Justicar Base Camp

It had been a long walk for Phoenix across the dead land of Pandemonium, long with no food or water and it was starting to take a toll on the small demon. Her walking had slowly turned into dragging and it wasn't helping that the further she got out the brighter the sky became and the more she became blind. While she isn't an entirely elegant demon, she isn't one to stumble or run into things, that is until now because that's about all she did. Her blood lust was all but gone besides the want for blood, or food, in her case.

A strange silhouette appeared in the distance, a tall human shaped shadow. Phoenix smiled and stumbled a little quicker shadow shouted something incoherent as if there was someone around.

"The Rat knows you're alone," Phoenix said as she got a little closer.

"The Rat? Wait your...your a demon!" the man said, "Demon! Demon!"

Phoenix took out one of her knives from where it was hooked under her sack-like dress and sliced his chest, "He said to start a plague, you shall be first. Now plead to her until she bites." The man scrambled, punched and kicked, fighting back and undoubtedly bruising the small demon, but she lashed at him with her knife, slice after slice. When he was nearly dead and hoarse from yelling, Phoenix raised his arm and bit deeply when she dropped his arm the veins around the bite were already starting to change color, pumping the new plague into his body.

"Now where's your food and water? The Rat needs sustenance." Phoenix grabbed the sack the man had been carrying and quickly ate and drank everything he carried.

The sun peeked through the clouds and spotlighted the disastrous scene below. Phoenix yelled in pain and scuttled off towards the shadow of trees she spotted in the distance. Shade and safety, she ran blindly towards and collapsed in the cover the trees provided rubbing her arms to make the burns go away.

"It's been done, Phoenix did good, she started the plague for the camp of humans," she reassured herself, "Now Phoenix should heal herself before going any further."

She crept along the forest floor, the forest itself was unnaturally quiet with her presence there. The little demon came across a stream, something to heal her burnt arms. Phoenix took her hat off and splashed in the stream, rubbing her arms with cool water and mud and splashing the water on her face and in her mouth. If someone had seen her from a distance they would think she was more animal than demon, which in retrospect can often time be debated.

As the camp came into sight and she saw all the familiar faces of the humans she knew she had made it in time. Some called out to her as she flew but she didn't have time to stop and talk. She knew what they would ask, they wanted to know how her meeting had gone in Advara. But right now she didn't have time to think about the Advarans or the Venterans they could all go to hell, they all would go to hell if not for the Justicars peace making efforts. Akuma was all for saving the lives of the warring nations but only if her people's safety was ensured first. When she was sure the camp was safe she continued her flight towards the demon. She landed quietly a short way away from it. It was in a crouched position and for a moment she couldn't tell if what she was seeing was a demon or a small bear-like creature. But then the smell of decay reached her nose and when she looked off in the distance she saw it. It was a man's body, although you couldn't tell at first glance. He had only been dead a short while but he had already decomposed to the state of a body dead for months. What was left of him was green and swollen the way the face of a hanged man swells and puffs. Despite the strong odor there were no signs of flies or even scavengers around the body. It was like the animals could sense that it wasn't safe to eat or even be near and they avoided it like a, plague.

She didn't have time to pay too much attention to it though, right now she had to deal with the source. She turned back to where the demon was and started walking towards it. She made a considerable amount of noise, she wanted it to know she was coming. Maybe if it heard her or saw her it would go back to its own camp and leave her people alone. If not, well she always had her crossbow and one demon this small couldn't be too much trouble. Just in case, she kept the dagger in her sleeve ready.

Something landed not too far from where Phoenix was in the stream. She froze on the spot and looked up, her sight only so-so, but she knew this wasn't just some common human...it was a demon, the demon that liked humans. The Angel of Death. Her small body crunched up into a small ball, getting ready to run, or much rather hide as she was better at that. The Angel of Death looked to the dead body, the one that was now brimming with a plague ready to spread, but then she turned and looked at Phoenix and walked towards her. The ruckus that tall demon made as she walked set Phoenix on edge and she had half a mind to run for the trees, though not back to camp not with her mission still unfinished.

