Valko's Story

Valko stood over the body of a young woman who lay in a puddle of her own blood. For him, the worst part about his job was that he had to be there whenever a new recruit died, otherwise their soul might wander away from the body, or another Reaper might come along and help them to pass on. Or even worse, Sinclair could arrive on the scene and steal another soul away for his rogues.

The figure on the ground before the Frost Wolf Reaper looked barely old enough to be an adult. The woman she had been trying to protect had gotten away, which was good, but the man who had committed this crime had fled as well. The murderer had seemed to recognize the woman, maybe she was someone important? Valko had no idea, didn't care. Whoever she was while alive, that wasn't who she would soon become, was becoming. As he watched the woman seemed to raise up out of herself, the separation of soul and body. He didn't think he'd ever get used to the sight.

"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me." Valko says as he reaches out and takes her hand. She now wore a yellow dress and bore a scar on her forehead from her death. "I've got a lot to talk to you about, but not here in the streets."

The Reaper leads her over to the shadow cast by a dumpster, but as they reach the darkness they disappear into it, and after a moment of nothingness, they find themselves standing in what appears to be an old warehouse. Two other figures can be seen milling around, both men, which might worry the woman, but there was little Valko could do about that, and besides, what he had to say would probably make her forgot her worried about such things.

"Please, take a seat." Valko says, releasing her hand and walking over to a table, pulling a chair out for her. "These two men are friends. This is Finn, and Mordax." He points to each of them in turn, then to the two of them he says, "This is the newest recruit. I'm about to give her the talk, so please don't interrupt." Turning back to the young woman, Valko takes a seat across from her and clears his throat. Up until now he has been wearing his Reaper attire of a black robe and a wolfish mask, but how he removes the mask, which seems to turn to dust and float away on an unseen breeze, as does the robe, revealing that Valko is now wearing black pants and a grey button down shirt.

"I know this may be hard to understand, but please bare with me. You are dead now, and Death himself has recruited you into his services. From this day forward, you are a Reaper. You will be given new abilities, some unique to yourself, some general ones that we all have. You will use these powers to defend yourself against the evils of the world while you carry out the task of helping the souls of the dead to the other side." Valko pauses then to let this sink in, wondering how she will react.

-=-=-

"It seems I was too slow this time." Sinclair says, removing his mask to reveal dark hair and eyes that seem to glow slightly. He stands on the rooftop of a building across the street, looking down on the scene as Valko disappears into the shadows. A few moments later a sobbing woman returns with a man, and in the distance sirens wail. "Fools, don't they know that it's too late for those? That it's too late for anything now."

Smirking, Sinclair steps backwards into a shadow and emerges from the shadow of a grandfather clock into the den of an old, run down mansion. The place had been deserted decades ago, thought to be haunted. It was outside of the city, far enough away from anyone else that the Blade Reaper and his rogues could have their privacy without the need to keep themselves too quiet. After all, if the place was supposed to be haunted, who wouldn't expect the occasional odd noise.

"Ophelia, Raven, Lune," Sinclair calls out as he moved further into the house. "It seems the enemy has a new recruit, but no matter. We also have a bit of prey to hunt down. There is a murderer lose in the city, and I feel like going out for a walk, would anyone care to join me?"

The rogues were free to do as they pleased really, so long as when Sinclair asked them for something they complied. Normally, each night when the sun went down, his crew would head out into the streets and do what they did pest. Punish whomever they saw fit. It was easier to do this at night, because in a city like this which never really slept, the odd ones always came out later, and few people would question a group of odd looking individuals wandering the streets. Even if they displayed their powers the poor simple humans often chalked it up to a show of some sort.

"I also caught wind that a demon may enter the city this evening, and those are always good fun."

"Wait. I'm sorry, I'm dead?" These were the first words from her mouth. It was as good a time as any to speak up. She'd stayed silent when she woke up to a masked man in a mysterious cloak standing over her. Again, she didn't speak when she turned to find a body on the ground. Finally, no questions came about travelling through a portal in the shadows to a room holding other strangers. However, claiming she was dead was just too much.

As she took her seat in the strange room, her mind started to piece things together. The body on the ground had been her's. She recognized the clothes that she had put on to go for a run that morning, but her face looked odd. Was that what she had always looked like? Well, barring the bullet holes of course. People often said her face matched her name, but she didn't think she looked like a--...

