Shakura

As the chain of lightning warped around Shakura he started to smile."You think I'm your guinea pig?Is that it?!" He started to yell."I'm not that stupid...Why would I enter without getting prepared?"Shakura dropped a smoke bomb under him and lit it with the lightning.As the smoke spread,he said"I'm the bounty hunter,and I'm gonna make you MY bounty!"he yelled while trying to release from the fatal bonds,without much success.
"Damn!"he thought"My bluffing won't help for too long!If I don't find a way to release myself I'll be toast in no time.Wait a second!I know!If I throw shuriken or something at him he will lose his focus,giving me time to Meld or escape."Then he dropped the shuriken from his right pocket and kicked it at the enemy."Eat that!"He yelled hoping it will hit the target.

But he felt something strange.He didn't kick it really right.Something was intruding him."Well," he thought "whoever you are you gotta be stupid and enter my mind."Shakura then went to the astral world and found something strange...something...unhuman.He grinned and told the creature"Get out of here,I'm the master of astral...If you don't get out on your own I will kick you out.And you won't like it.Maybe I'm not that strong in the physical world but here...Mind is what I am the most good at controlling . Feel my power and leave.NOW!!"

"I'm afraid that the extent of my control is rather sensitive information. However, as to what my powers are, I see no reason to hide them from you. After all, you already saw what it was-"

Shikei frowned in annoyance at being interrupted in the middle of his 'interrogating session' and he turned his head to face the one that was stupid enough to claim that they had 'heard everything'. He raised an eyebrow as he saw the boy standing just a few feet away from them, his body language was screaming that he was nervous and yet this...boy yelled at them and wanted to stop them? Who did he think he was? The Order itself? What a laugh! Shikei bit back a growl and masked his face into a cold mask. He looked icily at the stupid human boy and asked "...oh? you have heard everything then? Is that so? How interesting..." He stepped forward and gripped his sword - Gure tightly and smirked "You know what, boy? A human's body can only lose about 6 liters of blood before they die...let's test that theory out, shall we?..."

As he was about to attack the incredibly stupid idiot, the human with the piece of Chaos spoke up "Well gentlemen, we're in luck. Just as I need something to demonstrate my powers on, this boy rushes in and volunteers himself. Nothing personal kid, but we can't have any witnesses. Standard procedure for strange people with strange powers holding meetings in the middle of the night. I'm sure you understand." Shikei paused and looked at him. Well, if he wanted to give them a demonstration, Shikei wouldn't dream of interrupting it...after all, he could use this battle as an evaluation to see to what extend could this one use his power. Now, that was something he was looking forward to.

He looked at the idiot again and blinked as images filled his head. Shikei cocked his head and spoke quietly to the Chaos-touched "hmm...how strange...I wonder if you can change his fate, Chaos-sama..." Turning his focus on the idiotic 'hero', Shikei suppressed a sneer and spoke to Jesus mentally 'Back off, Jesus-san...this one's fate won't end tonight...I can see that...let's sit back and enjoy the show the piece of Chaos-sama is going to provide us with...after all, we need to see how much he can control Chaos-sama's power...'

He stepped out of the way as the shuriken flew straight to him and easily dodged it without even breaking a sweat. This one thought that a thing such as shuriken could do harms to him? It wouldn't even harm him in his human form let alone in his half-demon form. He shook his head and said sarcastically "Well, human...you dim-witted nature never ceases to surprise me..." He took a step back and observed the up-coming fight with mild interest.

Shakura

"Well well" Shakura smiled "I will admit it you are stronger than me in reality but this isn't reality ... This is MY mind.I said it before.You can't beat me here.Since you won't leave on your own,well I'll have to kick you out."Shakura grows 2 times and starts punching the intruder early to his death."Now BE GONE!!" He kicked the intruder out but was still in trouble in the real world.

"What should I do now"he thought while sweating "Maybe I have superbrain but I am really stupid at some points"The only thing I can do now is try to talk myself out of this."OK I am not afraid of death or any of you!If you have something to say/do say it or do it!"He said knowing that he is risking very much.

The boys shurikan bounced harmlessly past, and as the smoke cleared he was still standing there. The dismal failure of his attack didn't stop the kid from mouthing off though. Even now he was trying to stand up to them, demanding they make their move. Darren was of no inclination to obey.

A small current of electricity passed from his hand, flowing into the boy. Not enough to do any damage, but it would immobilise him. The boy's body went rigid, all his muscles tensing, and he slowly teetered over. The electricity continued to flow between them, leaving the boy lying on the ground, muscles locked up. Even his jaw was locked in place, so the boy shouldn't be able to irritate them until they had decided what to do with him.

Darren crouched over the boy, examining him. He narrowed his eyes. Now that he was closer, he was definitely picking up a similar aura from this kid as from Shikei and Jesus. He could sense he was there. He wasn't sure why, but it was like there was something connecting them-

Suddenly Darren tensed up, his face transforming to a snarl. Chaos was thrashing around inside him furiously, trying to smash free from Darren and reach out to this boy. It's struggles grew more and more intense, to the point that Darren doubted he was physically capable of holding it in. The piece was straining against him, reaching out to this boy, getting closer and closer to touching the boys mind- then suddenly abated. The piece retreated, disappointed. It was in no mood for chatter, but Darren had been able to gleam something of it's mind in that struggle. More horrifying images and cruel thoughts, but Darren disregarded those. What mattered was what the piece thought of the boy. The piece had hoped to find another piece in this boy, to wake it and join with it, escaping from Darren. Either the boy was merely Chaos touched, or his piece was not fully awake, Darren could not tell.

What he could tell though was that the boy might be of use. He had some power, whatever it may be. As Darren's thoughts returned to the boy, he noticed that he was thrashing around on the ground, spasms rocking his body. During Chaos's brief struggle, the amount of electricity Darren was sending into the boy had risen to excruciating levels. Oops. Darren toned them back down, hoping he hadn't fried anything. I doubt that's going to help make him any more agreeable.

Darren stood, about to speak to Jesus and Shikei, when he felt a wave of weakness pass over him. Shit. Time's running short. I don't want Jesus and Shikei to see me like this. Darren stepped close to them, whispering to ensure that the boy wouldn't hear.

"The boy has been touched by Chaos. I am unsure whether he has a piece within him, but if so I do not believe it has awoken yet. However, there are pressing matters I must attend to. Let us meet again tomorrow. Yggdrasil Forest. If the boy can be of no use, kill him. If he can, make sure he is cooperative. Convince him to train under you, or some similar arrangement where you can keep an eye on him. If he is uncooperative, and you deem him a lost cause, kill him. We need no witnesses, especially not super powered ones."

Syd was taken aback when he noticed the first girl in question put her head down for some unknown reason. He had assumed it was from shock that somebody had just died in front of her, which was normal, until she brought it back up. From what he could tell in the dark and rain, she was crying, but with an angry expression. That was a first, and he might have said something if she hadn't gone on a rant.

“Are you trigger happy or something? It’s obvious by your overly lax mannerisms in regard to the man you just murdered that you are no stranger to killing, but where do you get off by aiming pistols at people?!” Syd opened his mouth slightly to say something, but then closed it with his brow furrowing. As if he got off aiming a pistol at every damn person he saw running through Xibalba by mistake. If that was the case, he would probably have to clean his gun more often, but less people would at least come into the district. A dark way of keeping the outside world safe (naw, just kidding. He is only thinking that it will lessen the problems he has with police...), but an idea none the less. Syd would have to thank her for that. But he would have to get her straight first. So as she continued her rant, he slowly advanced towards her calmly, holstering his guns as fast as they appeared in the first place.

