"Lilith! Going home already?" Lilith turned around to her school friend, waving back to the other girl with a wide smile on her face. "Yeah, my mom doesn't like me out when its dark. Bye!" With that Lilith continued on her way, leaving the safety and security of the nice part of the city. It was her daily routine to head there after school each day. If she went back to her actual house, there would be nothing there accept shadows and the occasional dusty relic that Daisy doesn't care enough about to clean. No, in her mind her real home was The UE, a bar with a reputation for catering to oddballs and the most unsavory of characters. Lilith couldn't tell her friends that was where she actually went after school because if she did, it would bring all kinds of attention to the place that it would be better left avoiding.

Lilith boarded the subway train, an odd thing to see someone her age doing by themselves, but she was more than able to defend herself. Hell, she didn't have a choice but to be. Even on this train, she could see it, the darkness only ones like herself could see. There's six on this train, she thought to herself, gripping her book-pack tightly and turning her head down to the ground beneath her. Not all darkness is evil, she knew that. But, taking such a chance as getting noticed was something she couldn't do this far from her "friends". Putting her earphones in and humming along with the song, she tried to get her mind off of it. A task that had become daily, though she didn't mind. She knew, even if these six were wanting to bring harm to her, they knew the ramifications for such an act would far out way anything they could do to her. Yes, just as she knew them, they also knew her, and it made some fidget with fear.

The train came to a stop, Lilith removing her earplugs and stepping outside onto the platform. Making her way up to ground level, she took a heavy breath, as she always does, of the denser air that inhibited this area of town. Looking across the street, she saw her "home," looking as dead as usual. The UE sat unassuming, directly across from the subway. The windows were old with designs and writing that looked like it hadn't been updated since the 40's. The sign that hung over top of the entrance was made of wood, with The UE written in chipped, white paint on it. Despite all this, the bar was just over ten years old, the antique look being cast upon it by a witch wanting to draw less of a crowd. If one were to ask someone who lived in the neighborhood, The UE has been there since the forties and has been past down through the generations to Daisy. The tricks of a witch, you would guess. Lilith looked both ways, then ran across the street. It was fall, so the sun had already set for the day and the night was quickly approaching. She opened the door, the sound of a slight creak made her twitch, even though it was a sound she had heard her entire life. "Ah, there's my girl." Lilith looked to the familiar voice, seeing her mother, Daisy, sitting at the center of the bar. Across from Daisy behind the bar stood a young blonde man, tall in stature with a cigarette resting between his lips as he cleaned a glass. "Oi, Lilly, did you bring your math book?" The young man said, putting the glass down on the counter. Lilith nodded and hopped up on the bar stool beside her mother. "Thanks for teaching me, Roth." Lilith looked around the bar, seeing it deserted. However, it was even more so then usual. "Aw, I thought I was going to get here before everyone left." Lilith hung her head. "Hey, what do you mean everyone?" Her mom said, flicking her daughter on the forehead playfully. Roth filled the empty glass with whiskey, Daisy wrapping her right hand around it and pulling it close to her mouth. "They'll be back later to spend time with you," Daisy said before taking a small sip of her drink. "God help whoever they want to spend time with now."

Meanwhile

Eric sat at the end of a bar counter, sipping on a whiskey and mostly keeping to himself. It was still just the evening, so most of the other patrons were those who just got off work or were regulars. Eric preferred the clientele that a place like The UE attracted, but variety was the spice of life and new scenery can be good for the mind. While Eric drank, a young man casually hit on a girl at the other end of the bar. The woman was clearly someone who just got off work and wanted to get something to drink before heading home. The man however, was giving off an aggressive aura, though none in the bar were willing to step into the situation. After an exchanging of words, the man and the woman exited the bar, disappearing out onto the street of people. "That was different," said the Bartender. "Normally, you don't see that kind of thing going on before nightfall. Am I right?" The bartender turned to Eric, widening his eyes to see the young man had disappeared, his drink empty and a crumpled ten dollar bill sitting on the counter.

The couple from earlier turned down a dark alleyway, distant from the hustle and bustle of the main street. The woman looked around hesitantly, realizing she may have gotten herself in over her head. The man casually rubbed her shoulder, smiling gently and setting her mind at ease. As they continued down the alley, the man beckoned her further and further into the darkness. When they were outside of the view of any witnesses, the man reached into his pocket and turned to the woman. But, before he could anything, he heard a loud whistling coming from the opposite direction in the alley. He turned to see Eric, who was casually strolling with his hands in his pockets. "What do you want, Dipshit?" The man said, removing a rather large knife from the inside of his jacket. Eric shrugged, looking back down the way he came, his eyes scanning the area with a sort of nonchalant attitude about it. "Nothing really. I just heard this rumor about a man luring young women away from safety and robbing them blind. Normally, I wouldn't pay attention to such things, but last time he killed'em." The man grew wide-eyed, reading his knife should Eric try anything. Except, Eric just chuckled. He looked at the man with apathetic eyes, and a wide smirk on his face. "I'm not the one you should be worrying about, Boss." The man raised an eyebrow, as he then felt teeth sinking into his neck and tearing away at him. Eric looked away as the man was torn apart, though he did not feel any sort of guilt over letting the man die. The woman stood up and peered down at Eric, wiping the blood away from her mouth. "So... are you an exorcist?" The woman asked, her voice distorted and deep. "That's right." Eric was still casual, making it difficult for the woman to read the situation.

"Why did you let me kill him?" Eric shrugged at the question, either not giving an answer or not truly having one. "I was tracking you, then I saw you tracking him. Don't know why you chose to bring vigilante justice down upon him, but truthfully, I don't give a shit." The woman dropped down into a defensive stance, unsure about how this was going to go down. "You might be thinking you did the right thing, but all you did was make it more difficult for others. Think about the others like you who would have died when Exorcists started searching for this man's killer. Of course, that isn't it, is it? You wanted to eat. Killing someone like this asshole would make it less likely retribution would be sought. Am I lying?" Eric sighed and removed his weapon of choice from his left coat pocket. The blade was small, not something that would intimidate most. The woman, began backing up, knowing he couldn't get to her from this distance. Turning around to run, she felt the blade thrust through her chest in an instant. Turning her head back, she saw that the blade had extended over twenty feet. The blade then retracted, Eric whipping it off and putting it back into his pocket. He began to walk over to her as she slowly fell to the ground and died. Eric bent down, looking over the woman's body. "I'm pretty sure its the teeth collector's are interested in when it comes to Ookami's. Oh well, if its not, Daisy will just have to deal."

Eric exited the alley, content with another day of monster-slaying. He began making his way toward the train station, looking forward to a Roth drink s opposed to what he had been sipping on for the last hour.

Armand, as always, was up with the sun. Not that it was hard to do when you never really slept. It wasn't that he didn't need it, even the undead need their rest, at least he did, but sleep had never come easily to him. Even when he was alive, or so he liked to think. Truth was, for all he knew, when he was still alive he slept like a baby. Today he would be running on a total of maybe three hours of restless sleep filled with darkness. He never dreamed. He waited until the sun was high enough in the sky for to be called morning before making his way out of his small, third floor apartment, and into the hustle and bustle of the city.

A request had been put in at The UE, and Armand, having nothing better to do, had accepted it. Jobs were the only thing that kept him busy most of the time. Without them, or the people of The UE to spend time with, he would probably just retire to his room with a few bottle of whiskey and say goodbye to the sun for as long as he could. Of course that wouldn't be long, since his new body filtered out the alcohol he drank twice as fast as before. Putting such thoughts aside now as he saunters down the street he recalls the request. There had been some trouble at a local park. It was a big, nice place with a small road going around it for people to walk or jog around, a few old trees, a playground for the kids, and on the south side, a small pond. The pond was supposed to be shallow and safe enough for kid to play in it, but that hadn't been the case as of yet.

In the past two months two children, a young boy and girl, had been found in the pond, dead. Their lungs were full of water, but there was no signs of foul play, nothing to show anything except that the children had gone into the pond of their own free will, went under, and never came back up. The only odd thing was the expression frozen on their faces. A look of sheer terror. A water elemental was expected to be inhabiting the pond, maybe feeding on the souls of the children, maybe just drowning them for the fun of it. In either case it was up to Armand to get the the bottom of things.

