The Earth, 2015

"Well shit, it's as gloomy as ever in here, it seems. What a shame...".

Deon looked around, a smirk gradually growing wider across his face as he recognised the scene being played out before him. Deon grimaced slightly as the bat hit the girl across the face again, crimson liquid splattering across the floor as she finally grew deathly silent. It was obvious though. Nobody could survive fifty hits to the head with a Baseball Bat, nobody Human anyway. Deon shuffled forward, remembering the last time that he was in the Nightmare World, and the hole he'd fallen through. It didn't exactly matter though, since no matter which way you went, you ended up at Eclipse's Home. "What a pain in the ass this place is.. I was happy going on with my life without seeing that scene again. Fucking asshole". The irritation in Deon's voice was plainly obvious, and even the most dimwitted person could've caught on to it. Deon took a few steps forward, and the vision vanished, replaced by a plain, red brick road. The reason said road was red was not because of the dim lighting, or Eclipse having painted it red. 'Well, not with paint anyway', Deon mused to himself, his grin slightly broadening. He took measured paces forward, before another nightmarish vision encompassed him, this new one taking place several months later. It was probably the scene he hated the most.

Deon's senses were barraged with the scent of dampness, dim lighting flickered around the basement on the Mansion, the scent of rot and decay surrounded him, thinly veiling the smell of burning flesh and flames. The cold, bare stone walls, engraved with intricate ornamental images and pictures, encircled a figure, strung up by chains and spikes and suspended over a seemingly bottomless pit. Deon remembered that he'd always figured that if he did ever fall, he wouldn't ever stop. The figure's face was heavily scarred, and his body was covered by naught aside from an improvised loincloth that was wrapped around his waist and hung down past his thighs. A door opened in the farthest corner of the room, spilling the colour of crimson and the smell of exotic spices and alcohol into the room. Two figures proceeded inside, followed by a group of assorted others. The two ladies, both seeming to be around his age, were grinning widely. The one with the blue hair, the figure recognised immediately, whereas the other girl was unknown to him, but it seemed that she somewhat knew who he was.

"Oooh, it seems like our new plaything is awake, doesn't it, Sis?". The man in the chains growled, and tried in vain to pull himself free of his bindings, and obviously it didn't work very well. "What do you two want? If you don't want anything important, let me go. Or I'll make you pay for not letting me go". The figure with the blue hair grinned, her eyes sparkling mischievously as she moved over to the chained male, and ran her finger from his stomach to the bottom of his chin, before leaning in precariously close and whispering into his ear. "Oh, but I haven't even tested you out to see if you'll break yet, Mister Big-Bad Phoenix". Something about the way her voice let of a certain sweetness, but failed to fully conceal the threatening tone that was layered underneath it irked both Deon and the Prisoner, or moreso both Deon's. At this point, the Chained One began to fidget uncomfortably, and the Executioner did the same. After a few seconds, the two girls giggled and left the room, the blue-haired one pausing momentarily before exiting the door, and, as if she knew he was there, winked straight at the spectating Deon, and he recoiled out of shock, before watching her finally mouth something and leave through the door, shutting the light out and plunging the room into dimness again. When Deon was there, in that hellhole, he'd never known who she was looking at, or what she mouthed to them, but now he knew just who and what it was. "I see you, Executioner".

Deon's smirk faded even more when the scenery shifted once again, and he found himself viewing the numerous tortures and injuries that had been inflicted on him by the blue-haired girl. Her name evaded him, kept elusive by the fog that formed a barrier between his memories and fears. He knew that if he was gonna do what he was gonna do, he needed to shrug off all the bullshit that was surrounding him and move on. He had his mission, and he needed to complete it before he lost all of his sanity. Another few steps took him to the darkest place yet, and his foot hit something metallic. His arms flew to shield his face as the lights suddenly clicked on, and the figure behind him took a few steps back as well. "Damn, this place is bright all of a sudden!". Deon turned to her and grinned. "Well, when we get back you might be able to join the Renegades. We could use your help". The girl just grinned, and turned back to him. "What's that!?". Deon turned just in time to see something moving out of the darkness of a corner of the building. "Dammit, the security drones have already found us!". And as if on queue, a small beam of light whizzed past Deon's ear, singing the side of his head slightly. "Dammit!".

Deon flipped, barely dodging the small particles of matter that were aimed straight at his chest. He landed on his feet from his maneuvering, pushing himself forward with tremendous speed and leaping into the air, checking the room for targets. He grinned as one of the Mechanical opponents moved from behind a fairly large device, which Deon figured was a holding tank for some sort of liquid or gas. Instead of facing the robot head on, Deon ducked and rolled, propelling himself across the floor and narrowly avoided the hailstorm on light particles that threatened to pierce him. Mid-roll, he felt his senses sharpen, and from the tattoo on his chest he withdrew a single item, a small, round object that looked very much like a Grenade. Maybe that was because it was a Grenade? As the object was thrown from the Phoenikoi's hand, it sailed through the air in an arc, seeming to slowly grow brighter and brighter as it flew across the room, landing next to the container and the robot. The robot ceased it's firing, staring down at the small object that let out a few beeping sounds, before exploding into a hail of light and sound, a pillar of flame spiraling out of it and blinding Deon as he rolled away, behind a small, fractured wall of concrete.

Deon's face left the security of the barricade for a few moments, before he grinned and signaled to his partner, who was cautiously looking out from the place she had hidden from the Security Drone. She let loose an embarrassed grin and rubbed the back of her head. "Nice moves out there, Mister.... Uhh, I feel like I'm kinda useless when they pop up, ya know? It sucks but... yeah". Deon grinned and pat her on the back as he walked past her. "You'll get a good amount of training with the Renegades, ya know. We need someone as good with Demonology as you on our side, to be honest". Deon turned to the girl and handed her his Revolver. "Take this, and maybe we can get some target practice in while we're here, eh?". He let out a chuckle and turned away again, stretching his arms and shaking the nervousness from his mind. "You've been helping me for.... 8 months, and I still haven't found a way to repay you, ya know. I'm sure I'll be the one feeling useless when this is all over, Kid". The girl behind him gave the weapon in her hands a good look-over before handling it as a trained person would, although she did have a habit of humming as the two proceeded down the passageways that riddled the facility. In the nightmare World, Deon only stood, his eyes twinkling slightly. "God dammit".



Meanwhile, the Deon that walked with his companion through the dark, musty hallways and passages of the supposedly abandoned facility was on edge, as if he knew that something horrible was coming up. He didn't know what, but he felt that if he spoke about it or even said anything, he'd lose his confidence. The little confidence that remained, anyway. Deon took a step, but stopped midstride, which caused his companion to bump into him accidentally, and a small stream of apologies erupted from her mouth, as if she needed him to know that she was sorry because she knew something bad was coming up too, but Deon's hand shushed her fairly abruptly. He peeked around the corner, staring into the massive room just beyond, his eyes widening at what lay at it's core. "Whoa.... this place is... Whoa". The girl that was with him leaned onto him for balance as she peered past him and into the room beyond, a whistle coming from her mouth as she took it all in. The two stepped inside, looking around. Everything was dark, but you could easily make out the stasis tubes that lay scattered around the room, on and in the walls, and some were even hanging from the ceiling and were embedded inside the floor. The two quickly overcame the awe of the amount of capsules, and their attention turned to the main object in the room. In the Nightmare World, Deon was on his knees, shouting at the top of his lungs. "DON'T GO NEAR IT! CHECK YOUR SURROUNDINGS YOU FUCKING IDIOT! DO IT!".



Deon looked around the room, and his companion pulled out a small device that showed their objective, which was located right in front of them. She took a few steps forward, in awe at the machine in front of the two, and Deon couldn't help but feel a welling of happiness and.... 'And what? It's almost as if something is.... telling me not to go near it. Telling me to stop her, but I... I can't. I have to finish the mission!'. Deon sighed, and he gave his partner a grin and a thumbs-up. "This is it, Mister Phoenix. After this we'll have clear sailing until someone figures out who was here last. Think we should make it easy for them and write 'Deon and Alex were here'?". The two of them laughed for a few good minutes, and when they had both calmed down, Deon let out a final chuckle and spoke up. "Well, should we get things done here, Partner?". The female next to him grinned and gave him a thumbs-up in return, and everything seemed like it'd be going good from there, it honestly did. Sadly, whenever it seemed like that for a Deon, a certain someone had to ruin it for him.



Alex's real name was unknown, as was a lot of things about her at that point. As a child she'd been forced to work for her Father, a corrupt man that held anyone aside from him in disregard and hate. He thought of his own family, his wife, sons and especially his Daughter as insects that he could torture and abuse, both mentally and physically, any time and anywhere. He was different in the way he treated Alex though, oh yes. The day she was born, she was raised to be her father's perfect little slave, a pet even. He had ingrained it into her very conscience that she was made to be his pet, his dog, an animal that he could force to attack anyone. She was the Dog on the 'Beware of Dog' sign, the perfect servant, but she hated it, and she hated him. Due to this treatment, her other family saw her as, well, nothing except an animal. They fed her scraps from the table and never made her food of her own, her bedroom was nonexistent, and she was forced to sleep outside in the full force of the elements. Eventually, she scavenged enough materials to build herself a small house which she decided to build in the largest, tallest tree in the backyard of her family's Mansion. After her Father caught wind of this, though, he decided that his little 'Pet' was becoming too free and happy, so he decided to tighten her leash. Every day, when Alex awoke, she was whipped for what seemed to be an eternity, all over her body. When she was done with her chores, and she hadn't done them well enough, she was given ten whips after being drenched in freezing water with no clothing to protect her whatsoever. Her Family didn't care enough to do anything about the abuse she went through, but a kindly man that passed through the town on a Bird-watching expedition saw the happenings, and immediately called the police, whom arrested the father and placed him in jail for a few years.

Ten years later, Alex was living comfortably with her new foster parent, Mr Jonathan Mark, when she returned home one night to find a man stabbing Mr Mark repeatedly with a Butcher's Knife in his Kitchen. Alex hasn't admitted what happened next, but the mysterious assailant was uncovered to be her abusive Father, who had tracked Alex and Mr Mark down to his Chicago Holiday-Home and had decided to exact his revenge. There were two corpses found at the scene, one was Mr Mark, the other was anonymous until the DNA was proven to be Alex's Fathers. At this time, Alex was 16 years of age, and she'd been given a large amount of money from Mr Mark's inheritance and will. She decided to travel, following his passion for Birds and avians in a peaceful and caring manner, and she eventually came to care about any and all animals, from Birds and Cats to Frogs and Octopi. However, her primary focus remained on avians and other beings that ruled the skies. Everything changed when she was investigating an abandoned ruin on top of a mysterious Mountain in Japan, where she was confronted by a girl with wings like a Crows, and a camera and speed unlike anything Alex had ever seen. This was Alex's first meeting with a Tengu, and a peaceful one at that.

Alex stayed with the Tengu for many days, and the two exchanged information about their lives and how they'd come to be in the Temple. The Tengu was from a distant area of Eastern Japan, which she said was 'farther North than any human could ever reach'. This interested Alex greatly, and she asked about that place. The explanation was quite odd, and only made Alex even more determined to start researching Tengu and other beings that the Tengu had called 'Youkai'. Alex asked about such things, and the Tengu gave her answers in the form of a book. The book itself was old and slightly faded, but could still be read with ease. Alex stayed up at the Temple for an unknown amount of days and nights, before suddenly reappearing in Venice, with no verifiable records to date or show her traveling there. She brought a Studio there and began purchasing books on the Occult and Demons, although this was tempered with her interest in birds and avians. One word seemed to elude her though, a Youkai of unimaginable power if given the determination and integrity to wield them. The word was barely audible when the Tengu had muttered it, but now Alex was sure of the word. The most rare and misunderstood of the Youkai, capable of gaining any power one could imagine. That Youkai, was little more than a Hell Raven.

By the end of that year, Alex had reached the age of 17 years, and began to study further into the Occult, putting pieces together and finally creating a list of Artifacts, from Demon Weapons to Dimensional Gates, information on Demons and incident reports. With her fascination of birds, she found an interest in the exploits of a certain Phoenix, due to his nature of being based on a bird of legend, and his success at his missions and activities. He had also lived longer than a lot of demons, so that spoke relatively well of his power level and skill. She would've set out immediately, but something stopped her. A booklet in the Newspaper spoke of how 'Nuclear Physicists discovered new source of Energy' and how it could be used to stop the harming of most animals. Alex immediately enrolled in the nearest University to learn more about said subject, Nuclear Physics, and she began a new objective. A year had passed, and Alex figured that she'd gained enough knowledge to throw her University Career away and go and hunt down the Phoenix. It was a daunting task, considering the fact that he was fairly unpredictable, and it was by pure chance that she'd been in town when the Phoenix had vanquished a demon that had infested the waters of Venice. After finding the injured Phoenix after the fight, and somehow managing to carry him to her studio without much hassle, she started counting her lucky stars.

She came home the next day to find the man looking over her notes with a sort of pseudo-interest, and he welcomed her back by name when she entered, as if he'd known her for a long time. "Well, you've been stalking me for so long I'd figured you be alright with a bit of familiarity, Alex". The girl put her groceries down on the counter and strode up behind the man, looking at the wall as well. "So, was I right?". The man just eyed her and grinned. "For the most part, yeah, although I didn't go straight to the Maldives after slaying Khyron, actually. I had a three month break". he found it pretty funny when she set out to correct her mistake almost instantly, but Alex didn't. He spent a few days with her, and she gradually became close to him, to the point where they could speak freely to each other about subjects such as Youkai and the Demon World. In fact, it was fairly refreshing to not have to keep all of her thoughts bottled up inside of her all the time. It was then that the Phoenix, whom she now knew as Deon, told her about his Organisation.

"The Renegades are an Organisation that are a lot like the WDL, 'cept for the fact that we don't go out butchering people for not being Christian or Catholic... I didn't know they actually did that. Either way, we kill the bad Demons, give the good ones a good life, and leave the neutral ones to their own devices as long as they don't get anyone killed or go evil on us". Deon smirked at Alex as he took a bite of the apple she'd tossed him before she sat down to read a new book she'd gotten. As the day went on, Alex knew more about the Renegades than any normal Human probably did, and she was also learning about the location of several new artifacts and objects that could be important to the Renegades in destroying the current Devil. The two had successfully gotten the Cursed Scythe, and had destroyed a gate that lead straight to Gehenna in Mosambique, but the third location had Alex squealing in glee. Deon looked over the page with a quizzical look on his face, and his brows rose even further when he read the location. "No way, is this a....".



"Nuclear Reactor". Deon looked around, making sure that, once again, there wasn't anything in the room to stop them. "So what does this thing... 'do'?". Alex turned to him, a grin on her face as she took a few steps forward. "Well, the Grimoire said that this thing is basically a Daemonic version of a modern-day Nuclear Reactor Core, so.... take a guess". She giggled a little bit and turned to Deon, who was crouching and going through the pack that he'd brought with him, pulling out one thing after another and scattering them onto the floor. Alex looked over these things with a slowly growing smile as she realised that Deon was pretty nervous, his fingers slipping over or through things and letting said things fall onto the ground carelessly. She stifled a laugh as Deon threw her an apple, and she caught it, biting into it with relish. "This is pretty good, where'd ya get it?". The Phoenix just winked at her and put his finger over his mouth, before standing up with a small device in hand, which he quickly passed to Alex. The girls eyes widened at this, but she seemed to remain calm, aside from her breathing being slightly faster and rugged. She turned, a twinkle of deviousness in her eye as she took steps toward the reactor Core. She stopped a few meters away, as she felt something cause the ground to begin to tremble below her feet. She turned to Deon, who stood, sword in one hand and gun in the other, facing a figure silhouetted by the shadows, it's face hidden from sight. It seemed like Deon knew this figure, and like two embers piercing through the night sky it's blood red eyes that seemed to be blazing with amusement and sadistic intent swept over Deon and landed on Alex. That gaze was enough to stop her from even breathing.



"It's good to see you again, Deon. How's life?".

That voice... It seemed so familiar to Alex and both Deon's, and the one in the Nightmare World sighed, knowing very well what was coming. He stood, swaying slightly as if he felt sick. Not the type of vomit-sickness, but the sickness that one feels when their nervousness and anticipation have reached that one level, the level where you just want it to stop so your heart will stop pounding and you can breathe easily again. This wouldn't be happening until the ghastly vision was over, it seemed. Deon ground his teeth in anger, and he swore that if he ever ran into that figure again, he would sacrifice anything to destroy them. Back in the Core, Deon and Alex both took a step back, as if an invisible force was forcing them to retreat unless they wanted to endure some slow, agonising death. Deon swore under his breath, and Alex's mind was racing. "You! You're the one that locked Deon away! Who tortured him for 500 years! What the heck do you think that you're doing here, bitch!?". Those crimson eyes once again swept over Alex, and a grinning mouth like that of the Cheshire Cats quickly appeared, forming the features of a young lady, around Alex and Deon's age, smiling dangerously as her bloody eyes penetrated their souls. Deon shifted his stance slightly, and threw himself forward, firing a barrage of bullets straight at the girl. Said girl simply grinned, and the bullets stopped midair, frozen in some sort of force-field that couldn't be seen by the naked eye.

Deon grimaced as the bullets sprang straight back towards him and his companion and using his speed, he managed to block or deflect every single one of them. The girl grinned, and spoke. "Oh, how long has it been? Our last playdate was cut short, I'm aware. I'll make up for that right now, shall I? After all, you've been a bad, bad boy~". She didn't get a reply, well, not a vocal one at least. What she did get, however, was a vanishing Phoenix. She tilted her head to the side in confusion, and spoke again. "Ooh, a new trick, I see. It doesn't matter, as I'm sure you're only stalling for time. Unfortunately, I don't exactly have much time. How about this, then?". Alex felt herself flung backwards by an invisible force, and she slammed into one of the poles that held up the roof above the Reactor Core. As the girl with the blue hair went to finish her off by throwing her into the pit, a figure grabbed her from behind, throwing her into the nearby wall and freeing Alex from the invisible hands that bound her.

Deon strode over to the hole in the wall, where the girl was embedded. He grinned, holding his gun to her forehead before speaking. "Have you gotten weaker?". The girl simply smiled at him, a feigned innocence overcoming her features. It was quickly replaced by a sadistic sneer of triumph. "Have you gotten dumber?". Deon turned, but was sucked back to the wall by something that he couldn't even attempt to resist. He felt his grip on the flooring go, and his back hit the wall with a crunch, although there was something between him and the wall still. His eyes widened as he felt her fingertips tracing the tattoo that adorned his chest, and slowly, but surely, his shirt began to unravel itself at her touched, eventually rotting away into nothingness. A teasing voice fluttered into his hearing, breath bore down on his neck. "If I don't want you to be wearing a shirt, you won't be wearing a shirt, Slave". Sudden pain tore its way across his chest, in the exact same place that the girls fingertips had traced his tattoo.

Deon tried in vain to move, to push himself away from the hauntingly alluring fingers that ran themselves across his body, stretching to almost inhuman lengths to trace the pattern onto every single cell that made up his flesh. He knew that he couldn't get away with brute force, because the 'Witch' had somehow manipulated gravity to pin him to the wall. His eyes widened as something began to form in front of him, a tiny hole in the very air before him slowly grew larger and larger. He began to struggle, fearing the horrible beast that might emerge and tear him apart with it's cavernous, gaping maw. Instead of a massive, demonic head throwing itself, howling and frothing at the mouth, through the Gap, something much more scarring emerged. Hands. Hundreds upon thousands upon millions of hands, extending into arms, all rushed out to meet him rubbing themselves against his legs, his arms, his chest, even his back was somehow being violated by the horrible, unearthly hands. He struggled in vain, but then help came from an unexpected source.

"Get the fuck offa him, bitch!". The voice shattered Deon's mental fog, and he threw himself upwards, finding that he was crouching in the middle of the Core Room, the girl simply bent over him and covering his eyes with her hands. She look up as Alex ran over, the piece of metal in her hands being swung upwards with surprising force, sending the figure that clung to Deon into a tailspin in the air, and landing on the floor with a thud. Deon coughed a few times, before finally standing and turning to the blue-haired girl that had screwed with his mind. He growled, his sword practically flinging itself into his hand, and his gun appearing in his other. He grinned and spoke. "Nice game, sadly though, you are getting weaker". The girl stood, brushing herself off with nary a scratch or bruise to be seen.

Alex grinned, hefting the pole in her hand and swinging it around a little bit. "You passed out after you shot at her, and judging by how that turned out, I wasn't gonna fire at her unless she was distracted or something". The blue-haired girl smiled politely, and bowed. "Well, you've definitely proven yourself to be quite a nuisance, Miss Mark. Unfortunately, I don't have time to 'play' with you, and besides...". The girl cracked her neck, and her eyes began to glow. "I have a habit of erasing any nuisances straight away".

Instead of toying with her prey, the girl cut straight to the point. Raising her hand and pointing at Alex, a repeat of the prior scene occurred, with the younger girl being sent backwards into one of the poles that held up the ceiling of the Core Room. Deon, prepared this time, ran forward straight away, throwing his sword straight into the girl and tearing himself upwards, which in turn shot the girl straight through the roof and left debris falling down through the holes she'd made with her 'exit'. Deon chuckled, turning around to find Alex sitting near the pole and slowly getting to her feet. Deon grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, but he was suddenly thrown up and backwards with such force that he was sent through several rooms, ending up rolling away on the precipice of the canyon that lay outside that Facility. Deon stood, rubbing his eyes as several spotlights shone on him, and he sighed. "Fucking Drones!".

Deon leaped from the ground, his rage slowly growing inside as he swung, cleaving the Drone clean in half. He used the momentum from his swing to pull his pistol from his chest, landing on the wall and shoving his sword through it for a foothold. He stood, observing his opponents as they circled around both him and their fallen comrade. The Phoenix grinned, and put both of his weapon away. "Let's do this then, shall we?". Deon leaped, throwing his weight into his fist and throwing said fist into the 'torso' of one of the Drones, his hand passing through it with the crunch of metal and the sparking of flames. He twisted in midair and flung the broken robot at the second robot, landing on a rock that was wedged into the ground. Light beams whizzed past his ear and he flung himself forward, but stopped midroll to dig his hands underneath the bottom of the rock. He grimaced as the weight of the rock resisted him, but eventually he broke it free from it's earthly prison and held it above his head, a grin sliding across his face. Deon didn't waste any more time in spouting out some monologue, after all, his audience were robots.

*Boom*

Deon reentered the room cautiously, but once his eyes adjusted to the darkness he realised that he hadn't needed to. The blue-haired girl stood in front of him, with Alex suspended in the air next to her. Deon immediately pulled his blade from his chest, and the girl 'tsk'ed at him in disapproval. "Oh, come now Deon, I'll tell you what will happen next. If you can cut me, make me bleed or even give me a bruise, your friend will not be thrown into the Reactor Core. If you fail this task by the time she's directly above it, however, then I'll be dropping her into it, deal? After all, someone as strong and as handsome as you would surely be able to pull off such a feat~". Deon didn't reply, and this only made the girl's grin widen. "Is that how it is? You're not gonna speak to cute, little old me because of the past? Tsk, tsk, tsk, such an old man you are! Remaining in the past isn't good for someone as lively as you, Mr Big-bad Phoenix~".

Deon simply sighed and nodded his head, and the girl grinned, sending Alex on a course straight towards the Core. Deon sprung straight into action, slashing at his opponent and getting her across the stomach, the size and power of his blade catching her and sending her crashing once again into the wall. Deon leaped backwards and planted his sword in the ground as he felt gravity suddenly change it's course. He was once again being dragged towards the wall, but he wouldn't let go or be defeated. Instead, he let go with his left hand, pulling the remaining gun from his chest and pulling himself up to sit on the blade. When he had positioned himself well enough, he reached out and his second gun flew into the hand on his right. "Bring it on then, Devil!". Deon squeezed the triggers as fast as his fingers could allow him to, sending a maelstrom of bullets and explosions straight at the girl who sat in the wall. Unholy screams of pain and glee could be heard amongst the chaos, and it was even working Deon up into a rage. Bullet after bullet hammered down into the wall, but the wall could only take so much before it finally broke. Suddenly, the wall collapsed as it would've, and it fell backwards, colliding into the wall behind it as it was pushed down by the barrage of bullets and the pure, unbridled pulling force of gravity. Eventually, Deon let his guns drop to his sides, and Gravity returned to normal. He let out a laugh and sat up, his eyes searching the room for Alex. She was still there, floating above the concrete flooring, and not anywhere near the Core. As Deon stood, a figure stepped back in through the hole in the wall, and Deon growled. "What's wrong, Deon? You're losing your touch~ After all, I'm still unharmed, and you're running out of time!~".

Deon stood, dropping his Guns and letting an unholy growl emanate from his vocal chords, spreading through the room and making his already boiling blood begin to erupt with fury. He leaped forward, abandoning his weapons and thoughts, reducing himself to his most primal instincts. he growled again as he thrust his hand into the chest of the girl, gripping her shirt and pulling her down to the floor, sending cracks through the concrete and a wave of demonic energy throughout the Facility. Deon lifted the girl up, repeatedly slamming her into the ground face-first until he grew weary of it, and he grabbed her by the ends of her hair and threw her, threw her straight through the walls that he'd been thrown through and he watched as she sailed straight over the precipice, only to reappear almost instantly standing there, beckoning for him to come closer with an alluring finger. Deon place his hands on the ground, now on all fours and began to growl.

The unearthly growl filled the room, the halls and the entire Facility, and Deon was physically changing. His teeth grew sharper and longer, and a tail flicked out from his lower back. Two flaming horns of the most extravagant red and blazing orange, mixed together to form horns that looked like fire erupting from the boys face appeared as well, and his eyes turned completely crimson. Two jet black wings burst from his back, tinged slightly crimson with the horns on them being flames themselves. The shirt he had worn had vanished, and in it's place was his tattoo, growing to cover his entire torso and back in a blanket of shadowy flesh. The girl simply grinned at him, and beckoned for him to come and hunt her down once again with the same finger. "This is new, so I guess I'll let you entertain me for a while, shall I?".



The sound of limbs smashing against limbs filled the air, the sounds of the ensuing battle spreading throughout the area. Deon lunged again, ignoring the slashes that had been flung at him, and he grinned savagely as the force of his hits sent his opponent backwards slightly. Landing on the ground, he placed both of his hands flat on the concrete flooring and slowly let electricity form around his arms. He stood slowly, watching the sparks dancing in the palms of his hands before drawing his arms back and then throwing them forward, straight at the girl before him. The girl only raised her finger as the arcs hit her shield, and a devilish grin slid across her features. As the raging storms finally ceased, the girl simply grinned wider and pointed at Deon, and suddenly the latter gasped in shock. He stumbled backwards, clutching his face as if someone had shot him through the eye. He lifted his hand away and saw the blood dripping down it. His eyes rose back to his opponent, and she clicked her fingers.

"Gaaaaaaaaah!". Deon stumbled backwards as the left half of his face exploded, sending blood and chunks of bone flying across the floor and half way up the walls, all the while Deon simply clutched the area that was missing, blood dripping down onto his shoulders and eventually pooling on the floor. Deon stood there for a few moments, before he grunted. His regeneration boosted to their normal levels, and his face was soon fully reformed, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He locked eyes once again with his opponent, and she grinned. Malice and a false innocence both seemed to emanate from that ghastly, horrid mockery of an expression used in a kind, caring gesture. Deon swayed slightly, but remained determined not to fall to his knees. "Just why are you even here? Does it entertain you to see me suffering like this? Do you really like watching other people's pain so goddamn much!? Aren't you a Member of the Mirage Orchestra!? You Witches are meant to be kind to your fellows, and not... not this! If anything, not even those bastards at the Animalia Sanctaris would take you in!".

The words reverberated throughout the room, echoing down the empty corridors and out into the night sky. Deon's eye was once again bleeding, the crimson liquid spilling down his face and once again pooling on the floor. His opponent simply stood there, her eyes slightly wider than he'd expected them to be. In all honesty, he'd expected her to just laugh at him or throw him through another wall. Everything was just.... too quiet. Deon shifted his stance, and stopped holding his breath in. He dropped to his knees, clutching at his bleeding left eye and panting in barely contained gasps. He looked up to see what the girl was doing, but she still stood there, her face shrouded in shadows and her right hand gripping her dress so tightly that her knuckles were white. Deon stood, remaining silent so to not provoke her, as he'd learned in the years he'd been imprisoned. He quickly turned away, and proceeded over to the floating form of Alex, who seemed to be unconscious.

He grinned as he stood under her, and he reached up to grab her, his hands wrapping around her waist. He pulled her down and she went limp in his hands, as she was sound asleep. Deon sighed and turned, only to see the very thing he hadn't wanted to see. The girl had resumed her haughty, fear-inducing stance, her finger tapping on her lip as she pouted at him. "Well, since you can rebound so well from Physical pain, how about.... this!". Suddenly, Alex was torn from Deon's hands, an action which awoke her from her slumber as she felt herself pulled through the air with speed befitting that of only magic. She looked around, dazed from her magical unconsciousness, and when she remember what was happening, she rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Fucking hell, guys". Deon's eyes narrowed as the blue-haired girl grinned, and with her other hand, she forced him to one of the poles near the Core, restricting him with mystical chains that seemed to come out of nowhere.

Deon shook his head as he looked back at the two figures heading to the Cores surface. At the edge, the blue-haired girl stopped, and from the corner of her eye she took in Deon's expression when he realised what she intended to do. He pleaded, and when that didn't work he swore and raged, and when that didn't work he began to slowly tear himself free of his bindings, tearing carvings into his flesh and causing the chains to rub against his bones once the flesh was gone. Eventually, his blood once again polled onto the floor, his arms had been worn down to breaking bone where he'd struggled against his bonds. He raised his his head again, to catch the eyes of the sadistic girl before him. "Maybe if you're polite, I'll think about letting her go alive". Deon began to plead again, but it proved to be fruitless,. His tormentor simply shook her head and grinned. "You know the magic words, why not just say them?". Deon's eyes widened and he almost growled, but the thought of Alex being tossed into the Core stopped him. He let his head drop to his chest, and after a few minutes, he raised it again. "... Please, milady. Let Alex go, and I'll do whatever you want me to. Anything, I swear, just let her go, Mistress". The girl simply chuckled and spoke again. "I've thought about that, and you know what?... I think....".

Deon pleaded with his eyes, but when he saw the girl raise her hands, he realised that... "I think, it's time for you to learn a lesson, Slave!". And with that, she tossed Alex into the Reactor Core. A high-pitched scream left the human girls mouth as she plummeted to her demise, and soon enough her screams and the shouts of her companion joined together, shortly combining with the maniacal laughs of her murderer. As Alex fell, everything that had lead up to this rushed through her mind, her love of Birds and Nuclear Physics, her interest in the Occult, her fateful meeting with Deon, and now some old enemy was coming to ruin that all. She knew that somehow, this fall, this plummet into the core of the Reactor wasn't the end. As she hit the ground, she looked around in vain for a way to escape, but as her eyes adjusted to the darkness at the rim of the platform, she saw the grinning figure of the blue-haired girl clicking her fingers. And that was when the Core erupted with light, sending a charge straight through the roof of the Facility and emitting a shockwave strong enough the cause the ground around it the crack, sending the building crashing down below the Earth on which it sat, leaving nothing but a crater in it's place.



Deon didn't even blink as the pale, feminine hand caressed his face. The voice sounded distant, but like that of a caring mother or lover. Deon looked up, and what he saw couldn't have been any farther from the truth. As her finger went to poke him on the nose, he lashed out, clamping it between his jaw and biting down as hard as he could. He almost jumped for joy when he saw the girl trying in vain to pull her finger out from his jaws. He grinned even wider when he heard her gasps of pain, and when he finally let go he saw that her finger was red, blood seeping from the lacerations that his canine teeth had carved into it. He grinned savagely, and spat more blood into her face, before she began to speak. He didn't focus on her words at all, instead he began to hear a faint rumbling sound, and wondered what it was. Suddenly, the ruins of the Reactor Core exploded in a flash of brilliant light. Deon turned, unable to shield his eyes, but when the light dimmed he nearly cheered. A figure stood a few meters away from them, facing away. Suddenly, said figure turned and faced them, her now red eyes piercing through both of their souls. "So, blue bitch. Am I gonna have to break your molecular structure, or are you gonna get the heck outta here before I have to erase you?".



Tense moments passed as Deon grinned, the blue haired girl glared, and Alex, newly reborn as a Hell Raven, all stood still, not even moving for a second. Suddenly, the two girls vanished, appearing halfway between their prior locations, each attempting to push the other back. Alex's arm was encased in some sort of mechanism, and honestly Deon couldn't wait to see what it could do, or even was, for that matter. Suddenly, the two vanished again, reappearing a bit further away, trading blows as if they were on equal power levels, but Deon knew that the blue-haired girl was waiting for an opportunity to kill her opponent again. As they fought, Alex didn't let her friend gain a mental advantage either. "What's wrong? I thought you got rid of nuisences, bitch? Don't tell me you screwed up again!". Her tone was all too cheery for the situation, but both Deon and Alex's opponent could tell she wasn't just playing around. Suddenly, the girl faltered, and Alex pushed her arm-cannon down onto her, sending her flying into the ground and bouncing into the walls of the crater they'd made. By this time, Deon couldn't even move, since the chains that bounding him stopped his life-force from flowing properly. Suddenly, two pairs of hands seized the chain and pulled, snapping them in half and sending Deon to the floor. "Heh.... thanks, Alex.... So you're a Yatagarasu now, eh? Not bad...". Alex grinned at him, holding up her right hand as the cannon reappeared suddenly, and she turned to face her opponent. "Sit back and watch this, ya big wimp". Deon would've jabbed back, but he was too busy trying to coax his life-force into circulating through his entire body. He looked up just in time to see the blue-haired girl stand up, but Alex was ready. Suddenly, the panels on the arm-cannon lifted up, exposing the barrel of the weapon. A ball of something indiscernable to Deon began to form in front of it, and suddenly it increased in size. While the ball got larger, Alex began to speak.

"Fusion levels stable; Nuclear levels also stable.
Particles Charging; 12% Complete.
Stabilizers activating, 47% Active.
Stabilizers Active; 26% Charged.
Acquiring Target; 43% Charged.
Calibrating Distance and Angle of Shot; Distance Complete; Angle found.
Energy Outputs at Maximum level; 69% Charged".

At this, the barrel of the cannon began to glow, and slowly but surely, electrical currents began to move around it, creating an awesome image of a charging barrel.

"78% Charged.
Activating Demonic Transitionalisms; DT's Active.
85% Charged.
Engaging Anti-Magic Shields and Shield-Breakers; Shields Up.
97% Charged; Shield-Breakers Engaged.
100% Charged, All statistics stable. Ready to fire at will".

Alex spared one last moment to grin at her companion, and suddenly.... Boom. And suddenly, the entire world was covered in white.



Deon rubbed his eyes as the vision faded, and he glanced around. He took in the vision of the path again, leading up innumerable stone steps that even he couldn't see the top of. He sighed and strode forward until he reached the bottom of said stairs and he grimaced. "Seems like someone copied 'The Stairs' from that place in Makai. Ah well, we can't all be original. Only problem is that I have to climb these things". Deon sighed, and began to trudge up them, encountering no obstacles or problems on his way. It was almost as if he was being guided up these stairs by someone who had something rather... sinister in mind for him. He didn't notice it, but his journey up the steps became drastically shorter, and he found himself standing in front of a door again. A door he had seen before, and he had gone inside before. He sighed and raised his leg back, readying himself for a kick. He pushed forward with force, and sent the door flying into the wall behind it. "Eclipse, show yourself you asshole!".

“When I touched that sword… I saw a lot of things. It wasn’t just seeing my greatest fears… Terrifying a prospect as that was, that wasn’t the thing that broke me. Regrets. All the guilt and suffering I’d ever felt filled me at once, swallowing me into a pit of despair. Every moment I looked back on that was filled with remorse or shame… I lived those all at once. It was like the world only remembered the things I’d done wrong… The mistakes I’d made… How I’d failed.

…

It was worse than the nightmare that followed.”

---

Dim light filtered from the moon, casting a pale blue glow across the park. The shimmering illumination was the only source of visibility in the darkness, the streetlamps cold and lifeless as they remained silent. No breeze stirred the trees or leaves, and no sound or movement made its presence known. It was amongst this, that Ash found herself. Initially, bewilderment was the first thing she felt. It didn’t occur to her how strange it was to be out at this time, or what had happened to her prior to this moment. It was an odd sensation being so empty. Despite this, it was not a relief when her feelings returned. Dread. Fear. Amongst the eerie setting, the cold sweeping feelings flooded her. She was alone. Isolated amongst the darkness. Vulnerable. She needed to find someone – anyone – that could help her. She needed to get home. Rising from her place on the park bench, she started at a slow cautious walk, before shivering unconsciously. Why was she so… Terrified? Her feet sped up into a run as she crossed the park, her head rapidly turning this way and that, eyes frantically scanning for signs of life. Breaking out into the street, the deep sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach began to grow. Cars lined the streets, but it was as if they had been abandoned. Every building was devoid of light, closed off and empty. It was like a ghost town. She was well and truly alone.

Falling to her knees, Ash was overwhelmed. The scenario should have seemed like an insane dream, but instead she believed every moment of it as the truth. There was no one around. No one to help her. No one to talk to. Down on all fours, she could hear her own ragged breath, clenching her hands on the concrete as sweat dripped from her brow. Right now she’d give anything to hear a voice. Just to have someone say something and hold her. To have contact. She’d never shown anyone how much they meant to her, and she’d always told them she’d be better off alone. But it was a lie. She needed them. Needed… Just needed them to be there. She’d deny it if they asked her but… She enjoyed hanging around with everyone. Feeling her tears begin to well up, a firm grasp on her shoulder snapped her to alertness, relief filling her as she turned to see who was behind her.

“You okay Sis?” Claire asked, smiling warmly like she always did. It was such a welcome sight to see her here, she didn’t care what she’d done to her in the past. Sobbing, Ash leapt up and hugged her, revelling in the warmth she felt as she clutched her close. Claire continued to hold her close, softly caressing her head as she whispered words of calming reassurance. “Close your eyes, everything’ll be alright…” The sniffles of Ash began to die down. She’d always been a crybaby when she was little, and Claire had always been the one to look after her. She trusted her more than anyone else.

Schkt.

“Gck…?!” Ash gasped, intense pain flooding through her body as the knife was driven into her back. Blood drained down her jacket as it was forced in deep, Claire unmercifully pushing it home to the hilt. Weakly, Ash turned up to see her sister, barely able to get out the words she needed. “…W-why?” Meeting her sister’s gaze, all she got in response was a crazed and maniacal laugh, Claire twisted the knife free and shoving Ash to the ground, sending blood across the pavement as Ash screamed out in agony. The splatter sickened Ash as she hit the floor hard, blood matting her hair as she became a tangled mess. S-she needed to flee. She had to get away. Getting onto all fours steadily, that insane laughter continued to ring in her ears as she crawled away before staggeringly getting to her feet. Running as fast as she could, the voice faded behind Ash as Claire remained unmoving…

Panic, pain and fear was still running rampant in Ash’s mind, she barely could make sense of anything. Her legs continued to drive her forward on those same emotions, plunging her deeper into the city as she rounded block after block. Claire was insane. She was trying to kill her. She needed help. Barreling into the nearest alleyway, Ash gave a yell of surprise as she tumbled into a trashcan, crashing to the ground in a clatter of noise. Wincing, she began pushing herself up, before noticing the shoes standing before her. Frantically glancing up, she was met with the sweet and seductive smiling face of Asmodeus, skirt as short as ever as the biker got a compromising view of the lust demon. “A-Az! You’ve got to help me, Claire is-“ Ash froze midsentence as the sin helped her up, putting a finger to her lips. “Shh… Calm down… I’m here now. You can trust me.” Ash blinked a little in confusion, and far too late did the paranoia and fear kick in. The knife was plunged hard and fast, first into her stomach, and then secondly, into her heart. Ash gave a choked cry as blood seeped from her mouth; frozen as she clutched her chest, vision blurring as she tried to maintain her focus. As the world swam and began to fade to black, the agony she felt from the knife was overridden by one prominent pain.

Betrayal.

---

Awareness slowly returned to Ash, the fog lifting and colour filling her peripherals. Blinking as the world came into focus, she suddenly was alert, sitting up violently as she felt her back before gazing around in a panic. There was nothing though. No injury or bleeding, just a dull aching memory of what had happened. Panting as she had worked herself up, it took her a moment to realise where she was. She was home. Beneath her was her soft, race-car bed and on the closet was the poster of that boy-band Claire liked. Well, she used to like. It’d been years since her room had that poster. Sitting up, Ash walked over to examine it, reaching her hand forward… Before gasping in surprise as her hand went through the wall. S-she was a ghost?! She’d died?! Running over to her bedroom mirror, her fears were immediately confirmed, as no reflection stared back at her.

“H-how…” Ash stammered before the sound of nearby footsteps caught her attention, heavy as they stormed up to the room and roughly tore the door open. She was brash, her face a scowl and arms folded, charging through Ash and flopping onto the bed with a huff. Ash remained speechless, staring at the teenage girl that had just walked past her. She knew who that was, but it bewildered her to no end. That girl… Was her.

“Oh come on Ash, it’s not that big a deal!” The mention of her name made her pivot, stunning Ash in her tracks once again as the young Claire stood in the doorway, scratching her head in annoyance. “Look, you can still come with us if you want…”

“As if. Who’d want to see something boring like that?” The snarky question of her younger self was rhetorical, and slowly but steadily, Ash began to remember what this was all about. Her and Claire had organised to head out together and visit the racetrack, but contrary to how things usually went, this was the first time Claire hadn’t gone along with her plans. It was stupid and selfish, so she probably should’ve done what Claire wanted for once… But back then, she wanted her own way. It was some girly chick flick at the movies, but not only that, it was with her older sisters. She probably shouldn’t have been so bitter about that… But she was jealous. Jealous of her sisters stealing Claire away like that and angry her sister had been duped into joining them. At least, that was how it seemed back then… In reality, Claire had probably always wanted to join in the girly things. It never occurred to her that Claire only went to those auto shows and things just to keep her happy. Perhaps if she’d had a bit of insight into that… The whole argument between them could have been avoided.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Claire responded in annoyance as Ash sat up, a smirk on her face. “I mean those sorts of movies are stupid. But whatever, go if you want. I don’t care.” Flopping back down, Claire hmmphed, stepping forward and standing over Ash’s bed. They’d long since lost the bunk beds after growing up.

“Look, I don’t see why we can’t just go and see this together-“

“Because it’s lame. Duh.” Ash interjected, eyes closed as she cut Claire off. Trembling a little in annoyance, Claire raised her voice an octave as her frustrations grew. “It’s not lame!”

“Yes it is.” Ash responded dismissively, nonchalantly fobbing her sister off. “What do you care anyway? Everyone else is going to be there, it’s not like you need me.”

Claire paused a moment, her expression calming as she sighed. “I’d still like you there, sis…” Drawing out the best guilt trip she could, Claire attempted to appeal to Ash’s sympathy. Unfortunately, it would have no effect. “Ugh, you’re such a wimp. I don’t care about you, so it’s not like you should worry about me.” Ash rolled over in frustration and annoyance. She hated when her sister got all mushy like that, it made her uncomfortable. Besides, she’d organised this day together. She was being a jerk by ditching the plan.

…

Silence filled the room, Ash cautiously opening her eyes as she lay there. Finally, Claire broke the silence, provoking a twinge of guilt from the biker.

“Well… If that’s the way you feel, maybe I don’t care about you either!” Claire shouted a bit, slamming the door behind her as she ran out of the room. Ash was left alone in the silence of her room, watching herself sit up. She remembered this night all too well. After the argument, she’d sucked it up and gone to apologise to Claire. That was when…- Ash froze, watching her younger self grab her phone and begin dialling a number. This… This wasn’t right. She didn’t remember this. Curious and confused, she watched, mesmerised as she heard half a conversation she’d never known. It was Jim… her ex. Well, who would be her ex in the next few hours. Why was she calling that asshole up? It didn’t make any sense.

“Right, I’ll see you then. No, my lame ass sister won’t be there. Heh, cool. Alright, I can’t wait to hear it. See-ya.” Snapping her phone shut, Ash grabbed her jacket and keys, jumping out the door. No, no, this wasn’t right. She was going to the races with Jim? That never happened. Bewildered, Ash felt herself following, running after her young self. Just what was going on? If this was another nightmare like before, why was it so similar to her memories? Frantically thinking back to this day, she couldn’t get out of her head how this was wrong. She didn’t remember it being like this! Unable to shake the feeling how wrong it was, she felt like stepping into her own shoes and doing things the right way. She’d thought about what she’d said to Claire in her room for a while, than driven down to the cinema to meet her family and apologise. Then… Then, as she left, she learnt how twisted her sister truly was. It was a lie. The movies, being upset with Ash and storming off. It was all a trick to leave Ash behind, so she could see him. She’d stolen him away from her, and had no remorse about doing so behind her back. Both had betrayed her.

She glared at Jim as she saw her younger self give him a brief hug. That bastard… He was a bad-boy and it was what had drawn her to him. He was reckless and stupid, but she’d never expected him to cheat on her with her own flesh and blood behind her back. She never expected it of her own sister either. But they had. And it burned her to this very day. Flaring up in anger for only a moment, it disgusted her seeing the foolish way she fawned over him. Her annoyance was quickly replaced by confusion at this new situation. If that never happened… Then what was going to occur here? Watching in silent curiosity, she crept ever closer to the two, listening in to their conversation. With the way she was so deeply absorbed in observing the moment… She could see just how awkward the two were. Jim looked… Uncomfortable being around her. Eyerolling, keeping his personal space... It was… odd…

“Look Ash, ya know how I said I had something to tell you?” Jim spoke, hands in pockets as he turned to face the young her.

“Hmm? Oh, I completely forgot. Spill, what’s the deal?” Sitting up from the fence where they’d been watching the show, she smiled at Jim, showing how she clearly expected something good. As the situation continued to unravel, it became apparent that a gift was the last thing on Jim’s mind.

“Well… Look, I’m done with it.” Jim turned away after the words, leaving Ash a little perplexed. “Uh… Done with what?” She asked after some hesitation, confused with what he was referring to. “Look just… Ugh, I’m done with you alright? I met another girl, and believe me, she’s way less hassle then you. Basically, I’m dropping you. Dumping.” He turned back to face Ash, his face stern. “Ha, nice one. You’re a real… Kidder…” Slowly, the realisation dawned on her that Jim was serious, his expression grave and his body language somewhat aggressive. “It ain’t a joke. Unlike you, I don’t bitch at people all the time for no reason. I’m out.” Shoving past the younger her roughly, Ash watched herself stand there in shock, before calling out to Jim, running after him and catching him behind the stadium. The next few moments were… Painful to watch as the argument escalated, both yelling at each other in frustration and exasperation. She felt awkward, like she was eavesdropping on an argument between a couple… But this was her, right? Her in some… Alternate timeline or something?

Finally, the fight reached it’s breaking point as Ash moved up to grab Jim, only to have him roughly shove her off onto the ground. “Fuck off, get over it you stupid bitch!” Turning on the spot, he began to storm off, leaving her there. Ash watched herself remain on the ground, then her eyes widened in fear, seeing the transformation overtaking her. Darkness began to flood out of her and consume her, morphing her into some sort of demonic shadow cat beast, sharp claws rending the ground and teeth gnashing wildly. Jim turned and screamed in panic, attempting to run before a huge demonic tail snaked after him, pinning him through his back to the ground as he cried out, scrambling to try and escape. Slowly, the monster Ash had become stepped up, changing back to a human form as she cupped Jim’s cheek and turning him to face her. Grinning, she began to whisper. “If you never want to see me again… Then I guess I’ll give you your wish.” Jim gave a startled cry as the shadows around him began to rise up, holding him spread and in the air before more formed, this time a multitude of blades and spikes. Ash could only watch the scene in horror before turning away, choking back tears as Jim’s screams of agony echoed in her mind. Just what sort of nightmare was this?!

“Nightmare? Oh, no, this is real; I can assure you of that.” The voice came from behind her, Ash freezing as she whirled. The stadium was gone, and now she found herself in an endless black void. Before her, stood the monster she’d just witnessed her identical twin aside from those blood red eyes. Grinning wildly, she raised a hand, Ash giving a gasp as a shadow tugged her down, pulling her into a seat. “Comfy? Good. I’ve got some things to discuss with you…”

---

Claire had intended to head down the corridor and face Ash alone. However, the persistent questions and concern from Keilani made her hesitate. This girl… Ugh, she couldn’t protect her and fight that demon! No matter how positive her intentions, she was just needlessly risking herself, and making the situation more difficult. Fully intending to give Keilani a piece of her mind, she stopped at the last few words she uttered.

"You don't want to hurt her at all... I can feel that."

