Zero Aidan Peters's Story

(So, I wont lie, I was actually working on this post on and off since last night. Its the intro post, and therefore I figured should be longer so that we could have a good, full introduction into the RP. I don't actually expect normal posting to (at least usually) be this long. I just wanted to get some good examples of both peaceful RP, and combat, and set a good setting for us to get into)

Zero woke up after the alarm clock went off. He had to remember to shut the damn thing off on Sunday. It was another great day in Starlight City, the city of dreams. More like nightmares, if you saw it the way Zero did. Zero was a demon hunter after all, and he saw the horrible things that happened in the background. He saw all the horrible things that lurked in the shadows. He saw the demons, and what they did. The people they hurt. He hated it all.

As Zero got out of bed, he looked around at his room. His apartment had four rooms. A bedroom, a large kitchen/living room, and a bathroom. He took off his clothes, and passed through the room into the bathroom. He pushed through the clear curtains and into the shower. He put on the hot water, and let himself relax. Which is why he got startled when Anna spoke up from outside the shower. "Morning Sleepyhead!"

Zero nearly freaked out when Anna did that. He immediately used a nearby towel for cover. "Anna! How many times do I have to tell you not to do this!"

Anna yanked the towel away, and sighed. "You really can be stupid, you know that? I am only a projection of my spirit. I see everything your eyes do, so I already saw you naked today. Also, you shouldn't get the towel wet. It will ruin it, plus if your towel is wet how will you dry yourself?"

Zero still blushed. Granted, he realized everything Anna said was true, and that he was embarrassed over a demonic spirit that could already see everything he sees and all of his memories was silly and probably stupid, but that did not stop his emotional reaction as he tried to cover himself with his hands. "Anna!"

"Alright, fine. I will start making breakfast" Anna told him, as she walked away. Zero really hated when she did that. But he was stuck with her for the rest of his life. She was also one of the only spirits that could physically manifest in this world, though she could never do anything against Zero. Well, except for harmless things like stealing his towel and what not.

Once Zero got out of the shower and they (he) ate breakfast, Zero grabbed his skateboard and took off. It was a beautiful day, and he thought that maybe he could get through it without any trouble. Anna was nagging him about not stealing anything, which along with a tendency to be more aggressive then normal and a bit prone to fighting. How was it that the demon was the responsible one between the two of them?

Then, Zero saw it. The demon aura. He immediately took cover behind a statue as his dagger appeared in his hand, appearing volcanic as it was black with red lines of energy that looked like lava flowing through it. He used his Piercing Sight, and then he saw it. The boy playing in the fountain had the soul of a demon. He knew what that meant, it meant the boy was either possessed, or was a demon himself. "Anna, recognize him?"

"Not specifically, but he matches the description of Arthur, known to your people as Avantine. Responsible for the Springville Church Bombing according to rumor, and he prefers to play with his victims. One of his favorite....past times....is to make the youngest child of the family murder the rest of them via possession, after causing the body to inflect great wounds on itself in front of them. Then, he would let the police know the story it wanted them too, and leaves" Anna told him. "A real monster".

"No wonder the reading is so strong" Zero mentioned, keeping his distance. If Zero could sense him at this range, its possible the demon might sense Zero back if he got any closer. And there were too many other children and innocents around. Besides, with this guy's reputation, he might actually injure the body he was in. Most demons avoid that, but this one....this one was a special case.

Zero would have to be careful. He looked back over at the demon, and he saw it....luring another child over behind some bushes. He immediately ran towards them both. "Damnit! He is going to eat that kid's soul!"

Once he turned the corner, he already saw the pure blue soul being pulled out of its body by a red aura emanating from the demon. Anna was disgusted, and Zero was not sure it was the affects of his soul purifying hers that caused that. According to her, demons typically do not consume the souls of children because they taste too pure, that it weirds them out. So Anna watching another demon eat a human child soul just freaked her out.

Avantine threw the human aside, the soul still not fully back in the body, and glared at them. "Demon Hunter....well now, this should be interesting. Dark Storm!"

All of a sudden, the weather got incredibly stormy, and clouds blotted out the sun. However, as Avantine turned to attack them, Zero was already right in front of him. THe demon panicked. How the fuck did he get right next to me? I never heard him take a step! Zero then stabbed him with his dagger, and he smiled. "If you kill me like this, you kill this child too".

And then the demon saw it. Zero did not flinch at all from those words. He looked down, and realized the dagger had not pierced the body normally...but magically. And then he realized what the Demon Hunter could do. Before he could react, Zero already did. "Soul Rip!"

Avantine's soul was ripped from the human body, which passed out and fell to the ground unconscious, and landed in the field in his demon form. Avantine considered himself lucky that he had already blocked out the sun, but still, he did not expect the Demon Hunter to possess a move like that. And then, that was when he saw her. "Azestella. Now this all makes sense, you are fused with the one demon who could rip a soul out of a body. Though, she used to only use it on humans, to enslave them. I thought you were dead, but I guess the Vanguard got you".

He then realized they were both laughing at him. Even Azestella, who could apparently physically manifest her spirit, was laughing at him. "Anna, you never told me he was so tiny!"

"Oh you little...now you both die! Firestorm barrage!" Avantine yelled, launching two dozen fireballs at them. However, the demon hunter dodged them all, jumping into the air with incredible speed, so fast Avantine did not see him jump but only go up. However, now he had him. "You can't dodge now! Dark Strike!"

He shot a lightning bolt of darkness right at Zero, except suddenly his body shot to the right and dodged the attack mid-air, before shooting right towards him. Avantine then realized too late, Zero was using Azestella's Sonic powers to boost his speed and move without taking a step, which was how he got so close without him hearing, and how he jumped up so high, and how he dodged mid air. But he had one trick. Right as Zero got close, he cut off Zero's right arm with his blade. "Checkmate".

"Not quite" Zero told him, as they all watched his arm immediately re-attach. "You see, my name is Zero, and you cannot divide Zero. And when you get divided by Zero....you get reduced to nothing!"

Zero extended the blade, and cut Avantine in half, destroying his body, causing Demonic residue to get everywhere, and revealing his soul. Zero then destroyed it. Anna smiled. "Glad he is gone. He might not be one of the most powerful, but he was one of the worst. Anyways, shall we continue enjoying our day off?"

"No arguments here" Zero told her, as he picked up his skateboard. "Besides, I got a text from Danny during the battle. He wants to play a game of basketball in a bit".

"Oh boy, please don't destroy everything this time! You two always go too far!" Anna told him.

(Extra long Intro post complete!)

(Written with consult with Bane. The results, general idea, and essential construct of this post was written with consent to use his character. When you do this with others, you should also refer to their profile to ensure you don't screw up, and make sure you have permission, as well as going over with them the basic outline of what the interaction between the two is going to be so that they can help make sure you do it properly. Also, I added some rules reguarding posting that cover this and a few other things you should all read!)

Zero and Anna reached the court, and couldn't help but feel like they were being followed. "Anna, you sense that?"

"Yeah, but it was not noticed we have noticed yet" Anna told him, looking at the basketball court. "Please don't destroy it this time. I swear, every time the two of you play against each other, something blows up".

"Not every time" Zero protested, when he noticed something. The demon's presence had vanished. Not run away. Not gotten away. It had been getting closer, until it just vanished. "Well, that is strange".

"Did the demon just die on its own?" Anna asked.

Zero shrugged. "We did interrupt its feeding. Maybe it was desperate?"

That was when Danny stepped out from the bushes. It made sense to Zero now. Danny's passive cloak ability prevented them from sensing his souls. "Beat ya to it!"

"Yeah yeah, I already got one today though" Zero told him, taking off his jacket, shirt, and shoes, leaving himself in his pants and a white undershirt, no sleeves. Danny did the same, only his was an orange sleeveless shirt. Anna just shook her head, as Zero took out a basketball. "Ready to go?"

