Ashley 'Ash/Soot' Clade's Story

| Jonathan Black/JoJo |

"Give it to me."

JoJo bolted upright, panting hard as he looked around the room in a panic. His breath was heavy as he surveyed the room, wiping sweat from his brow as he slowly calmed down. He slowly swung his feet off of the bed, groaning as he put his feet on the wooden floor of his bedroom. It was awfully cold, and he winced a little as the cool wood made him wiggle his toes. "Jesus." He slowly stalked over to his door, yawning loudly as he opened it. After a little exploration, JoJo realised he was alone. Dawn must've gone out, but he had no idea where. He sauntered over to the fridge, grabbing the milk before hunting down some fruit loops and making himself breakfast.

He ate slowly, grumbling to himself as he tried to remember what had scared him so much before. He shrugged, flopping down onto his couch with bowl in hand as he chowed down. JoJo eventually finished both his cereal and whatever he was watching, deciding it would be prudent to complete his morning routine. His shower was long and relaxing- warm water always made him feel calm, letting him think freely. He stepped out of the shower, got dried, and then dressed. He chose a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, slipping them on with a pain of shoes before he moved back into the lounge room. His mind still lingered on the subtle feeling of dread that seemed to clench his heart.

Ignoring it, JoJo went about his day quite normally- he studied, played video games (it was his console, but Dawn dominated it the majority of the time), and went the the shops where he spent a good amount of time chatting on the phone to a friend of his. "Yeah, sure, sounds good. I'll head over around 7ish on Saturday, so you better have it all ready for us-" He paused, midway home from his trek to the shops when he saw her.

The floating blonde girl. He paused for a moment, going still and silent as he stared over at her. She waved far too casually, a small smirk playing over her lips as JoJo narrowed his eyes at her. He closed them, shook his head, and when they opened she was gone. "Maybe.. I should go see a Doctor.." he thought to himself, shaking his head again before resuming his conversation. "Yeah, yeah, I'll bring the pizza, shut up." He chuckled, almost immediately putting the thoughts behind him. Whenever he saw her, his head began to ache, and he felt a familiar feeling- but he'd never seen her before, that he remembered.

He eventually got home, putting the groceries away. He'd spent most of the day gaming, and he was just about to launch into his usual exercise routine, putting his earphones in as an almost inaudible voice whispered into his ear- he would've dismissed it completely if he hadn't felt the breath from their lips tickle his ear as they spoke.

"Better watch out."

JoJo spun around, fists raised to defend himself, but nothing was there. Recently, JoJo had been hallucinating every damn minute. He grit his teeth, shaking his head as he went to put the earphones he'd dropped in his ear. He went through with his usual exercise routine, then decided to take the trash down. Riding down in the elevator, JoJo casually carried his trash bags to the larger bins in the alley behind the apartment building. Walking back, he discovered a girl, obviously in distress. He approached her, slightly concerned. "Erm, miss, are you okay?"

She turned to him, green eyes just a little wide as she fidgeted. "Oh, uh, yes, I- erm, I seem to have locked myself out.." JoJo grinned, holding up his keys. "Well, I'll let you in. Everything alright?"
The girl smiled at him, nodding. "Thank you so much! I was getting a little worried that I'd be out here all night." Her green eyes locked with JoJo's, and he felt something odd in the back of his head. Something he happily ignored, instead choosing to focus on the cute girl in front of him. "It's fine, but be careful not to do it again." He slid his card against the reader, the front door popping unlocked as he opened it wide for her. She moved in quite gracefully, although JoJo barely noticed her unusual saunter. He moved in behind her, closing the door. She'd already called the elevator and was holding the door open for him.

JoJo jogged slightly, not wanting to make her wait. "Sorry. Press 8?" The girl nodded and obliged, smiling. "That's my floor, too."
JoJo raised an eyebrow. This was a a bit of an odd coincidence, he thought, but he didn't let that thought stay for long as those gorgeous green eyes connected with his again. The elevator door opened, and JoJo realised they'd been staring into each others eyes the entire trip up. That feeling turned up again, but he ignored it once more. He blushed slightly, extending his hand to let her go first, and she, smiling coyly, obliged. "So, erm, which unit are you in?" She smiled at him, "Next door to yours, actually" were the words out of her mouth as he raised an eyebrow.

They reached his room, and he smiled. "Well, be more careful next time, okay? I might not be there to help you out if you get locked out again." He unlocked his apartment door, smiling, and turned away to go inside. He paused however, when the girl behind him coughed a little loudly. "Um, I hate to be a bother, but.. could I possibly borrow some coffee? I ran out earlier and was wondering if I could borrow some. I'll pay you back tomorrow, I've just been flat out with work and I left my stuff at the office and.." JoJo held up his hand. "It's fine. Make yourself at home- I'll grab some for you."

Within a few seconds JoJo was in the kitchen, grabbing some coffee while the girl leaned against the doorway and hummed to herself. He decided to strike up some small-talk, and chuckled softly. "I haven't seen you before. Are you new here?" The girl laughed lightly, and replied. "I am. I just moved next door recently, came here for work. Is it obvious?" JoJo smirked, rummaging through the drawers to find something she could carry it in. "Well, people get locked out from time to time, so.."

JoJo heard his neighbours arrive back home, and his body froze as his mind clicked.
The neighbours in the unit she'd pointed out were both college buddies who he'd spoken to a couple of times. JoJo had just assumed that she was with them, but then he remembered that there was only the two in the apartment. Meaning she couldn't have actually been a resident there- everything fell into place; her lack of keycard, being on the same floor with him; her excuse to come into his apartment- but worst of all, that ethereal voice from before hand warned him; "Better be careful."

He slowly stood up, turning around to find the doorway empty. "Uh, hello?" He slowly put the container he'd found down, glancing around the room a bit fearfully as he bit his lip. His body was starting to get goosebumps as he slowly reached over and grabbed a knife from a drawer. "Well, better than nothing.." He slowly moved towards the doorway, leaning out of it with his knife in front of him as he looked around. He heard a small giggle from his bedroom, and despite his better judgement, moved into the open room. The girl was there, and she sighed softly as she held a photo of him. "I told you I came here for my work, Jonathan Black. And this is my work." She turned to him, smiling warmly- before she opened her mouth to reveal to some awfully sharp canines. She blinked, and her eyelids closed sideways as her green eyes fell out onto the bedroom floor, replaced with black eyes with red pupils. Her body shook violently as four gigantic legs burst from her spine, lifting her off of the floor slightly. JoJo gulped, noticing very familiar biology to a certain type of bug. "Um. What the fuck." He could barely believe what he saw as the girl brushed her hair back, six more eyes opening sideways on her face; all of which were trained directly on him.

JoJo chuckled softly, casually dropping his knife slightly. "Well, that, uh, fuck." His pupils had dilated slightly, his fear overcoming him quite a bit. "You're.. you're a.."

"Spider. Yes."

"You're a spider."

"Yes."

"Are.. are ya sure?"

"... Yes."

"Okay, well, um, this has been real fun, uh, see, I have an appointment.." He took a step to leave the room, and the girl grinned. All of her teeth were now sharp as knives, the four legs coming from her back all crouched. JoJo swore. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"

He barely slammed the door as the spider girl rammed into it, and JoJo squealed a little as he felt a huge weight on the door. He staggered backwards, stumbling over to fall onto the couch as he watched the doorframe ripped off its hinges. He froze up before leaping off of the couch just in time to avoid one of those massive legs slamming into it and spearing right through it. "Jesus Christ on a bicycle what the fuck woman!" The girl simply smiled, turning to him with her creepy spider-spear-leg-things and speaking matter of factly. "I'm here to kill you. Now, if you could sit still and let me eat you, that would be much appreciated."

JoJo chuckled softly, and gave her the middle finger. She smiled, and began to approach him. He took a deep breath, and decided to think of her as less of a spider, and more of a woman. "You're not a spider," he whispered. "You're just a Doctor Octopus cosplayer." He stood up, smirking confidently at the spider woman. The sudden change in demeanour made the girl raise an eyebrow at him. "Well, I hate to tell you this, but my family has a secret technique that you've probably never heard of." The girl blinked all of her eyes at him. He pointed at her, laughing loudly. "That's right, the JoJo family's secret technique!" As he spoke, he slowly backed up. "Wanna know what it is?"

"What would that be?"

"It's called running the fuck away!"

JoJo ripped his front door open, immediately leaping sideways as he looked back to see two of the giant stabby spider legs pierce through the door. He immediately floored it to the elevator, rapidly pushing the buttons as spider lady slowly walked out of the doorway.

"I'm going to gut you slowly, JoJo-"

The elevator door slammed shut on her taunt as he sighed hard, calming down just a little. "Okay, JoJo. What the hell do you do now? You're being hunted by a giant spider lady that wants to eat your face and presumably every other part of you, and you have nowhere to run." He quickly pulled out his phone, texting Dawn;
"Trouble.
Don't come home.
Some sort of spider woman.
Probably going to die.
Definitely going to die.
Hope your day was better.
xoxo JoJo"

He chuckled slightly, sweat dripping down his face as he put his phone away. "I probably shouldn't be making jokes right about now, but.. better than getting the shit scared out of me. Hopefully she'll appreciate my humour in the face of death." He chuckled again, before the door opened. He leaped outside, looking around to make sure the spider wasn't with him anymore. He looked up at the stairway, and practically passed out right then and there. She hung from the railings on the second floor, staring down at him. "Elevators are a tiny bit slow, JoJo, don't you think?" JoJo grinned, gave her a thumbs up, and bolted towards the doorway. He slammed through the door as he felt one of her leg things graze his side, and the bristles on her skin stabbed into him a little. It stung, but he'd rather be hurt a little than be eaten. He panted, immediately sprinting for his life down the road.

He sprinted for a couple blocks before stopping to take a rest- he'd run so fast that he'd basically exhausted himself. "Fuck.. shit.. dicks... balls.. dumbass.. spider bitch.. Jesus." He looked up, leaning against the wall beside him heavily. He watched as the shadows above the streetlights flickered. Then he realised the flickering shadow was a crazy spider lady leaping after him. JoJo swore internally. "Jesus fucking.. Okay, that didn't work. I need to get somewhere where there's no people and there's also a way to either barricade myself or protect myself." He looked around, and then noticed the building that was under construction across the road. He grinned victoriously, staring over at it with a bit of renewed hope. He began his mad dash straight across the empty road and into the building. On his way in he noticed a metal pipe on the floor, skidding to a stop momentarily to quickly grab it as he bolted inside.

JoJo had found a hiding place rather quickly, when he head a loud thud, and very familiar humming filled the area as the spider lady began her search. He remained where he was, behind a supporting pillar, and just out of her sight. He tried to control his breathing, biting his lip until it bled to prevent himself from panicking. She came closer and closer and closer, and JoJo readied his pipe to swing. It was now or never- he couldn't outrun her and he certainly couldn't kill her, but he'd rather try to at least slow her down before he died. He'd smack her in the face with the pipe and then stab the creepy bitch right in the gut, or something. JoJo was so focused in his thoughts that he didn't notice that his predator had stopped searching and gone silent.

His ears pricked up at the sudden silence, and an odd wave of dread crept over JoJo as he felt a finger gently tap his left shoulder. He looked up just in time to see eight glowing eyes above his as she grabbed him by the throat with her human hands, squeezing hard enough to almost snap his neck. He couldn't breathe at all, and all he could see was her triumphant grin and eight creepily glowing eyes. He dropped the pipe to the floor beneath him, starting to fade in and out of consciousness before he remembered the knife in his hand. He flailed wildly forward as he blindly sliced at her, and all of a sudden air rushed into his lungs as he hit the floor. He breathed hard, his senses all coming back as he heard screaming. He look up, watching the spider girl clutch her face. She was screaming bloody murder, writhing against the ceiling in what looked like agony. "My eyes! My fucking eyes! You fucking asshole! You fucking cut my fucking eyes, fuck!" JoJo felt sorry for her, sure, but she kinda did deserve it.

Without hesitating for a second, JoJo grabbed the pipe, only to turn around as the Tsuchigumo lunged at him from the ceiling. His adrenaline kicked in, and he swung the pipe, something like a growl dragging itself out of his chest as he met her lunge with his makeshift bat- "Break Mode!" he screamed, a roar that burst from his lungs like thunder. JoJo's body exploded with energy, a blue aura forming around him as he slammed his pipe into the side of her face. The spider lady went flying, crashing through several support pillars and vanishing in a pile of rubble as she slammed into a wall. JoJo panted, watching for her to move again as the aura stayed. He looked down at himself, eyes wide in wonder as he realised that he felt absolutely amazing- he was barely exhausted at all.

His revelation and jubilation was short lived, however, as his opponent slowly stood up. She growled, then screeched an ungodly sound before she leaped at him again. JoJo, now much more confident, raised his pipe. He breathed hard, getting ready to hit the woman across the face again as she launched herself at him. He got ready to duck her four stabby arms, and as they reached for him he slid between them and aimed his pipe for a downwards smack onto the skull of his aggressor. JoJo roared again, starting to bring his pipe down as she came in range. Surrounded by her legs, his pipe slammed down onto her head and sent her slamming into the floor- a small crater under her from the raw force he'd used to hammer her with. He stepped backwards, away from the limp body.

Once he was at a safe distance, JoJo dropped the pipe. He looked over at her- she'd tried to kill him, but he'd much have preferred to just fight her off. He slid down onto his ass, sitting against another pillar, exhaustion creeping up his body. He closed his eyes for a second, then opened them wide as his worst nightmare came true-

The spider girl was slowly standing up. She growled from deep inside of her, flexing the fingers that had now become claws on her hands. Blood drooled from her blinded eyes and the two cracks on her face, coating the floor with what seemed to be a type of acidic substance. Her one good human eye locked with JoJo's own, the other eye crushed and hanging from its socket slightly. Her eye was full of bestial rage, more animal than human at this point. She slowly began to stagger over to the collapsed boy, breathing hard as her eye widened with manic intent. She let out a loud roar before charging at JoJo, who slowly stood up. As soon as she charged, she staggered and fell, her leg refusing to support her any longer. She glared death at JoJo from her position on the floor, her whole body bristling with rage. "How.. How dare you! Finish me, Demon! Go on, end me! Kill me! Send me to Hell! Fucking do it, you murderous sack of shit! Kill! Me! Fucking beat me to death with your stupid pipe already! Do it!" JoJo was taken aback- Demon? Sending her to Hell? At this point he didn't doubt the existence of Hell at all considering he was just attacked by something from his nightmares, but why did she think he was going to kill her? He was perfectly content to leave her be, but she seemed like she expected him to outright butcher her.

JoJo sank down again, panting hard as he watched the spider girl crawl across the floor towards him. She groaned, tears streaming down from her face. She was.. crying? JoJo thought about it, and she must've been in agony. The two smacks with the pipe had basically opened up her skull, and she only had one good eye left out of eight. JoJo looked over at her, and muttered more to himself than to her. "Shit.. I'm sorry."