Wait, what was her name? Megan? Or Ginger? Hadley? Yeah that was it. Hadley. Or... Harper. "My name is Harper," she called out of nowhere. Whether it was true or not, it was set now.

Harper, as she was now calling herself, glanced over the man in front of her. He was a lot less scary without his mask, but she was still a little nervous. "Wait, sorry. To go back again. I'm dead??" This time her tone showed more stress. His speech was obviously starting to sink in.

Too shocked to run, she remained seated, but paced the room with her eyes. They bounced between the 3 men in the room and it was making her dizzy. "What do I do now?" Her voice was as small as she felt. She could really use a run, but that was what got her into this mess.

"Believe me, I know how hard this can be to accept, let alone understand." Valko says, raising his chin to reveal his death scar. "All of us in this room have died already, and been brought back by Death. Well, specifically a Reaper, such as myself. You see, when Death finds a particularly strong spirit, he will sometimes recruit them and give them special powers so that they can help things move more smoothly. We keep the world of the living running, to put it in another way. Without the Reapers, human souls would wander the earth forever, and the demons could attack the living."

He pauses here, realizing that he may be taking things to quickly, explaining too much in one go. But time is of the essence, there is a demon loose in the city and while Sinclair and his rogues may be able to take it out, there is no telling how much collateral damage will be caused in the process. Just before he speaks again, a new figure emerges from the shadows.

"Ah, Doctor, there you are. Did your job go well?" Valko asks the new figure, dressed all in black, and with a pale white mask, but instead of robes Doctor wears an odd black suit and hat.

Doctor looks at Valko and nods, and then without saying a word looks to Harper and tilts their head before looking back to Valko.

"This is Harper, I just recruited her." Valko explains. To which Doctor straightens their head before nodding and bowing slightly to Harper. "This is Doctor." Valko says, looking back at Harper. "He, she? They've been around for a long time as well, a Reaper, like myself, and now you. Now, let me see if you can do this."

Reaching out, palm up, Valko focuses on the palm of his hand, and slowly white specks begin to appear. The specks grow larger, then start to come together, until soon a simple white mask is formed. The mask falls into his hand, and as his skin touches it, the color darkens to black and silver, and the form changes, making it look more like the face of a wolf.

"Just focus on the idea of a death mask, and it should come to you."

-=-

Sinclair had been around his recruits long enough to have grown used to their antics. He knew that, when it came to combat, Lune wasn't the strongest of the group, but that last mission had been a test to see how strong she had become since he had met her. Lune was indeed stronger, it was true, but still not at the point where he would trust her to go out on a solo mission of such magnitude again. If he really wanted to, he could force her to go after the murderer on her own, and she could probably manage that. But what he says is-

"Don't worry Lune, you are injured, and the police won't see be catching this particular murderer." What Sinclair was hiding from the Reaper was that this was potentially a new recruit in the making. A murderer? Yes, but an effective one, with a strong spirit. "I would like you to accompany Raven and myself as we see about this demon problem. Do you think you can manage that?"

Although his words sounded sincere enough, there was an edge to them that his Rogues knew well. When he asked something, it wasn't actually a question in most cases. Not when a job was involved at least.

"And Raven, I believe your Orion will come in handy, so yes, I would like you to come along with me as well." Sinclair says, ignoring some of the Reaper's questions. "And yes, Valko did manage to recruit a new member. A young girl who was shot down. I think it will be some time before she masters her abilities, but given the manner of her death, and the rules that Valko likes to live by, we may be able to bring her to our side."

With that being said Sinclair walks past Raven and over to a dark corner of the room. He reaches a hand out into the shadow and it disappears. Sinclair closes his eyes, and they move rapidly behind his lids for a moment, until they stop and he opens his eyes. As he does so the image of a busy city street can be see through the shadows, as if someone were looking at the scene through thick black smoke. It looks as though there has been an accident, cars are stopped, some piled up. Police and people run about, but none of them notice the large dark form standing on the corner laughing, because to all of them, he cannot be seen.

Finn paced across the across the room as he listened to Valko explaining to Harper or what ever her name was about what had become of her, he hoped that she would come to terms with what happened to her than he had with his own demise. he could still remember the loss and confusion he had felt when he had been told that he was dead.