"Did you guys really have to take off so mu..." Anna started, only to get hit by two shirts.

"If we go too far, we don't want our clothes to get ruined" Zero told her. "Last time we tried soccer, my favorite shoes got destroyed".

"And my favorite shirt" Danny replied. Anna sighed, assuming the worst in that they would go too far and completely wreck the basketball court.

Danny started with the ball first, and immediately cloaked. He ran right around Zero, and went for the basket, only for the basketball to get hit by a sonic blast, knocking it against the backboard and into Zero's hands. Zero immediately went down the field, and shot for a basket, only for Danny to use his Nova Burst attack to apply enough force to make the basketball miss the mark.

Danny managed to recover the ball for a second, only for Zero to intercept it the moment he started dribbling and took another shot. Danny jumped up, but Zero increased its speed with his sonic powers, forcing Danny to use Nova Catch to stop it. He then immediately threw it towards the hoop with increased speed from the Nova energy, but Zero hit it with a full sonic punch at the same time he hit it again with a Nova punch, causing a minor explosion and destroying the basketball, not to mention sending both of them into the ground on the center of the field in pain.

Anna walked over to the both of them, and then looked at the completely flattened and wrecked basketball. "Well, the basketball is done for. Looks like another tie. And another pay reduction".

Both of them laughed. Zero looked over at Anna. "Its okay. We will be fine. Lets get some lunch!"

Barry appeared as well. "Congratulations. Now lets just hope there were no demons around watching that".

The two of them put on their shoes and shirts, and carried the rest of their stuff since they were now too hot to put them on from all the intense exercise they just did, talking about the demons they slew, how next time they would finally be able to determine a winner, talking about different battle techniques, video games, TV shows, and how both of them could not wait for their first real challenge.

Little did they know, they were about to get it. But first....

Zero spotted Lance and Rue as they walked down the streets, so the three of them walked towards the two as Lance summoned his demon. As they got there, Zero's stomach growled. "Hey guys. Up for grabbing lunch?"

"I am amazed you both are still standing after that game of basketball, if you can even call what you two did basketball. At least the court was not destroyed this time, except for the various cracks in the pavement you left there. And, you know, the completely flattened basketball" Anna mumbled loudly behind them, when she saw Rue and Lance. "Oh, nice to see you two again! How are you and your demons doing?"

---

---

Rue always enjoyed Lance's company. When her own big brother wasn't available, there was always Lance who pretty much was a lazier big brother type thing, anyways. He always seemed to tolerate her shenanigans, and the two got along - at least, as far as Rue could tell, in any case. Did he see her as a younger sister? That'd be nice, right? Lance was really tall - completely dwarfing her in size, which was another plus. Whatever made the little sadist look smaller in comparison could only be a benefit. After all, the smaller someone was, the less of a threat others usually perceived in them.

"I want a chicken burger!" Rue said, latching onto Lance like a leech or a parasite, grabbing onto his arm and more or less attaching herself to it. "I didn't have one in so long, Laaaaaance!"

Not many people could keep up with Rue's teasing and pranks and her insatiable need to kill, but Lance was one that she knew she could rely on whenever she needed it. Still hanging onto his fingers tightly, Rue lead the way, out of the alley and onto the busy streets of the city. It made Rue a little sad to think that she and Lance didn't really look as if they were truly siblings. His white hair kind of ruined any hope of that, despite her own normal-looking brown.

Irina seemed to slither from within Rue, which made her giggle. The somewhat serpentine demon whispered a few words, and Rue decided, hey, why not? Lance would probably enjoy it, right? And even if he didn't, the little sadist was sure to like it. She quickly leapt up onto Lance's back and latched onto his shoulders with surprising acrobatic skill for someone her age, giggling with self satisfaction.

"Irina says you're reeaaally handsome." Rue's low whisper danced in Lance's left ear, an almost malicious smirk on her face. "She wonders how you'd look in her dress!"

Irina writhed in that pleased way of hers, and Rue herself felt somewhat ecstatic. She then got another suggestion that she didn't really understand - but when did her demon and best friend ever steer her the wrong way? Rue leaned in, this time lightly licking the top of Lance's ear, before smiling innocent at him as if nothing had happened. The little girl pointed a finger in the direction of the nearest Chickburgerz, a delighted grin on her devilish face. "Over there! Let's go over there!"

Then Rue's precious little sister-older brother game was interrupted by voices that she usually wouldn't mind, but this time was mildly annoyed at, pouting ever so slightly in distaste as she caught sight of Zero, Anna, Danny, and Barry. Irina herself seemed to recoil for a moment in her soul, before manifesting in her usual half-naked ways, flaunting everything she had.

"Hello!" Rue said in a bright, cheerful tone. "We're going to Chickburgerz, and I'm paying!" She said it with childish pride, as if to prove her independence. She remained on her perch up on Lance's shoulders, because it was comfortable and because, well, she didn't feel like walking. Rue giggled in her high pitched way, and pointed at Lance. "He's my car!"

"Oh, it's sooo hard, Anna!" Irina clutched at the other female demon in a dramatic sigh. "Little Rue always wants to fight, how could I possibly help satisfy her lust?" Despite her words she had a fond little grin on her face and seemed genuinely happy to see Anna. The snake-like demon let go of her hug-friend and smiled warmly. "Don't be so naggy, kids gotta have fun, y'know? Loosen up a little!"

Rue then stared at Danny with a mischievous grin. "I bet I can drive Lance better than you can." She said in a clearly competing tone. "And look! I'm taller than you now, so that makes me better!"

With a catlike grin, Rue happily ruffled Lance's white fluffy hair. "To Chickburgerz!" She declared, like a captain at war. "I'm so hungry!"

(Written in consult with Perks)

As the two of them showed up, Danny smiled. He always smiled when he saw Rue, because he was sure he could see through his normal armor. Still, it was also nice to see some of the others. His stomach also started to grumble. "Okay Anna, we get it".

Suddenly, Anna hit both him and Zero in the back of the head. The both fell on their asses in pain, rubbing the back of their heads. "I seriously doubt that". She then looked towards Rue and Irina. "I didn't interrupt their basketball game, so I would say tahts progress for letting them be. Though, that entire court should probably be repaved. You know, maybe less would get destroyed if you two did not use magic?"

"Did you have to hit that hard?" Danny asked, but Anna just ignored him, giving them the whole "Yes I did" cold shoulder look. "And its not like its an unfair fight".

Danny and Zero glared at her as she walked up to the others. "Sounds good for me".

Danny wouldn't lie, Anna scared her almost as much as Dr. Eisenhorn did. She acted like Zero's and Danny's big sister at some times, and their mother at others. And its not like they could fight back, Anna could just disappear and then re-appear behind them, or at least behind Zero. Danny could still remember when they were kids, how Anna always nagged them, and even Barry. Zero and Danny grew up together. They were rivals, but they were also best friends. They shared a room together, ate meals together, took baths together as kids. Hell, they even have the same classes in school. Dr. Eisenhorn was even curious which one of them was more powerful, but it always ends in a stalemate. He mentioned something about harmonization and souls once when he thought Danny was not listening, but Danny didn't really hear everything or understand what he did hear. Still, Eisenhorn's punishments....well, the guy had magic, and since they were so tough and so powerful, he made sure the punishments stuck with them.

"I hear they have some great burgers" Danny added. "And some of the best waffle fries".

"Not to mention milkshakes" Zero added.

Barry just shook his head. "You humans are so obsessed with food".

"Agreed" Anna added.