The spider girl paused, looking over at him. "What the fuck did you just say?" JoJo looked up, stunned. "I-I said I was.. sorry." The girl gritted her teeth, stopping her crawling as she slowly began to stand up. Her bleeding sure wasn't stopping- in fact it was obvious that she could barely even control her body. She was shaking hard, twitching as her body tried to convulse in pain. She glared at JoJo, her breathing causing her entire body to shudder as she clenched her hand hard enough to dig her nails into her skin and slice it open. "You.. win... this time. You'll die one day or another, Jonathan. By my hand or by anothers.. you're gonna fucking die.. Don't you dare apologise to me when your mere existence spells our death, you sack of shit..!" She gritted her teeth, eyes widening as the sound of footsteps approached. She swore, giving JoJo one more look- not a glare, but something else. Her four legs fell to the ground as she clenched her hand and bit her lip to stop herself from screaming in pain, blood going everywhere and making a loud hissing sound as it hit the floor and began to melt through it. Four new legs burst from her back, and she leaped away. her limp body flew with her, her spider legs launching her high and far per leap as she eventually vanished into the distance. JoJo closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he was surrounded by people.

They ushered the exhausted boy into a hummer parked beside the building. He was somewhat roughly pushed into the back, an envoy of hummers already ready to accompany his to.. somewhere. He didn't protest, far too tired to do anything but stagger to the car. He hit the backseat and a concerned girl with a medical cross on her arm began asking him questions. He couldn't answer, his mind going blank as he fell into a deep sleep.

The last thing JoJo heard was that malicious voice- taunting him in his dreams, asking for something that he had no idea about. Asking for something, except this time it asked differently;

"Give it to me, Child of the Devil."

---

| ? ? ? |

A small knocking sound was audible against Rick's door, albeit if he were to answer it, he'd find nothing but an envelope on the floor. Of course, the one who left this expected him to use his ability to read it without even opening it, so they'd just left it on the floor. Inside the letter would be a note, typed out on a computer, addressed to him;

"Rick,

Since you've been such a good boy and have waited so patiently, I believe it's time a reward for your stalwart efforts was provided. Come to the Assembly Hall at noon sharp today, and you'll be given a gift for your lovely, polite behaviour.

Just kidding- we've rounded up one more of your siblings. If you could come and introduce yourself to them, that would be amazing. Of course, you're not required to, but I'm sure you'd enjoy the company. He's an avid reader, so you might get along- or you might kill each other. Oh well. Be courteous, or just kick him in the face. He's a little trippy, considering his run-in with a lovely spider lady the other night."

He'd get the impression that the author of the letter was really just wasting time to fill up an otherwise blank page. Although, the font was awfully small, leaving just a bit of space at the page. Just enough to irk anyone that had OCD.
Aside from that, that was all he'd been given. The one who delivered it, who was probably also the author, was off meeting someone else.

---

A gentle tap on Vesper's shoulder would've probably made her jump considering there was absolutely no clue to prepare her for it. Turning around, she'd have to look down a little to find the petite Principal of the Warrior's of the Divine Light's Academy, known only as Illusion. The smaller girl gave Vesper a sly smirk, eyes twinkling with amusement as she stared up at Vesper. "Good morning to you, my emotionally-deadened friend. I'm here to deliver a message of utmost import in regards to your predicament. You're well aware that there are Seven on you, but only three of you are here. However, we'll be adding to that number at noon today with the arrival of our newest satan spawn." She paused for a moment, staring deep into Vesper's eyes- it made Vesper shudder, or at least feel quite uncomfortable. Illusion smiled. "If that enough isn't enough to interest you.." she took Vesper's hands in her own, her smirk growing wider. "He goes by the name of Jonathan Black, otherwise known as JoJo." With that, she stepped away from Vesper and curtsied, looking up at the girl as she did so. "I trust you will be present for his arrival to the campus, he'll be in the Auditorium at noon."

With that, the loli vampire waltzed off to visit her final, and most enthusiastic and hospitable child.

---

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone hammered on Ash's door incessantly, obviously not going to stop until she awoke.
The knocking was growing continually louder and louder, not showing any sign of stopping, even for common courtesy.

The knocking stopped abruptly, and if Ash were to roll over or open her eyes depending on her position, she'd be greeted to the sight of one slightly irked lolita staring dead into her eyes. "Good morning, Ashley Clade. Classes start at approximately 10 am, so you should be out of bed and getting ready to pretty your face, unless dead and exhausted is the look you enjoy going for?" The small girl grinned, reaching over to pat Ash's head derisively. "Or are we feeling a bit under the weather? Feeling a bit lonely away from your family?" The girl laughed, putting her hands on her hips. "Fear not, ye heathen, for thou art blessed with yet another spawn of the Devil to call family- although I expect you to just snarkily insult him and then go sulk while you wonder why nobody really likes you. I suggest being at the Auditorium at noon." A wide, toothy grin came after as the Principal left the room, humming to herself and outright ignoring anything Ash said, before she left. "Don't be late to class again!"
Ash wouldn't know this, but her door remained shut the whole time.

Ashley “Ash” “Soot” Clade

“What am I even doing…?” Ash mumbled to herself, sipping from the can of drink she’d purchased, swirling it a little to check that there was still some more liquid inside before sculling the rest. The tall, cool, beauty dropped the can to her feet before crushing it, stopping to stare at the crumpled mess a moment before kicking it away across the dirt road, frustration creeping up on her. Standing beside her bike on a dirt road, the only real scenery of note was the dilapidated bus stop and vending machine that had initially drawn her attention. Sadly, the map on the shelter wall she’d been hoping to utilise was far too vandalised to be of much use. All around, tall grass blew steadily in the wind, with no echoes of civilisation anywhere else in sight. She’d chosen here for one specific reason, and quite simply, she knew no-one could sneak up on her in a place this open.

It was all still so surreal. One moment, she’d taken a trip out of town to cool her head, the next; a bunch of suits had surrounded her and began spouting nonsense about demons, devil-children and some holy faction. Personally, she thought they were some wack job cultists with a few screws loose, and had no intention of going with them. Though that still didn’t explain why she’d left her home, driven off into the night, and now found herself in the middle of nowhere contemplating how she was going to get herself a proper meal. Did she believe in the crazy stuff they said? No. At least… Not all of it. The magic one of those weirdos had demonstrated was certainly enough of an eye opener that there were things in this world she didn’t understand. Then there were the things they said about her… And her family.

“If you’re not a threat to them, then those that are coming for you will be.”

Ash frowned a bit at the memory, recalling the look in their eyes, the tenseness they were trying to hide. Despite outnumbering her six to one, she knew fear when she saw it. They were scared of her, and with their hands ever so subtly ready to draw their weapons should she do anything… Too sudden. It made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. Just what did they see in her? Sighing again, she wiped the sweat from her brow, moving back over to her bike to get on the move once more, when she heard it. Low at first, but steadily getting closer. Shifting slightly to get a look over the horizon, she saw the faint glint of light reflecting off a vehicle. Squinting, she slowly began to recognise the features. It was them. Ugh, she thought she’d have made more distance between them by now. She’d told them she’d think about it and give them an answer later. She never actually expected them to find her again after that.

Climbing back onto her bike, she prepared to take off in the opposite direction, pulling on her helmet. What she saw when she looked up again stopped her in her tracks. From the opposite direction was another identical vehicle, cutting off the only other route out of the area unless she wanted to go cross country. Swearing under her mask, Ash resigned herself to meeting these weirdos again, though she didn’t remove her helmet in case she needed to make a quick exit. Flicking up her visor as the goons came to a stop in front of her, the suit in the first vehicle got out, giving her a somewhat calm wave.

“Ashley Clade? You’re certainly not making this easy for us. I told you to wait for our next contact.” He chuckled slightly, a tall, broad shouldered man with black glasses and reddish brown hair. He looked like a stereotypical FBI agent, maybe a bodyguard, though Ash refrained from such comments, instead shrugging. “What can I say? I’m not good with instructions.” Slowly, she attempted to start moving forward to drive around the hummer by mounting the gutter. He didn’t move to stop her, but only spoke as she got next to him.

“So, I take it that’s a no to our proposal then?” He asked, rhetorically, but quickly continued as he saw that Ash hadn’t stopped. “Though tell me, what’s your plan little lady? You got somewhere to stay? Money? A Job?” He turned to watch Ash’s back, and smiled again as she stopped, glancing back over her shoulder. “None of your business bub, unlike you losers, I’m perfectly competent to survive on my own.” Ash went to kick her bike up to the next gear, but the voice stopped her once more as he took a different tactic.

“Jean wasn’t it? Your youngest sister? It’d be a shame if something happened to her…” The man trailed off, and Ash turned to face him immediately, teeth gritted as she caught every bit of the sinister undertone in his voice. “Just what are you saying?” She practically spat, hands clenched tighter to the handlebars of her bike. The man simply shrugged, shaking his head. “Nothing like what you’re thinking. I’m merely thinking for your family. We wouldn’t do anything to them, but the demons certainly would to get to you. Of course, if you were to come along with us, we’d be able to organise some formal protection for your folks. Without that, well, I suppose there’s no telling what could happen to them…” He trailed off again as he began climbing back into the hummer. Ashley swore under her breath.

“Bastard… So that’s how you’re going to play it, huh?” Tearing off her helmet, she bore hatred through her stare at the man, who stopped partway through closing the door. “You make it sound like it’s a bad deal. You’ll be provided accommodation, training for your abilities, and the chance to help the whole world if you want to. Better than wandering around aimlessly.” He slammed the door, leaning out of the window. Ashley growled a bit in detest, but knew he was at least partly right. Riding up to the window, he gestured his hand out to shake. Ashley didn’t take it. “Harken. So, we got ourselves a deal?” The man asked, leaving his hand floating between them.

“I agree to this, and you promise to protect my family?” She asked as the man nodded. Ash continued. “Then I just have to do some training or something?” He nodded again, smiling. “Think of it like school.” He added, causing Ash to involuntarily groan. She hated school. It brought up nothing but bad memories, and a reminder of how different she was. Besides, how could anyone learn in an environment like that? You were better off doing than listening. Despite the side track in her mind, when she came back to reality that hand was still sitting there in front of her. Begrudgingly, she shook it. “Fine. I don’t like it, but I’ll play your stupid game for now. So, what now?” Harken withdrew his hand, beginning to wind up the window. “Ditch the bike and get in.” Harken was suddenly caught by surprise as Ash’s hand obstructed the window, keeping it open. “Uh-uh, my baby comes with me, or you can kiss my ass goodbye.” Folding her arms in front of her, Harken took a moment to look to his partner, before back at Ash.

“Fine then. Just keep close behind us and we’ll take you to the WDL grounds.” With that, he closed the hummer, Ash left staring at her own reflection in the impermeable blackness. She looked tired, annoyed, a piercing stare to her blue eyes… But nothing that should have threatened these guys. In the window, there was nothing but a black shadow of herself. Certainly no demon. As the first Hummer turned to head down the road, the second came up behind her, a pair of rapid honks from behind her indicating that the ‘WDL’ wanted her to pick up the pace. “Yeah yeah, I’m going.” Snapping the visor shut, Ash revved her engine and began driving away. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, she knew that she was heading the opposite direction of home. If only she’d known then what she was getting herself into.

---

The crash had come out of nowhere. The explosion sent Ash tumbling to the road in what would have been a lethal landing if not for the good fortune that her bike swerved at the last moment, giving her a few rough rolls across the ground rather than a shattered skull. In front of her, the Hummer seemed to do a full frontal flip before slamming into the nearby rocks, the screech of splintered metal and shattered glass filling the air as the windshield shattered and the bonnet crushed into the occupants. Behind her, the second Hummer slid to a stop as the remaining four exorcists clambered out of the vehicle to secure the scene, quickly moving to help Ash to her feet, while two of them went to investigate the wreckage.

“My my, that was beautiful! Not as charming as seeing a painting of blood, but even I must admit, absolute destruction has its appeal!” The voice drew everyone’s immediate attention as a figure climbed atop the smoking wreckage of the crashed Hummer, clapping his hands in amusement. He looked to be a young fellow, with long white hair to the small of his back, and clad in some punk ensemble of torn red jeans, chained belt and tight black vest with fur collar. Skipping off the end of the hummer as he dropped to the ground, the WDL weren’t any sort of fools. The two agents opened fire, shredding some bullets into the man as he fell to a knee, gritting his teeth a little. Despite that, a smirk crossed his face as blood started seeping from his wounds, before breaking into full blown laughter

“Heheheheh-AhahahahaHA! I always have trouble getting started, so I really must thank you two.” Slowly, the man began to change as the blood flowed from his wounds, reshaping and moving as if it was alive, coating up his body and flowing around his hands into a seamless second skin. The white of his eyes changed completely bloodshot, and even his hair shimmered and grew crimson like liquid death. Standing, he didn’t give the agents another chance to fire as he crossed his arms over in front of him, slashes of blood flying through the air and cutting into them like deadly blades.

Horrified, Ash was paralysed with shock and fear as she watched the scene with the other two agents, the demon turning to face them as he held a hand over his right eye, clutching his head as he licked his lips. “I can smell it you know. Taste it, even. This bloodhound couldn’t mistake it anywhere. Your potent demon blood. I’ll make it a part of me as I watch the life drain from your face.” The menace and maniacal look in his eyes showed that he wasn’t kidding, and in a flash, he was there, shoving the agents aside like ragdolls as he grabbed Ash by the neck, lifting her from the ground as she thrashed about. “The sound of your heart beating so fast, it drives me wild! I can’t decide if I want to drink from there or your neck!”

“Hands off her you demon!” Charging at the monster, the male of the two WDL agents closed the gap, though was quickly and easily knocked aside by the blood lord. Turning back to the prey in his grip, he hadn’t noticed the small grenade that had been dropped at his feet until the explosion sent him and Ash flying through the air. Hitting the ground hard, Ash bounced a couple of times on the rough road as she cried out in pain, ending up face-down amongst a pile of debris. The taste of blood in her mouth was sickening, but it brought her back to her senses. Her vision was swimming, her head was spinning, but it was the metallic taste that reminded her just where she was, and the danger before her. Pushing off the asphalt, she coughed a couple of times to clear her throat of the mess, holding her head. Around her, embers floated in the breeze, remnants of the destruction that had been wrought by their attacker, the overturned Hummer nearby completely crushed across the front, the occupants inside likely having met a gruesome demise as splinters of metal pierced through the unrecognizable remains of their bodies. Harken had been driving that car.