"She must spread the plague before going back, but the Angel will surely kill poor, poor Rat," Phoenix whispered. She looked towards the body and then towards the advancing demon. The plague infested body was too heavy for Phoenix to carry, but then again the entire body was infected meaning she didn't need the entire thing.

Phoenix made a run for the body, pausing only to grab and arm and tear it from the rotting corpse before running off into the trees. She would never be able to completely out run the Angel of Death, but if she stayed in the wooded area the Angel wouldn't be able to fly which would slow her significantly down and plus there were so many hiding holes that Phoenix would be able to stay in if need be. For the moment, she was going to try her best to outrun the Angel and get the arm to camp where it could do it's job and have its victims rot and peel alive until they lie dead.

The little demon could see the camp up ahead, and wondered why the Angel hadn't stopped her yet, but whatever the case she couldn't stop her plan now. She threw the arm towards the camp and took off in another direction. The Angel, though fast, couldn't be in two places at once so she could either get rid of the arm or get rid of Phoenix, but not both. Phoenix prayed that the tall demon would go for the arm because all it took was one other body to start another plague.

The little rat stopped next to a tree, breathing heavily. She stepped back ready to tear away again, when her foot fell into a rather large hole, obscured by a bush. Phoenix wasn't sure what had lived in it, but Phoenix now slipped down the hole. It was cramped, only large enough for her to stay curled up in and no room to wiggle around, but honestly Phoenix was so used to this that to her it was quite comfortable.

As Akuma walked towards the small demon she knew she had been spotted, good. Maybe the little thing would scamper back to wherever it came from and leave her people alone. That hope vanished as she saw the demon dash off in the direction of the corpse. She ran after it as fast as she could but the demon was small and could navigate the woods more easily than her. When she got out of the woods she could see it sprinting towards the camp with one of the corpse's arms in her hands, still trailing puss and blood.

It was then that she knew its plan. It was going to spread whatever horrible disease had taken that man's life to the rest of the Justicars. The Angel couldn't let that happen, if the Justicars succumbed to this plague it would ruin everything she had worked so hard to achieve in this world. She flew off after the demon, getting lower and lower the closer she got. Just when she was almost close enough to snatch the arm away the thing tossed it towards her camp and ran in the other direction. Akuma thought fast, she grabbed the arm in midair before it could reach the camp and quickly summoned a small dragon. "Destroy this." She said to the dragon, dropping the arm at its feet. "Once you're done go back down this path and you will find a body in a similar condition to this arm. Destroy it as well and report back to me once you're finished. Make sure to destroy every single piece of it and bury the ashes."

She took off after the demon once the dragon had its orders. It may have been smaller but on open ground Angel had the advantage of longer legs. She could sense the demon was nearby in a small copse of trees. This time her approach was slower, quieter. She could see the demon now, not too far away resting against a tree. It began to take off and she was just about to fly after it when it suddenly disappeared. She raced to the spot only to find a big hole. She couldn't see it at first, it was blocked by a bush but once it was out of the way the hole, and the demon inside, became quite clear. The demon didn't look too bothered by the hole but Akuma could change that quite quickly.

She stood over the hole, weighing her options. A simple rain spell and she could drown the thing. If it tried to climb out it would be no trouble for her to slay it. In the end she decided it wouldn't hurt to try and reason with it. She might even be able to get the it to tell her just what the demons were planning. They usually didn't resort to biological warfare to get their killing done. And even if they did, why would they send such a scrawny looking demon, it seemed like a suicide mission to her but then again this demon had killed one of her men. She was on her guard when she spoke to it. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here, right now."

Phoenix closed her eyes, but after a little while she could hear the other demon breathing above her. Phoenix hissed a little, she had hoped that the demon would go after the arm and save her precious humans rather than her. It seems she had mistaken on how much this demon loved her humans.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right here, right now," the demon said.

Phoenix crawled out of her hole, much to her discomfort, but still sat on the edge looking straight ahead rather than up at the demon. "The Rat was just following her orders. She follows her orders because on both paths is death, but the dead road with shadows is longer than the living road," Phoenix answered. Phoenix was never one to tell lies and manipulation, her level was survival not controlling others.