Claire blinked a moment, wondering how this girl had identified that. Monitoring her psychic barrier, indeed, it seemed that however unintentional it may have been, Keilani had somehow read her feelings through it. So, there was more to this girl then her dreamy appearance… Interesting… Maybe there was a way she could help after all. Claire narrowed her eyes, retrieving her glasses from her breast pocket and appraising Keilani. She didn’t seem to be in the best physical health, but the mind was far more important for what Claire intended. Was it wise to trust a stranger with something like this? At this point, she didn’t really have much choice. She needed her Ash back, but she also needed to fend off this monster. That meant someone had to go in there and find her true self. This girl seemed to have a pure spirit - A natural tendency of empaths – So maybe… Just maybe, Keilani could save Ash.

“Alright. But you need to do exactly as I say.”Claire removed her glasses before stepping up, placing her hand on Keilani’s forehead. She’d just do a little probing of her mind, perhaps make some suggestions and feed some information in to help- Recoiling her hand, Claire blinked in surprise. Considering how dazed this girl had been, her mental defences were extraordinary; especially considering Claire couldn’t use her unfocused powers to get a read on her. “Remarkable…” Claire muttered, turning away. With psychic fortitude like that… Yes, it was clear now this plan had merit. It was disappointing she couldn’t transfer her knowledge, but at least Keilani might be safe once she crossed the mental barrier. Well, she had no choice. They’d have to do this the old fashioned way.

Suddenly realising how little she’d been speaking, and how strange her actions must have seemed to Keilani, Claire apologised. “Sorry, I got lost in my own thoughts. I’m not sure how much you know about things, but I need your help to save my sister.” Claire stressed the urgency in her tone, remaining serious. “She’s not herself… The darker side of her personality has taken over.” Claire continued her rushed explanation. There was no need to complicate things by explaining why this side of Ash had manifested into a separate consciousness. Especially since that was her fault. “Basically, I need you to enter into Ash’s mind, and help her get free of whatever is holding her back while I stall her here. You don’t need to worry about the specifics of it, I’ll get you in there, and Blanche will be there with you. Just walk around, find her, and I’ll get you out.” Claire turned, seeing the shadows of her sister creeping down the corridor. She didn’t have long.

“Get yourself somewhere safe and comfortable. When you’re ready to go, tell Blanche and she’ll bridge the connection.” Claire gestured to the white cat that had made its way over, meowing to Keilani and leaping down the hall. When she was ready, it would induce the hypnotic slumber and connect Keilani into Ash’s nightmare. As the girl remained behind, Claire glanced back over her shoulder. “…Sorry. About dragging you into all this, I mean. And thanks. Just be careful.”

---

Tearfully, Ash remained broken and hollow. Mindless and blank, she remained sitting in the chair of shadows, eyes reflecting the sorrow of what she’d learned. In her head, fears and nightmares continued to play in a waltz of choking atmosphere. Surrounded by the darkness and abandoned to herself, she was alone. In the isolating black, she remained dead to the world.

“What’s wrong Claire?! It’s like you’re not even trying to fight back!” Ash grinned maniacally as she flew forward, her arms eclipsed in black shadowy claws as she made a series of violent sweeps. Darting her feet backwards, Claire did her best to catch her breath. She WASN’T trying to fight back – This was her sister Ash! All she had to do was hold out until Keilani could snap Ash out of her trance. She was strong. Ash had inner strength. All she needed was a nudge, and she’d discover her own power. She had faith in that. All she could do was give her the time to do so. Ducking behind an overturned table, Claire stayed only a moment before diving to the side as it was ripped in two. It was a heavy strain on her powers to keep using them like this, but she only needed to hold out a little longer. Focusing a moment, she analysed each of the variables and made her decision, darting to the left before ducking and sliding, slipping past the rain of shadows that came from the floor intending to skewer her. Any moment now, he’d be here.

Removing her glasses, Claire decided to take a chance. She couldn’t risk overstraining herself, so she’d just have to make due for a few moments longer. Weaving back and forth as she parried the series of strikes from Ash, she paused as she watched her sister jump back, turning to face one of the other halls as if hearing something. Had the conflict inside of her become that distracting, or was it something else? Remaining on the defensive, she watched as a wall of shadows rose, cutting off the corridor Ash had travelled down. Was she trying to keep someone out, or trap her in? Claire remained completely uncertain of which, until the tremendous crashing sounds of Deon reached her ears, the Phoenikoi busting in through the side wall, his arms wielding strange gauntlets that emanated a malignant energy.

"At this rate, the entire complex will be going down. Ah hell, why do I care so much, anyway!?" Claire watched Deon look about the smashed room, rubbing his head and breathing in his cigarette. "Sheesh, Ash. What the heck did you even do? Oh right, you're not exactly the normal Ash, are you?" Slowly, Ash’s claws began to reform into her hands as she rubbed them together, before tossing her hair to the side as she turned to face Deon. “Nothing… Yet. Though I see that good for nothing sword fulfilled my expectations. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to stay out of my business, would you?” Ash looked unamused as she watched Deon, ignoring whatever banter Eclipse attempted to instigate.

Deon let his hands drop to the ground, and he look down. "Oh, of course. I didn't mean to interrupt you, miss. I was just checking on things, that's all." His tone was apologetic and conveyed something like a touch of submission. A few moments passed before he jerked his head up and laughed, eyeing Ash and blinking. "In all honesty, I'd rather be asleep right now.... Buuuut, I can't just let you kill Ash's sister, can I? After all, I'm technically your big brother, and Claire's too." He grinned, flexing his arms and cracking his neck. "Is there any point in asking you to come quietly, or is this a 'I won't stop until I get my revenge' type of thing?"

“She’s my Sister. I think I have the right to do what I want with her.” Ash stated simply. “But, if you’re going to get in my way, I suppose I’ll have to deal with you. It’ll be a pleasure to wipe that cocky smirk off your face.” Deon continued to hold that stupid grin, plainly speaking his mind with an air of confidence. "Well, since you're so confident about winning this fight, there's no need for me to hold back then, is there?" Stepping up towards her steadily, he gave Ash the finger. "That was for wrecking my car with Umbra." Arriving a mere body’s length from ash, he simply stood there, before blowing some smoke straight into Ash's face. "Hurry up then, I don't have all day." Waving her hand to dispel the smoke, Ash remained where she was, letting Deon’s shadow rise up behind him and form into its shape. Deftly, it darted forward, attempting to coil around his biceps and restrain him. Unmoving, Deon seemed unfazed by Ash’s manipulation, grinning as the shadows wrapped themselves around his arms as he spat out his cigarette and let it fly past Ash, landing over near the wall. Yawning as Ash had the shadows rip him onto the floor, he continued with the smarmy attitude as he was pinned down against the ground. With a single boot, Ash stepped on his chest, narrowing her eyes at him in annoyance. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay down.”

Deon laughed, maintaining that cocky smile as he decided to make a jab at Ash. "I bet you love being on top of me, don't you, Ash?" Deon snickered and his grin widened, but otherwise he seemed calm, as if he was waiting for the right moment. Ash however, had had enough of his tongue. Within moments of speaking a shadow wrapped over Deon's mouth, silencing him completely, and even masking that Cheshire grin of his. “Now, where were we?” Ash stated in satisfaction, turning back to Claire. Returning her gaze, Claire looked to Ash, having taken the time to get some much needed rest and recuperate her abilities. Standing up calmly, she retrieved her glasses once more, focusing her gaze on the dark copy. Seeing time flow past her, she could only smile as she saw the options. Casually removing them as Ash made her approach, she did nothing to avoid her grasping arm grabbing the front of her jacket, lifting her up off her feet. “Decided to give in, have we? Well, that just makes… Everything…” Ash began to hesitate, blinking a couple of times before closing her eyes, as if deep in thought. Around Deon, the shadows receded, if only slightly, as her attention was focused elsewhere…

---

No words filtered into Ash’s mind. No feelings, no sensations. The world was silent, cold and empty. The void consumed her, suppressing everything but her despair and loneliness. And then… Softness. Warmth. A rhythmic beating… It was all so strange. In a world with nothing, these odd new phenomena brought startling clarity and focus. Desperate for contact, she latched onto those new feelings, craving them for solace. This gentleness… Just… Who was it? No one but Claire had ever…-! Like a shockwave, a new sensation accompanied the embrace, radiating from her forehead. The sincerity of the gesture, and the care with it… The blankness began to fade from Ash’s expression, her eyes slowly looking to see just who was kneeling in front of her. Dimly, she thought for a moment that it was Claire but… This girl… Who was she? Mouth slightly agape, she listened in wonder and confusion as she continued to speak, savouring the soft touch caressing her hair.

"You're not alone anymore. I'll be there for you from now on."

Blinking twice, Ash didn’t know what to say. She’d never been good at expressing her feelings or anything, and most of the time she acted like she didn’t need anyone. Right now however, after escaping the solitude of depression… She didn’t know what else to do. Leaning forward, she embraced Keilani, doing her best to hold back and hide the tears she felt, clenching her eyes shut. She had no idea why this girl was here, why she cared or anything. But the fact was she did care. She was here for her. Ash needed that more than anything else right now. If this girl was willing to stay with her… She wouldn’t be alone…

“How touching…”

Ash froze, her eyes going wide, as that fearful voice of sweet sarcasm filled the air. It was her voice. Staring down at the black floor below, she stepped back and stumbled away from Keilani in panic as it opened, a massive looming red eye staring at her and encompassing much of the floor. Narrowing slightly as it locked onto Ash’s gaze, it seemed to be enjoying itself as the voice filled the room once more, the eye slowly floating up into the air to watch over the three beings in the realm. “This truly is momentous. Little Soot found herself a friend amongst the darkness…” A mouth and second eye formed, floating into the vague outline of a face as it circled them, coming to a stop by Ash’s ear as it whispered.

“But… how can you trust her...? What if she turns on you like your sister did?”The mouth warped into a grin, acting as devil’s advocate as Ash turned to face Keilani with a somewhat horrified expression. Steadily, she began to take a step back from her. “What does she want from you anyway? There’s no way she’d be nice to you for no reason…” Continuing her steady whispers to breed fear, the bodiless face continued to swirl around Ash, influencing her decisions and perspectives. “Once she gets closer to you that’s when she’ll hurt you. Hurt us… We can’t have that. Keep her away…” Ash held her head and clenched her eyes shut, shaking violently.

“Stop it! Shut up! Shut up!” Ash screamed at the taunting voice, receiving only laughter in response. “You know it’s the truth. This is what you fear. I’m you, and you’re me. You can sense it, and that’s why you’re so afraid. You can’t deny it.”

“No no NO! I’m not you! You’re not me!” Ash lashed out, attempting to strike the floating face futilely. The mocking laughter continued, darting this way and that as it continued to speak its mind. “Aren’t I? Wasn’t it you that wanted to kill him? Wasn’t it you who wanted revenge against Claire? Didn’t you crave the chance to put that cocky Oni in her place?” With a yell, Ash gave another violent lunge, this time catching something. Slowly, she found herself holding the neck of her nemesis, the dark and twisted version of herself, still derisively looking down at her. Staring each other down, Ash felt the tears running down her cheeks again. Before gradually, gently, she released her grip, bringing her hands to her side as she kept her head downcast.

“You’re right.” She murmured softly, her fists trembling. “You’re right about everything.” Turning her head up to lock eyes with the dark mirror, Ash glared fiercely. ”I am afraid of letting her get close to me. Of what might happen if I do. And back then, I wanted Jim dead for humiliating me like that. Claire betrayed me, and I wanted nothing more than to have her suffer like I did… But even if that’s what I felt deep down inside, that’s not what I really wanted!” Her lips curling into a bit of a smile, Ash brought her fist up, examining her hand a moment as she opened and clenched her palm. “Even if that’s what I felt in the heat of the moment… I regret your… … My actions those days. I understand now who you are - What you are - and I don’t need you. Even if you are a side of me, whether that be my fears or dark desires… I’ll make my own choice whether to embrace them or not.”

“Hmmph, look at you. Acting like you’re so smart. Well fine, do what you want. See if I care.” Turning on her heel, Dark Ash began to stride away, fading and becoming one with the darkness. “Just know you can’t get rid of me.” Watching her go, Ash nodded, mumbling softly under her breath. She stayed there a moment, staring at the spot where the shadow of herself had left. Finally, she turned back to Keilani, forcing a wry smile. “So, you said there are people waiting for me, right?”

---

…Deon slowly stood, not daring to make a sound. As he began to stalk forward, he also began to grin. Having broken Ash’s restraints, it was the perfect opportunity to take her down. As he slowly stepped forward, he was quick to close the gap, lining up to strike. A palm, aimed straight into Ash's back was all he'd probably need, and he grinned as he pushed it forward, closer to its target. His hand hit Ash, but only for a moment before it passed clean through her due to the abilities he'd copied off of Illusion. As soon as his hand passed through Ash and reached Claire, it resolidified and grasped her collar. Suddenly he pulled backwards, bringing Claire through Ash with him and safely passing her through her opponent. When he was done, and his arm was out of Ash, he spun around. His left leg hit Ash in the ribs with a crack, and sent her flying into a nearby wall. After Deon finished his pirouette, he turned to Claire, a look of concern on his face. "Hey, are you alright? You're not too hurt, are you?"

“J-just what do you think you’re doing?! That’s Ash!” Claire fumed, pushing herself free from Deon as she hurried over to her sister, now buried within the rubble of the nearby wall. Argh, this idiot! Ash was about to regain control, and then he went and did something reckless like that! Using her psionic powers, Claire began clearing the debris, finding her way to her sister. Deon simply stood and rubbed his forehead. "Well, thanks for the thanks. Next time I'll just let you get hurt or something, ya know. Just don't get angry at me if someone snaps your neck. And besides, your sister's already shown an AMAZING amount of control, don't you think?" With that, Deon left the room.

Uncovering Ash, Claire gave a sigh as she remained asleep and unconscious. Assumedly, Keilani had been successful, and when next she was up, Ash would be back in control of herself. She’d probably be sore, and the two would have a lot to talk about… But the important thing was that she was alright, and no one had really been hurt. She wasn’t sure where Keilani had gone to hide, but no doubt Blanche had brought her back to reality by now. She’d make the effort to personally thank her, but for now, she needed to get Ash somewhere more comfortable. Heaving her sister over her shoulder, Claire began carefully picking her way through the mess of the room, aiming to take her straight to the infirmary…

---

It had all happened so fast, Kane hadn’t known what to do. Sebastian was dying from a critical injury, there was that strange liquid demon having disappeared to gods no where, and he had no idea what to do! There was so much blood all over, and he had no medical training and and…

“Don’t move him.”

Kane froze as he heard the voice behind him, turning slightly to see just who it was. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any recognition of this girl, but that didn’t matter. It was someone else, and from the sounds of things, she was here to help. Acting near instantaneously on her instructions, he helped open up Sebastian’s shirt to allow her better access, watching in helpless worry as he was useless in a scenario like this. The girl was continuing to mutter to herself, and the situation sounded grim. With grievous wounds like that, it wasn’t entirely surprising, but it was still a hard blow to take. He’d let Sebastian down, he was going to die. Punching the ground once in frustration, the shocked voice of the girl brought his attention back to reality. What he saw made his eyes go wide.

It was beautiful, a soft silvery wisp of light emanating from the girls palm, shimmering in a wave like a velvet curtain. Kane could only watch in fascination as the lacerations over Sebastian’s body began to disappear. She… She was healing him! In stark amazement, Kane could only give a cheer as his mystery doctor spoke in utter bewilderment. She didn’t seem to know what she’d done, but he didn’t care. “You’ve done it, you saved him!” Giving her a pat on the back and a grateful shake of her shoulders, Kane immediately regretted the latter action as her eyes went slack, and it looked like she’d lost her sense of equilibrium. Holding her upright, Kane asked what was probably a dumb question.

“Are you alright?” Keeping her in the sitting position, he heard her mumble something about being tired before she fell slack, Kane forced to catch her before she hit the floor. Whatever she did, it must have completely worn her out. Gently, Kane placed her onto the floor, looking around the room. Well, with both of them unconscious, he couldn’t exactly haul them to the infirmary. He needed help – but he wasn’t about to leave them alone in case that thing came back. Sighing, he took a seat watching over them. Hopefully everything with the others was alright…

Deon walked down the hallways, running his forehead and stumbling slightly. He reached the end of the hallway, and thing began to... change. He didn't know what was happening, or how it was happening. Heck, he didn't even know if it was real or not. He fell to his knees, clutching his chest as a ghosty form began to appear in front of him. It's blue hair and red eyes stood out from the rest of the figure that was constantly blurry, and Deon couldn't stay focused on it for too long. as he looked aroun, the walls of the hallways became dark and damp, mould spreading through it and eventually dripping down the walls. The mould turned to liquid, black steaming liquid, and it slowly built up on the floor. The roof and walls were covered, and the liquid was slowly drippind down onto him. He looked down, and began to laugh at a barely audible volume. The liquid began piling up, and his eye started twitching. He almost allowed himself the short reprieve of giving in, but suddenly a voice came from the real world, and the Madness; the dark, oily madness that had nearly drenched him in itself, had receeded. "We've found him, sir!" An unfamiliar voice caused the madness to move back only a small amount, but then came a voice Deon knew belonged to Scott. "... Keep your guns ready, men. Remember, stun, not neutralize". Deon snickered as the madness began to move towards him again, feeding off of the anxiety that had just built up slightly. Suddenly, Scott came into view, and the illusion shattered with the sound of breaking glass. "... Deon? Can you hear me?". Scotts tone seemed to be one of concern, but had a bitter edge to it that reminded Deon that if he didn't cooperate, he would be locked away. He couldn't let that happen.

With a sigh, Deon stood. His eyes opened and locked with Scotts, and he rubbed his temples in frustration. "It's all good. I'm just tired, that's all". He attempted a smile, but whatever he'd given must have been slightly inane looking, because some of the soldiers stepped back cautiously and kept their weapons aimed at him. Deon simply cracked his neck, and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket. "So, what did you want, Scott?". Deon's grin faded as Scott began to ask his a question, but Deon's attention was focused more on the patterns that had begun to trace themselves across his vision. He tried to listen to what Scott had said, but by the time he'd gotten his attention back, more patterns began drawing themselves, back and forth across his vision. He began to see letters and numbers, the most common of these being 'M', 'A' and 'D'. Deon began to sway, before he caught himself and shook his head clear. He refocused just as Scott was halfway through his sentence. "Sorry, what did you say?".

There was a buzzing sound at the edges of Deon's senses, moving slowly in it's mission to overwhelm all. Deon rubbed his head, but managed to remain mostly focused on Scott's words. He grinned slightly as he caught the full sentence, and he sighed. Scott seemed to sigh, and Deon thought of his words, his question. "... The Eclipse event. I need to know who it was that broke him out and what happened". Deon blinked a few times, and spoke. "Oh right, that. Basically, Ash broke him out and she used him to seal me in the Nightmare World, while she hunted down Claire. I found Eclipse in the Nightmare World, because he'd been stabbed through me. These Gauntlets.... are him". Deon rubbed his eyes, and yawned, while Scott seemed to have trouble believing that Ash was the culprit, all evidenced by his shocked expression and his choice of words. "Ash?". Deon nodded, and spoke again. "It wasn't the actual Ash though. It was too.. dark. As well as too powerful.... How is everyone, anyway?". Deon locked eyes with Scott, and continued. "Is anyone seriously hurt?". Deon's mind was fully clear of all of the Madness now, and he felt like he would be able to hand le anything Scott said.

Scott remained silent however, and that silence stopped Deon in his tracks. Was he keeping something from him? Was someone dead!? Deon's thoughts raced as he tried to figure out who it could've been, but suddenly his mind was fogged up. It became harder to think, as if something was telling him that he knew the answer, but he would have to get the real answer from Scott. Deon once again locked his eyes with Scott's own, and spoke in a voice that was practically dripping with venom. "Tell me". Deon's eyes stayed the same as Scott sighed and spoke again. "Sebastian almost died of blood loss, but has miracously recovered somehow... Gabriel has reported in that he's captured the one responsible for it. There is, however, the matter of Quake...". Deon's brow rose, and he grabbed Scott by the collar, roughly pulling him towards him. "What happened to Quake? What's this 'matter'? Tell me".

As Deon pulled him close, Scott didn't seem to react much, aside from sighing and blurting out a sentence. A single sentence with an ironic pause in the middle, just to make Deon's anxiety go that little bit higher. Deon's ears pricked up as Scott spoke, and his stomach nearly rolled over with dread as he stopped halfway through. "...Asmodeus came in with her body. She says Ash did a good number on her earlier, and well....".

Deon's eyes widened slightly, and the hairs on the back of his head pricked up.

"...There's a chance she won't make it."

Rin

Against the release of Gabriel's powers, Rin was nearly knocked out and she was definitely powerless. Luckily, she had her of (half) angel to protect her. Michael held her close as Gabriel's power was unleashed, and she pushed herself deep into his chest to avoid the searing pain that the Angel's power brought. After a while, when Gabriel's power had settled down, she looked around the area. Michael let her go, and she looked around in case any danger remained. "What a mess...". He mumbled. Rin, after following her intuition and finding no threats in the immediate area, she turned to Michael, her head down and her eyes focusing on the floor. "T-Thanks, Michael. For saving me, I mean. If you hadn't have pulled me.... yeah, thanks". She coughed awkwardly, and turned. The Hallways was pretty much fine, aside from the smell of singed flesh and burning. Rin turned to Michael, and grinned. "Sooo.... what now?". Rin's eyes locked with Michael's, and he spoke. "... I'm not sure. I don't know what's going on right now". Rin tapped her chin, and spoke; "Maybe we should check on Gabriel and the others, since the Control Room has camera's pretty much everywhere". Rin made a turn to the door, but Michael stopped her. ".... You'd die if he still has his powers unrestrained." Rin grinned, and spoke. "I have a feeling that he's restrained them, so I should be alright". With that, she strode forward and pulled open the door, and Michael said something about Kasha behind her, before following her inside.



Rin took a deep breath as she prepared herself for the worst, which wasn't actually that much to be honest. She took one last breath, and then opened the door to her Uncle's Quarters. She stepped inside, making sure to close the door behind her, and she caught the end of a sentence he had been mumbling to himself. She moved quickly, but her Kasha body stopped her from making any sound she didn't want to make. So she found herself standing behind a man whom she thought of as everything someone could find good in a person. Her Uncle, one of the current Leaders of the Renegades. She prepared herself, and then she spoke. "Excuse me, Uncle". The slightly timid voice from behind the older Kasha seemed to struggle through the air, much more than Rin would have wanted it to. "Erm, I was just wondering about something.... Well, two people, actually". The Kasha Leader slowly looked over at her and gave her a gentle smile. He then fully turned around to face her and put his cane into position. He placed one hand gently over the handle lightly. "... Ah, Rin. Speak away then, my child". The girl looked away for a moment, but suddenly looked up. "Tell me about Deon and Michael! I wanna be strong like them, and protect people from... From my Family!". The girl dropped her head again, and sighed. "I'm just so weak, and I can't even cut through wood with my claws".

In reality, Rin had spent months trying to cut through a tree trunk with her natural claws, but they lacked the cutting edge of the other Kasha, and she was frequently made fun of for it. She always got tense when she was asked to help with cutting things or with chopping up vegetables for dinner without using a knife. The only thing that had kept her going, trying to get stronger, were two people. Deon Morris and Michael Malachim were both top of their respective classes, and they even spoke to her on occasion without it being an insult or a taunt. She'd walked past them and they'd smile at her like they were friends, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep up with them on the battlefield. One time, when she'd been being bullied for being so weak by some of the strongest people on Campus, Deon had taken the hits for her until her Uncle had arrived to break up the fight. She remembered it clearly. How the bullies had pushed her against a wall, intent on doing... god knows what to her, but suddenly a voice came, toxicity basically rolling off of it's tongue. The guys had left Rin alone, and she was thankful until one of them grabbed her by the neck.

Of course, it didn't end there. The boy agreed to trade himself for her, and the sounds of bones cracking and blood splattering, along with the images that were burned into her brain, still tormented her to this day. After an hour of the torture, Michael and her Uncle had found them and stopped the fighting, and the Phoenix boy was taken to the Infirmary. Rin thought he had died, but she learned that he was immortal the next day when she found him laughing it off as if it hadn't happened. Rin's brows furrowed, and she blinked a few times before looking up in shock at the man who was laughing at her. "Oh Rin...". He sighed, raised his hand and continued. "... I never believed any of my family would find me here. But you are different from them... You have good intentions, while they have fallen into corruption. It is why I was banished in the first place... But still, Deon and Michael are special conditions. Everyone knows about Deon, and, well... Let's just say Michael has a gift. A powerful gift. But you.... You will need to be trained."

Rin looked at her Uncle again, and spoke. "Tell me more about Deon first! He's technically the strongest, and if it was just a physical contest, I'd want to be able to keep up with him. I'm already faster than Michael, maybe stronger too. I wanna know everything about them, just in case either of them screw up and turn evil". The words her Unclespoke next made her wonder just who, or maybe even what, Michael was. "Michael cannot be corrupted". He told her firmly, patting his hand gently as he rubbed it. ".... His heart is blessed. Unlike Deon's... But very well, I will tell you. But... To know your friends, you must know the risks you must take. You must earn the right to know... Are you prepared for the training I have in mind? Even if it almost kills you?". Rin took a few moments to consider his offer, her mind was racing. What could possibly be so dangerous that it could kill her? After a few tense minutes, the younger Kasha looked up. "I'll do it!".

Of course, she'd wanted to do it, not only because she'd be able to incapacitate them if she needed to but she also wanted to grow stronger so she could repay Deon for what he had done for her. She wanted to get close to them, and to be friends with them and be able to protect them from harm as well. She knew that her journey would start here, but she still wasn't prepared for what happened next. Her Uncle smiled and pressed a button. "Ladies, ...Come in here for a moment". He then released it and put his hand back on top of the other. "I think I should intoduce you to two people Michael and Deon haven't fought or will not be trained by... They don't need it. But then again, they will miss out." Rin turned as the two figures entered the room. One was obviously a Shinigami, from the enchanting beauty all the way down to the skulls adorning her weapons and her massive Scythe. The other was yet another woman, her brilliant red hair was hidden underneath a green cap with a golden star on it, and a grin on her face. "So, waddaya need, 'Unclee Kasha'?". The second girl laughed, and her eyes blazed as she suddenly turned serious. "If ya didnt know, you're staring at a Dragon Youkai, Missy".

The Kasha leader looked at them. "Ah, ladies... Introduce yourself to my niece, would you kindly?". The Dragon Youkai jumped at the chance, but before she could speak the Shinigami laughed and spoke. "Just call me Lady Death, everyone else does anyway. I'm a Shinigami, blah blah blah. You get the picture". The Shinigami grinned at the Dragon and gestured for her to speak, with a smirk on her face all the while. The Dragon Youkai grinned, and nodded. "'Bout time, anyways... I stopped using my real name ages ago, but you can call me the 'Red Dragon'. Everyone else does anyway". She laughed, and Rin nodded. "I-It's nice to meet both of you...". Rin's eyes opened in shock, and she spoke. "You mean I get to train with two of the Leaders of the Renegades!?". Rin turned to her Uncle, and spoke again. "I just wanted you to tell me about Deon and Michael, that's all...". A voice from behind her, belonging to Red, froze her in her spot. "What, are we not good enough for you?".

The Kasha Leader laughed lightly at this. "And I told you. You must earn the right to do this... That is why you will be trained specially. Just like Michael is being trained by me, and, well.... We all know what Deon's doing. Ladies, are you up for this challenge I present to you?". He asked Lady Death and Red Dragon. Red grinned and nodded, and Lady Death just seemed to remain the same aside from a small tilt of her head. Red grinned and spoke again. "Only problem is..". She locked eyes with Rin, her grin broadening. "Are YOU ready for this challenge?". Rin's eyes dropped once again for a moment before she caught sight of Deon and Michael walking past the room, laughing. She grinned, a determined glint in her eye, and spoke. "Ready as I'll ever be!".





".... There's nothing that can be done about it, Deon. She has to make her own choice now about whether she lives or dies. I'm sorry about the chains restraining you, but... Well, nearly killing someone doesn't look good in our situation". Scott told him, as three Renegade soldiers grabbed a hold of three poles sticking out of the collar on Deon's neck. Deon struggled, and was promptly zapped with a buzz-baton by one of his restrainers. He growled and bared his teeth. "When I get outta this goddamn thing, you're all FUCKING DEAD!". He struggled more, growling and huffing but eventually the constant hits from the baton stopped him. He sigh and let his head fall forward, and he growled. "I'm sticking to that. I'll throw all of you into a Ravine somewhere in Germany". Scott narrowed his eyes at him. "Keep that up and I'm locking you down in a water cell tonight". He told him, as Scott and the Renegade squad followed along, a few Renegade soldiers forcing Deon to walk alongside Scott. "... Funny, you don't seem to be worried at all for Eclipse." Deon simply grinned and spoke. "Scott, you do know that I could bury you right now, in all honesty, right? I mean come on, sure... I'm not at my best right now, but I could snap your spine with ease. Trust me, I've done it before". Deon began to snicker lightly, his eyes widening in manic excitement, before he clenched them shut and calmed himself down. "And if you keep up YOUR attitude, I'll lock you in the cemetary tonight".

Scott stopped at this, making the other stop as well in worry. "... Hold him". He said, as the three soldiers pulled the poles enough to keep Deon restrained enough as Scott walked in front of him. He opened his right palm to reveal a demonic marking formed from blood on his hand. He narrowed his eyes as he slammed it into Deon's forehead, making red lines appear on him. Deon's eyes widened as his body was wracked with the pain of being drowned in a pool of Holy Water. He gnashed his teeth together and growled, after the ten seconds were up, and he growled again. His breathing came heavily, and his eyes were blazing. "I swear, Scott.....". Scott pulled his hand back and pulled out a glove, putting it over his hand. "You can thank Asmodeus for giving me a drop of blood for that. Besides... I have a meeting to go to tonight, Eclipse is being restrained and will be under lockdown until further notice. After tonight's incident, I take no chances...". He stated, walking further as the Renegade soldiers dragged Deon along. ".... You know what they'll want, Deon. The Exorcists will either want Ash to be publically executed by them, or... For us to strip you of your rank and place you under arrest until further notice. And you know Angel will be there in the morning... Waiting for either you or Ash to walk into that room. If I have to choose between killing Ash or risk you being trialed... You know what I will go for".

Deon grinned at Scott, and spoke. "Only one problem with that plan, Scott". He grinned wider, and locked eyes with the man. "What if I kill everyone here beforehand?". With that, he laughed his madman laugh and didn't stop, not even when Scott began to send the pain through his body again. In fact, he laughed harder at that point, and his eyes were wild. The static and the Symbols had returned again, and he knew what they meant. Deon laughed as Scott spun around, not bothering with his glove but instead striking a golden knife into his chest, and Deon felt the sweet, burning sensation of holy water slide into his cut from the tip of the blade.

"... I didn't want to have it come to this". He said, as he clapped his hands.

BULLSHIT, YOU INSIGNIFICANT HUMAN FUCKER. I'LL CUT YOU UP AND ROAST YOUR SKIN AND EAT IT!

"Restraint!". Deon lay on the ground, cackling with savage glee as his eyes widened and his pupils dialated. His tongue shot out of his mouth and began to flick around in the air, and he laughed even harder as his old restraints were replaced by newer golden ones. Holy chains, something that even he wouldn't mess with.

THEY WANT YOU DEAD, DEON. YOU KNOW THAT AS WELL AS I DO! COME ON, JUST BREAK OUT AND EAT THEM ALIVE, ROAST THEM! BARBEQUE THEM! BURN THEM UNTIL NOTHING IS LEFT BUT... ASH! GYAHAHAHA!

Deon didn't struggle as his arms and legs were bound by the viscious chains that cut and slashed at his skin as they twirled around him, intent on sealing him inside of them and ending him, crushing him into oblivion and making it seem like nothing had happened. Eventually, he was enclosed in nothing but gold, and this was when it occurred to him that he wasn't going to get away with what happened before. Or did it?

Maybe so, Phoenix, but first you should TEAR THEM APART AND EAT THEM! LOOK AT YOURSELF, YOU'RE ALREADY DROOLING AT THE THOUGHT OF THEIR TENDER FLESH AT YOUR LIPS, THEIR BLOOD FLOWING DOWN YOUR THROAT! YOU WANT IT, YOU WANT IT SO MUCH! YOU LOVE THE SCREAMS AND THE TEARING SOUNDS! THE SOUNDS OF ENTIRE ARMIES BEING OBLITERATED, AND THEN THE SOUND OF YOU CRUSHIGN THEIR HOPES WITH YOUR JAWS, YOUR BLOODSTAINED FANGS CUTTING THROUGH FLESH AND BLOOD LIKE NOTHING! YOU WANT IT! YOU WANT IT! YOU WANT IT!

Suddenly, the pain shot through him. A thousand times the pain he had suffered from the hits Scott had given him, all combined into every single cell in his body. He began chanting it, the horrible repetition that circled in his head. He wanted it so badly, it'd been ages since he'd had it. He wanted it. He wanted it. HE WANTED IT!

"I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I want it. I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WAANT IIIIIIITTT GYAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I WANT THEIR BLOOD RIGHT NOW, I WANT THEIR SCREAMS AND THEIR MOANS AND THEIR FLESH RIGHT NOW! GIVE IT TO ME! GIVE ME WHAT I WANT, OR I'LL TAKE IT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YES! WE WANT IT! WE WANT IT! WE WANT IT! WE WANT IT! WE WANT IT! GIVE US YOUR FLESH AND BLOOD, YOUR SCREAMS OF AGONY AND YOUR MOANS OF DESPAIR! WE WANT IT GIVEN TO US NOW, OR WILL WE HAVE TO TAKE IT!? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Deon finally knew what those symbols meant, although he'd had a nagging feeling about what they had meant. Even now, all he could hear was the static, and all he could see were those symbols and the nonsense scribblings of the Madness. He felt damp, wet and cold, and he knew that the Madness had gotten a grip on him. No matter what happened now, it would only get worse as time went on. He grinned wider, and realised what he was seeing. The letters seemed to arrange themselves before him, and he finally saw them for what they really were. A message to him, and only him. Sent by the one who had instigated this madness inside of him. He grinned as the first word appeared, being 'Puppeteer'. The other? 'Madness'.





From inside the chains, Deon could hear Michael and Scott outside of it, conversing about him. It didn't irk him that much, considering the fact that he was focusing more on keeping a lid on his craziness and trying not to let himself shout out anything else that could get him into more trouble. After all, he was going to be prosecuted by the five most powerful Exorcists soon enough, and hopefully he'd make his escape then. On the outside of the chains, Scott looked over at Rin. "Anything to say on the matter?". He asked her. Rin simply sighed, and shook her head. "I don't know what we can do... How did he even end up like that, anyway?". Scott shrugged his shoulders. "I believe it has something to do with the Eclipse and Ash teaming up thing..." Rin sighed, and spoke again. "Is that ALL you can think of? I mean REALLY!? Did you say anything to him? Do you provoke him at all? You should know the signs of his madness, we've gone over it hundreds of times, yet he's still gone crazy on us!". Rin went to speak more, but a voice from inside the chains cut her off. "You know, Rin. Madness is infectious, and you seem like you're getting a bit... 'crazy'... with the way you're yelling".

Suddenly, new voices reached Deon's ears, and a grin slowly spread across his face. "That will be all...". All Deon knew was that he was being dragged closer to the screen, or wherever the voices were coming from. "... He was going mad when I found him. That's it". He whispered before looking at the screen.

"Have you made your decision yet, Renegades? You know what we request... We have already gotten the report on the situation that broke out tonight". Scott narorwed his eyes at this. "I know, from me...". He stated with a hint of regret.

"Of course you did. Now then... We have talked over some things, and have decided on two things. Ash's execution, or Deon's trial. The choice is yours alone".

LOOK DEON! EVEN SOMEONE YOU CALL A 'FRIEND' HAS BETRAYED YOU! LOOK AT HIM, BANISH ALL GOOD THOUGHTS OF HIM FROM YOUR MIND, AND THEN LET YOUR ANGER SEEP IN! YOUR RAGE, YOUR HATE! LET IT ALL COME IN AS USUAL! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO! TEAR HIS SKIN OFF, AND THEN BEAT HIM WITH HIS OWN FLESH! FORCE IT DOWN HIS THROAT AND LET HIM KNOW THE PAIN YOU'VE HAD TO ENDURE THESE 1,300 YEARS! BEAT HIM WITH HIS BONES AND STRANGLE HIM WITH HIS OWN INNARDS, AND ENJOY YOURSELF WHILE HE SCREAMS IN AGONY!

Suddenly, the voice from the chains returned, this time laden with sarcasm. Those who knew Deon's face would guess that his smirk was wide and devilish, and those that knew him well knew that things could easily get back fast. "You guys are suuuch gooood Exorcists! Surely you won't need to put little old me on Trial? Or are you all just too scared of me?".

Deon heard the sound of footsteps, and realised that two people had left the area for a bit. He grinned as the last voice, which he recognised as Michael's, shouted out at him. "That's enough Deon! Control yourself, for everyone's sake!". Just before the two other wer out of ears reach, Deon heard Scott say something, and he grinned to himself. Scott sighed. ".... Rin, come with me for a moment". He said, quickly taking her arm and pulling her away from where they could be heard. "... I told him about Quake". Rin nodded, and spoke. "Oh, this is to be expected then. The combination of lack of sleep, stress and the revelation about her must've set him off. He'll probably be better tomorrow, but now we have a... 'situation' on our hands. Get Michael to come over here now, too". Through all of this, Deon remained eerily silent.

Scott looked at the screen. ".... I'm afraid I can't do that. They won't allow him to leave until he makes a decision". Rin sighed, and nodded, heading back into the room. "I know what we can do".

"So Michael... What will it be? The death of a Devil's Child? Or... The Trial of a Renegade Leader?".

Michael, too, went silent.

And then, everything changed.

Rin was about to speak, when a tremendous howl swept through the room, cutting her off and knocking everyone down. The chains rattled, and the voice from inside spoke out again. "Lemme out now, Michael! Let. me. OUT!". Deon struggled inside his chained prison, and Rin watched as a person entered the doorway. "Well, it seems like I've arrived at the perfect time, haven't I, Mistress? Oh, I'm assured I have, milady". The figure paused for a moment, before grinning. "Indeed, I shall grab him immediately. I have also freed Eclipse again, just as you said I should. In fact, I have him with me right now". The man grinned, and strode up to the golden chains, a smirk on his face. "Milady, could you perhaps open a portal right now for me? Many thanks". With that, a massive, swirling hole appeared, and a figure stepped out. Her Rabbit Ears marked her clearly as a Lunar Rabbit, and she held her hair out of her face in the force of the wind. "Hurry up and get him through, before your powers run out!".

Rin tried to stand, but her feet were constantly kept under her by the force of the wind. She looked up just in time to hear a random soldier call out for Gabriel's help, and the Angel complied. "Very well....". He said, appearing in front of the man as he narrowed his eyes at him as his wings spread out to their full wing span. "... The sword will not leave this building". The man sighed, and spoke again. "Oh, it's an Angel. I never dreamed I'd see one such as yourself in my lifetime. Please, call me Ronove. This lovely lady here is Luna, although I'm sure you all know her better as 'Lunatic Red Eyes' or something of the sort. Please, get out of the way, kind sir".

"Number 26 and Number 12 on the Wanted List... You are in my way". Gabriel said, aiming a hand at Ronove. ".... The sword. Now". He said, being once again very serious. "What? What are you doing, Gabriel?!?" Michael called out. "The New Angels have always been in an alliance with us. Ever since Rapheal made the deal official. Why, today he visited Angel and got acquianted with him. They seemed to get along well.... Don't you agree, Angel?" The voices on the screen spoke again, somehow managing to stay above the ragining torrent. Suddenly, Angel's face appeared, smiling broadly. "Oh hello there, Phoenix! It looks like you're right where you're supposed to be. Tied up and about to be obliterated. I'll save you the speech since we'll be seeing eachother soon enough. After all, Gabriel is VERY capable!".

Deon groaned, and jabbed back. "Yeah, I bet he's very capable of shoving even more things up your ass than you've already got up there, right? Whoa!". Deon felt himself lifted off of the ground, and he began hovering in the air. From Rin's view, Luna grinned and her eyes flashed red for a moment. And suddenly, the torrent stopped. Ronove spoke, dropping Deon and speaking again. "I guess I'll allow you the priveledge of fighting me, Master Gabriel. Now, shall we dance?". Ronove grinned as Gabriel spoke again. "Fight? No... I aim to destroy yo --".

Suddenly, the chains around Deon vanished. He blinked a few times, clearing his head and looking around, He caught Scott's eyes, his entire expression telling Deon to run. To run away from Gabriel, the Exorcists and to leave it all behind. Deon didn't know what he was meant to do. Did he escape with Luna and Ronove? Did he stay and help the others? Or did he just bolt from the room and vanish from everyone, slowly letting the madness take him over? Before Deon could act though, Gabriel's hand was pointed at him. Deon grinned and spoke. "Oh, did you forget? I'm not exactly killable. Not even your 'God' can end me, dumbass". Deon grinned even wider, and held his hand up in the air, as if in defeat. "Alright, take me to your Leaders". Deon's grinned spread across his entire face, and he winked at the others. He knew exactly what he needed to do here.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. ".... No prisoners". He said, before finding something being sprayed out from Eclipse's form. "What in the --". He stopped as he felt himself itchy suddenly, while Ronove would find his hands beginning to feel like they were burning. "N-no! What is this?!?! A trap?!? Why did it go off now?!? Curse the mechanics!".
"Mechanics?". Eclipse spoke out in a teasing tone. "No. What you two just got was some pretty power stuff. I have an opinion of my own you know, Ronove. I'd recommend leaving me, unless you want to lose those pretty little hands of yours~". A chuckle ran out at this, Eclipse had been enjoying the drama, and now, he got to kick in it! "Curse this sword!". Gabriel called out again, unaware that his target was now free to go.

"Gabriel, come to your senses and kill the phoenix already!". Deon sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Oh man, doesn't ANYONE listen to me? You CAN'T kill me! Sheesh, dumbasses". Deon grinned, noticing his chance. He dashed forward, and while Gabriel was distracted, he flicked his right leg forward, a savage grin on his face as it connected with the Angel's face head on, and sent him through the wall and to the other side of the base. Deon put his foot down and grinned. "I've always wanted to hit an Angel, and I've also wanted to hit Angel. It's a win-win situation, I guess". Deon looked at the screen, an even savager grin on his face. "Yes Angel, that means I'm coming for you next!". Angel recoiled from the screen, obsceneties blaring out of his mouth as he ran out of the room, shouting for soldiers to get to the Renegades Base. Deon simply grinned at the other figures on the screen, gave them the bird and then turned away. He crouched and picked up Eclipse, and went over to the portal. "Let's see what's down the rabbit hole, eh?". With that, he vanished inside it, followed quickly by Luna and Ronove.

Gabriel, at the last moment, burst through another part of the wall and aimed both hands at the portal as the three ran for it. "HEAVEN'S DESTRUCTION FIVE; THOUSAND SPEARS OF CHRIST!" At his command, one thousand lights formed in front of him as he sent them all at the portal. The three had only five seconds, and the lights were closing in fast. Three, two, one... All the lights collided at the same time, creating a semi-explosion that was only as big as the portal. Gabriel landed and his wings vanished, as he narrowed his eyes. ".... Well I'll be.... They are fast". He remarked.

The smoke had cleared, the portal was gone. And so were they.

"I see....". The exorcist called out to the remaining observers, knowing full well they were Rin, Scott and Michael. ".... Tomorrow we need to talk. Morning. Make sure you bring a representative for the one named Ashley Clade. As of right now I am declaring Renegade Law by temporarily stirpping Deon of his Renegade Leader Rank. Also... WDL soldiers will be watching over the Base tonight for any activity. They find something strange and they will respond without delay. Oh, and Angel... IF you can hear me, clear your schedule for tomorrow morning.

Because you will be there in person to keep an eye on things during the meeting tomorrow. That is all, Everyone is dismissed to rest!"

The screen went blank, and all was silent as Gabriel walked away from the scene.





Deon stood, looking around the lush Gardens that he stood in. Beside him stood Luna, and on his other side was Ronove. Deon turned, and spoke. "Thanks for saving me back there. I... don't know who you are or why you did save me, but thanks anyway". Deon looked around, wondering where he was. Suddenly, a hand appeared in his shoulder, belonging to Luna. "Don't worry, you're safe here. Nobody can find this place unless the Mistress wishes for them to. And the Madness will be kept away from you here too". Deon briely wondered how she knew about his madness, but he figured it would have been pretty easy to see. Deon sighed, and went to speak, only to be cut off by Ronove. "Please, do not wait for us. You will find your room in the Mansion, and if you ever need help, just call for me or Luna". With that, Ronove bowed and vanished. The Lunar Rabbit didn't leave though. She seemed as if she wanted to stay with him for a while, so Deon asked if she wanted to walk with him. "Sure, I might as well. I mean, your room is across from mine anyway, I think. I can show you there as well if you want". Deon simply nodded, a grin on his face.

After a few minutes of walking, the pair had made it to a mansion. It was beautiful. It seemed to be a fairly large building, almost as if it was meant to be a home for any and all demons who were banished to Purgatory or something. What a funny thought that was, Deon mused to himself. The doors opened as soon as they approached them, held open by two red men who seemed to be content with their life and job. Deon bowed slightly and proceeded inside, but something stopped him. "Who's that portrait of, Luna?". The rabbit turned and smile, before looking at the picture. "She's the one who asked us to get you. She cares about you, you know. She's the Mistress of this Mansion, in short".

Deon's eyes widened as he took in the picture, and it all came flashing into his head. His mouth hung open slightly, and a single drop of sweat dripped down his face, and fell to the floor. The portrait was beautiful, and even more so was the girl depicted in it. Deon swallowed, his mouth suddenly becoming dry. He took in the features of the girl, the slightly above average bust, the blue hair and the red eyes, all along with her pale skin. Deon knew what he was looking at, who he was looking at, and he finally found a name. Well, two names. One from memory, and the other from the plaque underneath the portrait.

~ Aftermath: A hard decision to make! ~

Silence. That was the only way to describe the feeling in the room, after Deon had gone off with two of the most wanted demons. Gabriel stood there, wings slowly entering his back, his expression still showed anger at the loss of the capture of Deon or Eclipse. Michael and Scott turned to the screen, where the remaining four figures seem to not be paying attention at the moment to them. This quickly changed after a few minutes. "... So, with that, I think we will leave you to rest and think about tomorrow. If I were you, I'd have the others stay -far- away from the meeting as much as possible." The oldest exorcist spoke, he was sort of speaking like the representative for the other three. He was strong, if he had been the one arriving instead of Angel, things would be different. Angel was younger, more reckless and more willing to kill off without listening to reason. This exorcist however had once respected the former three leaders of the Renegades, enough that at times, the three of them could convince him to see past a few things. It made Scott angry on the inside, but the decision had already been made, and the Renegades seemed more in trouble then ever now with Deon finally gone.

The screen finally died and Gabriel closed his eyes. He turned around as he opened his eyes, looking at Scott and Michael with sorrow in his eyes. "If it helps you both, I could go looking for any that are still mis --" He stopped as he sensed a holy presence in the building. "No..." He mumbled, Michael stopping as it came over him as well. Scott furrowed his brows. "Soldiers, investigate!" He called out, as the three human soldiers saluted to him before rushing off. "Over there! Go that way!" Michael called out to them as he saw them rush off into the direction he pointed out. He took in short breaths as Gabriel furrowed his brows. "It's gone..." He said. "What is?" Scott asked, looking between Michael and Gabriel. "Forget about it... It's nothing." Michael said to him, making Scott raise a brow. "If you say so... Alright Gabriel. I need you to round up anyone who's still out there. If you find any of the children, lead them back here, alright?" He asked him. "Will do." Gabriel responded, quickly rushing off at this, leaving only Michael and Scott to wonder...

Michael closed his eyes and sighed out as he shook his head. "Five..." He said, Scott looking over at him. "We only have five of them now... Eight children, damnation! An extra child... Two of them are probably dead, Deon's gone now... Our chances of keeping them safe are falling!" He cried out, putting his face in his hands as Scott looked over at him. "Rin wouldn't want to hear this from you..." He told him. "Rin's off going to check on Quake! Of course she would not want to hear this from me, we've all lost Deon!" Michael cried out to him. Scott furrowed his brows at him. "Would Deon want to hear this from you either? He did it because he had no other choice... To die or to escape, what other choice was he given?! The five most powerful exorcist in the world were watching over us, ordering one of the most powerful entities to fight!" Scott stopped and sighed out, putting a hand on his forehead. "... We need to search for the others." He said to Michael. "... I'll go search near where the Jello Demon was last spotted. I'll see you later..." Michael said to him before beginning to walk off. Scott sighed out as he looked to the screen at this. "... Why couldn't we get more help when we need it most?" He said before heading off.

