Fantasy Z O D I A C | Umbra [Currently CLOSED]

[Boss]

Camilla Ferrari| Sam Sarith | Lucy Black | NIKKY VIOLE

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Brookfield | Alleyway
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Camilla was prepared to lend an ear if it helped bring Janaiya back, but more than that, the simple mention of her father, a trial, and the workings of something beyond the scope of the village proved to be more than a good enough reason to listen to what the Dominion plaything had to say. Her answer came in the form of motion when she made herself comfortable on an empty shipping crate; though the moment she went to sit on its surface, it was into the comfort of a sudden plush chair. Immediately, Kaivant’s hand went to his blade and drew the weapon, partially, from its sheath. The sound of shattered glass filled the air, both from the distance and under Camilla’s feet. And sure enough, a familiar sight waltzed into the alleyway with his usual cunning smile. “Oh, put the toy away, Kaivant. We’re all here to talk, shouldn’t we at least be comfortable?” To no one’s surprise, there several more shatters that manifested two additional chairs, in addition to a table of treats and his usual taste in tea. Azrael took quick claim to the chair nearest him, and beckoned for Kaivant to do same. Looking upon the tea that held her reflection, Camilla seriously had to consider if she was dealing with a stalker at this point. At the very least, there was tea and an explanation for the crate that had it’s very existence shifted. Gripping the handle of the teacup, she shot Kaivant a glance and shrugged her shoulders briefly before taking a sip.


It took everything in Kaivant not to blink across the alleyway and drive his sword through Azrael. That being said, he wouldn’t be much of a mentor if he couldn’t keep his emotions in check. With a heavy sigh, he fully sheathed his sword and plopped into the nearest chair. There, he crossed his legs and began glaring at the conniving youth who sat across him. “I have nothing to say to you, so I guess the floor is yours.”


“Wonderful,” Azrael replied with a clap. He quickly turned his attention towards Camilla, to whom he began talking towards. “Have you thought about our little talk?” “Honestly, I forgot.” Camilla replied, taking another long sip of her offered tea. There was a moment of silence in response to Camilla’s ignorance; though in the end, Azrael’s smile remained unperturbed. “No matter, plans have changed since then, anyways. I realized my organization was being a bit naive. Our goal remains the same, though our horizons have expanded to...others. You see, both of you are very important pieces that remain on the playing board. The very fact that you are sitting here together, shows that everything is moving according to plan, with or without your cooperation.”


This time, Kaivant was partially overcome with anger. He burst from his chair, and with a nod down the alleyway, beckoned for Camilla to follow. ”There is nothing to be discussed with this, creature. Let’s continue our discussion elsewhere.” “Wait.” She sounded, hoping Kaivant would halt, to which he did. Placing the cup of tea on the plate it manifested on, she continued, saying: “How often are we able to get answers without everything going to hell?” She looked up at Kaivant, looking to see reason beyond his mysterious hate for Azreal. “Whatever he’s got to say, let him say it. Please.” Kaivant threw his arms into the air. He quickly approached Camilla and looked directly into her eyes as he spoke. “There are no answers we will get from the child of Fushinsetsu...”


Camilla’s eyes briefly shot over to Azreal. Did that mean he and Lily were..?

“Now, now Kai, you are ruining our little tea time with your hapless tantrums.” Underneath the mask, Azrael was rolling his eyes in response to Kaivant’s recent actions. “You and I are but two writers for the same novel, perhaps differing ideas for a proper finis, though our notions remain the same.” Kaivant redirected his glare towards Azrael; yet he did nothing more than force himself to begrudgingly listen. “I am well aware the twins interrupted the trial of Dominic Ferrari-- congratulations by the way, on keeping him alive--and I am certain they have told you the same prophecy that I have heard. Chilling news to know we have less than two months to live, is it not?” Kaivant remained silent, while Camilla’s eyes were widened for more than one reason. Her body-- no, her soul felt lighter hearing that her father still drew breath. Perhaps her fantasy of returning the sword on her back wasn’t much of a fantasy after all. However, what followed the news of her father brought her back down to earth. “Two months to live?” She echoed the words of Lily’s brother, though she was without context. Originally, she had set out to find Janaiya - and it was still her goal - however, the more she listened, the more aware she was becoming of the world around the village, for better or worse. “What are you talking about?”


Azrael leaned further back into his chair and enjoyed several sips of tea, before responding with noticeably faked surprise in his voice. “You mean Kaivant never told you? Oh...wait nobody is surprised.” Suddenly, his words turned sarcastic, as he once again rolled his eyes under the mask. “Who would have guessed, another major veteran defender of this world, had no idea anything was happening until it was thrown into his face.” Rant over, the sarcasm immediately vanished from his tone, replaced by his usual cheerfulness that was directed Camilla’s way. “In two months, or rather, one month and twenty-eight days, our world will be annihilated by a powerful supernatural entity that cannot be stopped. Or at least that’s what these so called harbingers of fate had to say.”


There was plenty of information to process in such a short amount of time. Camilla momentarily felt overwhelmed, and as a result, she was unsure of how to react or feel. Was Azreal’s information legitimate? Was there really a god-like entity in existence? With the combined might of every host Camilla knew of, it was hard to imagine that said entity couldn’t be stopped. The last time she heard of such strength was when her father recollected the memories of his fight against the original Zodiac, whose entire purpose was to maintain the balance between Limbo and the living. With that in mind, a being with extinction-level abilities wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities.


“What’s your goal here? I mean, this isn’t the first time we’ve met; obviously, we’re apart of this plan of yours, as you've mentioned before.” First guess? Azreal wanted Camilla on his side. It wasn’t a wild guess-- he DID give her his card after all.


There was little change in Azrael’s outward emotions. His usual smile remained plastered on his face, as did his posture which remained as relaxed as ever. “I have nothing but the wellbeing of others in mind--for both humans and hosts. After all, it puts a small damper on life when you are not living, you know?” He began to chuckle at his own small joke--hoping the others would follow suit--when nobody did he continued his explanation, albeit with a small huff. “All the pieces of puzzle are assembled--the Si Xiang, Julius and his organizations, your village, and my father’s legacy--we need only bring it together.” “I don’t know who Julius or the Si Xiang are, but your father isn’t a popular figure where I come from.” Immediately she imagined the scenario in which anything related to Fushensetsu leaked around the village. The thought of cooperation between anything related to him and the village seemed just as far-fetched of an idea as an alliance between hosts and the rest of mankind.


Azrael chuckled in response to Camilla’s description of his father. “My father was a terrible man, but if he did anything positive for this world, he did leave us a legacy that has prepared us. I would offer to show you what I can, but I feel you have other priorities in the present. A journey to the East, aligns with both of your goals, does it not?”


Kaivant never wanted a reason to ever agree with Azrael; however, his current statement was one that Kaivant could not deny. Journeying to the Si Xiang was important for Camilla, not only for herself, but also for her goal of finding Janaiya. “Yes, it does.” Kaivant muttered, whilst watching for Camilla’s reaction, which came with a nod.


“I’ll do what I must to bring Janaiya back, and to preserve the future if it comes to that.” That was when Camilla reminded herself of the time. Before she left, she gave herself a time-limit of ten minutes. Glancing up at the sky, she figured it must have been twice that already. “Uhh-..” Unsure of how to explain this, she looked to Azreal and Kaivant both with a slight hint of embarrassment. “I actually-.. have something-.. to do beforehand. I’ll reach out to both of you when I’m ready.” Rising from the chair Azreal manifested, she could only hope that the two wouldn’t go at each other’s throats the moment she’d leave. Giving them one last look, she disappeared in a bolt of lightning, bound for her village once more.

Collaboration Post 2/2
Azukai Boss​

 

[H3LLJUMPER_177]

Noda Hitomi

Noda walked with James as they went through the large crowd. She was quite used to dealing with this kind of thing, riots were another thing she'd be dealing with when she was a cop. She walked the crowd with her modified shield. It was collapsed, it looked like a thick metal bar with a handle.. But at a moments notice she can have it fold down and be ready to use. She also had her sidearm. But that was just a basic standard issue handgun. And a baton... Standard stuff besides the shield really, "God for a guy bigger than me...and a guy, you complain A LOT" she teased. When the crowd became angered she almost grabbed her shield and baton out of instinct.. But refrained from doing so... She listened to what james was talking about, she was in the middle. On one hand there can be good ones, then there's the ones that can ruin literally everything for them.. "I mean... If we could co-exist it wouldn't be the worst... Given we'd probably end up as a police force to go after the bad ones but hey! Least we wouldn't be outta the job.." she stated. Scanning her surroundings, she couldn't see anyone suspicious, yet. She can spot someone with a concealed firearm almost anywhere. Lots of signs can point towards someone being armed with a handgun. Look at a persons coat and let a gust of wind show the features, look for a bulge in jacket pockets or back of someones pants or shorts. People with guns also seem to always pat the weapon, as if to make sure it's still there, which is always easy to spot.

