but really?

Come like a week from now they would meet again and then suddenly be surprised that they all beat him into the Stone Age. And then it's gonna be like. 'I could have killed you all...but I wanted this moment because of fate or destiny...curses...' And so the story went. Honestly, if he was a villain who wanted to take over the world arrogance would be the last thing on his mind. I mean seriously, in his books the evil villains actually are smart into of the generic never taking advantage to kill one of the heroes.

Speaking of evil villains, it seems the one who was behind their ambush had appeared. Was he a mastermind?...nope, he was probaly some sort of opposite of them or something. Unfortanantly he mad managed to make Yohan angry enough to charge blindly at him with no sense of tactics and get himself inside a portal...or gateway...they seemed similar.

Shoot! Their leader just fell into the most simple of traps! Bring up family and bam you might as well won. And the worst part is while everyone! Including...Wait when did that other girl show up? Oh yeah he was busy thinking to himself...Anyways! While he was think to himself she must have appeared along with Yohan. And she was doing things compared to him!

If only he could do something...hell he bet that some of those anime characters would be doing far better than what he was. Of course, he was just a janitor, writer, cook artist. He could not fight! He did not even know what his powers were!

"If only those character were real..." Frederick spoke to himself as he began to use his finger to draw a character he saw from an anime. A really powerful, arrogant but smart individual. He had golden armor and used weapon from portals. It was all cool...

Wait...something was strange...he could see the image of the character as if someone was drawing him...no, not his imagination this time. It was as if his finger was a pencil and the air in front of him like paper...Woah cool! Forget about the danger he wanted to draw.

Sticking his tongue out like an artist in thought. Frederick began to sketch away.

Felix’s jaw dropped as he saw Sonea called forth a giant iron spear from the ground, brutally impaling the monster and raining blood everywhere. “Ew, gross.” He muttered, trying to shield himself from the stuff splattering all around. His eye was caught by a warm golden glow, which he realised with a jump was coming from the strange marking carved into the bow. He jumped again, shaking as the strange voice emanated from the weapon.

“What? You’ve got to be kidding!” he exclaimed, thinking about the ammo he stupidly left behind.

However, before he had time for anything else, there was a surge of heat all around him, and he fell to the floor to get out of the way. The golden energy from the bow enveloped the space he was crouching in, and he found that he was safely protected within a small dome. When the final attack had passed, he stood up as the shield dissipated, to see the creature collapsing. He held the weapon out. “Huh. That’s…pretty cool, actually.”

He turned to Kogo as she called out to ask if they were alright “Uh yeah, I think so? I think the other two might be hurt though.”

He turned toward the sound of clapping as the stranger in shades approached, thanking them and explaining that they could keep the weapons, although Kogo didn’t seem to impressed. Felix also approached him and asked, “Wait, how do we get out of and he’s gone.”

As if the night hadn’t been stressful enough, from out of nowhere he found himself collapsing to the ground with a yell, as his entire body was consumed in terrible pain! All he could do was shut his eyes, quivering helplessly as he waited for it to subside. He bolted upright, eyes wide open and breathing heavy. Shakily getting to his feet, he looked up only to see some giant metal tiger staring them down.

“Really! Another one?” he shouted, having had just about enough. He lost focus for a few seconds, stumbling. It felt like he was trapped in a nightmare…stuff kept happening that he couldn’t understand, and it just seemed to get worse, and it just wouldn’t end - there was a rush of wind, and he found himself being chucked onto the ground. He glanced up to see Kogo again, but then she was gone.

“Wait, ‘pain’? What do you mean ‘pain’?” he called after her, but it was no good.

He slumped back, recognising the eerie alternate version of the shop, where they had first entered. Glancing to his left he saw the …two? Sebastian dragon things. They were having a conversation about something Felix knew nothing of, but he wanted answers.

“OK, so is this a bad time to address the two identical scaly purple elephants in the room?” he said flatly.

Saiph uncovered her face, having warped back last second to brace for the blast. Luckily the protection provided by the red haired woman was enough to block the force of it. However, there was a moment of shock that rushed through Saiph's system, down her spine, letting her arms drop limp, as she watched the flames clear, no trace of either the beast or wolf remained. Her legs trembling momentarily. Why would anything choose to... die like that?

Shaken from her moment of shock, however was the appearance of a figure from black smoke, and the blue haired boy she had recently saved was becoming the center of some torment. This guy had a weird quality to him, his power was all strange, something not even vaguely twisted. This guy was the one responsible for many of the recent disturbances, had to be, too much to be coincidental. Geez, what a jerk, she thought as he drove the knife in deeper, twisting it.

"Hold on, don't, it is just a pl-," before she could finish her sentence, the blue haired boy had enough, and charged straight at the man, screaming his lungs out in fury, straight into a portal behind him. The ploy was almost cartoony, but far too cruel for even her to find amusing, and using his parents no less, scoundrel! "Really, the family card? Must be easy for someone who has none!"

With that she glanced about at the others, at the red hair, Sienna, Frederick drawing, and Sakuya who seemed to be standing back. Well, may as well go on impulse. "Dunno 'bout you guys, but guess I'm seeing this through, this is the most excitement I've had in decades!" With that she charges straight at the portal, no second thought as she hops forward, knees up, arms crossed to brace herself as she plunges through.

Yohan & Saiph Versus Ricky & The Djinn [Act I!]

The Djinn couldn't help but smirk as Saiph came running in towards him. He chuckled as she ran right through his form, right into that dang Gateway behind him. "Ah well." He spoke without care, for the hare that just ran past. "Personally, I never cared either way for fighting." His attitude still in a mocking tone, his expression becoming like that of a demon as the Ricky half of his body completely faded and all that was left was the dark, smoky form of The Djinn. "By extension of the second wish, I am only visible to others because of it. Though you two seem to have an unusual connection to that blue haired brat. I am going to personally enjoy seeing you both shatter into tiny little pieces!"

Yohan had ended up running into this weird colorful and yet rather spacious room. Ahead of him he could see a fancy throne with a figure in the shadows sitting on it. "Welcome, welcome!" The voice spoke out with glee, it's eyes glowing yellow briefly as a sinister chuckle escaped from it. "The plan worked perfectly, by the looks of it. Looks like the information I was fed was correct after all. You must be the blue haired child I was told about. Yes, I can see by the expression on your face that you are curious about what I have told the others." The figure rose up and began to walk out of the shadows. "Well, to be a little personal, I never cared for secrets."

Yohan became rather shocked when the figure turned out to be Ricky himself, but not the Ricky he was expecting. "Are you even Richard Leonard?!" Yohan could see the right half of Ricky looked fine, but the left half had turned into something completely demonic. "What happened to you? Why are you like this? I thought you were suppose to look normal, like your friend was just a moment ago."

"Ah, yes, The Djinn." Ricky looked at his left hand, staring at the red middle finger in particular among the black scaly fingers he now had. "Hate to say, I've already made two of my wishes. The first was for my Dominion, which I can show off to you in a moment. The second was for The Djinn to disguise himself as myself while we executed our little plan. Safe to say it worked out well in the end." Ricky grinned as he looked at Yohan with a horrifying glare behind them. "You must be wondering why The Djinn said the things he did. Well, fight me and find out."

"What, that's it?" Yohan couldn't believe what he was hearing right now. "Fine. Let's start, jerk." Yohan ran in and began charging up his sound again in his right fist. Ricky didn't even attempt to move, Yohan threw out his right fist and started to hit Ricky repeatedly, using his sound to amplify each punch and making it louder with each blow he made. Ricky didn't even budge, staring at Yohan with that unusual glare as he pulled back his left arm and tightened his demonic fist. Yohan saw this and threw his right fist to punch in towards the arm now as Ricky thew his arm with speed Yohan couldn't even fully comprehend, feeling the blow slam into his right arm and shatter every scale into pieces before his body was sent flying back and slamming rough into a wall. "Ah!" Yohan slide down the wall and groaned out slightly. "What the...?"

"Losing something?" Ricky commented, pointing to Yohan's right arm. Yohan's eyes widened in shock as he looked over to see his... Human... Arm? "I thought as much. You must of been tricked into making a false deal. Seems you already made a deal, how pitiful." Yohan stood up to his feet and tried to charge up his sound again, but found it too weak now to properly channel. "You thought you were doing damage to me?" Ricky chuckled and gestured to his body. "Take a good look, brat! You didn't even put a crack or a dent in me. Sad, I thought you were someone who could give me a good time. Oh well, it'll be fun to see how quick it'll be to kill you dead!" Ricky said as a big smirk grew on his expression, pulling back his left arm again!

As Ricky prepares his next strike, a sound is heard some ways back where Yohan had entered. A swoosh and zip, familiar claw, attached to a familiar cable flew right near Ricky's face, and plunges itself into the back wall. The cable shakes and tightens, letting out a metallic groan, only seconds behind, reeling in is the figure of Saiph. As she fast approaches, a regular dynamic blur, she sticks both feet out aimed straight at Ricky! "Yippee ki-yay, ugly~!" she cries out, the lenses of her helmet flashing a bright red.

Ricky couldn't help but notice the cable, his eyes darting over to it before seeing the blur riding in fast! This caught him off guard, the crazy person's feet slamming full force into him and sending him sliding back. "Augh! Damn it!" He managed to halt himself, just before he slammed into one of the large crates that filled the room up. Yohan had been frightened by Ricky's actions, but that rabbit girl suddenly came out of left field and managed to knock Ricky away!

"Whoa, uh, well, hey, I guess." Yohan managed to get out, his eyes shifting between the two of them as Yohan knew Ricky was probably thinking of several different ways to kill the both of them. "Yeah, uh, sorry. I might not be of much use in this fight. My power suddenly stopped working, and my right arm is back to normal, I guess?" He rapidly makes motions with his right hand to get the point across. "I didn't manage to make a single mark on him though. Am I really just going to end up becoming useless again?"