~ The Jello Demon's only chance! An uneasy alliance! ~

The Jello Demon struggled to move as the hole wasn't exactly healing. The attack Gabriel had sent through him had effected him drastically, time seemed to have paused for him as his mind closed itself off to rest. Once he had awoken, he had no idea what time it was anymore. He groaned out lowly, seeing no one in the room... Except one voice came out. "Well, what a coincidence..." The metallic voice rung out to the Jello Demon, it's eyes widening as it slowly looked over at the chained up body of Tergun, who grinned at the defeated sight of the one who freed him. "Y-you... Aren't you --" The Jello Demon tried to ask. "Yes, I am Tergun. I am the Kappa who you freed from his prison, I am the Kappa who did as you asked and distracted the Renegades with my appearance. I am the Kappa... Who can save you." The Jello Demon looked at him with caution. "In exchange for...?" He started. "In exchange for my freedom, you will be healed and can go back to your so called master. I know you are clearly a Shikigami, who couldn't do well as a regular water demon due to being made of jello. You are infamous after all, a rare sight to see these days. The WDL will pay a hefty reward for someone like you... Of course, I can't get that reward. But if the Renegades turn you in, you will die... So, deal?" He asked with an uneasy smile. "... Very well." He said, extending his arm out as he formed claws and sliced off the chains with ease, before retracting his arm and his claws turned back into fingers.

Tergun chuckled as he stood up, watching the rest of the chains fall off with ease. "Impressive... I had heard your abilities were well developed, but to go this far... I'll need a sample of you first." Tergun said as he walked over and got on his knees, taking a tiny piece of jello off of the Jello Demon before putting it away in a tube. "Excellent. Now... Let's begin, shall we?" The Jello Demon narrowed his eyes at him. "Just heal me already... I hear you aren't good at keeping to your word." Tergun chuckled again at this. "You heard right. But... I do keep to a promise. So, no more talking, this... Will take a bit." Tergun said before beginning to work on healing the Jello Demon.

~ Kane's burden, an idol appearing before him! ~

A Renegade squad of ten was searching out, being led by one of the Renegade's more higher ranking. They were searching for anyone who was still missing, including the children. As they neared Kane's position, he could hear the faint footsteps grow louder. Remaining silent, he drew his blade out and was prepared to ambush the enemy if they got close. He was about to spring out into action when Mireya's sudden scream caused him to give a loud and fearful scream as well, jumping and turning back to her in panic. "Sir, did you hear that?" One of the soldiers in the squad asked the one leading the squad. "Yes I did... Could you investigate that?" "Of course sir." The soldier responded, the squad then moving out into the same area where Kane's room was and began looking around the area. "If anyone needs assistance, speak up now! We are of the Renegades, we are part of Rin's division!" Upon hearing it was the Renegades, Kane sighed in relief and sheathed his sword. "Yeah, over here! We've got a couple of, uh... Injured, I think?!" Kane said to them, not entirely sure whether the purple haired girl was injured or not. At his call, the squad entered in, three of them guarding the outside of the room while the other seven went in and began to look over the two. "The boy appears to be suffering from major blood loss... But... I can not find a single wound on him! Incredible... Whoever did this is certainly gifted in medical knowledge!" One of them said about Sebastian's case. "The woman appears to be merely suffering from over-exhaustion... Handle her with care, guys! We don't want to send her into some sort of panic attack!"

"Well done." A familiar voice spoke out to him, the figure walking into the room and stopping before Kane. “I am glad to see someone was brave enough to watch over these two while nasty events occured... Thank you for you support. May I ask your name?” The person standing over him turned out to be... Michael. "I.. I-I... I uh... Uh... Mah-" Kane stammered incomprehensibly as he stared at his idol. Michael merely blinked a bit by his behavior. “Tongue twisted, are you? I understand... From the amount of dried blood I see here, you must of seen some scary things. Everything’s fine now though.” His eyes wondered around the room at this. “... Were there any others with you then, sir?” He asked him. "N-No sir! Well uh, actually, wait, there was Keilani Ash and Claire!" Kane's mind was remembering more of what happened, he had been so distracted by Sebastian that he had completely forgotten the situation from before. Michael rose a brow as he head some names. "Ash Claire? Keilani Dreahen? Hmm... Do you have any way of contacting them?" He asked.

"N-no sir! Ash attacked us and well... I don't know where they are now." Michael sighed out from the news. “Damnation to that Eclipse... I suppose you have recovered enough to speak. What is your name then?” He asked Kane. "Kane sir! Kane O'Reilly!" Kane said, saluting stiffly as he did his best to show formality. Michael nodded at this. “I’ll remember it. Kane, I need you to do me a favor from here. Do you mind watching over things here while I look for your friend?” Michael asked Kane. "Of course sir! Anything you ask!" Kane remained rigid as Michael smiled at this. "Thank you." Michael said to him, before then turning around. “I’m counting on you to do this...” He told Kane before walking out of the room. "Of course sir!" Kane remained frozen, even as Michael left out of sight. The Renegade soldiers saluted Michael as he passed by them, before returning to their normal duties, but they watched Kane carefully from here... "Take the two back to the infirmary once they are well enough. If anyone finds Keilani, I want them in the same room. On different beds, of course, but I want them close. I don't want them turning up missing..." Michael said to the three soldiers outside the room, each of them saluting to Michael as he walked off...

~ The unusual team! ~

The Jello Demon rose up from his spot as he looked down his chest, which was now good as new. "My word... That stuff really does work." He commented, to mostly himself. Tergun smirked as he watched the Jello Demon begin to move again. "Yes, it is quite extraordinary what we can do sometimes... But we must leave now, if we want any chance of getting back to your master." The Jello Demon looked at him cautiously, but then heard multiple foot steps approaching. "This way! Go, go, go!" Many voices shouted out towards them, with both demons looking in the direction they were coming from. "Shoot... They came too early!" Tergun exclaimed. "You, lead the --" He stopped as he turned to look at where the Jello Demon was, only to find nothing there now. "No, he... He betrayed me?!?!" Tergun stated to himself, gritting his teeth as he quickly began to run away from the scene. "How dare that creature... Even though I would of experimented on him, I -- ugh... His master. That damn master of his! He knew something was up, didn't he?!?! Is he trying to mess with me, is he trying to make Tergun the Metal Kappa look like a fool?!?"

After running for some time, Tergun stopped and leaned against a wall, gasping for breath at this point. "Damn my luck... They haven't given up yet -- I'll give them that... But -- wait..." Tergun stopped himself as he looked over his shoulder to see a figure walking away with something. "... Who is that? I don't know either of them... But wait. Maybe -- yes... That foolish demon left me behind, but I can still get this girl and the other one! Yes... I can smell it from one of them. An unusual blood... It smells rare." Tergun's cunning mind quickly sprang into action. His mind began working out many ways he could surprise this person -- but then, a sudden jolt of pain sprang him back into reality! He grabbed his arm as he watched it shake slightly, gritting his teeth as he did. "Curse that Turner... I will get him back for that. But first... My new subject!" With that, Tergun began making his way towards the girl's position. The girl had pink hair and looked similar to the other black haired girl she was carrying. Tergun had to play it cool for now, otherwise the surprise would be ruined. Meanwhile... A liquid form of a creature watched him from a distance, narrowing it's eyes at him as it quickly slithered away. It's plan had worked, the distraction was going to make a scene, and that was all it needed to get back to it's master. Tergun's role had indeed gone back to what it originally was meant to all along.

~ A nasty surprise for Claire! ~

With caution, Claire was filing through the halls, Ash was slung over her shoulder and she was heading towards the infirmary. In the distance, footsteps of a single person could be heard, but her focus remained on Ash's health above all else. She turned to head down another corridor as a voice came out at this. "I'm surprised you aren't armed..." A voice spoke out from behind. "It could of protected you better..." It told her. "I wasn't exactly prepared for this." She admitted. She didn't turn though and continued to carry Ash. “Perhaps you need some... Assistance, then?” It asked her. The foot steps were getting closer at this, and since she didn't turn around, she couldn't tell who it was. "She'll be fine. Just needs some rest." She commented towards the mysterious person. “What about you? Perhaps I...” At this, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder, the mysterious person stood behind her now. “... Need to give you some help after all?” It asked her again. "I can take care of myself... I'm not really that hurt at all." She responded, keeping her focus on Ash and not this person. “Too bad.... It’s your life.” Tergun said to her, a smirk on his face as he tightened his grip on her shoulder. “Now... You will put her down, or... I crush your shoulder. Do we have a deal?” He asked her. "You will release my shoulder, or I will make sure you regret it." Claire told him, at this point she had stopped walking. “Ohhhh ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! Scary lady, are you? You don’t scare me... Why, I laugh at you! I was going to have some fun, but... I could just kill you instead. Real easy too...” Tergun said with such confidence, even in his weakened state.

With sudden ferocity, Noir leaped from the shadows and bit into the wrist of Tergun with deep fangs. “YOOWWWWCCHHH!!!” Tergun shouted out in pain, backing up a bit as he aimed to hit Noir, but Noir let go quickly and got away from Tergun's hit. “WHY YOU PEST! That’s it... Your dead. YOUR BOTH DEAD FOR THIS!” Ducking downward, Claire's leg kicked backward as she did a variation of the vertical splits, kicking Tergun clean in the face as it sent him flying back. Spit left the Kappa's mouth as he landed roughly on his back, twitching a bit. Noir hissed once, urinating on the Kappa as Claire ran with Ash down the hall, Noir following her. “How dare you, you fucking little -- AGH!” Tergun was suddenly pinned to the ground by Renegade soldiers as they quickly restrained him. “Take him back to a cell! Make sure the cell is refined this time!” Scott shouted out, watching as Renegade soldiers raised Tergun from the floor. “YOU ARE ALL DEAD! YOU HEAR ME, SCOTTY BOY?!?! DEAD!” Tergun shouted out before he was dragged away from sight. Claire stopped as she reached the next turn, not far from the infirmary now. "Good Boy Noir. You did great there." She smiled at the cat, hearing it meow pleasantly before it scampered off down to another part of the hall. Scott walked over to Claire at this. “Are you alright then...? I trust he didn’t do too much in his current state?” He asked her.

"I was prepared to deal with him if it was necessary, but I appreciate your assistance." Claire told him, sighing as she adjusted her grip on Ash before continuing to walk. Scott walked with her as he looked over Ash and rose a brow at her condition. “What happened to her...?” He asked Claire with some caution. "Deon plowed her into a wall when she was regaining control. She's just got a bit of a concussion is all. I'm taking her to the infirmary." She told him, hefting Claire up a little as she quickened her pace. “I’m Scott, if you don’t remember... I don’t think I caught your name before though. Mind telling me it?” He asked her, looking ahead to see the infirmary close now. "Claire. Claire Clade." She told him, turning to the infirmary as she quickly found a bed for Ash to lie in, taking note of Quake and the other injured. “Ahh.... Well, I know this is kind of sudden, but... Do you mind doing me two favors?” He asked her. "Depends on what they are." She told him in response. “Well, first... I need you to represent Ash tomorrow for a meeting... And second, I need you to start training Kane and Sebastian.” "Represent?" Claire asked. She then closed her eyes. "Wait... I see. Yes, that will be fine." She nodded before opening her eyes. Scott blinked at this. "Do you even know what's happened...?" "I have some idea... Though you can confirm the details with me. I... Have some time." She then took a seat by Ash's bed and crossed her legs.

Scott sighed and sat down at this. “Very well.... Earlier, there was an explosion. It was caused by Gabriel. I imagine you remember the WDL... Well, there are four other Exorcist organizations similar to it. Each of them has a leader - they are known as the five most powerful exorcists in the world. Deon was in trouble earlier, it was either he got on trial or Ash be sent in for execution... We all had to make a tough decision, but we had to choose Deon’s trial over her execution. Two demons then showed up, one of them holding Eclipse. The exorcists somehow got control over Gabriel and had him go to fight the demons... This didn’t go so well, and the three escaped... Now Angel is coming here by morning... And there’s going to be a meeting. If things don’t go well for us... They will take Ash away. Plus.... They want the Extra Child, and they think it’s Ash...” "So I'm to represent her in the trial and attempt to prove what exactly?" She asked. "That she was manipulated." "As long as the trial is fair, that shouldn't be a problem." She admitted. Scott looked at her with a risen brow. "One of them is the WDL's new leader... I think that says a lot about what they're going to try to do tomorrow. Plus, they wanted Deon dead for some reason... Must be because Arthur failed to make him under they're own control." He told her. "So you're indicating to me that they'll do whatever it takes to win the case?" She asked. Scott sighed. "That... And get power over us."

"If worst comes to worst, I will be getting Ash out of here. You understand that, right?" She asked. Scott nodded. "Of course... But if you do, take Kane and Sebastian with you. Also... The Extra Child I mentioned. You know of the Seven Children already, I assume?" "I do." Claire responded, but made no guarentee on Kane and Sebastian. "We believe, after many translations of ancient demon writings and many clues we've gotten before... The Seven Children are keys, in a sense. They are the only thing that can stop Hell and it's forces for good. They carry the Devil's Blood, they are, in a way, immune... But this Extra Child is different. Legend holds that, if an Extra Child was born... This child would go on to be a key for the apocalypse. The Child's powers could grow to such an extent, that he or she could become... The next ruler of Hell." Claire laughed an honest laugh at this. "And they honestly think that's Ash?" She asked. "I know it isn't her." Scott told her. "If that's the case, why don't you submit that as evidence in her trial?" She asked. "Because they themselves do not have facts... They're only guessing it's her because of this recent incident. That's why I need you to stand in her place... To defend her, to prove she is innocent, that she is one of the original seven..."

"I get it. You need me to defend her to cover your own secrets. It's a calculated risk, I assume." "... I'm sorry to put you in this position. But you already know the corruption the WDL has..." He admitted. "I'll do what I can. That's all I can promise." ".... I also need to tell you.... I've found out who the Extra Child is." "Don't think I haven't done some investigation of my own." Claire smirked at this, sitting up. "I have my own ways of finding things out." Scott blinked again. "So you know too then?" He asked. "Naturally." Scott smiled a little at her response. "... Looks like I made the right choice in having you train the two after all. Anything you would like to tell me then before I go?" "You need to work on your security." Claire told him, giving him a quick glance over the shoulder. Scott chuckled a bit from this. "Right... Is that all then?" "I'll detail anything else you need to know in a dossier for your desk. For now, I hope we can have a quiet night until morning..." Scott nodded at this. "... Anyone with demon blood is also not allowed to go outside... WDL guards and all. They'll be guarding the outside of the base until Angel arrives in the morning... I just hope we make it tomorrow..." "Have a little faith in your people. We can manage this." Claire stated, standing up at this. Scott took out a plastic bag and put it down near where she had just sat. "Take that with you... It'll allow you into a few places normally no one would go. It has a feather in it... An angel's feather. You can go visit the injured and ill with this as well... I best be going as well. Also... Faith is what we need most." He said before leaving the room. Claire nodded and thanked him before taking the parcel.

~ The end of a day... ~

Sebastian was in a dream of sorts. A dream of a memory. His mind was sent back to that day... The day the attack happened on the poor city. His mother had grown up in that town, her name... Something Adam. Why couldn't he remember? And her last name was not that of his father's... Something Thomas, probably. He would probably forget once he awoke... He had no idea when that would be, he felt his body was being moved... Perhaps some place to rest? Who knows... He felt himself being laid down somewhere, his dream was repeating itself... That memory came to him over and over again, and he felt hot. He probably had a fever of some sort. He knew he had lost a lot of blood, they would probably try to make him recover somehow... His mind then went back to that day, it was a horrible day for all.

* ... *

Young Sebastian awakened, as if right on cue, to witness a horrible event. His mother stood in front of him, wounded and tired, her body had been beaten with so many bruises to show. In front of her stood Balarus of Kallos, back then he had no need for tubes in his body. Kallos was at his prime here, and back then he was just referred to as Balarus it seemed. His partner stood in the background with two other figures, one of them who's name was never mentioned back then. The other was known as Countess Cecilia. The partner's name was Kergun the Mechanical, who was sitting in some sort of mechanical device that had several spider-like legs. Balarus narrowed his eyes at the woman and spoke words, but he couldn't hear anything. It was at that moment Sebastian saw the unforgivable... His mother was struck down by his scythe! Sebastian's mouth opened as he shouted out for his mother as she collapsed. More talking... He couldn't make anything out. He felt himself stand up and race towards Balarus, only for his chest to get cut by three blades instead of one... He collapsed, his mind fading in and out as the... It came. Only two words came to his head...

Shadow Guardian.

With this memory slowly fading, Sebastian rested on for the day, waiting for the morning. He wouldn't wake up probably util the morning... He was on the center bed, the other two were reserved for Keilani and Mierya.

---

---

---

When you make a mistake, what is it that you do? Do you ignore it ever happened? Try and pass it off as your intention? Maybe blame things on someone else? Life is full of challenges, and sometimes, things don’t go the way that was expected. Its times like these we should take an active approach; use initiative and try and correct or improve what’s gone wrong.

…

But sometimes, things are so bad, you can’t even do that.

And when that’s the case, you have to accept the consequences of what you’ve done.

---

When I came to, I wasn’t quite sure what to think. My body was ached and numbing, and although I had some satisfaction in having come to terms with myself, there was still a deep hollow inside me that I couldn’t ignore. As the memories and actions I’d taken began flooding back to me, I was filled with nothing but guilt and dread. Guilt, for having caused so much trouble and suffering – for the harm I’d done to so many people. Dread, for what was to follow from such actions. I’d turned on innocent people like Sebastian and Kane, and not only that I’d…

Swallowing as the vivid picture returned to my mind, the anguished face of Quake tormented my mind, visions of the blood splattering as I skewered her through, tendrils of darkness stabbing viciously through her torso and pinning her to the floor. I had wanted to stay down on the bed, closing my eyes and wishing all my problems away. It seemed that the darkness was not to give me any solace however, and given what had happened when I touched Eclipse, I’d had my fair share of nightmares for a while. Slowly, I opened my eyes, sitting up from the bed I found myself in. The room was a buzz of activity, but it was all just beyond me, a makeshift curtain having been pulled close around my bed and isolating me from the frantic sounds of nurses and medical staff. I briefly wondered if I was getting some special treatment – along with why I wasn’t shackled down or something, before noting the seat beside my bed, my sister patiently sitting and watching me. She had a habit of doing that, even when she was little. It always made me curious what she was thinking, but I suppose I’d never know.

I didn’t say anything at first, just sorta tried to meet her gaze before awkwardly breaking eye contact out of shame. She was always the one that ended up getting me out of trouble when things went bad, and it was embarrassing to have to rely on her each time. What made it even more troubling was what I’d learnt in my dream world. The way Jim… “I killed him… Didn’t I?” I finally spoke, still looking down at my hands in front of me. When we’d first got here, my sister had wanted to talk, and I’d shoved her away out of fear and a stupid grudge that wasn’t even real. Now that I had some answers, it just left me with even more questions. We needed to talk through things. I needed the truth.

“That’s right. Five years ago, ‘she’ came out, and murdered Jim.” Claire spoke finally, the delay clear she’d thought long and hard about how to answer my question. I waited a bit longer, seeing if maybe she’d volunteer any more information. When none came, I forced myself to delve deeper. “And you knew, right? Of course you did…” Reminding myself that she just admitted it, I decided to rephrase my question. “So you altered my memory?” I received silence, but looked up in time to see her nod. Tensing a little, I decided to ask one of the more important questions.

“Why? Why do that? Why change it to…?” Stopping myself since it was all so confusing, I could hear Claire sigh and shake her head, carefully thinking on how to respond. Eventually, she spoke. “I did it to protect you… But that’s for another time… After we get through tomorrow, I’ll promise I’ll tell you anything. For now… Well, I think there are some people you need to see, and then I’ll need to talk to you about your defence tomorrow.”

“Defence?” I asked in genuine curiosity, a degree of dread flooding through me again. Her answer did little to alleviate my fears. “You’re going on trial, and I’ll need to be the equivalent of your attorney. For the most part, I should be able to handle things.” She smiled at me, that familiar warm smile… It was comforting; and even if I was a little annoyed she was postponing my question, she was right that we’d probably need to prepare. And that I had other people I needed to apologise to and thank.

“…So how’s...?”

“Quake?” My sister guessed, before turning away, sitting up. “She’s… Not doing well… We’re not sure if she’s going to make it. Sebastian, Mireya and Keilani are all in the beds next to you. Deon has left-”

“Keilani?!” I interrupted my sister, sitting upright as the name struck a chord in me. “She’s here? What happened to her?!” Last I remembered, she was with me in my mind… Now she was here? In the medical ward? When I’d passed out had something happened to her?

“She’s sleeping at the moment. She got into a fight, that’s all I know. Blanche was badly injured as well…” Claire opened the curtain, revealing the sleeping Keilani before glancing back over her shoulder. “You can see her from here, so just try to rest until then. You’ll be able to ask her yourself. I’ll keep you updated on Quake.” I nodded, shuffling back down into my bed and rolling over. I didn’t really feel like sleeping, so instead, I found myself impatiently waiting for this girl to wake. I didn’t know her. Apparently, she was one of the other Demon children, like myself, but other then that… It felt so pathetic to have relied on her like that, but I at least owed her my thanks in person. And so I continued to wait.

Red Rain in Tokyo - A Dark Errand for a Darker Being (?)

The figure stood, the mask covering their face stained with the blood of the foes that had thought of resisting it's masters embrace. Although in actuality the being had no true master, it was simply playing along in order to get stronger, to gain more power and fulfill it's long awaited fantasy. The destruction of the world could wait for a few moments, for it had a job to do. The cafe in Tokyo was a haven for Youkai disguised as humans, and they had no idea just who was walking among them. The figure grinned behind it's mask as it walked inside, the patrons of the Cafe not caring due to the fact that many of them were dressed the same. The figure sat down at an already occupied table, and the man across from it shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the red staining his companion's mask.

"So, you're her new errand boy? Seems like it, with that blood".

"...."

"Not very talkative, are ya? Can I get ya something to drink?".

"...."

"Erm, what about a snack?".

"Your pathetic attempts to prevent the inevitable are amusing. Shall we simply bypass the formalities and do what I was sent here to do, or do you have valid reasoning as to why I shouldn't kill you right now, Mister Farrantino?".

The man shifted, sweat beginning to fall down his face as the intensity of the situation hit him. In front of him sat an anonymous figure, clouded in secrecy and mystery, but it's lethality was deadly obvious. Farrantino shifted again, and coughed. His hand shot out and grasped the cup of wine before him, and he pushed it to his lips while weighing his options. One option stood out the most, and he went with it. Placing the cup down on the table, he stood. His anxiety was struck when the masked figure didn't move to stop him, or even seem to notice. The dark miasma that surrounded it kept him on edge, and he felt like he needed to stop looking at the being's mask. Not even it's voice gave away a possible gender, somehow bordering between male and female and keeping everyone in the Cafe guessing. "If you'll excuse me, I have it in the Car outside. I'm sure you'd be able to give a man a short break from such an intense gaze, would you not?". The figure sat motionless for a few moments, and Farrantino stayed tense. It's head slid forward, nodding once, and Farrantino sighed in relief. He stared at the mask, and he felt something nagging at him on the inside, something telling him not to let his guard down at any time. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and left the Cafe. He hurriedly opened the door to his car, and ordered his Driver to do his job. The man agreed, muttering something under his breath. The car took off, and Farrantino thought he was safe, having escaped the clutches of that devilish Ronove, and extending the time he had until he was forced to pay his debts.

A few minutes passed before the car was heading through the Industrial District, which happened to be a frquent meeting place for Farrantino and his associates. Being a foreigner in Tokyo had gotten him the attention of the Triads and Yakuza. His car slowed to a stop, and as he exited he was met by a circle of men, all in tuxedo's, but they were obviously Triad. Farrantino mopped his brow with a handkerchief, and sighed. "Okay boys, let's make this quick. I have someone on my tail, although they mustn't bee too brig-". He was cut off as one of the Triad's men dropped to the floor, his own shadow receding and vanishing into the mix of darkness that surrounded them. Farrantino grimaced, and looked around in shock, before noticing the figure approaching the group. The same masked person as before, although the mask seemed different somehow. Instead of the pattern it had before, a blazing sign appeared in it's place, and it seemed to be glowing brighter and brighter as they stood there. Suddenly, the figure extended a hand and a tendril of... 'something' reached out and grasped one of the Triads. The man struggled and screamed, but the tendril suddenly multiplied, and the new tendrils slammed into the man, running him through and pulling him apart with enough ferocity to send his organs and blood across the clearing and splatter onto other people. Farrantino yelped in horror, and leaped back into his car. He shouted for his driver to drive, but as he looked up he noticed that the man's head had been pulled open, and his brain had vanished. He grasped for his phone, and dialed for the police. Before anything could happen, he blurted out his location. As the words left his mouth, the screaming that had haunted him for the entirety of his time in the car stopped. With fear in his eyes he turned around, and he came face to face with 'it'. He whimpered and pushed himself back, unlocking the other door and falling to the ground. He got to his feet and wiped his brow again. Suddenly, something grasped him from behind and slammed him into the floor.

He looked at the figure beside him with dread, and the mask grew a mouth full of sharp teeth, and it laughed in his face. The voice from behind it, a mix of human and demons, spoke to him. "It's time to pay back your debts, Farrantino". With that, it lifted him up and placed it's hand on his chest, digging it's fingers in and tearing the flesh away. Blood oozed out, dripping onto the floor as Farrantino vomited on himself. The putrid vapors seemed to not affect the figure, however, and it simply reached into the hole in his chest and grasped something. Blood poured out of the wound, and the hand pulled backwards, dragging Farrantino's heart with it. He looked down to see the organ holding onto his arteries and veins as if for dear life, but with a final tug it came free. The life in Farrantino's eyes slowly drained like the blood from his body. and the Masked man stood over his corpse. The mask grinned as the figure pulled it away from it's face, and it's mouth opened wide to accommodate yet another heart to fill it's craving. The mask was put back into place, and it returned to it's normal form. "Hmm, that makes.... 23 Hearts~ Yummy yummy~ Hmm, maybe I'll leave a surprise for the Police when they get here, too?". With that, it left a simple card on the ground, and began it's dastardly work of presentation. Something that only the most twisted mind could even imagine. After it's work was done, and the sound of sirens reached it's ears, it vanished from sight as if it had never been there.



The Officer looked around the scene in disgust. 23 casualties, all dead with their Hearts and Brains missing. Something seemed off, but his thoughts were put on hold when he was called over to the final corpse. All of the bodies had been strung up by their intestines, with the rest of their organs scattered everywhere and their blood layed on the floor in a seemingly random places, although to a keen eye it was obvious it was a pentagram. The worst off was one Alberto Farrentino, a middle-aged man with ties to several underground organisations. It seemed like one of them had finally gotten fed up with his laziness and decided to 'sack him'. He was in the middle of the scene, his entrails cut out and his body sown back together. The killer hadn't bothered to allow the man to keep his dignity. His skin was torn off and used to bind his arms and legs together, and his mouth and eyes were sown shut. Blood was caked on him, as decoration for a psychopath. His intestines were wrapped around his neck, armpits and crotch, and his... 'you know what' was missing. The other victims were simply strung up by their intestines and wrapped in their own skin, but someone had definitely had it in for Farrantino. The man proceeded over to Farrantino's body, which people had only started to look for clues on or around. His subordinate turned to him and held out a card, and he took it. As he looked over it, a puzzled expression came over his face, and he eyed his subordinate who simply shrugged and continued his investigation.

Only one thing was on the card, a single Symbol;



The man walked away from the scene, when several screams were heard behind him. He whirled around to see all of the corpses explode with blood, which shot up into the air and spread across the sky, where it finally rained down upon them all and drenched them in itself. "Hmm, I would ring the WDL, but this is too odd. Maybe Kintaro could get a word in to a superior at the Renegades for me..... Eh?". The man sat down, and as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, he found that it was already ringing.

Dialing - Kintaro...

"Konbanwa, Shinjei Kintaro!"

The conversation soon turned serious, and Kintaro hung up the phone and ran straight down the Hallways, eventually finding the room where Scott and the others were. "Guys, there's an emergency in Tokyo!".

Embodiment of Evil - The Phoenix's Decision

"So you mean to tell me that you're going to hold me captive here until my friends decide to come and pick me up or you get tired of my company?".

"Indeed".

"Can I ask you something?".

"What is it?".

"Are you fucking retarded?".

"No".

"Suuure".

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck as the girl stood before me, her eyes shining and betraying her intentions. Although I stand there, it is unwillingly that I do so. I'm being faced with a choice; Either I stay in that Mansion, living in the company of the very person whom I have been seeking vengeance against for hundreds of years; or she will transport me to the main Academy of the WDL. It makes me wonder exactly how this entire situation would've played out if I simply had gone with Gabriel. I briefly wondered how the others were doing, when a door behind me opened and Luna waltzed in, a smile on her face and a package in her hands. She whispered to the woman in front of me, and said woman took the box and opened it. I decided to take a step backwards but it seemed like I didn't exactly need to. The blue-haired woman,, who I now knew as Remilia, had finished tearing the box open and had produced a mask. It's very surface gave off a malicious vibe, something that caused the madness at the edge of my mind to begin to react and rile out of control. I shifted uncomfortably before Remilia put the mask away, and the Butler, Ronove, appeared and then vanished with it. I cracked my neck to alleviate some pressure, wondering just what would be happening next. Something grasped my wrist and pulled me away, and I turned to see Luna pulling me towards a door to the side of the Lobby. It opened by itself when she came near, but it didn't have any mechanisms to open it. "Must be a hidden one somewhere. Maybe a Magical Door?".

I looked around again, having adjusted to the eerily dim lighting of this new area of the... what was this place, anyway? Was it a Castle or a Mansion, or maybe a pocket dimension that Remilia had created for herself, if that was even her real name. Either way, the rabbit that was persistently dragging me down the corridors was gaining speed, and she was pretty darn fast for a non-Tengu. As we dashed down the corridors and hallways, the dim lighting began to get to me and I couldn't help but feel nausea and disoreintation. As the journey took longer, I felt my head begin to spin more and more, faster and faster. Eventually we stopped outside a door, and I took a look at the sign that was embedded into the wall beside it. "Executioner.. Heh, haven't used that moniker for a bit.... Gah, my head's killing me!". I watched as Luna opened the door for me, and as I stepped inside my legs simply dropped from below me. Luna caught me as I fell, and she pulled my arm over her shoulder to give me some support. I decided to use this to my advantage. If Remilia and Angel could be crafty and sneaky, so could I. I gasped in feigned pain, and Luna quickly took me over to the bed, which she sat me down on. "Do you need some medicine? Maybe some cold water will help you. I'll be right back, okay?". Luna stood, quickly turning away and leaving the door. I lay there, pretending to be in agony for a few moments more before I was assured she wasn't just hiding around the corner, which was when I flung myself out of the bed and poked my head out into the hallway. The red walls were carved with intricate patterns, and it gave off a very... odd feel. I made sure the Lunar Rabbit wasn't anywhere nearby, and I stepped outside. There was a window at the end of the corridor, and I approached it. Looking outside, I could see an endless plain, full of different types of plants and flowers. A feeling of peacefulness and antiquity came over me, and I knew that if I was ever swallowed by the madness, that would be the place to go for me.

I decided then and there that I might as well go take a look at the Garden before Luna got back and attacked me or whatever, but I felt kind of bad for ditching her like this. I mean, she's a servant of the bitch who chained my up for 500 years straight, but she doesn't seem all that... 'evil'. Something behind me caused me to whirl around, and I saw something at the end of the hallway that filled me with dread. A black, dripping maisma was flowing towards me, but not like it was before. Instead of slowly slithering across the floor, walls and ceiling menacingly, it came at me with surprising speed, and I could already feel it's influence hitting me, and the roof was already dripping with black ooze. I turned, yanking my feet free from the amount of liquid piling up near them and trying to cover them. allowing myself one last look at the goo, my heart sank and I leaped out of the way just in time to avoid a slimy, black tendril aimed for my chest. I scrambled to my feet, fear giving them wings as I propelled down the Hallways, but the Madness never gave up and never gave in. The longer I ran, the closer it got and I couldn't run forever. Don't get me wrong, I can run for a loooong time at really high speeds. I mean, I can move at Tengu speeds most of the time, which usually near breaking the sound barrier, but I just felt so cramped and off that I knew that if I used my full speed, I'd probably smack into a wall or trip, and it'd all be over. No use wasting my strength until I had absolutely no hope, was there? I hit the end of the hallway, pushing off of the wall and using the momentum to ush myself harder to get to my goal. I knew that there were doors opening behind me, and things were lookin out, viewing me and studying me. I had this odd sense of deja vu as I ran, and then it happened.

A dead end, with only a window to stop my 'wallbreaker' tactics. I turned behind me to see the writhing mass slow to a stop, but it didn't need to move in any case. I was trapped. Now don't get me wrong, the things I did next was just a spontaneous thing. I figured that physical pain was better than mental and psychological anguish, so I did the only thing my half-conscious mind could think of. "Fuck off!".

Then I threw myself out of the window.

Then I hit the ground with a crack.

Then the Madness receeded, because I'd made it to where I'd wanted to be. In that Garden, the Madness couldn't touch me. In that Garden, I was at peace. I felt at home, like when I was younger and I'd go and hide in my treehouse.

Then I fell unconscious, and the nightmares began.

Then the Madness resurfaced, and began to feast.

Dreams - Madness is Infectious

Swirling, Darkness, Hatred, Anger, Jealousy, Envy, Rage, Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Demons, Memories, Manipulation, Growing, Insanity, Fear, Anxiety, Rape, Murder, Devil, Unstable, Madness.

Oh come now, Deon, you've got nothing to lose by giving in to me, you know that!

Doesn't mean I'm going to, though.

Oh, you want to, I know it!

The darkness was swept aside like the curtain on a play, andthe room beyond shined in front of me. It had always been there, the final place where I could keep up my final defences. It was a small room, a couch in the middle with an official looking chair beside it, as if a Psychiatrist would sit there. Deon opened his eyes and found himself laying on the couch, a guitar on his lap. He'd always liked Guitars above all other instruments, acoustic and electric, and had always longed to learn to play one. He was 15 when he first picked one up, and his skills had only grown in time. He idolized Slash, and wanted to at least be on his level, although this seemed like a far-fetched dream now instead of a reality. Deon looked around for the form to appear, and seeing that it wasn't, he began to play. Slowly at first, but eventually the guitar picked up on his emotions, and the notes and chords began to flow easier. Slowly, a blackened mass began to form on the chair, and eventually it was solid enough to be acknowledged as semi-human. Deon looked at it with distaste, and continued to play. Alternately, Deon could play many instruments with much skill, due to his long lifespan and ability to take in new things easily. Deon continued to play, although the mass had begun to reach out to him and stroke him. He ignored it, but it's attempts at getting his attention were growing stronger as it's hands reached out and wrapped themselves around him. The mass was still forming itself, but it's form had begun to change into that of a woman. Preying on weaknesses and fears was why Madness drove people, well, mad. The hands slowly moved up and down his chest, intent on forcing him to submit and give them his attention, but Deon simply remained focused on the guitar, playing a song that he was taught while still a child.

Deon sighed in relief as the arms let go of him, and the girl stood up, her tuxedo shining brightly in the artificial light of the room. Suddenly, the floor of the room began to... change. The red-black tiling changed into grass, and the roof vanished and the brightness of the sun shined into the room, and the walls peeled away to reveal a luscious grassy scene full of life and beauty, a stark contrast to the closed in darkness of the room. Deon looked around in awe, and instead of the anthropomorphic form of the Madness in front of him, there stood a beautiful woman. Deon couldn't make her out, but he felt himself drawn towards her. as soon as their hands touched, he felt himself catapulted out of the dreamworld and back into reality. His eyes opened, and they locked with the eyes of the woman he'd just met in his dreams. Deon licked his lips and swallowed to wet his throat. His blinked a few times, and spoke.

"Am I like, dead or something?".

"No, you're just a bit stupid from smacking your head so hard, handsome".

"Nice sense of humour".

"Nice abs".

"Yep. I'm definitely dead".

"And stupid, too".

"Oh shush, Miss....".

"Aurora".

"Aurora".



A few hours had passed before Deon had fully recouperated, but he'd busied himself by helping out with the garden. Aurora had been kind enough to let him use her shower, and his hair was still damp and wet from it, laying down across his face. He turned and grinned at the woman who sat under the shade of a parasol, sipping tea and smiling at him. "You're a good Gardener, you know". Deon laughed as he pulled a weed from it's place. "Well, I've have a looong time to get better at it, haha~". The happiness in his voice was because of two things. One; He was socialising with someone he'd never met before, and they didn't think badly of him, and two; The Madness had receeded, and he was content with that. He looked up at the sun, and spoke. "What time is it, Miss Aurora?". Aurora pulled a pocketwatch out of her pocket and looked it over, a smile on her face. "It's almost midnight". As Deon turned to face her, she giggled at the expression of shock on his face. "They call this the 'Garden of the Sun' for a reason, you know". Deon chuckled and returned to his work, and eventually Miss Aurora joined him. At her touch, the weeds came away easily, and the plants stood upright and reached for the sun, getting stronger and stronger as she stroked them lovingly.

They worked on on the Garden for quite a while, and eventually they were both worn out and laying under the parasol Aurora used for shade to rest under. Deon sighed and watched the clouds in the sky, and Aurora spoke. "So, what shall you be doing in the outside world when you return. Presumably soon, am I right?". Deon nodded, and sighed. "Yeah, as much as I love this place I gotta get back. In fact, I might as well get it over and done with now, shouldn't I?". Deon sat up, and grinned. Aurora sighed, and poked Deon on the arm. He turned and eyed her, and she smirked. "Any requests of me, since your expedition is most likely doomed?". Deon's expression turned serious. "Well, I might need your help with one thing...". Aurora grinned, and nodded. "Well....".





The inside of the Renegades Base was cool because of the air-conditioning, and Deon grinned as he stepped through yet another portal-thing with Eclipse in hand. He turned down the corridor, and those who saw him gasped in awe or shock. He knew where everyone was, in the Courtroom. Outside the door were two Guards, but they gave him no trouble as he booted the door down and grinned. "Sup guys!".

---

"I wanted you to depend on me even just for a bit..."

---

I wasn’t sure when I had fallen asleep. It was kind of embarrassing, considering I’d intended to stay awake until Keilani was up and about. Instead, I found myself waking to her quiet gasp, my eyes lazily opening to look at her as she winced, falling back into the bed. She said something, but it wasn’t really audible to me, and so I found myself sitting up, intending to grab her attention, and maybe see if she needed any more help. It seemed she’d felt my presence, turning to face me as her expression changed into… Well, I’d be inclined to say it was tears of joy. Maybe relief. It was… Refreshing for me. I hadn’t seen someone feel that way about me in a long time. Struck by the moment, I delayed my thanks perhaps too long as Keilani spoke, wanting to ask me a question I briefly nodded, before she inquired into Blanche’s safety, drawing a weak smile from me. It said a lot about someone’s character when their concern went to others before themselves.

“Blanche was pretty injured, but Claire seemed to think she’d be fine with some rest.” It was a little truth stretch, but I couldn’t imagine Claire would neglect to inform me if Blanche was in critical condition. Seeing Keilani’s soft eyes, I couldn’t help but feel the need to ease her worry, speaking once more. “Considering the beating she’d taken, I’d like to think that you probably saved her.” Pausing as I thought on it a bit, it seemed now was the perfect segue into thanking Keilani for what she did. Both for me and Blanche. So I just had to say it. Those two words. Just… Be polite. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I mean… Stalling like this is pretty stupid. It’s not like I’ve gotta be ashamed… Come on Ash, just do it!

“So uh… Well.. T-Thanks… For saving Blanche I mean.” Turning away sharply, I leant my hand in my face, hiding the slight tinge to my cheeks as I forced out the next set of words, mumbling them almost inaudibly. “And for saving me…” Annoyed at my own sheepishness, I hopped off the bed, grabbing my jacket and pulling it on as I continued to run my mouth. “So like, everything you saw and happened in there, you better not go telling anyone. Got it?” In my attempts to sound tough, it occurred to me I was probably making the whole thing sound less convincing. Shaking my head, I turned to face Keilani again giving a bit of a deep sigh.

“Look I’m just… Not good at this sort of thing, okay? So just… Keep it to yourself alright?” I’m gonna get the nurse, see if she can help you and maybe take you to see Blanche…” Trailing off, I turned away again, attempting to ignore Keilani’s expression as I set about finding one of the medical staff.

---

After the trial, I got told numerous things. Deon had been taken to the WDL, in exchange for Keilani and my freedom. It was a bittersweet victory, and probably the worst part of it was I felt a little indebted to the asshole. Still, it was nice of Claire to come and inform Keilani and myself while the others were off at a bar or something. Apparently, we were to undergo training of our abilities so we could better work at fighting against the evil demons of the world, and that we needed teachers for it – Keilani was to be working with Rin, while myself, Kane and Sebastian were to learn from my sister. It wasn’t something I was entirely comfortable with, but the next day, I found myself heading off to the meeting area to receive the start of my training…

---

“Kane, your swordsmanship is excellent, but you lack balance and refinement in what you do, therefore…” With a wave of her hand, Kane was forced to watch as a glass of water floated over, being telekinetically hold on top of his head by Claire. “You’ll have to balance this for the entirety of today. Should it break, I’ll provide you with a new one.”

“W-what? There’s no way I can keep this-“ Kane stopped as the glass fell forward, drenching him a little. Claire giggled a little, before refilling the glass and returning it to his head. “You’ll have to learn fast then. Now, be a dear and head down to my room and grab my bag, ‘kay? Each time it spills, you’ll have to come back here for a refill and start over.” Claire giggled as the glass tipped once more, forcing Kane to sit and stand multiple times until he finally managed to get up without losing the glass. Slowly, very very slowly, he started making his way out of the room. With the first of the assignments set, Claire next turned her attention to Sebastian.

“Now as for you young man, I think it’s time you started to get a handle on those powers of yours. So, we’re going to start simple.” Sitting up, Claire gestured to a nearby wood fire and an ice cube, a sizable distance between them. “I want you to control the heat, and attempt to melt that ice, before Kane gets back with my bag.” Stretching a little, Claire smiled to Sebastian. “If you can do that, you’ll earn a reward. I’ll make sure it’s something really special if you don’t need my help either.”

Standing, Claire next made her way over to Ash, looking her in the eye. “As for you Sis… Come with me.”

~ Bellfoar VS Ronald! ~

Bellfoar felt himself slide back as he stopped himself. He gritted his teeth as he looked forward at his opponent, who stood ready for another exchange in blows, Ronald aimed his sword at him. "Stand, demon!" He shouted out with anger for the demon, it was obvious he had been trained to hate demons even from just looking at them. Bellfoar rose up quickly from his knees at this, Ronald responding by charging in quickly again. Bellfoar sent in a quick lightning bolt at him, to which Ronald responded by dashing to the side from. Ronald then leaped and sent his sword down for Bellfoar's head, Bellfoar moving back with quicker speed as he reappeared a few feet away. "Stand still, demon!" Ronald cried out, charging in once more as Bellfoar furrowed his brows and stomped his foot on the ground. On his feet appeared two boots, both of which began to glow brightly. Ronald stopped himself as he recognized them. "The Speed Boots?! But, how --" He was stopped by Bellfoar calling out. "SPEED ON!" He shouted, and with that, he was gone. Ronald was suddenly hit in the stomach by one of Bellfoar's feet, which sent Ronald flying back. Stumbling across the ground, he finally stopped when he slide across the ground and was left lying there. "You are lucky I held back... Now... What will you do now?" He asked, but before he could go on, a mysterious figure in a cloak appeared between the two.

~ Chill and The Jello Demon VS Timothy! ~

Chill found himself get hit by a kick as he stumbled back, while The Jello Demon aimed an attack for Timothy's head, but failed when he was knocked away. Jello rolled across the ground for a bit before stopping and began to get up. "Damn it all..." He mumbled, raising himself up as he shook his head. "Who is this guy?" He asked, as the man approached them both. Timothy stood there with a death glare that was suited for an assassin. Timothy then raced forward and appeared in front of the two, kicking them both in the stomach as Timothy used this to hurl himself back. He then landed on his feet as the two stumbled again, allowing him to race forward at this. Jello and Ice were sent flying at him, but he quickly moved to the side of this and pulled out a pole, spinning it in his hands as he spun himself around and smacked the two with it across they're faces. Then he used it to break the Jello Demon in half, then spinning it around in his hands to slam one end of it into Chill's chin and send him flying on to his back. "Hmph... This isn't worth my time." Timothy stated, as a mysterious figure appeared before him. "It's time to go, sir." The figure responded, holding an unconscious Ronald over one arm. "Very well..." Timothy said, and as The Jello Demon and Chill got to they're feet, they saw the two vanish.

~ Yami VS Sir Melvin! ~

Sir Melvin watched as Yami kept appearing and vanishing before him, as if the darkness demon were taunting him to strike first. "Do not mock me, you ignorant thing!" Melvin shouted out as he sent out three chains towards Yami. Before they could get him, he vanished again, the chains wrapping around only air as they fell to the ground. Yami then appeared in front of him and kicked towards his face, but Melvin blocked it with his right arm, holding off the demon with it as he did. A mini-shock wave happened as the two collided, Yami kicked off of Melvin and gracefully landing on his feet, spreading his arms out as two shadow balls appeared in front of him. Melvin readied himself as Yami threw both at him, to which Melvin spun around and sliced through both dark balls, making them dissolve. Yami charged forward at him and began sending a barrage of punches and kicks towards him, each time Melvin was able to block each blow that was sent at him, both of them creating shock waves with each collision they made with each other. Finally, it seemed the demon Yami had enough of it and leaped back, pulling on two gloves as darkness formed around him. "Ah, a demon's own invention to power himself up... Heh, try me!" Melvin shouted out with confidence, meanwhile Yami was forming darkness around Melvin.

Yami then clapped his hands together as a tornado of shadows suddenly formed around Melvin, making wind be blasted into him from this as the darkness became more and more harder to see through until it was completely dark. Then, it formed from a tornado into a ball that was around Melvin's size, keeping him trapped in it as Yami smirked upon seeing this. But then, cracks of light formed on the ball as a sword pierced through it, cutting it in half as it dissolved away, the light fading just as Melvin's form could be seen. Yami felt his eyebrows colliding with one another as he dashed forward, Melvin responding by doing the same. They both collided with each other, fists meeting sword as the ground around them began to shake from the collision. Then, after one minute they both leaped back and landed on they're feet as they stared each other down. Then, the mysterious figure appeared at Melvin's side. "Sir, it is time to go." He commented while holding the unconscious Ronald over his shoulder. "Hold on a minute while I --" He stopped when looking forward, to find the demon Yami having vanished. "... Ugh, very well. Let us go." He said, and the two then left the scene, they're missions done.

~ S VS Mireya, part one?! ~

S stood ready at one side of the room, her arms were folded across her chest as she watched Mireya. "Well? If your going to learn how to use your abilities, attack me already. Or do you want a kiss first?" She teased, aiming to piss her off. Mireya glared at her and could feel her eyes twitched. "Kiss me and you're dead." She retorted at her while wondering how would she attack S. It was already much proven that S was more physically stronger than her. It was not like she could punch her or anything like that. "How could I attack you when I don't how to use them in the first place? Shouldn't you teach me like concentrate or something along those lines?" S yawned a little at this. "You apparently know how to use that kiss... You just need to do something similar with the rest. Like, I don't know... I'm not one of the Devil's 'chosen ones' or anything. So until you can transform... I'm just going to have to beat it out of you." Mireya released a sigh at this. "My kiss has no off switch. Even if, I don't want to use it." She pointed at her lips. "It still works." She then had a rather disbelieving look on her face. "Beat me? Really now? Moreover, I am just new with this devil thingy."

S laughed. "You obviously can't beat me... You're just too pathetic, too weak... Besides, your kiss does have an off switch... It just has more power over you then you do over it." "Thank you for pointing that out." Mireya sarcastically said while still glaring at S for laughing. "Pathetic? Weak?" She could feel her patience wearing thin. "I told you not call me that!" S shrugged. "What's wrong? Can't handle a girl?" She teased again. "You're not a girl at all." Mireya said in a deadpanned voice. She could feel the pain of her headache crawling back in. "Tell me why Scott chose you as my trainer." She noted while rubbing the bridge of her nose. S smirked. "Because you can't handle my challenges. Can you, little girl? Come on, you can't beat me. Not a chance, not a chance~" She wagged a finger at her. Mireya crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you even a challenge to begin with?" S got a serious face for a moment before punching the wall behind her, making a dent appear in it as several large cracks came across the dent. Mireya whistled at S' little show. She raised an eyebrow at this. "That supposed to scare me then?" She smirked at this. "Why not attack me instead?" She then had a thoughtful look. "Or are you the one who is really afraid?" S rose her right foot at this as she stomped on the ground, making the entire room start to shake rapidly at this. Then, a crack started to appear on the ground of the room as it quickly began to head towards Mireya's position whilst the room's floor began to split in two. Mireya was startled at this as she slightly wobbled and then, she noticed the crack approaching her position and subsequently the room splitting apart. She stepped to the side avoiding the crack directly.