I don’t know why you bothered to come in and save me, or whatever you were doing . . . what the hell is someone suppose to think about you anyway?! You go and help a person in distress, but then you kill another person, and now you’re going and threatening people who haven’t done a damn thing. Even if I don’t belong in Xibalba, I know that has to be considered idiotic here. So put the freaking guns AWAY!” By the time she was finished, he had already crossed the entire distance to her, looking down at the very verbal girl. Either she would make a good agent, or get herself killed in Xibalba in a second. Not the time to try recruiting randos, Syd... He sighed, and knelt down in front of her, his deep dull blue eyes staring right at her.

"Odd way of saying thanks, but it will do." He smiled dryly, a hint of sadness and despair mixed in with it. "You remind me of somebody I used to know, except she probably wouldn't have said that to a guy pointing a gun at her." His face steeled itself once again, looking at with cold eyes as thunder went off in the distance, the lightning lighting up the area, and probably catching the indents of his scarring on his face. He shuddered out of fear and counted to ten to calm himself, which would have looked like he was prolonging the silence. He finally regained his composure and continued.

"Let me tell you something miss, which goes for the rest of you." He raised his voice slightly, but stayed focused on the girl. "While your words may be powerful, and loud, they do nothing here in the place we criminals call home. What is considered idiotic is for a female such as yourself, to be running around here without a gun. Though, this must be difficult for somebody as yourself to understand, as you haven't been shot in your life yet." He narrowed his eyes. "I don't really give a shit what people like you think of me, since I will probably never see you guys ever again." If only that statement was true.

He stood up finally, the rain swishing off of his jacket and his collar bouncing back up. He really despised people who believed they knew what was right and wrong in a place where rules weren't even thought of. "As I stated before, if you are not hiring the Deck for services, then I have no more business here." He turned his back and walked towards his groceries and booze, now probably soaked. He sighed in disappointment at his luck, passed the boy, and turned around to the group of misfit children. They may be around his age, but they were nowhere close to having the mind of an adult. His left hand somehow found his pendant and gripped it until his knuckles were white, looking hard at the one girl. She did look a lot like her.

But one thing is clear: She isn't. No way. He turned back around and grabbed his bags.

Agh. Kill me now. In some remote corner of Avalon, not yet quite into Xibalba, a short, slightly irritated Italian woman lay in the middle of a barren bed; surrounded by a war with the so-far adamantly sleepless night. Between what had felt like hours of restless tossing and turning, her much needed rest had stubbornly eluded her; much like a stubborn, spoiled child. A child she --and probably many other people-- would therefore love to punish, if insomnia ever happened to be a tangible thing. But, sadly, the only thing she could do was keep still in contempt and absolute boredom. Since, to seal the end of a horrible day (and effectively crush any other alternative things she could be doing), some stupid, ignorant god had decided that it would be simply beneficial to suddenly drown the city in buckets of rain.

And again, Raphaela would've taken her frustrations out on something else; if only the thought of setting off a fire alarm in the dead of night was even the least appealing. Seeing as how her apartment was just kind of expensive, not that it meant much in accordance to her parents' completely unintentional inheritance, it probably wouldn't be the smartest thing in the world to blow it up anyway; not to mention alerting a couple dozen policemen to her door. Not that, of course, they would have evidence to arrest the Archangel. It hadn't been the fault of a system error when all photos and recordings of the wanted criminal had simply... ceased to exist one morning. And then, as it was, anything new was wiped every morning after that. But, just by word of mouth, headhunters still doggedly chased her from dawn to dusk.

Which brought the circle of her thoughts back to sleeping. Or, rather, lack thereof. And more frustration. Fucking bounty hunters. Because, just within that one day, Raphaela had been driven on the run four times. Da un disastro all'altro. That was literally what it was. From the moment she had stepped out of her complex and into Eden Park --for just a nice, peaceful walk in the park, mind you--, life had officially started sucking. Running around and blowing stuff up at eight in the morning? It was expected, albeit a little annoying. The catch, though, was that those couple dozen idiots were actually smart. (Contradictory, but true.)

She literally jumped from the frying pan and into the fire. Having just lost the first wave, and thinking that it was probably about time for lunch, Raphaela had nonchalantly walked right into a volley of coordinated policemen. Seen it coming, sure, but it was often better to feign ignorance than suddenly inspire a gigantic, dramatic chase scene she probably couldn't escape from. And she sure as hell wasn't going to let Chaos send a bunch of mocking idiots to save her. So, rather than spending her precious time in a small, local restaurant and eating her fill, her afternoon highlight was taken to get reacquainted with Yggdrasil Forest. (Which, incidentally, she had spent the day before.) It had taken three hours to get out; albeit unharmed.

Now, by this point, she wasn't exactly in the best mood. Sure, she'd gotten to blow up lots of things, but she really did have business to take care of. Like, for example, a grumbling stomach. But the moment Raphaela's foot touched Horizon pavement? Screams and more disaster. And then, after blowing up quite a number of buildings in irritation, she had to find a private corner and delete police records; all the while listening to the high-pitched wail of sirens. Again. And that was pretty much when she realized that she probably wasn't going to have relative peace unless she went home, or drop into Xibalba; neither of which were close. But, in light of the fact that the chance of meeting someone she didn't really want to see was higher in Xibalba, she headed for home.

As it turned out to be, the bounty hunter-police team intercepted her halfway there. So, through the wee bits if daylight to sundown to goddamn midnight, Raphaela had to sprint and generally cause the most mayhem possible in Highrise; in order for those rich, influential folk to get pissed and order them to stop. Which they did, so she got to go home.

Fucking bounty hunters.




Sore out of her mind and pissed off at the rain, Raphaela roamed the rooftops of New Ithaca City; a compromise in case some people were waiting farther on the ground. In complimentary silence, only interrupted by a momentary boom (that could easily be misinterpreted as thunder), she propelled herself from wet rooftop to slippery roof; every so often pausing under a faded, black umbrella to inspect the scenery. It was, after all, the only way to let off some steam without crippling her body even further; and, in any case, Chaos often came alive at night.

Not that she would know; preferring daylight than being like a reclusive vampire. But that was what she heard. And it was probably true, because from one, specific highrise building just outside Eden Park, she instinctively saw a particular half-raven; a Japanese ally she knew. With him were a pair of what looked like kids, playing around of some sparkly thing; preoccupied and so minuscule she couldn't really see. Sure as hell not dealing with that. Don't really know him very well anyway. Somewhere in the city, Raphaela could tell, a ghost-like being was probably poking around; though it was never much of her concern. And so, just like that, she moved on.

It was only when she was well in Xibalba, sweater and jeans uncomfortably damp, that she saw anything that was mildly surprising. From a high vantage point just over an alleyway, she could see the outlines of a mismatched group of kids meeting; spread out around what looked like a dead body. It wasn't so much the corpse but the teens, as most children knew better than asking for a death sentence at the dead of night. From what she could tell, they were terribly easy pickings; albeit one had a gun. But guns wouldn't stop people like me.