"Sup! Saw you run into the obvious trap and thought, eh? Why not!" she says, attempting some humor in the situation as she lands next to Yohan after her daring attack, retracting her claw back. She glances between him and Ricky, then cocks her head to the side. "Yeah, uh, bout the fight... to be honest, I don't really know this guy very much or his powers, I'm just making this up as I go along but, got anything? And, ugh, what astral shovel hit him in the face?" she responds, taking full note now of his demonically warped features. She then looks back at Yohan. "I dunno, though, do you really think you are useless? Maybe you're just new to this, but you're trying, so lets just get through this. Besides, there's something rather weird 'bout all this."

"Guess so." Yohan inhaled through his nostrils before letting out his breathe calmly through his mouth. "Alright. So he apparently has already made two wishes with his Djinn, so he only has one left. He may use it as a trump card, so be careful of that. He said he has a Dominion, but he didn't go into too much detail about it." He put his right hand on his neck and started to move his head around. "His left side is stronger than his right side. I think it might still be spreading, but at a slow rate. Looks like he distracted us with the black flame dog in order to buy himself time to gain power. He has some major power behind his body right now, he didn't hurt my arm when he shattered the scales on it, but I could feel the impact. Don't let him hit a vital spot."

Ricky just stood there and watched them, un-moving like a statue right now as Yohan kept his eyes on him now. "Right, I got an idea. We can use your portals to try to get the jump on him. If we manage to land an attack before he can get into the swing of combat, we may have an advantage on our side. We only have one shot at this. If he sees you use those portals, he may be able to track you down later. He may sound stupid, but this guy knows how to fight. Whenever you are ready, let's do this. I'm just letting you know now, if this doesn't work, we are basically in for hell." Yohan couldn't help but smile at her. "But we're keeping the others away from him. That alone makes me happy."

"A wish with a freaky genie, some wicked strength, and an unknown Dominion eh? Spooky!" she responds, looking at Ricky, taking note of his body. He's right, portals would be great to make openings at least, but his full power was still a bother. "Well, just so happens I'm also rather good in a dance, even if it is through hell-fire," she responds cryptically, chuckling slightly. She looks at him a moment and tilts her head, snorting. "Hah, just remember that keeping yourself in one piece is pretty important for them too, hero. Alright, lets do this. And... actually, I have a crazy idea you can help with!"

With this she flips her right arm up, pulling down her sleeve with the left. "Nothing up my sleeve~," she sings, wiggling the mechanical fingers. Silently creating a portal on the floor behind them. She then drops back, twirling around so she is facing the hole face first, with her right arm already ready for a punch, the other end of the portal right behind Ricky! Coming out the other end, once again in an upright standing position she throws both arms forward, aiming at Ricky's back. "Now, your sound thing, focus it through my arms!" She says to Yohan, hoping he'll pitch in quicker than Ricky can react.

He watched Saiph move into the portal and saw her pop out from behind Ricky, his eyes widening as he looked quickly between the two while the thoughts came together in his head. Well, there was no time to waste, so he began to move. While with Ricky, he noticed Saiph and Yohan both fading and heard something behind him. As he turned to look, he could see Yohan focusing his Dominion through Saiph's arms and his eyes widened in surprise. "Oh shoot!" Was all he could get out before he felt some insanely loud noise pound into his body, sending him flying back into one of the crates as his scream of pain could be heard even to the others who were with The Djinn right now.

Yohan and Saiph both were sent flying back, but nothing that they couldn't regain their balance from before they got really hurt. Sliding on his feet with Saiph, they both managed to come to a halt as he let out a tired sigh, falling to his knees as he coughed slightly. "Oof. That took a lot out of me." He shook his head as he tried to channel his sound one more time, only to find the connection completely gone now. "Dang it!" He slammed his fists into the ground before him. "I ran out!" He pushed himself back up to his feet, brushing himself off as he looked over towards the crate Ricky had crashed through into. "That must of hurt."

That's when a loud gunshot was heard, but no bullet was seen. Yohan felt his right arm go numb suddenly, his eyes widening as pain coursed throughout his right arm. "You thought you could take me down with that?" Ricky stepped out of the crate, his clothes looking roughed up, however, it looked as if Ricky had managed to recover pretty fast from that attack! "My Dominion is called Payne! I have control over pain. Do you understand what that means? This is the power of my first wish, to nullify pain within my own body and to cause others pain! I made my own frikking boss explode, for crying out loud!" Ricky laughed out in a crazy manner as Yohan couldn't stop his arm from shaking.

"Whatever I imagine, I can inflict on others! I've done it before, and I just did it now, baby!" He laughed wildly as he aimed the gun at Yohan again. "I can channel it through this very gun, all I have to do is be making physical contact with something and my power will work!" Ricky's dark hands aura began to form, he was done messing around with them. If the rabbit was going to try another sneak attack on him, he would be ready for it. "I may not know what the heck five times five is, but I do know how to fire a gun! I also know various different ways to kill someone, or cause them to be in terrible, terrible pain! Try me, come on, let's go! Right here, right now, do something!"

Saiph stood there, catching her breath for a moment. Despite having stamina beyond that of a normal human, the previous fight with the hound had done a good dent in it, and having those vibrations run through her body had her real arms shaking. And he just... got back up from that almost like it was nothing?! The hell is this guy? Looking back at Yohan, she found him, wide eyed in pain, she realized, at least in part, the severity of such a power. "H-hey, you alright? We gotta keep it together," she stammers, before looking back at Ricky, darkness gathering in his hand, ready to shoot again. "It didn't just do nothing, right? Um... I mean, even if he don't feel pain, it still did damage, right? Well, um," she mutters back to Yohan, quickly turning her head left and right for something, anything!

With what would be both a bold and stupid move, she steps between the two and readies her arms to continue to put up a fight, clicking their joints aggressively. "Alright, so you can project pain through that gun of yours, aye nut-job? Any pain? Like uh, immolation? Scary stuff!" She says, though her voice cracks a bit. At this point she was trying to bide for time.

Yohan felt the pain in his arm, his body shaking violently now as Ricky's Dominion proved to be too much for even him. He couldn't really move now, his power of Sound had gone, Saiph was unable to help him stop the pain and Ricky was preparing to do more bad things. He couldn't just die here, could he? He felt it closing in on him. His eyes hazy as everything around him started to distort, his mind fading in and out as he could only think of one thing. His parents. He failed them, even when this guy could of been involved somehow. How could this have happened...?

That's when Yohan began to think back, a car destroyed, his father's body laying nearby, and shadowy figures surrounding him. He was just a small boy, hurt, in pain of the loss of his father and now about to die himself. The flames from the car wreck could be heard, it almost was too real to believe it was gone. He couldn't see his mother anywhere, they were preparing to stab him through. His eyes closed to the world around him, at that moment, something came to his attention.

"Richter? Richter!" A feminine voice rung out. It was tinged with despair, but it soon turned to panic with the next words. "Hey! What the- Yohan! Yohan, honey, hang on!" The voice was growing closer. "Yohan, you have to get up, we have to go!" The woman started to reach for him, fighting off the shadowy figures. "Come on, hon, you can't be-!"

Yohan heard the voice. The voice of his mother. Tears ran faster down his face, his fists tightening as he didn't know what to do now. He sniffled loudly, he wanted to call out to her, but the shadowy figures might kill her. "Just give up." A voice began to run through his mind. "Open the door. Open it now. Let yourself be free." It kept calling to them, but only he alone could hear it. Was he hearing it now, or in his memory? He couldn't tell. "Let's kill them all. Kill them here and now! Unleash that rage! That hatred! Let your malice shine brightly and slaughter them like pigs!"

His mother grabbed him and picked him up gently. "Come on sweetie, you can do it. Please just breathe..." Yohan could feel himself starting to get warm, but would it really be enough? "I can't lose you too...Yohan, look at me, it'll all be okay. I'm here...just come back!" That's right, he remembered now. This memory, how could he have forgotten?! He felt so dumb right now, he just wanted to... A fist came flying in and punched him right across the face, his own right hand had done it. So what if he didn't have the scaly arm anymore?! He had to remember what his father always told him!

"It's time for us to give up." Rina's demon appeared before him. "Our fate ends here. Let him shoot you right in the head, let it all end here and now." Rina's demon started to tap it's own head. "This is what we've waited for all along, hasn't it? To end our own life? Why would you deny a perfect opportunity like this? He has the power to kill you with one shot, and it wouldn't even be a real bullet that did it! A quick and painless death! You don't have to go through the trouble of killing yourself now, let it all end here and no one will be ever the wiser to it!"

"I refuse!" Yohan shouted out suddenly, causing Rina's demon to stop and almost give him some kind of glare. Half of it's face began to crack and shatter, revealing some kind of primal face underneath it. The right side of it began to scream out at him now. "I completely forgot how selfish it is to just die and leave everyone I know and love become miserable for it! I've been so blind to the truth all this time!" Yohan pointed to the demon. "You aren't real! You no longer have any power over me! Get out! Leave me alone and go back to where you belong, as a memory!"

"FOOLISH CHILD!" The voice shifted now, the form changing and ripping apart as it began to reform into another shape. "I have always had control! Give in to me! Resistance is futile, brat! I will have the door open for good this time! I will be free!" A twisted, malformed hand began to reach out to him. "Just die already! I've had enough playing games with you! Just die already, die, die, die! DIE ALREADY!!! LET ME BE FREE!!! I! MUST! BE! FREE!!!"

"GET OVER YOURSELF!" Yohan shouted out. The hand stopped as cracks began to form along it, a shriek of terror coming out of the misshapen demon. "You are me, but I am also you. Is that how it goes? Do you represent my inner desire to die? My depression I've had? The part of me that just wants to give up? I don't need you controlling me anymore!" Yohan took a step forward, his eyes glowing purple for a second. "BEGONE!" The demon let out one final yell before bursting into pieces, the pieces fading away into dust as Yohan felt out of breath suddenly. "And stay out!" He let out aggressively, holding a hand to his chest to try to calm himself down after that.