S crossed her arms over her chest at this. "You were saying?" She asked, before grabbing both ends of the room and slamming them together, the gap becoming a crack, and the crack vanishing as the floor was suddenly repaired. "... This is a special room for a good reason. It allows you to use your powers without any consequence, well, except to the people around you... You still want to try me then?" Mireya straightened herself and run her fingers through her hair. "You're a coward." She looked at S haughtily. "That is what I am saying." She stretched her arms upwards and the tilted her head to the side. "Come. Let me see you can do to me. All you did is just play with the room. Nothing impressive." S sighed and quickly ran in front of her, then stopped as she pulled back her fist and aimed to punch Mireya in the gut. Blue eyes began to darken as Mireya caught the fist with her hand and then delivered a blow with her elbow with the other arm towards the back of S' neck. S smiled at she let it hit her, but barely moved as Mireya could feel her own hand shaking just from catching the blow... "Not bad, not bad! I see the scroll was right after all about that whole specialist crap..." She then kicked at Mireya's arm to knock it away from her fist. "Come on, I'll let you have this one for free. Hit me!" Mireya looked at her hand and she felt the strength of the punch directed at her. It was clear that she was not that physically apt in that department. Looking at S once more, she stepped back after her arm was kicked. She subsequently delivered a roundhouse kick to S' face. S closed her eyes as the foot hit her cheek, being held in place against her body as she looked at Mireya. To her, she felt like a wall of steel. "That's it?" She asked, grabbing her leg. "You may look slim and all, but in reality, your just paper~" She then aimed to slam her elbow down on her leg.

It was then a seemingly invisible field surrounded Mireya's leg to meet with the incoming elbow. The effect would be to return the amount of force that it had received to the one who hit it in the first place. S rose a brow as she felt it, chuckling a little as she shook her arm off. "What was that? The barrier thing I assume?" She shook her head a little at this. "... Your getting closer, but not close enough. Your barriers can't last forever..." Mireya retracted her leg and was also surprised at that sudden appearance of the field. Her blue eyes seemed not only to darken further but appear to be in some sort of a haze. She narrowed her eyes at this and the she felt the so-called barrier disappear around her leg. After that, she attacked once S once more this time with a chain of punches and kicks. S watched as she was hitting her with punches and kicks as she blinked at this. ".... Um... I didn't know you were into me so soon." She said as she then knocked away one of her arms and then grabbed her by the face. "Come along then!" She shouted, before raising her off her feet and throwing her at a wall. Before colliding with the wall, the barrier surrounded Mireya in protection. it cushioned her momentum as such, she stood looking at S while the barrier dissipated. "Aren't you irritated?" There was this voice that echoed in her mind. It has a familiarity to it. "Go ahead... Like at that time..." She shook her head as if trying to remove the voice. "Shut up" She retorted. "Just like before..." Her eyes widened as she felt emotions of hatred and depression fill. The atmosphere within the room differ and the temperature began to drop rapidly to an absolute zero. S watched with a risen brow at this. "Oh? What's all this suddenly...? Maybe you're finally coming out of the closet?" She taunted.

Mireya held her head as if in pain. The ceiling of the room begin to be filled with looming dark clouds as crackles of thunder and gleaming lightning peeked behind it. "At least... when you're angry... the world is angry as well..." The voice continued to haunt her. S' words were drowned by it. "I said shut the hell up!" She yelled as lightning begin to dance all around them and wind out of nowhere filled the room in a torrent. S stood in place as the light show began, watching Mireya as she merely blinked at this. "... Well now.... Looks like we're halfway through, aren't we?" She said with a smile. "This time... you won't kill an innocent..." Upon hearing those words in her head, a raging storm was now present within the room. Mireya's position was the only part that was not affected by the sudden weather tempest in the room. The floor surrounding her began to be lifted as vines began growing around her. S blinked at this as she saw plant-life begin to grow. "I guess that means we only have one more left to control, don't we?" She smirked, crossing her arms across her chest. "... Come on then. You've almost got them all unlocked - just focus. Come on, I'm waiting for you to give me your best shot!!" The plants growing began to stop upon reaching the ceiling. The flowers at its tip began to bloom. Instead of beautiful bloom, it resembled a Venus flytrap with its fangs all directed at S. Mireya slowly removed her hands from her head and then looked at S with eyes that were in complete trance. "Feed." It was said in a whisper but it was enough for the plants to attack S. At the same time, she closed her eyes as the lightning now aimed to hit S as well. S watched the two come for her as she moved to the side and kicked the plants in the way of the lightning, looking over at the Venus flytrap's head as she leapt up and landed on the plants, snapping them almost all the way off. She then grabbed the Venus flytrap's neck part and goes to snap it before then tearing it off and throwing it onto the ground. "You've lost control, haven't you? Pathetic, Mireya... I thought you had it more in you then that."

Mireya looked at S and then smiled. It was so empty that it resembled a corpse. A barrier surrounded S as it locked her up in a small bubble. At the same time, the torn plant heads' regenerated. As for her, she raised her right hand upwards as lightning began to gather around it. "Thank you." It was then the concentrated power she gathered aimed at S. The plants heads' directed at S as well. Then, it was released not to cripple but to kill. S smiled at this. "I did say... Your barrier can't last forever." At this, time seemed to slow down as S concentrated, energy building up inside her body as she held her arms across her. Then, thrusting them out, a large shock-wave was sent out as the barrier was destroyed and a light appeared around S now. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" S' scream could be heard throughout the entire room as if echoing, the plants around her shirevling up as the clouds would part. Then once she was done, she collapsed to a knee, still smirking as she tilted her hat down a bit. Mireya had a disinterest look on her face as the wind gathered underneath her feet. Lightning circled around her as she approached S and then delivered a blow to S' face. This time powered by a tornado and enhanced by lightning. It was released resembling a shotgun as the trail it left carved the floor in half. The room shook as well at the force being released. S smirked as she raised her right arm up in a block, letting it get hit instead as she stood up after it hit, letting out a loud laugh. ".... Hey Mireya, what rhymes with pain?" She asked with a smirk, even though her arm was numb.

Mireya did not respond as she simply grabbed S by her neck. This time it was easy as her strength seemed to be enhanced. She raised S in a choke hold and those eyes remained vacant. S whistled at this as she felt her choking her. "He-llo~" She said as she grabbed a hold of her arm with her good hand at this. "Gain?" She then thrusted her knee at Mireya's gut, aiming to knock the wind out of her and send her flying into a wall. Mireya felt that connect with her gut but, she didn't relinquish her hold on S. Instead, she flew to the wall with S tagging along. She really felt the strength behind the thrust but the barrier cushioned the blow and at the same time the wind current soften it as well. She then punched S to the face with another force similar to the earlier she released. S closed her eyes as she felt herself move faster then before, vanishing from sight as she appears a distance away from Mireya at this. ".... Ah, now this isn't fun anymore. Now... Well, it's pointless to keep trying, so..." She opens her eyes and looks at Mireya. "Ah, just do what you want. I don't care any more... It's not fun when your own ally is trying to kill you." "Ally, who told you were mine." Mireya took back the force she released and directed it to the ceiling blowing it up in the process. The huge explosion caused a lot of dusts. She then ran her fingers through her hair again. S sighed out. "Oh shut up.... I was talking to Mireya, not whatever the bloody fuck you are." She said as she fixed her hat a little at this.

"And what makes you think, I'm not Mireya?" Eyes of blue remained in a haze as Mireya raised her hands in front of her and lightning touched each fingertips. S smiled a little. "You want to kill.... Your eyes say everything. So what, you going to beat me to death or what?" Mireya pointed her charged fingertips at her own neck. "Let's activate the other two skills simultaneously, shall we?" S blinked at this. "And those would be...?" She asked. "Death and Life." Mireya smiled with such an empty visage. With that done, she fired all the charged lightning fingertips at herself and the explosion covered her. S stood there as she sighed out. ".... So..... Tell me. Miss M.... Do you want to see me at full power?" When the explosion cleared off, Mireya laid on the ground bleeding now to death. S looked at her as she saw her lying there. "......... Da fuck?" Was all she could get out. Mireya was getting paler every second. Her body was broken and even some of the bones were sticking out of her skin. The heartbeat was slowly coming to a stop. S walked over towards her slowly as she knelt down beside her and rolled her on to her back. "..... I don't get it." Was all she could say.

Mireya slowly opened her eyes and instinctively grabbed onto S. Her lips met hers and the transfer of life began as the wounds began to regenerate. As for S, she was being drained of her own life as some of her cells began to degenerate from the sudden pull. When Mireya was satisfied, she removed her lips from S. "Thank you once more." She was back to good condition as if nothing happened. However, the same could not be said to S as it only left a fragment of a life-force in her judging the life-threatening wounds Mireya had. The rate of exchange was equal. S blinked as she did this and flushed a little as she felt her life force being drained. Once Mieya was in seemingly perfect condition, S smirked as she began chuckling of all things. "Oi.... I didn't say.... We could KISS YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She shouted out as suddenly, her power began to skyrocket. Her life-force was suddenly returned to her as her ears became more pointy and her eyes changed to almost snake-like. "..... Fine.... Now we're on even terms..... Witness my -- Demon Form." And at this, her appearance became more beautiful. Her hair was longer, her skin looked smoother, her charm seemed to have increased beyond that of any human woman's and her eyes just seemed to sparkle. S smirked despite all these changes as she tilted her hat again, two bat-like wings ripping out of her back. Mireya could tell S was now in a whole different league. ".... Allow me to introduce myself properly. I'm Succubus, one of the Demon Division's most well known fighters. I have a severe rivalry with Quake and Rin and I love to tease any one I please...." Mireya stood up and ran her fingers through her hair. She stretched her arms upward and bend her body sideways as well. Her eyes were still dimly haze then looked at S. "I guessed that part."

S chuckled a little. "Thanks for the kiss though... It really inspired me...." She teased, taking a step forward, and despite the room having healed at this point, the room was suddenly filled with an IMMENSE pressure that caused it to shake and nearly fall apart. ".... Sorry that I'm only at 50% full power in this form, I would be at my full strength, but, well.... That kiss blew me away." She said as she stretched out her wings. ".... Got a transformation or should I proceed with the ass-kicking now?" "Transforming is not an option." Mireya said in a matter-of-fact tone. There was not even room for arguments or anything else. Her eyes looked at the ceiling which she had blown up. S suddenly vanished from sight and appeared behind Mireya. "Over here, sweet lips~" She whispered into her ear before suddenly ramming her knee into Mireya's back. The collision would of caused the ground to form a small crater underneath them, it was clear S' strength was tremendous now - equal to that of an Oni's even. Mireya felt the blow but the barrier once more halved the strength of it to her body. Still, it made her fall to her knees. S looked over at Mireya as she fell on her knees. "Well? You wanted a fight - you got one!" Mireya looked at S without even a tinge of emotion or something that could say she was bothered by the demon form or such. Instead, she stood up and dusted her clothes as if nothing was wrong. "Will this be to the death, or are you just going to be my toy?"

S furrowed her brows at this, and sent her fist towards Mireya's stomach. She intended to knock her out. Mireya bent her body forward as if to appear that she had been directly hit. However, she grabbed the fist with one hand and slowly stood properly before S. "Answer." Her grip on the fist tightened as a something invisible around Mireya began to be apparent. Eyes of blue darken further but now glowed menacingly. S furrowed her brows as she kicked her arm away and then proceeded to punch at the barrier with two fists this time. Mireya flippantly looked at the arm that was kicked by S. The seemingly invisible force around her began to be tangible as it seemed to be her powers leaking like tentacles. They hit the ceiling, walls, and floors leaving gaping craters while the ceiling were blown as the skies from outside could be seen clearly. Her body seemed to be surrounded by something. Grabbing both fists, she bent them without much effort wanting to break them. S gritted her teeth at this. ".... Fuck it."

She then concentrated as she released energy again like before - only this time it had a more tremendous effect in the room. Mireya was unswayed by the action and soon enough, she was surrounded by a translucent light. Her gripped on S' fists remained. After a few minutes, she threw S towards the wall like a rag-doll. As the light that encased Mireya began to unravel someone else. S slammed her feet on the wall as she got down on her feet and sighed out. "...." Mireya looked at S with the darken blue eyes which had regained its bright quality once more. There was also a confident smile present on her lips as she stood there with a raised brow. "Warm up is done right, S?" She was completely in a different form. Her purple hair were braided into long twin-tails and black with cross buttons adorned her hair. She wore a body-fitting attire that seemed to be reminiscent of those cyber costumes.

~ Sebastian's training! ~

Sebastian looked at the ice and walked over to it, putting his hands out facing it. Nothing happened though. He blinked and waited a few more seconds, before thrusting his hands out again. "OH MAGICAL POWERS! COME UNTO ME!" He shouted out, but felt dumb after saying that out loud. He focused as he closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as he tried, but only felt a fart come out. He flushed and collapsed, twitching a little on the ground after doing this. He got up and after a few minutes, rubbed his hands together and focused on the emotion of hate. "Hate.... Hate..." He said to himself, focusing on the ice cube, but then felt a yawn come out. ".... No, NO! I don't want to do that... Come on!" He then slammed his hands on the ice cube. "HATE! HATE! HATE! HAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He shouted out at this, and a miracle happened. An aura of radiation heat surrounded him and rapidly began to melt the ice cube, but he was too far into the power to notice. He gritted his teeth as the heat radiation increased until it bursted and then vanished! He felt himself stagger back and lean against a wall, gasping for air as a burnt spot was left where he formerly stood, the wood of fire was blazing with fire as he collapsed near it. "... I prefer cold right now."

Of course, given how quickly Sebastian had achieved his task, Claire was still absent with Ash. In fact, the only person around was Kane, who was taking the time to refill his glass after another less then gracious fall. Sebastian felt his eyes roll as he shook his head and sat up. He looked around him as he shot his arms up into the air. Of course, given how quickly Sebastian had achieved his task, Claire was still absent with Ash. In fact, the only person around was Kane, who was taking the time to refill his glass after another less then gracious fall. Sebastian felt his eyes roll as he shook his head and sat up. He looked around him as he shot his arms up into the air. "I did it! I did it, ha ha h -- WHA?!" And then, Kane would hear the idiotic screams of Sebastian as he started running around like an idiot while his butt was smoking. "WHA, WHA, WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY ASS IS ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Looking over to Sebastian, Kane was quick to hurry over with his glass, chucking the water straight at his rear in the hopes of extinguishing the flame. Sebastian felt the liquid hit him as he collapsed and rolled around in circles like an idiot. He soon got up and sighed out in relief. "That's all good no --" He stopped as the fire from the log began to spread somehow. He must of let out more then he hoped for! "........ FIIIIIREEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "Quick! Grab the water cooler!" Running over to the dispenser he'd been using for his training, Kane began wrenching off the bottle on top. "FEAR NOT, YOUNG ONES!" A large demon in a suit that hid his face arrived, bringing out a large fire extinguisher as he did. "I HAVE SENSED THE DANGER! AND I AM HERE TO EXTINGUISH THE SOURCE!" "W-W-W-WAIT, THAT THING WILL --" "QUIET, YOUNG LAD! NOW, LET THE AWESOME MIGHT OF THE CAPTIAN OF THE BLASTER BOYS TAKE CARE OF THIS!" "KAANNNNEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kane turned, just as he managed to pull the large bottle free, carrying it towards the fire. "FIIIIIIRRRRREEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" And then, everything went wrong. The fire extinguisher blasted out some powerful force into Kane and Sebastian, sending poor Sebastian flying away into a wall as the suited demon holding it was seen flying all over the room with it. Then after several minutes, he landed and acted as if the incident was totally normal to him. "Another job done! If I had been here a few minutes earlier, you both would of been totally screwed!" And with that, he departed. Sebastian collapsed and his body rolled over to the now empty burnt spot with the charred remains of the burning wood near him. It took him a few minutes to regain his thoughts. "..... That reward better be worth it. Kane?!?"

Dazed and upside down, water the bottle from the water dispenser was embedded into the wall, liquid trickling out and drenching Kane underneath it. Sebastian sat up as he moved his hand in front of his face, trying to see clearly. "Kane?!" He called again, doing his best to try and stand, but failed and only ended up sitting up as everything began to clear up. "At least you get a reward..." Kane mumbled as he began to reorient himself, sitting up and wiping the foam from around him. Sebastian brushed himself off as he looked over to where he heard the mumbling. "You met her before I did! How the heck are you complaining of all times!?!" "I guess you're right. Still, She's probably going to be pretty mad if she comes back to see this..." Scratching his head, Kane looked over the mess they'd made. Sebastian sighed and sat down with his legs crossed at this, clapping his hands together as he closed his eyes. "Stand back." He said and increased the head radiation around him. The foam slowly began to fade around them, but it was taking time this time. A few minutes passed by and it was still slowly going away, while Sebastian was starting to sweatdrop like mad.

Kane watched in partial amazement, and a little envy. Sebastian already seemed to have mastered his task, while he doubted he'd be able to take a few steps without dropping the glass. Sebastian concentrated harder... And this is where Kane began to see Sebastian's lack of control. The ground underneath him began to form a burnt spot, just like the one from before. "W-whoa whoa! Watch it! Don't start burning things again!" Sebastian quickly stopped the burn stop at his words, but steam was beginning to emit from his body at this... "Uh, Sebastian-" Kane was really getting worried now, and contemplated running to get Claire. Sebastian opened his eyes as the last of the foam vanished - he gasped for air and fell on his back. ".... Water." He managed to strain out. "What? Oh, uh, right!" Running back over to the cooler embedded into the wall, Kane managed to prise it free before returning to Sebastian, holding it steady for him to drink from. Sebastian opened an eye at him. ".... Just pour it on me." Nodding, Kane dunked the last of the water over Sebastian's head. Sebastian coughed at this as he sat up and held out an arm towards Kane.

Reaching down, Kane decided to help him up. Sebastian felt himself get up to his feet and sigh out. "...T-thanks.... S-she better get here...." "Well, I can't say I expected you to nearly burn down the place. She's probably doing some special training with Ash." Kane concluded, looking to the double door the two had gone through earlier. Sebastian collapsed again at this. "Whoah, hey, easy there. Need me to take you to the medical wing again?" Sebastian sighed out. ".... Just tell me when she gets here...." At that, there was a loud thud against the double doors, a huge dent mark present. Sebastian glanced over towards it. "..... Another break in?" He mumbled. Drawing his sword, Kane remained focused on the door, but no other sounds were heard... Sebastian tried to sit up again at this. ".... Should you open it?" "Me?" Kane blinked, looking it over. "Claire did say not to open it under any circumstances..." He added, clearly uncertain. Sebastian glared. "And if she's dying?" He asked. "Uhh... Wouldn't she um... Open the door if they were in trouble?" Sebastian rose a brow. "It might be locked on they're side." "Arrgh! Alright, we're in this together, yeah? If I open it, it was a joint decision... Right?" Sebastian sighed. "Yes, yes.... Now do it!" Nervously swallowing, Kane gripped the handles, and... "Aw man I can't do it!" Kane chickened out, letting go and stepping back from the door.

Sebastian quickly got up at this and stomped toward it. "For the love of.... Fine, you big sissy! I'll do it!" And with that, Sebastian quickly grabbed the handles and went to open the doors. As the doors spread wide, Sebastian had only a moment to react as a streak of light shot towards him, a beam of energy rippling with power. Sebastian felt his eyes widen as he underwent his super speed, grabbing Kane and having him stay behind one of the doors. "..... Da hell was that?" He asked. With the doors now open, the intense sounds of battle echoed throughout the hall, impacts, explosions, clashes... Sebastian listened to them as he felt his eyebrows raise slowly at this, looking over at Kane. "Maybe we should close it." Kane was looking to here the laser had impacted, a deep singed mark on the wall... Sebastian looked at him. "Screw that..." He said as he walked over to one of the doors and looked over it to try to see the action going on in it. Inside, he could catch the slightest glimpse of Ash, a dark aura surrounding her as she locked blades with Claire, her sister holding a brilliant sword of light in the clash as they fought for superiority. Sebastian felt his eyes widen as he looked over at Kane. "Jesus.. They're fighting with swords.... And they both have auras." Slowly, cautiously, Kane peeked his head out to watch, just in time to see the two girl's separate. Ash reacted first, waving her hand as coiling shadows rose up from the floor, chasing down the running Claire and attempting to ensnare her legs. Leaping, the psychic-femmefatal dived towards the wall, but not before firing off another beam of energy at Ash. Swiftly, Ash's Hair moved, swirling in front of her to block and deflect the beam, glancing to where Claire had fled to.

In the split second Ash had been distracted, Claire had closed in behind her, charging up energy in her hands and reaching round for a hard shove to her back, the impact causing a rippling explosion that sent Ash into the far wall. Sebastian looked at him. "... I think we should close it before they notice." At those words, a sharp meow sounded behind Sebastian. Sebastian looked over to see what it was. ".... A cat?" He asked. Noir sat behind the two, snickering a little. Sharply, both Kane and Sebastian felt a firm hand on the top of their heads. "So, how goes the training?" Claire asked, her voice sickly sweet and pleasant. Sebastian felt himself going to collapse again at this. Kane simply stuttered some as Claire laughed, glancing back over her shoulder. "That'll be it for now Ash. I'll take it as my win." Sebastian caught himself as he glanced over at her. ".... Uh, I saw nothing." He said to her. "Sebastian, do you remember what happened last time we met and you tried to lie to me?" Claire mused, leaning in close to him. Sebastian took a step back. ".... Uhhhhh...... If I said maybe, would you take that?" Laughing some more, Claire sat back up, stretching as she looked over the training room. "Well, I suppose you can just be thankful you completed your task." Looking back to Sebastian, Claire headed over to her bag, pulling out her purse before heading back over to him. Sebastian continued to shake as he watched her. "As promised, here's your reward." Pulling out a large, crisp $100 bill, Claire handed it towards Sebastian... Tugging it away when he reached for it. "Now, this is to be spent so that you and my sister can get the time to chat. I haven't forgotten what you first came here for, and she'll need to do something fun to take her mind off her bruises."

Sebastian blinked as he looked at her. "....Wha.... What?" He asked. "Just take her out somewhere, get a bite to eat, maybe do something fun, and then you can work through whatever you want to ask her. She needs to be on her best behavior too, given her trial the other day. Noir will accompany you just to make sure you don't get into any trouble." Sebastian gulped at this. "....O-okay..." Patting Sebastian on the head, Claire next turned to Sebastian. "As for you, it seems we're going to have to intensify the training a little bit, hmm?" Kane had attempted to sneak off during the interrogation, but found himself being dragged back by the collar. Sebastian looked at Claire and sighed. "...Um.... C-claire?" "Yes Sebastian?" Sebastian remained silent for a moment, but he looked down at this. "...N....Nevermind... I still need that money, you know?" "Oh right, I almost forgot." Laughing she dropped the note into his hands, turning back to the room where she'd been fighting Ash. "Come on sis, you can't stay in there moping all day!" Grumbling, Ash was pulling herself from the rubble as she dusted herself off, slowly trudging back into the hall with Sebastian and Kane. Sebastian looked at her as he glanced over at Claire. He frowned for a few seconds before sighing out and shaking his head and looking over at Ash. "... Let's just go." He said. "I hear that..." Ash grumbled, heading out the hall towards the garage. "You can't drive, right? We'll take my bike." Sebastian blinked. ".... Okay." He said, and they were off to find her bike.

“So, where’d you want to go?” Ash asked casually, fixing her hair as she started pulling on her helmet, taking a moment to grab the spare and toss it Sebastian’s way. She didn’t get why her sister was making her shepherd this kid around, but it was a bet, and she’d lost it fair and square. Not that it was ever in her favour. Watching Sebastian catch the helmet, Ash continued to make some last minute checks on Umbra as he spoke. “I remember there being a sort of fancy restaurant several miles from here... It's not that expensive, but it has some really good food."

“You want to eat somewhere like that?” Ash asked a little bluntly turning to face him. She was never that big of a fan of ritzy places like that – Especially if the food wasn’t worth the amount you were paying. “I hate to break it to you but I’m not exactly rolling in cash at the moment.” As if to answer her concerns, Sebastian began waving around a crisp $100 bill, causing Ashley to raise an eyebrow. “I appreciate the gesture, but I’d like to pay my own way, thanks.” Folding her arms, she watched Sebastian sigh – Maybe he was a little annoyed at her? Well, she wasn’t about to let some kid treat her to things. She had some pride to maintain. He seemed to accept that for the moment, inquiring into just how much she had on her.

“About $40, give or take.” Ash estimated, not bothering to check her pocket. For now, it seemed he had his heart set on things, so she may as well get it over. Whistling in her head, it took only a moment for Umbra to come driving into the garage, sliding to a stop in front of them as Ash climbed aboard, Noir leaping to snuggle into her lap. “Well, get on. You’ll need to direct me.” With another heavy sigh, Sebastian climbed on, Ash speeding them out and off through the streets. It was a quiet ride, Sebastian occasionally speaking up to direct her. Finally however, she coasted to a stop outside the place, kicking the stand and removing her helmet. “So, this the place, huh?”

Sebastian nodded and took off his as well. "Yeah... This is where Lucy, me and.... Someone else, use to go... Or whatever she calls herself now -- Lucifer or some bull like that." Ash noted the annoyance in his tone, but decided to ignore it, instead deciding to make some idle conversation. “You could afford something like this?” Sebastian sighed as he got ready to head in. "Yep... Lucy always had the money somehow - me and Rob... Well, we use to be thankful, despite wondering how she had it. Now that she's a demon -- one of those seven demon girls... It just doesn't feel like the same girl I grew up with."

"People change. It's kind of inevitable." Ash commented, pushing open the door and heading inside, taking a moment to look over the interior as Sebastian slowly following in after her. "Yeah... I guess. I just wish Deon had told me sooner about it... Oh well, let's just enjoy the day." Ash nodded a little at his comment, before heading over to the one of the waiters, asking for a table and being escorted to one of the back seats. After politely declining entrées, she began to examine the menu, looking for something tasty, and in her price range. It was all pretty fancy, but she’d probably end up going with something basic like a risotto. Not glancing up as Sebastian began speaking, as his voice lowered she was forced to drop her menu in order to listen in. "... So uh, do you ever know what happened to those two we met at that church?"

“Can’t say I have any idea. I’m sure they’ll turn up eventually.” Ash responded dismissively, having not really thought on their disappearance up until this point. Honestly? She was just thankful she was still alive and okay – as selfish as that concept may have been. "So... How was it? The WDL, I mean?" Sebastian prodded her again, causing Ash to sigh and rest her chin in one hand, leaning on the table. “It was different. Kind of like going back to school. We didn’t exactly get to stay there that long though.” Sebastian nodded at this. "So I remember... You aren't curious how Hell is like?"

“Not particularly. I imagine I’ll find out myself one day.” Ash chuckled a little to herself, closing her eyes. "... So is this a hint you want me to stop asking questions then?" Sebastian asked, causing Ash to open her eyes to regard him. Shifting to sit back, she folded her arms behind her head. “No, it’s alright. I’m just not that good at keeping conversation.” Ash responded truthfully, not entirely used to this sort of setting. Sebastian seemed a little taken aback, but his curiosity continued. “.... Oh. Well, I was wondering if you could tell me more about yourself."


"Like what?" Ash asked, looking to see where the waiter was so they could order. Honestly, for a high quality place like this… “Like.... What do you do in your free time?" Sebastian spoke again, Ash almost having forgotten he was there. Shrugging she settled back into her seat. “Normal stuff mostly. Working on my bike and driving it around. I used to play some videogames back at home, but we don’t exactly have that luxury here.” Ash sighed a little, thinking back to her normal life back at the house. It seemed so distant now… "Who knows, maybe you could ask them if you could go home... Even though some of us don't have homes to go back to." He admitted as he shrugged his shoulders. "But I'm probably boring you telling stuff like that."

"I guess this place is probably what you'd consider home now. The Renegades I mean." Ash mused slightly, wondering if she though of the Renegades as home too. She hadn’t been there that long, but… "... No. Not really. It's an army to me - nothing more." Ash blinked a little at Sebastian’s comment, a bit surprised by it. "Guess you're not too fond of the atmosphere there, huh?" Ash tried to make some ‘friendly’ talk, but all that seemed to do is bring up more unpleasant memories for the boy. ".... No. I almost died there - while you were fighting that other demon. Another demon showed up and stabbed me through the chest in five different spots at the same time and I nearly died of blood loss..."

"Oh uh... Wow. Kinda awkward..." Ash mumbled, not really sure what to say in response. That feeling persisted as Sebastian continued. ".... You know, ever since I've been brought into that church, I've been thinking to myself. Of how some feelings started to nag at me, I started contemplating what obsession felt like... Then I went into hell, and I felt like I died a thousand times over - no, more then that. When I got out of it, I felt like I had died a hundred times. But the obsession was still there... Then I met someone else and I started to think of what it means to know someone before having feelings for them. Then I met Lucifer, who went crazy from liking me so much.... As I stood there, on the line between life and death, I played a song my mother used to play for me... A song, she said that she and my dad used to dance to or something like that... I tried to send a message, I tried to use it to help, but... In the end, it was pointless." He sighed and put his forehead on his hands. "... I guess that pretty much sums up everything I've been doing since I got out of hell."

Remaining silent, Ash thought to herself about what she should say. Was it appropriate to say something? She had no idea if she was supposed to be trying to comfort him or what. It was times like this she wished she had Claire around, so that she could come up with something smart or philosophical to say. Maybe even crack a joke if it looked like it might work. But Claire wasn’t here, and she had no idea what to say, so she remained silent. It was probably thankful that the waiter arrived then to take their order, Ash ordering her meal and then retreating back into quiet solitude. Sebastian seemed to do the same, happily speaking with the waiter before returning to a sombre expression, clasping his head and leaning over the table. Ash sighed. “So did you actually come out here to enjoy yourself or are you just going to mope?”

Sebastian looked at her. "You aren't exactly helping me enjoy this. Someone I've been waiting to talk to for days now - and suddenly it feels downhill." Ash frowned, annoyance beginning to creep into her voice. "What exactly do you want from me? I already told you I'm not good with this sort of thing..." Her frown persisted, even as Sebastian tried to explain himself. "I wanted to get to know you better, okay? I just didn't want us to forget we even existed... Ugh, that sounded better in my head."

“I’m not even sure I understand what you mean by that…” Ash muttered, placing a hand to her forehead. Sebastian didn’t seem fit to explain it, and instead, decided to go with a more simple request. “Never mind.... I want to be friends." He stated simply, Ash sighing a little as she looked to him. “Simple enough kid. It’s not like I can ignore you if we’re going to be working together.” Glancing up, it seemed the waiter was approaching, which made it seem like a good place to stop. She’d thought that they’d come to a good agreement, but it seemed Sebastian didn’t think the same. "... That's partners. Just... Forget it. It's obvious this isn't going to work." Ash went to interject before the food arrived, forcing her to hold her tongue as she accepted her plate. Finally, after the waiter vacated, she was able to speak her mind. “Alright, I get it. You want me to be your friend – But honestly, I don’t get what more you want me to do. We’re gonna be working mostly, and I can’t imagine you’re gonna want to hang out with me during your breaks.”

"..... I honestly don't know myself any more. I'm so confused... I don't even know who I am any more." Sebastian mumbled, looking quite pathetic in his sorry state. Honestly, it was sad how messed up this kid had gotten from becoming involved in all this. “You’re you. I think that’s pretty obvious. And you make yourself into whoever you want to be.” Ash stated, beginning to munch on her food. She wasn’t sure if what she said made sense, but hopefully Sebastian got it. What he said next, probably was indicative that Ash had been missing the point the whole time.

"There's three people I like right now and I'm not sure who I'm supposed to try and... See if they feel the same and want to try something." Ash nearly choked on her food, taking a moment to chug down some water before eying Sebastian warily. “So that’s what this is about. You took me to this fancy restaurant because…”

"Because I was asked to help you take your mind off of pain." He finished for her. "... Something wrong with helping others out?" Ash blinked a little, before breathing an internal sigh of relief. “No, no. There’s nothing wrong with that. Anyway, I’m not exactly the kind of person you should turn to for love advice. I’ve been burned and burned far too many people already…” For a moment, Ash's mind drifted back to that night...

"So? I'm already asking you for a reason." Sebastian’s words put Ash’s back up once more as she returned to alertness – but, seeing as he was being rational about this, she could probably play it calm, let him down easy… “If you’re interested in me, I’d say there’s way better fish out in the sea. I don’t think we’d work out – And you’re a bit young.”

"... I've been trying to get over you ever since I recovered from the whole stabbing - trying to bring you back through a song - it got ignored and I ended up nearly dead for no reason... No, it's someone else I was on about."

“If that’s the case, then I think it’s quite clear that I’m not right for you.” Ash stated calmly, eager to sway any lingering thoughts about her he may have had. It was amazing how emotionally confused this boy was… "..... I -- ugh.... Look, I need to know things about your sister, okay?"

“Wait wait wait, hold up. You’re asking me about Claire?” Ash pinched the brow of her nose. This was getting more and more awkward by the second. Sebastian gave a subtle nod and yes, causing Ash to run her hand through her hair. Ugh, this wasn’t exactly what she’d thought she was getting herself into when she’d agreed to that bet… "Excuse me miss." A man working for the restaurant said as he had just come over. "You have a visitor outside who wishes to speak to you."

“Huh? Oh, sure. I’ll be back in a sec Sebastian.” Sitting up eagerly, Ash was happy to take whatever chance she could for some fresh air and to clear her thoughts. Stepping outside, she saw a cloaked figure leaning on the wall as he looked over at her, his eyes hidden in the darkness of his hood. "I don't have much time, so I'll make this short and quick." He stated, as she saw lightning literally travel across his body, the man skulking towards her. "My name is Bellfoar. Bellfoar the Boom Racer. Your family probably will know my name, as well as the name of our leader - Balarus of Kallos. Yes, he is back... And I want you to make sure they know somehow. Oh yes... I think you see where I'm going with this." He stated with a confident smirk, walking around her slowly now in circles. "We want the Evolution Child. If you do not bring him to us by 9 AM, we will take extreme measures. A town full of people will be blown to shit, we will torture the Renegades and... Your last name IS Clade... Right?"

"That's right. And you should know that the only thing I'll be giving you is my fist to your face." Ash responded, her eyes narrowed and her body tense.

"Try me." He responded, as she saw lightning arcing across his face again, his smirk present hidden beneath the sparks. If he was so confident, she’d have to use that opportunity to lay a beating down. Ash started moving up towards him, cracking her knuckles, then, well before she reached him, Belfoar's shadows swirled beneath his feet, entangling them as she came in for a heavy punch to his face. At first, it seemed like she was right on target… But then, right as she was about to make contact, a sharp bright light shot up between her target, and as Ash's fist collided with his face, she felt electricity coursing into her arm, sending jolts of pain through her, and the whole limb numbed, the occasional zap of pain still intermittently hitting her once she’d recoiled. Bellfoar shook his head as he looked at her. "Oh I know all about you, miss Clade... You see... I'm a Lightning Demon. Do you know that means for you?"

Wincing from the shocks still punishing her, Ash held her arm and glared at the ‘Boom Racer’. "That punching you wasn't my smartest move?" She retorted hotly through gritted teeth, which only seemed to widen the smirk on the lightning demon’s face. "That, and I can cancel out your little abilities on me. But we will meet again, soon I hope. Remember, the Evolution Child... Or your parents are mine."

"What?!" Ash's heart leapt in her throat, her body trembling from more than just the shocks for a moment. "You're bluffing!" Her accusation flew out in denial, but she wasn’t given an answer. Instead, the demon took off like a rocket, his laughter and a flurry of papers left in his wake as the wind whipped about. That bastard… What he was doing was lower than… Ugh, that piece of shit scumbag! Turning, Ash kicked the wall – hard - frustration building up inside her. Well, there was nothing she could do about it for now – She’d have to get back to Sebastian just to make sure he wasn’t in danger, and then, she’d probably have to speak to Claire and see what she thought about the whole thing. Flexing her arm to try and get rid of the last of the jitters, Ashley slowly made her way back into the restaurant.

Angel Meets An Angel

Angel looked up from his Gameboy as the man outside knocked on the door. "Come in, my children~". He shouted with a semi-snarky tone that was full of redicule and pride. After all, he'd managed to capture the Phoenix. The men brought a man in as they had him stop, each of them were holding his arms. "Sir, we have caught this man trying to get in here without permission". "I was under the impression you roughly brought me here... Honestly, how is this a formal treatment?", the man commented. Angel looked up and spoke again, a grin stretching across his face. "And who are you?". "The better question is... Who are YOU?". Raphael smugly asked. "Who are you to talk like that to our Archknight?! We should beat you for that!". "Beat me? My, you gentlemen don't recognize me... The old timers would. Arthur knew me. But I don't know you."

At the mention of Arthur's name, Angel rocketed up from his seat and withdrew Excalibur, whom exclaimed in awe. "Ooooh, Raphaeeel! Long time no see!~". Arthur look from the blade to the man before him, and growled. "So you're Raphael, eh? Men, leave us". Raphael smirked as the men quickly stumbled out and closed the door behind them while Raphael remained quiet and watched Angel.
"So why are you here, Raphael?". Raphael chuckled. "I heard you have finally captured Deon Morris?". Angel furrowed his brows. "That wasn't an answer". Raphael got a serious face at this. "I know.... I came here because I was wondering whether you knew about the set-up or not?". Angel turned to the Angel (LOOOL) and spoke. "Of course, I was one of the people who thought of it, of course". Raphael shook his head. "Not that set up... The one Kallos has planned". He said. "... Only Deon would know about it, so I've heard". Angel had turned away from the angel by this time, but as those words registered with his mind he whirled around. "What set-up!?".
Raphael shrugged. "I believe they are planning something... Or so I'm led to believe. It seems three of your boys have finally found some of them.... But I don't think those will turn out to be good results. So... Deon might know what Kallos is up to". Angel turned away again, rubbing his wrist tenderly. "Why would he know what Kallos is up to? What are you saying I should do!?". Raphael sighed. ".... Interrogate him, you idiot". Angel turned, and his grin widened considerably. "So, what should we use to tortu- Interrogate him, Raphael?". Raphael rose a brow. "Just bring the most holy things you can and I will be there... Arrange a schedule. I will make sure your men stay alive...". Angel rose an eyebrow, and spoke. "Can't you just summon some Holy Weapons yourself? And why can't we interrogate him now? I've been waiting for this day I'm not going to delay it any longer". Angel turned and growled. "Even for an angel".

"One problem. Renegades. Plus I am not the one who cares about this information, now do I?". Angel growled at Raphael. "What do you mean 'Renegades'? He's been officially stripped of his title so they have no way to actually get him back or stop me. It's been declared and it won't ever change".
"They can declare war though. And then you'll lose most of your entire forces that another man built up. Just to -- what, keep one phoenix alive? Heh... Good luck remaining a hero after that". Angel turned and sighed. "I was hoping that I could get your help with that. You are an angel, and that Michael is a half-angel. Why not persuade him somehow?...". "....Or, we could hit him where it hurts. That Kasha is close to him.... Maybe...". Angel was interrupted as Raphael spoke again. "No. I already had Gabriel go there - they'll try to save him, no doubt. No doubt they'll also try to find us and make an alliance... Heh. Wait till they learn of my plan. But do you as you wish - don't mind me. I will help of course - just in my own way. If you don't like that, well... I could just leave you to try to interrogate him yourself". Angel growled again. "Well then, we shall be off to the dungeon where Deon is located. I don't care if you accompany me or not, but make sure the Renegades don't interrupt me. Or there will be hell to pay". Angel walked out of the room laughing in victory. Raphael shrugged. "Suit yourself". He mumbled before following him.

Torture Time!

[CAUTION CAUTION - The following Section may Contain Scenes that may offend some viewers. Please skip this section if you can't handle mediocre violence, even though this is a semi-grimdark Roleplay. Don't take this warning lightly, because I don't want anyone to vomit unless they want t- I mean what? But really, if you don't like torture, then skip this scene. Some people do x3 - CAUTION CAUTION]

The cold, dimly lit room was dark and cold (Oh, ya don't say!), the only light coming from a single dangling bulb that was hanging from the roof, directly above the figure that was tied to the chair. The grimy, stone brick walls were covered with blood and bits of torn flesh, hanging from the roof were several corpses hung from reddened meat hooks that were rusted from age and overuse, while the bodies were rotting with decay, the maggots feasting on the death inside of them spilling onto the floor and crawling, squirming around as they tried to find new flesh to devour. The chair was made of steel, with both leather straps and steel restraints around the wrists and ankles. Large, sharp screws were built into the restraints, and if the person in the chair struggled enough, they would drop down forcefully, piercing straight through their flesh and bones and into the chair below, locking them there.

Deon sat in said chair, staring at the dirty floor that was covered in a mix that seemed to be of blood and... something else. Deon didn't have much time to figure out what, as a door in front of him opened and into the room stepped Angel, followed by another man that Deon hadn't met before, but his senses were telling him that the man was dangerous. Maybe not so much physically, but he seemed so... There wasn't a word Deon could find to describe it due to the massive amount of sedatives flowing through his system. Deon looked up in a haze, his eyes slightly blurry because of the amount of Holy Water that had been poured on him as he stepped out of the Hummer that had brought him to where he was. He recalled Angel heading to his office or something, not that it mattered now since the man was standing before him babbling about something that Deon didn't really care about.

What Deon did care about however, was the large thing they had brought into the room with them. It was concealed under a blanket or a cloth for the moment, but Deon had a feeling that whatever it contained wouldn't be pretty. Not for him, and not for anybody who had ever seen whatever was under that covering before him. As Angel ceased his ranting, which was something about being the victor and Deon finally being where he should be, Deon smirked and laughed in his face. Deon shut up almost immediately as the covering was pulled away to reveal innumerable objects of torture and pain, ranging from saws to scalpels to crosses and bottles of concentrated Holy Water. Deon eyed all of these, and glared up at Angel with a smirk on his face. "Bring it on, asswipe".

Angel simply grinned and turned away, facing the trays that were filled to the brim with instruments of torture, and he bit his lip. Deon figured he was probably trying to decide on what to torture him with first, but Deon smirked as he pulled out a simple scalpel and held it up to the light. Apparently it wasn't good enough though, because Angel put it back, favoring a golden carving knife, or at least that's what it seemed like, over it. Angel pulled his arm back to stab Deon, but paused momentarily and grinned. "Holy Water". Angel grinned wider as he grabbed a jar of Concentrated Holy Water and doused the Knife into it. "This is a Holy Object, having been blessed by numerous people and consecrated. This might sting a bit... Who am I kidding! This will hurt a ton!". Angel grinned as he thrust the knife into Deon's stomach, the sound of splitting flesh and gushing blood echoing through the room as Angel pulled the knife upwards and the across Deon's chest, cracking ribs and slashing organs that spilled their contents and blood all over the seat and floor. Deon coughed as Angel completed the square, grabbing the piece of flesh with his hand and pulling it away slowly until he yanked on it, tearing it apart and filling the room with the sounds of tearing flesh and dripping blood.

Angel's eyes widened as he reached into Deon's now torn open chest cavity, and grasped his Liver. With a mighty tug, he wrenched it free and threw it down onto the floor, ignoring it completely until he grabbed Deon's kidney and did the same thing. Angel turned around, grinning as he picked up the organs and began to cut them into pieces. As he cut, his mind was racing. He finished fairly quickly and dipped the pieces into the concentrated Holy Water before turning to Deon with a smirk. "Open wiiiiide~". Angel leaned forward and grabbed Deon, forcing his mouth open and pushing the pieces of his own guts down his own throat, causing him to choke and tear up. Angel grinned, turning away and pulling out a drill that he soaked in Holy Water. Deon spat out his organ pieces and watches as his chest slowly regenerated. Angel grinned and slammed the Drill into Deon's eye socket, pushing it all the way through into Deon's skull until he stopped moving completely, and the blood had drenched the both of them.

Angel pulled the Drill out of Deon's eye socket, watching as the Phoenix coughed and shook his head in pain. "Fuck you, Angel. On second thought no, I'm not Gay". Angel growled and tossed the Drill away, grabbing the knife and cutting Deon open again before grasping his heart and tearing it out of him with a sickening crunch and a stomach-turning squish. Angel grinned. "I'll put your Heart here".
"Make it Explode".
"...Why would I-"
"MAKE IT EXPLODE!"
Angel growled, reaching under the Desk and pulling out two vials of alternating liquid which he pour together onto Deon's heart, causing it to literally explode.
"There....Now-"
"OOOOOOOOH YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! THAT WAS SO GOOD!"
"The Power of Christ Compels You!"
"The Power of Christ Fucks You!"

Angel growled to himself, turning away from the Phoenix who stuck his tongue out at him mockingly. Angel sigh before spinning around, unsheathing Excalibur, and cleaving Deon's head off with it. As Deon's head flew through the air and landed, he had a look of dejection on his face. "What a spoilsport....".

Omega's Carnage

Shin was pelting down the Hallways of the Renegades HQ when he realised that he had absolutely no idea where he was going. He skidded to a stop and rubbed his forehead, the effects of the Crime-scene were still hitting him. He desparately needed to find Scott, and he wouldn't rest until he did so, so he took off down yet another corridor in search of the man. Eventually, Shin found Scott leaning against a wall, sipping coffee and commenting on how good it was. Shin skidded to a stop just in front of Scott, and grabbed his hand. "We have an emergency in Tokyo, just come with me!". With that, he began to drag Scott to the Monitor Room. Scott didn't resist, and Shin pulled him into the Monitor room, ordering for the Monitors to be switched to Tokyo 73, the scene of a rampage. "This... This was done by someone calling themselves 'Omega', Scott". Shin watched as Scott's eyes widened and he dropped his coffee, his cup shattering on the floor as a barely audible "God help us" escaped his lips.

Shin turned to Scott. "Reports say that he wears a hood and cloak and was conversing with one... Mr Alberto Farrantino, a mid-forties Mobster-esque man who was into all the illegal stuff". Shin sighed. "See what I mean by emergency? This is only the first...". Scott groaned at this, and spoke. "I need you to do me a favor, Shinji". Shin turned, a quizzical expression on his face. "What is it, Scott?".
"Make reservations for Tokyo".
"What about the other countries?". Shinjei inquired.
"Any situations I need to know?".
They're all the same, Scott. There's been at least two in every country. All in one single night".
Scott paused.
"....Make reservations for America, Australia and Russia as well".
"Done and done and done, anything else?".
"Not for now. Just... Keep a a look out for anything related to 'Omega'.
"Sure thing, Scott". Scott sighed and walked away. "I'll go inform the WDL to update their List". With that, Shin was left alone in the Monitor room with the spilled Coffee. He looked down at it and called for someone else to clean it up. "I have some work to do....".

The Sweet Smell of Spring

The cool night breeze drifted through the Renegades HQ, carrying with it rose petals of few amounts. Little did the occupants of the building know that the cause was a certain person standing outside the building, twirling a parasol in her hand with a smirk. "Honestly, such a remarkable leap in technology these Humans have made, but I fear the Kappa are still far, far ahead in that respect". The figure grinned, reaching out and grasping a rose petal and pulling it to her lips gently. "How far did he go for them, I wonder? Such a carefree person must have had reservations about such a punishment. Especially one such as him. Isn't that right, Remilia?". Suddenly, the area beside the figure rippled, expanding and then contracting. Stretching and moving until the very fabric of space-time was torn. From within the tear, another figure emerged, smiling lightly and twirling a glass of wine between her fingers. "Tell me, Aurora, how much fun shall you be having with his.... 'request', I wonder?~". Aurora grinned, and turned to Remilia. "Oh, I think I shall be having much fun with it. Much fun with her, I might even say". Remilai grinned, sinking into the tear and causing it to vanish from sight. "Remember, the invitations must be given out, Aurora~". Aurora sighed, and spoke out loud. "I am aware, my friend".

Suddenly, the amount of flower petals flowing through the Base increased dramatically, a torrent of petals whipping through the base and a ghostly, mystical voice reached out to Michael. "Meet me in the Courtyard~". The torrent of petals stopped, a vicious whirlwind of petals of numerous flowers appearing in the Courtyard. It "I'm here.... Show yourself". The whirlwind reacted to Michael's voice, the figure inside being visible for only a second. Her green hair and red eyes along with her semi-pale skin marked her as one of the most well-known Youkai on the planet. "....So, am I meeting the famous Poison Ivy from the comics?". At this remark, the petals moved and began to wrap around Michael, clearing the space between the two figures and revealing the female figure fully. "My, my. Such a gracious host~ Why, you haven't even truly introduced yourself yet. Where are your manners, young man?~". Her lips turned up slightly, her playful tone echoing above the torrent of the winds. "As long as I don't get a kiss of Death... The name's Michael Malachim. I didn't think we'd be getting such a chance to see you come right to our doors.... You do know how dnagerous the Exorcists are becoming in this area?". Aurora smirked. "If you are threatening me, it is a hopeless cause.You are no danger to me now that the Phoenix is gone, Michael~".