"...Mind if i ask..why the dislike for me joining you guys?" she asks curiously. Everyone in her team seems to dislike her.. Which is scary as she could end up getting killed because she's the least liked and could be expendable, just the thought of being left to die just for showing up to a squad at the wrong time makes her have anxiety, and it's rare that gets that feeling. "Is it because I'm an ex-cop, that's a few steps in front of civilian... " she said blankly. '..Depending on the answer, I might go ahead and remove myself.. Don't want to be left to die because im not their friend or something' she thought to herself, it was quite a sad thought. Thought this is just like her first day as a cop. Her probation period lasted longer than most because she was arrested a few times in her young life. Hell she was even stuck with her arresting officer when she was partnered. Boy oh boy was she ignored a lot on some stuff.. '...but then again, this is normal for me. Started off rough but I worked my way up into a family.. Hell, even Mitch acted like my father afterwards.' she thought.

Boss Skaggon Solemn Jester​

 

[Sinny The Fool]

Clown

Noon
Brookfield | Downtown
Kruz's Place | Spare Storage Room
(Color Code - Clown & Kruz) (Mentions - Boss Solemn Jester )​

"This is Tom...Speak."

A cool shiver ran down Elijah’s spine at what was, the first time in a long time, the familiar but forever haunting voice of his previous employer. The last time they had spoken, Clown had ‘borrowed’ a large sum of money from Tom, subsequently, Elijah never returned any of that cash. The briefcase lost in large scale hollow invasion, that Elijah had found himself caught in the middle of down in Combine and hadn’t seen a single dime of it since. Taking in a large gulp he responded, doing his best to mask the quivering in his voice and every chance he got in between his sentence, Elijah attempted to drown his anxiety with coffee.

“Yo’ Tom, my good friend!! It’s been a while since we last spoke, no? I guess you are probably wondering why I finally decided to call you now, I know that you’re probably…..’Mad’.” a minute voice in the back of Eli’s mind adding ‘and thinking of ways to torture me.’ “But you should know it wasn’t my fault, and I’ve been trying to work off that debt since, truly! Anyway, that isn’t why I called you - something’s come up and, if you are willing to hear me out I think you might be interested in what I have to offer…I’m going to send you the meet up place, I think it’d be better if I explain my proposal in person..”

During his brief conversation on the phone, Elijah had also been searching for an ideal location nearby to set up the meeting, by the time Eli finished, he sent the details of the through to Tom's phone. The local in question being a fairly popular cafe inside a small mall downtown Brookfield, and to Eli an ideal place to minimize the risk of being caught and ripped to shreds by Tom. At the same time, prioritizing his focus onto tracking down the location of Anzu.​

 

[Azukai]

Kiosk

Yue was more than quick to agree. She had watched her life practically flash before her eyes; the daggers having been close enough to knick the side of her face. Thankfully, there wasn't a follow-up attack, given Janaiya's knee which smashed into their assailant's face--an obvious allude to the fact that training had paid off for the girl who had detested it the most. Yue was in a bit of a panic, which made her all the more sluggish to move. As she ran for the nearest exit, her body began to stumble, which in turn became her ultimate downfall. Despite the blood which poured from his nose, the attacker had been quick to recover from the blow to his face, and within seconds, he was spiraling back towards his target. This time, there was nothing to stop him from reaching his prey, and with a sickening crunch, the blades in his hands were digging into the girl's chest and cracking the ribs that were met along the way. As she fell to the ground, blood began to dribble from her mouth, while tears began to water in her eyes. "One down." The assassin muttered in a satisfied tone. He quickly pulled the daggers from the body and shook away the blood that still lingered on the blade. He then turned his attention back towards Janaiya. His face still throbbed with the pain from her blow, all while blood continued to dribble from his nose; though neither prevented him from cutting off Janaiya's escape. That being said, he was far more careful with combat, opting to circle his prey rather than full on engage. At first, he tested the waters with a dagger that was flung directly at her face, only to rapidly follow with thrust that was aimed at her gut.

 

[Azukai]

Kiosk Boss SidTheSkid (potentially TerraBooma Randomfella depending on how your collab goes).

Devan and the Herald vs. The Watcher

“I refuse.” The nomadic guardian was quick to answer as she rose her right index finger and practically nullified any momentum that Devan had generated. He was stopped in place, all while his waves of compressed air flew passed her body and crashed into the wall directly behind her. The proceeded crash was more than a testament to the strength of Devan’s blow, yet at the end of the day, it meant nothing against the foe which stood before him. “My turn.” Fast enough to generate a blur, she flicked her index and middle fingers, which flung enough force to shatter the opposite wall. Devan was nowhere to be found, not because he had been evaporated, but rather, thanks to the Herald who had formed a portal at his immediate location and connected it with the guardian’s rear.

It came as very little surprise to the former detective when he regrettably found himself, once more, facing off against another fearsome adversary that had completely dwarfed his abilities and strengths. Beyond having been somewhat taken back by the woman’s vigorous attack, Devan had achingly endured a minor fraction of the lively blow and as a result, it had downright shredded the silky sleeves of his suit as he desperately tried his best to place up his guard in what scare time he had. Herald’s resourceful thinking had thankfully spared him from having his forearms shredded to pieces, not only this, but he now had another opportunity to strike, instead this time he was planning on using something the guardian wouldn’t recognize, the concealed dirk-resembling bone had been appropriately tucked away behind the waistline of his pants. Upon disembarking from his journey through the Herald’s portal, he had already retrieved the keen blade, its jagged edges gleaming from the strips of light that were prominent throughout the illuminated room. Having only a little time to take leverage of the scenario, Devan endeavored to place a well-aimed slice through the girl’s back. Now, with an unyielding grip and his gaunt fingers desperately wrapped around the fossilized handle of his makeshift weapon, he boldly struck forth with a strong feeling of determination, hoping that the dagger would have an ample opportunity at cleaving its mark.

The serrated edge of the bone tore through the fabric of the guardian’s jacket and began to pierce through the surface of her skin. Dribbles of blood began to well around the initial wound, though that remained the extent of the damage that was done. Green scales began to manifest around the wound and atop the surrounding skin--a defense mechanism that halted the progression of Devan’s blade. “Hmm, I underestimate the strength of your tools, a mistake I will not make again.” The guardian rose her left and arm and slammed the tip of her stave against the surface of the ground. At her rear, a portal manifested itself and threatened to engulf Devan--starting with his dagger and arm which were consumed within.

“Get out of there!” The Herald screamed, right before she flung her arms in an outward motion and summoned a competing portal on Devan’s opposite side. There was a small torrent of blood as the portals collided--Devan soon deposited at Herald’s side, albeit without half of his arm that had been lost to the guardian’s portal.

Part 1 of 3

 

[Azukai]

Devan and the Herald vs. The Watcher

”You know, I’m really starting to fucking hate portals!” A painful utterance hastily sprung from the wounded man’s lungs while assessing the grisly stump of gore that had once formerly retained his arm. Vigor splattered against his now dirtied hand as hints of blood indiscriminately mottled the ground in a sickly maroon tinge as he clasped his ‘grave’ injury. It would’ve come off as unusual, seeing a wounded person bitterly stumbling around in place with a sense of displeasure rather than a sense of urgency at the loss of his own appendage. A muttered spew of obscene expletives rambled through as they hectically spun from side to side while looking for their long ‘lost’ amputated arm only to cease their venture after realizing that it was nowhere to be found. Devan inevitably brought himself to provide an infuriated gaze at the female guardian who was perhaps very assured that she had mortally damaged the green-haired fellow, however, an ecstatic expression ‘zipped’ to the man’s face as he recalled a few of his longly departed ‘friends’ that were hanging from his side belt-loop. “Miss, let me tell you… You’re in for one hell of a surprise.” Although his tone consisted of confidence, Devan’s face had conveyed nothing but complete disgust as he brought his only hand over the top of a mangled looking head that was soon effortlessly snagged off from his slacks and now displayed in front of him in all its horrific glory. “Uck, I can’t believe I’m going to do this.” As stomach wrenching as it seemed in his mind it was the only back-up plan he had, besides that he was actually starting to get a tad dizzy from the amount of blood squirting out from his body. Having no choice but to swallow his remaining morality, Devan hunched himself over and sunk his teeth into the flesh and meat of the deceased guard’s head, an abominable noise of crunching followed through as he consumed a quarter of the person’s head which had now shown the man’s actual skull! It was by far an appalling scene to anyone with a weak stomach, nevertheless, any emotion of dread was soon brought to awe and confusion as he jutted out his stump and within mere seconds a completely new appendage had torn through the wound, replacing Devan’s old arm with a new one. “Would you look at that?” He snarkily commented as he wiggled around the crimson-stained fingers of his newfound attachment.