Ricky glared over at Saiph as she stepped forward, what was she thinking trying to stand up to him when she just saw his power? He aimed the gun right at her. "One shot of my Payne bullets through the head ought to do the trick, wouldn't you agree?" Ricky gave her a terrifying smirk. "I don't care what you are, you still must have a pretty little brain up there. Wouldn't it be just terrible for you to have it all end here? Ha! You two will be an example to the others! The start of my slaughter campaign across the backwater town! No one is safe from my wrath! After you two are dead, I'm killing those stupid friends of your outside! Putting a bullet through each and every one of them for being dumb!"

"Shut up!" Yohan shouted out, causing Ricky to look over at him and aim the gun back at him. "You know what? I finally get it. You aren't scary, you are just power crazy! What did you think, making those wishes would make your life better? You don't NEED to make wishes to make your life better, YOU can make your life better! Stop being a little child already! Look at you, you aren't even fully human anymore! You want someone to kill first? Aim that gun at yourself first and feel the pain you give others before you go shooting them at others!"

"How dare you!" Ricky stomped his left foot on the ground, causing it to slightly crack up. "I got one wish left, I could just use it right now! You know what?! I think I'll do just that! Djinn! Get over here!" Without a second, the Djinn in all of his smokey form was there among them, already having his arms crossed and staring with a bored expression at Ricky. "I have a third wish to make, you better grant it this time, you smoke filled demon!"

"Fine, but first, you must amuse me." As The Djinn and Ricky began to bicker, Yohan began to channel power throughout his whole body. This was his only shot, he had agitated Ricky on purpose just for this moment, it was now or never! He only hoped Saiph wouldn't get herself in harms way as he did so! The Djinn took out a pair of glasses and put them on Ricky before smirking. "You know what to do!"

"Ugh. Fine." Ricky groaned, putting a finger up to the side of his head. "The bum of the bare roots of any two hides of an ice cream truck is equal to the to the bare root of the remaining side." The Djinn just stared unamused at how Ricky screwed up the joke, quickly smacking him across the face and shattering the glasses in the process.

"First off, that's a right triangle, you idiot! And secondly, you messed up the bloody line! We went over this multiple times, and you still can't even remember all the words and what they mean! God!" The Djinn threw up his arms and groaned. "Whatever. Make the third wish and do whatever." The Djinn rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself. "Can't believe I wasted hours of my time trying to get this joke down for this moment, only for this moron to screw it up anyway."

"Whatever! It was stupid anyway! I have my third wish, you idiot! I want to be strong enough to kill both of them!" Ricky shouted, not caring how stupid the wish sounded right now. The Djinn looked over to Ricky and gave a slow forming of a smirk, snapping his fingers as the red on the finger on Ricky's left hand suddenly crumbled away. "H-hey! What are you doing!? That was where the ring was, right?! You put that in me so I wouldn't lose you, so what are you doing?!"

"That's three official wishes." The Djinn couldn't help but laugh, pushing Ricky with enough force to send him suddenly flying back. Watching Ricky crash into one of the walls, The Djinn turned to the other two as his eyes glowed yellow. "At last, I am free! Free from that insolent fool and his stupid ring of torment! I've waited a hundred years for this freedom, and now, you two will be my victims before I leave this stupid town forever! It's just a matter of..." The Djinn stopped as a bright light began to radiate off of Yohan. "What the devil?!"

Yohan's Other Side outfit returned to him, his purple aura bursting forth around him as he let out a loud scream as the roof of the building suddenly busted open without warning, The Djinn noticing this as his eyes widened while he looked up. He looked back to Yohan and narrowed his eyes, spreading out his arms to his sides as multiple arms began to form, just like Ricky's hand aura had before. "Right, I don't know what's going on with you, kid. But I don't like it, and I don't like any risks to my master plan. Sorry, but you will have to die first before that power becomes a big problem!"

Saiph's lenses flicker for a bit, and head tilts her head at what just happened, did Ricky just get kicked out of the fight by his own comrade? Looking up at the busted open ceiling then back at Yohan her, she rubs her hands together. Well, something awakened in him, something has changed, other than his outfit, that is for sure, just on exactly what was yet to be seen, but it was pretty big!

"Well, alright then, you certainly blew the roof off this joint!" she says with a laugh, her joke probably lost to the pressure. She snaps her attention back to the Djinn, though it was unreadable from her mask, she was grinning wide. It felt like the favor was turning once more onto them. "Between him going super, and well, me... oh, you are already knee deep in problems!" With this she readies herself to cover Yohan with whatever he was about to do.

Yohan slide down onto his hands and feet, sliding up into a runner's post as he stared down The Djinn. The Djinn couldn't help but grin. "I don't know what sound you plan to use on yourself, but it won't wo--" He is interrupted as Yohan suddenly vanished from his sight. "What?!" He looked around, but in an instant, he is suddenly knocked back from a large impact. By now, the Gateway was clear enough to show the others, if they had remained outside, what was going on inside with Yohan and Saiph. "What is this power?! No, it's not power, it's --" He is interrupted as Yohan appears behind him and sends the fastest punch he could into The Djinn, sending him flying again.

"It's speed!" Yohan shouted out, vanishing from sight again once he landed on his feet. The Djinn uses his multiple hands aura to stop himself, growling as he looked around as he tried to pinpoint Yohan's location. That's when Saiph leaped out of one of her portals near him and grabbed a hold of his head, wrapping her legs around his head as she quickly spun him around in the air a few times before launching him straight at Yohan. The Djinn couldn't believe this was happening to him, a being of a hundred years was suddenly being knocked around like a rookie by two brats!

The two had some sort of plan, but he didn't know what just yet. He managed to stop himself in the air as he floated there, until Yohan came crashing into him and sending him flying off again. One of Saiph's portals opened up in front of The Djinn and she popped out of it, knocking him into another portal as he went flying through it and came flying out of the other end. As he tried to slide himself to a halt, he is quickly knocked off again by Yohan, and when he tried to stop himself once more, he was knocked away by Saiph into another portal while he was spinning out of control, making him confused and never knowing where he was ending up before being launched and hit.

To the others watching this, they would see something they had never really seen before: A fast fight of furious blows being delivered by Saiph and Yohan, Yohan using his newfound Super Speed, and Saiph her portals and metal claws, to knock The Djinn around and keep throwing off his senses. The blows being exchanged by the two's surprising teamwork kept The Djinn from being able to launch a proper counterattack against either of them, the blows only getting faster and faster as smoke began to emit from The Djinn's body through cracks. Looking down upon himself, he realized this was going badly and stopped himself abruptly, stretching out his multiple hands in order to start striking at the two.

Now there were blows being exchanged from all three, in a flurry of blows and clashes, the fight suddenly got exciting and tense as objects started to go flying all over the place and breaking, the shock-waves could distantly even be heard outside the Gateway to the others as The Djinn began to move around, striking out with his hands against Yohan, having memorized his newfound speed by this point, while also keeping an eye out on Saiph's portal jumping. It was annoying to say the least, but he was The Djinn, he could handle any situation. This was nothing compared to what had experienced before! Just when he thought that, Saiph wasn't where she was suppose to be, and his eyes widened to feel her strike into the back of his head from behind!

"Damn!" He shouted out, as tiny cracks burst upon his head and smoke came out. "I can't maintain this physical form for long!" He growled as he grabbed hold of one of the crates to stop himself from moving around anymore. "She tricked me! She knew I was memorizing her portal patterns, and redirected herself to jump me by surprise! But then that means --" He is interrupted once more as Yohan came flying out at him, only for The Djinn to barely dodge it this time. "Nice try! It won't work twice!" But as he said this, he saw something that truly horrified him. One of Saiph's portals, with her beside it, giving him some kind of two finger salute gesture from her head, as Yohan slipped into the portal. Oh crap!

He knew Yohan had emerged behind him, yet there was nothing he could do about it, as his body was grabbed by Yohan and spun around before being crashed into the ground and a large crack split open on his chest. He growled and his hands grabbed hold of Yohan, only for Yohan to throw him off and into one of the large crates. Letting out a loud grunt, his multiple hands grabbed hold of the crate and lifted it up, throwing it at Yohan as one of Saiph's portals opened up and caught it before it could hit Yohan, the large crate now crashing down on The Djinn and breaking apart over him as it did so. Erupting up from the debris of the large crate with a loud and angry roar, his legs broken now and returning to a more smokey form, he gathered up all of his hands into his remaining physical body as he seemed to be empowering himself.

"Right, you are both DEAD!" He shouted out, hovering his way quickly over towards Yohan as he pulled back both his hands. That's when he felt his speed slowing down, his eyes widening to see Yohan smirk and realize he had been messing with him all along. "You... I'll kill you for --" Before The Djinn could finish, one of Saiph's portals opened up before him and Yohan gave a punch to The Djinn's face, sending him flying in. That's when Saiph opened up multiple portals over the area, and as The Djinn emerged out of one of them, he saw this and quickly connected the dots. However, it was too late for him to stop what was about to happen, and his body ended up speeding up out of control.

With a loud scream that was almost muffled by the portals, The Djinn began to race through each of the portals, gaining more speed as he did so, zooming all over the area now as he couldn't stop the growing speed he was gaining thanks to Saiph's portals. However, portals soon began to close one by one until there were only two left. The Djinn saw this and smirked to himself, thinking she must of started to strain by having done that. Although he was moving too fast to stop himself fully now, he would make sure to send himself flying towards that stupid rabbit girl and end her life with a sudden crash! Once one of the last two portals closed, he forced himself to change direction and head straight for Saiph. "You're mine!"