Aurora let out a laugh and spoke. "My, my. Such bravado you have! Although I could destroy this base easily, I am not here to fight".
"I was trying to be helpful, but whatever.... Why are you here then?".
"Simply because a certain young man asked me for a favor~".
"What young man?".
"The one that gave himself up for his comrades. The Phoenix, of course".
"Ronove is a brilliant Butler, and Luna is a close associate of mine, Michael~ Although they are not mine. Tell me, how long has it been since I was last seen in the outside world, hmm?~".
"......I can't recall. I haven't been in the Business long enough".
"Are you aware of who I am?~".
"Your description matches that of a certain Youkai's".
"Oh, and which Youkai would that be?".
"Aurora..... But she was thought to be dead".
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Deon simply spared me, I must say~".
"Spared you? When did he....?".
"Oh, maybe around..... seventy-three years ago, if I can recall it properly?~".
"His bargain was very, very well thought out. No doubt he has an idea about how to escape his current.... 'situation'". Aurora laughed lightly, a laugh that shower that she knew something.
"......That guy is just one mess after another. But what are you saying?".
Aurora grinned, and gave Michael a look. "I have no idea what you're talking about".
".....So what do you have to say then?".
"Show me.... Mireya Nightless".
Before Michael could answer, a man cleaved his way through the flowers and approached Aurora. "Who the hell do you think you are, barging in here like you own the place, eh? I'm the Guard here! I'm the one who technically runs this pla-". Before he could continue to yell at the Youkai Lady further, she shoved the tip of her Umbrella into his mouth, causing him to choke lightly. Then, Aurora chanted something to herself and grinned. "Flower Spark". Suddenly, a brilliant light shot out from the tip of Aurora's umbrella, blasting the Guard straight up into the sky, albeit without a head or neck, and some of his shoulders were missing as well. Aurora kept the beam concentrated on the man until it went out, and then she turned to Michael. "Now would be good, thanks~".
Michael sighed and nodded. "Release me first...".
Aurora grinned. "Who said you were trapped, Michael?~".
Michael tried to move forward, but a barrier of petals stopped him. Aurora grinned. "I'm not letting you near me just yet, Angel boy~".
Aurora watched as Michael furrowed his brows and headed towards the Renegades Base, with Aurora following behind him.

"Honestly, the service here is horrifyingly lax. Please, someone hand me some Earl Grey Tea and some Scones with Jam?~".

---

---

---

~ Mysterious Attack! Raphael's confusing appearance! ~

Paimon opened his eyes slowly as the liquid-glass sphere floated in front of him once more. "Is it something interesting?" The rather seductive voice of Ophidis reminded him that the female was still accompanying him. Without answering, he raised his hand and a shadow creature was slowly emerging from his palm. After a few moments, it formed into a small bat. The creature had golden eyes and immediately flew away to a destination with a message in tow. "Oh, the so-called do-gooders..." She leaned from behind him to get a closer look at the sphere not minding that her breast were rather rubbing on his head. "Protecting your property?" This time she received an answer as he closed his eyes once more.

"It is an investment."

The group of angels were moving forward, the leader looking around as they moved. "Damnation... Where are we?!" He said as he leaped up and looked around. "Why has someone summoned us to the mortal realm?!" He then landed in front of the group and growled. "I will have answers..." ~ Elegia was currently patrolling her dominion as she saw an all-familiar bat flying towards her. This said creature landed on her shoulder. It was then she heard a voice directly speaking in her head. "Make sure no harm comes to her." After the message was delivered, the bat dissolved in a wave of shadows. "What could this be about... Did information leak out?" She muttered under her breath. Regardless, she had a rather complicated expression on her face as she disappeared in a pile of dusts.

The angel stopped as the others followed suit. "Let us take a break... The mortal realm has somehow weakened us from unleashing our full power!" He sat down with his legs crossed as he closed his eyes, waiting.... ~ Devant was currently reading a book which had the title of How To Deal With Retards. "This is quite interesting..." He noted to no one in particular as he continued to read while walking. He just got out school and was about to attend to some part-time job around the corner when he noticed a rather curious snow falling on the page of his book. Soon, the small grain of snow glowed and came out Elegia's image briefly. "Go and check the Renegade HQ. Angels are near there." Then the snow melted completely. "Hmm... It would be better to stay away... But if I knew better that Oni has rushed head-on." As if on cue, Alvanzo has arrived at the borders of the Renegade Headquarters. His eyes narrowed as he picked up a scent that irritated him and which was second to the stupid fox. "Angels."

The angels soon came into sight again as they all began to rise up into the air. "Alright men.... Prepare to fire! Destroy any demons you find! Interrogate any one of them, and when they don't comply, kill them!" Alvanzo did not waste time as he rushed towards them but before he could reach them a flying book hit the head of angels' leader. "What was that!?" Alvanzo commented looking at the direction of where the book came from and growled in annoyance. "Stupid fox." Devant simply waved at Alvanzo and walked towards the group calmly. The commanding angel growled as he pointed his sword at them. "YOU TWO! Who are you and why have you summoned us to the Mortal Realm?! From the Creator's eyes watching above us, we shall not rest until we are returned to Heaven!" Alvanzo looked at the said angel with a deathly glare. If it was possible to kill someone with it, they would have been all dead. "Shut your damn trap, you sad excuse for a bird!" With that, Alvanzo punched the ground and it immediately split into two as waves could be felt radiating. Devant shook his head at the Oni's outburst. Unlike the Oni, he does not violently rushes. Instead, he was more interested about the word 'summoned'. "Summoned you? That would be very impossible."

"Someone has summoned us to the Mortal Realm!" With that, he pointed his sword down as a beam of light hit the crack caused by Alvanzo, causing the earth to repair itself. "We shall not rest until you two give us the truth! MEN! KILL THEM ALL!" With that, the angels rushed in towards the two demons. "They are so unreasonable and they call themselves angels." Devant commented in a rather bored manner as white globes of fire appeared around him. "Hey Alvanzo." Alvanzo glared at Devant. "What do you want?!" Devant shrugged his shoulders. "Let's see who kills more angels between us." Alvanzo's deep purple eyes burned with vigor. "Bring it on! You'll lose!" With that said, Alvanzo attacked the angels rushing head-on. The oni grabbed one of the angels by the head and crushed its skull while avoiding the attacks in a rather brash manner. As for Devant, he ordered the white fires that surrounded him rushed towards the enemies. "I never lose." The commanding angel furrowed his brows as he prepared himself, meanwhile, his men continued rushing at them in full, despite a majority of them starting to die due to the two's obvious difference in power. Alvanzo punched one of the angels in the gut and effectively created a gaping hole with the innards turned into goo. As for Devant, he had burned most of the angels coming after him to a crisp. Not too long, the two were done. "How many did you kill?" Alvanzo asked. "58." Devant answered and Alvanzo clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Same." The kitsune looked at the commanding angel. "He's the tiebreaker then."

The Commanding Angel's wings spread out then as a holy light surrounded him at this. He then sent out holy water at the two before flying in towards Alvanzo and aiming to pierce his sword through his chest. Alvanzo covered his eyes at the bright light. It was quite irritating to his eyes while Devant stood there unmoved. At the same time, Alvanzo felt a burning sensation on his skin. "Stupid holy water! It still stings in this form!" Despite the distractions, Alvanzo grabbed the sword's blade. It burned his skin but the Oni did not mind as he grabbed the angel by the neck. "This is my win." Then, he crushed the guy's windpipe. "Think again." Devant had his hand pierced at the angel's heart in a through and through. The image standing beside Alvanzo dispersed into flames as it was just an illusion. "Well done you two." Raphael said as he clapped his hands, having appeared sometime during the fight. "Here is the perpetrator." Devant noted as he pulled out his hand from the corpse. "Another angel.. Why am I surrounded by annoying existences." Alvanzo gritted his teeth and dropped the corpse to the ground. He could not believe still that it was a tie. Devant sighed at this and looked at the newcomer. "Interesting show you have here."

"Oh it was not me." Raphael commented as he stood up at this. "It was Heaven's will. More specifically... The Seraphim. I understand you intend to keep one of the seven children alive, yes?" Alvanzo raised an eyebrow at this. "Seraphim. So, that old-wives tale is true?" Devant shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps." "Of course they do. Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Rulers, Archangels... All those and more. What you just fought were the weakest of the groups - the common Angels. The Seraphim want this purple-haired woman dead for an obvious reason..." Alvanzo scratched his head in irritation of hearing information. He was not a very intellectual person. "Stupid heaven hierarchy." Devant ignored this once more. "It would be more logical for all the children to be targeted." "They will be. But she is important. God knows what Paimon intends to do with her... And he wants her dead. So that Hell may fall." Devant narrowed his eyes at this. "And pray tell why are you telling us this?" "I am Raphael of the New Angels... God has abandoned me, so, I want to see Paimon take down His greatest defense." Alvanzo smirked at this. "A payback and you want interest on that as well." Devant closed his eyes momentarily. "Revenge is not really becoming of an angel."

"Ah, where are my manners? I am no longer an angel... I am half angel, half human." Alvanzo rolled his eyes at this. "Still with angel blood. It would be better to kill him." With that said, Alvanzo advanced forward. Devant blocked him with a raised arm. "Do you really think that the Master would let you use him even in a tiniest way?" "Your choice whether to believe me or not..." Devant released a sigh. "Not really... We are just pawns here." Alvanzo crossed his arms over his chest. "We have orders and do that." Devant shrugged. "Believing is not even in our itinerary." "My good sirs, it is up to you whether to tell your master of this or not... So, I will ask again. Do you believe me or not?" Alvanzo narrowed his eyes at Raphael. "I hate angels." Devant smirked at this statement. "You need not worry about our Master being told. He is well-informed. As for ourselves, Alvanzo told you perfectly." "So you choose not to believe?" Devant looked at the book he had thrown and picked it up. "Were you not listening. Believing and even choosing is useless with us. But, we will respond when our orders are compromised. So whatever we think does not matter."

Opening a the book, he began reading once more. "In short, your goals or whatever it is doesn't matter to us. If you get in our way, we'll kill you. If you don't, we'll not bother with your likes." Alvanzo glanced at the book Devant was reading. "Everything depends on the next orders we will receive that is all." ".... So you will consider them a threat then?" Alvanzo read the title of the book and raised an eyebrow. "What is that about?" Devant answered nonchalantly. "About you." Then, glanced at Raphael indifferently. "You really don't listen do you? Have your kind become idiots? Like this guy?" Alvanzo started his outburst once more. "What!? You damn good-for-nothing fox!" As he rushed, Devant threw the book on the oni's head deadcenter. "If they get in conflict with out orders, then we will eliminate them as we see fit." ".... You two keep confusing me. I should of asked someone else... But whatever. I came to deliver the message." With that, he vanished. Alvanzo removed the book from his face and tore it apart. "You will pay for this you fox!" Devant completely ignored the oni's outburst and looked at his forced companion. "Too suspicious." Alvanzo stopped his punch in midair. "What?" Devant shrugged. "Those angels did not know their reason for coming here and he comes telling us they were here to kill her." Alvanzo lowered his hand and remembered the commander angel saying something wanting to know the truth. "I guess. They would not come here completely oblivious to their orders now, do they?" Devant nodded at the oni's insight. "Something fishy is really goin on."

~ Confusing messages and a Game... ~

It was about seven P.M. when Sebastian and Ash returned back to the base... Both of them exhausted as they had blown almost all of the hundred dollars Sebastian was given. Sebastian walked off as he went to rest, meanwhile, a lone figure appeared leaning on a wall near Ash. She put a finger to her own lips as she smirked. "Hush... I know about the situation with you and Sebastian." She said, obviously teasing her as she pushed herself off the wall. "Don't worry... Soon those problems will be gone... My name is S by the way..." She tilted her hat down with a smirk as she shook her head slightly. "Don't forget it, kiddo... And remember... I'm always watching!" Before Ash could even ask her a question, she vanished, leaving Ash alone and possibly confused.

~ One hour later... ~

S would be sitting alone in a private place in The Renegades base. She drank yet another bottle of sake - this being her fifth one as she gulped it down like nothing. She finished it and looked at it as she threw it behind her lazily and let it roll into the growing pile of bottles. "Still nothing." She mumbled angrily. Asmodeus was busy trying to sort out what to do with her sisters now that, Deon was gone. She was pacing around and walking just in front of where S sat. "What do we do now....?" S rose a brow at this. "When did you get here, miss I like to not wear pants?" Asmodeus gave S a glare, and turned back to her pacing with a sigh. "I was just walking by, sheesh." S rose a brow at this. "It was a compliment..." Asmodeus sighed. "Yeah, I know but it's just... Deon's gone so.." S blinked and got up, walking over to her. "Huh... I heard you were happy earlier... Hm, so he really has grown on you seven?" Asmodeus turn to the Succubus, and smirked lightly. "Yeah, he has. He's grown on us a lot, since he's our master and all." S smirked back as she hugged Asmodeus and stroked her hair gently. "Hah. You've grown too soft over the years." Asmodeus sighed, and pulled herself away. "I know, but if it wasn't for him, S, half of us would be dead. He sign the contracts when we were dying... To save us. I have no idea why because he never mentioned it after that, but...." "But?"

"We absorb his sins, steal them, hence why we're so distressed now. I absorb his Lust, Lucifer absorbs his Pride, and yeah. So he has to be a horrible person to keep all of us alive, and now that the Madness is back... It's interfering.." "So pretty much... You need temporary replacements?" "Yeah, I guess. But that might break our contract with Deon, although I think he'd rather have us alive and with others than dead and with him... Heh, where's Luci when you need her, eh? She's the leader...." "Hmm... That reminds me. Call Lucifer, Leviathan, Satan and Mammon here." She walked over and knelt down in front of Asmodeus, putting her hands on her shoulders, smirking. "It's time for a fun game~" "Wha? Sure....". Asmodeus closed her eyes, and suddenly the four sisters appeared next to her or around her. "What is it, S?" inquired Mammon. S quickly returned her smirk to a smile and got up slowly. "It's time for a little game, ladies~ Close your eyes for me..." Lucifer sighed, Satan growled, Asmodeus smirked, and Mammon just did what she was told to, but they all ended up with their eyes closed somehow. "What now, S?" S quickly vanished and all of them but Asmodeus felt her kiss them on the lips for a brief second, leaving them frozen as S appeared back beside Asmodeus and put an arm around her shoulders. "Right... Here's the low-down. Each of you has the same objective. The target is named Sebastian Thomas. You all know what he looks like, so I'll make this easy. Each of you will have a turn and for one minute, you will be with him. Each of you must try to somehow get a kiss on his lips - otherwise, poof, you are out of the game. The prize? The winner gets him for an entire day~" Asmodeus would be catching on by now that this was just a big tease at Lucifer to test her. "Here's a nice little touch for those of you who don't want to play..." She snapped her fingers and suddenly Satan, Leviathan and Mammon would become stiff briefly and zombie-like. "Satan, you are angry at Lucifer and want Sebastian for yourself. Leviathan, you are jealous of Lucifer and Sebastian, and want him for yourself. Mammon, you want Sebastain all for yourself." She snapped her fingers and this all came into play. "With that said... Satan, your turn is first~ You other three - go wait somewhere or some shit like that, I don't care where..."

S watched them all leave as she looked over at Asmodeus. "You going to kiss him after the game's done then?" Asmodeus smirked, and waved her hand. "Naaaaah, he's not my type. I like my guys big, thick and hard~" Asmodeus laughed at her own little joke, and eyed S. "Why ARE you doing this?" S took off her hat and swung her head around a few times as she put the hat down on a table. "I want to test Lucifer. If she can't tell the damn boy - well, I'll have to torture her until then~" She then blushes a little. "How do I look without the hat?" "You look fine, S! And your hair is so silky, too! I envy you sometimes, I do...." Asmodeus smiled a bit and brushed a stray bit of hair from her face happily. "You look fine without the hat, Captain S~" S smiled and walked over, wrapping her arms around Asmodeus' neck. "You know... I could be the temporary replacement for you~" She said with a seductive smile. Asmodeus' cheeks redden a tiny bit, and she spoke again. "Well, I guess that could be arranged, eh S~" Asmodeus smirked and pulled the Succubus closer to her, her lips next to her earlobe. "So, shall we sign the contract?~" S chuckled and backed up with her, leaning her back against a wall as she smirked. "I guess... If you don't mind multi-tasking~" She said before bringing Asmodeus in for a full on kiss. Asmodeus giggled, leaning into the kiss and pushing S against the wall and then pressing herself against S. "Mmmmmmm~"

~ Sebastian's situation... ~

Sebastian would be sitting in a room that they had assigned him to. He was currently looking over some notes as he sighed to himself. It was during this Satan quietly sneaked in and tried to kiss him, but Lucifer came in and grabbed her, throwing her into a wall before then dragging her out. Sebastian looked up as he saw his door close again and he shrugged before going back to reading his notes. Thirty seconds passed by without any interruptions. It was at this Leviathan jumped in towards Sebastian, but was grabbed by Lucifer and slammed into the floor before being dragged out too. Sebastian looked up again as he blinked and saw his door close again. One minute and thirty seconds this time... Mammon turned to Sebastian. "Y-Yes.... Erm, Sebastian. Can I ask you something?" Sebastian blinked as he looked at Mammon. "Oh hey, um... Mammon, right?" Mammon turned to Sebastian. "Y-Yes.... Erm, Sebastian. Can I ask you something?" Sebastian rose a brow. "Sure... I guess?" He asked. Two minutes and twenty seconds... Mammon blushed even more, and took Sebastian's hand. "Y-You know, I.... Ever since you were cuddling up with me when Lucifer snapped... I..."

Suddenly, something slammed into the door, and multiple girls arguing outside could be heard. Sebastian glanced to the door and then looked at her. "... You might want to hurry." Mammon looked to the door too and pulled Sebastian towards her at this to try and kiss him. Sebastian felt his eyes widen as he saw her try, but then felt himself.... Fall off the bed and have her land on top of him. Lucifer sprung into action, tackling Mammon off of Sebastian and then quickly crawling back over to him. "Sorry about this, it's S' idea of fun.." Sebastian sat up as he blinked. Three minutes. "....What? Who?" Lucifer spoke with urgency. "Just shut up and kiss me!" Sebastian blushed at this. "W-WHAT?! M-my first kiss?! Are you crazy or something?" "It's either me or one of them, Sebastian!" Sebastian blinked as he looked at her. "......" He sighed and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her over as he pulled her into a kiss. Lucifer moaned lightly as her lips connected to his, and she wrapped her arms around him and began to pull him closer against her.

~ ~ ~

Sebastian was blushing and pushed her off. Several minutes had passed of them continuing to kiss. Sebastian had wanted his first kiss to be that of a special one, and he... Well, just got it. "What's wrong, Sebastian?" Sebastian got up and dusted himself off, gasping for air. "Seebaaaastiaaan? Earth to Sebastian. Are you living?" "Shut up! I just.... I'm not ready for that, okay?! When I meant special, I didn't mean THAT!" "......." Sebastian sat down on the bed and put his face in his hands. "You never used to yell at me, Sebastian. Maybe you're finally growing up. Getting past me, eh?" Sebastian pulled his hands away and got up, grabbing her wrists. "I -- I'm sorry... I just...." He hugged her tightly at this. "... I'm stressed." "You're not the only one...". Lucifer hugs Sebastian back. Sebastian hugged her tighter. ".... I'm so sorry..." "I don't want an apology, Sebastian. I shouldn't have pushed you" Sebastian looked at her face, blushing as he did. "... I do have one thing to admit though." "What is it?" Sebastian kissed her lips at this. "Mmmmm...." Sebastian pulled his face away slowly from hers. "... I -did- have a massive crush on you when we were little." Lucifer laughed. "Oh, I knew~" Sebastian sighed. "Figures..." Lucifer pulled Sebastian close, and grinned. "I still love ya, Seb~". Sebastian blushed at this. ".... I -- I can tell..." He stammered. ".... What does this mean then? A-are we together now or something because we kissed?" Lucifer smirked at Sebastian. "Iunno, do you want to be together?". Sebastian rubbed the back of his head. "... M-maybe."

Lucifer look at Sebastian. Then she had a fit of some sorts and fell to the floor. Sebastian blinked and got on his knees. "A-are you okay?" Lucifer rocketed up and locked her lips with Sebastian's, pulling him down to the ground with her. "So Sebastian, anything you wanna ask me?". Sebastian blushed at this. "... Y-yeah.... Um.... W-will you train me tonight?" Lucifer thought for a moment, then spoke. "Sure thing, Seb~". Sebastian smiled. "Here's your payment~" He said as he brought his lips down on hers, closing his eyes. Lucifer grinned, and pushed him away after a few moments. "Horrible, horrible payment, Sebby-poo~". She let out a chuckled and hugged him tight. Sebastian smiled and rested his forehead on hers, hugging her back just as tight. "... Thank you.... Lucy." Lucifer grinned, and spoke. "Just like old times, eh?". Sebastian smiled. "But a little better~" He kissed her again quickly. ".... I also have to tell you... About Rob." "What about Rob?". "On the night I left the orphanage.... We had an argument." "About what?". ".... About him.... And me." "About your Friendship?" ".... Something like that. Let me explain. You see...."


~ War on Europe... ~

On a television screen all over Europe was of the WDL... On it a man in a suit speaking out loud to everyone watching. "... My people, it is my honor to present the top of the elite, please... Give it up for a Paladin, representing for Angel's absence... The leader of the Paladin's himself!!!" With this, the man moved and a paladin stepped on screen. Angel looked up from his screen after hearing his name, and his eyes widened. "Him!?" The leading Paladin came on and waved to the people. He answered a few questions - mainly about the concerns of the demon outbreak, the Renegades and a few minor questions. He explained about how Angel came into power - how it was Arthur's time to retire, how the demon outbreak was a test, but then....

The screen went blank. And all of Europe was silent for a few moments...

Angel, who was busy being very amused by how the man was glorifying him, blinked in shock as the screen went black. "What the? How- What!? Did somebody move the antenna!?" "Greetings, humanity." At this, a red cross with a single eye in it's center appeared with a white background to it. The Revolution of Hell had taken over. "I am Balarus of Kallos. And I have taken over your primitive television's in order to speak out to you all... I hope you are listening, Angel."

Angel nodded weakly, then shook his head. "GET ME THE PHOENIX!" "Your so called protectors, the WDL, are liars. Arthur was murdered in cold blood, I really did break out of that damn prison with a few others and, well... I will personally kill Angel in front of the whole world." Deon smirked. "I'll help!" And then Angel slapped him. "I have gathered an army of demons and they are marching. Marching around my base, preparing for a war. In two days, I will destroy the WDL with them. My elite group is preparing themselves, and they will attack your primitive towns tomorrow. I know what this means. And yes..."

"Hell has just declared war."

Deon whistles, grinning lightly. "Hey Angel, I bet you're TOTALLY not gonna make me your bodyguard, are ya?". Angel smirked. "Nope, I'm locking you back in the Dungeons". "Prick" The screen turned to show something horrifying then... "Help me, Angel... Please..." A Paladin spoke out, bloody and injured as he was tied to a cross, his arm weakly reaching out to the camera just a few feet in front of him. Angel scoffed. "If you're in that situation you deserve to die!". Deon slapped him. The Paladin's arm was suddenly slammed against the cross as he screamed out in pain as a spike slowly came out of his chest, his blood dripping all over the cross as he gagged and choked. Then a figure came out and smashed his head against the cross and it broke in half - a personal insult to anyone religious. Deon snickered, and Angel just watched. The figure then turned and glared at the screen. He pulled his hood down to reveal his face - Kallos had done it. "Let this be a warning." He said and grabbed the flag of the country - throwing it on the cross as he nodded to Eppenos, who stepped on the screen and burned all three things - the man's body, the cross and the flag.

Deon let out a laugh and Angel made a face that said what the fuck? "Europe will fall. And Hell will rise... If you want to have ANY funny moments... Take a good look at this." Kallos grabbed the camera and moved it to show Angel's relatives bodies, all hanging on crosses. Angel glared. "They're useless to me anyway" Eppenos burned them just like the rest, and then showed something worst of all... A figure with a bag over the head, struggling to break free of the ropes binding the person to the chair. "I won't tell you who this is, but trust me when I say... All hell will break loose when she dies. Now.... One more thing." He said as he drew his sword and thrusted it through the camera. The screen then turned back to the Paladin, who had seen all of that.... Stunned, shocked, confused... He couldn't even blink. He had to be dragged away. Then the screens turned to something else... But everyone's reaction was the same. Completely. Stunned.

Deon watched as everything went on, the Madness threatening to burst out of him again as it went on and on. Angel on the other hand simply watched, grinding his teeth in anger. The Puppeteer sat at her throne, observing the acts of hate and rage. But not from a Television as a normal person would, oh no. She was watching them personally, the smell of burning flesh wafting throughout her throne room as the scenes ended and she closed the tear. She turned to Luna and Ronove, who were watching on a Television, and smirked. "How.... interesting~" Michael stopped as he turned to a screen near by to see the news being broadcasted. "..... What.... Just happened?" Rin turned to the screen, but not before getting a glimpse of Aurora, her eyes going wide. Aurora simply smiled and waved politely, before looking to the screen too. When all was said and done, Rin was covering her mouth with her hand and coughing. Aurora simply sighed and spoke. "Such a fool, Balarus". Rin coughed again and spoke to Michael. "They couldn't just kill Angel could they!?" "... Balarus is cunning. He knows Angel will have no choice but to accept his challenge. Also... Did you see who was the one burning the bodies?" Aurora spoke. "Indeed". Rin simply nodded, sitting down. "Who was it then, Aurora?"

"They call him... Eppenos, of Flames. He is... the son of Brenhin if I recall.... He burned my old Garden to Ashes for not giving him what he wanted. I will pay him back for that" ".... Right, that's what I feared. Back to Balarus though... Angel will be panicking inside right now. Arthur would of calmly thought of how to find and trap Balarus while still humiliating him on television. Angel? ..... If he doesn't accept, the entire world will see him as a coward and unfit to rule." "They will see the man for what he truly is, then." ".... Angel has only one solution... Accept the challenge and destroy his enemy. Even at the cost of his own army." Aurora smiled. "Balarus certainly has grown up. He's planned this well, but what shall the Renegades be expected to do, I wonder?~" ".... I have no choice now... I will send the two teams of children out to find Balarus and destroy him before this whole mess starts." "Oh? I thought you would bargain for Deon. Although I'm assured he already has a plan~". Aurora smirked and twirled her now closed parasol. ".... Deon would of hated himself for that. Rin, prepare plans for tomorrow morning. WDL reports say that Bellfoar, Chill and the Jello Demon have been sighted in a nearby town. Tomorrow is our only chance..." With that, Michael walked away.

Rin nodded at Michael and then turned to Aurora. "Why are you here, anyway?". Aurora smirked. "Oh, just a favor to an incarcerated friend~ S looked at a screen nearby to see the report. ".... Huh.... People are too serious these days." S looked up at Asmodeus. "What do you think?" Asmodeus sighed. "Well damn.... That ruined my mood....". She looked at it again and spoke. "Well, to be honest Angel's a dick. Only problem is that Deon's at the WDL too. What if they take him when they're done?". S snickered. "Dick." Asmodeus giggled. "In your mouth~" S snickered. "... I'm still going to win~" "Oh, no you're not!" "Oh baby, I can~" Asmodeus grabs S and pushes her into the nearby wall, her lips slamming against hers.

~ A response to war... ~

Raphael opened the door to Angel's office, only to gasp as he saw Angel standing, awake, looking out the window. He quickly closed the door, to see only one candle was lit on his desk. "Sir, what are you doing up so late? You should be sleeping! Not up and tiring yourself out!" Angel turned to the angel and sighed. "The Phoenix still hasn't admitted to anything regarding Kallos' plan, but he seems to know something I must find out. I haven't been able to sleep because of it. He treats my interrogation like a game and never gives in. It's... It's unnerving how he is". Angel rubbed his forehead. "In a few days, Kallos will be here to kill me and no doubt he will destroy a large portion of this Academy while doing it..." Raphael nodded. "Ah yes, I do recall hearing about this sire. I am terribly sorry to hear about your relatives dying." Angel growled. "I don't care about them! If I die who will lead the WDL!? Nobody will, nobody deserving of leading it, in any case! This is my rightful place, I got here fair and square and I will not let any idiotic Demon take that from me!". Angel turned and grasped the phone on his desk, picking it up and dialing. "Yes, Daniel. Ready Project Beta. Good. It needs to be in perfect condition" Raphael nodded at this. "I shall not question this Project Beta, but... If I may make one tiny, tiny suggestion, m'lord?" Angel looked towards Raphael and nodded.

"Tonight, lead everyone in the surrounding towns into the WDL. When they go to attack tomorrow - poof. They will find no one, and you will be looked up to as a savior for planning ahead such brilliance!" Angel was silent for the moment before nodding. "Raphael, I shall send out the orders as soon as I can. Ready the men for battle though. If Kallos does in fact attack this academy, then we must be ready for him". Angel motioned for Raphael to leave, but spoke again. "Raphael... Ready the Phoenix." Raphael smirked as he nodded. "Of course sire - if I may ask... How do you plan on getting the Phoenix to obey you?" Angel smirked. "Oh, I'll have my ways" Raphael nodded and bowed. "Of course." He said before leaving the room. Once the door closed he looked around before smirking and walked off whistling.

"The game is set, m'lord... The attack will take out both parties present."

"And The Renegades?"

"No doubt they will intervene when you want them to sire."

"Excellent work, my little half angel spy... Make sure everything goes according to plan... If Kallos shall fall taking Angel's life, so be it."

"Of course... Revolutionary Leader of Hell."

~ Sebastian's training Part II! ~

Sebastian looked around as he rose a brow. "What now?" He said, looking behind him to see the television screen as he turned his body around. ".... What.... The...?" Lucifer turned to the television too. "Wha...?" Sebastian looked at her. ".... I think this means we're running out of time, doesn't it?" "...Yep" Sebastian gritted his teeth. "Then come on... You have to make me transform somehow! .... How would Deon say how one learned to control they're demon form?" "Erm, well... They'd have to transform into it and.... Ugh, I don't know! He doesn't have on himself yet, he's just that powerful... Maybe ask Rin?" "How do I contact other people from a distance in this place?!" "Wait, I know!" Lucifer stood up and smirked. "Basically you have to go into your demon form and then keep your consciousness! You have to realize that you're in your Demon Form, AND then you need to try and grasp what you're doing." ".... How do I go into it first?" "Well, you go into it when you're angry, so I suggest make yourself angry then think of things to calm you down?" Sebastian sighed. "Hit me then! As hard as you can!" "You really want me to?...I might hurt you..." "Chill stabbed me last time... That was how he made me do it. It was the realization that I was going to die with regrets... I have to feel that again!" "F-Fine...." Lucifer grabs Sebastian, pinning him to the floor and squeezing her hands around his neck until he can't breathe.

Sebastian choked and tried to move until he fell limb for a split second... Then, like a bad omen... Lucifer was blasted away by a great force as Sebastian rose up on to his feet. His ears became pointy, his bat-like wings returned, an aura of fire now surrounded him, his eyes had gone demon-like and were now red, and his teeth were fangs. He let out a roar at her. Lucifer walk over to Sebastian and slapped him before pulling him close to her. Sebastian rose a hand to smack her, but... Was stopped as something started to overcome him. He struggled as he let out a violent roar, pushing her away as his aura of fire started to grow too intense to handle. Lucifer fell to the floor, rubbing her arm because it was burned. "Ouch. Sebastian?" Sebastian's flames soon turned to a darkish blue, his body undergoing another change as his power was increasing dramatically... The entire room was starting to shake as Sebastian got down on all fours, his form continuing to change rapidly. Lucifer stood against the shaking of the room. She looked over to Sebastian, and spoke. "If Deon was here...." Sebastian's blue aura suddenly went away in an instant - a loud boom going around as he slowly stood up... Now back in his demon form as he smiled at her weakly. ".... H-hey." Lucifer looked at Sebastian, stunned. Then she grinned. "You DID IT!". She leaped at Sebastian and wrapped her arms around him in joy. "YES!"

"Ow, ow, ow, owwww......" He mumbled. He patted her on the back as he smiled weakly still. "Did I miss the party?" "What party?" "Never mind..." Sebastian returned to normal as he panted. "... Do you feel.... Weird?" "No.... Why?" He looked at his hands. ".... I feel..... Different.... Like I'm suddenly lighter.... Stronger.... Like I have more.... Control now." "That's because you did what you needed to. You gained control of your Demon form now!" Sebastian crouched down for a moment. Then he jumped up into the air by seven feet, spinning around in ten flips as he did before landing down on his feet. Lucifer grinned. "You're catching up to Deon, Seb~" Sebastian grinned and got a serious look on his face as he got into stance. Then he vanished and she could see him, racing around the room at super speed. He continued this as he raced around fifteen laps in just a few minutes before stopping before her. "I told you..." He said as he caught his breath. "Faster... Lighter.... Stronger..." He put his hand out as two objects were caught under his control and suddenly were pulled to him and began to spin around him. "More in control!" He then quickly sent them back to where they were as he grinned. "I never could do that before..." Lucifer smirked. "Oh man, you just took a level in Badassery!"

Sebastian then entered into his demon form - this time his wings just appeared, his eyes not turning red as they shifted into a demonic look. His fangs appeared to be shorter then they originally were, and his ears were less pointy. He then looked at her. "Punch me!" Lucifer smirked and whacked Sebastian across the face. Her fist stopped as it hit his face, his skin now looking harder and rougher for a brief moment before he smacked her arm away. "Come on - keep 'em coming!" Lucifer grinned, repeatedly slamming her fist into numerous parts of Sebastian's body with gusto. Every time her fists were stopped by Sebastian's hardened skin - this time he kept it up instead of putting it away until she was done punching him. Only then did he take it away. And with a wink, he blended in with his surroundings. Lucifer looked around in shock. "W-Whoa, you can do this now!?" He reappeared behind her as he smirked. "Invisibility... I was told once by a certain demon that I had the power over fire, invisibility and to make my skin harder like a shield's... But he said I couldn't obtain them..." He stopped to make three fireballs appear in front of him as he put his hands in his pockets and used his improved telekinesis in his demon form let them spin around his body at a fast rate. "... Until I learned control." Lucifer grinned. "Nice tricks you have there, Sebastian."

Sebastian pulled his hands out of his pockets as he slammed his hands above his head together - letting the fireballs vanish and his form return to normal. ".... Twice... That's my limit, huh? I guess I'm ready for tomorrow... I'll need my gloves to be enhanced though." "Oooh, snazzy outfit you'll be having~". Suddenly, a knock came at the door to the room, and Lucifer went and opened it. Standing there was Aurora, a smirk on her face. "Invitations have arrived~" With that, the Flower Youkai handed Lucifer two envelopes, and strode off down the Hall. "What the?" Sebastian blinked as he jumped over, landing by her as he looked at them. ".... When does it say we need to be there by?" Lucifer handed Sebastian one letter. "It's been personalized. Someone knows things about us." Sebastian took it and opened it, looking at it as he blinked. ".... Son of a bitch!" He said as he put it back in and slammed it on a table, the table almost breaking. Lucifer was eyeing her letter, when her face fell. "How did they....?"

Sebastian walked over to a screen at this and began to touch it until he brought out the WDL's wanted list. "... HA! Number 19 - idiots. I should be 17 now~" "Don't get too cocky Sebastian. Your letter had something on it that only you should know too, right?" ".... Uh, yeah, something like that." He was trying to get his mind off it as he looked over the WDL list. Lucifer turned to Sebastian. "Watchya looking for, Mr 'I'm so tough I can take on anything now'?". Lucifer smirked. Sebastian indicated for her to come closer. Lucifer walked over to Sebastian. "Hm?" Sebastian put an arm around her shoulders and held her close as he pointed to a profile on the screen. "This guy.... Let's take him on and bring him back!" "Blaze, eh? She's a woman, you know...." "...... WHAT?"

~ Sebastian and Lucifer V.S. Blaze??? ~

Sebastian walked to the town next to Lucifer as he looked over at her. He smiled as he looked forward - he was now in his modified gear, which didn't look all that different from when he fought Drayne. "Soo, how will we know she's --" He stopped as he saw a red glow appear from the town. ".... Never mind." Lucifer smirked. "Let's dance with her, shall we?" Sebastian smirked. "Let's~" He walked into the town with her. As the two found the girl standing there, her hands lit on fire, she spoke. "Sebastian and Lucifer, correct? Let's get this over with, shall we? I've always had this BURNING desire to meet you~" Sebastian rose a brow. "Are you a mind reader?" He asked calmly. Blaze grinned. "Nope, my Mistress just knows you very well~ She knows more than anybody else does, Seb~" "Wait..." Sebastian narrowed his eyes. ".... Do you know Lunatic Red Eyes?" Blaze grinned. "Maybe, maybe not. I might tell you if you beat me~". Blaze grinned, throwing a wall of fire in the direction of Sebastian and Lucifer. It was only a few seconds later that.... "We're surrounded by a ring of fire. There's no escape". "..... Hm. Interesting. Tell me, what rank are you?" "Heh, I'm always holding back, ya know... In reality, I'm beyond those... 'Ranks'.". ".... I meat like E, D, C, or whatever the heck you are." "I told you, I'm above them. Although most people seem to think I'm an..... A".

"So, a Demon Queen, huh?" He looked over at Lucifer and held out his right arm. ".... Weapon form, please." Lucifer smirked, turning into a small spear of light that quickly grew solid, falling into Sebastian's hand and fitting there perfectly. "Let's do this, Seb!" Sebastian smirked and held out the spear in front of him, making it face horizontally. ".... Tell me, miss Queen of Fire.... Do you know of what I can do with this weapon?" Blaze simply grinned and looked at Sebastian. "Of course I do. She used to belong to my friend, after all." Sebastian grew a serious look on his face. "... That wasn't what I was referring to..." He said as the winds began to pick up with a strange eerie feeling to them as the fires around them changed to a shade of purple, growing up and becoming wild as Sebastian's power began to rise. Blaze smirked. "You're not very bright, are you?.... Have you forgotten all about the Phoenix already?". "... I know Deon.... But what about him?" He asked. Lucifer spoke again. "Wait... You know Deon!?". Blaze grinned. "Oh yes. I do. We're both of Fire so it's only natural. But... He also told me that you would win. I'm betting I can prove him wrong!". Blaze suddenly lashed out, flames encircling the entire area and sending unbearable heat all around them.

Sebastian closed his eyes. ".... You are a fool.... Because I learned.... How to control my power!" As he shouted this out, all the flames that were made by Blaze vanished as an aura of fire briefly appeared around Sebastian as his appearance began to change. Blaze smirked. "Sebastian. I am aware" Suddenly Blaze's Demon form vanished, leaving a human girl standing in her place. "Call me.... Mokou" Sebastian's aura of fire vanished as now he was in his demon form - his bat-like wings spreading out, his ears and teeth changing, the spear in his hand now having red hair around the neck of it to where the blade connected with the rest of the spear as it looked exactly like that of a flame's. The blade also would feel hotter as he furrowed his brows. ".... Mokou? Lucifer, I need info here." Lucifer stayed silent until... "N-No way.... You... You're!-" She was cut off as something burst from the ground, a condensed blade of flame shooting right at Sebastian. "Ha! You let your guard down, scrap metal!" Lucifer growled. "Shut up! What's happened to you!?" Blaze just grinned. "I'm just having a little fun, is all~" Sebastian furrowed his brows as he vanished from sight, letting the sword of flames pass by as he reappeared by Blaze's side. "Now that wasn't fun."

Blaze spun around, sending a boot straight into Sebastian's face before leaping backwards and flipping into the air. Sebastian rose up Lucifer as he blocked the kick with it, but was sent sliding back as he stopped himself and look up at Blaze. He concentrated as when she would land, a car would be sent flying down at her. Blaze landed, looking up just in time to see a car heading her way. She didn't have time to duck so she threw herself onto her back and stayed there until the car passed, rolling backwards when it was clear. Sebastian furrowed his brows as he pushed the damaged car forward at her. "Really, is this it?" Blaze leaped over the car an towards Sebastian, and as soon as she was close her arm turned into a blade and slashed him across the chest. "Ha!" Sebastian felt his clothes being ripped through easily as he stayed there for a few seconds... Before smirking. If she looked closely at the cut hole, she would see no cut was made - only a mark against his hardened body. His skin returned to normal as he used super speed to enhance his speed as he thrusted Lucifer at her left shoulder. Blaze barely had time to dodge, and Lucifer caught her in the shoulder lightly. "Heh, not bad kiddo, Deon was right about you!" Blaze flipped backwards before landing and changing her right arm fully into a blade. "So, any questions you need me to answer?" Before Sebastian could speak, Lucifer did.

"How did you get your Human Form back, Mokou?" "I'm curious how you know Deon and know Lucifer..." He furrowed his brows as he tried to remember... Mokou grinned, before using Sebastian's distraction to tackle him to the floor. "You want to know, do you? Why is that? Do you even care? Right now Deon's rotting away in a Dungeon being forced into god knows what because he cares for you and the other Children!" "SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" At this, a ball of fire was sent colliding into Blaze's chest. Blaze was sent flying back, flipping in the air a few times before landing on her feet and watching the wound heal. "You know what Deon IS ,right?" Sebastian got up to his feet quickly as he watched the wound heal easily. "....A phoenix of sorts. Are you the same or are you just some kind of advanced fire demon that I'm not aware of?" "Maybe you'll find out later, hmm? Like I said, if you beat me I'll answer your questions" Blaze grinned and waggled her finger, indicating for Sebastian to attack her. Sebastian instead took this time to slowly get into a stance. ".... Mind telling me some things here Lucifer?" "Oh yes Lucifer, please do~" Lucifer spoke to Sebastian. "Waddaya want to know?" [color=#8000BF]"Who the hell is Mokou?" "......... He wouldn't want me to tell you" "..... Is that how it is?" "Wha?" Sebastian slowly aimed Lucifer at Blazye, a fire for battle appearing in his eyes.

"Your father was a great man Sebastian... But you are not nearly as powerful as him. In order to do this, you will have to learn to control your form later on, and when you do... You must bring out that which is your father's blood in you. For you see, your family has always yearned for battle. But they can not do this without one thing... The willpower to fight. If you can not achieve that which your father has passed down on to you.... You will die." Blaze looked at Sebastian oddly. "What?" Sebastian remained still, and Lucifer could feel something coursing through her suddenly.... Sebastian's strength. "Are you willing to trust me?" "Sebastian. I've been willing for a long, long time" "..... Then lend me your strength, as I am doing the same with you." Lucifer laughed. "Let's do this then. Let's show this chick what we're made of!" Suddenly, riveting power coursed through Sebastian. "Sebastian, we can beat her" Sebastian got a serious face and used his super speed to dissapear. A few seconds later, five Sebastian's would be seen running around Blaze. Blaze simply grinned, sending out a wall of fire that encompassed the entire area they were in. All five Sebastian's vanished at this as the real one appeared above Blaze, pointing Lucifer down at her as he sent down a ball of fire on her. Blaze flipped out of the way just in time to miss the fireball, sending her own straight at Sebastian and turning her arm into a blade again.

"I... I can't let him down. Even if...." Sebastian thrusted down Lucifer at this, thrusting the tip of her blade into the ball to stop it as he struggled at this. He gritted his teeth as he let out a battle cry, blasting out fire out of Blaze's as he landed down on his feet and charged forward at her. Blaze look up and shouted, throwing herself forward and shifting into her blade form, aiming straight at Sebastian.... Sebastian stopped for a brief moment as he spun around Lucifer and waited, holding her in a stance as he watched the blade coming down at him. ".... Wait for it...." Blaze shot forward at blinding speeds, aiming right for Sebastian's heart. She'd burn straight through him if she had to! "Yaaaaaa!"
"..... Wait for it..........Now." He said as he used Telekinesis to briefly halt Blaze in place, sending enough force into her to stop her long enough for him to move Lucifer and then use her to smack away Blaze. Before Sebastian could do anything however, a hand reached out and grabbed Blaze, and a figure shortly followed, flipping straight over Sebastian with Blaze in hand and slashing him down his back before landing far away, crouching. "You've wasted enough time here, Blaze"

~ Clue to Omega's Identity I! Three users of fire meet! ~

Sebastian fell down on to a knee as he gritted his teeth. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shiiiiiitttt. I wish I could regenerate now." Sebastian forced himself to stand as he turned around to look at the figure. ".... And you are?" The figure stood up, the mask covering it's face shifting into it's usual shape, the pure black robes covering the rest of them blowing slightly in the wind. "Who am I, you ask? Have you heard of.... Omega?" "While training, we saw what you did in Tokyo... You're pretty fast, I'll give you that." "What a sight..." A figure said as he stepped down on the broken car Sebastian had used earlier, spinning around a sword in his hand as he looked at the four of them. "... I get to meet the strange Omega and I get to capture the target." With that said, Eppenos of Flames pointed Baphomet in they're direction. "Tell me. Who's flame is the strongest among us?" Using his free hand, Eppenos created a small red ball as he fired it at Sebastian. Sebastian's eyes widened as he quickly move to the side of it, thinking he had avoided it. But then, he felt incredible heat build up behind him, and looking back...

.... He watched as an entire building blew up in flames. The top half of it being completely turned into ashes while the bottom half's pieces were sent flying in directions. "Lucifer.... I need info. Who the heck -- no.... What the heck IS this guy?!?!" "Which one?" "THE ONE WHO JUST SHOT THAT AT US?!?!?!" "Oh do go on and tell him." Eppenos spoke and walked forward, the car behind him bursting out in flames as Eppenos neared them. ".... I've been dying to meet you, Sebastian Thomas." Omega simply stood still, observing the scene. Lucifer spoke. "Eppenos of Flames...Shit. He's Brenhin's kid I think" "Brenhin?! I'm not meeting that asshole again!" "Ahh, so you did meet my father in hell..." Eppenos spoke and drew out another sword. "I believe you will know this by it's name... The Wandering Blade." "Aaah, finally. I can smell Phoenix blood already!" "Wandering Blade... Is the boy strong enough to be your new host?" "NEW HOST?" "Hmmm, he is... manageable..." "Very well.... You can have him then." With that, Eppenos threw The Wandering Blade at Sebastian at blinding speeds. Sebastian could only watch in horror as it was getting closer then he could avoid or block...

Suddenly, Omega grasped the Wandering Blade before it could hit Sebastian. "Eppenos of Flames. You must not interfere with us" The Wandering Blade's black tendril lashed out at Omega, but they found no safe place to grasp. "Wandering Blade. You are now mine" Omega then pushed the Wandering Blade to Sebastian's neck and pointed Blaze at Eppenos. "Leave. Now." Eppenos chuckled at this. "Incorrect, Mr. Omega." Snapping his fingers, Omega felt fire explode in his hand as The Wandering Blade was now flying through the air while being on fire! It quickly landed back in Eppenos' hand as the flames quickly faded - not a single burn mark could be seen on it. "I have my orders... You will not intervene, Mr. Omega. Unless you want to take our fight elsewhere?" Omega simply remained still. "My Mistress does not like interruptions, Eppenos. You are currently interrupting." Eppenos stabbed The Wandering Blade into the ground. "Very well... Let us go elsewhere, but.... I will leave the boy with something. If you shall win against it, you may take it back to your silly little base. But if it wins, well... You know the outcome." And with that, Eppenos vanished and reappeared in front of Omega, a fiery portal tearing opening in front of him as Eppenos forced his knee into his back and roughly sent him into the portal, following by Eppenos being sucked into the portal into hell as it vanished.

After this, fire appeared all over The Wandering Blade as a skeleton rose up out of the ground. It let out a dangerous howl as fire covered it's form, the skeleton taking grip of The Wandering Blade as multiple black tendrils covered the skeleton until it formed into thick black skin like hardened lava. It's eyes then glowed - The Wandering Blade then took control. "..... Shit, what just happened?" "What just happened?... Heheheeheh... HAHAHAHAHAHA! Your death has just begun!" "Lucifer, he's about to come at us! WHAT DO I DO?!" Before the Wandering Blade could react, a portal the same as the one Luna appeared from appeared, and a blade cleaved the skeleton in two. "How amusing." "Shush, Blaze" "Make me!" "....." "S-Sorry...." Sebastian blinked as he saw The Wandering Blade fall to the ground, he swore he heard it cursing like a mad woman. Out of the portal stepped Omega, followed by Blaze before the portal closed behind them. "I mean come on, did he actually think he could touch you? What an idiot!" Sebastian walked over to them as he blinked. "... Um.... Thank you, I guess? I don't know how to feel right now because my back is bleeding." Sebastian looked down and lightly kicked The Wandering Blade, who cursed at him with many repeated curse words being thrown in the mix. ".... Do I really have to take this thing back with me?"