Danny looked at Rue again though. Part of him felt happy, but another part....it made him feel sad, about losing his family. Zero, Barry, Anna, Rue, and the other Demon Hunters and their demons sort of were the closest thing he had. Still, he had to be strong. He didn't want anyone to see that side of him, the side that is truly broken. After all, he couldn't let himself seem weaker then Zero. Zero's parents did not even know he was alive. Danny knew he went, and visited them from afar on occasion.

"Well then, what are we waiting for!" Danny said as he smiled. "Lets go eat! Before someone or something interrupts our plans again!"

Daisy

Every night the same dream. Sitting in a pitch black box, her only company being Connor and the dead bodies strewn about the floor. She's seen these dreams far too often to be bothered by the macabre nature of it all. She sighed, the filthy air leaving a bad taste in her mouth. "You've been worried." Connor broke the silence, his lightly Irish accent adding the slightest hint of life in his otherwise depressingly monotonous tone. In all their years together Connor's scarcely ever inflected so much as even a single emotion outside of his morose demeanor.

"It's hard not to be. Since the facility fell most of the demons we've run askew have been easy to take out." She had her hands laced together so they didn't fidget. Her hands always tended to fidget or play with random nearby objects when she was concerned so she got into the habit of lacing them when they were idle. "I believe that was the point. We're hiding so the more powerful demons don't find us.

Her eyes fell to the side, looking down. "I know. The idea that they're still out there bugs me. They don't deserve to get away with what they did."

"That's not what's bothering you."


"Well, it's been a long time now. All my life I've trained to fight these things and all of a sudden here I am. Everything I had gone. Friends, family..." She started to trail off. This dream always got to her, cutting right through her facade of strength and maturity. It was partly Connor's fault as this place was a construct of his mind, his fixation on his past but at the same time part of it was Daisy's nature. Having adopted parts of her demon's mentality through their fusion she often found it hard to stay positive, even if she knew she had to for the rest of them.

Connor's lasting silence was telling enough to show he knew she had more to say than just that. "What if a powerful demon found us? If another demon like that did find one of us here?" She finally confessed the question which Connor already knew had been gnawing away at her. She was strong of mind for a child her age but she was still young. Understanding that she needed to remain stalwart in the face of tragedy and actually doing so were far different in terms of difficulty.

He simply stood, getting up off the floor and walked over to her. He might not of always encouraged the best traits in her but he did care. After this long spent unified they were of similar minds, different still but in cooperation all the same. "You know what Gertrude would say." He reminded her of her old mentor, the woman who made her the person she was today. She might not have had a hand in the soul to demon unification process but Gertrude had been there for her ever since she could walk.


So long as even one human stays determined hell will never reign.

She remembered her teachings well. A small smile had crept up on her face. Her concerns had not faded but she knew better than to forget her mentor's wisdom. "Thanks, Connor."

"Don't mention it."

With that she awoke from her dream. As her eyes drowsily open see could see the roof only a few centimeters away from her nose. She frowned slightly, annoyed by the fact that she had a tendency of floating while she was asleep. Back when she was younger the first few times this happened she used to get startled and fall. Now she's accustomed to it.

---

One morning routine later.

---

Daisy looked outside, checking the weather. It was a bit cloudy but the sun was still out in full. This was good weather for her morning exercise route. Much to her demon's reluctance she always made sure to go jogging through town first thing in the morning. This both served as exercise and a way for her to patrol for demons.

Stepping outside in her jogging suit she started her stretches, limbering up for the run. "You know you can survey a far wider area by floating, right?" Connor spoke up as she stretched.

"Yeah but that would ruin the whole point of this. I'm not just looking for demons, I'm staying in shape in case we run into one."

"It's hardly necessary given my abilities.

"Listen, I always do a run and I will continue to always do so. So quit buggin' me, kay?"

The lingering silence was his only reply to that. He wasn't going to win this argument since it wasn't his body to control so he just let her be for now. Sliding on her backpack she took a deep breath, taking in the fresh breeze which swept over her. With that she set forth, jogging down along the sidewalk.

---

Some more time later.

---

As she jogged down the street she was careful to watch her surroundings. She knew she needed to be ready at any time in case the tell-tale aura of a demon appears. While she was jogging however she spotted Zero, Rue, Danny and Lance down the street. "Hey guys!" She greeted them all with a wave before coming up to the group to see what they were up to.

Whenever Rue came to visit Lance, he always enjoyed the company despite her clingy and constant pestering. He once thought of her as a minor nuisance, but the more she came to visit she became like a annoying but likable younger sister, at least that's what his demon tells him since Lance can't seem to put the pieces together.

"I want a chicken burger!" Rue said as she latched onto Lance's arm like some sort of parasite. "I didint have one for so long, Laaaaaaance!"

Lance tried very weakly to free his arm, but gave up after a few seconds and resigned his arm to its fate. Afterwards Rue began to lead him out of the alley, and onto the busy streets of the city. As he left the alleyway he felt kinda weird to be dragged by a little girl, and he hoped that no one would think he was some kind of pedophile or some creepy teenager. Worst yet if he does get confronted, he wouldent be able to lie about being her older brother since the differences between the two of them was as different as the sun and moon.

As they continued walking, Rue decided to climb on his shoulders with surprising acrobatic skill before whispering in his ear. "Irina says you're reeaally handsome!" Her words entered through his ear. "She wonders how good you'd look in her dress!" Lance was not taken back by her first statement, but her second verse caused a reaction. "Me wear her dress...I might as well wear nothing but underwear!" He whispered back at her. He had seen Rue's demon a few times, and her clothing was rather...nonexistent.

While he was trying not to imagine himself wearing a dress, he didint notice Rue leaning close to him and then that's when he felt something lick his ear. He stopped thinking to look back at her only to find her smiling that innocent smile like she didint do anything. "I really dont get this girl sometimes..." He thought to himself as he carried on walking as Rue began to point to the direction of the nearest Chickenburgerz and telling him to go where she was pointing at.

Soon he heard a few familiar voices and looked back to see where they originated from and saw Zero and Barry and eventually Daisy with their demons catch up to them. "What's up?" Lance greeted them. "Also I'm doing well." He replied to Anna's question.

Araghast soon appeared next to Lance to greet his fellow demon personally. "Greetings Anna, I am doing well but having to constantly keep watching over Lance to make sure he gets his training done is very tiresome." Lance just looked at his demon while using a finger to dig his ear and ignoring all he just said.

When Rue mentioned that he was her car, he gave a deep sigh and didin't bother to complain about his situation, however the next thing rue said pretty much forced another sigh from him. "I bet I can drive Lance better then you!" After hearing Rue say that, he decided to quickly say something to prevent himself from becoming their target for a future compotition. "Rue, I'm just going to say you win at "driving" me, so no need to make a competition about this." Lance spoke is his usual plain tone of voice.

After everyone had exchanged their greetings, Rue began to ruffle Lances hair and like a commander, she ordered him to begin heading to Chickenburgerz. "Alright general, I'll get moving to the mission objective." Lance spoke sarcasticly and began to walk to his destination.

Zero greeted Daisy as they all walked to the destination. It did not take them long to get there, after all it was close by. Along the way, Zero teased Danny a little about getting there first, before flashing himself backwards in time a few seconds so that he was ahead of him. Needless to say, the two of them raced each other there, while Anna just shook her head. "Why can't those two go five seconds without competing against each other. I cant help but notice neither of them put their jackets on yet. I think without saying a word, they are competing on who caves to the cold air quicker".

When they finally arrived, Zero made sure they got a table large enough for all six of them. As far as he was aware, or could remember, none of the other demons that were there could physically manifest themselves like Anna could, so only Anna would be visible to the public, unlike the rest of the demons, who would only be visible to them.

As Zero looked at a menu, he couldn't help but remember back a few years ago. He was training with one of the older hunter, Kevin, who was now out of town, apparently cleaning up the demon issue in New York City. He and Kevin were in the middle of a sparring session when Zero first used his sonic powers, nearly breaking the guy's neck and sending him into a wall, which nearly broke his neck again. The guy just got up, smiled, and said good job.