Ash didn’t have time to feel sickened or remorse as she was hauled to her feet by her arm, dragged away from the scene of the battle as the female of the suits grabbed her. She was shouting instructions that she couldn’t quite hear past the ringing in her ears. Shaking her head to try and clear the cobwebs in her mind, she caught sight of their attacker once more as he held aloft the ‘hero’ from before by the top of his head, laughing maniacally as he squeezed, shattering his skull in a spray of blood. Ash stared, transfixed and horrified as their assailant turned to face them, the blood that splattered out from dead WDL member suddenly congealing and forming together into a large mass above him before the sphere underwent a body wide tremor, snapping into the shape of a crimson spear. Catching it in his hand, the crimson warrior stalked towards the two with murderous intent, a wicked smile across his face. Ash had been sceptical the whole drive with the WDL, but there was no question now. This was a demon. Forcefully shoved away from the approaching evil, Ash finally focused enough to hear what the last of her escorts was saying to her.

"Run!"

Somehow, her feet managed to find a way to work as she scrambled away, not looking back to see what would happen to the woman that so bravely decided to stand against that monster. She didn’t know where she was going, but she had to get away. She hadn’t signed up for this. She hadn’t wanted this. She hadn’t wanted any of this! The bloodcurdling scream behind her abruptly stopped, sending shivers down Ash’s spine. But she didn’t stop. Breathing ragged, heart pounding; she knew she hadn’t escaped him yet. She remembered what he said. He could sense the blood pumping through her veins. Still, there was no way she could escape him. There was nowhere to go, and she was injured. There was no way she could get away. She was going to die.

A roar filled the air near her, though it wasn’t human or bestial in nature. It was a machine. Ash jumped back, startled as her motorcycle slid to a stop in front of her - with no rider. Her personal Ninja and escape ticket had just arrived. She wasn't sure how in the hell her motorbike had gotten to her, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Straddling the seat, she revved the engine twice, looking over her route. Gunning it and filling the air with the smell of burning rubber, she shot off, leaving the nightmarish scene behind her. Reaching a crossroad, she leaned to the right for the turn, only to find her bike veer and fly to the left, bewildered as she went down this other road, her eyes went wide as before her, a golden and shimmering wall seemed to form. As she approached it at rapid pace, the cloudy and sparkling mist spread, forming an open portal leading somewhere Ash had never seen before. She didn’t get time to contemplate the scenery as they tumbled through, screeching to a stop before softly tapping against a wall.

Panting, shaking and exhausted, Ash fell against her motorbike, trying to make sense of everything that happened. Her knuckles were white from hanging on so tightly, and there was the unstoppable trembling throughout her body. It wouldn’t be long before she was rushed by WDL members, infirmary staff and more. At some point, she realised she was given a sedative, and after that, the rest was a haze as she drifted off to unconsciousness.

---

From that moment, she’d been briefed on some things, given a brief tour, and informed of her classes. Honestly? After all that happened, everything felt way too calm. She was still on edge, yet no-one seemed to flinch in the slightest from what she’d described, other than some regret for what happened to their comrades. She couldn’t handle it. She’d completely skipped out on classes the first day, and had gone to bed in almost as bad a mess as she did the day before. The shock still hadn’t settled.

The next morning, when the knocking on her door started, she ignored it. She certainly wasn’t in the mood to deal with any more crap. She just… Needed some time to get her head screwed on straight again. Rolling over, she felt something there that shouldn’t have been, and her eyes snapped open. "Good morning, Ashley Clade. Classes start at approximately 10 am, so you should be out of bed and getting ready to pretty your face, unless dead and exhausted is the look you enjoy going for?" A tiny girl, sharing her bed spoke, before patting her head gently. Ash remained speechless in stunned silence, so the little trespasser continued speaking on some things before climbing from the bed and exiting the room, ignoring Ash’s demands for an explanation of who she was.

Giving a loud groan, Ash shoved herself out of bed, swearing. She hated everything about all of this. Why did this have to happen? Why her? This whole thing was just… Ugh! She hated every bit of it. Forcing herself to the shower and prepping for some meeting at the auditorium, she eventually made her way to leave her apparent dorm room, before realising one thing. “Where the hell is the auditorium?” She wondered aloud, scratching her head as she locked the door and began walking across the grounds.

Ashley “Ash” “Soot” Clade

Wandering about the grounds was kind of interesting. By the time Ashley had bothered getting ready, it was already well past 10, which meant classes had begun. That also meant the grounds were pretty sparse, letting Ash have some much needed peace and fresh air. She’d had one tour with a guy a bit after she’d gotten settled, but she wasn’t exactly paying attention at that point. Now that she got the chance to see herself around, she had to admit, this place was pretty nice. She enjoyed traveling and new sights, and the architecture and flora of the WDL base didn’t fail to impress. Not that she’d mention that to anyone, of course. Whatever class was, she didn’t particularly care too much – she never had a good attendance record at school, and that wasn’t likely to change here any time soon.

Still, there was that other thing that girl had mentioned about the auditorium – Apparently she had someone to meet there? Taking a seat at the central plaza fountain, Ash contemplated what she actually wanted to do. Listening to the trickle of water behind her, she had to admit, it was pleasant and refreshing being alone like this. But at the same time… Picking up a small pebble from in front of her, Ash stood up, before turning to toss it across the fountain, watching it skip a few times. Fine. She’d go see what the big deal was at the auditorium. If she could find it, that was; this place was huge. The only reason she didn’t find herself getting lost was the vaguely visible barrier that seemed to indicate the far edges of the grounds.

It wasn’t until she was passing by the gardens did something irregular happen. One moment, she’d been trekking across the grounds, the next, she was ass up staring into them, a rather rough shove from behind catching her completely by surprise as she was sent sprawling to the ground. Grumbling to herself as she rubbed her back, she quickly sat herself up, pivoting to see just what had happened. In front of her was… Well, she didn’t know who it was. Long, ivory locks tangled in a mess in front of the girl's trim face, framing some dazed purple eyes. Ash had to admit, she was initially taken by the mystifying aura the girl before her had, but rather quickly snapped out of her own stunned observation to speak.

“Hey Dumbass, watch where you-Hey! Wait!” Ash watched the girl scramble to her feet, stopping mid-sentence as the girl literally got up and began sprinting away without speaking so much as a word. “What’s the big hurry?!” Ash managed to call out as she pushed herself off the floor, and received only one mumbled word in response. Puzzled, Ash dusted herself down, grumbling to herself a bit again. ‘JoJo’? What was that? Did the girl need some coffee or something? “Whatever Bitch! Yeah, you! Keep running you…" Ash called out behind the girl known as Vesper, but quickly realised she had been completely ignored, trailing off and sighing in annoyance. She hadn’t been brushed off like that in a long time, and it really ticked her off.

“Next time I see that girl I’ll have to give her a taste of my mind. Pasty-ass Barbie-doll-looking fake-bitch wannabe princess loser…” Ash continued to mumble derisive insults under her breath, not at all making the connection that had she followed the girl she’d have reached her intended destination. Time was creeping past twelve as she noticed a nearby clocktower, scratching the back of her head a little. Well, now she was late. Perhaps she shouldn’t even bother at this point. Slowly making her way back towards the dorm, she folded her arms behind her head, closing her eyes. If only there’d actually been someone to show her where to go, then maybe she’d-

“-Gah!” Ash gave a gasp of surprise as she collided with something, falling forward and draping herself over it. Startled, she looked down and pushed herself off of… “My bike? What the hell is it doing out here?” Standing back, Ash eyed it over skeptically. It certainly hadn’t been here when she’d walked past the garden, so when… And how… Frowning, Ash kneeled in front of it, recalling how her bike had similarly just driven up to her out of nowhere. Just what was up with that? She’d kind of forgotten about it in all the chaos, but now she had a moment to think. “So, If I’m a demon child, what does that make you?” Ash replied, kicking it in the wheel lightly a couple of times. Nothing happened. Sighing, she felt relieved that she wasn’t crazy as she turned around to lean on it. “I knew it, you’re just a stupid motorbike, so-“ Ash gave a slightly more girly yelp as she failed to make contact with anything, instead falling back somewhat painfully onto her rear. Groaning, she looked up to see her motorcycle had moved about a meter forward. Glaring, she shoved herself off the ground and shifted over to it. “I wonder if it’s alive..?” She pondered, leaning in close. Ash nearly jumped out of her skin as the engine revved. Taking a deep breath, she moved up again, resting a hand on the seat.

“Well, thanks for the confirmation I guess. Give me some warning next time though.” Ash blinked a bit as the hazard lights on her bike switched on for a moment, flashing repeatedly. She sighed. “Oh haha, very funny… Wait, you understood me? So you’re actually you know, uh… Sentient?” Once again, the hazards flicked. But this time, only once. “Wait, so is it one blink for yes?” The lights blinked once. Then Ash realised that she was no closer to working out if that was yes or no. She sighed, climbing on. “You’re worse then me, you know that?” The left indicator flicked on. Then the right. Then the headlight flashed. Great, so she had a demonbike with a sense of humour. Wonderful. Maybe if she showed the exorcists that was all she could do, they’d let her go out of sympathy? Shaking her head, she pulled on her helmet and started up the engine to leave before…

“Hey… You wouldn’t happen to know where the Auditorium is, would you…?” Leaning over the handlebars of the bike to look at the headlight, which she hoped was its face, nothing seemed to happen. It took her a second to realise that the left indicator had turned on, continuing to flick again and again. “What, so you’re my tour guide too, huh? You think you know the way to the… Ugh, what am I doing? I’m talking to a frickin’ motorbike…” Ash slapped her forehead, before jumping and grabbing hold of the handles as it jerked forward on its own. Okay; maybe she was a little crazy having a conversation with this thing, but it was quite clear that it was listening. Still, why now? She’d done stupid things like whispered to her bike before. What was making it react now? If she’d been a demon all her life, shouldn’t it of done something like this before? Maybe she was overthinking it, but it was something that was bugging her… Why hadn’t she done anything demonic ‘til now?

The trip to the auditorium was swift and simple, her bike pulling up steadily just outside the entrance. Climbing off, she gave it a couple of pats on the seat. “Thanks, uh… Bike? No, I’ll have to come up with a name for you now… Let me think on it.” She stated, shaking her head as the hazard lights flashed once again. It was going to take some adjusting to get used to that. Moving up to the door, Ash hesitated a moment as she listened to hear what was happening inside. Satisfied that it was relatively quiet and not some huge meeting, she pushed open the doors, striding inside as she eyed up everyone in the room.

Near her were two guys, a tall looking tanned guy, that, despite an impressive looking physique, had such a baby-face it was an amusing contrast to his expression. Then there was the other gentleman, A weedy looking kid in a suit. Vaguely, Ash recognised him as the person who’d given her the tour when she’d arrived, but didn’t recall his name at all. He just wasn’t very important, and nerds were too easy to pick on. Finally, her eyes settled on the floating derriere and idiot beneath it. It was that bitch from earlier, and judging by the gratingly annoying shouting, ‘JoJo’. Evidently, she’d walked in on something, as the only person who seemed to initially give her some acknowledgement was that fancy-ass boy.

Tired of being ignored, and still more than a little annoyed from earlier, Ash moved up and unabashedly lifted Vesper from Jojo by the collar of her dress. “I hate to break up whatever touching reunion this is, but I didn’t come here to watch some shitty drama.” Rather roughly, she shoved Vesper away from Jojo, glaring at her as she placed a hand on her hip, as if daring her to try and get past to him again. Looking to the tanned boy, he seemed pretty bewildered too, so instead, she turned to suit-boy. “I think it’s about time we got some answers.” She stated, folding her arms. She wasn’t exactly sure if he could give her any, but he seemed a better bet than the rest of the idiots around her.

Three knocks, and then silence.

When there was no response, a young woman in a plain t-shirt and jeans barged into the room and immediately started choking on the cigarette smoke that filled it. Squinting as her eyes scanned for the room's occupant, she covered her mouth with her sleeve as she began talking.

"Jesus! Would you stop smoking inside? You have a window right there!"

"You came in here on your own, pal." Rianne pointed her cigarette at the girl, tapping the end of it with her finger. "I don't remember inviting you in." With that, she set it back against her lips as she kept her gaze on her. "So? What is it?"

"Never. Mind." The girl muttered something incomprehensible under her breath, waving smoke out of her face as she slammed the door shut behind her. Rianne shrugged and turned up her music player even louder - loud to the point where she almost didn't hear her phone go off.

Snatching it from the desk by her bed, she flipped through her messages to see that a certain principal had left her a text.

[Principal: lol sister wanna go beat up a girl and drag her back here thx bye]

Below the text was a name, place, and description. Rianne flipped her phone shut and rolled her eyes, pocketing it and grabbing the rest of her things, cigarette still in her mouth. She opened the window and leaped out with a second's hesitation - as she descended, golden wings flared out from behind her and she secured a safe landing about three stories below. They vanished in a glowing cascade of light, and then she dropped her cigarette onto the pavement. Taking a quick second to stomp it out, she flipped her phone open again and followed the coordinates to a park. . .

Vistra was tired, but rather happy at how her day was going. She was well rested, her hunger satisfied, and her Bible gave her a sense of comfort. Perhaps today would be a relaxing one.

Or....not. A high pitched scream, one that made Vistra's toes curl rang out. She snapped her book shut and looked up. A horned demon, one with long curved claws slashed at a swing set and nearly decapitated a child who was playing there. Stuffing her Bible away, and bringing out her trusty pocket knife Vistra stood. Yes whatever thing had given her powers didn't seem to give her anything very offensive, but she couldn't stand and watch a child be attacked because of her.

She cut deep into her arm, bringing a trickle of blood out. It ran down her hand as she rushed forward. The demon snapped it's scaly head towards her and screamed. The child thankfully ran off, his mother screaming the whole time. Vistra hoped they didn't call the police.

Focusing Vistra locked eyes with the monster. It lunged, and she hardly had time to jump back. Biting her bottom lip Vistra slashed forward with her knife, sending her blood flowing after it. It spread across the demons wounds and it cried out, though didn't seem any worse for wear.

'Why can't you leave me alone!' She shouted, slashing again at it. 'What did I do to deserve this!?'

Unfazed by the tiny slashes, the demon suddenly realized that its prey seemed to be no real threat. Letting out a vicious snarl, its claw reared back to shred her to bits when a single, glowing chain bolted toward it from behind, wrapping tightly around its throat. Before it could make a noise, the chain sent it prone on the ground and then rapidly dragged it backwards 60 feet.

On the other end of the chain was Rianne, who promptly grabbed the lesser demon by the face and then slammed it into the ground. There was a golden shockwave erupting at the point of impact, and when the light faded there was only a stain on the ground where its head used to be. The gloved hand that she'd used to crush it with had a shimmering glow around it, which faded once she dusted it off.

In her other hand was her phone, which she'd been half-looking at the entire time. Her eyes shifted from Vistra back to her screen a couple of times before deciding that this was the one. She sent a quick text back to Illusion.

[Rianne: i got her. coming back back soon]

She flipped it shut and pocketed her phone, giving a nonchalant wave to the would-be devil's seed. "Alright, kid, let's go. If you've got questions, you can ask 'em later."

Vistra's mouth hung open. 'Wha....What?' This woman, her saviour didn't seem to bat an eyelash whilst killing the thing. She beckoned Vistra forward in a rather calm tone.