The guardian looked more disgusted than she did impressed by Devan’s form of regeneration. “Your kind is an abomination.” She uttered with a sneer. “Which is why this ends now, before you have a chance to wreak havoc on the land.” Using both hands to grasp the center of her stave, she began twirling the weapon at a rapid rate, which in turn began the formation of a much larger portal. From the dimension that was contained within, the full body of the guardian’s dragon began to emerge into the world--its ginormous maw aimed at the position where Devan and the Herald stood. “Of course, there just had to be a dragon!” Devan sharply exclaimed--an utterance that brought a small smile to the Herald’s face. Her posture remained confident in light of the oncoming assault; though there was a hint of concern lingering on her face. In a similar manner to before, she ripped an equally large tear into the fabric of the immediate air--a portal that began consuming the dragon. That being said, it was only a temporary measure as the creature’s head simple ripped through another aspect of the room and continued its onslaught, now from their side. There was a heavy groan from the Herald, who manifested yet another portal to consume the second attack, only for the head of dragon to again reappear from another angle in the room. It was a seemingly endless cycle of appearance and consumption that left the room in a bizzare state of dimensional tears and writhing segments of the dragon’s seemingly endless body.

Beads of sweat were rapidly forming on the Herald’s brow, all while her body was growing noticeably weaker from the act of maintaining an infinite number of portals. “I can’t keep this up without my other half.” She spat in frustration, her usual humor long vanished under the strain of the current battle. “Go figure out how to disrupt her summon, NOW!” She added as a stern order towards the man at her side. Observing even her struggling came as a sign of alarm to Devan, one after another swirling vortexes were beginning to create large apertures throughout the entirety of the room, deafening roars of the mythological beast bounced erratically from each corner of the room and shook the man’s ears with tremendous force. This way by far the worst kind of position they could be in at the moment, with Herald doing her hardest to divert the Dragon and Devan hysterically trying to come up with an adequate plan but failing miserably it felt as if their days of living were numbered and fate was soon to grant them a harrowing demise, howbeit like a light flickering its way through the darkness, a luminous scheme had sparked itself through the twilight of his mind and now made its way into fruition after slyly looking back at back at Herald before giving a momentary wink and speaking. “We’re both gonna have to trust each other on this, I’ll need your help in the end.” He was admittedly nervous about doing something like this but he confided his conviction in Herald’s expertise, as the person who had rescued him from the brink of death he now felt obligated to return the favor. Time had become of the essence as he sprung into action and put his sights on the dragon whose intimidating goliath sized body nearly made him look like that of an ant in comparison as he distanced himself from the creature. “Here goes nothing.” He hated to put himself in this sort of situation but it’s not like he had any other ‘bright’ ideas, it almost seemed crazy when Devan had locked back his arm that’d still had a decapitated head still attached to its hand. At a moment’s notice, he had chucked the head through the air causing it to spin rapidly until an unnerving ‘thud’ had rung out after it had collided with the scaley creature’s face, presumably angering it more than it previously was! He was relieved that he was able to capture the creature’s attention and give a window of opportunity to Herald, yet now he was faced with an even bigger issue! A literal dragon charging at him at full-force with is mouth ajar and revealing rows upon rows of irregular teeth that could shred a person to bits. Growing larger as it closed in the distance, Devan frantically loosened his belt in a way that seemed particularly odd as the other head had hung just above his right leg and now he was positioned in a spot that was right behind the guardian but still in front of the summoned beast that lingered with death. “Now Herald!” Devan’s skin whitened as the twisted jaw of the dragon had been a few feet away from him, its warm breath felt like it was scorching his skin as he wiggled his hips to drag the belt just enough for him to punt the ghastly head back towards the woman. “It’s over.” A whisper skimmed his throat as the departed head propelled itself in a spry motion, Devan soon had tightly shut his eyes as he awaited for Herald’s salvation.

Part 2 of 3

 

[Azukai]

Devan and the Herald vs. The Watcher

“You’re a fucking idiot.” Was the only thing the Herald had to say. She was smiling as she said it, but it wasn’t a behavior she wanted to enforce in someone she had tasked herself with training. Devan wasn’t the brightest individual when it came to formulating plans, but he had a knack for making himself tantalizing bait. With a heavy sigh of relief, she released each of the portals that were keeping the dragon at bay; focusing entirely on the single portal that engulfed the chomping jaws of the dragon and redirected them back towards their master. In an instant, the body of the dragon exploded into speckles of light; forcefully de-summoned a literal second before the teeth met her with an ultimate end. The distraction of a head had done its job, the guardian was injured. Blood was pouring from several teeth-borne wounds all across her body. She fell to the ground with cries of pain, all while she used her staff as a means to keep herself upright and partially standing.

“That is a first.” The guardian uttered with spats of blood that dribbled onto the ground. “I was right to lock you in this dimension. Even if I fall, my job here is done.” Despite her wounds, there was a level of confidence that resided in her tone. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that this realm has no connection to where you came from. I’d imagine it’d take you a few centuries to figure your way back without my guidance.”

There was nothing for the Herald to deny. Everything the Guardian had said was true. It was part of the reason she hadn’t attempted an escape thus far. She was capable of connecting portals within the space itself; however, she couldn’t find a connection which reached the world outside. It was a perfect prison constructed by another user of dimensional power, and one that forced her to bite her lip out of annoyance. “Dead you can’t help us escape, alive, you’ll just continue to fight. A win-win scenario for you. I see.” The Herald’s annoyance was quickly replaced by a wave of amusement. Her usual, cheeky smile returned, just before she turned towards Devan with hope for confirmation of her conclusion. “Then we keep you alive, and we beat you down again. We’ve already spent this long stuck in purgatory, what’s another few months.” She began cracking her knuckles while grinning a diabolic grin. “We’re gonna get to know each other real well.”

Lazily fluttering his eyelids, Devan had decisively mustered up the spirit to expose his eyes to the sight that had laid out before him. “Huh?” Bewilderment underlined his unsettled tone as he brushed his palms against his chest, a subtle heartbeat had assured him that he was still alive and well but more importantly it acted as a feeling of excitement when he had pivoted around to see Herald idly standing by the broken figure who had been bleeding profusely from their own wounds. “It worked?! It worked!” Like a child being taken to an amusement park the entirety of his being had been composed of hysterical elation, triumph at long last had embraced him with a warmth that’d not been felt in ages. Devan had soon eagerly stridden his way to the likes of both of his defeated enemy and companion with a look of satisfaction pushing up his cheeks, he couldn’t help but feel ecstatic even though Herald practically saved him. “Looks like you’ve failed, it’s a shame that you can summon dragons and not limbs. Otherwise, it would make our bonding experience a lot more interesting.” Straying from his original path of true ‘justice’ and ‘good’, Devan had lacked very little compassion for the injured girl as he wholeheartedly believed that this form of retribution would serve as a ‘taste’ of his own due process for his and Herald’s wrongful conviction.

The Herald rolled her eyes in response to Devan’s actions and words. It was like watching a giddy child having found his first success at a long laboured task. Or in this case, a mentee that experienced his first taste of proper utilization of his power. All in all, the Herald was in a good mood--she was sullen that there would be little to no source of alcohol for the time being--but winning a fight was always a good source of endorphins. She waved her right hand as a means of dispelling her last, lingering portal; however, her brow soon furrowed when it failed to obey her command. Again she wove her hand, this time with extra force behind the action, but once again, the portal remain as it was. “Fuck...” Was all she managed to say before a burst of blue flames exploded along the edge of the portal.

It wasn’t a common occurance to see a wave of fear trickling down the Herald’s spine and she frantically turned towards the guardian to whom she immediately began pleading with. “You need to get us out of here, now. You can lock us in another dimensional hell later, but we have to get out of here. Close off this dimension from the world, permanently.” Her tone was forceful and lathered with extreme urgency as she spoke towards the Guardian, who only scoffed at her words. “You expect me to believe the words of a demon.” She spat alongside of another mouthful of blood and a couple forced laughs. “You are gonna have to tr--...”