But, no matter how much she wanted to crash that party, picking fights wasn't exactly her thing. And, as bad days usually went, something would probably go terribly wrong. So, rather than acting like a typical bad guy and swooping in to prove just why hanging out in Xibalba was stupid while shamelessly singing a disney song, she propelled herself backwards with a seamless crack of a small-scale explosion to land on another roof; with the spot she'd just been in up in tiny flames. And then, with no more interest to the area than she would have for a rock, lighted down to the pavement and roamed there; keeping alert in case a ridiculous teen happened to follow her.

Rather than an easily manageable kid (or at least for now), however, Raphaela found someone far more irritating. Izzie. Agh. She was, as earlier stated, not exactly herself; too exhausted to make sarcastic comments or even really attempt to get her annoying partner angry. So, instead, all she did was sigh and walk forwards; if only to pass her by. It was then that she noticed an overturned car and.. two idiots. "Oh? What happened here?" She didn't break stride as they finally got out but, standing directly in front of their car, fulfilled a sudden urge to blow things up.

The force of the car spontaneously exploding blew her back a couple dozen feet; though conveniently landing beside, or in close proximity, to a certain giant. Well. That was refreshing. A tad rejuvenated and, as you may have noticed, completely indifferent to the state of the aforementioned idiots, Raphaela hopped back to her feet. "Didn't ruin your moment there, did I?" Although the whole situation called for attention, there really wasn't anything in Xibalba either of them couldn't handle. Or, at least nothing I couldn't get myself out of.

Izzie Vieira

In the wake of that...well, slightly unusual episode (then again, this was coming from a woman who...let's not even get into that unusual shit), Izzie decided wandering around Xibalba was not worth it lest another fucking failure with a goddamn sniper rifle pulled up beside her and missed at point blank range. Smoke began to saturate the air in her direct vicinity, the polluting fumes following her drearily, dissipating into the cold night air as she walked towards nowhere in particular, paying little to no attention to the scents that surrounded her. Confessedly, upon first acquiring the senses that now lent such power to her, Izzie very nearly went mad trying to ignore the overwhelming stench of everything, halfway to the point of walking around everywhere with a goddamn clothes pin snapped securely over her small, pointed, slightly crooked nose (a life of getting it broken would do that to you)--even though it wasn't purely 'smelling' as a means of detection (there was a whole basis behind it that Izzie honestly couldn't be arsed to try to understand). Eventually, she got used to it. Adapted to it, mastered it. Learnt to ignore scents, or shift them to the background, or separate specific ones from others, or seek out specific ones if needed.

But some scents were just too overbearing to ignore. Scents associated with feelings of strong irritation, hatred, distaste, et cetera, et cetera. The closest approximation of such scents would be the resultant smell were you to leave a carcass out in the sun for an extended period of time, and then take it back down into a particularly damp, humid basement to rot for a little longer. Needless to say, such scents were no more pleasing for Izzie to come across than the bodies they accompanied. Just so happened that one such scent, and consequently, one such body, had decided to make its appearance.

Raphaela Valencia Shire was walking down the pavement in the opposite direction of Izzie herself. Which was unusual. Needless to say, the two did not often simply come across one another in the midst of a contented little walk through New Ithaca's most rotten neighbourhood. Then again, Izzie could think of no reason why in the hell the fedelho (a favourite little moniker of Izzie's, referring both to Raphaela's height and...'demeanour') would intentionally seek Izzie out in turn, owing, largely, to the well-established fact that the two got on each other's nerves whether or not they deliberately tried to (which was ninety per cent of the time).

This time, as the two agents of Chaos walked by one another, Raphaela said nothing. Huh. That's new. Typically the skinny little woman would have, by now, directed some of her venomous, sardonic spite in Izzie's direction and Izzie, being the insufferably stubborn person she was, would choose respond in kind over just ignoring it and going about her damn business. Instead, all Raphaela did was give some wistful sort of sigh and walk right on past Izzie. The older woman (only a year older, but Izzie, well aware of Raphaela's resentment of the fact, never passed up a chance to rub it in), hands shoved in her pockets, puffed smoke out of her mouth, balancing her cigarette between her parted lips, and kept right on walking. If Raphaela wasn't going to fire off some kind of sarcasm bomb that would have required Izzie to retort with her own mordant remarks, Izzie was just fine with not starting it off at the moment. Just walking along listening to her music was absolutely fine with h--

"Oh?" Izzie heard Raphaela muse. "What happened here?" Izzie was about to retort that the car had decided it didn't like being parked upright when the words were followed by an explosion, which was in turn followed immediately by the familiar sound of someone flying through the air (you got to working with Raphaela more than a couple of minutes, you got used to that sound). Immediately, Izzie mentally counted off rapidly. One, two...

Raphaela hit the ground midway to three, prompting Izzie to hide a smirk. Ha. Right on the mark. Without, of course, the slightest sign of injury or pain, Raphaela sprang right back up to her feet, the wistful sigh of before evidently (and literally) blown right out of her. "Didn't ruin your moment there, did I?" she inquired. "My moment consisted of world's most witless fucking sniper missing two targets at point blank range," Izzie deadpanned dryly. "It ruined itself long before you got here."

[[The missing 'the' between 'of' and 'world's' is intentional. Setting up Izzie's speech patterns. >.>]]

Yes, she was naïve as hell. She knew that. Vincente just loved pointing that little fault out to her all time and poking fun at it since it irked her so much, so how could Nicoletta not have been fully aware of it? For all she was worth, and all she knew, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl whose most traumatic moment was seeing her older brother nearly killed before her, she herself had never suffered such a pain before. The only aches she felt were emotional, caused by loneliness and the isolation she kept herself in for the sakes of others; to keep them from being hurt by her and the powers she had so little control over. . . .

Face still red from the irritation she felt, and angry tears still falling from her eyes, Nicoletta maintained her gaze upon the man as he spoke to her and to the others. Common sense found no home in her head when her temper got the better of her, really, she was still so irked. Normally, Nicoletta was able to go and just figure out what she thought of people right off the bat, but this man was not so simple. He had saved her . . . and subsequently killed someone in doing so, then he also went and aimed pistols at the heads of two people who were innocent themselves. Only having found their way into the alley by some freak chance it seemed. She wasn’t sure what to think of him exactly, should she think of him as a murderer or a savior. . . ?

Eyes flicking down to the growing cold corpse of the man who had been shot through the skull whilst laughing at the warning made upon him after threatening her . . . she felt a tug upon her heart still. Pity and sadness. No matter the life, a person was a person and death was a sad thing, but there was also the fact to consider what may have occurred to her had he not. . . . If he had not been slain, what would have become of her? Caught within the rain, her powers were useless, she couldn’t have saved herself, and it was possible that the only way to stop those men was to. . . . Was death really the only option in saving her? No, I don’t want to think like that. . . ! she thought, releasing a pitiful breath, But, the sad truth is that . . . really may have been the only way.

Sighing quietly, Nicolette drew her gaze away from the body and looked about at those whom were also within the alleyway. They weren’t much different in age compared to her. All of them, children really. But, they almost had just died at the hand of someone who also was not so different in age from them.

The rain was still coming down as hard as ever, not letting up one bit. Nicoletta could feel it pooling up at her feet, the alleyway not draining the excess water very well it seemed. She hated the rain. It meant she was powerless, and it caused problems like tonight, things to happen that were horrible. . . . The blonde’s thoughts drifted back to before, to what she should make of the gun toting man; savior or murderer? What was he. . . ? The issue of what to make of him, how she should judge him would press at her until she was able to clear it up . . . she knew it. Nicoletta remembered what he said, about her reminding him of someone. . . . He’d smiled, though it was not very visible in the dim lightning of the Xibalba alleyway, she’d seen it, that melancholy. And that only made it harder for her to try and figure out how she should see him.