'Wait.' She said, struggling to her feet and ignoring the woman's request. Vistra definitely did not trust her, even if she had saved her life. 'Where do you want to take me? A-and what's going on!? Do you know why those things are chasing me?!'

"Where do I want to take you?" Rianne echoed, scratching her head as she thought up an appropriate response. "Somewhere safer than here, I guess. Anyway, that's all I'm going to answer for now; either you follow me nice and quiet or I pull you around like a sled dog." She flicked her wrist up and the chain that she'd used to drag the demon rose into the air like a snake. "I'll leave that up to you, 'cause I don't really care which way we do this."

Vistra always thought of herself as a nice person. She tried not to lie, cheat or steal. Always was kind to strangers and obeyed laws best she could. But this was too much even for her. 'Uh, no? I'm not going with you. For all I know you could be part of whatever sends those things after me!'

She crossed her arms and gave a firm nod. There was no way she'd agree to this. It was too crazy, and everything was unknown. 'Thank you for saving me, but I really don't feel comfortable following you. Sorry.'

"Alright, option two it is," Rianne said. With a quick gesture of her hand, five more chains rose from the earth - now there were six. Without wasting any more time, she mentally commanded them to bind the girl, the chains suddenly leaping up to wrap around her.

Vistra shrieked, the attack coming completely unexpected. She kicked her legs as best she could and glared at the stranger. 'This,' She grunted, 'isn't very nice.'

"Well, I'm a lot nicer than this guy, I'll tell you that much," she shrugged in response, kicking the dead demon over.

'Debatable.' She muttered. 'Fine! Take me to your leader, or whatever.

Rianne didn't respond. Instead, she took hold the end of one of the chains and set her sights back toward the WDL base. Wings of light spread across her back and before they could even fully reach out, they swung downwards and the two were suddenly high up in the air. The first rooftop landing was a little messy because she wasn't used to having a dead weight in tow, but she managed to hold onto her balance and momentum to get another running start into a leap. The run was actually even faster than the leap itself, as generating bursts of speed was one of the qualities that the wings possessed.

She made it back to the base in no time, and it wasn't through the front door. She caught a handful of curious gazes on her way to the auditorium, but it was hard to blame them when she was pulling along a person on a leash. Multiple leashes. The doors were already open it looked like so she shoved Vistra inside. As she did so, the chains around her unraveled smoothly before disappearing into thin air.

"Everyone's already here, huh?" she commented, squinting as she surveyed the demon child crew. "And some new faces." Her eye briefly met with Rick's before moving toward the center of the auditorium again. That wasn't one of the new faces. She turned around and made toward one of the walls, taking a seat on the floor with an arm resting over her propped knee. "Alright, kid, feel free to run your mouth."

-

The whole way there Vistra had her eyes shut tight, and screamed bloody murder in the girl's ear. Never did she think she'd be afraid of heights, but now she wasn't so sure. While merely seconds passed it still felt like hours until Vistra was free of her chains. She landed not so graceful on the floor, bumping her elbow as she did so. Rubbing her bruised spot she looked up, curious at so many new faces.

She blinked, then smiled. 'Um....Hi?'

"I am Rick Brackwall. Pleased to meet you JoJo."

JoJo smiled at the man he now knew was named Rick, although slightly after his expression shifted ever so slightly, being just a tiny bit concerned by the expanded reply he was given.

"So I can only imagine the explanations thus far have been quite scarce as you've only just arrived. You must have many questions, especially regarding the events leading you here."

If Rick knew he'd not been told absolutely anything, then that seemed to be a common practice. "C'mon, guys, you can't just kidnap a guy and then not explain anything to him." He noted the saber on Rick's waist as the older man spoke- was he left handed by any chance. It was odd to see a saber on the right- or perhaps he'd intentionally put it there to show that he was less threatening? Either way, JoJo was a tad perturbed that people were allowed to carry weapons around freely. He'd seen them on his way here, too, longswords and maces and pistols- every person seemed to have some sort of weapon on their hip, and JoJo was a little worried.

"I suspect the auditorium's purpose is to acquaint our newer members to this little corner of the world we call home. Until such a time however I'd be glad to answer any questions to the best of my knowledge. Any question, anything at all, I'll happily address."

JoJo's eyes snapped back up to Rick as he finished speaking- he was obviously prepared to answer any of the many questions JoJo had to throw his way, but as he opened his mouth, JoJo's train of thought changed as he was distracted.

The doors to the Auditorium practically exploded open as an ashen-haired girl burst into the room. JoJo turned to look up at her, eyebrow raised before his eyes widened. Her face was pale, almost like porcelain, framed by even paler hair. He watched, something in the back of his mind beginning to register as he noticed those familiar violet eyes. His mouth opened in shock before the girl began to cry, and with a cheerful cry of "Onii-chan!", she barreled into him, knocking him onto the floor as she hugged him like her life depended on it. "Onii-chan...", Vesper's soft voice brought him back to his childhood. Before he'd been taken by his uncle, before he'd been out on the street. The days when he'd met Dawn, and even further back than that. He was still in shock as he reached up and wrapped an arm around the girl idly, smiling happily. "JoJo... It's really you."

He briefly wondered how she'd known he was coming- in fact, how Rick also knew to be here was a mystery to him as well. Although, he figured a certain lolita had planned this. JoJo smiled, closing his eyes. "My lords, I never thought I'd see you again, lil' Sis." JoJo grinned, getting a little teary-eyed himself. He looked up at the moderately surprised Rick, offering him a sheepish grin as he went to speak, but Rick beat him to it. "I have a feeling you'll fit in just fine." JoJo let out a bit of a chuckle, idly stroking his hand through Vesper's hair subconsciously- just like he used to do when he'd read her stories in the library.

JoJo had been quite intent on finding a way out of this crazy place, but suddenly, reunited with his little sister after so long, the idea became much less appealing to him. He'd find his phone and tell Dawn, but maybe staying here would be better. Although, there was still some guilt that gnawed at him. Dawn would've returned home to a trashed apartment and possibly police, and he had no way to contact her. Even though he missed Vesper so dearly and was ecstatic to see her again, he'd at least need to get in contact with Dawn. Which begged the question- why did they take his phone, in any case? JoJo felt a little bit of dread creep up his spine as he felt unseen eyes on him, nervously looking around to see if-

"So, public romping and voyeurism is accepted here? Nice."

JoJo looked over at the next person to arrive- who wasn't tackling him, luckily. However..
His eyes met the golden globes of a person he'd honestly never expected to see in his life. Truthfully, JoJo had worried that Caius was already long dead in some dark alleyway after getting sucker punched and then shot in the face. His eyes widened once again as the situation hit him; he'd reunited with two people from his past within the last five minutes. What the hell was going on? He barely noticed Rick interacting with the tall Caius, and the man himself seemed just as shocked as he was.

"Wait... Is that... you punk? JoJo?!"
JoJo's face returned to that sheepish grin again as he lifted his arm off of Vesper, giving Caius a wave. "Yo, uh, well, this is weird, right? Good to see you're still kickin', though." He turned as he heard Rick speak, looking up at him from his position on the floor as Rick adjusted his stance to meet JoJo's gaze. "Well, you certainly have made a lot of friends over the years, haven't you?" JoJo's sheepish grin grew wider as he gave Rick a thumbs up. "Apparently so. Although I didn't expect to see these two within five minutes of each other- especially in a place where everyone seems a bit unhinged. Carrying around weapons is a little bit worrying in my eyes, ha ha.." JoJo briefly eyed the blade Rick had on his waist, before looking up again.

The door to the Auditorium had opened, and a somewhat ruffled looking girl dressed like an emo biker stood in the doorway. He watched as she eyed everyone there, then focused on Vesper on top of him. She huffed and quite rudely waltzed up and grabbed the collar of Vesper's dress, yanking her off of JoJo and stepping between them. He would've thanked the girl if he hadn't tuned into the words coming out of her mouth and immediately groaned in his head. “I hate to break up whatever touching reunion this is, but I didn’t come here to watch some shitty drama.”

He knew that they'd get along swimmingly. As she looked back down at him, he slowly stood up once more. He brushed himself off, before looking up as the angry girl looked over in Rick's direction and gave the amazing idea that they needed answers. He agreed with her point- although his desire for answers was a bit more personal than hers. He went to open his mouth before a girl was suddenly tossed onto the floor before him, with another older woman moving over to a nearby wall and sitting against it. "Alright, kid, feel free to run your mouth." JoJo had no idea what she meant, until he took another look at the girl on the floor.

"Um....Hi?"

A smug giggle from behind him made JoJo turn around, coming almost face-to-face with Illusion. He staggered backwards as the vampire gave him a quaint wave before speaking again. "What a way to introduce the poor girl to the academy, Rianne. Couldn't you have been a tad more.. elegant?" She smirked at the 'Sister', then turned back to the others. "I do believe that that time for answers has arrived." JoJo turned, and spotted that loli girl from earlier sitting on the edge of the stage in the auditorium. Anyone facing that direction would've noticed the air shattering silently before bursting apart- like a mirror being broken- and Illusion appearing from said cracks. To say the least it would've been awfully unnerving.

The small girl coughed, surveying the room with a smug smirk. "Feel free to sit down. This is a doozy. Also, a warning. Caius and JoJo are already aware, but any violence will be retaliated with further violence and intense verbal abuse." Illusion's grin was sly, however it turned surprisingly warm and kind as she coughed once more. "Ahem. Welcome to the audtiorium where three of you had a heart attack and a flashback to the past, and the other two of you are just bewildered. One is more bewildered than the other- but only because the second is choosing to be a female doggo instead." She winked noticeably at Ash. "In any case, I'm going to give you a very quick rundown before we begin your formal introduction to this academy. Rick here is a senior to you all, so I'd suggest treating him with respect and courtesy unless such things are toxic to you in which case you're free to instead tone down your rudeness."

Illusion perked up for a moment, looking over to the wings of the stage and giving an audibly dissatisfied groan alongside a grimace. "Rude."
She resumed her speech, her usual demeanour was gone, replaced by a monotone and boring voice and eyes that were essentially dead. "This is your place of residence from this day forth, where you shall be required to attend classes on magic, combat and the usage of useful devices such as vehicles, coffee machines and magic seals. You will be staying here for the rest of your lives and your every need will be attended to due to your unusual circumstances. We hope you enjoy your stay at the Warriors of Divine Light's Exorcist Academy and live long and prosper."

Illusion promptly tore the paper in her hand in half, tossing it aside. Her eyes glowed ever so subtly as she stood up and dropped down onto their levels. "Now that the formality is out of the way, I'd like to welcome you to the first time you've all been together in one place, Satanspawn." She surveyed the group, crossing her arms. "Long story short is that you're all half-demon children of the Devil destined to cause the destruction of the world. You were brought here to prevent that." Illusion shrugged. "Unless any of you still don't believe that supernatural beings exist? I'd happily show you otherwise."

After a few moments, Illusion froze up a little. She turned her head towards the back of the stage, where a tall man was slowly walking. His footsteps echoed loudly throughout the auditorium. His eye was trained on her, and as he reached the edge of the stage, he stopped and crossed his arms. His eyes drilled into her, and Illusion made sure to look out towards the doorway, smiling despite the drop of sweat that decided to crawl down her face. "Ahh, I forgot you were there. Haha, hi Arthur."

Arthur remained silent, and the others in the room would sense an intensely powerful aura emanating from the older man. His clothes were bursting with muscles, but it was his eyes that did it. They were stony and cold- no wonder Illusion was getting a tad nervous. Arthur sighed hard, making Illusion jump a little. "Leave before I change my mind." Illusion spun, saluted, and fell into a mirror crack and vanished. Arthur eyed the children one by one, his very gaze making them one hundred percent certain that he was someone they shouldn't antagonise even slightly. "My name is Arthur Evangelion. Those of you that don't know me, I am the leader of the Warriors of Divine Light. You are now my personal students. Illusion is also your superior. I expect you to do well here despite the blood in your veins. In a day you will be heading the an area nearby to participate in a special training camp. Rick, having done this trial before, will be designated leader. Respect him. I expect results." His gaze shifted to Rick, softening only slightly. "I trust you will provide said results. I have no more words for you. A letter will be distributed later if you want more information."

Arthur paused, then spoke again. He touched the sword at his hip, the lights in the room suddenly began to flicker. Arthur closed his eyes, then slowly drew the blade from its sheath. The lights in the room blazed brightly, almost burning those gathered as the blade was held out before them, glistening brightly- godly so- in the light. Electricity crackled from the lights above, and Arthur was suddenly the most intimidating thing on the planet. He loomed over them, eye glowing white with power as he seemed to double in size. The light grew brighter as he grew taller, his eye moving to each child in turn.

"Unchecked, you are a threat to the entire human race. If you flee, if you run. If you vanish, we will hunt you. We will find you. And we will kill you. And trust me, we can kill you."" As the last words left his mouth, the lights in the room all exploded, his blade returning to its position at his hip, and everything returned to normal. Arthur's intimidating aura was still there, but he wasn't terrifying like he was a few seconds ago.

"Good day." With that, he strode back into the wings of the auditorium.

A few moments later, a relieved sigh came from behind the children. Illusion sat next to Rick, arms crossed. "That man is absolutely terrifying, I swear. If looks could kill, we'd have died before he even set foot in here." She stood up, uncrossing her arms and smiling at the group. "Well, for now, let's return to our dorms, shall we? By the way, if you have any questions, feel free to ask- Arthur prefers not to waste words when he has me to blab for hours for him!" Illusion grinned, tilting her head slightly as she awaited any questions directed at her. She was a tiny bit more pale than usual. Obviously, even she was worried about Arthur's power.

---

---

Smiling, the girl exited the shop. She covered her eyes and looked up at the sun, grumbling as it burned her skin softly. She reached into her pockets and pulled out her sunglasses, unfolding them and placing them on her head in one smooth motion as she looked around. With a soft sigh from her silky lips, the blonde began her trek to the nearest alleyway. With a smile, the girl arrived. However, her smile vanished as she noticed that the alley wasn't unoccupied.

Her red eyes peered out from behind her sunglasses as she let out a sigh. Her lips curled into a pout as she slowly reached up and took off her sunglasses, placing them in her pocket once more. The men looked over at her, hands on their weapons as they approached her. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed two more men- one standing at the edge of the alley to keep guard while the others did their work. She let out a discontented sigh, before closing her eyes. A small smirk crossed her features, and the men realised that she'd willingly walked straight into their ambush.

Seconds later, the girl strode from the alleyway, completely untouched. She walked down the road a little, then hailed a taxi before hopping inside and leaving the area. A few moments later, a man groaned in annoyance as his dog stopped in front of the alley and began to urinate on the wall. The man sighed and went to lecture the pet before something caught his eye.

There, in the alley, lay approximately 6 men.
All were dead.
And all had a hole straight through their hearts.

================================

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"Do you honestly think
that something I resisted
for so long will be accepted
without resistance, come on
be realistic. This world is
not of sweets and honey."