He pulled the zippo lighter her had aquired during the First world war and began to play with it. he waved his had over the flame and it jumped from the lighter to the palm of his hand, were he started to manipulate making it grow and shrink as passed between his hands. He had learned along time ago that it was easier and less draining on his powers to manipulate fire he created using physical means than it was to create it out of thin air which had saved him in some of his more dangerous demon encounters and may be useful if he was up against sinclair and his reapers.

Looking over he saw the Doctor appearing out of the shadows. He never could understand why the Doctor refused to take his mask off or refused to speak to them. looking back at valko and the new girl he was glad he was wearing his mask as the scares his death could be be unsettling for her until she got used to them, It had taken him along white to get used to them himself. shaking himself out of his thoughts he wondered how long valko was going keep harper long and if he should introduce himself to their new companion

As soon as Valko revealed the scar across his neck, her hand flew to her own. If there was a scar there, Harper didn't feel it. Perhaps the scars were as unique as the powers the tall man had described. The man introduced as Finn was off to the side playing with fire. Literally. She wondered if she would have fire abilities as well, but she figured she would find hers soon enough.

Valko had been talking circles around Harper and she could barely keep up. This was interrupted by the entrance of another person to the sordid group. To Harper's horror, they were wearing a familiar mask. The mask was seen in history books from the era of the plague, but to she also saw it in her nightmares. Since she was a small child, she was terrified one of those doctors would come and take her away, and here they were.

Despite Doctor's rather tame introduction, Harper could only manage a small wave and a squeak. A look of wide-eyed fear was stuck on her face. Thankfully, Valko distracted her again by demonstrating how a mask was formed.

"Do we get to pick what it looks like?" Harper asked as she struggled to form the lights the way she wanted. Resigning, she let the lights form on their own and was pleasantly surprised at the near immediate appearance of a white mask. She added, "Guess not."

Once the mask fell to her hand, it darkened to a deep black. It was nearly featureless and would definitely be intimidating in a dark alley. Three red flowers bloomed on the face, they nearly looked as though they were moving. As if they were swaying in the wind. It didn't take long for Harper to realize what they represented.

With a shaking hand, she reached to her face. It didn't take long before her fingers found the scar on her forehead. Of course that lowlife, Regan, would shoot her in the head. What a dick.

"From this point on, I'm afraid many choices will be made for you. Death himself decided that you would become a Reaper, and your own death decided other things, such as your mask, your scar, and your abilities. You can summon weapons now, using your own spiritual energy, and you will find you have a unique power that no other Reaper bares." Valko says this and then stands and takes a step back from the table. "You have seen Finn's ability to manipulate fire. I can do the same with ice."

Raising his left hand, Valko looks at his palm and a chunk of ice forms. From that chunk he shapes a sphere, and then manipulates it so that it looks like a crystal ball. Closing his hand around the orb it turns to powdery snow, and as the snow falls it disappears. Reaching to his hips with a hand on either side, he then closes his hands, as if holding onto something, then makes as if to draw a weapon. And it happens. A pair of ancient looking, curved daggers appear in his hands, looking very sharp.

"You have a power and weapon of your own, and as much as I would like to teach you how to do this, I'm afraid we simply don't have the time." Valko drops his daggers and they, like the snow, disappear. Turning to Finn and Doctor he says, "The man who killed Harper is still out there, but worse I have learned that there is a demon after him. The demon plans on possessing the man. We have to slay the demon, and stop the man. You know the laws, we cannot harm the living intentionally, so we'll have to work around that."

Walking over to a shadowy corner of the warehouse, Valko reaches into the shadows, and when he pulls back, it is as if he has opened a door. There is a window in the shadows, looking out over a scene of chaos downtown. A huge figure with red skin and horns stands on the corner, laughing as people scurry about.

"Finn, Doctor, Harper, let's get going."

With a nod Doctor walks over and steps through the portal.

-=-=-

Sinclair could read his people like the pages of a book. He knew that Lune had no real interest in this endeavor, that she would like to protest, but she understood how bad of an idea that was. Sinclair did indeed have secret information on both of his rogues, deadly information. While a Reaper cannot remember their own name, that doesn't mean they cannot learn the name of another.