Normally it was so easy for her to choose how she would see someone, had his actions been as simple as killing that man and leaving, she probably would have just seen him as a bad person. But no, it couldn’t be so easy for her, not in the situations she found herself in. When she was lost in Xibalba on a rainy night while having forgotten her cell phone at home, judging someone couldn’t be simple for her at all. Didn’t he say something about ‘The Deck?’ Nicoletta asked herself, drawing upon her rather poor memory, Aren’t they some syndicate around here, like the Roses. . . ?

Tightening her hands into fists at her side, Nicoletta looked to the ground, he’d also said something about not being hired for services. . . ? So, then. . . .

And, while knowing that she could not rest until she had made an adamant decision. . . . Nicoletta did something she knew Vincente was going to reprimand her for later on, but as things were, he was going to already be having a cow for the fact she’d gone and vanished half the night and forgotten her cell phone at home. Nicoletta took a tentative step forward, maintaining a terse expression upon her face. “Wait,” She spoke, voice loud enough to cut through the rain. Walking passed the strange girl, and making sure to step by the corpse carefully and the boy who run into the alley by accident, Nicoletta reach into the back pocket of her shorts and pulled something out.

She stopped in front of him, “Whether this was considered a ‘service’ by you or not, I owe you.” Nicoletta said to him quietly, “Even if I don’t know what the Hell to think of you still, the fact remains that you did . . . save me from something terrible.” Looking down at her hands, the teenager fumbled about with a red duct taped wallet she had made in crafts’ class at school, and subsequently pulled out money from it. The thought of paying someone who just killed a person to save her made Nicoletta feel a bit ill, but. . . .

Not saying much else, but keeping that same expression upon her face, Nicoletta counted out several hundred-dollar bills before slipping the remainder of it into her wallet and placing said item back into her pocket. Letting out a long sigh, she looked at the money for a moment before casting her gaze up to him, no trace of any sort of fear within her bones. “Here,” she said, holding it out for him to take. “. . . .my name is Nicoletta Ardente. That is the name of the idiot girl who was wandering around Xibalba in the rain tonight. Look the name up if you need a favor that falls into the area of legality, because I know that money is not equal to a person’s life.”

Shakura

"Shit shit SHIT!I can't make a move...What should I do?!I guess the best thing is to just wait.At least I didn't let some intruder break in to my thoughts but I can feel he took something out of me..."Shakura wasn't moving.He couldn't.Lightning was stopping him.

"I have to hear what they are saying , it might be important"Shakura tried to listen,he hear something about training but couldn't get all right."What now?"he thought while being in much pain"I can't hear or think clearly ... Do they want to train me?And who are they anyway?Wait Yggdrasil Forest...OK...I hope..I will recover soon to find out.But now...I can't...oooh..."Shakura fainted and fell to the ground

Wait

Syd turned around, slightly shocked and slightly annoyed. Now what? He thought with a slight grumble in his head. He really needed to get going, or else the Deck would be wondering if somehow making a beer run was too much for their leader. That wouldn't look good, and he really didn't feel like beating somebody up to prove he was still good to be at the top. He raised an eyebrow in the darkness, starting to feel a little queezy at all the black surrounding him. He really wanted to just glow, use that freaky light powers of his and make himself feel better, but he restrained himself: He didn't need random strangers spreading rumors about how a guy from Xibalba could glow in the dark. Not something his reputation could handle very well.

He then noticed that she was pulling something out of her pocket, though he couldn't tell until she was standing right in front of him, and even then it was hard to make out what was nesting in her tiny hands. Whether this was considered a ‘service’ by you or not, I owe you. He raised his eyebrow once again, confused as to why she would be saying such a thing. If she hadn't known it or not, she already repaid him for not giving him nightmares for the night, but information of that secrecy wouldn't be known by this girl. Even if I don’t know what the Hell to think of you still, the fact remains that you did . . . save me from something terrible. He could tell that she really didn't want to do this, or was extremely nervous by her shaking hands. Regardless of the cold, she didn't look good as she pulled out money from her pocket and began counting money. Both eyebrows up now, he was in a state of shock: A girl was paying him without a contract? Bizarre. He rarely refused money, regardless of how he got it, but he did have some morals, such as 'You shall not take money from girls that remind you of somebody and didn't ask you for a job.' Okay, he just made it up, but he was still befuddled by her behavior.

Here...my name is Nicoletta Ardente. That is the name of the idiot girl who was wandering around Xibalba in the rain tonight. Look the name up if you need a favor that falls into the area of legality, because I know that money is not equal to a person’s life. He stared at her long and hard. He wasn't sure of this girl was serious, or if she was just messing with him after he told her about his 'services'. Either way, he really didn't want to take the money of a girl who didn't hire him. It didn't seem right. But, after some consideration, he grabbed the bottom bill of the pile she made, and stuffed the hundred dollar bill in his inner jacket pocket. He left the others in her hand.

"Nicoletta Ardente eh? I take it that you are probably the daughter of the Mr. Ardente, the successful business owner. That would explain why you would carry hundred dollar bills around." His Canadian accent shone as he spoke, not feeling the need to keep his tone steady anymore. He gave her a small smirk as he remembered how she called herself an idiot. He turned away from her and began to walk.

"The name is Syd. Syd Lastern. I go by many other names, but Joker seems to be the one that sticks. That or CardMaster. One or the other." He turned back around and faced her once again, smiling like a cat. He didn't care if she put the pieces together and found out he was the leader of the Deck. She wouldn't come after him anyway. "And I believe you have it wrong, Miss Ardente. I don't go looking for favours, I am hired."

Nicoletta had figured it out quickly enough that he was only going to be taking the bit of money from her that he had, the one bill. After this had been done, she went ahead and simply slipped what he had not taken back into her shorts, not bothering to fumble about with her wallet once more. He’d caught her name, and quickly enough deduced whom her father was, not that it wasn’t a bit obvious, after all, how many girls floating about her age with the last name ‘Ardente’ with a rather large sum of money on their person? Her surname was not a very common one in the least, and as far as Nicoletta understood, her father had made a good name for himself in the business world. . . . And, Syd, that was what he had said his name was, with him saying he was a part of ‘the Deck,’ one of New Ithaca’s syndicates, it wasn’t much of a surprise to find out that her father was known.

The CEO of a well to do company would be known by people who would want to find out ways to exploit money from them. . . .

As the rain continued to pour, cracks of thunder rumbling through the air, causing Nicoletta’s small body to tense up, the girl simply thought to herself about certain matters. Though she deemed herself an idiot, she was paying attention to Syd’s words, and also, the fact that the tone in his voice did not remain completely consistent as it had before, Did I catch a Canadian accent? There was also the fact that . . . he hadn’t taken any money from her for a notable length of time despite her offering it up to him. And even when he had gone and taken some of it, it was not the lot of it, but just one bill. Truly an unusual thing to see, normally if a person was offered up money, and they had absolutely no conscience, they would not have at all hesitating in taking it, and normally, people would go and take the whole lot of it even after being so unsure. Yet, he did not.