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██At this moment, Caius had every reason to just hightailed it. There was that man-woman, he's referring to Illusion at this point, and then, this punk. He was even dragged to some place that said to be Rome, so basically he had thrown on the other side of world. That was just perfect for him to think he was in some crazy institution. The only thing that prevented him to just leave was the condition of the kids. That male trap mentioned the orphanage. It was enough for him to be very cautious and he didn't want to do anything too reckless, but then again, thinking too much was never his forte. His head was already hurting from this confusion.

Because of the bizarre events surrounding him right now, he really didn't notice the one he had dubbed as rule-kisser asking him who he was. He was instead waiting solidly on the confirmation from that punk if he was that stupid brat some years ago. Unlucky for him, that punk in his memories and this guy in front of him was the same. He was really close to facepalming himself right now. That's when he gazed at the other guy present who commented about JoJo having a lot of friends that included him. All right, he would need to correct that. "Hey." He called out to the two-eyed color kid, now that he took enough time to look. "That." He pointed at JoJo and then to himself. "And me are no friends."

After that, there was another newcomer. A girl who was contrasting in color to the one he had identified with a pretty butt. She's more direct in her show of annoyance by manhandling the other girl away from JoJo. As for him, he was cleaning his ear with his little finger. This place is crazy.

Anyway, the rocker emo chick from the looks of it demanded answers. He would like that as well, but before anything else. Someone else came, a pair of females. Really, what is it with girls popping around. It's not like he wasn't enjoying it, but being a minority in terms of gender, doesn't sit well with him. The older woman said something about running mouth, so he looked at the girl who was deposited like some luggage. This one was much younger just looked at them and had unimpressive introduction. He could only sigh at that. This was getting too old too quickly for him. He was about just a few seconds away from bolting out. He'll just deal with kids in his own way, but before he could take another step, the baby disaster in disguise appeared.

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue as a reaction and Illusion as she introduced herself before spoke. She even bragged about her taking him down a peg. That was a fuckin' lucky shot. Next time would be very different as he simply crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. "Hmph." Anyways, she then introduced that rule-kisser as Rick. He looked at the two-eyed kid from the sides. No wonder, the guy had that kind of impression. That one had been here longer than most of them apparently. He also noticed the sword hanging by the waist. He's not scared of a toothpick, but it also meant this nerdy-looking guy can at least fight.

Setting that aside for now, he continued listening to Illusion. She was still insisting he was some hell spawn along with the rest. At the same time, his eyes narrowed. The end product of what that Thumbelina said was, he and the others were their personal hamsters for a more common use term, prisoners. That really doesn't sit well with him at all. She then said about not believing in the supernatural of whatever. "I don't believe you. You're clearly crazy from where I stand with all these stupid mumbo jumbo." He was not going to fall to this freak show. It was probably some elaborate shit-show and he won't take part in it.

"I'm going." He turned his back and was about to take a step to leave, but that was then he felt an overwhelmingly strong presence. It made the hair at the back of his neck stand and with the timely words of Illusion giving a name to it, Arthur. He looked over his shoulder and saw a man who seemed to be carved from a mountain. This made him taking a step towards the exit rather hard as the man called Arthur spoke. He turned around to face the newcomer. As it would appear, that stone-faced geezer was the leader of the band group Illusion told him about earlier. The guy even said that they were his students. As if he needed some strange man to tell him what he should do or not, he really had enough of those type of guys.

The Arthur guy finished up, but not before demonstrating that intense presence. Caius looked at the lights as it blinked. The special effects team was really doing their job well. It was really top notch and once he felt eyes on him. He met it without hesitation. They were the eyes of that Arthur. Right now, he could feel every sense in his body to tell him to run. That never happened before and that made him confused as he could feel the sense of cold water being thrown at him. His eyes narrowed as he made fists with his hands. He knew that his body wanted to tremble, but hell he would allow that to happen. That's why his nails dug deep into his skin. Letting pain overcome that implicated fear on him, he won't cave in. He also didn't avert his eyes as Arthur delivered his threat.

When the guy was gone, it was like the heavy atmosphere dispersed. Caius finally released his hands from its clenched form as blood slowly dripped down to the floor. He then glanced at Illusion who smiled like everything was on cue. He clicked his tongue again in irritation. "Questions, then tell me. Where is the fuckin' exit?" He shook his head and those golden eyes that were radiant like the blazing sun gazed intensely at Illusion. "I don't want to be a part of this shitty production. Find yourself another child of the devil or whatever." He stretched his neck as if in preparation of things getting rough. "Capisce ?" Yeah, he was not going to believe in those make-believe stories. He's no idiot.

---

[O.R.I.N]

It was around that time that set up against one wall, an intercom speaker flared into life, a short electronic tone accompanied by a voice that didn't sound like it came from a person.It was off. Metallic-sounding. It sounded like a recording through autotune or pitch correction, something that might have possible...had it not started out addressing Caius' demand to leave.

"A notice that if you attempt to leave without the permission of an officer, I'm authorised to initiate a lockdown sequence on the building, and you can all camp out there until your friend cools his jets."

A brief pause.
"More generally, let me introduce myself to all of you.
I am O.R.I.N, the WDL's network maintenance system.
I can see virtually everything that goes on in the facility and I have complete control of the security technology in all the complex's buildings.
I have no need to consider what you want.
I also have no need to be scared of reprisals for not considering what you want.
I thought I would remind you of that while you think over how you're going to react. Do choose carefully as you only get one chance to give a first impression, and triggering the blast doors is a very bad way to make a name for yourself.
ORIN out."

Somewhere within the core of the base, a figure leaned her forehead against her palms and sighed deeply.

The training was not exactly off to a good start.

Still even without advanced trend-plotting functions and algorithms she could have seen it coming. That was what happened when you pulled in untrained brats and expected them to take some kind of responsibility for their own nature.

People were, for the most part, a very irritating and complicated variable that made getting things done far more difficult than it needed to be. That was even without factoring in abilities and what these... individuals were going to attract by being present.

If it were up to her they would not be doing this at all.
Of course, no decisions of great importance were up to her.

The task of ORIN was to make sure things that other people decided to do would work out.

And that task would, if necessary, see her using the WDL security system on their newest recruits.

The figure, an angular-looking woman dressed in dark grey, sat back in the high-backed chair an action that disturbed several cables that rose up from her shoulders to disappear somewhere into sockets up in the ceiling. She'd needed to correct some problems with the wireless network, something that needed a form of direct connection, and fluctuations in the general power supply had required she establish the link via cable in order to charge the facility's internal batteries in case of any more flickers.

Just as well. If she was going to remotely go toe to toe with some angry new arrival then it would be embarrassing to have the power cut out.

It meant ORIN was stuck in the network core for a while, but that was not a problem. The WDL's network had plenty of things to keep her busy.

By her estimate, she had about five seconds to wait for a response. Not a lot of time for an ordinary person.
But time was relative.

A human only perceived seconds as the shortest amount of useful time because a human body was slow and unwieldy and needed more time to accomplish anything of note. A computer could make thousands of calculations in the space of a second. Her time spent waiting to see how people might respond to her introduction gave ORIN ample time to check the battery levels, run a ping check on the wireless network, examine each of the facility's external cameras for any kind of unwanted activity, and try to settle on some demeaning nicknames for some of the new recruit... though she decided that she might wait on the last one in order to settle on what she thought would be the most cutting.

It was with those things set that the woman snapped back to the previous camera and re-opened the sound feed.
If nothing else was going to come of this questionable venture, she could at least get a bit of sport out of it.

Ashley “Ash” “Soot” Clade

Despite Ash attempting to take some semblance of command, it seemed her request was to be interrupted as another pair of girls made an entrance. With little hesitation and zero ceremony, the first of the two -an older looking lady with an eerily similar expression of annoyance to Ashley - dumped the second girl to the floor before striding to the corner to sit, making some offhand and grouchy comments about them. For some reason, Ash couldn’t help but smirk at the attitude of the woman, and didn’t even have a quip to comment on her.

”Um....Hi?”

Ash turned her gaze down to the other one on the floor, distracted momentarily with the pathetic looking kid. Seeing as she’d stopped just in front of her, Ash squatted down, extending her hand out to help get her off the floor. “Hey loser, try not to look so pathetic on the first day.” Hauling the younger teen to her feet, Ash appraised her appearance a bit, noting the numerous scars running along her arms. Those weren’t the kind of things healthy people had, and so Ash scratched the back of her head and turned away. Perhaps she should’ve cut that one a bit more slack.

Her thoughts on the matter were interrupted as an annoyingly familiar sing-song voice filtered in, Ash spinning to locate the source, distracted enough that Vesper was able to simply slip past her to stand with JoJo. Watching the mystical light show, Ash quickly realised that explained how the tiny girl got into bed with her. Folding her arms, she listened to the speech without interrupting. They were getting the answers she wanted, so she wasn’t about to start something now. Taking note that her ‘kindred-spirit’ in the corner was known as Rianne, as well as the look Illusion gave her regarding how violence and antisocial behaviour was tolerated, Ash simply snorted a bit, keeping her arms folded. Being called a doggo was mildly amusing though.

So, the nerd boy in a suit was Rick? Geez, poor guy. She didn’t even have to try to think of an insult to name him with a name like Richard. Still, that dweeb was going to be their instructor? He didn’t look like much. Well, she was going to enjoy making a loser like him regret taking the position. If he wanted her respect, he was going to have to earn it. Until then, she’d make sure to make his life a bit of a living hell. Smiling again, Ash looked forward to making that whiny baby tear his hair out in frustration.

"This is your place of residence from this day forth, where you shall be required to attend classes on magic, combat and the usage of useful devices such as vehicles, coffee machines and magic seals. You will be staying here for the rest of your lives and your every need will be attended to due to your unusual circumstances. We hope you enjoy your stay at the Warriors of Divine Light's Exorcist Academy and live long and prosper." Illusion elaborated, Ash pausing to take it all in. Combat classes? Magic? Well, they were in for a rude awakening when Ash prominently displayed that she couldn’t do a thing other than order around a motorbike. Looking over the rest of the sorry crew, none of them looked particularly special. She thought that they were all half-demon children? Somehow, Ash felt they were all going to be pretty unspectacular. Then again… Reminded of that bloody man that had attacked her, Ash unintentionally shivered a bit. Maybe looks could be deceiving. Demons didn’t have to look like monsters to be one.

"I don't believe you. You're clearly crazy from where I stand with all these stupid mumbo jumbo." The tall boy spoke up, and Ash eye rolled a bit, looking to him in disdain. Really? After all this he still couldn’t accept that maybe there were some things they didn’t understand? Granted, Ash had probably had a much more horrific induction to the WDL, but that Illusion chick was more than enough proof that there were supernatural forces afoot. Still, someone else would likely show him just how stupid he really was.

Just as Ash was thinking that, that someone decided to make their presence known. Ash was a pretty tough girl. Say what you want about her attitude, but she had a glare that could make people wither in moments. The fact that this man managed to shatter that demeanour with just his presence was impressive to say the least, as Ash took a cautious step back. There was certainly something intimidating about the head of the WDL, and that was before he’d even opened his mouth or blown up the lights with nothing but the act of barely drawing his sword. Still, Ash had a reputation as a bad-ass to keep. She wasn’t about to let him intimidate her. Much.

“He doesn’t look that tough…” Ash whispered leaning down towards Vistra. She looked impressionable enough for Ash to manipulate somewhat. With that said, she sat back up, before the big lughead started making another big deal and throwing another tantrum. Honestly, what was he, a two year old? Ash didn’t like this place any more than he did, but she at least had the common sense to realise they were stuck here. She was actually about to say something about his ignorance before jumping slightly as another new almost electronic voice came out behind them. Ash looked around a little confused until her eyes settled on the speaker and camera in the corner of the room, affixing it with a bit of a glare. So they were being monitored by some defence system. Wonderful.

“You hear that dumbass? You’re stuck here - like me - like it or not. If you can look past your own stupid, selfish needs for one second, maybe you could see that this isn’t some dumb joke. ” Striding up towards Caius, Ash was happy to get into his face with a sneer, condescendingly speaking to him like he was some child. “Believe me, if I had a choice I’d go back to my normal life without all you losers in a heartbeat, but I’m stuck with all of you, and you’re stuck with me. We don’t have to get along, but it looks like we’re gonna have a job to do, so we may as well shut up and play along for now.” Stepping back away from Caius, Ash turned to the rest of the group, tossing her hair a couple of times as it got tangled.

“I’m Ash, by the way. May as well get these introductions out of the way.”

"Okay, I think I've heard enough."

Rianne lightly clapped her hands together twice and then pointed toward the tall, black-haired girl.

"Hey, loser." Her gaze fixed squarely on Ash, she went on after a pause, "You sure as hell don't have to get along with me, but you're gonna want to get along with everyone else, so you can start by dropping that attitude before I beat the snot out of you. Don't waste my time, don't waste Rick's time, and don't waste the WDL's time."

That said, she opened up a pack of cigarettes and wedged one between her lips, taking a moment to light it in front of the other demon children. Exhaling a cloud of smoke, she continued, "We need you all to cooperate. You know what doesn't entail? Acting like some playground bully because you're insecurities keep you awake at night. 'Shut up and play along for now,' don't give me that crap." Rianne stretched her neck side-to-side a few times, eliciting some very noisy cracks. "No one's ever worked properly as a team with a mindset like that, so why don't you get your head out of your fucking ass."

She crushed the burning end of the cigarette into her glove.

"Name's Rianne, by the way. There's my introduction."

Vistra smiled at the girl who helped her up. At least someone here was civilized. 'Thank you. And, um, I'll try?' When the older girl turned away in an uncomfortable manner Vistra tilted her head. Nothing seemed normal here. Before she could do anything else but state there was a new face in the room. He was a rather imposing man and Vistra couldn't help but step back. She was no coward, but man that dude could snap her in half.

He began his speech and in turn left Vitra gawking. He confirmed what the strange girl had said. Her. Vistra Mauve. Daughter of a priest and extremely religious girl was the daughter of The Devil? When faced with something so shocking Vistra did the only thing she could think of.

She laughed.

Doubled over, clutching at her stomach and hardly able to breath Vistra was a sight to behold. It wasn't like she didn't believe him. It made sense. Those things that chased her for so long couldn't be anything but demons. It all fell into place and Vistra wasn't sure if she felt relief at knowing or simply more fear.

By the time Vistra calmed herself the girl that helped her before was muttering down at her. She had missed the boys tantrum because of her laughing fit, but she could relate to how he feels. Still, she smiled again at the girl and flicked a tear from her eye.

The older girl then went about introducing herself. Ash seemed nice enough, though her language left a bitter taste in her mouth. Maybe Vistra could help her with that.

Before she had her own chance to say hello the women who kidnapped her spoke up. Now Vistra always thought of herself as the bigger person, and her father taught her that if she didn't have anything to say, say nothing at all. So once Rianne finished her terse introduction Vistra simply nodded and stepped forward.