The Guardian’s jest was cut short by the fact that she was forcefully lifted off the ground by the Herald. Gripping her by the collar of her jacket, she brought the guardian to eye level, while speaking with a level of authority that was unlike her usual self. “Open. The. Dimension.”

CLANK

The sound of an object striking against the ground was heard from the center of the room--from the location of the portal where an orange, armored leg had emerged from its interior. Clank, Clank, Clank, one by one additional legs began to emerge into the room; each of them just like the others, until the body among them emerged as well. With it came a wave of sinister energy, at a level that was almost nauseating to be around. It was at this point that the Guardian began rapidly nodding her head; however, it was far too late. The moment a portal expanded at her side, there was a burst of blood as her head practically exploded from a poke by the creature. It had taken the creature a blink of an eye to cross the distance between them and with it, the full force of his strength. “Trying to leave so soon?” It spoke in a masculine tone that was lathered with peculiar insect-like jitters. “How rude of you, Ashlei. I just got here.”

“Nergal.” The Herald spat, whilst dropping the headless corpse of the once-living guardian. “What brings you around these parts.” There was forced laughter in her voice, as she attempted to fake a cordial attitude. The crack in her voice was, however, a dead giveaway to her fear, and one that did not escape the creature’s observations. “You seem nervous, child.” The creature known as Nergal began. “I merely come to validate your progress. It was a challenge. Splitting dimensions away from the source of your powers did well in leading me astray. It was a fun game of cat and mouse, but now, the time for games are over.” The creature had little intentions of harming the Herald, yet she couldn’t help but flinch when he reached over and caressed the top of her head. “Show me, child. How has the subjugation gone.”

There was a moment of silence as the Herald hesitated to give her answer. Instead, she exhaled a heavy sigh, and with a flick of her finger, manifested a small, human sized portal directly at Devan’s rear. “RUN.” She screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping Devan would, for once, be smart enough to listen. Nergal was fast. He immediately burst towards the direction of the portal, however, he was quickly intercepted by the Herald. Using the full strength she had available, she jumped in front of the creature’s fist, and grasped it with both of her hands. Nergal’s advances came to a stop, yet the shockwave of their collision slammed against Devan and sent him flying through the portal at his rear. Unlike the blow he had partially sustained from the Guardian, the mere backdraft of Nergal’s fist was enough to render him partially senseless. And it was in such a state that he began plummeted through the Herald’s dimension.

For a moment, the blinding light of the sun would have enveloped his vision, just as its warmth would have embraced his body. And like that, he would have drifted away; into whatever nightmares that were due to haunt the upcoming dreams of his unconsciousness.

Part 3 of 3

 

[Solemn Jester]

Tom B. Stone

Tom stood there, ignoring all but the voice or his pathetic former subordinate speaking through the phone. It was clear he was nervous, as he should have been. The veins in his head throbbing, jaw locking, the knuckles of his free hand had turned white from pure rage. As Clown finished speaking Tom's fury was painfully obvious to those around him. Hell, his eyes had just about rolled into the back of his skull from sheer rage.

"Listen here you little shit. If I see you again you won't have a chance to speak. I'll have Spike rip off your limbs for an afternoon snack, then I'll take a flamethrower to your stumps so you don't bleed to death. After that, I'll lock you up with Diana until you're pissing blood, and crying lick the little bitch you are." Tom was angrier than he had ever been seen before. He looked as if he could erupt into a pure wave of destruction at a pins drop. Of course he would heard Clowns deal out. But he meant his threats. Clown was not going to have it easy if this didn't please Tom. " I have no doubt you're so incompetent that you'd lose all that money. But if you think for a second I give two shits about what happened you're sorely mistaken my "FRIEND" if you want back into my good graces you best have one hell of a deal for me, and I better need you alive for it." He figured he would agree to meeting with Clown. It would at least give him a chance at revenge should this deal not be to his standards. Hell he might break a few of Clowns bones even if it did go well.


" Be waiting, if you don't show up. I'll personally rain hell down upon you. You can't hide from me, you can't run. I am your own personal Fury. Sent from hades to torment you for the rest of eternity. Or in your case, your very short life if this isn't to my liking." Tom snarled into his phone. His breathing heavy as he slowly calmed down."I'll be there. So you better he there. In person! Otherwise the deal will be off, and the hunt will begin. So don't disappoint me Clown. Spike has missed you oh so much." With that he hung up, turning to Diana and Butterfly girl. He cleared his throat, straightening his collar which had gotten a bit ruffled during the fight, and even more so during his raging over the phone." I have an appointment to make. So I'll be seeing you later. Have fun with your...ahem...friend. I'll call you a ride from our base. Bye love you." With that, he grabbed the car keys and jumped on in. He could have just used Spike to speed run it. But that would draw attention. Which he didn't need right now.



He switched on the radio, changing it to the station airing the big Dominion announcement. He sat back as he drove down the road. Looking forward to seeing his old friend again. Even if it was only because he relished the thought of squeezing the life out of his pathetic form. While driving enjoying the scenery Tom nearly ran off the road when he heard the announcement. The car came to a screech as it halted right before the muddy hole that would be his grave had he wrecked the new car. The crash wouldn't have killed him. But Diana would have absolutely murdered him. But the announcement shocked him at first. Then slowly but surely, he was sent into a hysterical fit of laughter. Tears streaming down his face at how ridiculous this new proposal was. Still wiping tears from his face he started back towards the city. Soon to be reunited with his old pal..oh how much fun that would be. There would surely be many tears. All Clowns tears of course.


After listening intently to the announcement. Mostly going as he would expect a sudden peace proposal from a newly appointed Bishop to go. So not well, but it was a good distraction for him. So by the time they had met up at the location he had calmed enough that Spike was snoozing beneath his clothing patently waiting for when Tom would call upon him. Tom walked into the cafe, which was oddly empty at least as far as this particular cafe was concerned. It still had a decent amount of people. Enough that Tom couldn't murder Clown without killing them as well. Although that wasn't much of a task considering the low number. Unfortunately for Clown the big Dominion announcement had drawn the attention of most of the cities resident. So this wasn't the cafe's busiest day. Although Tom wouldn't murder anyone who didn't deserve it. So Clown was safe, for now.


Boss Sinny The Fool Depresso Espresso

 

[Kiosk]

Janaiya Wilkinson​

She backed away, in some vain attempt to try to distance herself away from the scene.

The cracking of bones made her never want to hear again, and the look on Yue's face was enough to make her never want to see. Eyes quickly drain of life as she's quite literally ripped apart. It was all happening so fast, she found herself moving in slow motion watching a lifeless body fall to the ground, there was no time to express her grief, no time to even think. Tearing her eyes away from her friend, she raised her arm trying to will herself to move but found her body not responding.

The dagger found her arm, though, and with a thonk, and the pain and panic brought her back. While the sounds of ribs cracking and the images of the life drain from Yue's face still repeated over and over in the back of her mind. She willed herself to go through the motions, as her mind tried to wonder back to somewhere that wasn't here.

As the assassin came forward with their dagger, she watched the blade approach.

Images of Yue and her training flashed back to her mind.

It was a nice day out, Janaiya couldn't remember anything specific about that day but it was nice. She could almost feel the breeze, even now.
Tuzi had Yue equipped with a fake knife pointing at Janaiya. Their mentor gave Yue a nod and she ran forward, towards Janaiya, thrusting the fake weapon forward-

She moved herself backwards, leaning forward to grab the arm with the dagger, pushing it downwards drawing the attacker slightly off balance. She winced, the bastard managed to nick her through the dress.

Tuzi gave a nod, guiding Janaiya's hands-

Tightening her grip, she quickly moved to the side of the assailant and abruptly twisted their arm behind their back then using all the weight a six foot feather weight could muster to get them on the ground. She caught her breath as she sat on top of them.

Janaiya hopped off Yue and helped her up while Tuzi smiled in approval telling them to switch now. She remembered giving a half-assed apology as Yue complained about her arm.

Janaiya frowned and slowly, she grabbed the arm by the elbow and began pushing it into an unnatural position, against the body that pushed back trying to resist this, against the bone that slowly and surely would just... She could swear she could see the bone separating from it's socket as she laid her weight into this person's arm. Pushing it further and further until-

Pop.