That was something which conflicted with the fact he had killed a person with so little regard. And, it confused Nicoletta even more. How she perceived people, or, how she choose to view them, that was a very important part in her living. She could never be comfortable unless she knew what she thought of people. Syd had murdered a person without hesitating, and at the same time saved her from God only knew what sort of fate. So, do I deem him as a killer or a savior? she asked herself, removing one of her small hands from the pocket of her sodden shorts.

This issue was going to gnaw away at her sanity until she remedied it; he had said he did not go looking for favors, but he was hired. Had he misunderstood her words? Even if he does not go looking to get favors from anyone, I don’t think he quite got what I meant by that. As Nicoletta were, she couldn’t put two and two together and figure out who Syd was, the aliases and the fact that he was a part of the Deck should have been clear enough material to realize it, but. . . .
The blonde teenager opened her mouth to speak one last time, “Syd, even if you’re not out looking for favors, I still owe you. What I meant to say, is that it is an open offer that can be taken up on at any time in the future. Even if you are normally ‘hired,’ you’ve still gone and indebted someone to yourself.”

. . . .though, Vincente will be royally pissed off when he finds out I went and did this. Offering a favor to someone who murdered a person right before me. She reminded herself, sighing quietly. “Just . . . remember it.” Just as she finished speaking, lightning flashed across the sky, a bellowing bit of thunder roared behind it—one loud enough to insight a reaction from Nicoletta. She shrieked out in shock, and descended to the ground, supporting herself in a tight ball on her feet as her heart skipped beats in her chest from being startled. As she sat there, trying to regain her composure, Nicoletta failed to realize something, something that was rather important.

As she had gone down, she’d thrown her arms up and over her head . . . all the while, her body had been trying to force flames from her hands in self defense. Because of the rain, the arcs had not formed into anything magnificent or dangerous, but the fire was notable enough in the dimness that was Xibalba, for a moment, Nicoletta had produced some light.

Syd paused as she began to speak, and turned back around when he heard he voice once again. The lightning was starting to unsettle him, as his fear of thunder still existed. The irony of it all, eh? He could get supercharged by lightning, but thunder scared him shitless. He didn't know what to do with himself during a storm, for he hadn't told anybody of his fear, which was based solely off of his memories. If that day hadn't happened... where would he be now? Living a life accepted by society? Married? He pushed these thoughts away instantly in a rageful despair. If he dwelt on that now, he would lose his composure, and very well his sanity. He didn't need that, not now, not in front of a very rich girl and a bunch of normal folk.

Syd, even if you’re not out looking for favors, I still owe you. What I meant to say, is that it is an open offer that can be taken up on at any time in the future. Even if you are normally ‘hired,’ you’ve still gone and indebted someone to yourself. Syd raised an eyebrow at her statement. So that is what she meant. Pardon that, I guess she meant the other way round... He sighed, wishing he had gotten that drift earlier. However, what she said was dangerous: Speaking to a Xibalban resident that if he ever needed a favor, to call her up. She told him to remember it, and he nodded slightly, and then lightning flashed. Horrified, he was flung into his memories once again, the constant reminder that thunderstorms gave him of the fateful day his girlfriend killed herself. However, he was flung out of his flashback when he saw soemthing that stunned him almost as much as the lightning: The girl, Nicoletta, suddenly had fire coming out of her hands. Not much, but enough to give him more energy from the light and a stunned expression.

He couldn't believe it. His face shone with utter disbelief in what he just saw coming from her hands, and for a moment, he couldn't think. Couldn't breath. There are others like me out there? I-I thought I was an abnormality, one of those little oddballs when life feels like screwing you up. "You... You.." Gone was his normal facade, his cold demeanor, now full of terror and a little of wonder. "You just... fire... hands..." He spluttered out as she began to regain her composure, and he didn't know what to do. However, he knew one thing; if he offered hospitality at the Deck, she may never leave. He took in a few deep breaths, and spoke.

"It seems we share more in common than I originally thought." He began to glow as he walked over to her, and with lightning quick speed, handed her a playing card. "I may take you up on that offer later." The glowing began to get more intense as he walked over and grabbed his groceries all in one hand, them now soaked under the constant rain. "I have a funny feeling we will be seeing each other once again. But remember this Nicoletta Ardente." He gave her a small smile. "You may regret giving a favor to the CardMaster of the Deck." And with that, he used his speed of light travel to simply disappear, even disposing of the body, before completely leaving the area, and all at the speed of light.

He stopped his light speed right infront of the door, steadying himself. That was probably one of the longest times he had ever 'flitted' as he liked to call it. He pushed open the door to the House of Cards and smiled in a giddy sort of way. Oh yes, we will be seeing each other much more often. And whose to say she is the only one? His giddy smile turned into something slightly more sinister as he announced his presence back home.

Home. They say the heart resides there. Yeah right.

Shock had taken over Twilla… Was someone really just killed? Someone was just killed… Right in front of her… She didn’t know the man, she didn’t know who killed him… She didn’t see anything… She just heard. Hearing was enough to freak anyone out… Twilla felt her heart thumping from within her chest… Thump… Thump… Thump… It actually hurt… The way her heart pounded. The man who died no longer had a beating heart like hers… He didn’t think like her… He didn’t cry like her. The dead didn’t do anything. The dead left behind an empty shell, which everyone else can look at to remember the lost one. Would anyone ever know this man had been lost? Would anyone remember him other than the other goons who left him to rot?

"If anybody is back there, speak now-" The man who shot the gun spoke… He was calling Twilla out, but he was cut off by something… Hopefully he had forgotten about Twilla. The pink haired girl didn’t want to die… Becoming an empty shell wasn’t something that anyone wanted really…

A tear rolled down her face. And she hugged her knees close to her throbbing chest. She heard a third person… One she hadn’t heard before… Twilla was so lost in her thoughts that she couldn’t hear the girl. She just heard the muffled voice… What was she saying? Twilla didn’t know… She hoped this other girl wouldn’t be hurt too… Twilla had to listen… No matter how hard it hurt… She had to listen.

"I don't know who you are, or why ANY of you are hanging around Xibalba, but right now I don't care. If you want to live, leave. If you want to get raped, shot, tortured, and otherwise brutalized, then go find somebody else to do it for you. If you aren't paying for my services, you aren't needed.." The man who shot the gun spoke again. Twilla lived in Xibalba… She wanted to stay there… But she wouldn’t tell him that… Or why she loved to wander around in the shadows on nights like these… She would just hide… Just hide… Hide until it was all over…

Twilla rocked back and forth, ever so slightly… She didn’t let herself hit anything this time… She tried to calm herself… She tried to continue to listen, but she just couldn’t… She only heard the muffled noises of those around her… Why were people there? Why? People didn’t come to Xibalba… Not ever… Why today? Why did they have to be around Little Miss Shadows? Why did the poor girl have to witness murder? Why did the night have to be so eventful? Why?