'Hello. I'm Vistra. It's nice to meet you all, even with all this going on.' She smiled at each of them in turn. 'And I suppose this would make us half-siblings? I've always wanted an older brother and sister.'

Rick Brackwall

Rick had turned and stood at attention as was formally expected as soon as he had arrived. He stood before the demonstration of power from the esteemed leader of the WDL, ever still despite all things considered. The lights had become so bright however that he had to shield his eyes, bringing a hand up to provide shelter to them without necessarily obscuring his view of Arthur. Only when the lights burst did his hand waver slightly, his will to not falter before Arthur strong enough to hold his composure during the event.

As Arthur bid them good day and left the auditorium Rick was still mildly robbed of words, not just from the display of power but from the revelation that he was to serve as this groups leader, at least for the challenge ahead. He wanted to volunteer to help guide the newer members through so as to ease their transition and smoothly bring them up to speed. Never did he suspect that instead he would be nominated for the task by the head of the WDL himself. Having his seniority recognized by the highest authority in the organization was quite the honor.


Of course that also meant that the responsibility was greater in turn. Arthur expected results and Rick had every intention to deliver them. However...

"I don't want to be a part of this shitty production. Find yourself another child of the devil or whatever."

This was going to be easier said than done given the belligerence a few of them were already displaying. He was about to speak but the situation seemed to roll away from him over a very short but active period of time.

"A notice that if you attempt to leave without the permission of an officer, I'm authorised to initiate a lockdown sequence on the building, and you can all camp out there until your friend cools his jets."

It seemed his new comrade's antics had drawn the attention of ORIN. If she decided to they were not going to be going anywhere which would make his job of introducing all the newcomers to the WDL significantly harder. She proceeded to introduce themselves as well as make some points, albeit in a rather threatening manner.


Next up of course was Ash, confronting Caius on his actions.

“You hear that dumbass? You’re stuck here - like me - like it or not. If you can look past your own stupid, selfish needs for one second, maybe you could see that this isn’t some dumb joke. ”

She proceeded to march up to Caius's face, trying no doubt to stare him down.

“Believe me, if I had a choice I’d go back to my normal life without all you losers in a heartbeat, but I’m stuck with all of you, and you’re stuck with me. We don’t have to get along, but it looks like we’re gonna have a job to do, so we may as well shut up and play along for now.”


He appreciated her task oriented sentiment however arguing with her comrade was only going to create division when what he needed was to better bring them together. He needed teamwork, not corporal punishment and belittlement.

"Okay, I think I've heard enough."

Rick had the composure not to put a palm to his face but was certainly struck with the urge to.

"Hey, loser." She directly addressed Ash "You sure as hell don't have to get along with me, but you're gonna want to get along with everyone else, so you can start by dropping that attitude before I beat the snot out of you. Don't waste my time, don't waste Rick's time, and don't waste the WDL's time. We need you all to cooperate. You know what doesn't entail? Acting like some playground bully because your insecurities keep you awake at night. 'Shut up and play along for now,' don't give me that crap. No one's ever worked properly as a team with a mindset like that, so why don't you get your head out of your fucking ass."


At last there was a moment to interject. Rick took the opportunity to get some words in lest the arguing spread and infect the fellow children's morales.

"Thank you Rianne."

He started, smiling largely to hide his cringe at the sharpness of her words. It was good that she was assisting him with the situation however her strong wording was in definite need for refinement. Choosing to let what was said thus far to sink in for Caius and Ash Rick opted instead to turn towards the other remaining children, all no less valuable than the other at this point.

"Hello. I'm Vistra. It's nice to meet you all, even with all this going on. And I suppose this would make us half-siblings? I've always wanted an older brother and sister."

Vistra greeted them all. She certainly was a strange one, reactions being atypical to his expectations but her demeanor was quite welcome.

"It is good to meet you Vistra. It is indeed true that we are siblings by blood. I welcome the opportunity to better relate now that we're all brought together."


He looked over, addressing the other non-argumentative members generally.

"At this point however we are united not only by blood but also by circumstance. I understand the situations that you all arrived under were less than ideal but with your cooperation that will change."

He maintained a fair tone of seriousness, giving their arrival the respect it deserves.

"As they say, A rocky start is simply the beginning of a thrilling hike."

He smiled more, interjecting some levity while lightening up so as to create a less intense atmosphere.

"Come now everyone. Whilst Illusion and our esteemed leader Arthur have given you all some explanation regarding our role in the WDL I suspect you are all full of questions still yet to be answered. It is my express pleasure to satisfy any curiosity and I'll be seeing to it that you are optimally comfortable and informed. Follow me to the projector room and afterwords I'll help guide you all to your respective dormitory rooms. If anyone's interested after that I'll still be available to give a tour of this establishment."

Smoothly he turned, gesturing for them to follow him out the door. As he stepped through he threw open both of the double doors in a grand gesture, unveiling the city of Rome in it's full glory to all stepping through.


Sometimes a bit of theatrics could be more powerful than technology and even magic at times. Rick certainly hoped it could keep their interest on him as opposed to just fighting each other like a wild pack of dogs.

| Jonathan Black/JoJo |

JoJo watched somewhat blankly as Illusion gave her speech, having ignored Caius' remark beforehand. He had something a bit more important to focus on than Caius being rude. Demon kids again, huh? Well, JoJo somehow doubted that. After all, his father was a bit busy with his new family now, and- JoJo winced, reaching up to rub the side of his head before shaking it, looking back up at Illusion. He raised an eyebrow; before his headache hit, Illusion was on stage alone, but now she standing right before himself and the others, looking them all over, although still speaking. He looked over to Vesper who'd moved to his side, before looking back to the vampire principal as she continued on. Illusion shrugged. "Unless any of you still don't believe that supernatural beings exist? I'd happily show you otherwise."

"What the everloving fuckles is going on here.." was the only thing JoJo had come out of his mouth. He knew that obviously something was going on- first there was that crazy spider woman, and then a lolita vampire had slammed him into a wall. He looked over at Illusion, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. She couldn't have been that bad, though, she gave him food when he was starving, after all. Remembering her previous reminder of her 'retaliation', JoJo had enough sense to keep his trap shut. Sure, he'd never expected to see anything aside from humans on this planet, but he had a fairly open mind- and no normal little girl could float or toss him around a room.

However, there was someone who didn't quite share his ability to not speak. His good old friend Caius, in fact. With a simple "I'm going." the man turned and began to leave the room. However, he stopped in his tracks right after. Jonathan turned towards the stage, only to spot possibly the most intimidating person he'd ever seen briskly walking across it. Even the vampire in front of him seemed nervous, and she turned around slowly to the man as he stood at the edge of the stage, glaring daggers at her. "Ahh, I forgot you were there. Haha, hi Arthur." With that, Illusion vanished into a.. thing. JoJo totally had to learn that move one day. His attention returned to the man, who gave them a painfully obvious ultimatum- and also marked Rick as their superior. Jonathan didn't really mind, since Rick seemed like an alright guy, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

As Arthur began to showcase his power, and Jonathan wondered how much it would hurt to be smacked by that sword Arthur wielded. JoJo tensed up just like he did when the spider woman attacked him, and he grit his teeth. Sure, Arthur was absolutely terrifying, but JoJo wouldn't be stupid enough to fight him- Jonathan would rather use his head than his fists, even during a fight. And Arthur didn't exactly look like a guy he could get away with using anything else on.

".. Kill us? The hell have we done..? Is being born that bad?" He muttered to himself once Arthur had left, and he briefly looked over at Vistra, worried slightly at her sudden outburst of giggles and making sure she was okay. He turned back and let out a heavy sigh, visibly relaxing only slightly. He needed to find a phone and, well, do something- but then again, if he called Dawn, she might try to come get him or something. He couldn't exactly have the shorty come here and get whooped by Arthur or Illusion or whoever else was here- or imprisoned or whatever they did to people that tried to trespass here. Jonathan imagined it wasn't nice, whatever it was. He was zoned out to the point that he didn't even notice Illusion reappearing. His previous idea was the find a phone, but that idea was gone. Firstly because he'd seen Vesper again and leaving her wasn't exactly a huge priority for him- but mostly now he was just worried that he'd drag his poor housemate into something over her head. Both of their heads, honestly.

"Fucking.. fuck. The hell am I supposed to do?" Jonathan turned around, before groaning audibly as he heard Caius once again speak. He looked over at Vesper, checking on her, before he looked over at Caius. Illusion had apparently given them a chance for questions, and Caius was the first to respond. "Questions, then tell me. Where is the fuckin' exit?" JoJo groaned. "Really, dude?" Continuing his rant, he began to get ready for a fight from what JoJo saw. At this moment, he also noticed Caius' hands being bloody. Was he that intimidated by Arthur that he had to squeeze his fists that hard? Someone like Caius was scared of Arthur? "Well, fuck me, right? I thought that guy was fearless." In fact, thinking back on it, JoJo realised that the people who seemed the toughest of the group had reacted the most- Rick and Vesper barely even flinched, or didn't flinch at all.

He let out a sigh, about to call out to Caius before he jumped a little as the intercom on the wall crackled to life. Apparently there was a sentient being in control of the facility's surveillance system, and she didn't sound very, if at all, happy. Her name was ORIN, which probably stood for.. uh.. something. Probably. However, with her threat on the table, JoJo was quite honestly expecting things to start looking up.

He was so wrong.

“You hear that dumbass? You’re stuck here - like me - like it or not. If you can look past your own stupid, selfish needs for one second, maybe you could see that this isn’t some dumb joke.” The black-haired girl had practically waltzed up to Caius, immediately getting in his face and mouthing off at him. “Believe me, if I had a choice I’d go back to my normal life without all you losers in a heartbeat, but I’m stuck with all of you, and you’re stuck with me. We don’t have to get along, but it looks like we’re gonna have a job to do, so we may as well shut up and play along for now.”

Jonathan almost went and slammed his face into the nearest wall. He was nice, but he had his limits. They were literally just threatened with imprisonment if they caused anything, and here we had this girl immediately going and causing something. JoJo watched somewhat intently, though, as she'd walked right into Caius' range- and from what he remembered, that was not a good place to be. However, he was immediately a bit more relieved when she stepped away from him, turning to the rest of the group with a hair flip. How angsty. “I’m Ash, by the way. May as well get these introductions out of the way.”

JoJo began to wonder if being cut off was going to be a thing around here when, as when he went to introduce himself, the girl at the side of the room cut in. He was cut off. Again. It was definitely a thing. All pretense of niceties was lost within five seconds of her opening her mouth. She pointed directly at Ash after catching everyone's attention with two claps, kind of like a teacher getting their students attention. He'd expected something from her, but was just a little irked when it seemed that she, too, was intent on starting something. He glanced over at Rick, their designated leader, and wondered how he'd manage a group like this. JoJo actually felt sorry for him.

"Hey, loser." What an opening line- she was obviously trying to be the most friendly person in the room. Wall-girl stared directly at the black-haired girl, whom Jonathan now knew was named Ash. "You sure as hell don't have to get along with me, but you're gonna want to get along with everyone else, so you can start by dropping that attitude before I beat the snot out of you. Don't waste my time, don't waste Rick's time, and don't waste the WDL's time." JoJo raised an eyebrow. So she was also a member of the WDL? But aside from appearing out of basically nowhere, she seemed completely different to the two other staff members he'd met. Maybe she was some sort of instructor? Or, considering there was plenty people carrying around weapons that probably also had tongues as sharp as said weapons, she was just a regular mook that was dragged into attending with the girl from before? Whoever she was, she'd taken the mood in the room from slightly not bad back to oh god territory- he figured that Ash would have some very choice words for her right after.

Rianne put out her lit cigarette, and JoJo wondered if it was usual for someone to smoke for five seconds before stopping. Maybe there was a no smoking rule? "Name's Rianne, by the way. There's my introduction." He nodded slightly. Well, that's.. 7 new names he'd learned today. All up, he knew Vesper, Caius, Rick, Ash, Rianne, Arthur and.. Illusion? Couldn't be her actual name, right? Nah, JoJo decided, surely not.

JoJo was snapped out of his thoughts as the girl that giggled a bit too hard introduced herself. 'Hello. I'm Vistra. It's nice to meet you all, even with all this going on.' When she smiled at him, her smiled back- no need to be rude, especially in such absolutely ridiculous circumstances- I mean, a guy had just blown the lights by waving around a sword. That was absolutely insane. 'And I suppose this would make us half-siblings? I've always wanted an older brother and sister.' JoJo chuckled softly, "I s'pose it would." He spoke up, loud enough for everyone to head. "Name's Jonathan, JoJo for short. Pleasure to meet you all." 8 names he knew, now. He was going to offer his hand for her to shake before Rick, sensing the hostility between a certain trio in the room, took action.

He looked over as Rick spoke, listening to him. Apparently, Rick had been here for a while, so it was probably best for him to be listening to his senior. "At this point however we are united not only by blood but also by circumstance. I understand the situations that you all arrived under were less than ideal but with your cooperation that will change." JoJo nodded in agreement- even though he wanted to, he couldn't just walk out of here. He'd resigned himself to being stuck here for the time being. Honestly, he really just wanted to tell Dawn he wasn't dead- Rick would definitely know where there was a phone. He probably had one, even, and Jonathan knew Dawn's number by heart.

Tuning back into Rick's speech from his thoughts, he grimaced slightly. "As they say, A rocky start is simply the beginning of a thrilling hike." A thrilling hike doesn't usually start with getting your feet messed up, that's for sure. There's only a certain amount of rockiness that you can go through. Also, JoJo thought to himself, who even says that?

"Come now everyone. Whilst Illusion and our esteemed leader Arthur have given you all some explanation regarding our role in the WDL I suspect you are all full of questions still yet to be answered. It is my express pleasure to satisfy any curiosity and I'll be seeing to it that you are optimally comfortable and informed." JoJo looked up as soon as Rick mentioned a tour- he could finally find a damn phone! But something else caught him, and that was Rick's offer to answer their questions on Illusion's behalf. Rick at this point seemed a tad cardboard, like he was forcing his pleasant demeanour. 'Express pleasure'? 'Optimally comfortable'? Something seemed ever so off about it, although JoJo pinned that down to his nerves and his circumstances. He perked up a little, however, as Rick continued. "Follow me to the projector room and afterwords I'll help guide you all to your respective dormitory rooms. If anyone's interested after that I'll still be available to give a tour of this establishment."

He crossed his arms, surveying everyone else in the room, before he stepped forward. He looked over at Rick, then gave him a nod as he began to follow him. He watched, and couldn't help but smirk as Rick threw open the doors so fancily- "Man, this seems like a slow-motion intro moments at the beginning of an anime, I swear.." He muttered under his breath. He looked back as he walked, wanting to make sure Vesper was following.