At this time of day the park was mostly empty. There were a few joggers, but because the park was so wide all Armand needed to do was wait until they were on the far side. At that point he was practically alone. Sliding his hands into his duster, as if he would slip his hands into his pockets, he instead draws his coat back, revealing his revolvers. With his hands resting on the butts of the exposed guns, Armand then takes a step into the cool waters. At first nothing happens, the ripples of his intrusion simply move across the surface of the water...but then they freeze, and reverse themselves. The ripples come back towards the gunslinger, stopping a few feet before him and coming together, making a circle as if someone had just dropped a rock in the pond at that very spot.

"Why have you come here, Exorcist? A voice asks, the source of said voice being the ripples of the pond.
"I was sent here with a job to do, nothing more." Armand answered simply. As he spoke, a small spark flits between the palm of his right hand and the revolver only an inch or so away. "We can do this clean or dirty, you're choice."
"You're nothing but a tool. Surely even a foll like you can understand that simple fact. You should be dead, long dead by the look of you, but instead you were brought back, just so they could use you. Like one might use a screwdriver, or a hammer." The voice was a bit louder now, as if the source of it was becoming stronger. The ripples on the surface of the pond also seemed to be larger. If they were any indication, this elemental was a big one.
"A hammer, huh? Funny, I was just thinking about hammers." Armand says with a smirk. The elemental had thought it was being sneaky, concealing its movements under the water, but his senses were sharp, and he was able to feel a part of it moving behind him. Likely the monster was going to try and drag him under and hold him there, as it had done with the children.

In an instant the revolver on Armand's right hip was in his hand. This movement was accompanied by a bright flash of light and a clap of thunder as, once the revolver had cleared leather, he'd let off a single shot, right at the spot he imaged was between the elementals eyes. Electricity passed through the water like a wave and a moment later everything was quiet. Before anyone would be able to react to the sound Armand had his revolver holstered, his guns hidden, and using his supernatural speed, was already on the far side of the bank and moving into them small grove of trees on the other side. A short time later he was back on the streets and headed for his usual watering hole, The UE.

Mila Devian

It was the deepest, darkest time of the night, a time which was once so pleasantly called the “witching hour,” when all sorts of demons and practicers of dark magic were reputed to work their evil deeds. On this particular night, however, there were more drunks and party-goers than there were monsters, but the monsters were still there. Some were harmlessly enjoying the nightlife along with the blissfully unaware, while others watched for likely prey from the shadows. None of the humans wandering these streets were as safe as they thought. But, where there are monsters, there are hunters to take them down.
One such hunter, an Undead Exorcist known as Mila Devian, was working her trade and tracking in the shadows. Though she was moving quickly, she made no sound and was largely unnoticed. Those who did notice attributed the movement to a trick of the eye. The creature Mila tracked had taken her days to locate, and was still evading her. It was a shadow spirit of the worst kind, which sought out humans who were alone at night and trapped its victims in horrific nightmares to feed on their human fear. The nightmares grew worse until they died of fright. The monster had already killed three, whose deaths were attributed to mere heart attacks.

It only prowled in the night, when its powers were strongest. Unfortunately, that was also when it was hardest to find, much less trap in Zero-space and eliminate. Right now, Mila had followed it to a busy street, where it had probably taken a human appearance. Though the creature knew it was being followed, it had not found its hunter. It was just a game of cat and mouse at this point, but Mila intended to be the cat. Finally, she sensed the presence she was searching for. She stepped out of the shadows, unhurriedly and naturally joining into a small group of drunken people as they ambled to the next bar. She convincingly imitated their unsteady walk and joined in with their laughter. Her eyes locked on to a dark haired “man,” immediately identifying him as the human form of her target. He stood off to the side near an alley to one side of a convenience store, lazily analyzing the humans walking nearby. After the group Mila had joined passed him and he lost interest, she seamlessly disappeared into an alley, immediately scaling the wall like it was solid ground. Crossing over the top of the building, she crouched and peered over the side, seeing the man still there. Suddenly, he stiffened, his eye on the group she had left moments before. The bugger must have realized it was now one short.

Mila swore softly, already running down the side of the building and starting to cast the Zero-space spell. The man looked up, alerted to her presence, and immediately ran down the alleyway. Mila dropped the rest of the way to the ground and began the chase. Soon, she was gaining. She began the spell again between breaths as she ran. Unbeknownst to her, when the shadow spirit turned the corner in the alley, he melded back into the shadows. Another different man was standing in the exit of the alleyway, and, unfortunately for him, he was also from past the Boundary.

Not immediately noticing the difference between the dark-haired shadow spirit and the red-haired Ash Born in the bad lighting, Mila finished the Zero-space spell. The spell took hold, taking them into a neutral space nearly identical to the one they just inhabited, except that the colors seemed distorted and no others were there. She passed a hand over her blade to activate its Undead ability, and the blade immediately blackened as the colors on the hilt brightened. Mila let out a yell, not caring about stealth since the shadow spirit had already noticed her. She swung her sword, releasing a large wave of energy to slice the man in half. Too late, she realized her error, but she could do nothing to take the energy back. Even if the man/monster noticed, he would barely have the time to react.

Kisoro

Climbing out of the dumpster he had landed in, Kisoro found himself in an alleyway in what appeared to be a fairly large city. He shambled his way over to the exit of the ally as best he could with the shackles on and stood still taking in the sight. It was the middle of the night, yet there were still so many people moving around. "I thought humans slept during the night." Kisoro spoke aloud.

Then someone ran into the ally behind Kisoro. Spinning to look at who it might be, he saw as a shadow spirit changed from human form to shadow form and blended into the darkness of the ally. Next thing Kisoro new, a young woman rounded the corner at a full run, no, more like a charge, coming right at Kisoro. Immediately the woman finished a zero-space spell and the two of them were suddenly alone, no one else around. With a loud shout, the woman swung her sword and out came a wave of energy with a leading edge sharper than a razor. Kisoro couldn't help but admire the skill with which she wielded her blade, even if that skill was currently being used to try and kill him. Then the realization that the attack would actually kill him in his human form hit Kisoro like a train wreck. It was too late to dodge, his only hope was to try and turn to his ash form and hope the seal that held his power would allow it at that time. One thought now raced through is mind over and over as the energy wave neared. Ash form, ash form, ash form, ASH FORM! YES!

All at once, Kisoro's body disappeared, replaced now by a cloud of smoke and ash. The wave of energy sliced through his shirt, cutting it in half but passing through the smoke and ash harmlessly. Kisoro's clothes, along with the shackles that had held his arms and legs, fell to the ground in a heap and the cloud spread out a bit, losing it's form as it did so. "Hey! That was my only shirt!" The voice seemed to come from the smoke. "What'd you do that for? I didn't do anything to you."

The smoke and ash began to form together on the side of the cloud facing the woman. A torso formed, the chest, arms and head of a human roughly formed and made out of ash and thick smoke. Then some glowing ash formed in what would be the eyes so they began to glow, emitting a faint red light. Taking a close look at the woman, Kisoro realized for the first time that the woman must be an undead exorcist. He began to speak, though there was no mouth formed on the face. "Oh, you must be an undead exorcist, am I right? In that case let me assure you, I'm a good monster, I don't hurt people, you don't need to worry about me if that's why you swung your sword at me." Then remembering the shadow spirit, Kisoro quickly spoke again. "Unless you were after that shadow spirit, if that's the case you'll never catch him that way. I know how you can catch him though." With that Kisoro waited to hear the woman's response, hoping that she was really after the shadow spirit and not him.