Like the nose, she felt it, but this was more like a quick jerk and then it gives in. She expected to feel sick but instead just felt...unsatisfied. She released it, watching the arm uselessly fall away, with a look of surprise on her face.

Azukai

 

[Azukai]

Kiosk (indirect TerraBooma Randomfella Boss )

The assassin stumbled backwards with vocal cries of pain. After finding success in stabbing Yue, he had underestimated his next target--a fact that left him with a disability in the form of his mangled arm. And he wasn't the only one. All across the room, assassins were either falling victim to the blade or injured, attempting to retreat away from the battle. At first, they had taken the upper hand through their cloaked, surprise attacks; however, now that the Si Xiang were adjusted to their strikes, there was a significant difference in combative ability that turned the tides in favor of the clans. That being said, the battle between the two clan leaders and the unveiled combatant continued to rage on. All parties were showing signs of general fatigue--in particular Tuzi and the Dragon leader whose powers were proving useless for the fight. Whatever energy that surrounded the enemy was capable of nullifying the elemental basis of their power; hence leaving them entirely reliant on their hand-to-hand and combat proficiency. "Against us, you're strong, bud. But you're running out of men. Pretty soon it's gonna be you versus this entire room. You ain't gonna win that one." There was a hint of desperation in Tuzi's voice as she attempted to reason with the man in front of her. In the end, however, it was entirely futile as he merely scoffed before lunging forward with another power-infused fist. She groaned before leaping into the air, letting the Dragon intercept the strike with his massive bulk and raw strength. Using elevation to her advantage, Tuzi immediately sent a downward flurry of lighting-infused daggers; however, their momentum was immediately rendered null by an explosion of blue aura that expanded past the enemy's body. For what felt like the hundredth time since the start of the fight, all parties disengaged and were soon standing ready for the next potential attack--something that never came.

There was a small ping that filled the air--a transmission that the enemy was receiving through the communicator in his ear. The message lasted all of a few seconds, before he was soon signaling to the others that it was time to retreat. All exits to the room were blocked off; which is why the assassins turned to the ceiling using the grappling systems that were attached to their arms. It was an efficient escape, and one that was near full proof when combined with their cloaking. What was once an active battlefield, was now an aftermath of corpses. There had been numerous casualties on both sides; however, of them, Yue's was the most notable. Tuzi had been quick to return to the courtroom floor, only to be greeted with the dying state of her pupil. In the field, she wasn't one to show much emotion; thus, she distracted herself by jumping straight into action. Yue wasn't dead; she was, however, in a critical state that required immediate care if there was any chance of her survival. With a burst of electricity, she quickly scooped the girl into her arms and began her lightning sprint towards the medical ward of the Si Xiang. The entire process took less than a minute, before Yue was rushed into emergency by the medical professionals of the Sheep. "I'm sorry." She whispered in a somber tone, right before returning back to the courtroom where Janaiya remained.

"I'm sorry. None of this should have happened. I-I..." Tuzi was at a lost for words, having returned to Janaiya's side. All she had ever wanted for the girls was the best she could have offered. Being kept hostage by the Si Xiang had been bad enough, potentially losing the life of someone, that was an absolute failure in her role as their mentor. "Hate me if you want, hate all of us. All I can say is that the Sheep Clan are some of the best medical professionals in the world. They will do their absolute best for her."

At that moment, there were several pops that led into a burst of smoke directly in front of Janaiya and Tuzi. Two individuals emerged from the smoke; both of them wearing leather attire that was highly reminiscent of a transitional ninja. "A report, clan leader. It is urgent." Tuzi quickly nodded as a signal for them to continue. "Speak for everyone to hear." Having received permissions to continue, one of the agents exhaled a heavy sigh before continuing with his report. "Our outer barrier has fallen. We have a reason to believe that the Watcher is dead..."

The effect of the words were immediate. The entire room fell into utter silence, while members of the Dragon clan were left in a state of disbelief. It didn't take long before they were soon screaming for further details; something that never came as Tuzi took control of the conversation with the agents. "Contact the Elite immediately." The agents immediately gave her a nod of confirmation, all while explaining the details of their prior accomplishments. "We have already contacted Kaivant. He is on his way. He also mentioned that he is bringing several hosts. I believe Camilla, Sam, Nikki, and Lucy were their names."

"If Kaivant has approved them, then they have clearance. Continue the investigation on the Watcher at once." Tuzi's final order was to the point, and with another puff of smoke the agents were gone. She then turned to Janaiya, to whom she gave an apologetic smile. "You'll have to be on your own. As a clan leader, I will have to join the investigation. You may return to the clan house or assist clean-up as you wish." And with that, she was gone.

 

[Boss]

Camilla Ferrari

​

Afternoon
Brookfield | Alleyway => Streets => Highway​

Through the streets, between traffic, and onto the highway; the speedster was well on her way back to the village to deliver what information she gathered. As the world around her was nothing but the rapid flashing of lights and colors, heavy thoughts weighed on her mind. Her father was actually alive - a fact that she wanted to relish for hours - but the mention of a trial being concluded only begged caution before her emotions took a hold of her. What was she to do? How would she discover the outcome of this trial? These thoughts blinded her from the reality that her conscious began to slip, even as she traveled well past the sound barrier. Before she knew it, the world grew dark around her as what felt like a weight had been put around her soul.

Spoiler: ...

“There comes a time, when even the greatest of warriors must take a step back from the turmoils of life.” It was a booming voice that drew consciousness back to Camilla; though it was not within the confines of the village that she returned unto--at least not in the same sense. She was resting on a bamboo mat that stretched across the wooden floor of a traditional hut. It was open, free of any walls, which in turn allowed for an open view to the empty, surrounding village. From the heavens, fell a torrential downpour of rain that was accompanied by violent rumbles of thunder which shook the very foundation of the structure. All across the purple sky, bolts of lightning streaked at rapid intervals--occasionally striking against the surrounding huts, many of which were already on fire. Curled into a ball, next to Camilla, was a white tiger who gazed at her face from the corner of its yellow eyes--the source of the words who had awoken her to its limbo. “Tell me, dear child. What troubles you so?”


“I thought you’d have a rough idea.” she replied as her eyes opened to the peaceful, yet chaotic nature of what she could only assume was Byakko’s limbo. It was a strange transition - one moment she was blazing past the world that stood at a standstill, next thing she knew, she was inside of a oddly constructed hut. Seeing the white tiger at her side only reminded her of her deeds not long ago. “I am a murderer, an unreliable friend, a foolish leader, and a sorry excuse of a daughter. I don’t even know what I am, what I’m meant to be, or if I can even be trusted.” There was no point in being dishonest with Byakko. As strange as it was, she felt like she could truly vent her frustrations with the beast more can she could with a familiar face like Sam, or even her own father.


In response to her words, the tiger began to chuckle, a low rumble that was a mix between laughter and a purr. “Look around you, child. Does this look like a happy place? The emptiness, the destruction, the chaos--all of seeds sown by the one before you.” There was a low growl as the beast rose to its feet and stretched out its body to its full width. From head to tail, it was at least ten feet long, in addition to its towering height that surpassed six feet. There was a small rumble and a flash of lighting for each step that it walked forward, up towards the edge of the hut where it began observing the destruction which surrounded it. “The state of this limbo has grown worse, understandably so. The world has not treated you kindly, dear child. The weight of your fathers rest upon your shoulders, and upon those who surround you. Yet with such responsibility comes no guidance. As you say, you are foolish, inept, and confused; though those are not faults, but rather stars to guide you along the path you must forge.”


Immediately following the conclusion of its speech, there was a bellowing roar that erupted from Byakko’s body and sent an earth-shattering rumble that stretched across the skies. In doing so, the tiger’s fur was instantly electrified--not with his own power, but rather with gifts that had been bestowed upon Camilla. In the moment, she would have felt the most human she had ever, with only a small fraction of her Zodiac energy radiating within herself. “Far in the distance are the mountains which surround this village. There you will find your destiny.”


As if to confirm what had been done, she observed the way the lightning bounced between her fingers with far less energy and vigor as it once did. For the first time in what felt like forever, she couldn’t follow the trails of lightning with her own eyes - a natural talent that came with superspeed. Despite the loss of power, she wasn’t upset with the Zodiac. If his words weren’t obvious enough, this was Byakko’s version of a test. Camilla balled her hand into a fist and rose, scanning the distant land beyond the village that surrounded the hut. “Right, off I go then..” she declared, mostly to herself, before she set out into the flaming village.