"It doesn't matter much to Rat if you kill her, your killing would be swifter than the others," Phoenix said after a long pause, "What happened to the arm? Do you really not care for your precious humans that you would leave them to die by Rat's plague? I thought the Angel of Death's humans were to be taken care of not ignored while you come kill a rat."

Akuma smiled at this poor creature. It didn't look much like a smile though, it appeared to be more of a toothy grimace. She believed the demon when it said it was just following orders. It called itself "The Rat". She had heard that name around the demon camps before, there wasn't much respect associated with that name and she could see why. Demons loved to show off their strength, they valued a creature's worth by how strong it was and this one looked like she couldn't even lift a sword. The Rat was wrong when she thought that Akuma didn't care for the Justicars.

"Did you really think I'd come after you if I hadn't already taken care of that? That arm is nothing but ashes by now, buried safely underground where it can't infect anyone and the rest of the body is going to end up the same way. Besides, if you're under orders you wouldn't dare return to your camp without spreading this disease so it made more sense to come after the source myself. "

She stopped smiling and carefully observed the Rat. There was a plan forming in her head but it would take a lot of tact to pull it off. This demon didn't seem like much of a threat so she relaxed a little but in truth she was ready for anything. She kept her arms behind her back so the Rat couldn't see the dagger in her hand and her wings were limber and ready to take off if the demon tried to run.

"So tell me Rat, you said that if I killed you your death would be swifter than the others. By others I'm guessing you mean the other demons. I've heard the way they talk about you and it doesn't seem like you get much respect. It really is a shame because you have a great talent with diseases and you must be smart to survive among the demons because you certainly don't seem like you have the strength. It really is a shame that such talents go unappreciated."

"Talents," Phoenix repeated, "Surviving isn't a talent for her, it's a requirement. Hide, eat, kill, eat, stay in the dark, stay in her hole. What about you, she wonders, if demons are strong then why aren't you?"

Phoenix stood up, "They are vicious, they rip, they tear with teeth and claws. You have lived with your humans too long to remember. You've become too soft and domesticated. The Rat maybe a worthless demon, but at least she is still a demon. She is unsure if you are anymore." The small demon stepped over the hole and started to move forward slowly, though tense ready for anything whether it be to run or fight, kill or die.

"A real demon would have already killed Rat by now for less than spreading the plague among your humans. A real demon would have ripped her to shreds at the sight of her hiding. Tell me what happens to a demon when it becomes domesticated? Does it turn human? Does it become cute and cuddly?" She turned back to the Angel of Death, "The Rat knows who she is and she is a demon. She's ripped and teared her way through humans. She's created plagues that leave animals to cower her now. And she's enjoyed all of it," she smiled at this, a toothy grin revealing a set of surprisingly white teeth though they were still chipped, "But she isn't sure what you are. You who still parades around like a demon, you who still uses your demonic powers, but your blood lust is gone and you've started to care. What is that? What are you?"

Phoenix walked further into the woods, in no particular direction. She knew she had to shake this 'Angel of Death' off before she could complete her task. After listening to this so called 'demon' talk, the fear that she would even be killed let alone a torturous death had diminished. She stood by what she said earlier, if this 'demon' were to kill her, it would be quick and the pain wouldn't last, but if the demon's leader were to catch wind of a failure on her part she wouldn't be allowed to die so quickly. It was an easy choice; cause pain and avoid the demon leader's wrath or leave the demon's and know what pain is more than any other. If all it took was to spread a little plague, one that was just supposed to kill, then that's what she would do even if it meant going against this woman who called herself a demon. Phoenix had survived much worse than a fight with this woman and she knew it.

[Sorry double post]

(No problem)

Akuma shrugged. She had tried to be kind to this pitiful creature but in the end it was still a demon, just a mindless killing machine that seeks only death and destruction. She didn't move from her spot against the tree when the thing called "Rat" stood up and began to move around but she kept her wings at the ready and her arms behind her back. She held the dagger in her left hand and now gripped a poison tipped kunai in her right. She listened to it's words and laughed, it was a harsh, mocking sound that rang throughout the silence of the woods. "Don't you know it's dangerous to make assumptions Rat? I never said I wasn't strong, I just haven't shown you my strength, yet. You call me soft and domestic, you say I am not a demon anymore but you forget yourself Rat. If you walked into a demon's camp you would be ridiculed, pelted, and generally hated. Even though I associate with humans I can walk into any camp I choose and be treated with the utmost respect."