".... Wait, that guy -- Eppenos or whatever.... What happened to him? Is he coming back?!" Omega looked at Sebastian, and shook his head. "That is up to him, not us." Sebastian sighed and looked down at the Wandering Blade, then back up at them. "... Can I borrow some sort of magic sheath or something to carry that thing with? I don't trust it that much." Blaze smirked. "We still have a fight to finish, don't we?" She suddenly shifted to her blade form and Omega grabbed her, pointing her at Sebastian. "I thought you guys were leaving!!" Omega vanished momentarily, slamming Blaze onto Lucifer. "Come on kid! Make your older brother proud!", shouted Blaze. "OLDER BROTHER?!" He shouted as he was sent flying back, stopping himself at the last moment. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!" He vanished and sneakily took The Wandering Blade, who's black tendrils threatened to engulf him. "Screw off." Was his only response as he charged at Omega with both Lucifer and The Wandering Blade, using both of them to send multiple slashes at Omega. Omega simply let the slashes hit him, and Blaze laughed. "Is that it!?" Sebastian went into super speed mode and doubled the amount of slashes he sent. Omega simply stood, waiting for Sebastian to stop. "Pathetic..."

~ Omega's Relentless Pursuit! ~

Sebastian pointed the sword at his chest and Lucifer at his head as he blasted out two fire balls into him, aiming to tear off some of his body parts as he did this. The fireballs shot towards Omega, but just before they hit they... went straight through him. "Is this all you have, Child?" Sebastian panted as he exited out of his demon form and fell on his knees, putting Lucifer beside him as he forced her to transform back. "... Stay here." He mumbled as he slowly got up. "Yo kid, just stay down man! Hahahahaha!" "SHUT UP!" He shouted as he stabbed the Wandering Blade into his chest, and backed away a few steps as he watched the black tendrils come out. He had no idea whether his plan was going to work or not - but maybe this could distract him for a bit... Possibly. Omega simply grabbed the blade and pulled it out of him. "It went straight through me. Because I wanted it to." Omega then threw the blade at the ground with enough force to send it into it up to the hilt. "Whoa..." He said and ran over, grabbing the hilt as he watched the black tendrils break off and land elsewhere... He slowly pulled it out as he looked it, feeling it shake as he gritted his teeth. Then he put an arm around Lucifer as he vanished with her, reappearing a few feet behind Omega as he used the Wandering Blade to cut through a tree near by, letting it fall in the path that was in front of them as he ran off with Lucifer and The Wandering Blade in hand...

"Omega.... Wait.... I saw Omega.... Isn't he in Deon's spot now?" Lucifer sighed, "Yeah, and his companion...." Sebastian stopped by a tree as he sat near it, panting as he looked at the trail of blood he left behind. "... Fucking hell." He said as he kept a firm grip on the weakened Wandering Blade. "Eppenos is 9... And this thing, this Wandering Blade... Is 32.... Call Rin now, tell her to -- uggghhh.... Send someone to bring us to her! NOW!" Suddenly, the tree blocking the path was thrown into the air and slammed into a building nearby. Omega stood there, Blaze beside him and grinning. "Sebastian Thomas. We are not finished yet." Suddenly, Omega was grabbing Lucifer from him and hoisting her above them with one of his tendrils. "She will die if you...." "If I try to run? I know... I'm not moving." He said as he stood up, getting into a stance with the Wandering Blade. ".... Come." He said. Suddenly, Omega grabbed his mask, and sunk down to one knee. "W-What the..... U-Uuugh.... N-No...." Blaze turned to him. "Omega, what's wrong!?"

Sebastian used his super speed at this and spinning around, he sliced through the tendril as he caught Lucifer using his free arm and backed away a little with her, keeping the Wandering Blade pointed at Omega. Suddenly, another tendril shot out at Sebastian, followed by another and then another, until there were at east twenty tendrils around them. Blaze had kneeled down next to Omega and was shaking him. "Hey, Hey! Keep calm, Omega! if you fail she'll kill us all!" Sebastian kept slicing at them, but they kept growing and growing. He gritted his teeth as more then fifty shot out at him as he prepared for it, until...

... All of them were suddenly sliced, the parts cut off burning away into nothing as a figure landed in front of Sebastain, a bright light covering him as he held a shield in his right hand, a sword in his left and he wore battle armor made for Angels. His wings spread out as feathers came flying down over the scene. "Omega, right?" The half angel asked him. Blaze looked up in shock, and glared. "Michael, right?" Omega stood, thanking Blaze and staring at Michael. "You are...... Michael A Malachim..." Suddenly, from around the corner strode Aurora. "Oh, so it's you two, is it? Ahh, how funny that I would end up observing a fight between you two~" "I am Michael A. Malachim... And as guardian over these two, I advise you to leave. Or..." He shifted his right foot back as his sword changed into a spear, and he pointed it at the two. "... I will be forced to fight you and Blaze. To the death." Omega spoke. "You are a fool then." Blaze scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. 'To the Death' sounds fun and all, but you look boring." Michael furrowed his brows. "Lucifer... Cover the boy and yourself. Now!" Lucifer nodded, grabbing Sebastian and pulling him behind the tree, but Aurora stood in front of them, opening her Parasol. "Nothing will get past this". Omega and Blaze simply stood there. Michael stabbed his spear into the ground as he remained where he was, looking up as he nodded before looking back at them.

".... Heaven's Guidance."

And out of no where, a giant ray of light came out of the clouds, slamming down on the three as a bright light covered over them, sending gusts of wind crashing everywhere around them. Aurora smirked, shielding both Sebastian and Lucifer along with herself with her Parasol. The ray of light vanished, and Michael grabbed hold of the spear and pulled it out of the ground, the spot he had stabbed healed quickly as he looked over at the town - seeing the tree that had been cut down earlier having been restored. He then looked over to where Omega and Blaze had been standing. Omega simply stood there, staring down at Blaze who was pulling herself to her feet. After she had accomplished that, she coughed up some blood and glared. "For an angel, you sure are an ass!" Omega grasped Blaze's arm, and her body began to glow. "T-Thanks, Omega." "You are lucky you survived... I did not use the true form of Heaven's Guidance. I advise you to leave... Now." Omega simply looked at Michael. "Blaze, leave. I do not want you dead." Blaze looked at Omega. "B-But what about you!? Don't take him on alone! We did what we needed to do, now we ca-" Omega pushed her roughly, and she fell into a tear in reality which quickly shut. Omega looked up at Michael. "You are very aware of whom you are facing, correct?" "Are you?"

At this, a light portal that lead to the Renegade Base opened up behind Sebastian, Lucifer and Aurora. "Rin, Aurora... Get those three out of here. NOW!" Aurora nodded, looking at Omega once before pulling Sebastian to the portal. Rin came out and grabbed Lucifer, hurrying her along into the portal as well. The portal then was sealed shut, as Michael felt a breeze pass over the two.
".... May I have this dance?" Omega simply stood there, a blade of indescribable material forming in his hand. "Michael A Malachim. You are proving to be an annoyance. My Mistress does not like annoyances. You may make the first move, if you dare." "Mistress this, Mistress that... I think I'm more worried about you not keeping up to you're new reputation!" With that, Michael charged! "And you are turning out to be less than what I expected, fool!" With that, Omega lunged towards Michael, his sword drawn.

~ A moment of peace? ~

Meanwhile... Sebastian felt something being applied to his back as he flinched. "Ahhhh.... That hurts..." He mumbled. "He will be fine as long as he lays here... I advise someone keep watch over him until then." The doctor said as he rose up before walking out of the room. A Renegade soldier brought the Wandering Blade over to a device brought in that had been made by Scott for Demon Swords. He thrusted it in as he watched it slowly come under the effects of the freezing machine. "That Scott, I tell ya miss Rin... I don't know where we'd be without him around." Rin sighed and spoke. "Yeah, he's been a MASSIVE help to us. We'd be pretty screwed without him haha!" Rin looked around, seeing Lucifer in the distance. "I'll be right back." "Sure thing miss Rin." The Renegade soldier responded. Rin proceeded over to Lucifer. "How's Sebastian doing?" Lucifer looked up. "He's doing fine... Listen, I need to tell you something..." With that. Lucifer leaned in close to Rin and whispered in her ear, causing the Kasha to recoil in shock. "W-What!?" Lucifer nodded. "Don't tell anyone though. It could be the death of us if you do."

"Miss Rin, Lucifer..." The soldier spoke out. ".... We have an issue or two." Rin and Lucifer turned around, looking at the Soldier. "Yes?" "Yeah?" "Well, it's just... The boy deserves a prize of some sort for bringing in that weapon, but uh... Only a leader or co-leader can make that official, so um..." Rin nodded. "Let's go, shall we?" ".... Sure... Lucifer, the boy wishes to ask you something." With that, the Renegade soldier walked away with Rin. Rin walked off with the soldier and Lucifer nodded, walking to the place where Sebastian was. "Sebastian?" Sebastian struggled to find the words. ".... I'm pretty wrathful, right?" Lucifer spoke. "Yeah... Why?"
".... Let me make a pact with her.... If it'll help keep her alive." "Match up with who? Satan?" "Who else?" "Oh... I guess that would make sense... Heh..." "I'll gather all of the sins later on and we can all do our pacts then. I'll have Rin lead you through it as well." "Thanks..." He smiled at her weakly.

"So uh miss Rin... What is he going to get for this then?" The soldier asked her. Rin sighed. "I have no idea... Usually Deon or Michael handed out the awards but...." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "What do you think he should get?" "I don't know! Perhaps... Maybe summon one of the Sins? They would probably know what Deon would give the boy." "I think the sins are busy.... Ugh, I have no idea...." Suddenly a voice could be heard. "A day off to go to a Party, maybe?~" And as it finished speaking a gust of wind blew an envelope straight into Rin's hands. "What the...? W-WHA!? HOW THE HELL DID-!?" Rin glared. "This 'party is...." "Oh dear! .... It's an omen, miss Rin! Are you going to listen to it?!?!" Rin put the envelope in her pocket, and sighed. "I might not have a choice." "Oh deary dear!"

Epic Battle! - Michael vs Omega Part I!

Michael charged at Omega and clashed with him - his spear colliding with his sword as he struggled against him. Omega simply stood, hand outstreched as if he wasn't struggling at all. "Is this it, Michael?".
"You know my answer". He outstreched his left hand, sending a ball of holy light at Omega. Omega smirked, watching the ball fly through his body, and he drew back his fist and sent it straight into Michael's chin. Michael was hit and sent flying back. But he flipped around and stopped himself, glaring at Omega as he did. "... Hmm, odd. I thought only Deon was this strong. So... Tell me, 'friend.' How long have you and that girl been Phoenikoi?". Omega was simply silent, before vanishing suddenly and reappearing above Michael, sending his foot straight down at the Half-Angel. Michael grabbed Omega's foot at this, glaring at him as he did. "... So, you knew I knew. It figures... Who is this Mistress you work for?". Omega simply floated there, and moved his hand up to his mask. "I will not tell you her name, but her title. You may call her the 'Mirage Puppeteer'. Allow me to take off my Mask for a moment". Omega reached up and plucked off his mask, grinning. "Do you recognise me, Michael?". Michael felt his eyes widen as he saw him and jumped back at this, glaring at him as he did. "..... You son of a bitch".

Omega cocked his head to the side as if he was confused. "You.... know me?". Omega blinked, his eyes changing. "How do you... know me?".
"... So, you don't remember. A pity....". He said as he brought up a hand to his face. "Then allow me to ring a bell....

....With my full power."


Omega sighed. "The Mistress has a habit of erasing my memory. I guarantee you I am no longer who you think I am. Tell me... How do you know me?".
"..... Tell me..... Does the name *Spoilers* ring any bells?". Omega was silent for a moment. "....It seems... familiar..... B-But I can't let you distract me! The Mistress sent me here with a definite mission, I never fail her". Omega growled and his eyes turned back to their prior color. "Tell me, why do you think I am here?".
"Is it because of the boy?" Omega had pushed the mask onto his face, and his eye locked with Michael's own. "Sebastian?".
"Yes... You were after him...". Omega laughed, a hollow, dead laugh. "Did it not occur to you that this was all a ploy to draw a certain person out from hiding?".
"..... A certain person? And is that person standing here right here?".
"They were foolish enough to put others before themself. Therefore, they shall pay with their blood". Omega remained still, unmoving, as if something was stopping him. "....I don't know who you are talking about.... But I'll show you something you never knew about.... Something hardly anyone knows about". At this, a bright holy light surrounded Michael at this. ".... Something when we met, I never showed you or told you about to make you happy..." Omega remained unmoving. "So we HAVE met before.....".
".... Yeah.... You'll remember soon enough....". With that, his holy light shot up into the air as it went sky-high, seperating clouds as the sky glowed brightly at this.

Omega vanished suddenly, slamming his knee into Michael. His knee hit Michael at this, but his knee was stopped as Michael locked eyes with Omega, his eye color changing to gray as he suddenly sent one hundred punches in just three seconds at him. Omega grinned, watching as every single punch went straight through him. "Like I said, they cannot touch me". Michael appeared behind Omega as he said this, sending three hundred punches every five seconds at him. Omega simply sighed, and flung his leg backwards into Michael's face. Michael grabbed his leg at this and struck two fingers into his leg. He then pushed Omega's leg away as he jumped back. Omega simply spun away, cracking his neck. "Is this all you have, Angel?". As he finished this, his leg suddenly glew as an explosion of holy as tall as a tower appeared where Omega just was. When the pillar of light vanished, Omega was still standing there, untouched. "Pathetic... Tell me about this... 'Deon' of which you speak".
".... Deon?" Michael spoke, his tone having changed entirely. ".... The only thing I will speak of, is to eliminate the demon in front of me."

"Why am I not allowed to be curious about someone for which you seem to care. If he is stronger than me, then.... I wish to be able to match him! So that nobody can harm those that I care for, either!". Michael slowly began to rise into the air. ".... I am Archangel Michael! All demons shall fall at my hands if they threaten Heaven and The Holy One!". Omega sighed. "Why must you act when I am trying to allow you a chance to escape? I wonder how this... 'Deon'... saw you. I doubt it was in a good light".
"I do not know of who you speak of! I never made a pact with any demons, they are filth! They are disgusting, like you! After this, I will personally wipe out all demons currently on Earth!". Omega smirked. "And what you are saying right now is being broadcasted straight to your Renegade Base, my silly Half-Angel friend".
"A half angel exists?!?! Who dares to make such an ugly creature! I will personally wipe every one of them out! DO YOU HEAR ME RENEGADE BASE?!?! The Archangels will march down on your door step and DESTROY YOU!!".

Omega simply sighed. "Mistress, cut him off". Suddenly, all of Michael's power vanished without a trace. Nobody knew how, aside from Omega, and he spoke. "You are an idiot to let your power overwhelm you like that, Half-Angel". Michael suddenly stopped as he fell to the ground, completely unmoving as he lay there dying. Omega looked down, pointing at Michael and having a tendril shoot out and grab him. Omega took off his mask as Michael neared him and spoke. "Silly, silly Michael. Why did you do that?". Omega summoned another tendril and stabbed it through Michael's stomach, drawing it out again and then aiming it straight at Michael's throat. "Do not inform them of my identity, Michael. Or my Mistress will kill us all". Omega sent the tendril forward and- "OMEGA, I COMMAND YOU TO HALT!". The tendril stopped immediately, and Omega turned to the figure that had shouted.

"Lady Aurora?".

Aurora sighed, and spoke. "Put Michael down. He is not to be killed tonight, that is an order!". Omega's mask had vanished entirely, and his expression was that of an unsure child. "B-But Lady Re-". Aurora slammed her parasol onto the ground and Omega nodded quickly. "S-S-Sorry Lady Aurora! I'll make sure to put him down gently too!". Omega quickly erased the tentacles and dropped to the ground, placing Michael down gently. Omega kneeled down onto one knee and spoke. "Have I... Have I displeased you, Lady Aurora?". Aurora simply sighed, then smiled. "You are too eager to serve, Omega. Please, leave now. We have an event to prepare for". Omega nodded, and stammered slightly. "Y-Yes, Lady Aurora". Omega stole a look over at Michael, and then turned to Aurora. "Lady Aurora.... May I ask you something?". Aurora's eyes opened in shock. "You usually never ask anything of me. What is it you require?". Omega looked straight down, and spoke softly. "Who is.... 'Deon'....? That Half-Angel spoke of him, and I am... curious about him...". Aurora smiled. "I shall inform you later". Omega nodded, and then vanished. Aurora turned around, waving her parasol in a circle and opening a portal to the Renegades Headquarters. "Medics, please!". Quickly, the Medics rushed to Michael's side, picking him up and carting him off to the Infirmary. Scott looked over at Aurora as he saw her. ".... So you know something about Omega then that would of helped saved Michael back there?". Aurora ignored Scott, looking at the place where Omega had last stood. "Omega, you poor, poor child". Scott simply furrowed his brows and walked away.

An Interesting Morning! - The Purgatory Ball! Part I

It was morning... Everyone was either up or just getting up. Scott stood in Michael's place, tapping his foot impatiently as he looked around. Next to him was Rin, it was unknown if Quake would be attending this event or not. Near them were the gathered seven shikigami that served Deon. Near Lucifer could be seen Sebastian, who was trying his best not to move as much as possible. If anyone else was there, they should either be arriving, already there or.... Sleeping. Quake strode into the room, surprisingly sober looking for someone who was mostly drunk. "What're we here for, Scott?". Quake looked around at everyone who was there and sighed. "I've also decided to take you up on your offer". Rin looked at Quake, noticing her apparenty sobriety and grinned. "Good to know!". The Seven Sins all looked at each other, except Asmodeus who was busy giving S certain looks. S was blinking as she sat next to Asmodeus. "... I didn't know you could do that". Asmodeus simply smirked. "I can do a lot of things, S~".
"Yowsa~" S responded. Claire remained patient and relatively unamused by the antics of the others, sitting off to the side. In her lap, she stroked Blanche carefully. Ash and Noir did not appear to be in attendance.

"Ah yes Quake, have a seat". Scott responded. "Is everyone here then?" He asked. Given the silence, it could be assumed that was the case. Suddenly, Aurora stepped into the room, her green hair wet and slightly messy. "I must apologise for my lateness. A few ruffians thought it would be entertaining to sneak into your Headquarters and trample your Gardens. As a Flower Youkai I had to take action". She looked around and smiled. "We seem to be missing some people".
"They will be informed later either way... Have a seat then Aurora". Scott looked over at Rin. "I assume we are ready then...?". Aurora nodded and thanked Scott, taking a seat and placing her Parasol away. Rin looked at Scott and nodded. "You go first".

Scott sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "If anyone has any questions, speak them up when you can". He said before looking over some notes. "... First off, last night appears to have revealed a new threat to us. While Sebastian and Lucifer were out for whatever reasons they were out for..." Scott took this chance to glare at them both briefly, watching them flinch back before looking back to his notes... "... They encountered one of the newest threats to the world - Omega. We do not know who this person is, why he is causing such havoc on the world or why he attacked them last night. But we do know that he appears to have been after some fun, and he appears to also be very... Very powerful. Enough to take on Renegade Leader Michael Malachim last night and survive. Michael is currently recovering from said fight and could not be here today. They also encountered Eppenos of Flames, who was hostile and had the Demon Weapon, The Wandering Blade, with him. Eppenos' location is currently unknown, but the demon weapon was brought in last night and has been confined since".

Rin sighed, and spoke. "A demon calling himself Kallos, who we have identified to be called 'Balarus' thanks to Aurora, took over the television networks as I am sure you all are aware. He intends to attack the Main Base of the WDL, Angel D'Brightaine's current location and kill him in cold blood. I believe Kallos summed it up quite nicely indeed". Rin coughed and spoke again. "Hell has declared War on Earth".
"With this said... Michael has decided upon a plan last night that will assure everyone avoids a mess... He has formed two teams out of the children and has ordered both new teams to go out today, find Kallos and his men, and eliminate him before things get out of hand. The teams are as follows - team one will be of Sebastian, Claire and Kane. The other will be of Ashley, Keilani and Mireya. Michael threw in some last orders before going out to fight Omega last night it seems - he has ordered Lucifer to go along as a bodyguard for Sebastian and his team. Any questions so far?". Aurora raised a hand. "Yes?" Scott said.

"What do you plan to do if Omega strikes again, Mister Turner?".
"That depends on who he attacks... If he attacks Kallos - we shall leave it at that. If he attacks Angel, we may have to go in and help. If he attacks us -- well... Everyone will have to defend this base with they're lives I assume if worse comes to shove". Aurora sighed. "If only you knew". Aurora cleared her thoat and then began. "No doubt most of you have noticed by now that in some way you have ended up with an envelope in your possession. Inside said envelope was an invitation to something called the 'Purgatory Ball'. Also inside said envelope was something that only you should know. If only you should know it, then how did the Host of this Ball know about it? And aside from that, we have the issue of Omega. One of my passive abilities is to be able to 'Scan' things and find weaknesses or information about them through psycho-linking. In basis, I invade their mind and find information about them. Only people with stronger mental capabilities than me, and those are very very few, are able to stop it. Even then I can still get their name or at least one fact about them". Aurora sighed. "Omega.... Omega was completely unreadable aside from his power. He is.... He is unlike anything we've seen before. Unlike anything that I have seen before. If worst comes to worst, he and his partner, this... 'Blaze', will have the upper hand".

"Of course... Thank you. Now then, Rin.... Would you like to address about the seven sins or does anyone else have any questions first?". Silence filled the room, and Rin simply nodded and spoke. "Since Deon has been incarcerated by the WDL, the Seven Sins will be needing hosts to connect with, so that they don't, well, die. We need people that are heavily involved in one of the seven sins. Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony and Lust". Rin gave Asmodeus and S a look. "I trust that Lust has already found a partner?". S smirked. "Guilty as charged~ We ran off last night and got married! Then we ate hot dogs and tried out our new beds~" She snickered at the joking. "I bet you did...". Rin sighed. "I hope you heard every groan!" S commented. Rin just rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Anyway, any questions?".
"WHEN YOU THROWING THE BABY SHOWER?!?!".

Rin just glared. "Moving on, Scott?". Scott sighed. "Right.... If no one has any more questions - who wants to volunteer for one of the seven sins? Besides Lust."
"GO TEAM LUST!"
"SHUT UP S!!!" Quake put her hand up. "I'll go with Pride".
"You? Prideful?" Scott said sarcastically. Asmodeus smirked. "You are a pretty boastful bitch, ain't ya?~". Quake growled. "Just because Deon isn't here doesn't mean you can be an idiot, Az". Quake also glared at Scott. "Least I'm not a stuck-up douche like you!"., she said under her breath.
"What was that?" Scott asked. Quake grinned. "Oh, nothing".
"Lucifer... Do you accept?" Lucifer didn't even hesitate before nodding.

"Good... Meet up with her now and do the pact -- bonding --" Snickering came at this. "SHUT UP YOU TWO LUSTING PRICKS!!!" Rin looked at Scott. "What's next on the agenda? The envelopes?". Scott remained silent on this note. Sebastian spoke out at this. "I'll take Satan".
"OH THANK GOD -- I mean.... Satan, do you accept?" Satan looked at Sebastian, scoffed and nodded. "I figured you were Luci's". Sebastian got up and walked over to her. "I am... But this doesn't mean anything between us. This is just to keep you alive".
"What're you all up in my face for, shorty? You wanna start something with me, huh?". Scott cleared his throat. "Remember, everyone.... This isn't a donation or anything of the sort... It's to keep four people alive". Sebastian glared. "Just do the pact thing already".
"I repeat.... FOUR PEOPLE. ALIVE! NOT DEAD!".

Satan nodded, grabbed Sebastian and dragged him off like Quake had done with Lucifer. Claire patiently watched the show between the 'Sins' and there new compatriots, before nodding to herself. "Should it be acceptable, I will volunteer for Leviathan".
"Leviathan?" Leviathan looked over at Claire, and spoke. "Sure, but.... You don't seem very envious to me.... I envy you so much if you're hiding it!".
"Envy comes in many forms." Claire responded calmly, though the admission of some connection to the embodiment of jealousy was no easy task. Leviathan nodded once, muttering something about envying Claire's intellect before nodding and accepting. "We have Greed, Gluttony and Sloth left... Any volunteers?".
"If I may inquire - Who do each of you feel you would be most suited to forming a link with?" Claire looked to the remaining sins.

The three sins were quiet. Belphegor spoke up. "Rin, you really want to go back to bed don't you?". Rin nodded and motioned for her to come over. "I'll take Greed, if you don't mind me~". Aurora stood and bowed politely. Mammon grinned and joined her side. Rin spoke. "Gluttony, anyone?". It was at that moment that one mister Shinjei Kintaro walked into the room with a bucket of chicken in hand. Rin smirked. "I think we found our man, and he brought Chicken!". Scott blinked before adjusted his glasses at this. "Mr. Shinjei! What did I tell you about bringing food in front of the guests?!".
"Well I heard Beelzebub needed someone gluttonous and.. *Nom*... She...I... I eat a lot...*Nom* You know?".
"And this chicken is so good, too!". Beelzebub practically leaped over to him and started eating too. "Oh god it IS!".
"BEELZEBUB! Oh god, I'm just glad the sins aren't wearing they're traditional outfits... Or Mr. Shinji would be lustful right now".

"GO TEAM LUST FOREVER!!!"
"QUIET DOWN NOW S!" Rin shouted, her voice echoing through the room ferociously. "OKAY EVERYONE, SHUT UP!". Needless to say, everyone talking shut up. "Now, the ENVELOPES, SCOTT".
".... Right.... The envelopes..... I assume from what Aurora said everyone got one. Inside, it should say.... Something only you would know. The unusual thing is, we do not know who sent it, why or when we are suppose to go.... That's all I know - Rin, anything else to bring up?"
"......Something weird.... Just happened...". Rin looked up, listening to something that nobody else could hear. Aurora simply smiled. "It seems that the Limousine has arrived....".
"Now of all times? We can't go now....". Rin pulled out her envelope, checking it over again and exclaiming in shock. "What the.... 'Time will be stopped in the Outside, so don't fret you won't miss a beat'?". Scott shook his head and left without another word. Sebastian blinked as he helped Lucifer up and walked with her. "Well then, I guess it's time for us to all leave?". Rin laughed and left too. "I feel it would be prudent to leave some behind. For security reasons. We have no idea whether this could be a trap or diversion." Claire stated astutely, a little surprised at how eager everyone was.

"Michael will be here. He will report to us at the first sight of anything unusual." Scott stated before leaving. Asmodeus smirked. "He got an invite too~".
"I don't care if he did or not... If it weren't for Omega, he wouldn't be recovering right now."
"I wonder what this Omega guy IS anyway?".
"We're about to find out..."

An Interesting Morning! - The Purgatory Ball! Part II

Rin had gotten dressed pretty fast, so had Quake and the seven sins. After a long ride in the limousine across lands that seemed.... so weird. So magical and yet they existed. Rin had left the car first just in case someone had it in for them, and she gasped. "This place is so....". Aurora stepped out of the Limousine. "...Home~". Rin looked at Aurora, who simply grinned. "My friend lives here, I call it home~". Rin looked back as Quake exited the Limo, letting out a 'Whooooo' as she saw the building before them. It was impossibly large, with the entirety of it being hidden behind a massive fence and gate. From where they were, they could barely see half of the mansion. "What... What IS this place?". Sebastian got out as he blinked and stood next to Lucifer. "..... Well fudge..." He mumbled. Scott looked at it with awe, unable to say anything. Mireya was not in the best of conditions at the moment; however, the invitation that she had received anonymously was not something she could ignore all together. As a result, she cannot help but go to where this invitation had told her to come. Soon enough, she had arrived to a place that she could only describe as something similar to wonderland or those scenes in children books. "Why is it that things get weirder and weirder...?" She mumbled mostly to herself. In any case, it was good to know that she had managed to borrow a dress to attend to such a formal function. Her clothes were still back at her apartment. Stepping out of the limousine, she was a simple yet elegant vision. She wore a simple pastel colored chiffon evening dress while her hair was left falling around her in a curly waterfall trend.

Keilani was rather shocked and at the same time curious about the sender of the invitation. Its content was prodding to her inner doubts and questions. There was no way she would allow this chance to pass her. It was her opportunity to get some answers. Thus, even with Dr. Hyde's protest due to her health, she borrowed a dress from Rin and attended the said ball. Upon arrival, she was stunned by the scenery. It was something that should only exist in one's imagination. Regardless, she slightly shook her head and focused at the task in hand.

It'd taken some time to convince Ash to join the others, both the idea of a ballroom event, and the fact she felt she had better things to do leading her to refuse the trip. Instead, she'd intended to train up in the Gym in preparation for her next spar with Claire. Eventually however, the enveloped secret, along with Claire's insistence had brought the girl along - though neither of the siblings had the time or wardrobe to dress up for the occasion - Not that Ash would ever wear a dress unless forcibly made to do so. Somewhat like a spoiled child, Ashley folded her arms and hmmphed every now and then as she followed along with everyone. Rin and Aurora lead the ground, Aurora pointing out objects and things of interest, and Rin 'oooh'ing and 'aaah'ing at every thing she pointed out. Eventually, Aurora led them to a rather large dome-roofed building further away from the massive mansion, and she spoke. "This is the Ballroom". Suddenly, a lunar rabbit bounced out in front of them and grinned. "Welcome back, Lady Aurora!". Aurora smiled politely and bowed. "Merry meet, Luna". The Lunar Rabbit grinned and spoke. "I'll let the others know that you're here!". After that, she bounced off into the building.

Aurora turned, and spoke. "Our Host is.... odd. Do NOT displease her". "I knew it. It's the same bunny who killed Drayne AND the one who appeared last night..." Mireya followed the group while taking occasional glances at her companions. It was qlso quite entertatining seeing Rin's reactions and the one named Ash acting much like a spoiled child. However, her attention was more focused at the one who invited them here. Normally, she would have tossed the invitation aside if it wasn't for its hidden message. As such, she was more here for the host than anything else. It only further her suspicions when she heard Sebastian mentioning about the bunny girl that appeared about killing someone. Keilani was walking behind the group while she looked around her. Somehow, it reminded her of the story Cinderella. In any case, she should sense tension among her companions. She was not sure if it was due to the eerie environment, or they also received messages that forced them to attend.. or Aurora's words of warning.

"Maybe it is a good thing Sebastian and Lucifer did something reckless last night..." Scott admitted. Remaining quiet and to the back, Ashley made a point of glaring at the overtly cheerful rabbit, along with eyerolling at the 'Best Behaviour' Comment. She wasn't exactly fond of this host, nor what they had written - So her mood was already rather sour. Sooner they got their answers, the sooner they could leave - that was her opinion on the matter. Suddenly, the door opened. And standing there was.... "Good evening, Lady Aurora". Aurora smiled. "It is good to see you again, Ronove". Scott rose a brow. "Nice to see you again, Ronove...". Ronove nodded and bowed. Mireya looked at the newest newcomer. It seemed that this was a familiar one as Scott knew the person, demon, or whatever it might be. She really didn't care about the pleasantries. She just wanted to know what was the purpose of making them come here. Actually, she preferred to sleep at this time. Sebastian blinked at this. "I'm just wondering who -else- got this invitation..."

Keilani looked at the one called Ronove curiously. She wondered if this person was the host or not. Scott shook his head. "If I say anyone, I'm gonna get jinxed". Mireya released a sigh. "Enough of the pleasantries". Ash nodded. "Finally, someone speaking sense. Let's just get this done." Stepping up, she began moving to head past and inside. Keilani looked at Ash and then to Mireya with concern. They both seemed annoyed at something. She hoped it won't anger their hosts. Suddenly, it was dark. Somehow the sun had just vanished, a beatufiul scarlet mist taking over the skies. The only light coming from the Ballroom itself. Once everyone was inside, the doors closed by themselves an the lights dimmed. In the middle of the dancefloor, a spotlight illuminated. Two figures stood there, a familiar blue-haired figure and another figure, his features covered by a mask. A very familiar mask. "Welcome to the Purgatory Ball! I do hope you enjoy your stay!~ This party.... Is to DIE for!~".
"I hope that wasn't a serious joke." Sebastian mumbled to himself.

Mireya raised an eyebrow at the events. "Is this some spoof episode or something?" She looked around to see if there was some hidden cameras. This was just getting too ridiculous for her tastes. "Let's just get this over with people". Bellfoar groaned to himself as he tapped the table. "God damn it all Golem, STOP BEING A DUMBASS AND USE A SPOON!". Golem scratched it's head as it look at it. ".... Does Golem eat puny spoon?". "HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW?!" Bellfoar slammed his face into the desk at this. A familiar voice rang out to Sebastian, and it's figure followed. Blaze stood there, a playful smirk on her face. "About time you guys got here, we've been waiting for you~". Sebastian rose a brow. "I see you recovered from last night... Looks like you'll be ready for when round two comes!" Blaze grinned. "You think you can handle me, eh Seb?~". "You!" Ash growled, stepping forward towards Belfoar with a glare. Oh, if someone had told her HE'D be here, she would've jumped at the chance to attend this little ball. Striding with full purpose, she was intent to start a ruckus here and now...".

Sebastian smiled at this. "I could of beaten you if Omega hadn't shown up!". "Ah don't bother Bellfoar." Itzhet told him as he patted his back. "Just relax and enjoy the party!". Blaze laughed. "Oh my, you really have NO idea who I am, do you?". "What Itzhet said." Kalhman said as he took a drink. "Oh lords and heavens, this drink is to DIE for!~" "I CAN'T RELAX WITH THIS IDIOT HERE! LOOK!" He sends a lightning bolt into Golem. "NOTHING!!!!!" He does it again and slammed his face into the desk again, banging his fists on it. "Party pooper." Was all Yami said. "I know enough that I could win." Sebastian said with confidence. Mireya watched the interactions between Sebastian and Ash. It was quite interesting to watch. Although, she was not here for some sad sob stories or rivalry ones. She should have just ignored the invitation as it was probably just some joke. Without another word, she turned her back and decided to head for the exit.

"Oh hello there, Ash, how are you tonight?". The voice snuck out from beside the girl. If she looked, she would see none other than Frank Enrique Steinbolt. "You got here late". "NOW, I MUST INTRODUCE YOU ALL TO THE ONE, THE ONLY.... OMEGA!". "You said it Yami." Balarus of Kallos spoke. "I just became an international terroist and here I am - enjoying a party like I am young again~". "You ARE young, Kallos". "So you are correct Yami!" Keilani looked around nervously. She was sensing a lot of emotions and noticed Mireya heading for the door. Everything was getting a bit confusing and the emotions flooding her were starting to be abnormal to her. "Ahhh, Omega returns..." Eppenos spoke with glee. "I wonder how he is at full power..." "I'm not interested in you." Ash practically spat, shoving the 'Doctor' aside, ignoring the declaration and various other happenings about the hall. She had a personal problem with that lightning jerk, and she'd take the chance here to settle it. "So Ash, I wonder how Deon is doing, hm? Or maybe.... Your Father?".

"What's this?" A sinister voice spoke as Ash felt an immense pressure crushing down on her as she felt like her entire body was being slammed down on by a giant boulder - three footsteps sounded like they were galaxies away as a figure approached her. In front of her stood a figure who's face could scare even the most terrifying warriors of hell... Rhanksar stood in front of her, glaring down at her as if he was ready to just erase her entire being. "Do you intend to ruin the Mistress' party with unneeded conflict?". Aurora strode up to Rhanksar, and smiled. "Rhanksar, what a pleasure to see you again!~". Mireya was out of the door as she released a sigh. She should have never listened to that cosplaying woman or demon whatemachacallit. It would have been better for her to have stayed out of these things. "Now, how do I get out of this place?" She mumbled to herself. Ash winced a bit, trying to force herself back up, shooting glares all around. Now she had a few people she needed to deal with. Belfoar or whatever his name was threatened her family - Now this crazy doctor from the train mentioned her father. Then this Rhanksar guy, the one fratenising with Aurora, was in the way of both of those. With a grunt, she tried to move, but the weight was just a bit too strong for her, so she instead simmered in anger on the floor.

Luna met Mireya outside, and smirked. "You don't leave until you're allowed". Rhanksar looked away, and the pressure was lifted off of Ash - as if she had just come back out of space. Rhanksar smiled as he turne to face Aurora. "Ahh, Lady Aurora..." He bowed from the waist slowly at her. "Good to see you are alive and well..." He looked behind him. "Allow me to introduce you to my son... Saulkur". "CAN'T TALK NOW DAD, GETTING THIS WONDERFUL DRRIIINKKK~". Rhanksar glared in his direction. ".... OKAY, I'LL BE RIGHT OVER! JUST, GIVE ME A MOMENT!". Rhanksar turned to Aurora's direction, rubbing his forehead as he did.

Keilani was not certain of what was happening as she went to Ash with worry. She looked at Rhanksar. "Please let her go". Mireya looked at the bunny girl from earlier. "There is no way I'm joining the circus de freak inside". "Oh don't mind me, Rhanksar! I'm well aware as to how disobediant a child can be. I DID raise a few of my own when Youkai-Human Relationships were allowed. A shame, though, that they stopped it". Aurora looked to Keilani with a warm smile. "She is fine, Rhanksar heres is just... stressing, I assume?". Luna looked at Mireya with a glare. "Well still, you can't leave. It's physically impossible". Keilani was thankful for this as she gave a grateful smile and looked at Ash with concern. "Are you all right?". "Someone who is so weak she can't even stand before my presence decided to look into my eyes and try to stare me down..." Rhanksar admitted. "A pity she failed at it". Aurora placed a hand on Rhanksar's shoulder. "Do not worry, now, introduce me to this son of yours, will you?". "Give him a moment... Let him have his damned fill".

"OH MY GAWWDDD, I NEED MORE OF THIS IN ME!". Mireya returned the glare back at Luna. "So, it is not mentally impossible isn't it?" With that said, she went towards a nearby pillar and plopped down on the floor without regard to her dress. "I'm sleeping. I am tired."Ash sat up, brushing herself down as she looked to Keilani before spitefully glaring at Rhanksar. "Yeah, I'm fine... I just can't stand this place... I am not acting friendly with these guys." She stated resolutely, folding her arms, but not backing down from Rhanksar. "Well now, isn't this party just fabulous?~". The blue haired girl waltzed over to them, followed by Omega. "And who are you may I ask, young lady, to speak to your fellow Guests like that?~". Her smile was polite, but her tone had a bitter, cutting edge to it. Elsewhere, Claire had moved over to meet a certain doctor. "This is the last place I would hope to see you." Her tone was laced with disgust, her usual friendly demeanour lost to Frank. Keilani nodded in understanding. She cannot blame Ash for acting like so. "I understand. Just please don't be too reckless...". Saulkur stumbled over as he stopped by his father's side. "HE-LLOOOO HOTNESS! I am Saulkur, king of the -- *hiccup* -- drunks, apparently...".

Frank turned to Claire, and smiled. "Oh, hello there miss Clade. Claire, right? Aaah, last time I saw you was when you were.... Oh my, such a long time ago". Frank smirked, and spoke. "I am not here to cause trouble. I am here on request. Aside from my homicidal tendencies, I am still a doctor". Rhanksar felt an eye twitch. "I thought it was common decency to give your own name first in introductions?" Ash looked to the girl, the annoyance and taunting in her voice flagrantly ignoring Aurora's and Keilani's advice. "Just stay away from us. I mean it." Claire gritted her teeth, showing more restraint than Ash could as she walked back to the group. Keilani looked at the blue-haired girl that approached them. Somehow, she felt oddly about this person. she was not certain why. In any case, she grabbed hold of Ash's arm in an effort to restrict her and at the same time to show her slight feeling of nervousness. "Ah, so true! Allow me to introduce myself. You may call me Remilia~ Ash, right? Your brother told me MUCH about you. Well, not really~". Remilia smirked, her fangs showing. She held up her wineglass. "You may think this is wine, but you are wrong. I am a Vampire, you see. Although the fangs and wings must've made it obvious by now". She cracked her neck and tapped Omega on the shoulder. "Omega, introduce yourself properly~".

As for Mireya, she had decided to keep in peace far from the ballroom. There was no way she is going to join in other people's problems. She was no saint and definitely not that nice for starters. She had too much problems on her own anyway. Closing her eyes, she began to slowly drift to slumber. As she said that, he took off his mask, revealing a young man with brown hair, his eyes both grey and speckled with star-like dots of gold. Her hair was of medium length, and it was slightly curly, too. "I am... Omega. I do not have much to say for myself other than I am....". Omega looked down at this. "Milady, may I take a walk outside?". Remilia nodded, and gave him permission. "You may~". With that, Omega left the Ballroom. "And Omega's gone - party pooper." Saulkur said. "Son, don't you have to go to a corner and cry somewhere?"
"... Wha --"

At this, Rhanksar, without warning, punched Saulkur clean in the face. It sent him flying, and into a corner he went. "... Give him a few, he'll be just fine." "Friendly fellow..." Ash muttered, before remembering she was supposed to introduce herself. "Just call me Ash. Though don't expect me to talk to you that much." Ash replied bluntly, finding the woman in front of her... distasteful, for some reason.An arm weakly rose up and waved. "I'M OKAY! JUST... DRUNK! AH-HAHAHAHAHAH -- OWWWWWWW!!!"
"Told you."

Keilani was thankful that Ash seemed to restrain herself. As such, she released a sigh of relief. Then, her eyes widened in surprise as Rhanksar punched his son. "Oh my! Will he be fine?" Not a moment too soon. Aurora let out a small laugh, and spoke again. "So, how's life Rhanksar?". Saulkur stood as if it was nothing. "The usual. I see my other son has decided to join... I see he has become more powerful then my reports said he was currently. Tell me - what did he do last night to obtain this sudden boost that can make him jump seven feet in the air?" Remilia smirked at Ash's comment. "Well then, don't mind if I throw you into Purgatory, eh?~". Remilia laughed lightly, and then left, suddenly vanishing into thin air. Keilani wondered if Mireya was fine. She did leave without saying anything to any of them. As for the one named Remilia, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand. "I wonder who she really is...". Blinking a moment, Ash reached forward to the spot where Remilia had once been, before sighing, rubbing her head and turning to Keilani and her question. "Don't know, don't care. She's just a creepy old vampire, so my plan is just to ignore her". "And Remilia's drunk again -- fan-fucking-tastic." Yami said as he shook his head.

Omega was wandering around outside without his mask when he came across Mireya. He briefly wondered who she was, but.... He was torn between speaking to her and simply walking past. "....". Keilani looked at Ash for a brief moment and nodded. "It is best to do that". And then, Illusions. Well, only one in particular. She tapped Ash on the shoulder and grinned. "Long time no see, hmm?~". Mireya was leaning comfortably on the pillar behind her. The dress sparwled on the floor like a pond underneath her. Her hair was still in a prim and proper manner with occasional strands of hair on her face. She seemed fast asleep as her breathing was both stable and even. However, the one thing noticeable about her expression was a slight twitch at the corner of her lips. Ash jumped a little, but quickly steadied herself, sighing and turning to face the 'principal'. "Well now this just keeps getting better and better..." She muttered, not exactly knowing where Illusion stood on the 'ally or enemy' side of things.

Omega simply stared at the girl for a while. She seemed to radiate a sense of wonder, but he felt... odd. As if he should just walk past quietly and not bother her. The more curious part of him decided that it would be fun to wake her up. "Darn...". So it was with that thought in mind that Omega was crouching next to Mireya, and tapping her on the shoulder gently. "I should at least give her a room...". Keilani looked at the person who suddenly appeared and surprised Ash in a very obvious manner. "You alright, Ash?" Then looked at Illusion curiously.

~ Before the Bellfoar Mini-Story... Deon VS Samuel! ~

It had been some hours since Kallos had waged war against the WDL. Deon had been mysteriously moved for the morning into a large empty pool-like room, strapped to a cross-like part in the wall where he had been tortured by some impatient WDL members. A lone exorcist wondered into the room, closing the door behind him as he walked to where Deon was hanging on the wall. "Hello, Mr. Morris." The masked figure spoke. "... I see you are in terrible conditions. Tell me - do you know what I am?" "A douchebag Exorcist, most likely." Deon smiled politely. "Whoever you are, you seem to know of me." "I've heard so much about you, I wanted to see you for myself. That is why I made arrangements for us to meet here. Alone. With no one watching but my one true superior..." Deon smirked. "And who would that be, I wonder?" Deon's tone was slightly mocking and had a sweet edge to it. "You know him already, the new leader of the WDL. But I am being rude - allow me to introduce myself..." With that, the Exorcist grabbed his mark and took it off, throwing it to the side as the exorcist looked up to reveal a familiar face to Deon... "Devin Namach, correct? My, my, what did they ever do to you?" Deon glared around the room, hoping to aim it at Angel. "Devin? I am not this Devin of which you refer to.... I am Samuel D'Brightaine - younger brother to Angel D'Brightaine - my superior."

"So I was right when I said you were a douchebag then?" Samuel glared at him. "Be silent, demon... My codename is Demon, just so you know... Since you will not live long enough to tell the tale any way - it was I who helped Angel take over. He called on my services - I owed it to him since he did raise me when our parents died... I may be adopted, but I still have honor to show!" Deon laughed. "Well if you are Devin, you are sorely disillusioned. If you are 'Samuel' then you are an idiot anyway." "I said silence! I am one of the chosen Seven - born in to this world to save it from the foul demon that rules over Hell! It was I who read Arthur's mind, I who pinpointed and plotted when and where he would be - I who took Excalibur from him and gave it to my brother and I who has since earned the right to fight for my brother!" "You're also an ass." "It's a pity I was not born a half demon... Angel saved my life because it was not my fault I am born the way I am. My mother was attacked before my birth by a demon, and the attack lead me to gaining demonic powers. Cliche, I know, but nontheless... I, Samuel D'Brightaine, who could not even acquire a Demon Form, have been given hope!" He then pulled out a syringe and smirked, pointing it at his neck. "Behold! The Chimera Sample! Given to me by my brother... I have been given another chance - I have been given the right to fight... Now, Deon Morris, prepare to meet you're maker!" And with that, Samuel stabbed the syringe into his neck, sending the demon blood into his body.

Deon simply sighed. "Can you at least untie me first, dumbass?" Samuel chuckled and pulled the syringe out, dropping it as he stepped down on it with a sudden increase in strength. "No.... I will enjoy torturing you as my brother watches you suffer from above!" And then, Samuel started to shake as he screamed out in pain, his veins glowing red as his skin began to tear off, his upper body starting to grow as he began to turn demonic. Deon sighed and grinned. "See where that gets you, eh?" The transformation continued as Samuel's eyes turned yellow, his body turning green as his body changed and finally stopped. The newly transformed Samuel smirked as he looked at Deon. "So... Monster. What do you think of my new form?" "You look like a demonic, overgrown green phallus." The demon Samuel growled as he went to punch Deon in the stomach. Deon laughed. Samuel let out a loud roar at this, using his Soundweaving ability to attempt to make Deon's head blow up. Deon grinned, shouting along with Samuel just to toy with him. "You bastard!" Samuel shouted as the pool behind him began to rapidly fill with water. Using his telekinesis, he sent three syringes of holy water into Deon's chest. "I have plenty more where that came from, monster!" Deon laughed, "Oooooh, so scaaaary!" Samuel rose his hand up at this, hitting Deon in the head as he would accidentally break Deon's bindings and send him crashing towards the ground. Deon slammed into the ground before rolling onto his feet and smirking. "Like I said. Dumbass."

"Three days I was trained! Three days Angel helped retrained me from the ways Arthur had taught me! I was always weaker then everyone else - I was the weakest of the children! But now I will become the second most powerful. And then, THE most powerful - once I have devoured you!" Using his Blinking ability, he appeared in front of Deon and aimed to stab him with the front weird-arm things he had grown. Deon smirked, vanishing using his speed and sending a punch into Samuel's spinal cord. Samuel, to his surprise, would use his Blinking and Precognition ability to appear behind Deon. "Fool! I can tell what move you are going to make before you even make it! You stand NO chance!" Deon vanished again before appearing on the cross, sitting there and laughing. "I knew you'd do that..." Using his Soundweaving ability, he shouted out as the cross Deon sat on would explode. "Soon you will drown in a pool of holy water! And then, I will EAT you! I am the superior fighter here - I AM --" Deon slammed his foot into Samuel's head, and pushed himself away before shooting a few rounds into the demon. "Too busy with your own gloating, eh!?" Samuel screamed out as he gritted his teeth in anger. "How can this be? I don't understand... I knew you were going to do that, yet I couldn't react?!? Impossible! I am Samuel D'Brightaine - the second most powerful Exorcist in the WDL! I know... I'll read your mind and BREAK IT!" With that, Samuel went to use his telepathy to invade Deon's mind.