Zero never had a family. Not a blood one anyways. Danny and Anna were the closest he had, as well as the other Demon Hunters. But he never had real parents. Not like Danny did. He was always jealous that Danny got any time with them at all. After all, his parents don't even know about the Vanguard. They don't know about any of this. They just think he is dead. They don't know he is really alive.

He met them once. He did not tell them who he was, but he pretended to run into them on accident while picking up groceries for himself and Danny for Video Game Night. They helped him pick everything back up. It was...nice. It felt nice. It was also the only interaction he has ever had with his parents in his entire life. The reason he remembered this now was because this was the sort of place he thinks they would have taken him to a few times. It hurt him a little inside. Anna sat down next to him. "You are thinking about them again, aren't you?"

Zero mumbled a yeah in response. It was not something he liked to talk about, even with Anna. But Anna knew how he felt all the same. She sometimes tried to think of ways to get them together when she thought he was not listening.

Still, he focused back on the others. "So, what is everyone else having?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile....

Dr. Eisenhorn looked over the report. "Is this right? DO we really have a lead on the Nightmare demon Razakar?"

"We are confirming right now, but so far yes. We are planning to alert all Demon Hunters in the city in thirty minutes. A Hunt is on. And you won't believe where he is holed up in....he renamed an entire building to Nightmare Tower. It has thirteen floors, and the penthouse is using power and not for sale, yet is unregistered".

"Well then, get everything ready. In thirty minutes, signal the Demon Hunters. The Hunt will be on. Razakar is not getting away this time".

---

---

Once Rue was in Chickburgerz, her first instinct was to grab Lance and drag him someplace else, away from the others. Sure, she was okay with most of them, but this was meant to be her brother-sister time with Lance! It had to be an amazing thing, since it was often that strangers would stare at the two with suspicious, possibly jealous eyes. Once a woman even tried separating her from Lance - was she so jealous that she wanted in that badly? She shouted a bunch of strange mean words that Rue didn't really understand, but also didn't care about either, as her first instinct was to attack the woman and drag Lance away to safety. Especially with that damn Daisy around. So, naturally, Rue shot the other girl a dirty look and a stuck-out tongue when no one was looking.

Irina writhed inside her, and the meaning was clear. Rue climbed off of Lance's head, patting his arm, with a quiet whisper "good car, good boy", before trying to drag him away from the others who joined the group. Lance was her toy, no one else was allowed to touch. But before she could pull him (not that she really could, Lance was much larger and heavier than she was), Zero had gotten a table for all six of them.

"Lance, let's sit there!"

With a forceful tug, Rue dragged the older man to the edge and sat directly across from him, grinning with innocent delight. Unfortunately, there was an almost painful churning inside of her that she couldn't really keep down. To most people, it was just a twitch of the hand, as if from the cold, but to Rue it was like a ripple was shaking through her entire body. She wanted to hunt and obliterate a demon to bloody bits. It was almost overwhelming, so she did what she always did: cling to an older brother, in this case, Lance. With a laugh, she swung her legs up onto his own, using him as something of a leg-rest.

"Lance, Lance! We should play fight one day, okay?" Rue tilted her head at him excitably. "I need to practice!" Only those who knew her well could sense the undercurrent of desperate lust trying to break through the mask. "It'll be fun, I promise!" She felt restless. Every urge wanted to bound outside and wander around, looking for a demon to kill. It was a need.

That was when Rue took a side long glance at Zero and Anna, talking in hushed tones. Zero looked almost... sad. Rue knew what she had to do. She shoved a hand into her skirt pocket, taking out some sour candies. With practiced aim, she threw a handful of them at Zero with a grin.

"Don't look so sad!" Rue teased. "If you want to make a sad face, just eat these candies! They're really sour!" The girl then shrugged her shoulders, glancing back at Lance, enjoying stretching her legs out on his knees. "I'm getting a lemon chicken burger." She declared. "And a vanilla milkshake!"

(This is in the past where Zero was tracking that demon in the park. Dorothy will catch up to the present soon.)

In a quiet little neighbourhood, a quiet little girl sat in a quiet little park trying to read a quiet little book. The only sounds to distract her were the cars, the birds and the children playing on the lively playground just thirty metres ahead from her. At least, that was what it looked like to all who took the time to look at her. There were many more distractions inside her head that made reading almost impossible.

Dorothy glanced up from her book at the couple walking past her, smiling and laughing. Inside of her head, a smooth voice made an irritated noise.

"Tsk. What is it now?" Siem demanded, not pleased with this small disruption.

"Nothing," Dorothy whispered and buried her face back into the book's pages. After a few seconds she dropped it down on her lap. "I can't do this. They're too loud."

"That is something you're going to get over," her demon said sternly, "Focus on the words and forget about the people. You need to learn to shut the emotions out and focus on what needs to be done."

"I don't want to lose myself in a book," Dorothy complained and folded her arms stubbornly, "The people here are happy. It feels nice." Her vacant eyes hardened and she looked around the park like she was trying to seek something out, "Except someone isn't happy. It ruins all of this." She gazed solemnly over the children playing and Siem sighed exasperatedly.

"Look doll, people are always going to be unhappy. You're going to have to get used to it."

"But -"

"Pick up the book."

Dorothy slowly raised the book up and opened to her page, then she immediately shut it again. "Siem," she began strongly, which was rather unlike her, "I think you don't know much at all. Nobody who has to read and learn all the time knows everything."

There was a silence inside of her head, in which Dorothy nervously anticipated the worst to come. "I'm sorry..." she apologised very quietly. Then her hands snapped the book open. Dorothy stared at them. She hadn't done that. "Siem!" She whined and tried to shut the book, but her hands wouldn't let her. She soon managed to shut it, but it happened again. The battle went back and forth and looked quite ridiculous to passer-byers, especially when Dorothy's face was seemingly being smooshed into the open pages of the book by an invisible force. This continued until a large crash sounded and Dorothy looked up to see the sky looking much angrier than before.

"Oh, look here." Siem said sarcastically, though Dorothy knew he was ecstatic about this turn of events. "Looks like your break's over, doll. Suit up."

"A demon wouldn't use a spell of this size if they weren't fighting a bigger threat." Dorothy observed. "It's already fighting a Demon Hunter."

"And you know what's better than one Demon Hunter? Two. Now get over there before there's none left to go around." Siem tried to take control of her feet, but he had already spent too much energy trying to get Dorothy to read. Instead, Dorothy ignored the tugging and stayed seated. Just over a minute later, the skies suddenly cleared and the sunlight came back. "That was ... very irresponsible of you..."

"I'm hungry," Dorothy stated suddenly and put her book into her bag. Siem stayed silent. He must have been sulking again. "Are you ignoring me?"

"Eat the lunch I packed for you."

"The Demon Hunters will most likely be eating at Chickburgerz."

"I don't let you go to that place for two reasons. One, there is no way I am letting you consume that junk and it gives you a stomach ache. Two, you can't handle places with too many people and it gives me a headache." Dorothy didn't reply and cast her eyes to the ground. Siem's vision began to go blurry and after some confusion, he realised that she was about to cry. "... Fine. As long as you eat the food in your bag and not the food on the menu, you can go. I don't know why you want to. You aren't friends with them."

"Thank you Siem," Dorothy replied without answering his doubts and hopped off the bench, flinging her backpack over her shoulders. She began walking off, her head down and eyes still fixated on the ground. Siem sighed inside of her head, thinking to himself that though he may live inside the mind of Dorothy, he may never understand her.

As the group went forward, Danny got immediately ticked off that Zero was going to beat him to the place, and immediately started to race him there to get there first. But Zero had that annoying time ability, so it was not that fair.