Restless and annoyed after the debacle with Valko, Sinclair shakes his head and steps through the portal and into downtown. It would stay open for about another minute, long enough for Lune and Raven to join him. Or to back out. He suspected that should they back out, he would have a touch of trouble tracking them down again, but it could be done. Reapers were made for hunting spiritual beings, even other Reapers. When he was still blind to the truth of his abilities, Sinclair had even hunted down his own kind, rogue Reapers, on the orders of Death.

The scene before Sinclair was, in a word, chaos. The demon stood on the corner, one arm raised, index finger pointing at a police officer. As the man tried to speak into his megaphone, to try and direct the crowd that had gathered, the demon affected his words, silencing them sometimes, garbling them at others. At the same time he was staring at a body lying prone in the intersection, a pool of blood quickly forming beneath it. The woman was dying, would be dead quite soon Sinclair suspected, and then the demon would feed. It would suck up her soul like soup, making himself stronger.

"I was hoping that Valko might take a little bit longer to get the poor girl adjusted to this new world, but it looks like I was wrong. I had hoped to simply watch the scene unfold and strike at the opportune moment. Pity." Sinclair speaks as though this doesn't bother him, but the rogues would know just by a look that their leader was irritated. The head of the rogues looks across the street as Valko and his people emerge from the shadows.

Normally a Reaper goes unnoticed because they choose to do so. Being made of pure spiritual energy, they are all but invisible to most humans until they choose to show themselves. If they ever decide to do so. With a sly grin, Sinclair runs a hand over his face, making it so the humans, as well as the demon, can see him. To anyone looking he would have simply appeared out of thin air. but of course, in such a panicked situation, no one noticed him. Not yet at least.

"Both of you fall back, take position. Raven, I want you to summon your weapon, keep it trained on the demon, and if I should give you the signal, wound it, but do not kill it." Sinclair says, keeping his eyes on Valko and the other Reapers who stuck with the laws of Death. "We may need to kill it, but not just yet. I have other plans in mind. Lune, be a good girl and try to make sure Raven doesn't get struck down from behind as he aims, yes?"

As he moved through the shadows Sinclair sent out a call to the other Rogues. While the haunted mansion was their home, not all of the Rogues spent their time there. Some had their own haunts, others were often away on whatever mission Sinclair assigned to them. But with the call, they would hear his voice in the back of their minds, beckoning them to him.

Sinclair takes a few steps forward, until he is standing in the road at the edge of the intersection opposite the demon. By now an ambulance has arrived, and a woman has gotten out of the back and run over to check on the dying woman. Raising his right hand, and looking not at the woman, but the puddle of blood around her, the Blade Reaper moves his fingers like a wave before extending his index finger and jerking his hand upwards. In reaction, a needle of blood rises out up, piercing the throat of the paramedic. Soon she falls and her blood mingles with that of the dying woman, and the demon growls.

-=-=-

The demon had no name, was not intelligent enough to need one. It is an engine of chaotic energies and rage given a physical form. It knows enough to hunt and trap, what it can and cannot feed on. Human souls are tasty, but the soul of a Reaper? Like the nectar of the gods to a demon. And now this one can smell several of them, close at hand and moving closer. People scurry about in fear and the demon laughs.

More death. More blood. As it watches, the demon can see one of the Reapers cause the death of another human. Two free, tasty souls awaiting him. Lowering his hand he ends the interference from the megaphone, and the sound that emerges from it next nearly deafens the man holding it. The demon ignores the sound and instead lunges for the two dying humans. He opens his mouth wide, so wide that his cheeks tear open, and swallows the two humans, body and soul. He absorbs the souls at once and a light seems to turn on in his eye as he begins to think in a more intelligent manner, and realizes that the black haired Reaper may be an ally, which makes the other group enemies.

-=-=-

Doctor watches as Valko opens the portal. On the other side is chaos, and the Doctor knows what must be done without their leader saying a word. Walking over to Harper, Doctor puts an arm around the young Reaper and half walks, half pushes her into the shadows as the other pass through ahead of or behind them. Once they emerge Doctor keeps a hand on Harper's shoulder, even though she flinches away and seems to have grown a bit pale.

"Doctor, thank you. Keep close to Harper, I don't want anything happening to-" Valko's words are cut off when the demon growls. He turns in time to see Sinclair take on a physical, visible form, and walk towards the demon, stopping as he begins to manipulate the blood. "Dammit, we're late! Everyone, you know what to do. Watch out for the Rogues and other demons, keep an eye on one another and try not to be noticed. I'm going after Sinclair."