Mila Devian and Kisoro Collaborative Post

((OOC: Kisoro's speach is in orange while Mila's speach is in red. Their direct thoughts are italicized and in their respective colors))

Mila stopped, her blade held out to the side near the ground where it ended up at the finish of her swing. It felt like hours as the energy crashed toward the man, damaging the Zero-space buildings on either side. At first his face had an interested look, but it quickly shifted to panic. Just when Mila was sure he wouldn't be able to dodge, the man suddenly turned to ash. His cuffs clattered to the ground with his clothing, and Mila immediately became suspicious. Understandably, the man was alarmed. "What'd you do that for? I didn't do anything to you." She sighed, calming herself, and gave a small chuckle. "Sorry about that. I was chasing something else and you happened to have a similar feel." Her attack had sliced his clothing, but as he began to reform from the ash cloud, Mila noticed he seemed to be otherwise unharmed. His eyes began glowing red, and she wondered just what kind of creature he was, perhaps some kind of dust or ash monster, and why he had been handcuffed. He soon realized who she was, however, and began trying to defend himself. "Oh, you must be an undead exorcist, am I right? In that case let me assure you, I'm a good monster, I don't hurt people, you don't need to worry about me if that's why you swung your sword at me."

"A good monster, huh?" she replied, her nose wrinkling as she caught the strong odor of garbage emanating from the man. "Unless you were after that shadow spirit, if that's the case you'll never catch him that way. I know how you can catch him though." As he spoke, Mila sighed again and ran her hand over her blade, returning it to its normal appearance. She sheathed it, but that didn't mean she wasn't ready to fight or defend at a moment's notice. "I was indeed after that one. You are right, I got too worked up to think straight, so sorry for the hassle. Hope I didn't scare you too bad," she teased with a wry grin. [color= #B24700]"I wouldn't mind some advice. That bastard is rather tricky to pin down, and he has already killed a few humans. Well, whatcha got, Dusty?"[/color] she said with an impatient, but subtly teasing tone.

---

Dusty, I suppose that's an accurate enough nickname. Kisoro thought to himself. "Well, the best way to trap a shadow spirit like that is to lure it in, that way you don't have to chase it." Kisoro stopped speaking mid thought. His smoke and ash began to form over his clothing and the pants lifted into the air, the smoke filling them. Then all the smoke and ash was suddenly replaced, a man now stood there wearing only a pair of pants. He reached down and picked up the two pieces of the shirt. "Great, now I don't even have a shirt. Oh well, I'll make due." then looking at the woman he continued to speak. "By the way, my name is Kisoro, just so you know from whom you are receiving advice. Now, as I was saying, the best way to catch this thing is to lure it, and I just so happen to know a spell that will do just that." A smile formed on Kisoro's face as he spoke. Making sure to pause just long enough to emphasize that he was vital to the plan's success, Kisoro went on speaking. "I can cast a spell that will make a person seem as though they are terrified, at least as far as a shadow spirit can tell. The spell causes the person to emit the same energy or aura that a person emits when they are scared, they won't look any different to a normal human, but a shadow spirit will sense that from miles away, no way he can resist it. If I cast that on you, the spirit will come right to you and then you can trap him in Zero-space. Then BOOM! You do to him what you did to my shirt." Kisoro looked at the woman with as friendly a smile as he could muster, waiting to hear if she would approve of his plan. It was kind of odd to be helping an undead exorcist catch a monster within a few minutes of coming to this side of the Boundary, but Kisoro wasn't about to pass up the opportunity for some fun, plus the bonus of getting on an undead exorcist's good side.

---

As Kisoro spoke, Mila got a thoughtful look on her face the fingers of one hand resting on her lips and the other hand on her hip. It wasn't so much that she was deeply pondering his plan as wondering what she would do about him. The plan itself seemed good, but there was nothing to stop him from running off as soon as she trapped the shadow spirit in Zero-space. She still had a few questions she wanted to ask him, and there wasn't time now. She needed to make sure that he would still be there after she dealt with the shadow. As soon as Kisoro finished, she had an idea. "Well, Dusty," she said, sticking to the nickname she gave him, "sounds pretty good, but I have a slight... adjustment."

Several minutes later, everything was ready for the shadow spirit. On Mila's insistence, they had moved to a small, wooded park, one of many in the area, to prevent the spirit from getting suspicious. There was not much to the small park, just a dirt path through the trees, leading to a wide clearing. Mila quickly climbed one of the trees overlooking the clearing, high enough to see anything coming, but low enough to jump to the ground without injuring herself. Once she got herself settled and readied her blade, she turned her attention to the figure standing in the clearing at the end of the dirt path.

---

Kisoro found himself standing in a park during the middle of the night waiting for a deadly shadow spirit to come attack him. Why'd I let her talk me into this? He thought to himself. The exorcist was hiding nearby, ready to jump into action as soon the spirit showed itself. They had been waiting for the better part of an hour and Kisoro was really hoping that the exorcist was a patient person. Then it came, Kisoro could sense the spirit nearby, it's lust for fear keeping it from concealing itself. Kisoro hoped the exorcist, who had not yet deemed him worthy of knowing her name, was able to sense the spirit as well, otherwise it might not end well for Kisoro. The spirit moved closer and closer, creeping its way through the shadows of the trees. Not yet, not yet, wait for him to get closer. Kisoro thought to himself, as if his sheer will would help the exorcist with her timing. Closer, closer, thirty meters... twenty... Okay, now it's up to the exorcist. He thought, trying not to smile with excitement. It was so invigorating being trapped in his fragile human form.

---

Nearly an hour had passed, with Mila straining her senses for any sign of the spirit. Kisoro seemed almost anxious as he stood alone in the dark, emitting the fearful aura so strongly even Mila could sense a bit of it. If they weren't careful, he could end up attracting more than just the shadow spirit. For now, however, Mila decided to just let him be. She could deal with whatever came. She shifted her stance a bit, hoping her muscles wouldn't get too stiff while they waited. Suddenly, a bit of motion in the trees attracted her attention, and she finally felt the presence they had been waiting for. When she turned to look at Kisoro, she realized he sensed it too. She smiled at him, though he couldn't see her from where he stood, and readied herself to make the Zero-space spell as soon as the spirit was close enough. It inched forward at an irritatingly slow pace, but Mila stayed as still as stone, no longer as worked up as she had gotten in the alley, but still filled with a deadly determination. Finally, the Shadow came to the edge of the trees, within striking distance. A wry grin once again appeared on Mila's face, and she quickly and quietly launched the Zero-space spell as the creature was occupied with trying to get Kisoro trapped in one of his nightmares.

It did not even notice her until she transformed her blade into undead mode and jumped down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she swung her blade up until it was directly above her head, releasing an energy wave at the monster and forcing it to dodge away from Kisoro. Kisoro, whether he liked it or not, was trapped in the Zero-space with them. The shadow spirit tried to meld with the shadows and get away, but he could not fully hide here. Quickly realizing this, the spirit began racing through the shadows trying to get behind Mila and attack. Mila would not permit it to move freely, constantly throwing energy waves directly in front of it so it had to change course in order to dodge. At the same time, the spirit was being drawn closer. Finally, it jumped from the shadows at Mila, gaining a more solid form and extending long sharp tentacles to impale her. Mila did not seem to have enough time to dodge.

At the last possible instant, she jumped and flipped upside down faster than the eye could track. The shadowed tentacles shot past where she had been, and she swung her blade down at them. The blade, edged by a layer of razor sharp energy sliced through the tentacles easily as if there was nothing there. The creature screamed its agony, retracting its injured tentacles and stumbling back as if to escape. Before it could even turn, Mila was dashing toward it. She swiped at it twice, making an' X' of energy that it could not entirely dodge. While it was distracted by this attack, she covered the remaining space between them and slashed up through the shadow. It screamed shrilly before another horizontal strike beheaded it. Before it could fall to the ground, the entire creature seemed to shatter into several shards. Mila casually covered her eyes with an arm to protect them, and a single, long shard stuck in her arm. She ignored it as she searched the ground with her eyes for a moment. She quickly found what she was looking for, a small, knobby, blackened rock that had flecks of light green over the surface. She deposited it in a pocket with a look of satisfaction before she realized the shard was still in her arm. She carelessly pulled it out, putting it and some of the other largest shards in a bag that she pulled from her other pocket. She would be able to sell them and the soul stone for a good price.