Deon simply grinned, reaching into his chest and.... pulling out a Scythe. "Well if it's mindgames you want, it's mindgames you'll get~" "W-what is that? That isn't registered in the WDL files... Answer me, demon! Where did you get that weapon!??!" Deon vanished, slamming the Scythe into Samuel and throwing him through the massive window that was behind them. "Hooooooome Ruuuuuuuuuuun!~" Samuel screamed as he was sent flying. Samuel then reappeared flying in the room, screaming as he fell into the pool of holy water - as several pipes in the room broke and the water began to rise above the pool's level. Steam rose out of the holy water as all was silent... ... Too silent. Deon grinned, watching the water and twirling his Scythe. "Meeeeoooooow~" Out of the water rose a much larger monster - Samuel, having mutated, roared out at him as some of his body glowed red from the holy water. However, it's new harder body reduced most of the effects of the holy water, although it could still be seen somewhat harming Samuel. Samuel then went crashing down at Deon as he went to bite his head. Deon smirked, rolling out of the way and slamming his Scythe into the things head with a grin. "Bullseye!~" The scythe was stopped as it was stuck within Samuel's head. It rose up as it shook it's head savagely side to side, trying to shake off Deon and the scythe off. When that failed, however, it roared out before diving down into the holy water and began to crash itself into the walls of the pool - cracking them and beginning to break them down as water began to rapidly fill in the cracks it made.

Deon kept hold of the Scythe, pulling himself forward and pulling a Knife out of his chest before stabbing it into Samuel's eye. "Haha!~" Samuel screamed out as in it's rage, it went crashing into the walls at a faster rate as on it's third try it broke them down - sending Holy water crashing in where the breaking wall was. The other walls soon followed suit - the entire floor soon collapsing as holy water rushed in - the entire floor soon being replaced in just mere moments by the water. Samuel began to rapidly swim around in it's newer environment, keeping underwater the entire time. Deon was running out of breath, and he needed to get to the surface because of both that and the holy water. "Gah..." Deon grimaced, tugging on his Scythe and having it not budge. Deon growled before pushing off of Samuel and shooting to the surface. As he reached it he took in a massive gulp of air and readied his Knife. "Fuck...." Samuel swam around Deon rapidly like a shark who had just found it's new food. He growled as then it went deep down to the new floor before stopping and shooting up like a missile. It then leaped out of the water and rose up near the ceiling, almost crashing into it as it faced downward and went down towards Deon, opening it's mouth as it aimed to swallow him whole. Deon smirked, letting Samuel slam down onto him as Deon's knife pierced his jaw and sent a massive cut through his entire body on the lower side. "Ha!" Samuel screamed out as it continued hurling down deeper into the room. The room shook wildly as Deon could tell it hit the bottom hard. "Ouch, that sounded like it hurt. Might be time for me to leave, it seems...." Deon looked up and found Angel, waving to him before swimming over to the broken window and preparing to jump out. "Suckers~"

However, before he could, Deon was smacked away by something rising up as the whole room shook. Samuel, having mutated once again, now was even larger and his color had changed due to the over-exposure of the holy water. A loud shriek that shook the entire room was sent out as it dived down - preparing for it's next strike. Deon somehow managed to land on a large chunk of building that wasn't underneath the Holy Water, and stood up. He looked around, trying to find Samuel before the demon could attack him. "Underneath, probably." The room shook as quickly shooting out with new speed, Samuel rose up and destroyed the piece of the building as Samuel continued rising up until it slammed Deon into the ceiling. It then backed away as he went to dive again, however, when it's tail came near Deon, the tail would smack him crashing down towards the holy water. Deon stabbed his knife into Samuel's tail before pulling another out of his chest and slowly pulling himself up towards the Demon's head, every stab with the knife going straight through Samuel's skin. Samuel's roar underwater shook the entire room and it crashed itself into the bottom before rising up and spinning around, swinging itself around as it sent Deon flying into a wall, creating cracks. Then, Samuel prepared for one final strike as it rose out of the water, heading straight for Deon as it let out a loud roar, aiming to either crash into him, or devour him.

Deon grinned, waiting until the last moment before springing forward and pulling his Scythe right out of Samuel's head and slashing it straight down his spine. "Haa!~" Samuel roared out as his body went out of control, slamming into the wall as the entire building shook and collapsed. As Deon fell down, his body became tangled up in Samuel's shrinking body as both were sent flying as the holy water carried them away until they were on WDL common grounds - Samuel now normal and surprisingly healed, with Deon not far away. However, Deon would discover Angel's best men surrounding him as they were heavily armed and ready to take him down as they waited for Angel to come. Samuel, meanwhile, rose up as he shivered. "I feel cold... I feel.... Weak.... I don't understand.... It's impossible! The Chimera Sample... I was suppose to continue to grow stronger until I died! Why?! MORRIS! Explain... Explain why I am suddenly in this form again?!?!" Deon looked up, and smirked. "Overexposure to my awesomeness, maybe? Or a chemical reaction between the Chimera Sample and the Holy water?" Deon shrugged. "Maybe Angel expected you to die sooner." Samuel gritted his teeth as he went to use telekinesis to throw a rock at him, but... ".... No.... My powers.... My powers aren't working! No... Why?! Why can't I do anything?!" He tried everything he could try - but nothing came. "Morris! What did you do to me?!" Deon held his hands out and did Jazzhands. "Maaaagiiiiiiiic!~"

Samuel gritted his teeth, but then saw Angel come over. "Brother! My powers... They aren't working! HE has done something to me - help me! I need you're help to figure out why they aren't working!" Deon smirked at Angel, who simply sighed. "Escort Samuel back to his Quarters unless he has something better to do." Angel then turned to Deon. "Go ready yourself for Kallos, Phoenix." Samuel gritted his teeth as he ripped himself free of the others as they helped him get up. Samuel then limped over to Angel. "Brother, wait! I need to know - tell me why! You said if I killed Deon Morris, I would become a Paladin and receive fame and fortune, and then we would rule over the WDL together! You promised!" Deon smirked, turning to Samuel. "Pretty shitty offer then, since it's impossible to kill me. I'm immortal, and Angel trolled you hard." "SILENCE, WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT! If my powers were working right now, I would --" Thwack! Deon's backhand sent Samuel into a nearby wall and then through it, and he smiled. "So, what was this about Kallos?" Samuel felt himself suddenly bleeding - his pain worse then ever as he looked down at the blood, his body shaking as he struggled on the spot. "..... No..... It can't be..... I'm..... Only human?" He mumbled weakly before looking up at Angel and started to crawl over to him. "..... Bro-ther..... Help..... Me...." Angel simply clicked his fingers and the guards began to pull Samuel away. "Sir, if I make make a suggestion..." A Master Knight spoke, causing the two pulling Samuel away to stop and look at him. Angel nodded.

"I say we finish the boy off and collect his blood. He has obviously lost his powers - he is worthless to our cause. Look at him... One hit from the phoenix paralyzed him from the waist down!" "I am not paralyzed!" Samuel retorted, trying to break free of the grip of the other two. "If I may do the honors?" The Master Knight spoke, taking out a bow and a holy arrow at this. Angel stood silent for a moment before speaking. "Make sure to get him in the knee for me." "In the knee?!?! BROTHER, HE'S GOING TO SHOOT ME IN THE HEAD!" "With pleasure, sir." With that, the Master Knight took aim and closed one eye. "BROTHER?!?! BROTHER, NO! STOP HIM, I BEG YOU! I'LL DO ANYTHING! ANYTHING!!!" "Tell me when to fire." The Master Knight spoke out, now pointing inbetween Samuel's eyes. Angel nodded. "Fire." As the arrow left the bow, something cut it clean in half and then slammed into the neck of the Master Knight. Deon pulled the knife out with a tug and kicked the man to the floor. "Ass." The two let go at this and left Samuel as finally, Deon was restrained by several Paladin and Master Knight's, as Samuel glared over at Angel and sneakily went out of sight as he took the arrow from the Master Knight's hand. He then raced Angel as his back was turned to him, aiming to stab him in the back of his neck. "DIE, YOU HERETIC!!!!!!!!!!!"

Deon sprung into action, knocking away the men and sliding forward, his foot slamming into Samuel's own and sending the man into the ground. Deon quickly sat on top of him and pulled both his arms behind his back and pushing his knife to his throat. "Shush..." "LET GO OF ME, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!!!!" Samuel shouted, struggling as he gritted his teeth. "LET. ME. GOOOO!!!!!!" With the sound of air being sliced, Deon's eyes widened as he felt something slice through him. He looked down to see Excalibur's tip resting, embedded into Samuel's skull which it had sliced cleanly through. Deon blinked before holding his head. It wasn't enough though, because his entire upper body slowly slid in half. "The hell did you hit me for?" Angel smirked. "You don't die, therefore it doesn't matter what you go through." Angel motioned for Deon to be picked up, but Deon simply stood, holding himself together. Literally. Samuel's eyes widened, and in that one moment, his life... The life he thought was his... Flashed away and another life came before him. "....Hi.....Ka.....Ri....?" He mumbled before Excalibur was pulled out of him. And with that... Samuel was dead. And his body suddenly bursted with holy fire, as it burned away at everything that was once supposedly Samuel D'Brightaine. Flesh, blood, bones and everything else - destroyed in a moment. When the fires finally stopped - there was nothing but a permanent burn spot left in his place.

~ The Bellfoar Mini-Story begins! The first fight! ~

The two teams plus Lucifer all had arrived at the town... Standing in front of them were Bellfoar, Chill and The Jello Demon, all of them looking as though they had been waiting for them to get here. Bellfoar smirked confidently, Chill stood there looking calm and collected while not showing emotion, and the Jello Demon was busy staring at the sky as if bored by all of this. Bellfoar chuckled, making him the first to speak of the three. "So, the Children have finally arrived... I suppose you're here to fight us?" "Way to go Captain Obvious." Ash replied eyeing them over, and the surroundings. It didn't look like there was any people, or any traps per se... "Well.... Jello is the first opponent to be fought." At this, Bellfoar pushed the Jello Demon forward. "Huh, what?" He mumbled. "Oh right, whatever..." Bellfoar smirked at this. "Any volunteers?" "YEAH, ME!" Sebastian shouted out in response, taking a step forward. "I have unfinished business with that blue thing!" Bellfoar rose his brows at this. "Well... I guess that means Team Children is going up first. Kane, Claire, come forward and take a bow, would you kindly?!"

"That won't be necessary." Claire stated simply, taking a seat. "I have faith these two are quite capable of handling things for the moment. Consider this training." Commenting to Sebastian and Kane, the latter gave a nod, stepping up next to his partner. "I hope you've got as much confidence as her, because I'm scared out of my mind." Sebastian gave the Jello Demon a glare at this. "Fine by me... More Jello to beat." Mireya looked at the group of demons in front of her in a nonchalant manner. Actually, she was dragged her out of her bed and as of now is trying to figure out what is going on. As of now, she can compare to some showdown which she has no idea what is about. "I just want to sleep... Let's get this done..." The Jello Demon finally looked down at them at this. "I fought you two only a few days ago... I know how strong you both are, I can easily say... This is going to be even quicker then before." With that, the Jello Demon's fingers turned into blades. Shifting his stance back, Kane drew his blade, readying it above his head, prepared for battle. Sebastian watched as the Jello Demon began to walk towards them, slowly turning it into a jog before full out running on them. Sebastian looked to Lucifer quickly and smiled before looking back at the Jello Demon with a serious look. "Who follows who's lead?" Sebastian asked Kane.

"I'll move in first. Cover me." Darting forward, Kane moved in to meet the Jello demon halfway, eyes darting to each claw, prepared to slice or block them on reaction. Sebastian crossed his arms. "..... You could warn me when to cover you." He stated. The Jello Demon smirked as he stopped in front of Kane and rapidly began to stab each sword finger at him. Stepping back, Kane flipped his sword around, focusing before stabbing it cleanly into the ground. "Firewall!" A burst of flame shot up between him and the Jello demon, aiming to prevent the claws from reaching their target. Not only that, but hopefully it'd give Sebastian something to work with. The Jello Demon watched as it's fingers were burnt, only to swing it's foot around and slice them off, watching them dissolve away before reforming new fingers as the Jello Demon leaped away from the fire. "HA! Humans are only humans!" He stated as he landed and slide back a bit. "I can easily read every move you make, boy! There's nothing you can do to surprise me! I AM THE -- AGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" Faster then Kane could keep up with, Sebastian was suddenly in front of the Jello Demon, his elbow having been slammed into his chest and been thrusted out the back. The Jello Demon could only stand there in shock and pain as Jello-like blood dripped down Sebastian's arm. Bellfoar frowned at this and began tapping his arm nervously, while Chill merely blinked as his reaction.

Kane froze a moment, withdrawing his blade and watching Sebastian in awe. Sebastian pulled his elbow free as he watched the Jello Demon put his hands over the hole, taking a step back as his body now was shaking. "You done playing around now?" Sebastian asked with a deadly tone to it. Kane hung his head a bit in shame. He was being serious the whole time... "Done...? DONE?!?! YOU THINK A MERE HALF-BREED CAN DEFEAT ME?!?! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT!" With that, the hole reformed and little dots began to form on the Jello Demon's body, each of them looking like bullets. "Kane, I wasn't talking to you! I need you to get out those ball things you used on Chill before..." "Huh? Oh-uh-y-right!" Kane knelt down, digging about his bag for the elemental rosary. Retrieving the necklace, he stood up, holding the cross close to him. "Alright, just let me know what you need!" "I know you'll be confused for a bit, but trust me... I'm going to tire him a bit... When I give the signal, you attack his wounds. Got that?" "But what if I miss?!" Kane stated for a moment, before shaking his head. No, he'd trained for this. He wouldn't miss. He couldn't let Sebastian down. He was an exorcist. "I have faith Claire trained you... Just as I have hope you have faith in my new abilities.... Now do me a favor. RUN OUT OF THE WAY NOW!!!"

At this, the Jello Demon roared out and sent hundreds of jello-bullets at them. Kane blinked. Then dived, tumbling into the nearby shrubbery for cover before taking off at a run. At this, Sebastian vanished from sight again. He reappeared behind the Jello Demon and sent a kick at him, but the Jello Demon was ready this time as he stopped sending out his bullets and spun around, using his arm to block Sebastian's kick. Then the two began throwing rapid punches at one another, locked in heavy physical combat. Lucifer smirked, standing near Claire and speaking. "Ever since he got that upgrade, he's been so much stronger! GO SEBASTIAN, GO!" "He's certainly come a long way." Claire mused, continuing to scrutinize the battle unfolding. Mireya's eyes were somewhat hazed as she watched the fight. However, it was something that had gone unnoticed. Sebastian ducked from one of the Jello Demon's attacks as Sebastian used this opening to rapidly punch him in the chest. The Jello Demon groaned out as pieces of him were sent flying in multiple directions, Sebastian making multiple holes in his chest. Then he stopped and took a step back as the Jello Demon quickly began to regenerate back. During this, the Jello Demon formed his fist into a hammer-like shape as he slammed it down towards him. But Sebastian raised a hand and stopped it, glaring at the Jello Demon as the Jello Demon struggled to even push it, but felt nothing. Sebastian then knocked his arm away and sent a foot up into his chin, and at this, a short sonic boom occurred as the Jello Demon was sent flying several feet up into the air, before blasting back down just as quickly and then with the third hit, was slammed into the ground by Sebastian's foot on his head, creating cracks on the ground as he did this.

Sebastian stepped back at this as he watched the Jello Demon weakly rise, glaring at Sebastian as he went to form his arm into something else, but Sebastian quickly moved in and punched him in the face, caving his face in as Sebastian backed away again. The Jello Demon's face soon returned to normal as he struggled to keep standing. ".... You.... What did you do?" The Jello Demon weakly mumbled. "Oh, you know... I ate some weird looking pills." Sebastian commented, glancing around to see where Kane was. "PILLS?! ARE YOU TELLING ME YOU CHEATED?" "Don't crap yourself now... I was joking." "I can feel it... You're power.... With each strike you make, I am coming closer to understanding how far out of league we are..." "Now you get it? Good god, I'm so bored with you already... But at the same time I want to make you pay..." "Learning is good... material" Striding forward, muttering words of prayer under his breath, Kane stepped up, tearing off the beads of his rosary and holding them between his fingers. Finally, he stood close enough to the demon to throw them demon. "...Bring forth salvation to this tormented demon's soul!" With a violent crack, Kane chucked the beads down into an explosion of flame. "WHAT?!" The Jello Demon exclaimed, before being caught in this as Sebastian stood in place calmly, watching the explosion in front of him as he narrowed his eyes.

".... That looked like it hurt a lot." Sebastian merely said as it started to die down. Kane knelt down before the demon's smoldering body, closing his eyes and drawing a cross across his chest. The Jello Demon laughed crazily as the smoke finally cleared, his body covered with multiple burn spots as he wasn't even shaking anymore. Then, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell backwards and began to dissolve away. "Heh.... Nice work Kane." Sebastian then looked over towards Chill. Kane nodded, standing up. "You too." "So, you're next, right?!" Sebastian claimed. Chill smirked and shook his head at this. Sebastian rose a brow at this... Before a spear made out of Jello was sent at his left shoulder. Mireya's eyes returned to normal as she blinked a couple of times. With a slight half-step, Kane sliced the spear mid strike, holding his katana at the ready, prepared for any more deflections. "Hahahahahaha...." The crazy laugh returned, as in the distance a few feet away could be seen standing... The Jello Demon, with an arm missing and a portion of his right side gone. Smiling, he shouted over his shoulder to Claire. "You see that? I did it!" Kane seemed pleased with himself, while Claire simply nodded. Training his intuition was a wise move, however... "Don't let your guard down until your adversary is defeated."

The Jello Demon's arm returned as his smirk grew at this. ".... Yes.... Listen to the bitch." He said as his right side reformed as well. ".... Now... You've pissed me off.... It's time to -- UGH!!" The Jello Demon's body suddenly grew stiff as The Jello Demon gritted his teeth... Looking over towards Bellfoar, who was holding up a paper with a seal on it, the seal glowing brightly and obviously showing signs of it making the Jello Demon feel like he was burning. "..... Damn you..... Bellfoar! I'll kill you..... For that!" The Jello Demon said through his teeth. "You are a Shikigami serving Balarus of Kallos... You are a dog, nothing more to me. If you want, I'll just..." With that, Bellfoar generated lightning in his hand as he held his hand in front of the seal. "NO, STOP IT, NO! DON'T YOU DARE! BELLFOAR! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU UNTIL YOU CHOKE ON YOUR OWN BLOOD!!" "Then you will obey and listen to me." The Jello Demon glared darkly at him in response. "Good." Bellfoar's hand returned to normal as the paper vanished, and the Jello Demon collapsed on to his knees, struggling to breath.

~ The twist! Bellfoar's scheme! ~

Bellfoar then looked over at Sebastian and Kane. "Very well done boys... But I have a proposal to make. You see... The truth of the matter is, right now I am merely stalling you with these fights so that the bomb I have set up will detonate." "BOMB?!" Sebastian said, suddenly having a look of panic on his face. "You'll tell us what where it is and how to stop it right now you scum!" Kane shifted into an aggressive stance. Bellfoar laughed at this. "... It? You mean them, don't you?" Sebastian glared at him. ".... What?" Bellfoar smirked at this. "Right now... In every town close to the WDL is a bomb... Made by me. Each bomb will go off at the same time when I want them to... And every town will be obliterated, along with every stupid human in them right now." "Let me guess.... Even if we found them, we couldn't deactivate them, right?" Sebastian guessed. "Correct. The only way to stop them... Is to defeat me." Mireya looked at the one called Bellfoar. "Beat him to a bloody pulp then." "With pleasure." Ash commented, punching her fist into her hand. "I was getting tired of sitting back." Chill cleared his throat at this. "... Unfortunately, you will have to play by our rules. Bellfoar here can make the bombs go off at any moment, any second, any time... If you really want to test him - do it now." "You cowardly bastard!" Ash growled, gritting her teeth. "I assume that means you believe us enough not to pull any stupid heroic stunts." Chill stated, looking over at Lucifer at this. "... Ah Lucy... You know me not to be a liar, right?"

"Either way..." Bellfoar resumed for Chill. "... It's time to make a deal. Sebastian, Kane... If you want to continue, why not make things... Interesting?" Sebastian glared at him. ".... What is it first?" Mireya stretched her arms and looked at the boys. Bellfoar chuckled. "Glad you asked... Why don't you step out of the fight and leave Kane here to fight the Jello Demon alone? Unless, of course... You want me to blow up several children at once right now?" Sebastian clutched his fists at this and started to shake. "I accept the challenge." Kane stated, without hesitation. Mireya raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Do that and then nothing is holding us back by annihilating you now." Bellfoar glared over at Mireya at this. "... Excuse me? Care to repeat your words?" Sebastian gritted his teeth. ".... It's not just one town he has right now.... He has several.... Who knows how many they have bombs in! It could be dozens!" Mireya smirked. "Why are you deaf or short on the brain function?" Mireya looked at Sebastian. Bellfoar narrowed his eyes at her. ".... Do you want an example right now?! Huh stupid brat?!" "I am aware of that." Sebastian briefly glared over at her before returning his gaze to Bellfoar. ".... Claire.... Can you kindly tell her to shut the hell up?" Mireya looked at Bellfoar again. "If he does it. he loses his leverage now... And if anything happens to the people I care about... I'll eliminate your entire existence now." "Revenge will help you little when you're ruminating over your decisions." Claire stated, looking to Mireya. "For now, we play his game."

Lucifer, who had been glaring at Chill for a while, spoke. "Chill, right? Is that your new name? Come on, where did you 'creative genes' vanish to, dickhead?" Lucifer growled. "What's the point of being our enemy, huh? I mean, it's not OUR fault that Sebastian's straight!" Lucifer glared. "If you want to fight us, fight us because of something aside from being rejected by Sebastian." "...Did I hear that right?" Ash paused a moment, feeling a little awkward. Chill glared at her. "... So he told you, did he?" Mireya looked at Claire and then closed her eyes. "Revenge is not even on my top list." Despite saying that, she remained silent. Especially upon hearing the next statements. Lucifer took a step forward, moving between Chill and Sebastian. "Yes, he did. Fuckwit. Tell me, why did you really become a Demon. Tell me it's not because of what happened. Please! Jesus, give me a good reason! So what?" Lucifer scoffed. "You're just some lovesick psychopath that's turned evil because he couldn't get what he wanted? The fuck man? I mean, sure, you were cool and everything but I MEAN COME ON!" Lucifer looked down. "GIVE ME A REAL REASON! TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD! SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T MAKE YOU LOOK STUPID, ROB! YOU USED TO BE AN AWESOME GUY TO HANG AND CHAT WITH, AND NOW LOOK AT YOU! WHAT THE FUCK MAN! WHAT THE FUCK!" Lucifer shook her head and growled. "I'm not Satan, so I won't continue this. The fact is, you were still my friend until I found out that you became a... a Demon. No, not a Demon. Demon's can be good or evil, you've just become... evil." Lucifer simply glared, then looked away.

"IT WASN'T MY CHOICE!" Chill finally bursted with emotion. Lucifer turned back to Chill, and spoke with an icy, poisonous tone. "Everyone has a choice." "Really? DO YOU KNOW WHAT KALLOS DID TO ME?!?! THE MONTHS OF TORTURE AND PAIN HE PUT ME THROUGH?!?! ONLY FOR ME TO AWAKEN AND MY FIRST ORDERS BE KILL THE MAN I LOVED?!?!" Sebastian sighed. "... In case no one's caught on.... He likes men." "YES, YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE ROB! ALWAYS! YOU COULD'VE STILL SAID NO, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU GAVE IN LIKE USUAL! YOU USED TO BE STRONG, KIND AND... AND AWESOME, BUT NOW YOU'RE JUST A PUPPET ON ANOTHER BAD GUYS STRINGS! YOU USED TO BE INDEPENDENT, SMART AND CHARMING, NOW YOU'RE JUST.... You're just.... You're not even who you used to be anymore." Keilani remained quiet for the entire conversations. She was not sure what to do or say but she embraced herself. The burst of emotions were too much for her. She could feel as if it was hers which she doesn't understand why. Mireya opened her eyes and sighed. She was not that big on drama. "SHUT UP!!!!!!!!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HE DID! IT WAS SO SUDDEN, I DIDN'T ASK TO BECOME AN ICE DEMON - LET ALONE ONE! HE SAID HE COULD TELL ME WHERE I COULD FIND HIM - I AGREED, AND HE FROZE ME! THE BASTARD FROZE ME UNTIL I LOST MY HAIR AND BECAME A FREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Keilani stepped back further. She could feel her head about to burst. Mireya glanced at her and sighed. "YOU'RE NOT A FREAK, YOU'RE A DEMON JUST LIKE I AM! EVEN NOW YOU STILL HAVE A CHOICE WHETHER OR NOT YOU'LL OBEY HIM OR NOT! IF IT WAS ME IN YOUR POSITION YOU KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO! I WOULD TELL HIM TO GO FUCK HIMSELF, YOU KNOW THAT!" Before Chill could reply, Lucifer marched over to him and slapped him across the face. "AND DIE?!?! YEAH, NICE GOING! BUT I HATE YOU! YOU TOOK HIM AWAY - YOU STOLE HIS HEART! WHEN YOU LEFT, ALL HE COULD THINK ABOUT WAS LUCY THIS, LUCY THAT! EVEN WHEN HE RAN AWAY, IT WAS TO FIND YOUR STUPID ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAYBE IF YOU HADN'T COME AT ALL, I WOULD STILL BE HUMAN! BUT NO! ROB IS DEAD! NOW, STANDING BEFORE YOU, IS CHILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" And his eyes glowed bright blue as he was slapped, Lucifer could tell quicker then the others... He had a Demon Form. "Keilani, are you okay?" Mireya asked in a casual manner. She really has no interest with the dramatic banter going on. Keilani looked at Mireya and gave a rather weak smile. "I think so..." Lucifer didn't react much to Chill's change, she simply growled. "Yes. Rob is dead. I can see that now. You're not even like you used to be anymore. You're a pathetic, weak little idiot who couldn't handle being rejected... No, no. You're worse than that. You're like, the lowest form of Demon there is. You're not even a real Demon." Lucifer glared, and spoke. "What're you gonna do now? Kill me?"

".... Yes." And with that, a blue portal opened underneath them as both would fall into it before it closed on them. Sebastian narrowed his eyes at this. "Do not worry." Bellfoar stated. "Chill has only taken her some feet away to... Finish her off." Snapping his fingers at this, a gray portal opened near The Jello Demon and Kane. "... You two will go in there. Claire will follow to witness the fight - just in case things to sour." The Jello Demon responded at this, entering into the portal as he looked back at Kane as he was entering it. "You are lucky... You two will be the first humans to enter our base." With that, the Jello Demon vanished into the portal. Kane and Claire following suit before it too closed on them - Claire had seen the importance of the situation in entering the base, and Kane.... Well, he had a fight to finish with this prick. Mireya glanced over the events. "Then pull yourself together... it's about to get nasty." She warned Keilani. Bellfoar chuckled at this, looking over at the three girls as Sebastian walked off to the side. "Do not worry... He will only enter if you three are in trouble. So, with that said..." Bellfoar spread out his arm as lightning hit him, thunder sounding out afterword as the sky began to fill with clouds... ".... Let's do this~" Keilani's eyes widened in horror upon the sight of lightning an the rumble of thunder. She quickly held her head and crouched to the ground. Her body shivered in fear. Mireya looked at Keilani. "You okay?"

"Do you forfeit little lady?" Bellfoar said, taking a step forward as more thunder sounded out. Keilani didn't move from her position as she covered her face from everyone's sight. "Please..." Mireya stood in front of Keilani and narrowed her eyes. "Leave her alone." "Ha... This is too easy." Bellfoar stated, and charged forward!

~ Kane fights the Jello Demon! ~

The room had an empty feeling to it as they appeared in it. Around them were multiple holes in walls as the room felt too big to be a common room. They had been sent here for a purpose. They weren't given an idea of how big the base itself was, but the room was certainly around the same width as the town they had just left was. The Jello Demon stopped as he turned around to look at Kane and Claire. "So, Mr. Kane... Are you ready to die?" Kane gestured with a T symbol with his hands. "Uh, Time Out? I gotta consult with my coach." The Jello Demon blinked and sat down near a wall at this. "... Fine, do it." The two and the cat joined in a huddle, discussing the situation at hand. Nods were going around. The Jello Demon merely waited at this, tapping it's foot impatiently. "So uh, are there any rules Jelly?" Kane asked, sitting up a moment. The Jello Demon got up to his feet at this. "None that I can think of, no. Do YOU have any rules?" "Well... What happens if I win?" "Simple... I let you two go, and I'll show you to Kallos' room..." "And if you're dead?" Claire asked, Deadpan. "Then you cannot fulfill your mission... After all, only I out of the three of us know this base inside and out." "Soooo... How do I win?" Kane asked, scratching his head. "You defeat me to the point where I am unable to fight back... You'll see what I mean in a minute, but first... You are here to kill Kallos, I assume?"

"I'm here to protect people from harm. That's all." Kane had taken the time to step away from Claire and Noir, striding towards the center of the room. "Do you mind if I let you in on a little... Secret then?" "I'm listening." Kane nodded, having not drawn his sword. "Do you remember the bombs Bellfoar mentioned?" "How could I forget?" Kane muttered. "It's a lie, there are no bombs." "Then what am I here for? What's your plan?" Kane inquired. "We three are the distractions of the group... We are meant to fight until, well... The Renegade Base and the WDL Base have been completely infiltrated and destroyed. No doubt first the Renegade Base will fall, since Kallos plans on starting the attack early morning tomorrow..." "What?! Claire, we have to-" "Focus on the task at hand Kane. Do what you can, before attempting what you can't." Claire commented, calming him for the moment. Kane nodded, turning back to the Demon. "I won't let you do that." "Then let's make things interesting." And with that, the Jello Demon punched the wall near him as a tile of it broke to reveal a hidden lever. Grabbing it, the Jello Demon pulled it down as the entire room shook at this. Kane stumbled, but managed to hold his balance as he drew his sword. "What did you do?!"

The Jello Demon smirked as jello began to fill the room at this. "I think you know what I meant now..." With that, the Jello Demon ran past Kane and jumped head first into the jello. Then, a large amount of the room lowered from the rest in a pool-like shape as the jello began to fill the pool. "Uh, one of my rules is that you're not allowed to fill the room with Jello?" Kane stated feebly. "I think it's too late to make that rule now..." A much louder voice spoke, as a much larger version of The Jello Demon's upper body rose out of the growing jello, continuing to grow as more jello filled the pool. "Come on! How is this fair?" Kane whined, backing up some. "You should of reconsidered fighting a demon made entirely out of Jello then!" He spoke out before forming a sword from his body and pulling it out as the jello reached the top of the pool and stopped filling it at this. The Jello Demon then swung the sword it had formed from it's body at him. "Uh, Timeout again...?" Kane made the symbol before diving aside to avoid the jello blade, rolling once before taking off at a run. "Oh for the love of... Fine..." He pulled the blade up as he crossed his arms, waiting. Kane went back over to Claire, both discussing again for a brief while. "Would it be alright if you got rid of the pool? You can keep the jello, but uh... I need the space to run around." "So you want to drown in my jello?"

"Can't you just make it part of your body and make a nice flat floor?" Kane pleaded, putting his hands together. "I really don't want to swim in Jello..." ".... You think I'm going to do that?!? Are you stupid or something?! If I absorb this crap, I shrink down!" "Wait, what? Doesn't more Jello make you bigger?" Kane asked, looking very much stupid. "I'm merged with it.... That's how I'm so big! If I absorb it, it goes into me, therefore shrinking my body down in the process! I swear, I have to explain this every time to you mortals!" "Oh..." Kane thought a moment, before looking to Claire, who shrugged. "Well, I guess I'll just have to make do..." Kane sighed, slowly walking back to the spot he was in before. "Are we finally ready to begin then?!" Kane nodded, lifting up his sword. "Okay, let's do this!" "Good." At this, small dots appeared all over his body again, just like the last time it did this. "I'm tired of looking at you." Kane began fishing about in his bag, hurrying to find what he needed. The Jello Demon then rapidly fired down jello bullets at him. "Firewall!" Kane gave another shout as he made his shield, keeping his sword buried as the flames formed a barrier for him. "OH-ho, THIS again, huh?! Well, screw that! HERE COMES MY SWORD!" And true to his word, he thrusted the sword down at Kane.

With a wild swing, Kane threw his Holy water over the approaching Jello sword, trying to buy time. The Jello Demon stopped as he looked at the small little spots that now appeared all over his sword. ".... What the hell is this?!? Are you really this pathetic and weak?!?! Oh-ho, oh man... I'm sorry, this is too funny for me to waste..." The Jello Demon was chuckling at this. "Hey, gimme a break! I didn't know you could grow!" "I didn't know you were so weak... Look at you! Your so weak, your mother thinks you weren't worth being born!" The Jello Demon laughed at this. "You might be right, but that's not going to stop me." Kane sat up, his Rosary in hand as he muttered a prayer, before hurling the beads at the pool of Jello, Ice bursting forth as they made contact, aiming to freeze the base of liquid goo. "What the hell is this crap!? It's so.... Pathetic!" He laughed at this as he rose a hand and slammed his hand down at the ice, smashing most of it as he continued laughing. "How pathetic!" Running his hand along the blade of his sword, Kane muttered his prayer, making the Katana flame as he slashed, sending waves of fire at the Jello demon. "Ohhh right, like your attacks are going to do anything to me now..." The Jello Demon was hit by a few of these waves as he inhaled at this. He then blew out wind at the next waves of fire as he blew them out, and sent gusts of wind down at Kane.

Kane held his arm up to shield himself, waving his sword about. The shots were well off however, flying up well above the Jello Demon. Evidently he wasn't handling the wind well. The Jello Demon smirked as he stopped for a second and inhaled again, before blowing down harder at him. Kane staggered back, before falling over backwards, tumbling back with his bag to the wall. The Jello Demon laughed loudly at this. "Oh wow, look at you! You are suppose to be a man?!?! The CHILD was stronger then you're weak ass!" The Jello Demon continued laughing at this. Sitting up, Kane patted down his smoldering jacket before giving one final slash with his flaming sword. This one shot upwards, again, well above the demon. "I think that looks about right." He commented, appraising his work. The Jello Demon rose a brow at this. "What?! You completely missed me!" Kane pointed his thumb up. Above the Jello demon, was a strange set of symbols singed into the ceiling. The exact same as the seal that Belfoar had previously placed on him. Placing his hands together with his sword, Kane began to chant, the symbol rapidly brightening to a pulsating red. ".... Huh, something feels off about this situation.... Maybe I should look up." The Jello Demon did so at this. ".... Oh..... Should of seen that one coming." Kane continued to chant, praying that this seal would be enough to stop or eliminate the demon...

The Jello Demon started to yell out at this as his body started to glow at this, symbols rapidly appearing all over him as smoke started to come from each of them. "YOU RETARD! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THIS SYMBOL EVEN MEANS?!?!?" Kane didn't respond, continuing his Mantra as he relaxed himself, focusing on nothing but his words and the symbols. "GOD DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!" The Jello Demon then blew up - sending blood jello all over the room at this. Claire slowly lowered the barrier over herself and Noir, appraising the mess around them. Kane meanwhile, slowly opened his eyes, having stopped the chant at the slimy feeling over him. The Jello Demon, now back to his original size, climbed out of the pool as he panted at this. ".... Well that went wrong. I still have a few feet of jello left... I can probably still jump in there right now and kill him while his guard is down." "I wouldn't if I were you. Unless you feel like having that happen again." Claire commented from her seat, watching the Jello demon with scrutiny. "..... Do you know anything about Shikigami?" "Familiars. Yes, I'm quite informed about them." Claire responded, briefly glancing to Noir. "Then you should know that symbol he made is now ineffective..." "Perhaps. But it's quite easy to form a variation that will essentially perform the same act." The Jello Demon growled at this. "Now, I believe you made us a promise, correct?" Claire stood up, striding across the room.

The Jello Demon rose up to his feet at this. ".... So I did.... This way..." He stated as he began to walk out of the room. Claire kept her mind ready, focusing to be sure of any betrayal or trap on the demon's part. ".... Is the boy coming?" Kane was shaking off his jacket, wiping off strands of Jello as he hurried after them, Noir licking up some of the jelly in his hair. ".... Right." He stated and continued walking. It took several minutes to travel around the base's halls - Kane and Claire passed by several things at this - some of them were portraits of different Crystal Demons. Others were of noticeable family symbols - then they passed by portraits of each demon in the group... The Jello Demon, Kallos, Yami, Eppenos, Kalhman, Golem, Bellfoar, Itzhet and another rock demon they couldn't recognize... Golem and this rock demon had the same symbol on the bottom of they're portrait, while Yami had a similar looking royal symbol, but in darkness demon form. "So where are we going again?" Kane asked aloud, stopping at the pictures every now and then. "To Kallos' main room..." Claire would know about the symbols, Kane didn't notice them The Jello Demon stopped briefly to look at the portrait of the other rock demon. "Always wondered what the poor bastard looked like..."

"Who, this guy?" Kane asked, looking to the portrait. "This rock demon? This is Gaea - Demon King of Earth." "So is he dead?" Kane inquired, taking a guess from the Jello demon's tone. "No... He is dying though. Deon ended up nearly blowing up the bastard... Left him for dead - Gaea was then captured by the WDL and has been in there ever since. "His last son, Golem, is the only rock demon who can take his place currently... Sadly, he's too dumb for it. Gaea is the smartest rock demon in history yet... But let's keep moving on, shall we?" Kane nodded, feeling like he was on a museum tour. "Right then..." With that, the Jello Demon continued leading them on.

~ Lucifer confronts Chill! ~

Chill and Lucifer reappeared in the same town just several feet away from the fight. "... So... I still remember when you pierced my chest." Chill pointed to his chest at this, showing a little mark still left in the spot. "You WERE being a bit of a douchebag that day." Lucifer smirked. Chill glared. "... I'm tempted to use Demon Form, but... You're master is gone, and I have taken Sebastian away from you, so... You are powerless!" "So we can't just sit down and talk like adults, Rob?" "After you just slapped me? I only got one thing to say to you..." He pointed his hand at her. "Screw off." He then sent ice shards at her. Lucifer simply whistled as the Shards went straight through her. "You've forgotten my abilities already? Damn...." "You didn't use them much last time." He stated as he created an ice spear from his body and threw it at her. Lucifer simply moved a little to the left and sighed. "I'm sorry I slapped you, alright? It was just a spur of the moment thing, you know?" "So.... Demon form is the only thing that will work, huh? Fine... Demon form it is." At this, Chill's body was quickly frozen over. "Well, I guess talking to you isn't a viable option anymore, is it?" Lucifer sighed. "And I didn't mean to steal his heart either, Lovebird. I only found out a while ago.... Well I mean I knew he liked me, but not this much..."

"SILENCE!!!" At this, the ice shattered and up rose a nine foot version of Chill... His right arm having turned into an axe, and his form having changed. "Implying you can tell me what to do. Dumbass." "I know you hooked up with him.... I know it! Now... To freeze you." Chill's deep booming voice said as he rose up his axe arm and swung it down at her. Lucifer simply sighed, leaping out of the way and locking eyes with Chill. "I know that neither Deon nor Sebastian would want me to do this, but you're leaving me with no choice." Lucifer stood, floating into the air slightly and seeming to glow. "My Father was an Ancient, as were the fathers of my Sisters. My Father, the embodiment of Pride itself, Lucifer, has passed on his powers to me. I am not Lucy, or Luci. I am Lucifer, representation of the cardinal sin of PRIDE." Lucifer's eyes went cold and dark, and her tone had a bitter, icy edge to it. "I hereby decree that you will be sentenced to eternity in Purgatory, fool." With that, Lucifer held her hand out and a spear appeared, falling into it. Lucifer turned to Chill, and spoke. "Come." Chill stood there, watching her. "... What are you waiting for? Send me away then..." He spread his arms out at this. "... Good luck explaining to Sebastian why he couldn't save me though." Lucifer growled. "Oh shut up, I was being dramatic!" With that, she threw he arm back and then threw her spear straight into Chill, but instead of killing him, he was reverted back to his normal form.

Chill chuckled as he stood there back in his normal form. ".... That it?" He asked. Lucifer landed on the ground. "I told you I wouldn't fight you, Rob." "Then allow me to kill you." He said as he took out the spear without hesitation and threw it to the side. Lucifer sighed. "And do you think that will make Sebastian love you, or hate you even more, Rob?" ".... I intend to send him with you." "..... You serious?" "I wouldn't say it otherwise." "What the hell is wrong with you? We used to be so close, and now you're trying to kill us for... why again?" "Because I'm being punished for dis-obeying orders." "....Disobeying orders?" "Yes.... The day I introduced myself to you both as Chill. I left the base and went to Sebastian without permission. Everything I did that day was against what Kallos wanted me to do." ".....Thank you, then. For disobeying orders... I was told you were dead" "Rob is dead.... Chill is all that is left." ".......No....Rob is not dead....." "Really? Then you know a cure?"

"A cure for what, being a demon? There is no cure. It's all about how you act. You have Demons like Kallos who ARE evil, then you have demons like me who aren't. Then you have Demons like you who haven't chosen a side. You just need to pick the side you'd rather be on, or just not pick any. You always have a choice, Rob." "I already made my decision a looonnng time ago.." He looked behind himself at this. ".... Bellfoar is going full power soon. They must win... In order for Sebastian to fight me, one last time." "So you want to fight us?" "Not you.... Him. To the death." "What's the point of that!?" ".... You will see. Now go!" With that, Chill vanished into a blue portal. Lucifer was left there, alone. She looked around, then dropped onto her knees. "Think of Seb, think of Seb!" And suddenly she was with Sebastian, watching him. "Hmmmm....."

~ Meanwhile, at the Renegade Base... Quake VS Ronald Klutz! ~

Ronald appeared in the Renegade Base in a bright flash, stepping away from the holy device that had brought him in here. "Return." Ronald said quietly, as the device returned to his hand and formed into a gauntlet. "Now... To find the control room." Quake laughed and threw a rock at Ronald. "Yo pipsqueak, want some Sake?" Ronald caught the rock with his gauntlet, crushing it as he glared over at her. "Quake... I heard the news." Quake tossed another bit of steak into her mouth and grinned. "That today is Friday?" "No... But you know why I'm here. The control room... Take me to it. Now." "....Erm... Whyyyyyyyyyy?" "Angel's orders. I don't think you want to upset him, do you?" "He's gonna die anyway." Ronald draws out his sword at this. "Do not speak badly about him in such a manner!" "I'm an Oni. He's a disrespective, cowardly, cheatng, lying dog. Did you expect any different?" Quake stood, glaring daggers at Ronald. "Do you have a Farm?" "No... I don't think you are taking this seriously either." Ronald started to walk towards her at this. "... So I'll kill you." "Are you a clown in disguise? Ronald McDonald?" Ronald threw his sword at her. Quake caught it. "Oooh, thanks!" "Old man Ronald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o. And on that Farm they had a dick, e-i-e-i-o." Quake snickered. "How old are you anyway?" "Twenty-four." He stated, slowly twisting something on his gauntlet.

Quake smiled. "Wow, you're not old at all! So uhh, do you want your sword back, Clownface?" "Of course I do, you stupid demon." Quake smirked. "Too bad~" Then she snapped the sword clean in half with one hand. "... You shouldn't of done that." "No BEN, nooooooo! Haha, why not?" Ronald rose up his hand with the gauntlet on it as the gauntlet had a sinister purple aura around it now. The pieces of the sword glowed with this same aura as they all slowly rose off the ground. Then, every piece suddenly pointed at Quake as Ronald closed his hand into a fist, all the pieces flying at her at this. Quake simply ducked, rolling away and avoiding all of the shards. "Missed me, missed me, now ya gotta ki- On second thought, scratch that. You look like a horrible kisser." Ronald jerked his arm back at this comment as the pieces stopping and spun around quickly, all heading for Quake's back now. Quake laughed and ran behind Ronald. Ronald thrusted out his hand and stopped every piece. The handle came flying over as Ronald took a hold of it, every piece coming into place as once the blade was re-assembled, every crack on it glowed red as steam came from it until the cracks were gone. Once the blade was restored by the gauntlet, Ronald was sweating. Quake turned and punched Ronald in the face. "DONKEY PUNCH!" Ronald felt his eyes widen as he was sent flying into a wall from this.

Ronald slowly began to rise from the rubble he was put in, putting a hand over his face as he shuddered from his now bleeding armor. He grabbed a hold of his nose as he closed his eyes, taking sharp quick breaths as he prepared himself. Then he snapped it back into place and dropped his sword, screaming out as he collapsed, putting hands on his face as he shuddered from the pain. Quake walked over to Ronald. "Shit, didn't think you'd get sent flying like that. Heh, how damn strong am I~" Quake looked over at Ronald, and sighed. "Time to take you to the Infirmary?" "SCREW OFF!" He shouted as he got up and grabbed his blade, getting up to his feet as he panted, having one eye closed as he gritted his teeth. "I don't need help... .From a damn.... Dirty.... Demon!" Quake sighed. "I'm not dirty, I just had a shower, dumbass. Hence why I'm standing here in front of you wearing nothing but a towel?" Quake smirked and blew Ronald a kiss. Ronald gritted his teeth at this again. "Screw off.... Screw off! I will not accept help from you again! I DON'T NEED IT! I CAN DO IT! I CAN BEAT YOU!" He stumbled forward at this and swung his sword at her. Quake sighed again, ducking under his blow and slamming her fist into his chin. "Idiot." Ronald was sent flying back, landing on his back as his sword got stuck in the ground not too far off from his position. Quake spoke again. "Come on man, lemme get you to the Infirmary."

Ronald turned around on to his stomach as he slowly got up, nearly collapsing several times as he soon got up, his back to her at this. "... Tell me.... Does the name Ronald Klutz ring a bell?" Quake thought. "Hmmmm....Nope." "Of course you wouldn't remember me... That little boy who's home was attacked and burned down by demons. And when it came time for them to deal with me, you showed up.... And I remember what you did." He turned around and grabbed hold of the sword, pulling it out as he grabbed it with both hands. ".... Now I will kill you, and prove my worth to Angel D'Brightaine." Quake looked at Ronald, and dropped her hands. "You........" Quake looked down. "If I had arrived there sooner, I would've been able to save your Family...." Quake looked straight at Ronald, and glared. "You remember I saved you, so now you're here to kill me? By all means, try it." "SHUT UP! I know what you did! You got down in front of me when it was all over and gave me an apple... A DAMN APPLE OF PITY!" He pointed his sword at her. ".... THEN YOU HUGGED ME.... Kissed my forehead, and told me to forget about it! FORGET IT EVER HAPPENED! MY FRIENDS! MY FAMILY! BUT I DON'T NEED THEM! ANGEL SAYS I DON'T, SO IT MUST BE TRUE!" But at this, a wound opened up and blood splattered from his right shoulder, his arms lowering suddenly as the sword's tip hit the ground, unmoving as Ronald glared down at it.

Quake sighed. "Poor, deluded fool. You haven't chan- Whoa, you alright!?" Quake took a step towards Ronald, eyes filled with worry. "And it wasn't an Apple of Pity, kid. It was an apple of hope. Hope that you could get through all of that fine, and you have.... Aside from becoming Angel's puppet." "I DON'T NEED THIS SWORD!" He grabbed it with his left hand and threw it to the side, hearing it stab into a wall as he raised his gauntet. "AS LONG AS I HAVE THIS, IT DOESN'T MATTER! WHAT DO I CARE IF IT'LL SOON START DRAINING MY LIFE FORCE! NONE OF IT MATTERS!" He charged forward at her at this. "THIS GAUNTLET WILL BE YOUR DEATH ANY WAY!" Quake's eyes opened, and as Ronald neared her she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close to her. "Calm down, I don't have any apples on me, Kid." Ronald gritted his teeth as he went to punch her with the gauntlet. "DON'T TOUCH ME! STOP IT! GET OFF! I DON'T NEED THIS!!! I DON'T NEED YOU!!!!" Quake remained still as Ronald hit her with the gauntlet, and she kissed him on the forehead. "It's alright, calm down Kid..." Ronald felt his eyes widen at this and his cheeks flushed. But then he gritted his teeth again. "S-stop.... Stop it... I -- I..." He gritted his teeth as he grabbed her wrists and raised them up forcibly. Then he placed his gauntlet in between them. "..... Break it now or I'll hit you again with it." Quake spoke. "What'll happen to you?"