Without looking back Valko rushes forward, and as he passes behind a black van he takes on a physical form as well. By the time he emerges on the other side, it seems as though he just stepped out from behind the van and stumbled into a run. At full speed he reaches Sinclair, hoping the fool doesn't do anything to attract attention. Just before Valko makes to grab his rival by the collar, screams can be heard. Distracted, he looks over to see the two bodies lift up into the air before disappearing.

"Good to see you, old friend." Sinclair says, and then Valko feels pain explode in his left side. Looking down he finds a blood dagger melting away.

Upon receiving his orders, Raven saluted slightly at Sinclair before moving back to find some higher ground, preferably with a little bit of cover. He didn't bother to check if Lune followed him or not, if she didn't then he might end up having more fun than expected and if she did he would have someone nice for company, but he would be happy either way.

One of the nearby buildings had a fairly low roof and for the fun of it Raven decided to climb up the side. After scrambling up, he summoned Orion with practiced ease, moving into a position that allowed him to overlook the scene. Weapon in hand, he slipped his glasses on out of habit before notching an arrow and taking aim at the demon.

"Legs it is." He wasn't aiming anywhere vital, he wasn't stupid enough to after Sinclair had given orders to keep the demon alive, and attacking its legs would hamper it's chances of running from them should they decide to kill it after all.

By the time this was done, the green-eyed Reaper observed Sinclair kill the paramedic - was it a peace offering to the demon? He also watched with morbid fascination as the demon swallowed the two humans, seemingly whole. Orion remained fixed on the demon, even if its summoner appeared distracted.

~*~*~*~

Zero had been contently watching people as they ran, screams in the distance prompting the small girl to wander just what they were running from. She was sat on a bench, smiling softly as the scene unfolded. Had she remained undisturbed she likely would have stayed there for a while.

As it was, she heard a call in the back of her mind and upon hearing Sinclair's voice she straightened up, face schooled into a serious expression. Standing, she turned and began to weave her way through the crowds, picking up her pace until she was almost running.

A minute later, she turned the corner just in time to watch a demon devour its meal. She noted that it seemed to regard Sinclair in a somewhat positive light, perhaps her Master was trying to get the demon on their side. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Raven and a moment later Lune. Though she disregarded them for the moment in favor of paying attention to what Sinclair was doing.

She stuck to the shadows as she moved, absently summoning Starlight to one hand as she left the other free in case she got the chance to use her ability. Zero could see Valko's Reapers arrive from her position, her former leader followed by the one in the plague doctors mask and was that a new girl? She also noted that the samurai one seemed to have tagged along as well. This would be tricky.

Still, she settled herself into position several metres away from Sinclair, just as the man stabbed Valko with a blood dagger. Her Master likely already knew she was there, and it wouldn't surprise her overly much if the other Reapers did too, still with Raven and Lune at a distance, she wanted to be by Sinclair's side if this ended up in a fight.

~*~*~*~

Skye had calmly observed as Valko welcomed the new Reaper, though made no moves to introduce himself to her. He didn't pay much attention to the details, he had seen this happen enough to know roughly what would happen. Though Valko opening a portal to a chaotic scene with a demon certainly was new. So they were jumping straight into it and having the new girl tag along then?

Doctor moved to take the girl - Harper, he remembered her introducing herself as - through the portal and Skye waited for a second before following the three through. He arrived to the scene just in time to see Sinclair stab Valko.

He paused for a moment in surprise before a cold fury started burning through his system. His leader was injured, one of the few people he cared about and was loyal to was injured. Skye's expression darkened, a cold smile pulling at his lips as he summoned Desolate Edge to his left hand, Resolute Edge appearing in his right at the same time. He might not have had a chance to put on his armor, but he would still fight.

Weapons in hand, Skye started running toward the pair. He needed to get Sinclair away from Valko, preferably as quickly as possible. Wind coated the edges of the blades, the invisible element extended his reach slightly and upon reaching the pair, Skye made a diagonal slash towards the rogue with Resolute, Desolate following a moment later.

Distracted as he was, Skye never noticed the demon not far away from them, nor did he see the other rogues waiting.