She calmly walked over to Kisoro, her arm starting to trail blood, and casually said, "Well, that is done. Thanks for the help. Oh, by the way, you can call me Mila. Mila Devian." She extended a hand. Her introduction out of the way, she released the Zero-space spell before continuing. "Seems like I owe you a shirt."

---

Kisoro watched the whole fight with excitement, his eyes as wide open as they could be. The exorcist moved with a practiced precision that made it clear her skills were well developed. With each swing of her sword, Kisoro found himself liking the exorcist more and more. Then the exorcist delivered the final blow, and the shadow spirit was no more. Kisoro jumped up and down and clapped in excitement. "That was great! Nice to meet you Mila!" He said as he reached out his own hand and took hers, shaking it before letting it go. "So, uh, I don't mean to sound desperate or anything, but I'm not from around here, I don't have any money, I don't have a place to stay and I'm kinda desperate. So what do you say?" Kisoro said with a sheepish smile on his face.

---

"In other words, not to sound desperate, but you are?" Mila said, raising an eyebrow as she considered him. She still wasn't sure of Kisoro and she knew nothing of his past or of his intentions. Still, she figured he did not seem to be dangerous, or like any kind of trickster spirit. If she agreed, she would still be able to keep an eye on him to make sure of his character as well. If he was what he seemed, then there would be no issue. If not, she would rather have him close so she could deal with him. It simply would not do if she let him go and he ended up rampaging and murdering throughout the city. "Fine," she said lightly, "I do happen to have an empty guest room. But, I do want to make one thing clear." She stepped toward his side as if to walk around him, but instead stopped and laid a hand on his bare shoulder. When she spoke again, her voice had lost all its teasing qualities. Instead, her tone was serious and threatening, with an edge of malice. "Cross me, wreak havoc, or harm any human, and I will destroy you without hesitation."

She let her hand drop to her sword hilt as she walked around him, quickly disappearing into the trees without waiting for him to follow.

---

Kisoro swallowed with an audible gulp as Mila made her threat. "D-don't worry about me, I won't cause you any trouble." He stuttered before turning to follow Mila through the forest. I think this has been a good start to my life on this side of the Boundary. And i think I may have just made a friend. Kisoro thought as the two of them moved through the shadows.

---

It was the following evening and Mila was taking Kisoro to a bar called the UE. Earlier that day, Mila had bought Kisoro a new shirt, which he had seemed a little overly excited about in Mila's opinion. "So what's so special about this bar?" Kisoro asked as they walked, his curiosity prompting him to ask even though they were almost there.

"You will see soon enough. We're here." She walked in confidently, taking in the few people sitting around. It was still too early for the bar to have many, but Lillith was already back from school. She and Roth seemed to be working on some sort of homework, and Mila strolled over, obviously comfortable in this setting. "Whatcha working on? Oh, and this is Kisoro, by the way."

---

Kisoro followed Mila into the UE. He stopped just inside the door and looked around, taking in all the sights. When he heard his name, he hurried toward where Mila was standing. As he was walking he tripped over his own feet and fell to the floor face first. Rolling onto his back, he looked up at the others."Hi, nice to meet you." He said with a sheepish grin.

It was a time of celebration in Elysium, though what the celebration was for went completely over Gabriel's head. There were throngs of people filling the streets and alleyways of the city's red light district, buying street food, one dollar beers, and various other "sundry" items from the multitudinous vendors lining the crowds and peddling their wares. Gabriel wove himself into the crowds at will, turning down any offers that came at him. He needed his wits for the hunt. His target was one Jonathan Elwood, a prominent businessman known for his ruthless personality, and the fact that any competitors seemed to mysteriously vanish any time they got close to his position. The disappearances were known to all, or at least all who cared enough to listen. However, what wasn't known to any was that Jonathan was not as human as he wanted others to believe.

Gabriel had been tracking him for eight hours, just waiting for him to slip up and find himself alone, to no avail. Gabe kept it up though. He was guided by a Ta'ge symbiont known only as Bob, who just six months ago had tried to kill him. Bob was fresh from the Boundary and having no host to latch onto lashed out at the first thing that passed by, which, unfortunately, had been Gabriel. Bob had not meant for the boy to die, but since Gabriel's resurrection the two have become fast friends.

Gabriel followed his target into a bar and watched as the thing known as Jonathan Elwood tried and failed to pick up on a woman, thinking she was a hooker. Bob had had to explain what Jonathan actually was several times before Gabriel finally understood. Apparently, according to Bob, Jonathan Elwood was what was known as a Dhohanoid, a creature very similar to a Ta'ger, but also very different. You see, when a Ta'ge integrates with a human, the resulting creature is a human that can assume the form of a monster. However, the opposite is true of Dhohanoids. When a Dhohanoid fuses with a human the resulting creature is a completely unwholesome thing, its human form becoming a distant memory the longer that it continues to live. Other than that however, Dhohanoids and Tagers are very similar, with both having a human form and a monstrous form that they can shift between at will.

Gabriel ordered a drink and sat at the bar, keeping one eye on Elwood as he swirled his drink. He was going to drink it down when he realized that he had lost his target. He shot upright, spilling his drink. He scanned the room and was just in time to see Elwood leading a woman out the back entrance. He tossed a few dollars on the bar and followed them outside where Gabriel saw Elwood beginning his transformation. He saw Elwood double over and clutch his sides. He heard the woman scream and heard the spiney lizard that had been Jonathan Elwood howl with an unholy vigor.

Gabriel knew he had to act quickly. "Bob, do it!"
A gravelly voice in his head gave him an affirmative and Gabriel began his own transformation. Black tentacles slithered across his body, reforming it in Bob's image. His fingers and toes were replaced by sharp talons. His forehead sprouted a bulbous third eye that twitched to and fro, soaking in all of the sensory information it could, and his skin was replaced with powerful, sinewy muscle covered in thick, chitinous armor.

Gabriel let out a howl of his own and charged the Dhohanoid, extending his claws further. He bull-rushed the Dhohanoid and knocked it into a dumpster, breaking several of the bony spines on its back and legs. However, he realized too late that he had over-committed, throwing his full weight behind the charge, and as a result was just as dazed as the Dhohanoid when his inertia carried him over the thing and into the dumpster. He scrambled to his feet and extended the arm-blades concealed in his forearms. Then he stood over the Dhohanoid as it was attempting to free its leg from the side of the dumpster. He held his blade over the thing's head and thrust down swiftly, withdrawing the blade cleanly from its skull. He retracted the blade back into his arm just in time to hear the first few sirens a few blocks away. He told Bob to hurry up and a mass of black tentacles burst from Gabriel's chest, devouring the remains of the Dhohanoid in a matter of seconds, leaving them just enough time to leap onto the roof of the bar before the police arrived to find an empty alleyway.

Gabriel was already leaping across the city rooftops as his second skin retreated into the lump on his back. Gabriel was reorienting himself when a small group of tentacles formed an approximation of a mouth on his right shoulder.
Gabriel turned to Bob's "mouth", "Bob, that was entirely too close. Not only did we almost lose our quarry, but we almost got nabbed by the cops. Do you have anything to say about that?"

Gabriel found the direction of the UE and started off when Bob's gravelly voice started his excuse, "Well I am deeply sorry we almost got that poor woman killed, and that we almost got shot at by the police, but it isn't like we could have just left the corpse there could we? I mean, we got rid of all the evidence, save for a busted up dumpster, and we got additional biomass to make ourself even more awesome. If you ask me I'd say that's a win-win."

Gabriel hopped down into an alley across the street from the UE and emerged from it as Bob slithered back into his jacket, "Yeah, well, I'm just glad I don't have to explain to Daisy why her newest exorcist is plastered all over the news." With that he opened the door, enjoying the ring of the bell that almost always signaled a return home for him and his fellow exorcists.

"I still think you're not putting in enough rum, Roth. It needs to have a sweeter taste," Daisy said, putting the glass down on the counter. Lilith was still sitting right beside her, having successfully done her math homework and now moving onto science. "Really, I think it tastes just fine. It must be your human-like palate," Roth said back to her, downing the rest of the drink. Before their conversation could continue on, Mila and someone the others were not familiar with entered the bar.