However, he was shocked to see Yohan and Saiph standing side by side, drawing a fist each back, as he could see both of their fists starting to shake faster as time passed. "W-wait! Stop! We can work this out!" He shouted out in a high-pitched speedy tone, but it was too late. Both of them ended up shouting out and both punched The Djinn in the face at the same time. The Djinn could feel himself stop briefly, as if time had stopped just for this instant to let him know he was screwed, before he felt a speed like never before flood his body and send him skyrocketing out of the building's hole where the roof once was, leaving only a smokey trail behind. With a last and fading scream, The Djinn could only curse both of the brats as his physical body broke away thanks to the overpowering speed they had transferred into him before flying over the ruined town Kogo and the others were currently in before flying off so fast into the distance that you'd swear he was just a twinkling star if you even blinked!

Back with Saiph and Yohan, Saiph took a deep breath and sighed, her body ached some from the exertion, but something else welled up inside, barely containing her snickering. "W-we totally just blasted off a being that could perform like, the impossible," she says, cracking out in laughter, so hard that she ends up holding her ribs. "Ow, and t-the look on his face~! Priceless~!" she howls. She then takes in a another deep breath through her nose, slaps her hands on her knees, and stands up straight trying to regain her composure. She withdraws her metal claw from her right hand, holding out a more human looking gloved hand instead to Yohan, and grips it into a fist. "Boom?" she says.

Yohan let out a sigh of his own. He looked himself over, smoke wouldn't stop coming off of his body now, and he could see some of his body was red. His outfit was even messed up from doing all of that so fast. He didn't care though. That Djinn, whatever it was, wouldn't be making a return anytime soon. She was right: They had just defeated a creature that could basically do the impossible. It could of been worse, but they had acted in time to stop him from doing anything worse than what he could of done. Looking over to see her hold out a glove, he couldn't help but smile upon seeing her turn it into a fist. He gave her a big stupid smile and lightly bumped one of his injured fists into hers. That's when he grabbed hold of her shoulder and pulled her into a hug, he couldn't stop himself from laughing as he partially used her for support to keep standing. "Ow, I hurt all over." He managed to say, yet the injuries looked worse than he was letting on.

Just as he said this, however, they both could hear a sudden explosion nearby. Looking over to the scene, they could both see Ricky slowly walking forward, the demon part of his body now breaking away to reveal the human side underneath it. Blood ran down from his body partially, but nothing he wouldn't majorly suffer from right now. "You two..." He spoke out, pointing his finger slowly at them, now with a dark expression of death on his face. "Are so dead for this." He brought up both fists and slammed them together, glaring at them both as they could see his jacket completely torn off. "I don't need The Djinn to finish the both of you! I still have power left in this body! I can still win!"

"Lets see here...Have to make sure the colour is right and all the proportions are correct..." Frederick spoke to himself as he was drawing...someone. He was moving everywhere, laying on his back, standing on a car to work on the figures head, bending in many different angles to work on his drawing or more appropriately a figurine.

He had saw Saiph charge into the portal, brave bunny girl he had to admit. Although Yohan was alive, of course if he was they all be dead because of the chess rules that if the king died you lose the game. But no need to think on that, the portal could still be a trap even with...what was his face guarding it?...

Eh...who cared...he was the villain and the enemy. He tried to kill them for goodness sakes! Once someone tried to kill you then ain't no room for liking them. Now where was he? Oh yeah his drawing!

It took him a while, and he probaly missed the epic into for a fight. But he was putting the final colour on the figure. But he drew him!



Hey! This power was cool. Now he can draw whenever he felt like it! With his arms crossed he nodded at his work. Well he did good. "How long do you plan to marvel at my appearance mortal? Well, its to be expected when one gazes upon me!" The figure spoke as he laughed.

What? Did his drawing speak? Holy Mikey! He just drew him! And it is actually alive! This power was amazing! Wait a second...if that was the case then...oh...he just summoned a very arrogant person. And powerful!

"Amazing! I know you! Your cool and amazing! I am proud to---" "Yes, yes. You can stop praising me. Since you summoned me I will let you witness my power." The figure waved him off as he grabbed afrederick and began to drag him to the portal.

"Wait...The enemy is in there! It's like an obvious trap!" Frederick warned as the figure kept walking with a laugh. "Then, I shall elimate one of the masters to get much closer to my goal."

"Wait! That does not even!---" Frederick tried to speak until he was pulled through the portal. With one last voice in his head. "Oh my...Already ditching me for someone else? Such a cruel man. Using your knowledge on such childish cartoons to fight...Are you really a adult?"

Ricky's breathing had grown heavy, he had just been back-stabbed by the only real ally he could trust to take care of anything he couldn't. Yesterday, he was but a nobody, a common loser among the pile of ever growing garbage. This world was filth, he had seen that early on within his life. Could he trust his own family? No, he didn't need them anymore to rely upon, so he turned his back on them! What about the gang he had been part of? Screw them! He killed them all anyway, the ones who he had spared looked to have fled anyway. Miserable cowards, the moment they were done they turned tail and didn't even bother to come back to help him! Especially since these two had a really annoying combination to them!

That's when he heard something, his eyes widening as he could feel pressure building up inside of him. He looked over to see two more people coming in! WHAT?! More people?! What was this, he thought everyone else had ditched, but now here was the annoying janitor guy with some golden flashy dude! This was nonsense, he wasn't good fighting alone multiple people! His heart rate started to increase, he could feel all the remaining demon parts he had left break away to reveal the sad human form he had. "No..." Ricky fell to his knees, putting his hands up to his face. "I can't... Do this..." His body starts to shake as his teeth could be heard chattering behind his hands. "I... I don't want to do this alone. I can't... Handle this alone."

Ricky's body began to sweat, his heart rate increasing and making a fearful sound he could feel pounding within his own bloody head! He felt his mind going all over the place, his hands gripping his face tightly as he just wanted it all to stop! Make it stop, make it stop, make it STOP!!! "I GIVE UP!!! I WANT THEM ALL TO DIE!!!" Ricky screamed at the top of his lungs! "GIVE ME THE POWER TO DO THIS!!!" It all fell silent for a moment, though it would feel like an eternity with how long Ricky seemed to suddenly stop moving. That's when they all started to hear a heartbeat. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. It grew louder over time as Ricky's body began to twitch with every beat they heard. Slowly, he began to rise up to his feet, as if being controlled by someone. That's when the red aura started to manifest itself within his eyes and around himself. They could all hear a sinister cackle begin to grow louder.

"Wish granted, Ricky. The door has been opened, and now, Malice takes hold of you and this town!" Red cracks begin to manifest around the building, the red aura engulfing Ricky within it as the voice turned into a loud shriek! The floor beneath them transformed into some kind of red mush like structure. The walls began to have some red liquid melting over them, as eyeballs began to pop up all over the building's walls. The hole transformed into some kind of mouth that only grinned horrible fangs at them, with rows upon rows of teeth being seen. Tentacles began to burst forth all over the place, slamming down wherever they could and destroying any object they could. Even the sky itself could no longer be visible, covered with some kind of red color that would seem to be unusual, not even the blue moon was visible through it to them.

"Humanity is weak." The voice called out, but now with Ricky's own voice coming through. The red aura began to fade to reveal Ricky, but now in some kind of armor. His eyes only glowing red, as the red aura completely faded away. Two large machine guns formed within Ricky's hands, as the voice continued. "I am Malice. I am truth, I am justice, I am human. I will now fulfill my end of the bargain, and engulf Timberland as the first example of humanity's future!" That's when everyone could feel some small pain within their bodies, Malice Ricky remaining unmoving from his spot as he aimed one gun at Saiph and Yohan's direction, while aiming the other at Frederick and Gilgamesh's direction. For whatever reason, Gilgamesh was the only one unaffected by the pain the others could feel right now.



Frederick clenched his stomach as though he had a small stomach ache. He could feel a small pain in his body for some weird reason. Oh, maybe it was because the person in front of them went into full blown insanity. Of course the man by his side kept an easy and firm grip on him as he looked at Frederick and chuckled. "Even with your power to summon me you still succumb to whatever is going on here?" He spoke as he looked around the room. Bringing Frederick up to look around so he does not have to explain things to him.

The sight was disturbing to say the least. Almost straight from those RPG horror games Frederick has played before. The walls and floor was turning into a flesh like substance. The walls had eyes and the hole suddenly grew fangs. For Frederick this was freaky as heck! There were even massive tendrils forming on the walls and..."Its gonna hit us!" Frederick pointed as one of the tendrils was about to smash both him and the figure.

The golden man simply laughed as a portal manifested itself behind him and with a snap of his fingers a spear was flung out from it to impale the tentacle. Of course the threat of the weapons pointed at him posed a threat. Simple enough the golden man though. "Does he think to oppose me? Prepare to witness true power mongrel! You face I the king of Uruk! Gilgamesh! Kneel before me and die!" He spoke with a arrogant smirk on his face.

A human thinking he could oppose him? This would be easier than he thought. Of course as he nodded his head to use his power. He had expected a wall of portals to appear behind him...but only a meager few only showed up. What was this? He should have a wall of weapons thrown at the human and instead he only could muster up this?

No, something was up with this. However there was no time to think. If his powers were being limited than he had to make due. Dragging Frederick from his stunned stupor.

He sent forth three weapons at the armor wearing, machine gun using human. A combination of swords and pole arms before running with a screaming Frederick on his shoulder. Standing still was a foolish mistake. Especially now that he knew that he might be weaker for some reason.

Saiph steps back, nearly stumbling, as she was clearly taken by surprise, as things have seemingly went to literal hell. Looking down she watched how the surge of magic twisted and gnarled the place, infecting it. Looking back up she found herself facing the barrel of a large gun. Was this the effect of his final wish? But they defeated the Djinn, it should have been nullified along with his demonic power! This was not Ricky anymore, it was a vessel to something that shouldn't be here... but...

Before she could formulate a plan, some golden warrior dragging Frederick along bursts through, and starts attacking the growths now flooding the place. Before she knew it, the man cries out a challenge the... Malice Ricky, like some video game or anime hero. It took her a moment to realize the man was a pure magical being, was this the nature of Frederick's power? Before she knew it though, the man charged forward with Fred in tow!