By the time everyone got there, Zero was being bothered by something, and Anna was trying to get him to feel better. For a moment, Danny got this strange feeling for a moment that was coming from them, but he shrugged it off. At least until Barry whispered in his head. "You got a strange feeling right? I am starting to think you like Anna".

"What? That is the best you can come up with?" he said in a hushed tone. "Seriously, Barry, we need to work on your joke resevoir. It would have been funnier if you asked if I slept with her hot sister".

"But she doesn't have one..." Barry mentioned. "Wait, does she?! Can I meet her if she does?!"

Danny just sighed as he sat down. He began to look at the menu, and then immediately ordered the largest plate of fries possible. As well as a milkshake. If there was one thing Danny loved, it was fries, and milkshakes. Okay, thats two things, but who cares about details like that?

Barry meanwhile, appeared in spirit form so only the hunters could see him. "Anna, is it true you have a hot older sister?"

"Barry, I never said she had one, so shut up!" Danny said, not wanting to get hit. Again. He swore, sometimes Barry spoke as if he had no brains.

He then looked at his phone, as if he was expecting a new message. More like hoping for one. There was only one message he wanted to really see. A Hunt Message for the demon that killed his parents, Malicar. A Demon of Suffering. He makes his victims suffer before he eats their souls. He makes them suffer, more then they need to. He was one of the truly evil ones.

"Danny..."

"What Barry? I am busy thinking".

"You are thinking about your parents again, right?" Barry asked.

"What makes you say that?"

"You are starting to turn invisible" Barry told him, which shocked Danny back to realization. He immediately no longer was transparent.

"Next time just tell me that!" he told him, before looking at Lance. "So, how is your hunting going? I did not see you during the last big Demon Hunt, when we were all supposed to be sent after Tarmog, Lord of Sludge. Not a pretty one, I will say that".

---

---

It did not take long for the walls between Dreams and Reality to lose meaning. Was he truly immersed in this world, now? Had he ever fully left the other? No... he could never leave his home, his cradle. Even now, as false skin stretched tightly over crawling darkness, shielding him from the vindictive glare of the ever-judging Flaming Eye which dwelt above, his hands reached out over the twisting nether of Dreams. Ever so lightly did his touch brush against the teaming masses, causing their endless cacophony of wants and desires to flood his sense. A screaming tide of ceaseless whispers. As always, he loved every single thought which barraged him. Spectral, spindly fingers traced out, looking for..... Ah.... Them.... Young minds, and young thoughts. All with the briefest whiff of.... corruption. The squirming, wriggling plight of his bound Brothers & Sisters within their tiny chests. Had some of these pets grown use to their cages? How.... fascinating. He was not unfamiliar with these tiny beings. In truth, he had tasted their dreams for years. Yes, he had known them for their whole lives.... Ever since their souls were hollowed out as vessels. He adored their creation.

So youthful...
So prideful...
So Fragile...

So....

Oh, how he longed to meet them. At long last, see them with his own senses. Watch them fight. Watch them kill. Watch them bleed.... What adorable little monsters Man did make. Yes yes... Introductions needed to be made. But how best to greet them? To show thine self to these gleeful murderers? Mmmmm..... Balloons. Yes, Balloons.... Only one was late to the party. Well, one that mattered anyway. Not all were perfect. No, not for what was needed. Wanted. Desired. The Children; The Hunters, were not oblivious to the subtle shuddering of their surroundings. No, how could they be? Such keen senses... The air slightly blurred. Sound muffled. Time slowed. All so slightly, it could hardly be noticed even by them. But noticed it was.... Outside their viewing glass, in the plainest of sight, there was a gathering of children where once there was not. They crowded and smiled, with merry, mirthful faces around a very small push-cart, with a very tall man, haloed with a very big cloud of balloons. So colorful and bright, they all did float! Yes yes indeed, they all float. They float, and bounce, and dance, and bob.

The man wore a long, twin tailed coat, and a black & white striped shirt underneath his suspenders. A quaint little bow around his neck, and a tall, funny hat upon his head. His eyes looked tired, yet were wide and alive. He grinned at the hunters with a big, off-yellow smile, and cheerily waved them over. Quite a scene, yes, quite a scene this would be! Yet not a single adult's notice did he draw. How strange and bizarre this would be, but the people walked right past him without a care. Oh, but the children were so happy! Won't you come and join? Bedlam, good Bedlam, was true a demon, sure as can be. But no fool would ever live as long as he... He knew full well that these special children, these Hunters could see the world through their Demon's Eyes. The little caged birds, wingless, flightless things, would tweet and chirp their warnings were they allowed to see. So Bedlam pulled the cloth over their cages. Hush now, sweet birds. No surprises should you spoil! Show not me for what I am, or else your bones I shall boil.... So now, without their knowing, the little birds saw the world their human hosts were showing. A tall man, eerie and bizarre, but no more than a man thus far.

Daisy

It was sometimes tough being a telepath. As she followed along she couldn't help but overhear some of their thoughts, a number of which were fairly private business. First Zero and then Danny were both thinking about their parents, that much she could discern. Thankfully her telepathy wasn't all too effective, only really giving her glimpses of what they see when they imagine or remember something vividly enough to appear prominently in the conscious mind. It made it hard to think sometimes when she was in a crowd. It was like trying to hear herself talk at a packed train station.

Then there was Rue, someone who worried her at the best of times. It was as if everything she said had a sinister undertone given the strong emotional impression of blood lust she picked up from her. If a fight with a demon were to ever break out in a busy area she'd have to try and end it fast before Rue could get out of hand. Easier said than done though given Rue's ability to teleport. Daisy felt she was easily the slowest member of this group of demon hunters given how her speed was not superhuman like most and her only other form of alternative travel moved slower than she did by foot. Not that being able to fly wasn't handy. As far as she knew she was one of the two people in current company who could fly, the other being Lance.

She couldn't help but respect Lance and even admire him a slight bit. Being an elder demon hunter he represented a certain age and maturity she aspired to. Too eager she was to leave behind her childhood and become an adult so she could better combat the demonic forces that threaten humanity. He seemed to be handling himself quite well despite being ridden by Rue all the way into the fast food restaurant. Unlike the others his thoughts were fairly upbeat and calm. She couldn't help but wonder how he does it. He was kinda cool.


When they entered the joint Rue insisted on sitting at the edge of the table, just across from Lance. Daisy seated herself right beside Lance because the last place she wanted to be was right between Zero and Danny. Those two competed over everything and having them trying to best each other back and forth through her was a larger nuisance than she was feeling up to taking on. She wasn't particularly jumping at the thought of sitting right by Rue either. As it was the girl was likely thinking of something mean to spite her with, there was little need to provoke her any more than was necessary.

As for Zero's demon sitting by her wasn't too bad. She was occasionally mischievous but overall a fairly steady person for a demon. With her thoughts on demons she wondered where Connor had been this whole time. A number of the other demon hunter's demons were visible even if not all of them could manifest physically but Connor was nowhere to be seen. The truth was that he was lurking inside Daisy, refusing to come out and hang around the others.

Hey Connor, I haven't seen you out this whole time. Don't you want to spend some time with your buddies? She attempted to rouse him from his hiding, bugging him like she usually does.

"No." He answered curtly, not particularly amused by her light-hearted chiding.

Aw, but you should really take the time to learn more about your fellow monsters. You need to work together with them ya' know?

"I know them well enough."

Oh really? Tell me something interesting about them then.

"Like... ?"

Something about Anna? Name something she likes.

"She likes... Hm..." She could hear Connor straining to come up with something. It wasn't as though any of this could be heard though as it was all mental.

"... Being physical?"