"Whatcha working on? Oh, and this is Kisoro, by the way."

Roth raised an eyebrow as the man came tumbling in, giving a simple nod to him in response. "Lilly just needed some help... and after I couldn't figure it out, Daisy answered the question." Daisy simply raised her glass, giving a friendly smile to Mila. "So, I assume that little problem was taken care of. I'll get the goods on the market tomorrow morning if you want to just leave them behind the bar. So, your new friends name is Kisoro? Well, as long as his money is good he is welcome here." The night was getting later, and more people were beginning to show up at the bar. Those from beyond the boundary, who simply wanted to live in peace, would often find their way here eventually. Daisy's newest Exorcist, Gabriel, entered the bar soon after. "Ah, welcome back. I just got off the phone with our connection in the police. Good work. Even though you caused quite a ruckus, the police have no idea what happened. Not bad for a raw recruit." Though the bar was getting livelier, most stayed away from the section Daisy sat at, knowing her business was not theirs. If you wanted to talk to her, she approached you, not the other way around. Thankfully, she was usually friendly, often giving free drinks around when her Exorcists brought in a particularly abundant payday.

Only a few more minutes past before Eric came walking in, giving a simple nod to Roth and plopping a small bag down in front of Daisy. She opened the bag and immediately pulled her eyes away. "Yep, that's definitely Ookami teeth. Smell just as bad as the first time too. Not worth much, but enough." Roth sat a plain whiskey down in front of Eric, who rolled his eyes at Daisy and began sipping on his drink. "Come on, I'm just messing with you. Gabriel, don't take after this one, the guy is a downer." Eric looked at Roth, who simply shrugged and received a shrug in return. The two seemed to have an unspoken understanding, speaking without saying a word. Eric turned his attention down to Kisoro, realizing he had not seen the man in the bar before. "Huh, there is still some sliver of hope in your eyes. Obviously, you are new. My name is Eric. If you hadn't guessed, I'm like Mila and Gabriel." He raised his glass before downing the drink, a slight look of discomfort appearing on his face afterward.

On The Other side of Town

The sound of fighting could be heard inside the club, along with the breaking of several objects. The back door busted open as a short, bald man fell out into the employee parking area. He tried to scurry away on the ground, but the sound of heels tapping on the pavement behind him caused his body to freeze with fear. "Well, what do you think we should do with him, sister?" Asther walked a slow, methodical pace, stepping in front of the man. She reached into his coat pocket and removed his cigar and lighter, putting the cigar between her lip and breathing in the smoke. Rolan came up behind the man, grabbing him by the back of his collar and lifting him high into the air.

"P-please! I didn't know it was you two? If I did I wouldn't have tried anything." Asther raised her eyebrow, removing the cigar from her lips and pressing the lit end into the man's forehead. "Well, in that case... everything is fine. I mean, who cares if you grabbed my ass. You know, we came here like professionals. All we had was some questions to ask. Rolan, what do you say we head to The UE and let Daisy know this clubs being operated by a goblin. Both physically and metaphorically." The man grew wide-eyed, shaking his head furiously and begging the sisters to stay quiet. "Like I asked you before you decided to put your disgusting hand on me... Something has a lot of people spooked. Some won't even leave their 'homes.' What the hell is going on in this town. Others continue about their business, while you... you are terrified to even be outside." The goblin flinched, realizing that his eyes had been moving around uncontrollably since he emerged outside. Asther motioned to Rolan, who sighed as she put the man down, well, dropped the man down. "Others can't sense it, you can't either. But, for ones like me, we were there for it. Its coming. I don't know how, but its crossing the Boundary and no one is safe." Asther looked at her sister, passing a look of confusion onto her. "Who is coming? What has you so damn paranoid?" The goblin looked up at her, seemingly unable to speak the name. "Others, stronger than me, follow it. If they knew I spoke... they would kill me." Rolan rolled her eyes, pressing her heel down on the goblin's back. "Rolan, enough! We're not going to get anything out of him. Now, let's get out of here. I feel eyes. Watching. We should go." The two went back into the club, exiting through the front to avoid any further suspicion.

Kisoro

Daisy: "So, your new friends name is Kisoro? Well, as long as his money is good he is welcome here."

Eric: "Huh, there is still some sliver of hope in your eyes. Obviously, you are new. My name is Eric. If you hadn't guessed, I'm like Mila and Gabriel."

Kisoro stood up before responding to Eric. "Hope in my eyes? Nah, I think you misread it, hope has nothing to do with my situation, what's in my eyes is more like a sliver of excitement." He said with a smile. "Name's Kisoro, nice to meet you Eric. So you're an undead exorcist then? Well, I'm not, but thanks to Mila here, I think I might end up in the same business."

Turning to face Daisy, who seemed to be in charge of the bar and its happenings, Kisoro spoke again. "Presently I don't have any money, but I did help Mila catch her target, so perhaps she'll treat me to a drink on this fine evening." He shot Mila a quick smirk before returning his gaze to Daisy with his usual, friendly smile. "I take it you're the one who handles the selling of collected items then. Good to know." He caught a whiff of the rather horrid smelling Ookami teeth but he managed to maintain his smile despite the smell.

An interesting bunch of people, I think I'll like it here. Kisoro thought to himself. When he was sentenced to be exiled from his homeland, he had not expected to fall into such an interesting situation as easily as he had. Kisoro had planned on securing the necessities for living, shelter, an income, that sort of thing, and then going and get himself into a fun setting. But it seems that he landed in the right place at the right time. This was to Kisoro's preference anyway. And he quite enjoyed the company of Mila, after seeing her in battle, he had quickly decided that she would be a fun person to stick close to.

Although his job had been only to slay the water elemental, Armand decided he could make a little extra money by taking a sample of the water which made up the creature. If nothing else he though it might be worth enough for a glass of whiskey when he got back to the EU. Which was the direction he had been traveling in before becoming...distracted.

Sometimes Armand was called a gunslinger due to the weapons he carried and the way he fought. Sometimes he was called an outlaw because, like today with the elemental, he didn't always go through all the motions he should to keep people from knowing about him. But most often he was called a lawman because, even when he wasn't being paid to do so, if he ever came across a monster from the other side doing evil, he would put an end to it. Usually it was no big deal. A problem was solved before it could get worse and he made a little profit from whatever he scavenged off the thing. This afternoon, as he skirted around the city to avoid the crowds, the 'thing' in question happened to be a shapeshifter.

No one on the streets noticed what Armand had. Then again, most of the people on the street were just that, people. There were no other Exorcists around that he could sense, and even if they were not all of them had what he referred to as gunslinger eyes. It was something he had had back when he was alive, of that he was almost certain, and was usually a skill one had to acquire over time. It allowed him, not to see more than others, but to take in and understand what he was seeing much more quickly. He could tell someone was about to run or draw a weapon by slight muscle or eye movements they probably weren't even aware of themselves. Anyone else maybe would have noticed a somewhat shady looking man stepping out from an alley, slipping something into his pocket before starting to walk down the street. What Armand had seen as he walked past the alley was a body slumped at the far end, missing a face, and a man slipping a wallet into his pocket after looking at the contents. Most likely to see what his new name was.

"Not on my watch friend..." Armand says under his breath, picking up his speed to that he reaches the crosswalk before the shifter. Making his way across the street he slips into the crowd where the monster was attempting to blend in. He was doing a pretty good job of it, except to Armand it seemed as if he looked down on everyone, like they were less than he was. A lot of monsters were like that, he supposed. As they passed another alley, Armand takes a step closer, grabs the shifter by the arm, and drags him in. A moment later the crowd passes and he initiates the Zero Space spell, containing the alleyway between two dimensions. It took less than a minute to do this, draw his revolver with his free hand, and fire a round into the head of the shifter. That taken care of he holstered his revolver, grabbed the body in both arms, then leaped up to a fire escape, then to a roof, and ended the spell.