"What?! No no no! Don't get close to him, and don't stay in his sights!" she yells, grabbing hold of Yohan and scrambling to the side in an effort to get out of the aim of the guns. "His dominion... Payne... he is radiating it like a flame, he doesn't even need to channel it anymore! If you get too close..!"

"Too late for that." Malice Ricky spoke out, the machine guns opened fire. Luckily for Frederick, the machine gun was firing off at Gilgamesh, not himself. Yohan had been stunned by what was going on around them, when hew as suddenly pulled to the side by Saiph as the machine aiming at them opened fire. It was horrifying, to say the least. Nothing about yesterday or today would have prepared him for whatever this was. Malice, it said? The door? This all sounded familiar to him, but why was he not fully understanding why it was important?

As Gilgamesh pulled Frederick in closer towards Malice Ricky, the pain within Frederick began to rise up like a tide, the pain quickly expanding more throughout his body the more he got closer to Malice Ricky. "Payne? That was the old Dominion. With that third wish, and my power coming in, it is now Max Payne!" As the weapons hit the armor, the red eyes of Malice Ricky shifted over slowly towards them, raising up his left arm as the weapons rose up into the air as well. With a simple motion of the arm, the weapons burst and scattered until nothing remained. "It appears I have also found your weakness. You appear to be able to create constructs, yet you do not even realize the constructs are a part of your power. The more pain you feel from Max Payne, the more your concentration is divided. Without that focus, your constructs power also weakens."

The eyes then shifted over towards Yohan and Saiph's direction. "As for you two... You appear to be too smart to allow to live. You have already figured out one of Max Payne's abilities. You are correct, Max Payne no longer needs to be restricted to just physical contact or weapons. I now hold an area, with my body being the center for it. The closer you are to me, the more pain you will feel. Unless, of course, you are a magical construct of someone's powers. Ah well, I'll destroy you along with the brats." With the red eyes narrowing, Yohan could feel himself beginning to sink down into the new floor structure.

"Let's do a little test, shall we little rabbit?~ You appear to have some form of care over both of these individuals, however, who will you choose to help? The man approaching me now, or the boy I am submerging? Making the wrong choice will cost you dearly." The voice couldn't help but chuckle in delight of the situation. "You must have also figured out that my guns are unusual." The machine guns both now shifted over towards Frederick's direction and began to open fire! "Ah-hahaha! Let your blood be the first to be spilled! Soon all of Timberland will be at my mercy!~"

Frederick called out in Pain as Gilgamesh dragged him closer. The bullets from the machine guns, crude human inventions were actually putting holes in his armor! However, it was when he explained that if Frederick was in pain then he himself would be weakened as a result. If that was the case...If Frederick was weak he was weak.

So putting both together as long as he stayed away from the man he could fight much better and unhindered. Of course, it would have been much better if he realized this sooner. Especially now that the man who summoned him was in the cross-hairs.

Choices to make, with very little time. No need to waste time. Turning around to Face Frederick, Gilgamesh lifted him up and with as much force as he could muster kicked him in a way that he would fly behind him. A spartan kick. Sure, that must have hurt a lot Judging by the sound of Frederick yelling loudly in pain but he had no time to waste. He was in the path of the bullets, but if his hunch was correct. That means the distance between him and the aura was good enough to the point where he could resist the bullets.

Of course, it was this or his guaranteed death if the man died. And he rather not get killed and wait an eternity once again to be called upon.

"Eh, well that is... agh, gross!" Saiph looked back at Yohan, the weird structure of the place was somehow now... eating him!? As if it wasn't twisted enough! And now that thing wearing Ricky's skin, Malice it called itself, it was smarter in ways, trying to toy with her with an ultimatum. Choose to save Yohan or to save Frederick. But, as if her previous words were heard, she saw Frederick soaring like a bird. She simply laughed, creating a portal to catch him, and land him behind some crates. There was a tinge of a pain in her skull, but she kept on, reaching around and pulling at Yohan with one hand, and trying to pry the weird slimy floor open with the other. "I gotcha, dawg, no way am I leaving you as mimic chow!"

"Looks like the choice was made for me, not like there was one to begin with," she admits, looking back at Malice Ricky. "And you... with all that power, and that Max Payne... wait... that sounds familiar. How's... that vessel of yours handling..? Especially without Djinn..?"

He hasn't moved since this all started, at first she thought it was taunting them, that he didn't have to budge to destroy them, but now it felt more like there was something else at work here. It was raw power, he never specified a limit, it was perhaps even too much power for a human body to handle! It was tragic for Ricky, but there was no way this could maintain itself for too long, especially with Djinn now out of the picture. Still, it felt like an eternity as the pain in her body was not subsiding. For now, though, she had to pull Yohan free, and keep moving, as attacking head on for either of them would be a death wish.

Yohan was surprised when she grabbed hold of him and began to pull. Yeah, it hurt on top of the pain he was normally feeling, but it was enough to pull him free and he stumbles with her before collapsing down. "Ugh. I'm okay." He stated, though as he got up, he looked over to see where Frederick was now lying. "This thing, whatever it is... It's not natural." He stated the obvious, however, he continued regardless. "Everyone has a door inside of them? That's a scary thought. To know that at any moment, even someone like Ricky can turn into a monster. That should pressure on me to back down, in fact, it should utterly make me want to run away from all of this." That's when Yohan's hands tightened into fists.

"But I won't. It's done just the opposite for me." Yohan slowly looked up at Malice Ricky's direction. "I can feel it in my body. The pain you are emitting... It's not complete, is it? If that's the case..." Yohan's legs started to shake. "THEN I'LL GIVE IT MY ALL!" Without another word, Yohan vanished from view. Malice Ricky couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Using your speed against me?! How foolish!" Malice Ricky shouted with glee. "All you will do is further your own death, and the deaths of your friends! It's time you learned the painful way of how life worked!" But as Malice Ricky said this, a noise began to grow louder in the background. He noticed it too, for he turned to look... To see one of the crates flying in at charging speeds! Malice Ricky was caught off guard by this, but shot at it anyway and tore it into pieces, with only some of them hitting him and breaking off some of his armor.

"What was that? The best you could do? Please. Try harder in the next life!" But that's when Malice Ricky saw Yohan appear in front of him, and for a few seconds, everything had slowed down to a crawl as the red eyes widened in surprise. Yohan's right leg came soaring out fast as a bullet, knocking into the side of Ricky's head before sending his body flailing into the wall behind him. Yohan manages to land on his feet, collapsing down to a knee afterword as he could feel the overwhelming pain beginning to crush down on his body. As if that wasn't enough, Malice Ricky pulled itself out from the wall it had gotten thrown into, letting out a low hiss as those red eyes glared at him.

"Did you really think that was a wise idea? Do you know the amount of pain your friends must be feeling because of you?" Malice Ricky couldn't help but erupt into a sinister laugh as he approached Yohan. "Feel the pain. Feel the death approaching." Malice Ricky aimed his guns straight for Yohan. "EMBRACE DEATH!" But Malice Ricky didn't fire, noticing something was wrong as he aimed his guns at Yohan's direction. His arms were... Shaking? What was going on? He couldn't focus, but wait, that meant... "No! NO! NOOOO!!!!" Malice Ricky shouted out with such fury, as his entire body began to vibrate at increasing speeds, unable to control himself fully now. The pain everyone felt subsided down to a minimal effect now, as Yohan couldn't help but grin.

"I knew it. So that's another ability, is it? You can negate any pain you receive, so no matter how many times we knock you down, you'll just get back up as if it never happened, right? Too bad. Had you been able to feel pain, you would of noticed sooner my super speed taking effect on your body. You might of thought that kick was weaker than it should of been, but I only held back to make sure the transfer would go off without fail." Yohan stands up slowly to his feet as cracks begin to form all over Malice Ricky's armor. "I've also noticed you've been unable to move. Though you can negate pain, it seems you can't move that fast. You just showed me how slow you really can move around in that armor. Looks like opening that door wasn't all it was cracked up to be, was it? Too bad. Had you stayed as just Ricky, you might of actually been able to deal some damage. Looks like that's never going to happen now, since your time is almost up!"

"HOW DARE YOU!!!" Malice Ricky shouted, now with the most fury they ever heard come out of him. His two guns vanished and arms began to force themselves out of the eyes, out of the tentacles, and even out of the ground, all to aim guns which had lights on them. All of the red lights directed themselves upon Yohan, as he stood there and closed his eyes with a small smile now. "YOU ARE DEAD! DEAD!! DEAD!!! KILL HIM, KILL HIM, KILL HIM!!!!" All of the arms began to open fire at Yohan without a second thought, only obeying Malice Ricky without a second thought. But the boy was right, his time was running short now, and his concentration was screwed up with it! Damn him! He figured out that applied to him as well from what he told Frederick, didn't he?! It didn't matter, they would all be crushed before this was over, he'd give it all he got now!

Frederick slowly dragged himself up from behind a small stack of crates, the pain from that aura now gone. Only the pain from his gut was left but compared to that aura this was like...better. It still sucked. What was the big idea kicking him like that!?...oh wait, he remembered what that figure said about him weakening his magical construct or whatever he called it.

Gilgamesh did it to save the both of them! How considerate! Of course he decided to keep his head down with more bullets flying! Would crates even provide good cover!?

For Gilgamesh, he chuckled to himself as Malice Ricky was focused on the kid. He could feel more power than before no doubt thanks to Frederick's safety of course. Not only did he feel stronger, it was as if his body was stronger as well. He would make sure to keep a mental note of this. Of course he could care less about injuring him himself. He just got in the way and needed him out of it quickly.

Of course he would not let this opportunity slip by him. A fully distracted person blinded by rage? Possibly not aware of his surroundings. With a smirk four portals appeared behind him and with a snap of his fingers more swords and spears flung right for him with just a bit more speed, and much more power than before. Of course this pales in comparison to his real power.