"Another assumption you've carelessly made is that I 'care' about the humans. I look out for them because I need them and I can't have you ruining my plans. You know nothing about me and yet you assume I am soft because I haven't killed you yet. I don't even need to kill you, all I need to do is make sure your little plague attempts fail and your murderous leader will kill you for me." She stood and walked slowly, keeping all her senses tuned to the Rat and to her surroundings.

"One last thing Rat remember that no matter who wins this war I will be just fine. The humans wouldn't kill me and the demons respect me enough not to try but you, the humans would kill you on sight and even if the demons are victorious that doesn't guarantee that you'll live, I don't have to kill you, but you're no good to me alive." With that she sent the kunai flying from her hand, directly towards the Rat's neck and burst forward, brandishing the dagger in her left.

It was luck and instinct that had gotten Phoenix out of the way of the kunai, but only just. The small weapon did cut the side of her neck, spilling blood onto her shoulder. The little demon heard a force moving quick through the air and ducked down, she could feel the other demon sail over top of her. It seemed that running away wasn't an option this time. This time the Rat had to fight to survive...as always she obliged. A little blood never scared her even if it was her own, as long as she was the last one standing as for as Phoenix was concerned, she was victorious.

Phoenix lunged the minute she heard the other demon touch the ground, hoping to catch her off balance. She slammed into the other demon's middle, knocking them both to the ground. Her odd hat being knocked off as well. With little time to gain her own balance, Phoenix began to lash out. Her nails grabbing and pulling onto anything they could grab. Her teeth scraping skin and dirt. If this demon was a human and other found their body, they might have thought that the human died of an animal attack. This was one strength that the Rat had over other demons because when hunting a demon humans would go looking for bodies that looked like they were attacked by demons, not by animals. This kept her safe from demon hunts and led unsuspecting humans to her when they were on animal hunts. It was an arrangement that Phoenix had been perfecting and loved over the years.

All powers have limitations and one that really restricted Phoenix's protection of herself was that her powers only worked on humans and animals; demons would just be subjected to severe biting and scratching. This doesn't mean that Phoenix was still completely powerless to leaving a demon mangled.

After the up front attack, Phoenix jumped away pulling two crude looking knives. Her body stayed low to the ground, one knee resting on the dirt while the other was bent out and away ready to push forward, her arms were spread, knives facing the opposite direction as the Rat's opponent, a snarl revealing her chipped teeth once more.

"The Angel is the first to strike she sees," the Rat said, tilting her head, "You're done playing games it seems? But why? If she is truly the Angel of Death than like Death she can wait...and yet you're impatient. Seems the title is misplaced."

Akuma lay on the ground and grinned a wolfish smile, revealing all four rows of pointed white teeth. The Rat was quick on her toes, she'd give her that but her attacks were wild and unfocused, making them far less effective. Akuma didn't even bother getting up from the dirt, this demon really didn't understand her at all. She twirled the dagger between her fingers while her other hand firmly gripped another kunai. She had several of them hidden all over her body. This little demon just didn't understand what was in store for her, her naivety made Akuma laugh, and she never laughed.

"You just don't understand, do you Rat? You think I'm done playing games? I haven't even started yet. You think my title is misplaced? Just remember it was given to me for a reason, look at that tree over there and tell me what you see." The tree in question had the a kunai embedded in it. The same kunai that had cut the Rat's neck just moments ago. The bark around the kunai was turning black with rot and the poison was spreading every second. The blood that still remained on the blade was thick and clotted and the green from the poison mixed with the red and turned it a deathly brown.

"You see what's happening to that tree? It's going to happen to you if you don't get some help soon, and I don't think there's a soul out there, demon or human, that would be willing to help you. So you see, I've already won this fight. You can still try and attack me with your little scratches and bites but in the end you will die and nothing can change that. However, I just may be able to save you. I doubt you'll take my offer but I'll never know unless I try. I will heal you, take all of the poison right out of your little body and make you healthy again and all you have to do, is sign on the dotted line."