Every ounce of energy Twilla had was spent trying to calm herself down, but she just couldn’t… She couldn’t understand why everything was happening. Eventually, Little Miss Shadows lost herself. Her thoughts shut down… Out of nowhere, she stood up. Her eyes were hallow and dark. Tears continued to roll down her cheeks. She wasn’t worried. She wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t sad or anything. Her mind shut down from complete and utter shock. Little Miss Shadows was consumed by darkness… Tentacle like shadows whipped around her as her arms went completely limp. Her expressionless face stared straight out into Xibalba. Twilla saw nothing. She wasn’t there. The tentacles whipped a trashcan across the alleyway, through the group of people before Twilla returned to her body…

When Little Miss Shadows returned to herself, she was still standing straight up, tentacles out like a squid. Immediately, she hid them. Now she knew that her life was over… The trashcan she hid behind, she threw it in her “fit.” The stranger… He was going to kill her… Twill cried out. A shrill little shriek escaped her lips. Immidiately after, she clasped her hands over her mouth and backed into the corner again. Her back against the wall, she slid down and hugged her knees again… She knew how terribly insane she seemed, but she didn’t care. Soon she would be dead anyway… First using her powers, then throwing a trash can and then shrieking in terror? Her future seemed extremely grim…

Little Miss Shadows was just like a little girl… Cowering, crying… At least after she died, no one would have to deal with her anymore… She wouldn’t be a burden to her mother and she wouldn’t freak people out… No one would have to worry about her wandering off in the dark anymore, for she would be left in it forever… Twilla wouldn’t have to fear people anymore or hide away from the sun… It was all over and maybe it was better this way…

But what if when she died there was nothing left? What if there was no light to fear and no dark to hide in? What if there was nothing to feel comfort in? Nothing to care about? What was nothing like? What was it like not to exist? The thoughts scared Little Miss Shadows more and more… She didn’t want to disappear… If she died, she just wanted peace… But if there was nothing and that was the “Eternal peace” everyone talked about, Twilla wanted no part of it. She just wanted to live on…

If there was nothing after death and Twilla would no longer exist, she would much rather endure the suffering in the world. She’d take almost anything compared to not existing... Twilla was hysterical… And she had every reason to be. Who wouldn’t be after witnessing a murder and then making enough clamor for all of Xibalba to hear while the killer was still present? It was suicide… But Twilla had lost control… Twilla couldn’t just decide when she lost control and when she didn’t… It just happened… Just happened… This time, it would end her life…

Burying her head in her knees, Little Miss Shadows wailed. Was it really over already? Life really wasn’t fair, was it? Everyone had to deal with pain and sorrow… Maybe little Twilla’s were over already… Too soon for her liking…

I don’t want to die! Twilla wept to herself…

"My moment consisted of world's most witless fucking sniper missing two targets at point blank range, it ruined itself long before you got here." "Oh, really? Hard to believe when there's so much of you." Sarcastic tone aside, this short Italian criminal was almost overly satisfied; the spreading fire, her work of art, reflected among a hungry predator’s eyes. Because, as an insistent crowd of angry, small-time villainous sidekicks began streaming out of half-burning buildings, she finally realized that ‘Hey! These aren’t fucking smart bounty hunters! Now there’s an easy way to let off steam!’ Or, well, something along those lines. In any case, even if that didn’t merit enough, at least causing this much of an irritation to the giant beside her would be worth something satisfactory.These were the only thoughts that entertained Raphaela as her mood abruptly soared from her earlier, depressed state of mind; and brought on much the smile as the settled kinks from a sleepless night audibly worked themselves out.

"Oh, really?" Raphaela retorted sardonically, with an all-too-satisfied aire about her. "Hard to believe when there's so much of you." Izzie chose not to dignify this with a responce. Less because it was an insult and more because she took it as a compliment, well aware that 'so much of you' was in reference to height and Izzie was more than a little proud of her stature. The silent, minute smirk that momentarily crossed her otherwise harsh features did not last long, however, quickly ran right out of town by the event that saw fit to take place in responce to Raphaela's exploding the car bearing the aforementioned world's most witless fucking sniper. Izzie suppressed an irate rolling of the eyes as any number of even more witless thugs began to pour from the assortment of buildings that surrounded the two agents of Chaos. Evidently, they took issue with Raphaela blowing up their people. Fucking brilliant, now I get to stick around and beat the shit out of a bunch of small-time mooks. "Damn fedelho," she grunted off-handedly down at Raphaela as she shoved a hand down the pocket of her leather jacket in pursuit of another smoke. She was gonna need it to deal with this shit.

The familiar, comforting feeling of self-fulfilled contentment created a rather nice, fuzzy feeling in Raphaela’s otherwise empty stomach; and it was so when she cracked the last nick in her neck. “Hey, they’d pool out from an overturned car just as well.” At this point however, before either had a chance to respond, her ever-satisfied smile seemed to finally burst the offended thugs’ last rational vein; simultaneously breaking the dam that had formed between the two females and, for lack of a better word, horde. So, with the tension she really hadn’t felt having just snapped, they literally ran forwards screaming and waving little sticks and stones; giving less than a thought to their apparent, self-assured safety. Oh, try me. Because, after all, what harm could two unarmed women, wandering around Xibalba at night, possibly do? The thought never ceased to cause rounds of boisterous laughter, but in these circumstances only amounted to the cracking of a large smile.

In any case, regardless of what they were thinking or even what incoherent insults they were hurling, the Archangel didn’t notice; caught in her own, systematic world full of explosion-wreaking havoc. Between tiny mushroom-clouds of gravel, fiery bites out of the neighboring structures, and half-drunken bodies being catapulted into walls, it could barely be said if she was actually thinking; less even where she happened to be. Especially when these little bits and pieces sprung up everywhere almost spontaneously. But, with such general mayhem and confusion breaking out all over the place, this little 'two against the world' street-fight quickly turned into a regular brawl; then just a pile of half-broken bodies and corpses altogether. Or at least it was so by the time Raphaela had reached her personal record of shattering the umpteenth ribcage.

Izzie was torn between a satisfied smirk and an irascible scowl as the mob of thugs advanced. Wasn't sure whether to be pleased that this opportunity to blow off steam and crack some lowlife skulls had presented itself or annoyed...for much the same reason. She was no stranger to conflict of internal feelings, but whenever such disagreements arose within her mind, Izzie had found the simple way to get rid of it was copious amounts of violence, preferably followed by a smoke, or a beer. So ultimately, when the question of Do I really wanna deal with this shit? made its overtures, and the horde of bruisers all but began charging towards what appeared to be a couple of strange women simply glaring them down, Izzie responded to that all-important question by stampeding forth towards the oncoming attackers.

It rapidly dawned on the thugs that what they had taken to be a couple of out-of-place, defenceless women was anything but. Funnily enough, this revelation seemed to grace the lot of them concurrent with the moment explosions commenced to discharging out of absolutely nowhere and the comparatively taller, heavier woman all but disappeared. Which is to say, stormed forward at a speed the painfully mundane human eyes of the thugs could never hope to keep up with, up until the moment her elbow came crashing into the face of the nearest thug, reducing an already repulsive mug to a broken mass of flesh and bone. She didn't dawdle behind to admire her handiwork before making a demolished corpse of the next man, and the next, rapidly moving into those areas where Shorty's explosions had not decimated the mass of goons and making short work of ameliorating that.

Immensely satisfying, but my body will probably hate me tomorrow. Actually, I'm pretty sure it already does. Amidst the much admired view of a whole block's worth of burning buildings and half-crushed bodies, Raphaela could only sigh in otherwise complete contentment; before, of course, getting the hell out of open sight. Because, although being short, she was much too easy a target when being one of the only two, you know, upright and alive. With adrenaline beginning to finally run low, her own limbs began to ache in much an unholy way; but even that couldn't pull her out of good spirits. But then again, sparking chains of spontaneous combustions is bound to put one in one or the other irreversable extreme; and it's really self-explanatory which one Raphaela indulged in. It was as if a frustrating weight, or perhaps buzzing fly, from the earlier events of the day had been suddenly shot down; leaving some form of happy clarity. To sum this all up, like a drug-induced high. But without the hallucinations, or the significant decrease in brain cells.