Lune summoned her mask to hide her emotions, feeling somewhat insulted due to being talked down upon like that. She knew Sinclair probably did it to get on her nerves, but that only dulled the edge of her seething, not destroy it. Still she was glad her position wasn't one of outright fighting just yet.

She did sigh when Raven went up the roof. It was a smart idea from a tactical point of view, but that did not take away that Lune had to follow him up there to better protect him, something that was rather hard to do with her relatively heavy dress and platform shoes, let alone her injury.

Nevertheless she persevered, and a few minutes later she was standing on the roof, looking slightly disheveled. It was a good thing that none of the other side had noticed the two rogues yet, their attention mainly drawn by the demon, the scene and Sinclair.

Speaking of which, Lune felt even more revolted by her leader than usual, when she saw his actions favouring the demon over two innocent souls. She filed this away, to rest with the man's other Sins.

She was loathe to use Judgement on him however, even if it was the answer to her problems. After all, it didn't just give her a list of deeds, but more importantly the name of the Sinner. It was a priceless advantage, and not one she would reveal and give up on easily, even to get rid of someone as vile as Sinclair.

Then there was the matter of Zero. The other girl would likely attack her as soon as she executed the ability towards their leader, something she'd rather prevent. It wasn't like it was a bad matchup for Lune, when it came to fighting, as her method of combat didn't use her ability anyway, therefor not being crippled when the other girl used her nullification, but despite her devotion towards Sinclair and his goal, she was mostly a good kid.

She watched on as Sinclair stabbed Valko, and Skye rushed in. Doctor seemed to be staying close to the new girl, who had seemingly frozen up, as her lack of interaction with the world around her would seem to indicate. She was somewhat glad there seemed to be no one left to target the two of them, although she remained vigilant. One or several of the opposing group could still be astralized after all.

Emerging from the portal behind Skye, Finn took in the scene of chaos. Taking note that two of Sinclair's reapers were hanging back from the Demon while Sinclair himself had approached the Demon and had used his abilities to kill a paramedic who was trying to help the injured woman on the ground.

A look of anger crossed his face as saw the Demon swallow both innocents bodies and souls he took a step towards The demon and Sinclair as the latter distracted Valko before he stabbed him, thinking to to his leaders aid he was Skye had beaten him to it when he remember Raven was one of the Reapers he had saw as he emerged from the Portal. Thinking to himself that he'd probably looking for a vantage point to use his bow he began to the roof tops for him as he had seen the Doctor had his hands full with the new girl who seemed to have frozen. He spotted Lune struggling up a Ladder and watched her approach the edge of a rooftop over looking the Demon. he drew his lighter and used it to help create a fire ball with his abilities which he grew to size of soccer ball before casting it at lune hoping to distract her and raven.

The fire ball left his hand and shot towards the pair of reapers on the rooftop as he summoned Serpent Breath his sword he created a portal to the rooftop were they were hiding and jumped through it hoping to catch them off guard after his fireball

As the blood began to flow from his wound, Valko glared at his old friend, his own blood mixing with the blood of the dagger that Sinclair had created. Placing a hand to the wound in his side he creates a layer of ice, patching it for now. It wouldn't last, but it would do for a time, until he could get back to Doctor.

"Are you actually feeding that thing?" Valko asks, taking a step back, putting a little distance between the two of them so that if Sinclair wanted to use his blood ability he would have to expand a bit more energy to do so. "What could be the point of that? I know you've gone rogue, Sinclair, but siding with demons? That makes no sense!"

"More sense than you know, Val." Sinclair says with a smirk, blood on his hands from his dagger, as he too takes a step back, nodding over Valko's shoulder. "You're Reapers seem eager to meet their death, maybe you ought to worry more about them than this demon."

At the mention of his team, Valko straightens up and turns just in time to see the demon lunge across the crossroads and slam an arm into Skye, who had been rushing over to the two men. Had Valko remained calm he could have warned the armored Reaper, but as it was his words were too late, and when he tries to rush over to his comrade a spike of blood rises up to block his way.

"You're fight is with me tonight, Frost Wolf. I'll have it no other way until my plan comes to pass, and after that success I shall leave you and your children to lick your wounds." Sinclair wears a knowing grin on his face when Valko turns to look at him. "If you think this demon brute is the only piece of the puzzle then Val, old friend, you are slipping." He pauses for a moment to glance over at the demon as it handles Skye. "Did you know there are ways to strength the spiritual energy of a soul before it becomes a Reaper? I suppose not. Death never liked to employ such methods, they were forbidden millennia ago."