Twenty minutes later there was a couple of knocks on the back door of the EU Bar before Armand made his way inside. On the way he had wrapped the shifters body in some newspaper, and now it lay on the floor of the backroom. The wrappings were layered enough to soak up the blood. "Whiskey on the rocks, if you please." Armand says, walking up to the bar, on the same side as Roth and Daisy, before going around to the proper side. Once seated on a stool at the end he tosses the vile of elemental water to Daisy.

Daisy smiled at Armand, holding the vile up to the light and looking over the water inside. "Good job. This will definitely be worth a pretty penny. Add into that the fact no more civilians should be disappearing from that area, you could say things couldn't have gone better." Daisy looked toward the back room, rolling her eyes and turning back to Armand. "Based on what I'm sensing, you also brought home another prize. I'll inspect in later, see what we can get out of it. Until then, congratulations guys. Drinks are on-" Before she could finish, Rolan and Asther entered the bar and shot her a glance. The alliance between them and Daisy was strained at best most of the time. They were nice enough girls, but everyone knew they would sell them down the river to save their own skins, or make a quick buck. However, the information they provided was always good, and never once did a job go belly up because of what the sisters did. They strolled cautiously through the bar, making eye contact with thee patrons, if only to cause them to jump a little. Asther walked up to the bar and sat right across from Daisy, a wide smirk on her face. Daisy made a simple motion with her hand, the patrons in the bar filing out as quickly as possible. "You can stay Kisoro. You may not be one of us yet, but this will give you a good idea of how we operate."

Roth moved from behind the bar and grabbed Lilith's hand, walking her up the stairs off to the side and up to Daisy's office on the second floor. Eric looked at his empty glass, sighing as he realized his favorite barkeep just left the room. He begrudgingly stood up and moved around to the other side of the bar, his eyes shooting between the different liquors, trying to decide what to drink next. "How rude, Daisy. We come in for a simple drink and you make all your valued patrons leave. We're hurt, aren't we, Rolan? Rolan?" Asther turned back to see her sister glaring at Kisoro. "Come on Rolan, we don't have time for this. If Daisy is vouching for him we have to go along with it. Distrustful as always." Rolan turned her attention back to Daisy, but kept an eye on the fresh face. "Damn, now I've lost my train of thought... shit, that's it. Something's going down in the northern part of town. We 'spoke' to a goblin club manager a short while ago."

Daisy raised an eyebrow, looking at Asther with apathetic eyes. "A club manager? Tell me, why didn't you share this information with me earlier?" Asther chuckled a bit, shaking her head in response to Daisy. "Why? So you can send your hounds and wreck the place?" Eric reappeared from behind the bar, having abandoned his glass in favor of just drinking straight from the bottle. "Hey, we're not that bad... sober. Tell you what, talk to me in thirty minutes and then we'll see how I feel." Asther clicked her tongue. "See Daisy, that's why I don't trust you guys with stuff like this. Anyway, the manage told us some things. Some potentially cataclysmic things. Apparently, something is crossing over the Boundary. Something big. You asked us to look into why there has been a decrease in activity, this is what I got for you." Daisy shrugged, an unimpressed expression on her face. "Really? That's it? You tell me this, but just today we had three hits. Four if you count what Armand has rotting in the back." Asther leaned back in her chair, Rolan looking to her to see how they should proceed. "Look, believe me or not, I don't really give a shit. Let's go, Rolan. This was a waste of ti-" Before she could finish that sentence, a loud crashing sound could be heard from upstairs, followed by the sounds of Lilith screaming. Without even saying a word, Daisy was up the stairs, bursting through the door. Eric dropped his bottle and followed her up, knowing the others would be following as well. Asther and Rolan looked at each other, deciding it was best to stay out of it.

Daisy burst into her office to see a large section of the wall busted out and Roth on the ground, his knee pressed against the back of a hooded figure. "Daisy?! There were too many, I couldn't stop them all." Daisy motioned for Roth to stand up, the hooded figure rising to their feet. With a simple raise of her hand, Daisy forced the person against the far wall. "Where did they take her?!" Her voice cracked and her eyes were watery. She started to pull her hand into a fist, the person crying out in pain. Daisy walked up to the person and tore off their hood, revealing the woman underneath. She looked human and didn't have any signs of being anything else. Daisy started piecing it together in her head, knowing that only one group could get the drop on Roth and know whose daughter Lilith was. "Shepherds? Why would you take her?!" The woman simply smiled, despite the fact blood was starting to seep out of her mouth. Eric walked up and grabbed Daisy's arm, trying to calm her down before she killed their only clue to where Lilith had gone. Daisy released her hold, Roth picking the woman up and dragging her passed the others and down the steps. He knocked her unconscious before throwing her into the back room, letting her fall right next to Armand's last catch.

Daisy regained her composure, turning to the others with her eyes a little red.. They had taken the one thing she cared about, and she had no idea why. "Find them. I don't care what you have to do." Daisy raised her hand, the destroyed wall reforming to how it had been before the kidnapping. "Please, find my baby girl." Her voice was shaking. Eric simply nodded, pushing the others out of the room. She just needed time. Truthfully, none of them had seen her like this before, but no one had ever been foolish enough to do something like this to her before. Witches were not allowed to lay their hands on Shepherds. It was a part of an old treaty signed before Daisy was even alive. She had to keep to this promise, or else face the consequences. Not those from the Sect, but her own circle of witches. Luckily, the treaty did not pertain to the Exorcists, so they were free to do what needed to be done. Once they got down the steps, Eric looked to see the sisters sitting at the far end of the bar. They could hear what happened, so Asther and Rolan thought it best to simply sit in silence and not try to antagonize them further. Roth made his way back behind the bar, knowing he had to at least keep appearances up should people enter. Lilith was nigh untouchable, but if the wrong types found out she had been pulled from Daisy's grasp right under her nose, it would be very bad.

Eric turned to his fellow Exorcists and Kisoro, unsure of what to say. "We're looking for Shepherds. Gabriel and Kisoro, Shepherds are like us, but a whole lot of wraith and death. They don't think twice about killing those from the Boundary regardless of good or bad. Most will also kill any that get in their way. We have a trail, but its getting colder by the minute. Mila, take Gabriel and Kisoro with you to St. Anna's. Its an old Cathedral that's been here since the city was constructed. That's were the Shepherds usually stay if they are in town. Kisoro, I'd hate to wrap you up in our shit, but we could really use your help with this. Me and Armand will check out will check the Underground." The Underground, a place where collectors and those with a certain amount of knowledge can buy and trade artifacts and "parts" amongst each other. Its where Daisy would usually take their prizes from battle, but she didn't like the Exorcists going there. There were not usually welcomed, but if anyone would know about Shepherds getting into the city, it would be someone there. "We'll meet back up here in the morning. I have a feeling this night will just keep getting longer."

Mila Devian

Mila gave Roth a small, sympathetic smile, propping her hand on a hip as she leaned against the bar. That is how it usually turned out when he tried to help Lillith with homework. She had heard Kisoro fall to the floor before and shot him an amused look as Daisy asked Mila about her job and told her she could set her spoils behind the bar. “You can bet I got that jerk! Almost got Kisoro in the process too, the poor guy. Can’t seem to scare him off though,” she explained, giving a small laugh and a pointed but teasing look at him. She untied the bag of shadow shards and dropped it behind the counter. Kisoro mentioned that she might buy him a drink, and she made a shooing motion at him with a wide grin. She was about to make a teasing remark about his habit of mooching, when Rolan and Aster walked in. They seemed to always bring some sort of trouble, and apparently this time the news was enough for Daisy to send most of the patrons out.

Roth took young Lillith upstairs, and Mila gave the little girl a small wave before turning her attention to the two women. She took a seat near the bar and motioned for Kisoro to do the same. As she sat, she sighed softly, resting her head on her hand. At the mention of a goblin running a club, Mila’s eyes flickered to Daisy’s face. She seemed rather perturbed, though Mila didn’t totally get why. If an Othersider wasn’t causing harm, there was no reason to worry in Mila’s thinking. Still, the rest of their news really blew that out of the water. If it was true, it could mean serious trouble.