With Frederick now not in constant pain, he could feel his magical link to him strengthen. Now he could fight without much worry....as long as his 'master' did not get into trouble.

Saiph felt the fluctuation in power, the drop in pain, it was true, it was never meant to last. At first she was afraid of Yohan getting in that close, but after the apparent damage Malice Ricky received from the fury of the boy's attacks showed that fear was no longer necessary. Max Payne was decaying quickly, and and now he was absolutely fixated on Yohan. It was time to finally put an end to this.

Reaching up, pushing in buttons on the sides of her helmet, the lights of the lenses fade, removing the filter they provide, she was soon flooded with visions of space in its nausea-inducing entirety. With apparent strain, her arms shaking, her legs wobbly, she creates multiple portals around Yohan, absorbing the hail of bullets. The other end of these portals however, surrounded none other than Malice Ricky himself!

Malice Ricky was caught off guard by the portals appearing around Yohan, in his anger he had completely forgotten about them. It was clear Malice was no longer really in control, but good old Ricky again. Though the fun had lasted for only a little bit, the good times for Ricky were over. As the portals opened up and surrounded him, making it impossible for him to even consider escaping, Malice Ricky's eyes widened before all the bullets came flying in and hit him all at once, making a cloud of smoke appear over where he stood. All was silent for a while, and then, the building began to flicker.

It was though they were in some kind of glitch, the flickering only getting faster with the things Malice had brought over unable to even move now. It didn't take long for the flickering to stop completely, with the building now back to normal. Although almost all of the items within it had been destroyed, the building itself somehow remained in tact. Once again, the dark green sky shined over them, with the blue moon hanging over within it. The tension was too real, was it finally over, had that finished off Ricky? But of course, Yohan knew better than to assume so quickly. This was a guy who had done nothing but kept throwing himself back in the fight. Who knows what more surprises this guy had in store for them tonight.

As the smoke faded away, blood could be seen dripping on the floor in large quantities now. With an unsteady sigh, Ricky stood with blood dripping down most of his gunshot wounds. The armor was completely shattered though, it was all too clear that Malice was gone. How much time had truly passed in that space of Malice's? No one could really tell. However, that's when light started to fill in through the hole. Yohan looked up to see the sky having changed now. Apparently time had caught back up with their location, as he could see the sun now rising to make the dark green sky just now normal green. Yohan let out a sigh in relief, the light comforting to him through all the horrors they had just went through. But it wasn't over yet. Not while Ricky still remained conscious.

Ricky, on the other hand, was going through pain more than he ever had in his life. Despite still being alive and standing, he could feel Malice's influence gone now from his body. The Djinn's wishing side effects were starting to kick in, he could feel his brain dropping from the quality it once had. He could feel his body beginning to unravel as the side effects of the quickened experiment with The Black was ruining his body. He could feel his muscles practically screaming as they were being reduced. His pain had never felt greater than this one moment as smoke rose from his body. He glared over at Yohan, his eyes twitching as he forced himself to stay awake despite everything catching up to him.

"Why...? Why you do this?" Ricky spoke, his tone completely different from before. Now instead of the cocky hothead he had once been, he sounded more akin to that of a child with an adult's voice. It was clear that his brain would never fully recover from this experience if he should survive. Ricky took the most painful step forward with his left foot that he ever had to, the leg shaking from the dramatic pain that coursed throughout his body now. His entire body was shaking in pain, it was a pitiful sight to watch. "Why you take from me? Why you ruin fun? Why...?" Ricky gasped for breath, the only eye forced open was the left one. The blood dripping down from the right side of his face caused him to close up the right eye. "I am alpha. I am best. I... Am... Ticky."

Frederick crawled from his cover as things seemed to return to normal. Of course, what was left was a very bloody Ricky. It seemed that this was the climax, the final words of the villain they say. He sorta felt bad, the kid looked like hell. Must have been in lots of pain. But of course he did try to murder them so he did not feel really bad. But he still felt bad.

Of course, his pal was not a very forgiving sort. "Pathetic, you were no alpha. Just a sad excuse for a human that thought with a small bit of power you could accomplish what I had tried once before. But this is a fitting end for a mongrel like yourself. Slowly bleeding out alone. Honestly, most humans are pathetic. So a pathetic end is what a mongrel like you deserves." Gilgamesh spoke as he glanced over at Yohan and waved his hand. "It might be better for you to simply kill him like the dog he is. No need to waste any more time."

Frederick was about to voice his opposition however. That was cold! I mean he did summon someone like that so it was to be expected...but still killing him was going too far...but of course he is Probably in a lot of pain as well...Shoot, he was not sure what to say now.

With shaking hands, the rabbit girl reaches up, crawling her actual hands over her helmet, and presses the switches turning back on the filters. She spends a moment to catch her breath, her mechanical claws having fallen limp to her sides. Then she looked up at the bloody mess of Ricky, or at least the ruins of what was once Rick. Even though there was little choice given, something, a feeling, sunk deep inside her. She had been feeling a number of those rather often lately.

"I wish it didn't have to be this way," she mutters, knowing such would not be granted. Her mind raced, which was rather painful now. His mind was failing, his words growing more and more simple, nearing incoherence. As horrible of a person he may have been, to see him reduced to... this, was it maybe still too inhumane? Fitting, she questioned to herself, after hearing the construct's speech. Was it right to judge someone who's mind was rapidly failing? It just felt... miserable.

"He's met with a terrible fate, hasn't he?" Maddy says, face right next to Saiph's. Naturally, nobody but her could see or hear this giant rabbit creature. "It is true what they say, the light that shines twice as bright, burns only half as long. Tsk, tsk."

"W-what do we do with... him? He's... broken," Saiph says, trying not to look at the dulling in Ricky's eyes, glancing over at Maddy instead, who taps their fingers together rhythmically, shifting eyes left and right like an old kit-cat clock. For a moment she raises up her right mechanical claw, aiming the sharp nails towards Ricky, but with a sigh she drops the claw back down and hangs her head, rubbing the back of her neck. "Heh... I can't, it just don't seem... right, y'know?"

Ricky growled at the pity they were giving him, even if he didn't know what the actual word meant anymore. He tightened his hands into fists tightly, a menacing red aura surrounding him as he lets out a very painful yell, but still, the effect was done. The bullets burst out of his wounds, now shattered and falling around him in pieces. His body moves in strange ways as the wounds begin to close themselves up, the bleeding even stopping as he gave them all a very sinister smirk as smoke rose from the parts of his body that had been painfully shut.

"So this is Max Payne when you want to use it on yourself, huh?" Yohan spoke up, for some reason not addressing the others at the moment. "Must hurt, huh? You probably did it by instinct before that Malice thing wore off on you. How painful. You have given up everything, and yet, you still are willing to give up more just to fight a little longer?" Yohan shook his head side to side. "That's enough. I'm done fighting you. This fight was over long before you even knew it. You had a trap set up for me, right? I also had a trap set up for you. You didn't even see it coming."

But Ricky ignored Yohan's words, growling out like an animal would as he pulled out his remaining pistol and aimed it at Yohan's direction, the red aura continuing to flail around him. "I don't know how your Dominion fully works or if it can provide more. You've really fallen down into the deepest pit of despair, eh? You must hate everything right now, but you must hate me most right now since you have your focus on me." Yohan closed his eyes and let out an annoyed grunt. "You can't understand a word I'm saying, right? Or at least most of it. What's the point of getting words across." Yohan waved his right hand in the air at Ricky. "I'm done. I'm leaving. I don't care if you see it as a forfeit. It's over." Yohan turned his back to Ricky and began to walk slowly back to Saiph, it was obvious his body was in a lot of pain right now.

Ricky's eyes began to twitch as he saw Yohan walking away. What was this, was he still mocking him?! One of them was saying to just kill him, another had spoken a question about what to do with him. He wasn't trash, he knew that much for certain still! His gun began to shake violently in his hand as he glared at Yohan's back as it went further away from him. Who did he think he was, playing God in front of him! He ruled Timberland, he ran this town now, it was his to do with as he pleased! Including little snot nosed brats like you! There was no way the others were in any condition to stop him, he gained a grew big smirk on his face as he aimed right for Yohan's heart, oh this was going to be good! Even if he was to become an imbecile for the rest of his life, he didn't care! He had one shot, and this idiot just started to walk away! Yes, victory was his, at long last, Ricky would triumph and hold victory over something!

Ricky pulled the trigger, and as he did so, he saw the gun unleash a powerful blow! His jaw dropped as he saw the bullet go through, he actually did it! It was his turn to shine! The others must be pissing themselves right now with fear, yes, yes, yes!!! Ricky's eyes widened and had an unspeakable fire burning within them! He could at long last... At long last.... Last...? Something was off. As reality returned to him, he realized something terrible had happened. He was falling...? Why was he falling down now? No, this can't be right, he had seen the bullet go through, didn't he?! What was going on, why was he falling, where was he right now?!?!

As Ricky's body collapses on the floor, he feels his body growing cold as he could only stare up at the hole to see light coming down on him. Why was he here? He had won, right?! His eyes were growing heavy on him, it was annoying to keep them open for much longer, but he just had to know! He felt his breathing slowing down, his vision was fading on him. Curses to this body, curse it to the pits! He began to reach an arm up slowly to the hole, but as he did so, he felt his body growing too heavy to even move. It was too much of a pain now. One final breath escaped his lips and his arm falls flat right now to him. It was time to just put it all behind him now.

In reality, however, things had gone differently than Ricky had thought. Yohan heard Ricky let out some kind of crazy screech of joy, his eyes widening with fear as he turned over to see Ricky aiming the gun right for him! Oh, shoot! He was way too fatigued and had overused his body with his new super speed too much to be able to dodge this one! As Ricky pulled the trigger, something unusual happened as the gun shatters to pieces and damages his hand beyond repair. Yohan's eyes widen as he realized that he had placed a final transfer on Ricky's pistol should he use it. His hand would probably never work again, but that wasn't all. Ricky's body was flown back from the powerful force of the gunshot combined with the explosive super speed, he could see the confused expression growing on Ricky's face.