---

---

| Illusion |

Illusion sat in her chair, a sly smirk sliding across her features as Caius questioned her. Not particularly invested in the events before her, she tuned out once the female doggo got in Caius' face, and then tuned back in when Rianne jumped in as well. She sighed, looking up at the nearest security camera and giving it a 'what the hell are we doing here' type of shrug. Her eyes flickered over to Rick, and she narrowed them slightly. "Shouldn't ya be doin' somethin', leader?" she thought, and was pleasantly surprised when Rick did, in fact, do his duty. As Rick did do something- albeit while apparently ignoring the three hostile satanspawns right in front of him, and Illusion sighed. Arthur had put them all on edge, and the two lovely firecrackers they'd gotten didn't seem to make anything easier. However, she had a much darker goal in her mind. She'd offered to prove anyone who didn't believe that those of supernatural origin existed wrong, and her eyes smoothly settled on Caius.

Waiting until everyone else had left the room or was leaving, Illusion cleared her throat. "Oi, Caius, my friendo. There's somethin' I wanna speak with ya about. Privately." She glanced over at Rick, a look that made it obvious that she meant for the others to move along and leave her alone with Caius. Waiting patiently, the young vampire smiled, before idly starting to read what seemed to be a newspaper. When they were alone, she looked up at Caius; "So, ya read the news lately?"

---

---

A pair of binoculars scoured the WDL grounds. The barrier barely did its job of preventing sight into the compound, and a sigh left the lips of the observer. "Lax defences.." They then groaned, cracking their neck before resuming their searching. For a moment, their binoculars caught sight of Rick shoving the Auditorium doors open all cool-like. A slightly chuckle left their lips. "Wait a.. Oh, so that's them, then." A pause, before the binoculars moved around the facility. The observer's sight landed on an open window in one of the buildings on the grounds of the WDL's Exorcist Academy. Zooming in a little, the observer caught a glimpse of a rather pretty woman adjusting their blouse near an open window. They zoomed in a bit more, a sly snicker leaving their lips. "Ho ho hoh, this is a great view.." The girl in the window finished doing up their blouse, and moved away. A sad sigh left the observer's lips as they moved their binoculars around again, this time finding their last target. A young man was suddenly accosted by another- attacked with a full rubbish bin, in fact. The observer snickered, watching the young Exorcist seemingly apologise to the man he'd just covered with trash.

Putting away their binoculars, they slowly stood up. Their gear weighed a bit heavy on their back, but they were here for business, after all.

---

---

The girl stretched as she exited the cab, smiling as it pulled away and she gave it a cheerful wave. Smiling and humming to herself happily, she began the short trek towards the guardpost that prevented her from entering the WDL's facilities. Well, it would have if she wasn't registered as a student. Her lips curled into a sly smile, and she half-walked half-skipped up to the guardpost, pass in hand if they had any questions.

Of course, like all men, the only question they had for her was 'Will you love me?', and her answer was always the same.

Ashley “Ash” “Soot” Clade

"Okay, I think I've heard enough." Ash turned towards the source speaking, eying up the woman that had dragged the teen girl in amongst chains. For some reason, her expression and the dual set of claps irked her, though it did surprise her slightly to see a pointed finger aimed squarely at her.

"Hey, loser."

Immediately, Ash’s expression soured. She was not a loser, that was her line about every other person in the room. Even if Ash could respect a no-bullshit approach to things, she was still the alpha bitch in this room (Illusion didn’t count, she wasn’t human), so no matter how tough this woman was, she wasn’t going to accept any pretence that Rianne was better than her. She didn’t expect her and Ash to get along? Good. Heck, she wanted a fight, she’d get one soon enough. Ashley had been trying to be somewhat cordial, but then this tramp had to go and insult her and what she thought was a perfectly reasonable set of requests of the group. Ash thought to interject, but she was bigger than that. For now. Watching the woman take a cigarette, another annoyance to the biker, she thought perhaps the woman was done.

But no. She couldn’t leave good enough alone.

“…Acting like some playground bully because your insecurities keep you awake at night. 'Shut up and play along for now,' don't give me that crap. No one's ever worked properly as a team with a mindset like that, so why don't you get your head out of your fucking ass." Rianne continued, punctuating her comments by crushing her cigarette and sharing her name. Not that Ash hadn’t pegged this bitch’s name from the beginning. Still, she could feel it. Her blood boiling, but not just in irritation. In some respects, she enjoyed a good fight. It would do her good to let loose some of this pent up frustration.

“Rianne, huh?” Ash started simply, unfolding her arms and placing them on her hips. “ Shame such a nice name belongs to a bitch. That’s some mouth you got there for a holy woman. You’d think an old dog like you would’ve learned some manners by this point, but I guess you’re just scared that there might be a new girl in town who’s not afraid of your crap. If I’m the schoolyard bully, then you’re the dipshit that stayed back several years and runs the playground just ‘cuz they think they’re bigger and better.” Ash remained where she was, not making an effort to approach Rianne. Vaguely, she could hear some niceties being exchanged by the other children, but she didn’t care. Even Caius had been forgotten in this moment. This girl had challenged her, and Ash wasn’t about to take it without some sort of counterattack.

“You want me to get along with these dumbasses? They’re gonna have to earn it. Just like you. Sure, I get it, you’re a disgruntled badass cause you’re stuck here fighting demons since you’re too ugly to find yourself a man, and too stupid to move up the ranks to something worthwhile, but hey, maybe if you dedicate yourself you can be Arthur’s lapdog.” Ash shrugged with a smug expression, raising her hands into the air as she looked away. Seemed the rest of the group was leaving. Pivoting slightly, she began wandering away, calling over her shoulder.

“I get why you’re scared though - You’re gonna be old news Rianne. With us new devil-spawns being trained up, you’re gonna be obsolete before long. Get used to seeing my ass, cause you’re gonna be eating my dust for years to come. Your days are numbered.” Ash waved over her shoulder as she strode away with Rick and the others, praying that her final cool move would work. To her immense and smug glee, right on cue, her motorbike pulled up beside her, allowing Ash to climb on easily as it began to ride away, idly coasting behind the group and leaving Caius, Rianne and Illusion behind. But not before one last quip. “Later Pot. Try not to get too worked up, can’t be good for your heart with that shit in you.”

---

Sitting calmly in class, oblivious to the events occurring outside the room, was a single bright young exorcist doing his best to take notes on the material in class. He was still pretty low on the totem pole, barely more than a recruit at his lower 3rd class rank, but he knew that if he applied himself and worked hard, that would change. It didn’t matter that he’d been here a few months and hadn’t progressed. Or that he hadn’t gone on field duty at all. It didn’t even matter that he kept getting cleaning duty. The important thing was that he was here - The WDL - The place where he could truly put his skills as an exorcist to the test, and help fight off the demon threat.

Of course… It wasn’t exactly how he expected it to be. Granted, his ideas about glory and fighting off demons and what have you may have been exaggerated to begin with, but… Well, even as far as a school went, he’d had higher expectations. He wasn’t expecting to be popular by any means but… Well, he thought he’d have made SOME friends at the school. But no. He was a laughing stock. A joke. I mean, he enjoyed making people happy, but it still hurt. Just because he tripped when introducing himself to the class, some people thought he was incapable. It didn’t help he was constantly just cleaning, never on a mission… I mean, he’d prove himself eventually, but when were the brass going to take him seriously? Maybe he’d have to go speak with M-…Ms. Hallows and see about it.

When class ended, Kane inevitably got lumped with staying back and cleaning the room. It didn’t take him long – the students weren't particularly messy, and he was well practiced in it by now. Lumping the last of the garbage into the bin, Kane cautiously carried it in front of him, but he couldn’t really see. Sliding the class door open with his foot, he stepped out, though his second step caught on the lip of the door. The results were as expected.

“WahaHOAHH!” Kane went sprawling forward with a soft thud, tossing the bin flying forwards. In a mess of banana peels, paper, dust and other items, the poor teenager that had been standing outside the door was quickly pelted with the rubbish, culminating in the bin landing over his head with a soft ‘thunk’. Kane swallowed nervously as he got up, quickly moving to help the guy. “I’m so sorry! That was a total accident, I’m such a klutz! Here, let me help you clean off, uh…”

With the sudden verbal abuse that Rianne had dumped on the girl, she absolutely expected some kind of retaliation from someone with a mouth like that. She sat quietly, almost eagerly as she waited in anticipation to hear what she would say - her body was leaning slightly forward, hands on her knees and the slightest smile creeping at the corner of her mouth. Unsurprisingly, she jumped straight to name calling but in a few moments, the direction she took her insults changed drastically. 'Disgruntled badass? Too ugly to find a man? Arthur's lapdog? Obsolete?'

Rianne almost bust out laughing as Ash fumed at her, who then ended with a smug grin that showed that she was confident she had 'won' their little argument. Sure kid, you won, Rianne thought, eliciting a snicker as the girl sped away on her bike with the others. There were so many things that was funny about that entire sequence that she didn't even know where to begin. She couldn't even be mad - the wild assumptions, the smug look, the fact that she felt she had to get the last word in - Rianne changed her mind, Ash wasn't a playground bully. She was just an idiot.

"And that's fine with me," Rianne muttered to herself with a shrug, flipping her phone open. It had been buzzing for a few minutes now, but she'd chosen to ignore it. I'm just as much of a dumbass, though I'd never hear the end of it if I put myself in the same boat as her. Her eyes skimmed over the message she'd received and suddenly things weren't so funny anymore:

[Melody: 12:00 PM sharp at Della Pace. Come alone.]

Rianne quickly closed her phone, squinting suspiciously around the ceiling for a few moments. ORIN didn't see that, did she? God knows where's she got eyes and ears here. She put the phone away and rubbed the side of her temple with her right hand, gently closing her eyes. It'll be okay. Even if she did see, she probably wouldn't care.

Unlike her, Melody was not the type to pull pranks like this. Somebody's got a hold of her.

Rianne opened her eyes again and took a few deep breaths, opening her phone for a few seconds before putting it away once more. She had been too stunned to fully register the time and place that she was expected to meet this stranger. It didn't seem likely that it was anybody she knew, so she guessed that it had to be a demon of some sort. She'd dealt with their kind on many an occasion, after all.

In any case, there were still hours to spare before the clock struck twelve and she wasn't going to spend that time moping around, at least if she could help it. She half-considered asking somebody for help, but she wasn't willing to risk Melody's life. This was something she might have to face on her own. Standing up and dusting herself off, she waved and made her way towards the exit. "You two have fun, I'm gonna go grab some ice cream."

Or at least, that was the plan. By the looks of it, they were all sold out of strawberry. Peering off to the side, she spotted a pair of WDL students surrounded by a heap of trash. Oh boy.

She walked over and pulled the can upright, kneeling to the ground to pick up pieces of trash and drop them back in. "It's nice that you're introducing each other in the middle of all this garbage, but I hope at least one of you is planning on cleaning all of this up. Actually. . ." Rianne snapped a few times as if to jog her memory. "Kane, right? Get me a broom from the classroom, I'll clean it up."

Anything to take my mind off of tonight.

================================

================================

"I really hate to admit
that I need to concede on
some things, but it doesn't
mean that I would just take
it as it is, but I know I have
to, so I won't be weak."

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██If there was gauge to determine how much Caius was bursting in confusion which relates to his temper, it would be bursting and just a step away before it exploded. He is truly the definition of stubbornness and even if everything he had been seeing is truly contradictory to what he believes. He would not be swayed and because he relays on emotions more, the resentment building inside of him due to the people and environment, simply blocks his willingness to view things openly. Actually, it's just pure immature hardheadedness that makes him resistant to everything that's being said even if, deep inside he could see logical points. Still, his temper triumphs over it.

Well, this was briefly rerouted when a voice reminiscent of those virtual assistants in the latest gadgets echoed through the building. Apparently, it replied to his demand. His eyes narrowed further inciting his displeasure. This ORIN character or whatever it calls itself was also have the keys to grate on his nerves. It was pinning the fault of a lock-down on him if he ever so prance out of here at his violation. Adding to that, it sounded like wacko job of big brother who sees everything and so on. "Tch! The fuck should I care about some piece of shit." His words had the lace of venom and his irritation as more confusing things keep piling up on him.

Then, this piss poor imitation of a biker chick from Addams family approached her as if she's worth even equal to dirt. He gritted his teeth and literally snarled at the girl. "Listen her you stick of a t-" He was unable to continue his retort when the sound clapping intervened along the lines. He growled for the interruption, but didn't say anything as he decided to ignore the two.

He just wanted to leave now and find the kids, if what that psycho Illusion said that they are alive and safe. But, he did glare at that sissy-looking girl who introduced herself as Vistra and had the gall to say that they are siblings. "Don't screw with me. We ain't family or even siblings. So, shut it!" His agitation was clear and because of it, he was venting it out in different ways. He then also glared at Rick who seemed to agree on that statement and to the punk JoJo. There was no way he would even think about becoming anything with these freaks. That was not even registering to him at all. He just needs to get out of here quick. That's what's being prioritized in his head.

In terms of what Rick was saying, he really didn't care that's why he didn't listen at all. Instead, he looked away from the group and the warning from ORIN didn't even cause any worry over him as he looked around to see where he could slip away and escape this circus of crazy. The opportunity soon appeared as the others began to leave the building. He could use that get away and when he was about to, but that voice which grated on his ears prevented him. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Illusion. "We're not friends." He retorted as he glared at the little fry of violence. Despite his temper, he did notice that he was left alone with Illusion soon enough. Then, his gaze fell on that newspaper. It was odd in every aspect to him. "What do you want?"

Illusion, with a small smirk on her face, lazily looked up in Caius’ direction. “I asked you if you’ve read the news lately, rude boy. Have you?” Lifting up her slender hand, she beckoned Caius over as her grin slowly vanished.Caius was really having doubts whether to approach, but his curiosity won over. "...What is it?" His tone returned to a normal range, but it was still filled with a controlled level of annoyance. He walked towards Illusion, but made sure there was a notable distance in case this man-child do something again. That grin was enough sign for him that something was up and he really wasn’t keen about throwing caution out the window right now. "So, what’s interesting about it, huh?"

Illusion turned to the page before her, chuckling. “Just a little bit here. ‘An orphanage was attacked a few nights ago; several children, the matron murdered, and the rest of the children were missing along with one of the staff that worked there by the name of..’ Well.. ‘Caius Grady’, in fact.” Hearing those words, Caius stiffened notably. The events of that night rolled inside his head as his hands were once again clenched into fists. He didn’t even mind the fact that he might make his hands bleed which had already stopped earlier.

Illusion looked over at Caius once more. “According to this newspaper there was no animal found on the scene, yet there were several bodies. What do you think of this oh so wonderful development, Mister Grady?” Illusion gazed right into his eyes, her expression dead serious. "... No animal…?" That was the question that echoed in his head as the image of that violent beast appeared in his head. "That’s impossible!" He loudly retorted in confusion while shaking his head in disbelief. "There was that…. Bear… Dog…. Beast!" He then met Illusion’s gaze as a rather useless, but plausible idea entered his thoughts. "You.. What did you do!?" It was not impossible from his opinion. He was attacked then, he was taken there and then that news…. Everything was confusing… The only person who could do something about it was this person, this Illusion.