"Strength a soul? What are you talking about Sinclair? What are your plans for the demon?" Looking around, most of the people gathered have scattered, and the crossroads are deserted for the moment. Sirens still wail in the distance, and soon this place will be full of activity once more. The window is closing to finish this quickly. Raising his free hand up, Valko summons his mask, and as he slips it into place, shadows flow from behind the mask, cloaking him in his black robes. When he places both arms down, hands facing palm out, his daggers are summoned to him and steam rises off of them in the warm night air.

-=-=-

Regan had been minding his own business, and by that I mean he was stalking his next victim. After the screw up earlier this evening with the cop's daughter, at least he thought that's who had interrupted him, the murderer had tracked down the woman he'd been trying to rob. She'd called the cops, but after that he'd taken care of her. The flesh of her neck had opened so easy for the razor in his pocket.

After that Regan had taken to the streets, washed his hands in the water of a gutter, then made his way to a more public place. He'd been about to cross the street when he'd bumped into...something. He looked, but there was nothing there, just empty space. Reaching out he had felt nothing, and with a shrug continued on, walking right past the demon, whom he had just watch devour two people.

For some reason, as soon as the guy with the black hair had showed up, appearing out of nowhere, followed by the silver haired guy, Regan had been able to see everything. It was like a light had come on, and now he was hiding behind a taxi cab, looking across the trunk at a demon and God knew what else. And now those two men were armed! And one was wearing a mask?

Harper was frozen in panic. Between seeing the carnage that this horned beast had already caused and the bloodshed between these two warring factions, her brain just seemed to stop. Once Valko had been stabbed by the dark haired man, Harper struggled from Doctor's grasp and rolled behind a nearby car for cover.

Hyperventilating, Harper watched in horror as this terrible beast attacked Valko's team. Well, she assumed they were on his team. It was getting hard to tell who was on their side and who was a Rogue. All she knew, Harper had just witnessed two people be eaten alive. She shuddered as she plastered herself to the side of the only thing that felt real.

Frantically looking to Doctor, the only one she recognized in her racing brain, she screamed, "WHAT DO I DO? I DON'T HAVE A WEAPON!" All Harper could do was summon her mask, and she didn't even remember how to do that in her fearful frenzy.

Then she saw Regan. The man that killed her. He had taken cover behind a taxi across the street from where she was hiding.

Something snapped within Harper. Anger gurgled from the deepest parts of her and quickly over took the fear she'd been suffering from. Harper flung herself from the relative safety of the car and sprinted across the road. The fighting and sirens that had been going on were lost to her. As far as Harper could tell, it was just the two of them now. Perhaps she was too distracted in her lust for vengeance, but she didn't feel her feet touch the ground. To her, one second she was cowering for her life; the next she had her hands around his throat.

She'd tackled him, snarling with animalistic fury. Maybe she didn't have weapons, but she wouldn't need them for a pathetic waste of life like Regan. He ruined her. Harper had been someone before he gunned her down. It was his fault she was in this almost literal Hell.

"Hey Killer!" Harper's voice was more menacing than she ever thought possible. "I'd ask, but I already know what you've been up to." Perhaps later she would feel ashamed. But, in the heat of the moment, with her hands tightening on his windpipe, when he recognized her face, his terrified reaction made her feel... alive.

Raven smiled as Lune settled into position behind him. "Well hello there, glad you joined me." He threw an absent wave at the girl before refocusing on the scene before him. Everything from Zero moving into position to that samurai looking Reaper trying to attack Sinclair and being struck by the demon. He also spotted Valko's new recruit seeming to snap, though he didn't exactly have time to ponder on that more.

"Down, now! Ducking down himself, he didn't have the chance to see if Lune managed to dodge the ball of fire heading their way as well.

He knew of only one person with such a talent for fire. Raven straightened up, notching another arrow to his bow alongside the only already present. He spun around in circles, gaze darting back and forth to try and figure out where Finn would be coming from.