Death snapped her fingers and a rolled up piece of parchment and a pen appeared in a puff of smoke. She pointed towards Rat and the paper unrolled itself and levitated towards her. On top in large letters it read 'CONTRACT' and below that were the terms of her agreement. It said 'If I Akuma Sayako save you The Rat from certain death then you The Rat must assist the humans in winning the war. You The Rat do no have to answer to anyone but me Akuma and you will be under my protection against any and all humans. You The Rat are not allowed to kill any humans unless they pose a direct threat to your life and I am not around. Once the war is over you will be free of this contract and allowed to do as you please to both humans and demons. At the bottom of the contract it said 'SIGN HERE' ___________________________

"One last thing Rat, there's no ink in that pen but just dip the tip in that cut on your neck and you can sign with that. Sign with that infected, poisonous blood of yours. You'd better make a choice quick because by my count it looks like you don't have much time left. Your nervous system will start to shut down soon and you'll go blind shortly after that so you might want to hurry this along."

The Rat didn't move as the paper floated to her. Sign? she thought. She had never learned to read or write and at this moment reading would have been impossible as she was only seeing vague outlines of everything around her. She was left not knowing what to do. She could feel the poison now, after the adrenalin had pumped for the fight it had only increased the poison's decent further into her body. She could feel her limbs starting to shake and twitch out of her control. Her decision, as she couldn't read the contract at all, was a rash decision. All that went into her thinking was she didn't want to die yet, she could figure out the contract rules later.

"...and you'll go blind shortly after that so you might want to hurry this along."

"Too late for that," Phoenix said. She wiped two of her fingers, hand shaking, and brushed it across the bottom though it wasn't necessarily on the line it was the best she could do. Phoenix knew there would be a double standard that would pop up eventually, but for now she was a safe. Demon's who made contracts always kept their word, not to say they weren't a manipulative bunch and they always chose their wording well, but whatever was in the contract would be kept. It was demon's like the Rat who never ran straight. Their decisions would typically be made on whims and they could change sides with the snap of a fingers even if they had promised. However, Phoenix, once she knew what the contract said, knew she would have to follow this one either that or this woman would kill her. The small demon had to always think about her survival, it was a constant. If she made one enemy "happy", or not wanting to kill her, she would keep it that way as long as she possibly could.

"Seeing as she is blind right now, the Rat wonders if you could read her what was written on it?" ]Phoenix asked. Her body changing it's mood. She had gone from rigid and ready to fight to the death to more relaxed. Instead of in a position that would lunge her again at the Angel she now sat cross-legged on the ground, leaning on her arm which were placed in the center of the circle her legs made. Though she was finding it hard to hold this position as her limbs were now starting to jerk even more from the poison's attack on her nervous system.

{Man my computer really hates this website sometimes!!}

Akuma was genuinely shocked. Any other demon would have outright refused her offer and more than that any other demon would have tried to kill her as well. After the Rat had signed the contract vanished the same way it appeared, in a puff of smoke. But the Rat wasn't like other demons, it seemed that her life meant more to her than taking her opponent's. Akuma silently tucked that bit of information away, it might be of good use to her later. She sat up and looked over at the Rat, reaching into her pocket, searching for the antidote. It was a small glass vial topped with a cork, easy to hide and easy to find. Within was a blue liquid that seemed to give off a faint glow. The Angel doubted that Rat would attack her if she brought the antidote over herself but this demon was unpredictable so instead she levitated the small vial over to her.

"You made the right choice Rat, I know you can't see but just put your hand out and you'll feel the antidote, it's right in front of you. Now, I'll give you the abridged version of the contract. It said that if I saved you from dying then you have to help me help the humans to win this war. You don't take orders from any humans, you take the from me but you aren't allowed to kill any humans either. You can only fight a human in self defense and only if they attack first. I doubt any humans will attack you when they find out that you're under my protection but just in case they do you can fight them. Once the war is over this contract is null and volid and you're free to do whatever the hell you want. I have my own plans for this world and once the demons are dealt with I won't have time to look out for you anymore. Any questions Rat?"