Traversing through the burning village brought flashbacks of her earliest memories when the great war still waged across the planet. The flames that stretched into the sky looked a lot like the ones she gawked at in fear so many years ago. Though visions of her younger self dragging Logan along had sprinted past her, Camilla kept her eyes forward in all attempts to block out the elements that fueled her nightmares.


On an ordinary day, the walk to the mountains might have been an enjoyable one; however, under the torrential rain and the stoneless path, it was nothing but misery for the kimono-wearing girl. All in all, without her speed, it took a significant amount of time for her to reach the base of the mountain, and by the point in time, her lower dress and legs were covered in a layer of mud. To make matters worse, the closer she approached the mountain side, it became increasingly more obvious that there was a lack of a well-traversed trail. There was, however, a peculiar sight--a heavily bundled lady who was sitting under a tree and shivering from her drenched state of being. Everything she wore was an expectation of a feudal, asian elder--in this case an old lady equipped with nothing more than her bamboo hat and the cane at her side.


By the time Camilla reached this point, it felt like she had expended half of her stamina. The truth was that walking along paved ground was a lot easier than sinking mud and wearing a kimono atop being speedless only made that fact that much more obvious. Her march through the mud stopped when she spotted the older lady reclined under the shelter of a single tree. Truth be told, she had no idea that anyone else was here aside from Byakko and herself. Was this woman a resident of the village back there?


However, the girl didn’t ask these questions - at least not at first. Instead of continuing her journey into the forested area that blanketed the side of the mountain, Camilla took this time to help the old woman. Standing in front of a separate tree, she channeled what little supernatural energy she had into her entire arm, which she then used to gather kindle with her vibrated arm. A few minutes passed, but in the end, Camilla dropped an armful of severed wood and kindle beside the elder. Arranging the kindle atop the wood, she lit a spark that bounced between her fingers and nurtured it into a small fire. It was the first time she had to make a fire, and inwardly she thanked the village teacher; Mrs. Pepper, for the invaluable lesson.


With her back against the tree and the fire separating the young from the old, Camilla felt it best to speak now. “That was your village, wasn’t it?”


“Was.” The elder’s response was short and gruff. She was more concerned with approaching the warmth of the fire than holding a conversation with Camilla. Nonetheless, after several moments passed by and the fire had begun to warm her bones, she opened her mouth and began to speak once more. “There was order once in these lands. Vibrant, peaceful, the life an old woman would want to retire and die too. Now look at it, everything is gone. The youth and adults have gone up the mountain, joined the bandits. There is no order left, no sense of a honor...” For the first time in the night, the elderly woman rose her head to look at Camilla. It was a heavily aged face that gave her an appearance that stretched far beyond her nineties, but still visible were the tears welling within the wrinkles surrounding her eyes. “He promised us safety, stability, but he had to up and die. And since then, look at us. Look at me. It’s all that’s left.”


Camilla’s eyes hid behind the veil of her hair. An overwhelming sense of guilt flooded her being, and she couldn’t bring herself to meet the old woman’s gaze when she replied. “I was the one who took him from you-.. from all of you...”


The lady gruffed loudly and interrupted Camilla in the middle of her apology. “Bah, and even if you were, what good does telling me that do now. You came from the village, yeah? There’s nothing left, not a vicarious soul to even rebuild it.” There were several groans as the elder attempted to rise to her feet, using her cane to shoulder the majority of her weight. “I thank you for the warmth, but what use are you to me now, coming to me with your sniffling apologies.” There was another gruff, and with that, she began hobbling down the road. There was nothing more she had to say.


The woman was right. What was the point in apologizing now when the deed had been done and the consequences had been wrought? Camilla began to understand the reasoning behind Byakko’s test. Actions spoke louder than words. Anyone could apologize, but few actually worked to remedy the damage they caused. Pushing herself up, Camilla extinguished the fire with a brief punt of mud and resumed her path to the top of the mountain.

The trek up the side of the mountain was far worse than the walk to its base. The original trail had been long lost to the elements, while the thick layers of mud were testament to the fact of longer-term rain. Each step was a battle for Camilla, and one that threatened to plummet her back down if she were to slip and fall. There were certain benefits that came with having powers--luxuries that were often undervalued until the moment one needed them the most. Minutes went by, soon it would have felt like hours, and all Camilla would have to show for herself was half the distance to the peak. The underbrush was growing far more dense, just as the weather was growing colder by the second. For someone wearing nothing more than the kimono, the rain mixed with the low temperatures was an absolute disaster. Thankfully, it was at this point in time that a flicker of lights became obvious in the distance. At the maw of a cavern that was positioned on a small plane, several feet above her head, were two adults that hovered under the cover of the crevice, with torches in their hands. They were dressed in an all-encompassing cloak, while whispering to each other under their breaths.


As she was nearly reduced to crawling, Camilla wanted to call out for help, but before any words could escape her, her mind recalled the mention of bandits further up the mountain. It was all she needed to keep silent and refrain from giving away her presence. Utilizing what strength she had, she shuffled behind the trunk of a tree and chose to catch a word or

two to either confirm or abolish her suspicions of the two being bandits. That being said, there voices were muffled by the rain, and it wasn’t easy to make out every word spoken they spoke. That being said, she was able to make out enough words to confirm their identity as bandits. Scouts...reported...new traveler...up...mountain...increase...guards.


Panic welled up inside Camilla. She was already expected? The mere fact that someone spotted her along the trail without her noticing made her uneasy. Nevertheless, the threat the bandits posed was real. Without her superspeed, Camilla would have to rely on her martial arts training she received from sparring with Colt. She could handle a bow to some degree but lacked the know-how to forge an effective one from scratch. Luckily, she had been practicing her own form of ranged combat over the last two months that thankfully didn’t require too much effort or supernatural prowess.


Silently, Camilla stuck her hands into the mud beneath her and fished for coin-sized objects, to the extent where she ended up with a handful of pebbles as a result. At this point she was nearly covered in mud, but it gave her an idea to help increase her chances of survival.While one hand held all the rocks she could gather, she used the other to camouflage her entire form in mud. It was gross and extremely chilling, but at least she could get a little closer before taking her shots.


From that point forward, Camilla crept from tree to tree, inching ever so closer to the duo whilst remaining silent and low as she moved. Her eyes locked onto them like a predator stalking its prey. Once she had gotten close enough to feel confident in her aim, she focused electricity into her pebble-carrying hand and flung several pebbles out towards the patrol like bullets.


There were two sucesscent thunks as each pebble slammed against the heads of the guards. Under normal circumstances, the blows might have been enough to kill them both; however, with her reduced power, they were nothing more than a short nap, with an unpleasant headache to follow. Past the guards, there were no further defenses for quite some time. The cave itself wasn’t very complex to begin with. It was a narrow path that led deep into the mountain, until it eventually began to widen into an open, circular space. There were far more lights thanks to the plethora of torches that lined the walls, in addition to people; all of which who were cloaked and were sitting amongst a large, round table that was centered on the cavern floor. There was a commotion amongst them, a heated argument that concerned the state of the nearby village.


“There’s nothing left to draw traffic to these parts. The never-ending storm which surrounds us has guaranteed that fact.”


“Well, we did have a source to leech off of, up until a certain somebody allowed the remaining villagers to join our merry band.”


“And what would that have changed. The storm has destroyed everything. All that’s left for us to move on to better lands. Better pickins’.”


Before she had tread into the cave, Camilla had shaken herself free of mud and liberated one of the guardsmen of their cloak in efforts to blend in with any other bandits. She was glad to have done so, as the sheer number of bandits inside the cave would’ve proven to be troublesome to take on. With nothing but the upper half of her face visible, she took a mental note of the number of people around the table, hoping that with accuracy, she could take them all out without too much of a commotion.


She shuffled off to the side, hoping to locate a path that would allow her to continue on her journey to her ‘destiny’ as Byakko put it. “And what do we have here.” A voice teased from behind her, as a man emerged from the surface of the rocky wall and pulled Camilla’s arms into a tight hold. He was wearing a cloak that was perfectly fitted for camouflaging against rock--an element that was only heightened under the dimmer torch light. He was surprisingly strong, almost too strong for a human, as he began directing her towards the center of the room. There, he tossed her onto the surface of the table, where she instantly became the spectacle of the crowd. Many of the cloaked figures began to murmur amongst themselves; however, it was her original captor that opted to talk. “So there was another one of you left, or perhaps someone from afar? Might we ask what brings you sneaking about our parts?”