"... It'll break the connection between me and the gauntlet. Once you break it... The WDL will lose all readings on my pulse and stuff. Therefore, they'll think I'm dead." Quake waited for a moment before crushing the Gauntlet, but not Ronald's hand or arm. "There." Ronald coughed violently at this, leaning on Quake's body as he felt himself grow weak at this. "Sir, we've just gotten a new report on Ronald Klutz's status." One WDL soldier stated. Angel looked over to the man and glared. "What of him?" "Well, it seems he has encountered Quake along the way, and, well... She just killed him, it seems." Angel was silent. "....Damn....He wasn't bad...." Angel quickly laughed, and strode away. Quake smirked. "So, how about we go grab you an Apple, eh Kid?" Quake hefted Ronald over her shoulder, and proceeded to the Infirmary. Ronald grabbed her hand as she went to pick him up. "... You forgot something." Quake eyed him. "What's that?" Ronald smiled as he looked up at her. Then he quickly leaned in and pressed his own lips against hers. Quake's eyes widened, but she didn't pull out of the kiss. After they had finished, Quake smirked teasingly. "Looks like I was wrong about you being a bad kisser after all~" Ronald smiled and leaned his head on her shoulder. "... I'd like some apples now." Quake simply grinned, and took Ronald to the Infirmary.

~ Rin VS Timothy Night! ~

Timothy walked silently into the control room as his eyes wondered around to look at it. "... What amazing technology." He spoke as he took out the disk. "... But unfortunately, it has to go." With that, he rose the disk and was about to put it into the computer for the control room. A loud cough could be heard from behind Timothy, and there stood Rin in full combat gear. "Luckily I was about to go practice. Who the heck are you?" Timothy stopped as he rose the disk up and crushed it in his hand. "... Timothy Night. You?" Rin smirked. "Leaving no evidence, eh? Call me Rin, leader of the Demon Division of the Renegades. Mind telling me why you're here?" Timothy turned around to face her. "... Simple. To eliminate my target." "And your target is...?" Rin smiled. "You, miss Rin." "Figures. So no talking? I'm usually against fighting, but..." Rin vanished, appearing behind Timothy and sending a boot into his face before grabbing him and throwing him through the door. In midair, Rin noticed his body preparing itself as he landed his feet gracefully against the wall as he dropped down and landed on all fours, getting up as he brushed his face off. "... Hmph. I heard you were always the weakest of the leaders. Now I see why." Rin rose a brow. "Erm, why?" "You are pathetically weak in comparison to Michael and Deon... Tell me, who replaced Deon?" Rin glared. "An Oni named Quake. Why's that?"

Timothy pressed a few buttons on his wrist. "Good. I just sent that information to Angel. Now I have to wait for Ronald Klutz to confirm he has killed her and I will proceed with you." Rin growled. "You're going after all the Leaders? What the heck are you doing?" "Right now, a demon named Bellfoar is fighting your friends with several others. They believed that if they distracted them, they could sneak into your base and plant some bombs in here. However, we have prevented that, in our own hopes of assassinating the Renegade's leaders so that it will fall and we will gain control over every soldier in here. Quite funny, really... How last night, Angel came up with the brilliant idea to evacuate all the towns and have everyone reside within the WDL grounds." Rin smirked. "So you wanna play with the kitty-cat eh? And you're going after the 'weakest'. Says SO much about you~" Rin smirked playfully and waggled her finger at Timothy. "Actually, I am the middle strongest. Ronald is the weakest, and Sir Melvin is the strongest... Oh, right, you know about him, don't you? I can tell by the look on your face, that you seem a little... Scared, in fact. That a Knight and two lower class WDL soldiers were sent in, under the illusion we were really investigating the Bellfoar case." Rin sighed. "Whatever, let's fight already. I usually avoid conflict but I can tell you're itching to brawl, right? And it's not like I have a choice."

"Ronald is still handling Quake, so... Not yet. But in the mean time, I can tell you how we plan to kill Kallos~" Rin smiled. "Oooh, do tell~ Maybe we'll use it when I beat your ass to the floor?" "..." Timothy started to chuckle. "... Actually.... We already have the meat shields pilled up." Rin's eyes widened. "W-What!? No way, Angel's going to-" Rin went silent, her claws extending fully as she glared straight at Timothy. "You're going down." Timothy continued to chuckle. "Not exactly... It was always Kallos' intention to drive the people away into the WDL grounds, so that he could mass slaughter them. So we're going to give him what he wants... But in the process, while he's killing them, we'll be killing them. And then who will be able to say they knew of our scheme? Every witness who could testify will be dead in the chaos!" "Except me, dumbass." "Who is going to believe you? You are the Renegades, a group of demons and humans who want to bring balance. The world will see this as a thank you to us, for avenging all those poor people..." At this, the device on Timothy's hand beeped as he looked at it. ".... Damn it. Ronald Klutz is dead?!" Timothy smashed the device on his hand and threw it aside, looking at her. "... I didn't expect Quake to be so cold hearted." Rin remained still. "Neither did I, actually.... Well, since the WDL is killing innocents, why can't we?" Rin laughed. "You're not really innocents, are you?"

"You don't know Ronald." Timothy sighed. "But any who, Angel has been performing illegal experiments as of late, and well... Let's just say I'm one of them." Rin rose a brow. "Oh, with Demon Blood I assume?" Timothy smirked. "Something of the sort... Let's just say.... ....I was bitten." "I hate Dogs." At this, Timothy's eyes glowed yellow as he growled and yelled out, his clothes tearing off as his form started to change, fur growing all over his body as he slammed down on all fours. "I hate Wolves, too." ... Then, when it was over, Timothy rose up in his Werewolf form as he growled at her. "I REALLY hate Werewolves." Timothy let out a howl at this as he got down on all fours and leaped at her. Rin barely managed to leap out of the way before Timothy landed where she was. Rin turned and spoke. "Bunch of Hypocrites!" Timothy quickly turned and ran at her, swinging his claws at her as he did. Rin ducked, dodging all of the claw swipes and sending in some of her own at Timothy. Timothy took them as he growled at her, acting as if they didn't even effect them. Then he swung a punch at her. Rin was hit by said punch and flew through the door, landing on her feet and wiping the blood off of her lip. "Ass."

Timothy jumped and landed in front of her as she was wiping the blood off, swinging his claws rapidly at her. Rin ducked and rolled away from Timothy, barely avoiding his attacks at this point. Timothy got on all fours and charged in at her, aiming to ram his head into her. Rin placed a hand on Timothy's head and used it to vault over him, realizing the close combat wasn't the best idea. "I'm still faster than him, so maybe if I.... Got it!" Rin bolted off down a nearby hallway. Timothy watched her run as he let out what sounded like a bark before running after her on all fours. Rin smirked, turning another corner and then sliding into a sideroom, leaving the door open behind her. Timothy rushed in after her, knocking the door down when he entered. As Timothy entered the room, he would find it empty aside from Rin standing there with a very peculiar gun in hand. "Bring it, drool-face." Timothy growled as he got on all fours and began to circle her at this. Rin smirked, twirling the gun in her hand and keeping Timothy in sight and at a distance. Timothy then began to have his eyes glow brighter yellow as he continued circling her, increasing his speed slowly as he did. Rin smirked, watching Timothy. Then Timothy let out a loud roar at this, the soundwaves would of entered into Rin's ears and completely throw off her senses temporarily. Rin blocked her ears, shaking her head before looking for Timothy again. Timothy landed behind her by this time as he slashed at her back.

Rin spun around just in time to fire a round at Timothy. The claw got her across her chest but her bullet slammed into his face, exploding and sending liquid silver all over the Werewolf. Timothy yelled out as Timothy stumbled back and then collapsed down on to the ground, seemingly unmoving... Rin growled, firing a few more rounds at him. "Stay down, dog." Each bullet was destroyed upon contact with something as Timothy slammed a hand on the ground and slowly rose up, revealing a barrier around his form before it faded away and he leaped at her, landing in front of her as when she went to shoot him, he bit down into the gun and ripped it out of her hand. Then he would spit it on the ground as he stepped down on it, looking at her as he leaped up and aimed to tackle her. Rin leaped away, extending her claws fully and growling. "I said stay down!" Timothy grinned at this. "Fuck you little bitch." "I bet you'd love to, but I've already got my eye on someone. And you're DEFINITELY not my type." "You smell like shit. Why would I want YOU?" "Iunno, why did you threaten to fuck me?~" "Because by that, I mean I'm going to tear you limb from limb with my bare teeth..." "So you're gonna eat me, are you?~" Rin snickered. If Deon could do it, so could she. Timothy inhaled at this as he let out another loud roar, sending out sound waves at her ears again. This time, Rin was prepared. She rolled backwards, away from Timothy and covered her ears as she did so.

Timothy this time leaped to one of the objects in the room as he grabbed it and threw it at her. Rin smirked as she sliced the object in half with her claws, and stood there with a grin on her face. "That it?" Timothy threw three more objects at her at this. Rin slashed them all apart. After she slashed the third one apart, Timothy charged in and aimed to ram her into a wall to finally knock her out. Rin didn't see this coming at all, but she quickly pulled out her rifle and smashed it across Timothy's face. "Oh-snaaaap!~" Timothy took the hit, but the rifle cracked upon contact as Timothy growled at her, now pissed off. And just as quickly as his rage came, he yelled out right in her face, sending the sound waves right there and then. Rin headbutted him. Timothy roared out as he shook his head. Then glared at her as his eyes turned red, before sending a quicker punch then before at her head. Rin was sent flying as the punch hit her and sent her into the wall. She remained there, dazed. "Awaaaaa?" Timothy then charged in and stopped in front of her, punching her down into the ground. "G-Agh!" Timothy then elbowed down into her face. Rin felt her cheek break as his elbow smashed into her. "Stupid little fucker. How dare you hurt me. How dare you use silver against me. I'll break you. Then I'll rip you to shreds. When someone finds your body, they won't know it's you, so you will be forgotten, left behind... I will kill everyone close to you! And then... I'll kill the man you love as I taunt him about how I killed you!"

"......" "Quake will scream as I do things to her... Oh you don't want to know how I handle my meals I like the taste of~" He smirked and punched down into her again. "... I will DESTROY the Renegade. And it will all have started thanks to you." Rin remained silent, letting Timothy beat into her. "Now.... To end this." He said as he got his claws to they're fullest, then went to stab into her chest. "It will be nice... WHEN YOUR MAN TELLS YOU HOW I WON!!!!!!!!" Boom! Timothy was sent flying into and through a nearby wall, then through a few more before a tail grabbed him and slammed him into the roof, then the floor. Timothy screamed out at this and then went to look at the one who had attacked him. Suddenly, from the dust came another tail that had a claw on it, cutting Timothy across the chest and letting the other tail grab him and slam him into the floor repeatedly. "AUGGHH!!!" Was all Timothy could say. "Show yourself, demon! Let me see you in your true form!" A voice, laden with hatred and danger, reached out to Timothy. "You'll only deserve to see me when you burn in hell, dog." "I don't care! Show yourself to me now!" Suddenly, a group of tails, around 18 more joined the two already facing Timothy. "Then I guess you shall die. You should start running, Dog." With that, the tails all sped at Timothy. Timothy rose up to his feet at this as he glared at her. "Repel." With that, the barrier appeared again. "Repel is one of my abilities... It has the power to destroy anything it touches. Your mere tails cannot possibly touch this without --"

One of the tails slammed against the barrier, slowly pushing through it as the tension in the room increased. "Tension BREAK!" Suddenly, the room exploded, everything inorganic exploded, including Timothy's barrier. Timothy felt his eyes widen as he moved to the side, the tail slicing his side as he stopped himself. "Man... What a pain in the ass. Well? Reveal yourself to me, demon!" Another tendril slammed into Timothy, going straight through him and then throwing him away. "Run, Dog." Timothy screamed out as he stumbled, catching himself. "REVEAL YOURSELF FIRST!! THEN I WILL RUN!" Suddenly, the doors to the room were grasped by claws and torn away, and a massive demon pulled itself inside. "Peek-a-boo!" "..... Well that's one big purple cat bitch. Oh right, running time. Doing that now." With that, Timothy returned to his human form as he put on a mask over his face before using a device similar to the one Ronald used before. He then went to jump into it, but was knocked way as it was destroyed. "... Shit." He said, before actually running away. The demon pulled itself forward and through the room as it's tails snaked after Timothy, not slowly, but with horrifying speed. It would take all he had just to avoid them.

Timothy ran outside as he looked around at this. "DAMN IT, where is THE CHOPPER?!?!" At this time, a chopper came down at this as a man looked out at this. "GET TO THE CHOPPER!" "MOVE!" He shouted, pushing the man out as he got into the chopper and it flew away quickly at this, boosting itself so as to avoid Rin. Luckily, Timothy was able to take pictures of Rin's form. Suddenly, a tail lashed out and grasped the Helicopter's rudder, pulling it down towards the ground. On the ground stood Rin in her normal form, but with innumerable massive tails all aimed straight at the Helicopter. "Mother fucker." Timothy said and jumped out. He transformed back into his werewolf form and as he lands, he helps break his fall with his increased agility and tougher body structure. He then raced away from the scene. Before Timothy could react, Rin was beside him, propelling herself at the same speed as him using her tails. Her eyes were a rusty crimson, and her wounds seemed to glow before healing and vanishing. Suddenly a tail flicked out and got Timothy in the stomach, flinging him down into a small ravine. Timothy screamed out as he spun around a little, growling as he began to climb out of the ravine. "Hello, Angel? Yeah, I'm coming. Just have men escort me to your room when I arrive. Why? I found the target... She's on her period. Yeah, it sucks, it does smell, I know. Yeah I'll inform you when I get back. Tim out~"

Another tail slammed into Timothy, hurling him into the air and then grabbing him and smashing him through a boulder before dragging him across the ground to lay near Rin's feet. "So, you're going to be escorted to Angel's room, hmm? I don't think so". With the, a tail reached out and caressed Timothy's face, before starting to choke him. "5 seconds headstart, then we play hide and seek~" Timothy choked at this. "... I think you're forgetting something." Rin growled, and asked. "What?" "My escort just arrived." And true to his word, a figure appeared at this, kicking Timothy out of Rin's grip as the figure vanished and appeared to catch Timothy, landing as Rin would recognize him... Rin growled, the tail moving from Timothy's neck to him arm and tugging, tearing it off with a sickening crunch and the sound of tearing flesh. "That's for pissing me off, Dog." Suddenly, the tails vanished, and Rin stood there, looking normal as ever. "Hey, Sir", she acknowledged the 7th Exorcist with a bow. Timothy howled out as he struggled, meanwhile, the Samurai looking Exorcist stared at her with no emotion in his eyes. "Hmm... Rin of the Renegades, correct?" Rin simply mocked his glare, and spoke. "Yes." The Exorcist had a symbol on his right hand glow as suddenly, a holy barrier surrounded Rin. "Do not follow us... Or I will be back for you." With that, the 7th Exorcist vanished and so did the holy barrier after a few minutes. Rin turned away, a tail suddenly growing from her. "Bunch of pricks!" With that, she returned to the Renegades Base.

~ Rin VS Timothy Night: Aftermath! ~

The 7th Exorcist set Timothy down as he looked towards Angel. "He will not be able to attend the battle, I'm afraid... The process of the mechanical arm replacement to fit for a battle is... Tedious, at best." Angel scoffed. "I should've warned you about her, if you hadn't awakened her Demon Form you would've been FINE!" Angel glared at Timothy. "You also revealed to her that we've been experimenting on our soldiers...." Suddenly, Angel pulled out Excalibur and placed it to Timothy's neck, before putting it away soon after. "Fools." "I have a suggestion..." The 7th Exorcist spoke. Angel glared at the man. "What?" The 7th Exorcist returned the glare. It was like this for a moment, as he was still in his Knight Mode... ".... Right. One of the brothers is currently in America right now, studying the demons there. You can send him there today, if you so wished. The higher brothers are... Most strict, as you know well from Adam's training of others." Angel nodded. "Hmm....." "But for now, I must go... I must return to Tokyo to investigate on this... Omega..." The 7th Exorcist began to walk out of the room. "... Oh.... And one more thing." Angel turned to him. "Hm?" The 7th Exorcist stopped briefly. "If you lose Excalibur, don't bother reporting back to Adam about the battle." Angel growled. "I won't." The 7th Exorcist nodded before walking out of the room. Angel picked up the phone and spoke. "Yes, I need a transport for a man to America. Thank you."

~ Shinji VS Melvin! ~

Melvin walked down the hall as he headed for the infirmary. "Michael A. Malachim.." He spoke quietly as he stopped before the infirmary. "... Time to die." Suddenly, the door opened and a man walked out, holding some chicken in a bucket, and eating away at it happily. He wasn't looking where he was going and so he bumped into Melvin. Melvin glared at him. "Who in the hell are you?" The man looked up, and instead of answering he offered Melvin the bucket. "Chicken?" Melvin knocked the bucket out of his hand. The man looked at the bucket, and sighed. "What was that for?" "I am Sir Melvin of the WDL... You will move aside so I can see Michael A. Malachim at once!" The man grinned widely. "Nice to meet you Melvin, my name's Shinjei Kintaro. Mikey ain't takin' visitors anymore, sadly." "That's too bad..." With that, Melvin hit Shinjei across the face. Shinjei fell to the floor, right next to his chicken, his backpack hit the floor first and Shinjei sighed. "Always the face, man." Shinjei looked up at Melvin and glared. "Douchebag." Melvin walked towards the door Shinjei came out of. Shinjei grabbed Melvin's foot in an attempt to stop him. Melvin stopped and went to kick Shinjei away. Shinjei rolled a bit before coming to a stop right next to his backpack as Melvin kicked him. "Prick!" "I am done playing games. I will kill you next time you try." Shinjei just lay there.

While Melvin's back was turned, Shinjei was fumbling with his backpack, pulling something out of it and then strapping it on. Melvin sighed and turned around at this. "What now?" That's when a gigantic metal fist went to grab him by the face. Melvin quickly drew his sword out and made a cut in the palm of the metal fist. "... What trickery is this?" "Trickery, oh no? Just the intelligence of a Kappa condensed into a Backpack~" Shin's tone was mocking as he picked up his bucket of chicken, which he had luckily forgotten to re-open when offering to Melvin. "I'll beat you by the time I finish the Chicken, alright?" "... You have a demon in that backpack?" "....No, dumbass. What I DO have though, is a Particle Cannon capable of leveling mountains in seconds, a laser-wire shooter, an electro-magnetic Blade and another bucket of chicken, among other things." ".... You what?" Shin sighed. "Fight me and find out, if you dare~" Melvin pulled out a gauntlet at this and put it on. "I have all this and you pull out a Gauntlet? Laaaame." Melvin clutched his hand as a demonic purple aura appeared around it. "Still laaaaaame." "Come at me then..." "What's the point if I can just stand here and stall you anyway?" Melvin turned around and went to punch the door at this. Shinjei whacked at him in the face with the metal hand.

Melvin blocked it with his gauntlet, the gauntlet easily holding it's own against the metal hand. Suddenly, another metal hand shot out and hit Melvin in the stomach. Melvin leaped up at this, slicing it with his sword as he then punched it with is gauntlet - it began to have multiple purple cracks appear on it as Melvin landed and watched the magic show begin - multiple mechanical parts were blown off the metal arm in rapid succession. Shinjei pulled out a gun and fired at Melvin. Melvin deflected it with his gauntlet. "Yo Beel? Game-time!" Suddenly, before Melvin could react, Beelzebub appear and slammed into his shoulder in her spear form. Melvin looked at her as he pulled her out of his armor and threw her towards the door. "You are only experiencing the warm up... Soon this gauntlet will have enough magic to destroy machines with a single touch." Beelzebub reformed into her female form, hefting a Machine Gun that looked oddly like a Browning. "What now, Shin?" Shin sighed. "Time to bring out the big guns, I guess." From the backpack popped up a small box, attached to a cord. "I will not allow you to use any of those." With that, Melvin held out his hand, and the Gauntlet started to send several magic blasts at them. Beelzebub turned into her spear form and Shin deflected or destroyed every magical blast. "Doone~" Suddenly, the box expanded and turned into a massive cannon that pulsed with magical energy. "Hide and Seek, Beel?" With that, Beelzebub shifted to her human form and started firing at Melvin.

Melvin furrowed his brows as his armor started to shine as the bullets hit it. If she aimed for skin, he simply knocked it away. "I will turn in this demon, and then kill you!" Shinjei simply grinned and fire his particle cannon straight into Melvin. The sphere would hammer straight into him, burning away his armor for a few seconds before exploding and sending him flying. Melvin hit a wall as he shook it off and turned a few knobs on the gauntlet. "Very well... Max bonding." With that, his veins on his arm would turn purple as his arm started to buldge - it also started to turn demonic and pulsate. "Pffft, Demon-killing Organisation... Uses Demon Power.... Hypocriiiites!" Melvin held out his hand as he sent more powerful magical shots at them. Shin then sent out a shot from his Particle Cannon, catching Melvin's shots and flying towards him and exploding. Melvin moved out of the way at this - his speed increasing as he sent a large magical shot at them. Shin fired repeated shots at Melvin. Melvin held out his hand as the purple aura came back - now taking the hits of each shot as it started to absorb the magic. Each time his arm only got bigger and bigger, looking more powerful with each shot it absorbed. Then Beelzebub shot him with her non-magical rounds. Melvin moved out of the way of those - his speed increased enough to match that of a Lightning Demon's. "I have absorbed enough magic to destroy that machine... It is futile to resist..."

Shin sighed. "Yeaaaaah, no." With that, a spray of Holy Water rained down on Melvin. Melvin rose a brow as he was hit, blinking as he looked around. "Fire Alarm went off, I activated it on you. Derp, sorry." "I don't see how I'm in trouble." "Your arm should start stinging soon enough, I think." Melvin rose his hand up, sending a magic blast into the roof above them - destroying the sprinklers. "You were saying?" Before Melvin could react, a metal fist slammed into his jaw. Melvin was sent back into a wall behind him. "Shazam mofo!" Melvin stood up, now his arm bodybulider sized. Shin smirked, a plan forming itself in his head, before he shot into Melvin repeatedly. Melvin furrowed his brows, absorbing the magic like before. Shinjei kept shooting into him, watching Melvin's arm get bigger and bigger. ".... Uh-oh, I should of seen this ahead of time." Shinjei charged up a massive shot, aimed straight at Melvin's arm, and fired. With that shot absorbed, his arm suddenly exploded, sending out powerful magic all over the hall. Shinjei spun around, away from the explosion and Beelzebub vanished. When it was over, Shin turned around and looked at Melvin. "Ouchie." Melvin stood there, now looking very close to a statue... His arm obviously gone along with the gauntlet. It was highly unlikely he was still alive after this. Shin just stared at the man, eyeing him suspiciously. Then cracks appeared all over Melvin's statue... Before it all shattered into pieces and dust.

Raphael stood in the center of a room in the WDL basement, watching people in several tanks as he furrowed his brows. "Damnation indeed... Those gauntlets containing the Chimera Formula aren't doing as expected. Only Sir Melvin has used it to it's full power, and he has been reported missing... Damn those Renegades to the pits of hell!" He slammed his hands on the table in front of him as he looked up and rose his brows, vital signs being reported. "Oh damn it, not now... Tell Angel it's Samuels' original again. His vital signs are starting to change... Ever since Samuel died, this has been happening. I'm going to have to talk to Angel when he gets here with that scum."

Angel had been busy fretting over the whole Kallos Business before going back to the Chimera Testing Facility located under his Academy. He stepped inside and looked around, finding Raphael in the center. "Report?".

"Sir, it's Samuels' original again. His vital signs are acting up again... I don't think we will be able to restrain him this time."

Angel sighed. "Well then we shall simply take him under our control and give him a dose of the Chimera Formula as well. Simple really. We shall also make sure he is on our side, the same way we manipulated Deon". Angel looked over the room, and grinned. "Such a good Doctor".

"Sir... You do know he is half demon, right? Think of the side effects... Samuel was literally created to host the Chimera Formula from the reports... What if something goes wrong?"

Angel looked at Raphael. "No matter, he will be under our control..... Awaken him, the sedatives should keep him calm enough".

Raphael sighed out. "You heard the boss! Wake the poor boy up! And... Make sure he believes he is still Samuel D'Brightaine. We can't have him remembering he is Devin Namach!"

Angel grinned as the numerous servants rushed to do his bidding, and he grinned. "This is going well".

Raphael nodded. "... While this is occurring, I will send out the others to scout the area for Kallos or any of his men. I will return when you need me..." With that, Raphael spread out his angel wings and flew out, wasting no time with each beat of his wings, sending angelic feathers falling behind him. Angel looked at the angel for only a moment, then turned back to the men pulling Devin out of the tube. "How is he?".

Devin winced as he clutched his head, "He has a splitting headache, thanks for asking."

Angel looked at the man and spoke again. "Tell me your name".

Squinting at the blur in front of him, he replied "As if you don't know already." In truth he was having trouble remembering much of anything, the feeling of his head splitting in half making it hard to concentrate.

Angel smirked. "Right, Samuel my brother! How are you aside from your headache?".

He winced again as his headache spiked in time with the words. "Well the headache seems to be the worst of it, but both my legs could be broken right now and I probably wouldn't notice." Slight exaggeration never hurt anyone.

Angel nodded and produced a vial from his pocket, grinning and throwing it to Samuel. "This should help, it's an... energy booster". Angel smirked and turned away before grabbing something off of the table. "It works best if you inject it straight into your bloodstream, so the neck should do fine".

Devin grabbed the small container from where it landed in his lap and was about to pull the stopper when Angel spoke. He grinned and replied "I was just gonna drink it, but ok." He felt around blindly for a moment and then said "Someone pass me a damn needle." Another blur moved in front of him and He felt the cool glass of the syringe in his palm, then He squinted in concentration as he filled the syringe from the vial, flicking it a few times so that he didn't die and then plunged it into the vein in his elbow. Devin sighed in relief as his sight cleared up and the pain from his headache receded. "Much better, i'll have to get the recipe for this off of you sometime."

Angel simply smirked. "It's not my recipe I'm afraid. A good Doctor stopped by and gave it to me. Now, how're you feeling after taking the dose?"

A man appeared beside Devin, examining him and dotting down things on a notepad. Devin opened his mouth to reply, then snapped it shut again as he took in his surroundings. "Nice digs, this your top-top-secret super-duper science lab?" He walked over and examined the giant glass tube he'd just been pulled out of, "You had me in one of these things? No wonder I had a headache, small spaces never did agree with me." He looked back at Angel "Oh, I feel pretty good now actually, like I've got some extra energy to run off, which I probably do depending on how long you had me in that mother-of-all-test-tubes"

Angel smirked. "Indeed this is, although this place doesn't exist". Angel smirked. "It's good to see you up and running again, Samuel". Angel nodded to a nearby Scientist, who tapped Devin on the shoulder. "Sir, we need to run some tests if you will allow us. Then we will show you back to your Quarters for some rest if you wish".

"Sure thing buddy, what kinda tests are we talking about?" he replied. The man simply handed Devin a piece of paper and motioned for him to follow. "Hmm, blood test, reflex test, MRI, this all seems pretty stan- wait, what's a 'Diolithic Extrapolating Radio-Pulse' Doc?"

"Derp!" replied the nameless minion.

Devin blinked a few times, not sure if he heard correctly "Did you just say Derp?"

"Indeed, my good man. Derp is one of the most important tests we are going to run on you."

Devin just sighed and palmed his face, "If you say so Doc."


==SOME TIME LATER==


Devin looked around curiously, standing at the mouth of a long dark hallway that might have been grand and impressive at one point but now looked dank and worn. "The fuck are we doing here?" he said to the person next to him.

Angel walked forward at this. "You will see... I am going to show you a great example of what we, the WDL, are capable of. If you will follow me... And do try not to listen to the screams you hear. They are demons calling out to you, trying to trick you and bind you to be a slave."

Devin eyed the numerous side doors warily, expecting a Demon gimp to suddenly burst out of one and try to drag him inside. "Riiiiight, so this is just the build up to some grand point you are trying to make that will fill me with faith and fanaticism?" He barely managed to contain his snort of amusement.

"You have been faithful, brother... If it weren't for your prayers, you would probably be dead right now."

Devin made a neutral 'Hmmm' sound in the back of his throat as he followed his brother through a door that looked in much better condition than the others in the hallway. "So what is so important to the WDL that you keep it in a place that looks like its seen less action than a dick-less hermit?"

Angel stopped before a door. "... Well, I believe this will answer everything. His name..." Angel rose a foot and kicked the door open. "... Is Deon Morris."

"Oh great, it's the Douche-bag again...". Deon looked up from the floor, his eyes glittering with amusement. "So, what 'torture' will it be today, eh? Oh, and nice to know how much you love me".

Devin looked between the two in obvious confusion, "I thought this guy was on our side? Or at least, not on theirs."

"He is a demon... A scum of the earth who must know his place." Angel then turned back to Deon at this. "I'd like to introduce you to my brother... Samuel D'Brightaine."

Deon blinked, before grinning. "Ohohohoho~ Nice to meet you, Samuel. IF that's your real name of course~". Deon smirked, and spoke to Angel. "Better than using a false identity, eh Angel?". Deon grinned at the mockery of Angel's name.

Devin frowned at the chained man, then at his brother. "This is why you dragged me here? So we could play twenty questions with this fuckmook?" His eyebrows rose as something occurred to him, "Or did you want me to kill him for you?"

Angel smirked at this. "Oh you can't kill him." He said, before suddenly grabbing a spear next to him and throwing it at Deon's chest. Deon glared at Angel as the Spear went straight through his heart, and he sighed. "The fuck, man?". Then he smirked. "So 'Samuel', how long have you been serving the WDL?"

Devins' eyes widened, "Long enough to know that a spear to the heart kills just about anything." He leaned down to examine the apparently mortal wound. "How are you doing that, wait - scratch that, where in the seven circles of Hell can i get me one of those?"

"Fortunately... He is the last of his damned kind. Don't get too close though... He likes to spit at people like a camel. It's the only thing intelligent enough he can be on par with."

Deon smirked. "Says the man who works for the Company I've evaded for over 1,000 years".

"And look at you now... Responsible for the death of your kind."

"Responsible in what way? For letting Humans go on a killing spree?".

Devin pulled the spear out of Deons' chest and examined the tip closely, "This spearhead is Seraphim Steel, the holiest of metals, why isn't your flesh burning?"

Deon simply smirked. "A Magician never reveals his secrets".

Devin smirked right back and started stabbing him in other places that would normally cause a severe case of death. "Then I shall just have to search you for the answers."

"Enough, Samuel... You cannot do anything to him. I have already taken out his heart, and, well... You can see it's only made him smell worse after I crushed the damn thing."

Deon grinned. "So you let them Brainwash you, eh Devin? Tell me, do you know who Hikari Scarlet is?"

Devin frowned at his brother, then at the bloody grinning fool on the floor and jabbed him in the neck with the spear one more time. "We ask the questions here Mr 'please-stab-me-again', not you." He turned back to his brother "Is there any particular reason we came here then or were you just trying to discourage me from making friends with people like him?"

"A little of both." Angel admitted, walking over to Devin. "Hold out your hand."

Deon snickered. "...Heh, 'Brother'....".

Devin held out his hand warily, keeping the spear ready to stab the asshole on the floor if he tried anything. Angel put down an empty syringe into his hand. Deon knew it all too well. It looked exactly like the syringe Samuel had used to inject himself before. "Take this... And plunge it into his heart. Draw out as much blood as you can, and when it is full... Stab it and inject it into your right arm. Preferably where you can see a vein."

"Pfft, Demon hating organization... Using demon Blood...". Deon smirked. "Hypocrites".

Devin smirked as he drew the blood, "All's fair in Love and War." He looked sideways at his brother as he rolled his sleeve up and then plunged the needle into his elbow, emptying the thick red liquid into it. At this, Devins' veins started to glow red as his arm started to shake violently, feeling like it was burning itself as an aura appeared around him, violently growing in power as his body was suddenly filled with an incredible amount of pain. He couldn't hear, his vision became blurry.

Angel watched Devin start to fall, grabbing the syringe and throwing it aside as he chuckled. "Perfect... As I hoped... The blood is making the Chimera Formula start to go berserk inside his body. Oh, I tried to think of how to make Deon Morris serve me... And then it hit me. Make him responsible for another death. How was it, watching your race die before your eyes? How was it, watching your master die? How was it... To watch Samuel die right in front of you? They all died... Because of you. And now... You have just poisoned Devin Namach, the REAL one."

Deon growled. "Angel, I swear. You're gonna pay for all of this... How did you even GET the Chimera Formula!?"

Angel smirked. "Why, you can't tell?"

"........No way....".

"It was a gift, after all... I only expanded the gift as it was intended to be used."

".....So he's actually serious this time... Fuck..."

"But enough about the Formula..." Angel turned to Devin and smirked. "... What a sweet face to make as he slowly begins to go closer to death's door... How lovely, don't you agree? You have seen people die so many times... And now you lay here, watching Devin suffer as his mind is slowly broken." Angel lazily glanced at his watch. "Only one minute left until his body explodes into a permanent mutation... Tick, tock, tick, tock. Time is running out."

"That's a good song, actually". Deon looked up at Angel and spoke. "Once I get free from these chains..."

"Fifty seconds...."

"...."

"Forty."

"Thirty seconds... Do you admit submission to me yet, Deon?"

"....No....".

"We'll see... Twenty seconds. You have that long to decide."

"..........I hate you so much....".

"Eighteen... Seventeen... Sixteen..."

"..............".

"Thirteen... Twelve..... Eleven..... Ten."

".............".

"Nine."

"Eight."

"Seven."

"Six."

"........."

"Five."

"...."

"Four."

".........."

"Three."

"........"

"Two."

".........."

"One...."

".....Fine.....".

"Fine what, Mr. Morris?"

"Fine.... I...." Deon visibly struggled with the words. "I....."

"You -what-?"

"The Executioner submits...".

"I never asked for the executioner.... I asked for Deon Morris to submit."

"Fine. I submit"

Angel smirked and pressed a button at this. "That's better.... Now he will regain control..."

Devin twitched and flopped around on the floor pathetically as his insides sorted themselves out. Angel chuckled. "... Only a fraction of the Chimera Formula remains in him. But that fraction can become bigger if I injected more... But that won't happen as long as you do what I say, Morris..."

Devin groaned pitifully as he blearily opened his eyes and tried to take in his surroundings. Angel turned towards Devin at this. "Rise... Devin Namach. You have done well." Devin struggled into a sitting position propped up against the wall, he took in the bloody and chained form across from him and the pompous asshole in the doorway, then looked down at the syringe and spear lying on the floor.

"Fuck me, that must have been one hell of a party."

Deon looked over at Devin. "Back to Devin now, eh?".

"No party, Devin... I imagine you remember Arthur, the man who recruited you into the WDL?"

Devin squinted at Deon, "Hey, I know you! Pinky right? I didn't recognize you without a couple of guys beating the crap out of you." He turned to look at Angel, "Yeah, I remember Captain Self-Righteous and his merry band of sycophants." He turned an unnatural pale as the blood drained from his face. "I also remember a blonde psycho-bitch playing head games with me in a limo." He frowned at the floor, "That actually happened didn't it?"

Deon laughed. "Oh man, is Pinky the best you can come up with? That's not even my real name!". Deon snickered.

Devin shrugged carelessly, wincing when his muscles protested. "I heard the stuck up biker-chick call you it and it just seemed appropriate." He glanced at Angel, "So, what the fuck guys? Who volunteered me to play hamster for your little white-coats?"

"It was Arthur's last test for you... To see if you were worthy of becoming a true member of the WDL. A true exorcist. Arthur is gone now, and I lead in his place. He has a reward waiting for you, all I ask..." He paused dramatically. "...is that you transform."

Devin nodded thoughtfully, "Is that all?" He asked nonchalantly. "Why didn't you ask earlier? Here let me just-" he struggled to his feet "-prepare myself." He reached deep into his jacket pockets and then pulled both hands out with his middle fingers raised. "Oh look, it seems you don't have the required skill points to make me transform."

Deon laughed at this, and spoke. "Oh man, I like this guy!".

Angel frowned. "So you would rather let a powerful weapon go to me then obtain it yourself?"

Deon looked at Angel. "...Weapon?".

Devin kicked Deon in the leg with what little force he could muster, "That's for fucking me up with your blood." He turned back to Angel, "Trust me, if I knew how to become a bad-ass Hellspawn there would be a lot more dead people in this room."

"Do it anyway. Or the weapon Arthur wanted you to have will be long gone."

Deon smirked. "Hey, I ain't the dickhead who took it without reading the warning labels! In other words; You done goofed!"

Devin ignored Deons' taunts and focused on the most important things, getting his hands on whatever Arthur 'I'm-the-strongest-man-in-the-world-except-i'm-dead-now' wanted to give him, and how the hell he was going to get away from this crazy motherfucker. "What sort of weapon are we talking about?

"Well... Imagine something like a sword. But that's all I'll tell you. Transform - now."

Devin glared at the self-important shit-stain in front of him. Who the hell did he think he was to order him about, the last guy who tried that got a knife between his ribs. 'Enough of this dicking around, I'm gonna rip his head off and shit down his throat.' As he though this Devin's body twisted and rippled, his muscles and bones shifting and growing into a demonic parody of an exoskeleton. With a thought Devin willed himself across the space between them, reappearing with an angry hiss. His burning yellow eyes conveyed a very clear message to the human as he raised his clawed hand to strike. Angel drew out Excalibur in a blur and pierced it's tip into Devins' chest. Pulling it out just as quick, the form Devin was in shattered and the pieces were absorbed back into his body, all the while Angel lazily put Excalibur back into it's sheath.

Devin screamed bloody rage as he fell to his knees, the shock of transforming and then shattering being too much for his already weakened form. He glared defiantly at Angel, "That's the last time you stick me with something dick-wad, now give me what is mine."

Angel smirked. "I am sort of impressed. You were able to take control... But, do you feel, better now? Almost... Reborn, in a way?" True to his word, Devin was slowly feeling better... And with it, he felt power. Power he had never had before. His body felt lighter, he felt like he could jump higher then ever before.

"I don't know how strong you have become, but, as far as I understand... When a demon takes control over his demon form, he gains some sort of... Power up, if you will. Now, I do believe I owe you... A reward. So, why not give you two?" With that, Angel snapped his fingers and the door they entered in opened with four figures walking in, holding two wrapped objects...

Devin rose to his feet slowly, not quite trusting anything at the moment, having gone from excruciating pain to blissful numbness and back again so many times today that he had lost count. He walked over to the four new figures and motioned to what they were carrying. "Come on then, show me what you've got."

One of the figures hissed from behind it's helmet at him as it and its partner slowly placed the larger object down first. "You will recognize this object as a sword... Open it." The two figures hissed again, and unwrapped the bindings to reveal a familiar sword laying there.

Deon watched the entire scene unfold, and sighed. "Great...."

"I believe you will sort of know this Sword." Angel glanced towards Deon at this. "After all.... The phoenix over there use to wield it, before I took it from his sheath."

The two other figures came forward and placed the other object down, throwing the bindings off to reveal two pistols that were smoking. Upon the bindings being released off of them, they gave a demonic growl as a sinister aura came off of them.

"Constructed, just for you... The newest demon weapon we've made..."

Devin reached in and picked up a pistol in each hand, hefting them slightly to get a feel for their weight, before settling them on his hips where they stayed of their own accord. Then he went over to the other weapon, the legendary Mokou, picked it up and swished it around a few times, before smirking at Deon and slapping it onto his back, where it stayed as if sheathed. "I'll take good care of this for you, until you find you have need of it again." Then he remembered the spear still lying on the floor and snapped his fingers, causing it to fly towards his hand where he caught it in mid air and then slung it over his other shoulder, point down and stuck fast. "Well, it's been a pleasure gents. We should do this again sometime, how about never?"

Angel smirked. "Oh no, you seem to be mistaken. By accepting those weapons, you have just promised to fight tomorrow... And if you don't show up, well... It's not going to look good for the Namach family."

Devin burst out laughing at the piss-poor attempt at a threat. "Oh you poor misinformed bastard. What makes you think I care what happens to the 'Namach Family'?" He wiped a fake tear of mirth from his eye. "They can burn in Hell for all I care, I washed my hands of them a long time ago."

Angel frowned at this. "... So you would rather die then fight for me?"

"At this rate it looks to me like I'm going to end up dead one way or another, I've almost died twice and the day's not even over yet. What exactly do you expect me to fight anyway? It's not like I know how to use any of the stuff you just gave me."

"How about your former friend... Ashley Clade?"

"The whacked out biker-chick? That bitch has more issues than playboy magazine, why would I fight her?"

"What would you want in return for fighting for me? Name it, and I can give it to you... Perhaps I'll even let you have the dumb girl as a token of my gratitude."

Devin frowned thoughtfully for a moment before speaking, "Now I know you've got it in for me. Not only do you want me to stick my neck out for you again, but the incentive you offer is a crazy-woman who's more likely to slit my throat while I sleep than give me the time of day." He laughed humorlessly. "You cannot give me what I want, but if the choices are fight or die, I'll fight and take what I can get." He paused. "I had a really nice knife once, it was as long as my forearm and shiny like a mirror." He sighed "It's probably in some rich bastards display case by now." He shook himself out of his memories. "Anyway, short blades are the only thing I've worked with before so if you can get me some new steel, that would be appreciated."

"You'll fight with the weapons you've got... Unless you want to spend the night here, sleeping under a bleeding carcass."

"I figured as much, you don't seem like the accommodating sort." He glanced at Deon slumped in the corner. "If I win I get the Clade girl and I get the pin-cushion over there. Those are my terms."

Deon looked up, and smirked. "So you're gonna torture me, eh?..... Damn...".

"Fine... But you will be watching over Deon tonight. If he escapes, I will find you." With that, Angel headed for the door, the four figures following.

Devin smirked at Angels' back as he left the room, then turned around and slid down the wall until he was sitting facing Deon. "Fuck a duck, that guy is nuts." He looked up at Deon and gave a half smile, "Do me a favor and don't escape tonight, If I die then you and the Clade girl are right fucked."

Deon returned the smile, and went to extend his hands before realizing his chains wouldn't let him. "Well, I'd better introduce myself properly, eh? And trust me, I'm fucked either way. I'll be sitting tight anyways." Deon smirked. "Right, Deon Morris, Leader of the Spec Ops Division of the Renegades. Nice to officially meet ya, Mr Namach." Deon smirked. "Or should I say, 'Little Bro'?"

Devin shrugged carelessly and leaned his head back against the wall. "Say what you like, it makes no difference to me." He fixed Deon with an intense stare. "They all hate you but most of them don't know why, they just hate because they are told they should." He snorted. "Zealots. What do these Renegades do that makes them different from the wankers around here?"

At this, a loud roar could be heard, along with some grumbling that passed by them. "Deon Morris... Gaea will crush you.... Gaea knows you are near.... Gaea will snuff you out like a bug." The giant form of Gaea walked by, restricted and dying in his current form, Gaea was dragged along towards a near by cell.

Deon smirked. "Well for starters we don't lock innocent people up or-.... Well shit, it's Him again..." He cupped his hands around his mouth. "YO GAEA! IN HERE!" He snickered. He could use this to his advantage.

Devin just raised an eyebrow in silent question.

Deon looked to Devin and grinned wider. "Let's just say he's an... old acquaintance of mine." Deon laughed a little, and continued. "The Renegades believe that it's not what you are that makes you, but how you act. We give everyone a fair go even if they're a Demon, and we only act if they're a proven threat to Humanity or other stuff. Think of us as the WDL, except less wanker-ish and less enthusiastic to lock people up. It's... hard to explain, actually..." Deon smirked. "It's been a while since we last saw each other. What've you been doing?"

Gaea looked over at them and growled. "Deon Morris! Gaea should destroy you where you lay, but Gaea has other means of doing so!"

Deon smirked. "Love you too, babe."

Devin smiled faintly at the description of the Renegades. "Sounds like you're a regular bunch of boy scouts. Me? That crazy fucker knocked me over the head the day that we got here. I've been chilling in a giant test tube since then and he only woke me up today. Which reminds me, what day is it?"

Gaea slammed his hand down at this, making the ground shake underneath them.

Devin growled deep in his throat, "Shut the fuck up you overgrown hunk of rock, we're trying to have a conversation in here!"

Deon blinked. "Well shit... I have no idea.... Hehehehhahahahahaha!". Deon laughed, and his eyes shone. "Oh man, you're not half bad, ya know?" He grinned slyly. "Funny thing is, I can leave at any time."

Gaea rumbled. "Should Gaea make another child, just so he can crush you for me? That would bring back honor to Gaea's family..."

Devin eyed the chains attached to his cell mate disbelievingly, "It sure doesn't look that way to me."

Deon grinned. "You think I want to make it obvious?". Suddenly, Deon's hand slipped through the chain and it fell, useless, to the floor beside him. Deon smirked. "Magic."

Devin's eyebrows rose towards his hairline, "Two things, Number one: how did you do that!? Number Two: what's with big and ugly out there, did you run over his dog or something?"

Deon smirked. "One, A Magician never reveals his secrets, and two...". Deon turned to Gaea. "Yo man, want a rematch? I'll beat you like a I beat those kids on CoD the other day! 1,300 to 1!"

Gaea let out a roar in response and made the floor shake again.

Deon let out a mocking fake roar and turned back to Devin. "Still confused? I'm a Half Demon, your older brother by blood. 1,300 years old and still one of the most dangerous things you'll ever fuck with. I'm also one of the last of my kind...."

"That seems rather contradictory. I poked you full of holes that would have killed anything else, wouldn't something with that sort of power be the dominant species on the planet?"

"Gaea hears you! Gaea can smell you! .... Even though Gaea doesn't have a nose."

Deon sighed. "Sadly no. We.... Well, let's just say that our genes are... pretty darn selective, just like those of a Nue. We can only breed with certain other Demons, or rarely humans, so yeah...". Deon laughed at Gaea's comment. "And apparently no brain, either!".

"I suppose that explains it, so why stay here and play captive then? If you could just waltz on out any time you like?"

Deon smirked. "As long as I'm here, the others will be alive".

"Gaea will enjoy watching Deon squirm, while his friends die by Angel's hands tomorrow!"

"What others do yo- PUT A ROCK IN IT YOU WALKING PILE OF RUBBLE!" He turned back to Deon. "What others? The Clade girl?"

"Any and all Demons in the entire Renegades. Clade, Ashley, by the way, Keilani, Sebastian, you. Probably everyone I know, actually.... Damn".

"If only the stupid phoenix knew!"

"....." Deon sighed, and summoning one of his guns, shot Gaea straight in the face. "Blockhead."

"But if I win tomorrow, then Angel has to give you to me but still hold up his end of your deal. Right?"

"AGGGHHH!! Deon uses cheap trick on Gaea! Gaea won't tell you Angel and Raphaels' plans now!"

"I hope so." Deon turned to Gaea. "Plans?"

Devin snorted, "Yeah right, Angel tells all his plans to you and I'm gonna propose on bended knee to the Clade girl tomorrow."

"Angel didn't tell Gaea! Gaea heard stupid angel boy and stupid human talking while Gaea was walking past! They thought Gaea was too old to hear them, too dead to care! But Gaea smarter then them! Gaea heard everything!"

Deon turned to Gaea. "Well waddaya know, you might've actually done something good or useful in your entire life. Feel good about it, man. Feel real good. Then tell me".

"Gaea won't tell scum like you! .... Unless.... You do Gaea a favor."

Deon sighed. "A favor?".

Devin huffed in amusement, "Here we go, let me guess, you want us to exact vengeance for you?" He paused for effect. "Or have you got an itch you can't quite reach?"

Deon laughed at Devin's joke. "Yep. Definitely my little Bro".

"Silence, scum! Deon hurt Gaea... So Deon help Gaea... Gaea knows of a special room, where demon weapons are forged. It is said this very room is where Arthur took Excalibur every day! Gaea needs the lava to survive... If Deon helps Gaea get to room... Gaea will tell you as he is preparing for his slumber over night."

Devin eyed Gaea skeptically. "How exactly will we get you to this room? You don't strike me as the stealthy type."

"All WDL soldiers and exorcists are preparing for tomorrow... The room will be unguarded..."

Deon smirked. 'Maaaybe I will."

"Gaea has all day... While you waste time sitting there... Gaea will remain sitting here until you have decided."

"Or I could just ask a certain someone for the plans whenever I like, you know. It's not as much of a one-way deal as you seemed to have thought it was, Gaea." Deon's eyes glinted mischievously, and his smiled seemed a little devilish.

"As you wish... But Gaea will enjoy watching Deon suffer as he was too late to save his brothers and sisters."

Devin snorted in morbid amusement. "You're surprisingly cruel for a talking lump of stone, you know that?"

Deon simply pulled out his other Revolver, and shot Gaea in the face again. "Silence, or I'll silence you permanently".

"AGGGHHH!!!"

There was silence for a moment before Devin finally asked the question that had been bursting to get out since he entered the room.

"So... do you come here often?"