Daisy could only barely contain her laughter, covering her mouth so she didn't erupt into guffaws out of seemingly nowhere as far as anyone could see. She didn't want the others to think she was actually crazy even though the way she was acting even then was rather strange looking.

THAT'S the best you could come up with? Wow. You really haven't gotten to know these demons at all.

Connor remained in silent protest to his host's suggestion.

Fine. I won't force you to come out right now. Just know that you're a real stick in the mud.


After her internal banter with Connor it was time for them to order their food. Everyone else's selections sounded so tempting however she had been keeping herself on a diet, making sure to count her calories so she'd remain fit for fighting demons.

Lemon chicken burger sounds sooo appetizing. Ooooh, a vanilla milkshake! I could just die for one of those. She languished her decision but her will prevailed. "I'll just have a diet cola." She weakly ordered. She did just have breakfast not too long ago. She knew if she filled herself up on junk food she wouldn't have room for lunch later and it'd throw her nutritional balance off scale. She had always been regulated as far as training and diet was concerned, she was determined to maintain her routines for the sake of battling her natural inclination towards apathy. She knew if she started making exceptions here there would be no bottom to how far she'd slip.


She had brought her laptop out and was playing a quick game of Agar.io while she sipped her drink, halfway paying attention to what was happening on screen while she listened to what her fellow hunters were talking about and just generally trying to be part of the conversation.

When Danny had his thoughts on his parents she noticed his turning invisible. She did on occasion worry that Danny and Zero would some day do something that would draw public attention to them all. It was something she made sure to remind them of from time to time. "You do know people other than us can see you disappear like that." She stated in a matter of fact kind of sense more than anything else.


She glanced over through one of the restaurant's windows overlooking the street next to the basketball court not too far down and was witness to a strange sight indeed. A man who she swore she would of seen approach given his appearance but never did. The eccentrically dressed fellow next to the cart of balloons surrounded by kids seemed to be... Beckoning them?

Then it struck her. The children that surrounded the man out there didn't have thoughts. Out of the slurry of telepathic feedback she could discern from outside none of it originated from any of the kids that gathered. It was unnatural to say the least. Weirdly however the man did not have a demonic aura, at least not one visible to her. Why then... What's going on?

Closing her laptop she put it away in her backpack and picked up her soda, walking over to the window looking out to the street where the man was trying to call them out. She looked out, taking a long sip of her soda while looking hard for what was out of place.

"Something's wrong here."

---

Unwin flinched from within, straining the boys eyes ahead to the end of the street as an all too familiar presence tickled at his curiosity. ”Siem,” he insisted when sensing the other demon that lurked within the small girl; orbs radiating their trademark crimson upon forcing the boy to carry on down the path. ”Do you see--”

”Blue!” Barnabas rudely interrupted the demon, regaining control over his form and bustling down the rest of the street, before coming face to face with the violet-haired female. Well, not entirely of course, given that the little girl had her face glued to the ground as per usual. ”What’ve I said about not looking where you’re going? You could wonder onto a road and get hit, you dunce.” Not necessarily meaning to sound scolding, Barnabas found it to be a habit he couldn’t quite shake off when setting both hands on his hips; at least when it only concerned Dorothy, who had the uncanny ability to drag out his more attentive nature.

”Dunce?” Unwin quietly remarked, his own thoughts buzzing around the youths head. ”What is that? Hm.”

”Anyway,” Barnabas said with a tilt of his head. ”Looks like your heading in the direction of Chickburgerz.” It wouldn’t exactly be his first point of call, although the boy knew many of the other hunters usually gathered at the place. A reason perhaps why he wouldn’t normally linger there without good cause. ”Don’t tell me; is Siem actually letting you go there for once? My, your demon must be turning into a big old softie.” He slyly teased and shot a look at the smaller child, as if challenging the very demonic force in question that lay beyond the girl’s eyes. Heck even Unwin, surprisingly as it was, gave out a subtle chuckle of amusement to the boy’s comment. After all, even the demon himself wasn’t beyond petty mocks to rattle up his fellow demons.

”Let me take you there and if any bad demons come I’ll give ‘em a swift kicking, got it?” Barnabas said, quickly snaking an arm round the girls shoulders and pulling her gently beside him. ”Maybe once we’re there I’ll tell you an awesome story too, if you want? I know how much you like those.”

With that said he began to lead the way once receiving approval; guiding the small girl through the waves of people that crowded their path and towards Chickburgerz. It wasn’t too far away thankfully, and once arriving there Barnabas could already recognize a few of the hunters already inside and eating away, from what he saw through the window. It almost disgusted him in some way, somehow, making the boy almost wish that some demon would suddenly attack and cause a tiny bit of chaos; just for kicks. With that in mind he looked down to the little girl at his side and sharply remarked, ”Remember, be careful and stick close to me, ok? Bassy knows best.”

When Lance entered the Chickburgerz, his first thought was to sit on the table everyone else was at but Rue began to drag him somewhere else. He just allowed himself to be dragged despite remembering a few events that transpires when he was with Rue, one such event when a woman was yelling profanities directed at him and tried to separate him and Rue on the account that she thought he was a pedophile. After remembering that event, he thought it was much safer with one kid then a whole group of kids. Who knew what would happen if he sat on a table surrounded by kids? He would probaly be the talk of the town in a very bad way and have a few police officers haul him off to jail.

Rue eventually climbed off of Lance's head and gave him a pat on the arm before telling him he was a "good car, good boy" which earned another sigh from him. Rue soon began to pull his arm, trying to drag him away from the others and telling him that they should sit on one of the empty tables. He then gave up holding his ground when Rue began to pull on him forcibly and made his way over to the table and sat across from her.

As Lance examined the menu, ignoring the feet that was on his legs, he heard Rue speak up. "Lance, Lance! We should play fight one day, okay?" He then looked up at her and saw her grinning with delight. "I need to practice! It'll be fun, I promise!" He thought for a minute as he looked back at the menu, should he play fight with her? Sure he was lazy but his demon would never let and oppurtunity like this pass. And just as he thought about his demon, he appeared right next to him with his arms crossed.

"Lance, you will accept her offer to fight."

"Oh come on Araghast, I don't want to exert myself in a very tough battle."

"Then how about this, if you don't accept her offer I will force you to train for seven whole days, all day and night"

Lance then began to weigh both of those options, fight for maybe thirty minutes to an hour in a single fight, or spend an entire week and be forced to do anything his demon threw at him. "Well Rue, you got yourself a fighting companion." Lance replied as he decided on a fried chicken sandwich and cup of Pepsi as his meal.

He soon looked out of the window and saw a very...strange...sight. There was a strange man dressed in a twin tailed coat, and black and white striped shirt under some overalls, selling some balloons. He didint see anything suspicious about it, but his demon had a different opinion. "I suggest you remember that man Lance...There is something off about him." Lance just waved away his worry and got ready to take another power nap to wait for his food.

Zero and Anna both noticed it, their senses peaking as they felt the demonic aura for half a second, and a lingering stink of demonic magic. Zero used his piercing gaze technique, to actually look for the demonic soul specifically, but had no such luck. It was as if this thing, if it was really there, had Danny's cloak ability, Lance's calm thinking, Rue's....crazy, Daisy's determination, and Zero's guts. How and why else would a demon come some close to them, yet just slip through their fingers before they got a chance to react? This was more then just a demon hunting them. This demon already knew who they were, and it already had its sights on them. And it had to be powerful. Avoiding the Aura sense was one thing, but Piercing Gaze? Zero could usually see right through cloaking spells.

But, since they could not tell who or where the demon was, they could not act or react. They were just trapped there, in that one booth, with all their friends, like sitting ducks in a restaurant. Zero was extremely on edge, but he tried to keep his cool since everyone else was there.

He snapped out of it though when Rue threw Candy into his face. "Okay, okay, I get it".