“Tch-..” Clicking her teeth in frustration, her natural response was to put up a facade. “Those guys up front warned me about the idiot in the band-..” Rising up on top of the table, she continued her ruse. “..Or is this how you always greet recruits?” In the event that her audience didn’t buy her play, she kept the remaining pebbles clenched within her fist.


“Yes, yes, yes. You shift blame to your captors, and then if that doesn’t work you lash out and attempt a noble escape. Seen it before.” The man concluded his perfect explanation of Camilla’s plan with a yawn. “That at least answers my question, you aren’t from the village, which circles us back to a better suited question. Why are you infiltrating us?” A sigh escaped her. There goes that plan-- it died as quickly as it came to her. “Does it matter?”


“Ah, again with the attempt at mind games.” This time the man began to chuckle. For being her captor and an apparent leader of bandits, he was quite the cheerful person--whether that was for the better or the worse. “Or perhaps, that was a far more genuine answer than ever before. You see to me, it feels like you spoke from your a soul a bit. You were hired to deal with us, us being a local problem in the area. But now that you’re here, captured so easily, you realize you’re weak. Of course, I’d wager you’re actually quite strong, but hey, trying to back pedal your way out of here is always the easier way...” He paused for a moment to climb onto the table, where he seated himself cross-legged on its surface. “I’d also wager that you met the ol’ geezer down below. I imagine she tried to sell you some sob story on the state of the place, and noble ol’ you got fired up to help her. But all of this circles us back to reality, where you are in a sticky situation, with no way out, and us with the power to kill you as we please. So let’s try this again, why are you infiltrating us.”


“Well, you pretty much answered your own question, but you’re wrong about one thing.” With her free hand, Camilla removed the cloak that did little to conceal her identity. “The old lady didn’t hire me. This area never belonged to you or your gang, so I’m evicting you all.” Following her declaration of intent, Camilla fired a pebble towards her captor and readied herself for the onslaught that never came. One second before the rock was due to strike against his forehead, the cloaked man caught the projectile between his fingers and began twirling it throughout his hand. Again, he began laughing, though with more intensity from the time before. “We were already leaving. There is nothing left for us in the village. I’m sorry to say that you’ve wasted your time coming this far. See yourself out when your ready.” With his final declaration, he hopped from the table and signaled for the others to follow in suit. One by one, the other cloaked figures began to rise from their chairs, where they stood waiting for their leader’s next directive. “Hmph.” the girl pouted. “Yeah, go ahead and run.” she muttered, clearly annoyed at the lack of her own strength. Something told her that wasn’t the last time she’d see that man, who was their apparent leader. Camilla could only hope that she’d have her speed by then, but for now, she was content with simply being able to advance to the summit, embarrassed or not.


Underneath the cloak, the man only smiled in response to Camilla’s taunts. He turned to give her a quick bow, before beckoning for the others to follow him out. While his crew began to pour through the only exit, the man came to a sudden halt--long enough for him to speak a quick farewell, before continuing along with the rest of them. “Give her my regards. She was kind to us back then. It’s a pity the times have sent us our separate ways.”


Turning her back to the gang and hopping off of the table in the opposite direction, Camilla chose not to acknowledge the man, though his words did stir her curiosity at the least. In order to press on, Camilla needed to be able to find the path that allowed her to reach the top. However, she couldn’t do it in pitch darkness, so she unhinged a torch perched on the cave’s wall and continued her search. That being said, she was quickly interrupted by the brush of fur against her skin, and the low growl which signaled Byakko’s sudden appearance. “That is enough for today, my child. The world requires your presence, and die not, you must here.” There was a sudden rush of energy her Zodiac powers began to rush into her body, and with that her vision faded to black--this time her conscious reawakening her back where she started - traveling far past the sound barrier on a busy highway road.

The jarring transition threw her off balance, and Camilla nearly slammed into the grill of a truck like an insect had it not been for a wild course-correction to her left. With the speed she carried, Camilla was flung off of the road into the surrounding forest at over a thousand miles per hour. There, she tumbled across the ground, miraculously missing everything but bushes and branches as she came to a halt on the forest flora. Staring past the treetops to the afternoon sky, she could do naught but groan in pain for several minutes. The entirety of her encounter with Byakko must have only taken a fraction of a second or less, which was not unlike her original ‘Limbo’ she often retreated to for solitude.


With regained strength and the pain subsided, she rose to her feet, got her bearings, and continued on her route to the village.

COLLABORATION POST 1/1
Azukai Boss​

 

[Boss]

Camilla Ferrari| Sam Sarith | Lucy Black | NIKKY VIOLE

Meanwhile..
​

Afternoon
Host Village
Inn | Lounge​

Sam sat at the table with the others in the tavern, he held a very...tired look on his face. The veteran host was drained from his experience. Maybe the missing weeks were catching up with him, or maybe the adrenaline of the last few hours had finally been wearing off. He rubbed his temples as he tried to gather his strength, this wouldn’t have been the first time he operated while tired, and he figured it wouldn't be the last. He sipped on a drink he’d ordered and his mouth had been full at the time Camilla suggested she scouted.


Before he could swallow to open his mouth, or even do a spit-take, she was off, the smell of ozone the only indicator of her presence, much to the dismay of the younger woman beside him. “No, w-wait!” A soft peep erupted from Lucy, her arm stretching out weakly toward the door, but all that remained was a strong gust of air, the girl’s head looking down in a drab of defeat. “I hate when she does that…” Her mind echoed.

Nikky looked towards the exit seconds too late, furrowing her eyebrows, “Well damn.”


“Ca-! Gah. Dammit.” Sam sighed, looking slightly more weary than before. “She better come back okay…” He murmured, a look of concern on his face. From the way he carried himself, and the tone of his voice, it’d be easy to tell his concern was genuine, heartfelt. You could say a lot of things about Sam, but the fact of the matter was that he cared about Camilla. He made a nod to Nikki, he wanted to ask her some questions, but for now...if Camilla had made a friend, he had some more pressing matters.


“So hey. It’s...Lucy, right?” The girl’s worried expression tilted upward toward him in response. “Sorry if I’m a bit out of it. Head isn’t where it should be. You know where Dom is? We should report to him when Camilla gets back. He’ll want to keep in the loop.” He chuckled, thought by Lucy’s sudden change in expression, she wasn’t exactly pleased with the question. “And I should tell him I’m back. Like I said, Sam Sarith’s the name. Depending on who you ask, I’m either Dom’s second or third, but that changes pretty often. How’s the village treating you?”


A small sigh escaped Lucy, though she tried to hide it, her eyes moving around Sam’s chest, doing their best to avoid his gaze. “They’re… Nice…” Was all she could muster in response, unsure herself of how she herself really felt about the place, her mind clouded by the man’s other statements. Second in command to a monster like that? Why would I know where he is? Probably off terrorizing more of the world. The words flowed through her mind like a spoken rant. One that a part of her told her to let out, yet her own fear of confrontation, and unsure of the way those within the village would react, kept her quiet. “I- I don’t know.” She whispered, looking toward the center of the table woefully, her mind unsure if it should be upset that he would want to see Dominic, or worried about Camilla’s brief exit. “After Brookfield, after Camilla… I don’t think she’s seen him since.”


“Brookfield? Camilla did something?” Sam cocked his head, looking concerned. Nikky hummed slightly, becoming increasingly more interested in her hands as she listened to the two. Lucy’s eyes widening in fear of her own words, though she soon calmed as he continued. “He vanished into thin air again then eh? Probably off doing some kind of recon…” He had a thoughtful look on his face, but that didn’t stop him from noting Lucy’s discomfort. “Hey...I know you’ve probably been through a lot lately. Am I making you uneasy? I can give you some space if you like.” He gave her a kind smile. “Just tell me to stop bugging you, it’s not a big deal.”


“It’s fine.” She lied softly, clasping her hands together as her fingers twiddled nervously. If it wasn’t for his familiarity with Samantha and Camilla, the girl likely wouldn’t have been able to muster the courage of a simple response. “I-I’m just worried about her. She can be… Hasty.” Lucy noted, attempting to lead the conversation away from her own state, though the words she spoke were certainly sincere.


To that, Sam chuckles. “Tell me about it. I’ve known the girl since she could crawl, but she’s always been one to jump before she looks. And since...she’s got speed as fast as she does, she tends to get pretty far before looking.” Sam shrugged helplessly and the dark skinned woman couldn’t help but smile to herself, the girl beside her unable to hide a slight one of her own, sounded familiar enough. “But she’s a good girl. She has a good heart too. She reminds me a bit of Dom and myself when we were kids, just trying to save our friends at our high school from getting mauled by angry hollows.” Sam looked thoughtful. “If I had it my way though, Camilla wouldn’t ever have to fight something though. Hollows...are scary things. I hope she never has to go through the things we did. But that’s why people like you and her are here now...so you can live your lives peacefully. I’m glad she’s making friends now...she’d been closing herself off since her brother died.” At that, Lucy’s slight smile too, died, reminded of Camilla’s haunting past, her eyes staring back toward the centre of the table.