In any case, unfortunately, life never keeps so nice. The clamor and outrageously loud noise caused by this innocent, sweet late-night massacre (and burning buildings) had --or would soon-- attract the attention of many, many other people; be it the inevitable police or certain teenagers who just happened to be in Xibalba that night. Since, although numerous in the commons would beg to differ, there simply couldn't possibly be a way that nobody could've at least heard the destruction; even between thunderstorm rumblings. And, from one logical standpoint to another, curiosity tends to follow suite. Anyone within the borders of the crime-ridden streets would have no excuse, for how could you miss burning, blazing fires in the middle of a perfectly dark night?

But, as it was, Raphaela honestly didn't give a damn; simply admiring the view, shrouded in the shadows of one of the only durable, intact structures left. Beyond which, of course, was a very empty backstreet alley; connecting with many other, although perhaps not as lifeless, paths out of the fresh crime scene. Not giving, as you can see, never means that self-preservation didn't come first; that, you know, rabbit holes and escape routes hadn't already been charted. Because wanted criminals simply don't slip up that way. Or, for sake of the argument, Raphaela doesn't slip up that way. Well. Some giants just charge through things. Amazing that it actually works. Then again, there aren't many people who can stop a train in her tracks. Besides, of course, the train herself.

For the next while, Raphaela kept to her place; watching anything that happened to come into view. Or, by perhaps some magical gut feeling, just waiting for some equally magical meeting through fate. Nevertheless, like a temporarily amused cat, she would be gone at the sound of a siren uncomfortably close; probably even before then. But at the moment, she was there; and just the same aware.

If anyone hadnt notice, he had been trying to inch himself towards, but between all the panic and blood flow into his head, he passed out.

Well, that's what it seemed. What really happened is that he faked passing out. You see, he has figured out that playing dead sometimes prevents taking a bullet then actually running. Or at least, he hoped he had. Otherwise, he was going to get a bullet in him most likely. That is when some sirens could be heard. He flustered and ran. Too much was going on. He had a headache. Everyone was talking, too much happened. He hated it. He hated blanking out, as if he was gone for awhile.

He was paranoid now. Someone tried to shoot him. That is when a paper smacked him right in the face. He took it and looked at it. It was just coupons (i bet everyone thought it would be something important :p). Matthew then looked around to make sure no one followed him. He still had his soccer ball. He put it in his bag, and then zipped up his coat. Then the wind swished, and he jumped. Negative side of being paranoid, at night, everything was suspicious. Of course, when someone wants you dead, that doesn't help. He decided to get a better view. He made sure no one was around, then he "jumped" up onto the roofs. Safest place in the city to him was a good hiding spot, the darkest corners, or just a place he could say was safe.

He hated being in crowds however. He feels like someone is going to stab him in the back. And he is pretty sure someone tried. Or two. Or that could have been someone pushing him away with an elbow. Or his paranoia. Or his anxiety. Nah, probably paranoia. Anyways, he was on the roof. It was safer up here. He could easily get around without any problems. This is mostly because he can basically make himself extremely light. Technically, more literally, it was a lot more complicated. But he would get into that later.

For now, he just planned to make it to a safe spot. He was tired. Well, not really.

(Sorry, its 4:30 AM, this is as far as i can get without passing out. Sorry its lacking a little...)

Jesus observed Darren's physical struggles with interest. What was happening? Was the piece of Chaos struggling from within? If so, what did that mean? Did he really have control over it or was it reacting to some external stimuli? This required investigation.

"The boy has been touched by Chaos. I am unsure whether he has a piece within him, but if so I do not believe it has awoken yet. However, there are pressing matters I must attend to. Let us meet again tomorrow. Yggdrasil Forest. If the boy can be of no use, kill him. If he can, make sure he is cooperative. Convince him to train under you, or some similar arrangement where you can keep an eye on him. If he is uncooperative, and you deem him a lost cause, kill him. We need no witnesses, especially not super powered ones," Darren said.

Jesus left the boy's body. I understand. We hope to see you later. It... well, the apparition of a person made of smoke turned to Shikei. What now?

Izzie stepped back, dark eyes like those of an ever-vigilant hawk taking in the fresh carnage that she (and indeed a particular fedelho whose name Izzie did not make a habit of using in reference) had rapidly inflicted seconds previously. The remnants of a veritable massacre were strewn about before the two women who merely looked on at the sanguine scene, one with a most evident sadistic pleasure, almost pride in the result, reflected in the amber expanses of her irises, the other possessed only of a callous, cruel apathy that would have disgusted and sickened her herself not long ago--even though it felt like it could have been lifetimes ago when Izzie wasn't...as she was now. As though any time she couldn't bring herself to stop her mind wandering back to those years, it felt like they had befallen someone else, thousands of miles and vast eternities away from Izzie. And maybe they had. Because the unhappy, miserably helpless girl living in the favelas of Brazil, and the immense being now ruthlessly indifferent to the lives of others...

"Well, if we are done wasting time and energy on this kind of pointless shit..." Izzie turned; having replaced the spent cigarette butt with a fresh smoke, she was intent now on simply returning to her apartment, figuring it was worth it if its thin, meagre walls would rid her of incompetent snipers and insufferable explosion-causing brats and crowds of idiotic, witless thugs and random-ass twerps dropping their goddamn footballs...

"I am out. Before you little scene here attracts more these jackasses." Or maybe the police. Hell, they had to do their job at some point; even they couldn't ignore a street full of (pieces of) carcasses strewn all about with inexplicable burns and blunt force trauma. Though, all distaste for the police aside...Damned if I'd just love to be there to hear them try to figure this shit out. Well, they were, in general, pretty fucking useless, but even Izzie had to confess that had she not partaken in the massacre herself she'd be damned if she could figure out what in the fuck could've happened. They'd probably chalk the burns up to a bomb or something, taking the burnt-out shell of the still flaming auto-mobile as evidence of a car bomb, perhaps, but the most probable explanation for the blunt force trauma Izzie had inflicted was that somehow the force of a train had been focused on every other thug, on some point of their body, conveniently into the mass of a fist (or an elbow. Sometimes a boot.).

But of course, humans just don't punch with the force of a train.

Anybody knows that happens only in sci-fi novels, or movies, or on roleplay sites.

Which reminded Izzie (in the non-sequiter of the century) that she'd forgotten to pick up groceries for breakfast. Or for dinner the previous day. Or for breakfast the previous day. A small fact brought to mind that, for some reason, upon turning away from the visceral scene of carnage, Izzie realised she was really hungry. Is it bad that dead bodies make me hungry? Pretty sure that's bad.

Shikei looked at Shakura thoughtfully and tapped his cheek. He honestly didn't want to keep this burden but if it was for the best, he guessed he had to do it...He really hoped it was worth it. Sighing heavily, Shikei ran a hand through his black hair and said tiredly "We'll have to bring this...thing back...can't really let him escape...can we?" He shook his head and began to haul the unconscious boy like a potato shack. He snorted at the pathetic being that was being dragged by him and he shook his head, honestly didn't believe in the fact that this boy had a piece of Chaos inside of him.

He turned his head to face Jesus and spoke simply "I usually don't need a place to sleep since I can be in my Raven form...though this might be an exception...you know anywhere I can sleep just for tonight...I need to keep an eye on...this..." He gestured toward the unconscious boy and shrugged "...though I don't mind keeping him in the graveyard tonight...just think that it might not be the brightest idea keeping a human in that place...