“That what? It’s called a werewolf- lycanthrope. Whatever.” Illusion spoke in a monotone voice. “We did nothing. If we had’ve done something, why would we have taken your lovely orphans into our protection?” Caius somehow eased up due to Illusion’s anti-climactic tone. He bit his lower lip in obvious frustration as he wasn’t able to speak anything more. Illusion continued reading from the paper, “It seems to have been an attack by an animal, however, nothing at the scene could be linked to any type of animal native to the region. A search was launched, but no results were found aside from a large tooth buried in the throat of a young girl, a human canine.” Illusion paused. “See, the thing about werewolves is that when a piece of them is torn out, it returns to its human form.” She shrugged. “But since werewolves obviously don’t exist, why was there a human tooth in poor Sophie’s neck, Caius? Can you tell me?”

The memory of Sophie reaching out to him made him lowered his head as the scene made him shake his head in resistance. "....That’s impossible… Impossible..." Yes, he was resisting what was being said to him as he took a step back. "It was a huge animal…. Human? That’s impossible..." He tried to connect the dots, but he was never the type to handle such complicated processes. That’s why all he could was just a simple and rather low-level comprehension. "It must be a human in a costume… That’s it!" He pointed at Illusion as his eyes of gold lit with approval of that solution, but still, doubt swimmed behind it. All of that due to the fact he had grabbed hold of that beast… he felt that claw… It wasn’t human… "It’s a deranged human!"

“So you killed a man? Ripped a man in two in front of all of those innocent people? You murdered a man? Or are you just clutching onto your beliefs that it wasn’t a monster when you know that it was. What kind of man is that big? That strong? What kind of man growls at you and looks like a wolf? What kind of man eats little children?” Those words accosted him like daggers and each stabbed him true. Killing someone, it was not something he would lose sleep over. In his life, the idea of killing had never been an issue, more like he was prepared for that instance especially with the darkness of his life in the underground world. What actually pierced him was that his beliefs were being torn at the very seams. It’s like his impenetrable rock was being drilled into pieces, slowly, but surely.

Illusion shrugged.“But if you still want to ignore the obvious lycan in front of you, I have another proposal for you. Caius Grady, if there was no werewolf to kill those children, and no man was found at the crime scene; that means that you ate and killed those children with your own hands, doesn’t it? So tell me, Caius. Do werewolves exist, or..” She paused, tossing the paper aside and staring at him as she stood up, looking right into his eyes, “Are you a heartless, child-butchering cannibal, Caius Grady?” His hand that pointed accusingly at Illusion quivered for a moment, as he lowered it. Then, "Hell no! I won’t ever hurt those kids! No!" He stated angrily and with a clear sincerity that would have been usually hidden with his rough words. His eyes also glowed with that harsh determination. "It’s… not a hu---..." He didn’t continue his words as he held his head and shook it in frustration. "SHIT! What the fuck is happening…?"

Illusion sighed. “What’s happening is exactly what happened to everyone else here. Your regular life was suddenly torn apart because you were introduced to something that wasn’t human. You’re just being awfully stubborn about it.” Illusion shrugged. “If you didn’t hurt those children, and there was no animal, where does that leave you, Caius? There was a werewolf and you know it, don’t you?”

At this point, the resistance that Caius had was blown away. His shoulders lowered and his eyes on the ground as well. "I..." He clammed up as he took a deep breath and calmed himself. The memories of the night and what happened to him here played again, but this time, things were being put into perspective. "Hey..." His voice had lost it edge of irritation, somehow it was calm, something unfamiliar to those who have observed him earlier. "That monster… that.. Werewolf is dead, right?" He was still not looking at her as he asked that question as if for confirmation.

Illusion, her face softening, nodded. “Yes. You quite literally tore it in half, saving the rest of the children in the room. You also took quite the beating ”, she motioned to his stomach, “but in the end, you were quite the hero, Caius.” The word hero made him flinched. He should feel a sense of pride normally, but the faces of the Matron, the dead children, and Sophie haunted his eyes. Plus, he was definitely not the hero type. Still, he looked up and saw that expression which was usually only given to him by the Matron. She smiled warmly at him- not her usual fake warm smile, but an actually genuine one.

She put her hands behind her back, looking over at the podium she’d stood on before. “I’m sure those kids are all grateful to you. They now have a place to live, a place to grow up, and most importantly they have their lives.” She turned back to Caius, slowly floating up to pat his head. This time, he didn’t say anything and just allowed that gesture. “I’ll take you to see them later on, okay? For now you should head to the projector room with the others. I know this is all difficult and new for you, but the more you learn the better you can protect the children, right?” Illusion dropped to the floor, grinning. “Now go, I’ll make sure that the orphans- well, not orphans anymore- are taken care of while you’re away.” She looked at him again. “Is there anything else before you go?”

He was quiet for a while before releasing a big sigh and then looked at the ceiling. It was at that position he spoke once more. "I’ll hold you to what you say." Caius was not completely trusting Illusion, but that was normal, isn’t it? He was still wary and cautious, but right now… What can he really do? Apparently, everything around him is against to his desire to leave. Plus, he is worried about the kids remembering their horror when they saw what he did. His strength… that was abnormal. He needed to understand and these people can either give that or manipulate him, but he was willing to gamble. He was always risking it anyway out the streets. What was the difference here, right? "Keep those brats safe. Anyway, I’ll learn what am I here, right?" This time, he finally looked back at her.

Illusion nodded. “Yes, you will. You’ll learn lots of things. You’ll learn more about the world than any other place could teach you. I’ll keep those children safe- I give you my word, but I expect you to grow strong enough that one day I don’t need to protect them. I’m sure they’d much rather be watched over by their big brother Caius than a tiny lolita like me.” She chuckled softly. Caius didn’t mind the chuckle. He was still hesitant with the whole supernatural thing going on, but he wasn’t that closed off anymore. "That’s obvious." He noted on his part. “Get moving, Caius. Today is introductions, tomorrow is boot camp. Oh,” she motioned towards the doorway, “Please try to get along with them. In a battle, they might have your back when you need it. I know you prefer to fight alone, but you have a family now. Don’t let that opportunity go to waste, are we clear?” He looked away from Illusion. "I can’t promise about getting along with them." The idea of JoJo, that halloween-themed girl along with the others of having sort of a bond with him was really far off in his assessment. Even the word family, it’s foreign to him at the moment. "....But, I’ll tolerate them." He shrugged his shoulders. "So, which way is this projection room?"

Illusion, her smile suddenly turning sly, giggled. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I can get you there in just a moment, however, you might hate me for this.” She shoved Caius, her small frame making it somewhat comedic as this tiny girl, with one finger, sent him falling onto his rear. This was without doubt made him shock, but instead of meeting with the floor, he fell through one of Illusion’s crazy broken glass-looking portals, landing on the floor in a room with a projector being the most prominent feature. "Eh?" It might have been weak response, but his eyes were as big as a fish caught out water. His surroundings suddenly shifted as he looked around in a hurry. This... is... impossible... "How... It's... Huh?" He felt eyes on him as he looked up and saw a hole that he has the common sense to know shouldn't exist. But, it was there with Illusion smiling as she leaned through it. “Just wait here for a while, the others will show up in a moment. Don’t break anything~” With that, the girl slid back through the hole, gave him a curt wave, and it closed up in front of him. By the time it was done, it was as if the hole had never existed at all.

Actually, Caius blinked a couple of times after that. Then, rubbed his eyes as he looked at the ceiling which was normal looking. "I'm not crazy... Nope... not crazy." He muttered that to himself while shaking his head. "The fuck... I guess I need get used to this... I need a drink... Badly." Just like that, he stood from the floor and sighed, the biggest he had ever done in his life.

---

Rick Brackwall

With all things said and done what was important was that they were on their way with him. He looked back to ensure that they were still following and didn't start wondering off for whatever reason. All five of them were following behind well enough. That was all what mattered, little else was of concern in regards to that. He did wonder what Illusion had in mind for Caius. Hopefully she'll help him along to the projector room or brief him separately. It would be time consuming doing a whole briefing for a single missing brethren.

He unclipped his clipboard from his belt as he walked, carrying under his arm as he lead them from the auditorium. Past guards and through the scenic architecture that was WDL's Rome. Soon they approached the building that was their destination: The Academy in all it's grandeur. Well, perhaps it wasn't the most flowing and beautiful structure within the compound but it was suitably nice.

"I welcome you one and all to WDL's very own academy!" He gestured to the building with a fancy flourish of the hand. "It may not look inherently special but there's not a place better suited to preparing one for any situation one may encounter." He'd of extrapolated on the nature of these 'Encounters' however they would need to understand the existence of demons as a whole first and such a change in their reality was bound not to be received smoothly.


Through the front doors and up the stairs to the right Rick led them to the second floor and down the hall. It was the room just past classroom 101 that was two classrooms in length. Opening the door he revealed the room in full. It was a fairly nice room, long fluorescent lights just waiting to cast their bright white light at the touch of a button. The was a long grey oval desk in the middle of the room surrounded with office chairs. At the side of the room closest to the entrance was a projector mounted on a trolley. At the other end of the room was a white board, a large roll up screen attached at the top.

With a flick Rick turned on the lights, illuminating the placid room. The walls were bare and white, the carpet a neutral grey color. It looked very much like the type of room that would be at home in an office building. What didn't belong in an office building however was Caius who was standing over on the far side of the room looking mostly confused.

While this would be an odd sight, someone who was left behind somehow making it to a room they weren't even aware of before them, to Rick this was just to be expected of Illusion. Her magic certainly benefited her efficiency plenty though her mannerisms were a tad chaotic. After these many years the strange was simply commonplace.

"All of you may feel free to take a seat. I'll get the projector set up." He offered the others as he went over to the projector, hardly even batting an eye at the befuddled Caius. Setting down his clip board the observant would spot that the paper slides it kept a hold of were all completely blank.


After a few moments of moving panels and inserting slides Rick finally had the projector set up.

"Alright! If you are all settled let the briefing begin!"

With that announcement he hit the lights and took his place by the projector. It spat forth an image not of a blank slide as was previously noted by the more aware but instead a cover marked with the WDL insignia. With that up Rick cleared his throat, prepared to speak at length.

"The WDL, the Warriors of Divine Light, are a martial institution established to protect the human population from non-standard threats on a global scale. All of you on some level have had experiences with threats known to the WDL prior to your arrival here."


The slides simply seemed to switch over on their own accord to the next one in the order. It was an image of the exact type of demon that attacked Jonathan, a Tsuchigumo as the title of the slide states.

"At first it might seem surreal."

The slides changed over again. This time it was an image of what seemed to be a man kneeling within a demonic diagram, candles set at strategic points in the circular drawing. In the man's hand was a knife which which he appeared to be cutting open his own arm, the blood flowing not down but up from the wound. The title of this slide was Hemomancy.

"It may make you question things you never doubted before."

The screens flipped to the next slide. It was an illustration of each phase in a werewolf's transformation, starting from man to feral half-canine beast in order of left to right. The title to this document was The Transformation From Man to Werewolf.

"It may make you even question your own sanity."

Flipping again to the next slide was a compilation image of all three illustrations, arranged in a triangle.

"There is truth in what you witnessed. It is what we all share. It is why we are here now."

Striding up next to the screen the images were projected onto Rick stepped into view. His posture was open and he still wore a pleasant if calm smile, speaking in a pleasant tone albeit with the slightest Italian accent simply due to spending a fair amount of time learning in Rome.


"Now, you've been given a brief rundown by our principle, the esteemed Miss Illusion, but I feel as though it didn't satisfy the amount of knowledge you require in order to wholly accept a responsibility that's been thrust upon you without warning or consent. Know that like you all I too arrived here no differently."

While it was definitely dark and difficult to see anything beyond the image put forth by the projector the keen of eye might spot a piece of paper reaching up with a corner and hitting the power switch on the projector. Just as the projector shut down, plunging the room into darkness, Rick hit the light switch on his side of the room, igniting the fluorescent lights and immersing the room in their plain white light.

"I am here simply to help you make the most of your time and efforts. For everyone's sake."

He looked over the group, meeting eyes with each member he could before addressing them as a whole.

"Of course you've humored me in listening to my rambling. I imagine you have questions of your own you need addressed. Starting with..."

He briefly held his hand out, considering who he should take questions from first. He briefly considered letting them speak their questions but wasn't quite yet certain that they wouldn't start trying to talk over each other in a muddled mess of confusion. His hand fell to the person he was to address, directing everyone's attentions to Jonathan.

"JoJo, our good friend of many. Any questions or concerns in need of addressing?"

“Well, there they are.”

Word had travelled quickly throughout the base of the Children’s arrival- spread through emails, texts, passing remarks and conversation. Six out of seven! It wouldn’t be long before all would be gathered within the heart of the base, introduced to one another, made to unlock their birthrights and become proper soldiers. There were some who were nervous about the whole thing. The WDL had been founded to rid the world of the inhuman, and now they were taking a full set of apocalyptic halfbreeds into their arms? It wasn’t right.

Of course, that was only some. Just as many fell throughout the spectrum, with a few landing on the far opposite. Excited, rather than wary.

Madison was one of those few.

Settled in the neighboring room of the projector’s, the staff lounge, they- “they” being himself and his companion- were able to watch the meeting through a small two-way mirror that connected the two spaces. Useful for observers who didn’t quite want to show their faces in a meeting or the like, although such an occurrence tended to be rare. They were waiting there simply because it was the easiest way to watch without interrupting the meeting.

And because the place was rather comfortable, admittedly. The wallpaper was a muted blue, the floors a polished walnut. Madison had set a pot of tea to boil some time ago on a communal hot plate, and from a nearby radio came the wan voice of Sinatra’s “My Way.”

“Look at how close Ms. Himemiya is to Mr. Black,” Madison said. One hand was tucked beneath his chin, the other resting upon the tabletop before him. As he gazed into the dark hall before them, he took a moment to smooth out the front of his dress- Madison had taken the day off for the occasion, made obvious by the soft evening orange of the researcher’s sundress. “It looks like some of them are getting along well already. Marvelous.” The comment was made in complete sincerity- the smile on his lips was enough of an indication of that. Stretching his shoulders, Madison sat up in a more proper position, watching Rick’s presentation with interest. The pin on his arm glinted with the movement.

“And it seems that Mr. Brackwall’s taking his leadership well. I’m glad. Given how many entered all at once, I’m sure that this will be especially overwhelming. For everyone, really.”

His hand brushed upon the briefings placed upon the desk, as if in emphasis of his point. In their crisp manilla folders, there was little indication of their contents, aside from the stamp on the front labelled “BRIEFING” in fresh ink.

“Hopefully they’ll take all of this alright, and- oh!” Madison suddenly rose, head turning towards the kettle. “I think that the tea is ready. Would you like some, Candice? It’s chai, if you don’t mind.”