Of course, as he finished his meal, his phone went off. A very specific ringtone. Everyone elses phones and communicators and PDAs and what not would also be going off at the same time. Zero slammed his hands down on the table, and time slowed down in the entire place except for them and their phones. Zero activated the speaker option on his phone, and put it on the table. Luckily for Zero, by not having to move at all, "Talk fast".

A hologram of a place formally known as Sky Tower projected from his phone. "A new Hunt is on. We have located a powerful demon, that will likely require several hunters to eliminate. His name is Razakar, a Nightmare Demon. He has been slowly draining the human souls of this building to bolster his powers in addition to keeping up a normal intake of souls. He is located on the 13th floor, but the whole building is warded except for the first. Climb the tower from the inside, and eliminate the demon. The Hunt is on".

Time returned to normally instantly, Zero did not normally use it that long but they were in a public place so it had to be done. Still, his time powers would be out of commission for a bit, so that was annoying.

"Well guys, looks like we are all getting called in on this one. Let's get to work" Zero said as he stood up and started heading towards the door, Anna following behind him.

---

---

Rue was ecstatic. The fight was official - at some point, she'd finally get to show off her stuff to her big brother, Lance. Every bit of the sadist's body tensed in anticipation, hoping that she'd get the opportunity to strike soon. It was wonderful and amazing and more than winning or losing, she wanted it to be a long, strenuous struggle that took her to her limits. It was rare that a fight actually forced her to go all out - which was a shame, since that was where Rue truly felt as if she were alive. She made giddy little noises to herself that sounded something like a child would make when waiting for night to fall on the night before her birthday in order to open the presents. Her nerves tingled and crackled and she felt her cheeks heating up in pre-battle lust.

"Thank you, Lance!" Rue chirped, though she was really talking to Araghast than anything else. Irina made pleasing hissing noises from within Rue, happy at the development. "Let's make it really long and painful for both of us!"

Then Rue's nerves hit a fever pitch, bursting with tension - an urge to fight that was more immediate than her usual lust. Rue even felt her breath shortening into quick, excited pants and the muscles in her legs screamed for her to move. This could only mean one thing: a demon was nearby. Though - .... where, exactly? Every part of the girl was pricked up and she hung on to every little sensation, desperately trying to get a lead on the demon before any of her allies wanted to ruin the fun (mostly Daisy, urgh).

"Do you sense it?" Irina asked, taking on an uncharacteristically serious expression. "You do, right? It's close, but definitely much more powerful than usual. Be careful."

Then all of a sudden, time seemed to stop. Rue immediately twisted over to glance at Zero - who else but him, right? Her own phone was buzzing but she ignored it, focusing on the hologram of the Sky Tower. Rue quickly digested the information she needed - Sky Tower, 13th floor, climb from inside, and demon. For a moment, Rue's face twisted into a wicked predatory grin that was quickly replaced with a cutesy smile. "I'm sorry, Lance, but I'll drive myself this time." She said in a sing song voice, teleporting out of Chickburgerz via the window to get a headstart on Zero. With a combination of sprinting and teleportation, Rue navigated the rooftops and was the first to reach the Sky Tower when -

"Wait, wait, Rue." Irina warned loudly. "I know you want to rush in and fight, but I promise, you'll want everyone else for this. This one's too strong for anyone on their own." The girl observed the entrance to the Sky Tower from a ledge high in the air on an opposite building, gritting her teeth in frustration. She wanted to fight. She thirsted for it! And now she was being denied it?

"I'm so hungry!" The girl hissed, almost as if it caused her physical pain to sit still. "I want to kill it! Iriiiinaaaaaa!"

Irina sighed apologetically, patting Rue on the shoulder. "Let's wait for the others before heading in, okay? You know I wouldn't delay you unless it really was too dangerous."

The soothing words did nothing to assuage the lust but the huntress nodded after a long pause, bringing her thumb to her mouth to chew violently on the nail, drawing blood and tearing the skin entirely by accident, and not noticing the pain whatsoever.

Danny started cracking some jokes as they ate, mentioning how Lance should try not training or sleeping and actually living a little, when Zero brought up the briefing. The demon they would be hunting was no joke, if it was keeping up a diet and siphoning souls from a whole building. The thing would be supercharged, and who knew what waited within.

Which was why, as soon as it ended, Danny bolted towards the place. Barry appeared next to him as he got close. "You know we demons have a name for this, right? We call them Nightmare towers. Supposedly, demons siphon off soul energy to give to Lucifer or one of hte other big bad demons, in exchange for additional power. This Nightmare tower does not have thirteen floors by coincidence. It was designed like that on purposefully. The thirteenth floor won't show up on the outside of the building. We will have to reach it there by climbing the tower one floor at a time...and it will not be pleasant. Nightmare Towers have....nasty defenses....in place. Each floor, you will be subjected to a different terrifying scenario".

"How do you know so much about Nightmare Towers, and how much do you know about Nightmare Towers?"

"I used to run one, before I got caught" Barry admitted. "Each Nightmare Tower has thirteen floors, and each Nightmare tower has different challanges on each room depending on the demon's preference. The more common ones involve watching loved ones die, public nudity, and facing your deepest darkest fears. Oh, and every attack made against you will be one hundred percent real....and each one could be your last".

As he finished, Danny and Barry arrived at the building. "Hey Barry, if you could physically manifest yourself like Anna can, that could help. You have not tried recently, maybe you will have more success this time".

"Alright, here goes nothing" Barry said. He focused really hard and tried to force it, before physically manifesting himself....as a skull. "Well, its progress".

Danny just gave a fake smile. "Yeah, totally. Now, lets go!"

Danny grabbed the door handle before Barry could stop him, and he was teleported inside the building, having missed the teleportation runes all over the handles, doors, windows, and every other exit and entrance.

Danny found himself now in the first room, with a talking skull. Across the room, his first challange awaited. It was....Barry's full and true demonic form at full power.

"Oh crap" they both said together.




(Name and Level fully approved and created by Perks)

"Blue!"

Dorothy would have heard that voice from a mile away. She remained motionless with her gaze still glued to the ground, but her hidden smile grew wider the further he approached her.

"Bassy," both she and Siem said at once, Dorothy sounding pleasantly surprised and Siem sounding like this was the last person he wanted to see. Barnabas marched right up to her and began to scold her as per usual, which she took happily with a grain of salt and a nod. Tilting her head up, she felt her chest become lighter upon simply seeing him. She saw past his confident smirk to the one who lay beneath and offered a little grin, "Unwin. Good morning."

Dorothy liked Bassy and was one of the very few who did. In missions they would often pair off together, not only because Dorothy's power of seeing someone's most traumatic memory and Bassy's power of creating illusions were a match made in Vanguard heaven, but also because they both didn't believe they needed the others. With her being too nervous around people because of her powers and him generally being an ass, it was only natural that they'd fool themselves into believing that. Dorothy placed her trust in Bassy the same way anyone would put their trust in the grass being green.

"... My, your demon must be turning into a big old softie.”

Dorothy's smile dropped immediately and she looked guiltily away, knowing that one of the reasons Siem didn't like Bassy was because he constantly bit away chunks of the old demon's pride. However, she also believed that he didn't like him because they were too alike, something they both would never admit to. Siem sighed and Dorothy could picture him exasperatedly flipping his hair the way he always did.

"This child," he muttered, "I don't understand the connection. He has a terrible influence on you."