The twins were getting ready to leave, when there was suddenly a ruckus upstairs. Mila was on her feet and halfway to the stairs before she realized she had moved. The only thought in her mind was seeing Roth take Lillith up when the little meeting started. What in the world was going on? Mila was only a few moments behind Daisy, her hand on her sword and ready to draw as she dashed up the stairs. As she got to the door, a horrid sight met her eyes. Half of one wall was blown open, exposing the room to the chilly night air. Daisy had a figure in a black cloak pinned against the wall, gasping in pain. Daisy quickly walked over and jerked off the hood, revealing a woman’s face. Mila noticed a trail of blood already dripping from the stranger’s mouth. Her eyes flickered to Daisy, knowing that she would kill the woman, but making no attempt to stop the witch. Mila released her grip on her sword as Daisy interrogated the silent woman. There was nothing she could do but wait.

An exorcist called Eric moved over to Daisy and calmed her long enough that she released the hooded woman. Roth took the half- dead woman out of the room and down the stairs, but Mila’s attention stayed on Daisy. The poor woman had lost her dear child and was clearly shaken up. Mila’s eyes were sympathetic as Daisy told them to go after Lillith. Mila had turned to go even before Roth started shepherding them out, and was soon downstairs pacing.

When Eric came down, he took charge. Normally, Mila may have resented that, but now was not the time to be picky about who called the shots. The plan he gave was good enough for her, so she motioned to Kisoro and nodded at Gabe before wordlessly storming out the door. If one compared her current mood to the playful one just moments before, they would almost say she could be two different people. Now, there was not even a hint of her teasing personality. She was all business and nothing could distract her.

As soon as she hit the sidewalk, Mila sped up to a brisk jog. The Cathedral was not far, but they had no time to waste. She was already trying to formulate a plan, and looked back at Kisoro with a thoughtful gaze. Gabe, she knew, had a sort of transformation. She had never seen it, but she knew it was deadly. Probably could attract quite a bit of attention too. Of Kisoro’s abilities she knew even less. She knew he had a sort of dust-ash form, and he had some other illusionistic gifting as demonstrated with that fear aura.

She darted around a corner, automatically dodging around some late night pedestrians and ignoring their shouted questions. She was too busy considering what to do to even pay attention. After the next turn, she shouted back, “We are getting close, stay in the shadows until we can discuss the plan." It was only a little while longer before she stopped in an alleyway just up the street from the Cathedral. It was far enough that they wouldn’t be noticed, even as they discussed the plan, but they had a clear view of the main entry.

She knelt down, peering at the Cathedral before turning her eyes on Kisoro and Gabe. Her eyes were rather intense and cold, but she didn’t care. “Here is what I have so far. Gabe, you and I will act as a distraction. The point is to make as much noise as possible and get all the Shepherds hiding in there to want to see what we are doing. They will know that we haven’t had much time to think things out, so seeing us barge up to the door won’t seem odd. They think Undead Exorcists are hotheaded idiots either way,” she said in a sardonic tone.

Her gaze then turned to Kisoro, her eyes almost the same as when she delivered her threat the night before. “I know you just got dragged into this, so you do not have to act if you don’t care to. Still, we could use your talents, as Eric said back there. I just have one question for you. Can you go unnoticed? I will need you to get past the Shepherds and find out what you can. If Lillith is in there, we need to know. Can you do it?” Her tone as she stated the last question did not allow for any flippant answer or uncertainty. If Kisoro agreed, she would hold him to it.

Kisoro

Kisoro crouched in the shadows next to Mila and Gabriel, the three of them preparing to infiltrate a cathedral that served as a local base for Shepherds, who of course would try to kill them as soon as the three made their move. Thoughts raced through Kisoro's mind as he tried to organize the events of the past hour and figure out what exactly was going on. It started with those two girls entering the UE together, that's when the atmosphere in the room had changed and the string of events leading to this moment had begone. No one seemed too interested in what the girls had to say, but Kisoro was intrigued by it. Activity slowing down and something big coming across the Boundary? He had kept tabs on such things in the past, but he had been locked in an Ash Born prison for some time now, obviously unable to keep tabs from there. On top of that, he was now cut off from all his usual sources of information and would have to start from scratch when investigating it. Regardless, he felt it was worth noting and looking into when he found a way of doing so.

What was of more immediate concern was what happened next. A scream from upstairs, everyone rushing up there, and Lilith being kidnapped. Lilith was the daughter of a witch, there aren't many who would dare to harm her, yet someone had dared. Kisoro had been given a chance at the UE to leave and not become further involved but he had chosen to stay. Now Mila gave him that chance one more time, this would be his last chance to back out. "A little girl was just kidnapped, if I can help, then you can bet I will help. If you two draw them out and distract them, I can sneak in. I'll look for Lilith or anything that might tell us where she could be. You distract them as long as you can, then pull out. If you don't see me leaving the cathedral, then meet me at that diner we past about six blocks back in an hour. If I'm not there, then assume I've been captured or killed. That sound reasonable?" Kisoro looked to both Gabriel and Mila for conformation.

Despite the imminent danger of the situation, Kisoro was curious to see how both Mila and Gabriel would do in a fight of this scale, though more curious about Mila. Seeing Mila fight the night before had largely been what initially made Kisoro decide to stick around her, after all, you can learn a lot from how a person fights and when they choose to fight. He was excited to see more of her fighting, even if it would only be for a brief time before he snuck into the cathedral. That having been said, his focus was on saving Lilith, he wouldn't let his curiosity get in the way of that.

Mila Devian

As Kisoro answered, Mila's face relaxed slightly. It seemed that Kisoro was onboard, and that would make things easier. It would have been much harder if she and Gabe had to go it alone against several Shepherds, so Kisoro definitely helped them even out the odds. There was still, of course, a lingering doubt in the back of Mila's mind about Kisoro. It would not be hard to act friendly and harmless for a few days, and then betray them. Still, the likelihood of that scenario was fading. In any case, Mila had no real choice but to trust him now. And, for some reason, she found that she did trust him. The realization was somewhat surprising, But Mila had no time to dwell on it now.

“Very well. I’m counting on you,” she said, allowing a slight smile and a friendlier tone. She glanced around the corner again. There was one pedestrian strolling down the street, but it was otherwise empty. He soon passed into the dark night. The cathedral seemed to be eerily quiet. Hopefully it would stay that way until she and Gabe stirred up the wasp’s nest. “Alright, go find a back entrance. As soon as Gabe and I set up the Zero-Space spell, do your thing. This isn’t going to be pretty so I hope you are ready,” she said tiredly, her last comment directed at Gabe. He seemed eager enough, so she left the shelter of the alley as quick and silent as a fox. Gabe followed not far behind.

They were soon standing in the shadows across from the cathedral, which was still silent. The moon brightly illuminated the pale stone of the building, making it stand out from the other brick buildings nearby. The moon was abruptly hidden by a cloud, dropping the scene into shadow. Mila double checked for any other bystanders before giving Gabe a nod. He returned it and they began the spell. She was sure the Shepherds knew they were there the second they started the spell, but that was how she wanted it. Immediately after the spell was set, that odd surreal quality enveloping their surroundings, Mila started a charge toward the pale building. She let out a loud shout as she drew her weapon and activated it. Immediately, she let out a wave of energy. Instead of being sharp as her blade, it was more broad and flat, and glowed with a faint, wavering purple aura. It hit the building with enough force to make the windows rattle and the large double doors shake.

She heard Gabe beside her give an awful roaring shout of his own, and saw that he had transformed out of the corner of her eye. She immediately shouted, letting rage seep into her tone, “Come out, you sniveling bastards! We know you have her. Nowhere to hide now, so face us!” She let off another blast, this one just shy of making the windows break. Large cracks began to appear in some of the glass. The door flung open, and Gabe’s … Bob let out a Howl. Several panes shattered and both doors flung open.