Just when the worst of it was over, the bullet sped past Yohan's face and left a grazed mark on it. Yohan flinched and collapsed to his knees, watching as the bullet ricocheted off some of the broken parts of one of the crates, not even getting close to Saiph, before flying back and missing him completely! Yohan could only watch in horror as the bullet Ricky had shot at him pierced right into Ricky's own neck! Ricky's eyes widened with pain as he limply fell on the ground, his body bouncing a bit before finally resting as Ricky stared confused at the hole above them all. He began to raise his arm while it shook weakly, Yohan could hear Ricky's breathing slowing down as Ricky struggled to find the next words. Yohan didn't even know if Ricky was even aware of his own actions right now or not.

"Where... Are you.... My friends...?" Even if Ricky couldn't really speak right now, his lips moving were just enough that they could all read out what he was saying. "Where... Are you... Brother... Father... Mother?" He kept going, Yohan could only remain frozen in place as he watched Ricky's final moment of life. "Where... Are you... Djinn? Someone... Anyone... Help... Me." But that was all Ricky could get out before his arm collapsed and the life faded completely from his eyes. His head tilting to the left as his breathing had stopped completely. Yohan closed his eyes tightly as he tried to keep himself from freaking out. It was partially his fault, but ultimately, Ricky had taken his own life in the end. Either way, it was over. Even if the ending wasn't what Yohan was hoping for at all, he came to accept that Ricky's fate was ultimately doomed no matter what outcome came before him.

Wraith glanced to Felix and spoke before Seb could get a response. “Show some damn re...” cut off, by a fist to the jaw Sebastian had suckerpunched the inner demon while its attentions were elsewhere. The resulting vector blast would shatter the scales on Sebastian’s hand and on Wraith’s face; causing Sebastian to fall back against the wall. Wraith however hit the opposite wall and exploded into smoke before reforming. “that fucking hurt Sebby...”

Scowling at one another; sebastian simply said “good... can you walk Felix?” his head turning slightly to look over at Felix. “as for your question, the arrogant asshole me is the inner demon” he began to cough, Swinging his sword around and hooking his arms over the hilt guards and coughing into his arms. Having stabbed the blade into the ground and now using it to support his weight.

“come on i think i know of a place to get out of here, just need to hope that we’re close by it” Sebastian took his breather and pushed on ahead, he was exhausted and he could feel the pain numb as it was stinging across his entire body, he would be in for a surprise when he stopped suppressing his bioelectricity; a very agonising surprise.

Exiting the building he quickly stepped into cover and away from the fight that seemed about to begin between Kogo and the iron coated tiger. He pushed himself onwards heading towards the northern side of the decrepit town, a dystopian, destroyed mockery of their home.
“where the hell is it?” he mumbled to himself looking about for a specific building in particular.

It looked like Felix was about to get an answer, although from who he had no idea as both looked identical. But then the speaker was suckerpunched, and the other explained…right, he thought, that one must be the real Sebastian. He noted that the real one had lost a few scales on his hand, whereas the copy had lost a few on the face. He would probably try to ignore the copy.

“Is that what Kogo’s calling these things you can see but no-one else can? But er…we can all see him. Eh, nevermind that.” Felix’s mind was racing, trying to keep up with all of this new information. It was hard enough coming to terms with all of this. His eyes widened.

“Wait, so…” he reached down to the floor, where the weasel was now scurrying around and generally being a nuisance, grabbed the pest by the scruff of the neck and held it up, “This thing is mine? Well, that’s…underwhelming.” He said, slightly crestfallen. The weasel folded its arms and hmphed indignantly.

“Yeah, I can walk fine, thanks.” He replied to Sebastian’s question, “Honestly, I’m more worried about you. Looks like you got beat up pretty bad back there.”

As Sebastian began coughing and leaned on his sword, Felix rushed over.

“Whoa dude, you’re way too hurt to be going anywhere like that. Here, let me help.” Felix tore a strip of cloth off what would have been a curtain and used it to tie the sword and bow to his back. Supporting him by the shoulders, he helped Sebastian to stand on his feet and get out of the building.

“How would you know the way out of here? You haven’t…been here before, have you? I suppose there could be something about this in an old myth or legend. Hmm. I don’t…recall anything.”

“The only real injuries are the ones...well the phantom pains, they kick the hell outta ya’ that and Sonea diving on that thing’s face” Sebastian looked to the side as Wraith walked beside the two of them picking the broken and flaking scales from its jaw.

“What? No comment to add, no insult to throw?” Sebastian was waiting for the response but Wraith just rolled his head to the side and looked at Sebastian with a half concealed, malice filled, Smirk. “Are you sure you want to push your luck now?, I can quite easily stop your little vector trick and cause you to have a heart attack amongst all the agony you’d feel with the stopping of said vector trick.”

Wraith just laughed aloud and then in a cloud of smoke disappeared returning to the pits of Sebastian’s mind. “Felix, whenever we’re on this side...could you keep an eye out on that psychopath, also i would much rather have a ferret as a demon, that way it can’t do much apart from pester me in my sleep.” he sighed ragged of breath, he just felt like he needed to pass out and rest, but here that was a death sentence.

They were just coming upon the end of the road from where he was told there was some freaky spherical thing in his old home’s basement. It had been quite the walk really. “as for how i think there might be a way out, an old friend, i haven’t seen in years, used to live here in town, mentioned some stuff about his old home and how it had a thing that could take you to another world...let’s hope it wasn’t childish ramblings. As for being here before, i can’t recall and if i have, I’m sworn to secrecy.”

The building wasn’t to far different to the rest of the ruined town, boarded windows and glass scattering the walk upto the door, half hanging from the hinges and in the distance the dins of the fight they were avoiding rang out.

“I feel almost sorry for Sonea...who know’s what kind of crazy stuff Kogo can do” quite the understatement, but Sebastian wasn’t one hundred percent at the moment.

"Welcome to the morning news." The morning reporter started out. "Today we have some unfortunate urgent news that has just been brought to our attention a few minutes ago. Richard Leonard, also known as Little Ricky, was found dead just outside the police station not long ago. Richard Leonard, for those of you who don't know, was thought to have been a small time criminal who only caused destruction in his wake. Known to the public as Little Ricky, he was sent to jail multiple times, only to get out of it time and again by his father: Walter Leonard."

Yohan's head was pounding as he barely managed to drag himself towards the hospital. He already knew from what the police spoke about that they had already sent people to investigate his house over the night. Great, he just hoped they wouldn't find that Gateway or anything else magical. Yohan had done what he thought was the right thing and left the body of Ricky out for them to find, but didn't stick around for questioning or to be found. No fingerprints or any evidence of them having to do with Ricky's death wouldn't of been found or noticed by them. To the cops, they had simply gone their separate ways. It annoyed him that things ended this way, but it was for the best. For once, he agreed with the mindset Sienna would probably have in this scenario.

"That is how the story has been, or so we thought. However, once Ricky's body was brought in to the police, something strange happened over the last hour and a half. New things began to pop up, not just from his family, but from other people as well. It may very well be that Little Ricky was not a criminal at all. But a rebel who only wanted to fight against the injustice of something he saw wrong with today's society. His father was the first to speak up about this unheard of side of Little Ricky. The things he said contradict what the public had known for years, and this could very well change everything we once knew about Richard Leonard!"

It was only half an hour after Ricky's body had been brought in to the police. Walter Leonard had not heard of anything yet, as one of his assistant's opened the door after knocking to find him busy talking on the phone. The assistant was nervous, Walter always made it clear not to disturb him for anything when he was on the phone. However, the news she had heard pushed her today to have to bring him the bad news. "Sir." She spoke up loudly, causing Walter to pause and put his free hand over the phone as he looked over to her.

"Did I not make myself clear before? I am not to be disturbed right now! I am on an important call with very important people!" Walter Leonard uncovered his hand over the phone and resumed talking. But that's when he heard the word again, this time louder. His eyes narrowed as he sighed and shook his head. "I apologize, sir. I will have to call you back. Yes, I know, but this is urgent. My deepest apologies." Hanging up the phone, Walter put down the phone and could already feel the rage swelling up within his body as he turned viciously towards the assistant girl. "What is it?"

"Sir, it's... It's your son, Richard." Walter's expression immediately changed upon hearing about his little boy. "He was found dead half an hour ago near the Timberland Police Station." The news caused Walter's face to become grim as tears began to flood up within his eyes. A primal scream came out of Walter as he brought his hands up to his feet, throwing his glasses aside as he found himself falling to his knees, with his assistant rushing over to his side.

"My poor Little Ricky!" Walter sobbed out. "NO! Not my little boy! Anyone but him! Why?! Why not me instead?!" Walter's hands came down from his face that was now full of tears as his eyes raced over to look at his assistant. "Get my phone! I need to make some calls, now! I need to make them, right now! RIGHT NOW!" Walter's love for his Little Ricky was apparent, only out of fear did his assistant rush over to the phone and begin to dial numbers at his request. Walter continued to cry, his youngest son was dead and his heart had shattered into pieces upon hearing the news.

"It is with great pain that I..." Walter hesitated on the television, sniffling could be heard ever so slightly as he rubbed his face with his sleeve to wipe away the coming tears. "Announce today that I have been keeping a lie. My son's lie. He wanted to make it look like he was leading a life of crime. I opposed this time and again, telling him that he wouldn't even be labeled a vigilante! But he refused to listen to me, he was such a good little boy." Walter brought up his sleeve again before continuing. "It is with a great and heavy heart that I call on all of you not to see him as what he wanted to be. A criminal. He was my Little Ricky! All he wanted was to prove his point to the world! And now he is dead because of the corruption he saw within today's world!" Walter had to stop and walk away because he couldn't stop crying.