"... You don't understand a lot of things, Siem..." she whispered, frowning slightly at the demon calling Bassy a bad influence, when obviously he was the worst. She gasped as Bassy suddenly pulled her in towards him, not expecting the gesture, but nothing happened. Her face flared up and she buried in in her sleeve, still uncomfortable with being so close, but reassuring herself that it was fine. Trying to distract herself from her headache, she glanced down and nodded excitedly at the prospect of being told a story. Bassy told his stories so passionately she could almost see it happening around her, or maybe that was just his illusions. Maybe he could bring the book she attempted earlier to life? Bassy guided her through the crowds and she tried her best to avoid touching anyone else. He was doing a good job at making other people steer clear with all the pushing and shoving and whatnot. This behavior wasn't exactly unlike him, Dorothy didn't like to admit, but it wouldn't happen without reason. She then noticed the limp.

He's hurt, she pointed out to Siem by thought.

"Your ability to state the obvious never ceases to bore me, doll."

... Um... am I being used as a walking stick?

Siem inhaled deeply and began in a drawl, "It seems that his own needs come before his consideration of your reluctance to touch others, which is not out of character for the proud little snot. Use this empty head of yours for something and think. Has he ever asked you for anything?"

Dorothy unfortunately didn't have to think for long on that one, but she didn't want to think badly of Bassy. He must have just forgotten. That's right. She scolded her demon and removed Bassy's arm from her with a barely audible, "No thank you." As soon as the source of her nervousness was gone, she could already breath easier. As they approached Chickburgerz, something caught her eye to the right. She stopped walking and looked over at a man. He was a strange looking man surrounded by children sporting balloons. This man seemed to be beckoning over at the window of the fast food joint and nobody else on the street appeared to be paying him any attention. One of the children spotted her and waved, gesturing her over to him. She glanced at Bassy limping away just a little ahead of her to find he hadn't noticed that she had stopped yet, being the girl of little presence she was. She took a few sidesteps right.

"Don't do it, doll. That's a bad idea."

Dorothy froze. Her desire for a balloon dissipated and while she gave the strange scene one last lingering look, she realised something that disturbed her. She couldn't feel their emotions. Feeling under pressure, she ran up to Bassy and was about to tug on his sleeve when he swung around to her.

”Remember, be careful and stick close to me, ok? Bassy knows best.”

"Like hell if he does!"

"I know," she replied distractedly, ignoring Siem. At that moment, a figure sprang from a window out of nowhere and sprinted past them at such a speed it left Dorothy's hair in disarray. She stared after the girl as she teleported out of sight. "Was that... Rue?" Rue was soon followed by a blue haired boy that burst out of the entrance to Chickburgerz and dashed past them with not even an acknowledgement. "Danny...?" A familiar beeping sounded from Bassy's pocket and she winced, knowing full well what that tone meant. "... I wanted... I wanted to have a happy day..."

Daisy

As she watched the strange man outside time suddenly slowed down dramatically. The thoughts around her were low hums. Tones and noises all stretched out to great lengths. At that very same moment everyone's phones rang. Zero had used his time manipulation to slow down time to a near crawl while they answered the call from HQ. She personally had pulled out her own phone and listened in to the instructions, looking back over at the projection from Zero's phone.

After the briefing she hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket. Thirteen Floors...

"It has to be. A nightmare tower... How appropriate for a nightmare demon."


And like that they were all off. She ran after the rest of them though she knew that she'd probably be close to last in arriving. Just as she exited the restaurant however she ran into two other demon hunters, Dorothy and Bassy. From what she could read Bassy felt just as cocksure as usual but Dorothy felt what closest resembled disappointment. Daisy often worried for Dorothy as she was the youngest demon hunter in the city and she had a demon who was, put simply enough, a jerk.

Though she was younger than her and less experienced Daisy didn't look down on her talents as Dorothy was a far better mind reader than her, easily putting her telepathy to shame. She knew that such potency was a double edged sword however, leaving Dorothy exposed to far stronger stimuli. Such magic could be dangerous in the wrong circumstances, hence why she often made sure to help out whenever she was around.


"Hey Dorothy, Hey Bassy." She greeted them both before coming up to Dorothy. |Is something wrong?| She telepathically spoke directly to her mind in an attempt at being mindful of her company. She didn't want to make Dorothy feel like she was being put on the spot in front of her peer. As much as she'd of liked to stay and hear Dorothy out however duty pressed her mind harder with every passing second. "Let's talk on the way. Don't want to keep the others waiting, especially Rue." She motioned for them to follow and started back on her way towards the tower.

She went fast to compensate for the fact that she was one of the slower ones in the group but she also made sure she wasn't too far from Dorothy. Even running most of the other hunters could outpace her easily but she always trained so she could keep up. That way if her powers ever failed her she'd have something to fall back to in such emergency. As for Dorothy she could easily get well ahead of her if she used her ribbons to pull her ahead however in a public street with people around she hoped she would use her weapon with discretion.


Eventually she arrived at Sky Tower, the building which housed Razakar. She stopped short of the door, looking around to see who else was here. Given her pace it was quite likely most of them were already here waiting for her to show. She didn't see Danny at the destination but that wasn't unusual given he was one of the few others who could go invisible. She was about to step in when she spotted the teleportation runes marked around the entrance. "Watch out for the runes on the door. We want to make sure we get through more or less at the same time." She warned others that might of been going for the entrance.

"Anyone see Danny here?" She asked in general, wondering if the others knew where he went. She hoped he didn't get stuck in there already.

---

Hearing the recognizable beep that chimed from his phone and buzzed in his pocket, Barnabas was quick to retrieve and produce the small device in his hand; knowing already what was to come or at least he could guess just as easily. ”A new hunt is to commence,” Unwin commented while listening on vaguely to the information presented to him, ”A nightmare demon in a nightmare tower, how fitting. Thirteen floors no less.” Barnabas on the other hand was silent for the moment, digesting the facts and accumulating his thoughts before slipping the phone back into his pocket.

”Hey Dorothy, Hey Bassy.” A voice suddenly spoke, snagging the boys immediate attention as Barnabas glanced between Dorothy and Daisy, who appeared beside them. ”Well if it isn’t Lazy Daisy,” The boy retorted sharply, offering a sideways glance to the older of the two females. However, their time was cut short as much of the gang had already departed for the destination; at record pace which even surprised Barnabas, which was only supported after when hearing, ”Let's talk on the way. Don't want to keep the others waiting, especially Rue.” To which the boy gave a nod.

”Heaven forbid we kept that crybaby waiting.” Barnabas sighed somewhat sarcastically as the small group progress on towards the Tower. Though of course, if he wanted to the boy could have sprung on ahead limp or not; but with Dorothy with him Barnabas would hardly drop the girl and run, and so he walked with the girls, even if Daisy was usually one of the slower if not slowest hunter out of the bunch. ”Don’t fret about it Blue. You’ll still have a happy day, I’ll make sure of it.” Barnabas offered some words of comfort to the little girl as they walked, knowing that the tower was not what either had in mind, and yet it was hardly a thing they could ignore. Duty was the most important thing, after all.

By the time they arrived at the Tower more or less everyone else was already there seemingly waiting for the go-ahead. From up on a ledge on a close by building Barnabas spotted Rue perched on the spot, almost practically sensing the girls eagerness to advance and finding it just a little bit amusing. Danny wasn’t there however, but Barnabas was hardly concerned by that fact. ”The fool’s probably inside and ahead knowing him,” he remarked in response to Daisy, rolling his eyes just a little for dramatic effect. ”Hope nothing bad has happened to him... at least not without me bearing witness to it first of course, heh.”

With that single thought burning in his mind and promptly reaching behind him, Barnabas grabbed at the end of the pole and swung it round in one sole motion; giving a sharp twirl in his hand and flexing his arms in place. Quickly after and with a passing thought, the green essence manifested itself into the blade of the weapon, perfectly forming the scythe to it's proper shape. ”Chances are I’ll be the first to reach the 13th floor, so that demon will be mine to wipe out,” the boy confidently stated in general, ”Unless anyone is up for challenging that fact 'course.”