~*~*~*~

Zero was a little concerned as she noticed the samurai charge her Master, though such worries where quickly alleviated when the demon struck him. Breathing a sigh of relief, she was about to step closer to Sinclair when someone bumped into her. She quickly jumped back as they tried to grasp at whatever it was they had walked into, but when his attention focused elsewhere Zero quickly went back to what she was doing before.

Deciding to take on a more visible form, she stepped closer to Sinclair until she was a few paces behind him, the heels she was wearing softly clinking on the ground as she moved. "Master, my orders?" While she did glance up at him, her attention was otherwise focused on her surroundings, it wouldn't do for someone to try and sneak up on them after all.

~*~*~*~

Skye wasn't sure what exactly happened. One moment he had been trying to attack Sinclair, the next something struck him in the stomach and knocked him back several paces. After righting himself and catching his breath, a smirk tugged at his lips as he stared at the demon. "Very well, I assume I am to get through you first then, hmm?" He barely paid attention as Harper ran past him, nor as the small white-haired Reaper stepped up to Sinclair. Skye's focus was now on his upcoming fight.

Breathing out slowly, Skye focused on the wind before calling it to his aid. The breeze picked up, growing harsher as it blew from behind him towards the demon. With the element aiding his movements and hopefully slowing the demon, Skye leaped toward it. A wind coated cross-slash followed by two single strikes aiming for the arms of the demon was his first attack, he didn't wait to see if he struck or not, merely turning from where he landed to strike again. The wind changed to hasten his actions.

Before Sinclair can give Zero any orders, Valko strikes out at him. Most would think that the Reaper was doing so in a fit of rage by the way he moved, but Sinclair knew better. The cold daggers moved with precision, one of the fangs being used as a distraction as the other went in to deal damage. Over the decades, Valko had not changed his fighting style, and although in the past Sinclair, using on his sword, had taken some time to figure it out, now he knew exactly how his foe would move. With ease the rogue steps back, to the side, dodging one blade then the next. With a flick of his wrist he summons his black sword and uses it more as a shield.

"Do you see the girl over there, Zero?" Sinclair says between the sounds of metal clashing against metal. "I want you to go and see if you can keep her from killing that man, at least for a few more moments."

"So he's a part of your plan?" Valko asks, and as his dagger slides down the length of Sinclair's sword, he causes side to form, coating the blade and the man's right hand. "I should have known, there are no coincidences in death."

"Death, the old fool, used to say that all the time." Sinclair replies as he moves in close and shatters the ice on his hand and blade by slamming his fist into Valko's face, knocking him back a bit. "A human soul can be strengthened, made stronger, if it can survive great suffering. All I have to do is make sure that demon does a bit of damage to that man, that murderer, and his sins will make his soul stronger, darker. At the point of his death, he can be made into a Reaper."

Normally Reapers are not made, exactly, but rather they are chosen. Death decides which souls are strong enough, and upon their death he allows them to linger on for a time so that his Reapers can find them and recruit them. Unlocking their abilities as it happens. Sinclair, however, is going to torture a human soul, as he has done before, and force it to become strong enough so that he can then rip it out of the body and force it into becoming a Reaper. This taints the soul, making it stronger, but darker.

-=-=-

The demon lets out a low growl, which sounds a bit like a laugh, as the blade the armored man wields tries to bite into his thick hide. Each slash leaves a mark, and a little of the demons blood falls to the earth, sizzling like drops of water in a hot pan. The blood burns up, leaving black marks on the ground. When the man turns to deliver another blow, the demon lowers his head and slams his horns into the mans side, attempting to toss him across the street like a bull might with a matador.

-=-=-

Doctor watches as Harper frees herself and takes off running. They do not know what the significance of the man Harper tackles is, but Doctor hurries to catch up just in case. Being close, they can feel the soul of the man. It is dark, and stronger than normal. Frowning behind their mask, Doctor walks over calmly and extends their hand, collecting spiritual energy in the form of a syringe. They do the same with their other hand, and once the second syringe forms, one is plunged into the neck of both Harper and the man. The spiritual chemicals inside will calm them both down and last just a short time, enough for Doctor to pry Harper from the man at least.

"You crazy bitch!" Regan says, weakly, as he struggles, the affects of the drugs kicking in quickly. He manages to pull away as a strange looking person in a bird mask pull the girl he killed just hours earlier off of him. "You can't be here! You're dead, I watched the light leave your eyes!"