Jesus bowed. I am truly sorry. I do not require rest and respite, as I am merely a projection. As such, it has never occurred to me to find such a place that you require. If I knew, I would tell you without a second thought. There is an abandoned shed that I found in Kormet High that has supposedly not been used for years but I would not leave him in a public area. Suddenly, Jesus had an idea. On the other hand, would you like me to look over him while he is in a safe place? I could observe him until time itself has been exhausted if such a need arises.

What . . . had she gone and let herself do? Fire, she had let fire come from her hands. Nicoletta remained knelt down to the ground, her body having felt as if it had gone utterly numb. The horrid shock of realization settled in upon her as she came to know what it was she had stupidly gone and done. In front of people she did not know, in front of a man whom she could not decide to think of as a murderer or a savior, she had shown her powers. Even if thunder was something that startled her to no ends, there was no excuse for her to have been so damn careless!! Hands still over her head, Nicoletta’s grey eyes were wide as her breathing was held fast in her lungs. It felt like her heart had even stopped beating for the moment, as she understood the reality she was now living within.

So . . .what was going to happen to her now? To a man who had killed a normal human without the slightest bit of remorse, would he now take her life as well given what she had just done? This was why she never allowed herself to be around others, why she kept herself isolated. . . . It was just easier, it kept things like this from happening. It kept people safe, it kept her, safe.

Nicoletta heard him sputter as he began trying to speak, to understand what it was she had just done in front of him. His composure, shattered by the shock of seeing a seemingly normal girl suddenly spurt fire from her hands. Even the outward face of a coldblooded murderer/savior could be broken by seeing such a phenomena. Swallowing back the feelings she had, the fear and the utter numbness as realizing what it was she had gone and done, Nicoletta lowered her hands from above her head, shaking, and looked up. Is, is he going kill me?

The sensation of unfeeling remaining, Nicoletta allowed an expression of worry seep on over her features as the rain continued to pour down from above as she slowly forced herself to ascend upward, to her diminutive height. If she was going to be executed now, for her strangeness, better she face it head on rather than cowering. ”It seems we share more in common than I originally thought.” Syd began to speak . . . his words catching Nicoletta off-guard. A jolt ran through her when she realized what he had said, ‘in common.’ She did not understand what it was that was suppose to mean until the man began to . . . glow. Nicoletta’s jaw tightened as she bore witness to this, and her eyes widened as far as they could. The girl’s whole body tensed up, and she nearly took a step backward, yet forced herself to stand her ground, even feeling the shock she did. Syd was . . . he was glowing, lighting up like a lamp!

He took a step toward her, and suddenly, before she could even blink, was right in front of her. Looming over top of her while putting something into her hand. Too stunned she was, to look down to it, as she kept her gaze transfixed upon Syd, feeling nothing but panic and confusion. Nicoletta didn’t understand. . . . She did not understand what was going on or what had just happened, what Syd was doing, how he was doing it. ”I may take you up on that offer later.” he spoke, simply walking over to pick up his since abandoned groceries, lighting up brighter and brighter as if it were perfectly normal.

Oh dear God, what can of worms have I opened? Nicoletta thought, his words sinking in as she really came to understand what was now happening before her. It was one thing for her to go and grant an open favor to a man to whom she could not decide upon being a murderer or a savior, and who was also part of the Deck. . . . But the fact that he also was . . . in a word, like—like her, that was something else. Should she have felt relief at finding out that she was not the only person in the world with unexplainable abilities, or should caution have been everything?

"I have a funny feeling we will be seeing each other once again. But remember this Nicoletta Ardente." Syd smiled at her before continuing, "You may regret giving a favor to the CardMaster of the Deck."

With those words spoken, Syd was gone, vanishing into the night, along with the corpse of the man whom had been killed. That was when the shaking in her began, her whole frame began to violent tremble as she held onto the sopping wet playing card that had been forced into her hands as cold fear began to creep into her bones. Not only was Syd dangerous as a normal human, but he was. . . . Like her. She probably should have felt relief, happy that she wasn’t alone in the world, that she wasn’t the only person with some odd power, but Nicoletta simply could not just go and feel relief. I just opened a can of worms unlike any other by letting my secret slip, I’ve made myself known to someone who would have otherwise just been someone I could repay with something mundane in the future. Like me or not in terms of powers, there is no telling what Syd may ask of me now in regard to the favor I went and granted to him.

Releasing a shaky breath, Nicoletta allowed her eyes to shut as she turned her neck downward, letting her sodden hair stick to her flesh. In the dim lighting of Xibalba, the blonde opened her eyes and looked at the playing card in her hands. It was giving way to the rain, the cardboard of it was bending. It was a sign of the danger she had put herself in, herself and her brother.

There was a clatter from back within the alleyway that startled Nicoletta back into reality. The sound of a trashcan being forced from its place and hitting against the wall. The noise jolted the fire charmer, and forced her to look up. Still holding onto the playing card, she turned her head about, gazing around to see that it seemed that she were now alone—the boy and girl whom Syd had held at gunpoint had vanished. . . . Getting away while they had a chance, before they got into more trouble. Not that Nicoletta could blame them, it was the sensible route.

But, if she were alone . . . then how did that trashcan get thrown? Earlier, she had thought she’d heard something rattle one of those things, but she wasn’t certain. Part of her mind still concerned about the can of worms she’d gone and opened, Nicoletta turned around, and took and idle step forward, looking around as carefully as she could in the rainy darkness. Lips partly open, she made a small effort to speak. “H-Hello? Is there someone else . . . there?”

Her heels clicked against the flooded pavement as she again stepped ahead, still carefully looking about. Was there really someone there? Or had the trashcan just . . . moved on its own? Given the fact that Nicoletta herself, and Syd, apparently, possessed otherworldly powers, it didn’t seem unlikely. Venturing further back into the fenced in alley, to where this all would become the beginning of something, Nicoletta’s eyes scanned the murky parts . . . eyes adjusting for the lack of light, she found herself able to make out a faint figure against the blackness. Though she could not see features, she did at least know someone was there.

“I-I see you there, and well, you’re okay here. I’m not going to hurt you. . . .”

Matthew:

That's when he spotted something above. It looked like a sort of light or essence, purplish in color. It passed Matthew completely, instead landing in a small, hidden park isolated by buildings. Then, all of a sudden, some sort of creature seemed to form from the surroundings, appearing as a nature/alley hybrid. However, there was this one random person who was there didn't seem to see it at all.

The creature then looked right at Matthew....and jumped up onto his rooftop. Matthew then ran like hell, using his powers to go from rooftop to rooftop with ease. It fired a blast of energy of a kind, blasting Matthew into a wall. Luckily, Matthew managed to soften the blow a little.

But the chaos creature charged right at him. Matthew jumped over it, and ran the other way. Having air powers can really help sometimes. But the thing fired at Matthew some more. Matthew dodged them all.

You know, come to think of it, Matthew is a pain in the ass to try and kill. What is this, the 5th or 6th time someone has tried to kill him? I'd hate to be any person ordered to kill him....

Anyways, that's when it howled, with a screeching voice. However, controlling air density, he made the air too dense to carry the sonic frequency to him fully, but it was still fairly audible. Matthew brought up a shield quickly as it fired more blasts.

If only he knew how to fight, this would be going much better.....probably......