A single Shepherd inside let out an agonized moan, covering his eats as he ducked behind a wall. However, as soon as the Howl ended, he raced out the door, a large gun in his arms and braced against his shoulder. He let off a shot and Mila rolled to evade the bullet. The next shot was fired at Gabe, and she took the opportunity to charge the man. Having missed Gabe, he quickly levered the rifle back at Mila and squeezed off another shot. This time, the bullet was encased in flame that left a trail on the street behind it. As it hit, it exploded, leaving a small crater in the street.

Mila jumped, adjusting her gravity so she would land on the building over the shepherd’s head. She crouched as she hit to absorb the impact. At this point, the Shepherd’s attention was focused on Bob/Gabe, who was attacking with his talons. The Shepherd blocked with the barrel of the rifle before making a jump away, levering off a fiery shot at the monstrous Bob. Mila was just about to interrupt the jump with an attack of her own when she heard a faint scuffle of the stone above her. She turned to look and found that she was the one being ambushed.

Another male Shepherd, this one more thin and wiry than the brutish man wielding a rifle below, was diving at her. In his hand, he held a long, strange looking sword. It seemed serrated like a row of shark’s teeth. He drew back his arm, and Mila watched in surprise as the sharp “teeth” of the blade separated. It was a sword whip, and she was now in range. She jumped off from the building, already reorienting her gravity toward the ground, but she was not quite fast enough to block the attack with her sword. It sliced deeply into her upper left arm, and she gave a cry of pain. At the same instant, however, she released a badly aimed wave of energy from her sword.

The blond haired man leaned back in his fall, just barely dodging the razor sharp line of energy. It smashed into the building behind him, leaving a gash in the stone. Mila hit the ground only a second before he did, grasping her injured arm with a wince for a moment. The man immediately stood and raised the sword whip over his head, and it shot straight up. Soon, it lit up with lightning that went out slightly from each edge. He brought his arm down and the blade followed, its white-blue encasing of lightning seeming to reach out for her. Luckily, it had a limit of distance it could go, and Mila was able to jump up and back to the wall of the building behind her.

She wasted no time waiting for another attack and went immediately on the offensive, launching herself toward the man and letting out a horizontal blast of energy as his sword whip embedded itself in the ground. She watched for him to make a move to dodge, and saw his body start to lean toward the right. She immediately slashed another wave at the spot directly to his right, so fast it went smoothly from her previous sword stroke in a wide ‘v.’ However, he surprised her be jumping more forward than to the side, and managed to mostly miss both the attacks. Only a small piece of his shirt was cut, as a small red line to match on his arm.

He lifted his sword, which came out of the ground easier than Mila would have expected. She was barely able to bring her own blade down below her, still flying at him, and she braced the blade with her left hand. As the still electrified sword whip hit her blade, the electricity flowed through the metal of her blade and into her body for a moment. She let out a pained yelp muffled by clenched teeth. She managed to pushed off the blade and with her own and flipped over the man, crumpling as she hit the ground several feet behind him.

He turned slowly, a self-righteous grin on his face as Mila struggled to a kneeling position, breathing hard. It seemed that the electricity had not been coursing through her body long enough to do any horrible damage, but she still felt rather shaky. She forced herself to her feet and stood in a fighting stance, ready to dodge or block at a moment’s notice. The Shepherd’s smile widened as he spoke, “Not so cocky now, are you? I hope you are ready to die again.” Now that their battle had paused for a moment, Mila could hear Bob and the rifle wielding Shepherd still fighting, but she did not let herself be distracted.

The man’s eyes widened slightly as Mila gave a short laugh. “I think it is you who's getting cocky. Now that I know your tricks, how long do you think you will actually last?” she said in a rather sardonic tone. She readied herself for his next move.

Kisoro

Mila and Gabriel had the distraction well underway, engaging the shepherds in a fight they would not likely forget. Meanwhile, Kisoro, who wasn't trapped in the zero-space spell, stole silently through the alley ways and on around to the back of the cathedral. He sat at the end of an alley, a street and small yard separating him from the cathedral wall. The light of the moon lit the street with an eery glow, which would make Kisoro clearly visible should he try to cross the street. From his hiding spot, Kisoro began studying the back wall of the cathedral, looking for anything that even might prove useful. For the most part there wasn't much to see, old stone made up the bulk of the wall, the only window was a stained glass window high up, towards the top of the wall, it seemed that most of the detail had gone into the front and sides of the cathedral. There was, however, a small door at the base of the wall, a service entrance for moving things in and out without having to go through the grand main entrance.

It wasn't long before a cloud passed in front of the moon, plunging the cathedral and surrounding streets into near total darkness except for a few spots that had a street lamp of some kind. Kisoro took a quick glance around, making sure there was no one watching, and then dashed across the street right to where the door was. Once at the door, he crouched down and examined the ground, looking for any signs of recent activity. The grass seemed trampled and there were scuffs around the base of the door, it seemed this service entrance was receiving quite frequent use of late. With the door being used frequently, there was a chance that the door might be left unlocked to allow easier use, and that was what Kisoro was hoping as he reached for the door. The door slowly swung open to reveal a small, circular room, a slight grin appeared on Kisoro's lips as he stepped through the doorway and shut the door behind him.

The small room Kisoro now stood in was dimly lit by a faint glow cast by candles mounted on the walls. The light from the candles seemed to try and climb its way up the stone walls in search of the ceiling, but the ceiling was hidden in darkness, making it seem like the walls extended upwards with no end. Along the circular wall of the room, there could be found multiple doors, all closed. Knowing there was no time to waste, Kisoro hurried to the first door and quietly opened it to peer in. The door lead to a hallway, but the candles that lined the wall were not lit and the hall quickly faded into the dark. The fact that the candles weren't lit indicated that the hallway wasn't currently being used, which meant Lilith would most likely not be down that hall. Kisoro shut that door again, and moved on to the next door only to find it the same, but the third door was different.

Behind the third door, Kisoro found a spiral staircase winding its way downward. The candles were lit and spaced every half turn to provide only enough light to vaguely make out the steps. Since the candles were lit Kisoro decided to follow the stairs down and see what could be found. What is it with humans and keeping their prisoners underground anyway? He thought as he crept quietly along. He noticed the cobwebs hanging from the walls becoming more common the deeper he went, giving a feeling of moving into an abandoned area, yet the lit candles made it clear the area was still in use. Finally he reached the bottom of the stair case, they had taken him what must have been at least fifty feet underground.

Kisoro now stood at the beginning of a long hallway with doors evenly spaced on both the left and the right. Cobwebs seemed to be clinging to every nook and cranny and the dust was so thick that footprints were clearly visible on the floor. He began walking slowly down the hall, stepping only in footprints that were already there so that hopefully no one would notice that he had been there. The dust was clearly undisturbed around many of the doors, making it clear they hadn't been used recently, but some had scuff marks left in the dust from where the door had swung open. Checking behind each door that had been used recently, he found only store rooms, some containing medieval weapons, others ancient books and still others stock piles of food or wine. When he came to the end of the hallway, there was a single door, right on the end. Kisoro cautiously opened the door and stepped through.

The room was fairly large compared to the rooms Kisoro had found so far. It was square and each corner seemed to be packed full with stacks of crates along with jewelery chests, old, ornate candle sticks, grandfather clocks and much more. What drew Kisoro's attention however was the table in the middle of the room. It was a simple, square, wooden table, but unlike anywhere else he had seen so far, it was well lit. There were multiple candles setup around the edges of the table casting their flickering light upon the table's surface. Kisoro approached the table and began examining what had been lain out on it. There was a map of the city with several locations circled and numbered and there was also a small, leather bound notebook laying on the map. Moving the notebook aside for the moment, Kisoro studied the map, memorizing it as best he could, then he folded it up and put it in his pocket. Glancing around to see that no one had discovered him, he then opened the notebook and began skimming through the pages. The more he read, the more concern seemed to come into his expression.

After a few minutes of reading the notebook, Kisoro shut the book and put it in his pocket, opposite the map. He knew the distraction would not last forever and the contents of the notebook, along with the lack of guards, made it clear Lilith was not being kept in the Cathedral, it was time to get out while he still could. Kisoro turned to head back the way he had come, there was nothing more to be gained by staying.