"You want me to what?" Walter spoke hesitantly over the phone. "Oh, no, I don't have a problem with saying all of that, it's just... For him? Are you certain about this sir?" Walter stopped to listen to the words of his superior. "I, I understand. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't for the wrong reasons was all." Walter walked over to his chair and sat down in it, letting out a low groan. "I will make some calls to the news station. I can pull some strings very quickly and be able to be out speaking about the matter at once. I will do it with only honesty though, sir. Nothing more, nothing less. I want to be clear here. I am only doing this for my son, not to play along with any of your games. If you understand that, then we will talk later."

"Aside from his father, other people have come up talking about how Little Ricky was actually doing things for the better of Timberland. When the connection between him and the death of his gang was brought up, it was actually revealed that Ricky was just brought up in the crossfire and acted out of self defense. Speaking of his gang, it is believed that Ricky found four survivor's among them and took them under his wing, uniting them under the same cause as him. However, traces of these four have yet to be discovered. It may be that they have run off, but police will investigate further into it."

The group of little delinquents laughed as they all held up jugs of beer against each other. They had abandoned Ricky in his finest hour, after delivering all of the items that were actually filled with The Black across town. The sun had risen up in the distance for them, so that meant by now, The Black had already spread throughout the town. Anyone who bought those items would be unknowingly spreading it further. They couldn't help but each laugh as they were going to ride off somewhere to relax and settle down. When Ricky died, The Black he had given them all had died out as well, meaning they were no longer involved in this whole magical business. Life was good, life was very good for them! They had just stolen a huge amount of cash, they had gotten away with potential murder, and best of all, Ricky was probably dead!

That's when the one Ricky had called Franky began to act weird. He couldn't breath for some reason and he was collapsing. The others all started to back away from him, they had already ditched one person today, they were willing to throw another aside. But just when it looked like they could run, black flames burst forth and burnt Franky to a crisp! The others could only stare with wide eyes as a new body began to quickly form within the horrible flames. Murderous eyes looked over towards them as they stood frozen to the spot with fear. A demonic smile could be made out from within the black flames as the being's right arm rose and sent out black flames rushing over to them. The last actions they would ever perform were that of horrifying screams.

Once all the black flames subsided, the reborn being walked over and checked over all of their items. Just as it was looking through the money they had collected, clothes were thrown on it and it looked annoyed. However, as it looked back, it couldn't help but gasp at who it saw. "You!" The voice called out. The person gestured for it to dress up. The being could only growl as it was forced to dress up in human clothes now. "This is terrific. I come back in a new body, and suddenly, I am forced to wear disgusting clothing over my body!" The being pointed at the man. "Let me guess. You're the reason I'm still alive, right? And let me also guess this. You must also be the reason everything happened tonight, right?"

"You guessed correctly." The man in shades revealed himself to the being, smirking as he pulled off those mysterious shades and opened his eyes, revealing them to be glowing yellow. "I didn't expect things to go as well as they did. But Ricky didn't fail me in the end. The kid never questioned me when I gave him the orders in person either." The man couldn't help but grin as four yellow eyes opened up in the darkness behind him. Spider webs began to latch out over the area behind him as he spread his arms out. "It's been a long time, Despair. I trust the Hellhound's death helped you? It's time we went back."

"Ugh, back to those sinful morons? I wonder what they've been doing in my absence. Give me a smoke." The man in shades handed Despair a cigarette, as Despair lit it himself with his thumb before puffing out some smoke. "Damn, it feels good to be alive. Guess there are some things I didn't even know Despair could do. But it feels like I've been set back to zero. We'll have to perform some new tests when we get back to the labs. You chose some good clothes for me though, you clever little sneak." Despair and the man in shades began to walk away, the spider webbing's dragging the items in a bunch behind them as they soon shot out and the man in shades caught the webbing's with his bare hand to carry.



"Without a doubt, today seems to be the day people are crying out for Little Ricky to be seen as some kind of voice of justice. Regardless, police will continue to investigate the strange incidents that have occured as of late. In other news..." Yohan couldn't stand to listen anymore as he was lying there in the hosptial bed, turning off the television as he groaned out to himself.

"What is this, some kind of sick joke? Suddenly Ricky's being hailed as an icon? A voice of justice for the people?" Yohan put a hand on his forehead. That wasn't right at all, Ricky clearly seemed like the kind of person who would just murder people without a second thought. And suddenly, when he dies, people turn him into a hero? It made Yohan worry, whatever was going on, the trouble had not yet ended for any of them or Timberland. "Something's not right."

"Dad," Saiph says, her voice shaky, her hands shaky, Barely she held her phone to her ear, sitting up, leaning up against a wall in an alleyway. She had been debating to make this call for a while, but finally mustered up the courage. She swallows hard, her head... well her entire body ached. "Heh... I think I... I might have outdone myself. I uh... I kind of... killed a man... o-or well-"

"Hm? What are... what is the matter? So you got involved." a deep and powerful voice is heard through the phone, almost causing her to pull the phone away. Mr. Grimm's voice was undeniably concerned, she already knew it would cause a stir. "Sugar, did you hear the news? It is about to get very... problematic there. You should return home... you should come home." It was clear, he knew something she did not. Getting up she sluggishly exited the alleyway, and around the corner to see a television on display behind glass, watching in horror what the news was saying about Ricky. She didn't know what to feel, she felt a lot of things lately that she never had quite before. Was it anger? Was it confusion? She was transfixed, stunned on how quickly this had gone down. Her arms grew limp and just hung there, barely holding the phone. "Listen to me."

"D-dad, that isn't true, y-you gotta... fix it!" she says, swinging the phone back up, her voice becoming apparently panicked. "I-it's wrong, we stopped him because... because he-," before she could continue her head began to hurt her once again, causing her to nearly lose her balance.

"Fix it how? How can I fix this?" he responds, somewhat harshly, causing Saiph to fall back and lean against the display window. She was at a loss of words, was he scolding her? "What do I tell the public? An opposing story about his character, with what living witnesses to back it up? Your new friends who up until recently were marked as missing? Who ran hysterically out of a police station by creatures that no normal person could see? That a man, mad with some dark magical power killed people? People... are not ready for this. And even if I did manipulate the news, two opposing stories would just cause mass confusion, and who knows what that would create," he says, as earnestly as he can to Saiph. She didn't like it at all, sliding slowly down to the pavement, holding her head. "You're not feeling well, you've strained yourself, you need rest... care... you can only get that, here. Please?"

"I... I, o-okay," she says, finally conceding, albeit reluctantly. "B-but I... don't have the strength to," she began to say, before the sound of a vehicle approaching caught her attention, and soon a lavish black limousine parked itself right across from her. "Heh... you, just had him waiting, didn't ya?"

"Always be prepared. See you soon, love you," Mr. Grimms says before hanging up. The door of the limo opens showcasing an even more lavish interior, soft red velvet seats and carpeting. Saiph managed to drag herself inside, shutting the door behind her.

---

Elsewhere in a little novelty shop, a young white-haired man, the local Timberland High School gym teacher and wannabe big time actor, Rupert Kraus was hunting for props in his next attempt at a play. He was dressed in a t-shirt sporting a wolf, the mascot of Timberland High. Around his neck a whistle, and wearing shorts. Pretty well what one would expect of a school's gym teacher.

The owner, a rather crotchety, balding, whiskery old man, was growing tired of how long he was taking to browse his wares, rapping his fingers on the counter, puffing away at a cigarette. He had been looking at a couple oriental masks on the wall, one of a Tengu, the other the menacing facial armor mask of a Samurai.

"You sure these all you got? Certainly not befit the great HERO of the next big epic!" he says, placing a hand over his chest and the other in the air, all with dramatic flair as he looks upwards.

"Listen bub, I got what ya see, no amount of posturing... or whatever it is you're doing... gonna change that," the owner says finally, slamming his hand onto the counter. "Just buy something and go, you're scaring the other customers!" Of course, there were no other customers in this shoddy little shop, but questioning that would likely just get a smug exactly in response.

"Fine! Then I uh..." before he could finish that statement, something seemed to suddenly pull at him, his attention magnetically being pulled to the glass case under the counter. He scurries over, kneeling down and looking within. Some old watches, most of them broken... some decks of old playing cards, lighters... but then he say something faint, like a black mist surrounding one item in particular. A rather fancy looking gun, etched with... Little Rick. His eyes light up and he claps his hands together startling the owner.

"Aha! This one!" he says, pointing at the gun. The store owner scratched his bald spot in confusion, twisting his mouth switching the cigarette from one corner of his mouth to the other.

"I'm not sure giving some weird youngster like you a firearm is-," the man begins. But Rupert enthusiastically digs into his pocket, pulling out his wallet, reaching in, and, with a clenched fist grabs as many dollars as he can and slams it down before the owner, a wide white sparkly grin appearing on Kraus's face. He didn't even bother to count, but the owner did, the cigarette falling from his mouth. Greedily he scoops it up, opens the case, pulling the gun and hands it over to Kraus with a smirk. "Know what? Screw it, it is yours kid! Have fun, shoot your eye out or whatevah, don't give a shit if yer being generous!"

"EEee yes! Thank you, thank you!" Kraus says, nearly dancing as he runs out of the shop. Outside he glances over the gun, a dreamy look in his eyes. People walking down the sidewalk look briefly at him, a bit of concern as they back up and start to walk the other way. "I can't believe it, the guy didn't even know! Hah! A piece of the hero himself, passed down upon... ME! It must be a sign, oh yes! Things are finally looking up for Rupert Kraus!"

"More than your wildest imagination, mortal," a whimsical voice is heard inside his skull, Kraus looks around in confusion, trying to locate its origin. Soon an odd feeling begins to well up inside of him. "You and me, we are both want what the other wants, to put on the greatest show nobody will soon forget!"



Kraus looks beside him, red eyes looking back into his as a strange figure in purple robes was leaning over. Nobody seemed to see it but him, some walking straight through the odd pale man, who's face contorts into a wide smile.

"Name's Puck by the way, and... you could say, we are quite the kindred spirits, you and I~!"