Nikky’s eyes lit up for a moment, drawing her back from the memories of school days with Hotaru. Internally, she was glad she never had the chance to bring Camilla’s brother up. Of course, it did seem odd to her she had never seen him around. She sat back in her chair, it was clear to her Lucy was hiding something, and perhaps it was because the girl was so mousy or Nikky was just trying to be polite like Sam but she didn’t press further as the conversation lulled. She looked towards the two of them, her expression turning serious, “Listen, neither of you are obliged to follow me, I’ll go myself. I really appreciate what Camila is doing but at the same time I honestly don’t understand why she feels the need to do this but I’m thankful nonetheless. Y’all don’t need to do anything else, much less follow me into trouble.”


Sam shakes his head. “Nikky, it’s been awhile, but I stick by the old team. Your hellhole is my hellhole.” The woman flashed a small smile, “Thanks Sam.” To that notion, Lucy’s mind drifted. There was no way Camilla would refuse to help the woman, especially considering her relation to Dominic, Lucy had countless experience of the girl’s nature in that respect. A slight sideways movement of the nervous girl’s mouth, she pondered her own selfishness, though it wasn’t only herself she worried for. The girl opened her mouth. “Sh-”


It was at that point that the conversation was interrupted by the brief creak of the Inn’s front door swinging ajar by Camilla’s doing. Immediately the difference in her expression was apparent - she had left relatively spry in light of the situation only to return with an air of solemn darkness surrounding her, one that Lucy couldn’t help but stare toward, her entire body swinging around to face the older girl. Unbeknownst to Sam, Nikky, nor even Lucy; Camilla had partaken in an event outside of the meet with Kaivant which presented its own unique set of issues. It was worrying enough to show on her face even though Camilla didn’t even realize it. With a brief scan of the lounge and it’s lack of inhabitants outside of those three and a couple of patrons, she felt the need to guard the upcoming topic, for its nature was too sensitive to discuss openly. “..Wasn’t exactly ten minutes.” She admitted sheepishly with a forced smile.

COLLABORATION POST 1/2
TerraBooma Randomfella Kiosk Boss​

 

[Boss]

Camilla Ferrari| Sam Sarith | Lucy Black | NIKKY VIOLE

​

Afternoon
Host Village
Inn | Lounge​

Sam looked relieved that she had arrived, he’d been starting to stand up to pace. “Hey. Don’t worry me like that, okay kid?” He forced his own smile, but he looked concerned. “What happened? You look...off. Like that time you broke your toy pony.” Genuine concern broached his voice. Scoffing at the mention of much simpler days, Camilla approached the group at the table, unsure of how to convey the information she had learned or what to even begin with. “I saw Kaivant.” she started, flashing a glance towards Nikky first, the woman had been quietly watching her using every bit of her patience to not ask. “He led me to believe that Janaiya’s in China.”

Nikky simply placed her head in her hands and sighed, that confirmation was all she needed to calm her heart.


“Any information as to how she’s being held? Guards? Security detail?” Sam spoke with a thoughtful look on his face before he looked to Nikky. “You and I could be in and out in 10 minutes if she’s got a proper location. You still got any fighting power?”

She smiled, “I’m not sure if you remembered my previous zodiac, but I think Neil and I will be a good fit.”


He nods. “Sounds good to me. Now someone tell me where the hell Dom is, and we can get some of the old gang back together. It’s not quite sleuthing through high school, but this’ll be good.” Sam pushed off the tired wave that overtook him, though it was starting to physically show.

Nikky scoffed, “Oh I’m sure he’ll love to see me again.”

“What’re the details Camilla?”


“It’s.. not that simple.” she dejected. “Janaiya isn’t a host - The Dominion knows that. They’re keeping her for some other reason.” Regardless of the situation, Sam didn’t shy away from a fight against the Dominion; It was problematic considering the deal that was struck to keep the village out of harm’s way. Launching an attack on anything Dominion-owned would undoubtedly invalidate the under-the-table ceasefire that Camilla managed to achieve. This risk was a product of Sam’s ignorance towards her plight during her time away from the village, and Camilla knew that at some point she’d have to tell him.


“Kaivant offered us the chance to find out why, without bloodshed. This means he’ll have to come too.” Camilla lasting words were moreso directed towards Sam, as their last meeting nearly ended in a fight between the two. “I’m coming too. There’s something I want to confirm..” A sharp intake of air flowed into Lucy’s nostrils audibly as Camilla announced that.


“What? No fucking chance.” The hostility on Sam’s face was clearly directed at Kaivent, but it applied to...most of what Camilla had said. “Of course they’re holding onto Janaiya. She’s related to Nikky. They’re trying to flush her out and kill her, just like the rest of us, especially since she’s part of the original team.”

Nikky was quick to interject, “Well I don’t know about me being that important, but she did get into this mess because of me. It is weird she’s being held nonetheless...”

He shook his head. “So that confirms it’s a trap, but we’ll just have to go fight our way through it anyway. Which should be doable as long as we cut ties with that asshole now. Kaivent’s just going to knife us in the back as soon as the mission starts.” He sighed. “And...I know you want to come, but new body or not. You’re still a kid. You haven’t been in a fight before, and if I have it my way, you’ll never have to be.” His angry gaze softens a bit. “The whole point is so you guys don’t have to fight. To have...the normal lives we never could.” Nikky quietly stared down at her drink with a wistful expression.


Camilla shook her head in firm disagreement. “...-If there is any chance that we can resolve things peacefully, we need to take it - no matter how unlikely it is-..” Her fists clenched. “And no, Sam-...” Her tone began to tremble under her breath. “..I’m not a kid anymore.. I’ve killed, and it won’t be the last time. I’m not the same girl you’ve helped raise, so you don’t have to protect me from the world anymore.”


“You...what?” Sam’s face immediately fell. It turned from one of anger, to one of sadness mixed with anger at himself. “I...Camilla, I’m sorry. If I hadn’t vanished…” His fists clenched at his side, he had been a failure then anyway. “You shouldn’t have needed to do that.” Despite not knowing the circumstances, he had to believe it had been her only option. “But...you don’t understand. The Dominion doesn’t want peace. I tried for years. They just...keep killing. My friends...the people I love. Even-” He paused, forcing himself to avoid the subject. “So many people, slaughtered!” The anger rose into his voice again, but he held a hand to his head, trying to clear it. “The dominion...they can’t imagine a world where we can co-exist. We don’t have a choice anymore. If we don’t break in expecting a hail of bullets...then we’ll all be dead men by the time it starts.” Sam had been half standing out of his seat, the younger girl beside him glancing downward awkwardly due to the rapidly increasing tension. Frustrating and anger boiling out of his voice. He had to stop himself before he said something he’d regret.


“And what about the lives we take? Do we not consider the destruction we cause by answering violence with violence? How many more lives have to be taken before we’re all satisfied, Sam?” She exhaled some of the frustration away. “..-There’s always a choice, sometimes it’s just not the popular one. Either way, I’m going to China to see this through properly.”


Sam sighed. “I see I can’t convince you..I don’t want to kill, Camilla, all I want is for them to leave us alone.” He couldn’t help but half smile. “You really are your father’s daughter though. In a way. Fine. If you're coming along, I can’t stop you, but I’ll be damned if I lose you again.” He shakes his head. “We’ll go as a team. That said, good luck. You still need to convince your old man to approve the op.” Camilla cast her glance aside. “T-there’s no time for that. I’d be in China with Kaivant already had I not considered to stop here first.”


“Time sensitive eh? In that case...I’ll approve it, and deal with Dom after. He’ll understand. What about your buddy?” He motioned to Lucy, whom had been staring at the floor for some time now, beads of sweat sliding down the sides of her face. “I… I-.” She stammered, the thought of it all was overwhelming. She couldn’t go that far, away from the safety of a country she knew, away from the possibility of finding her family, but… “I won’t leave you, not after everything you’ve done for me.” The girl’s tone was filled with fear, unsurity, and yet, very serious, a small clenched fist forming, stretching through the hard wood of the table, as her head rose to stare toward Camilla gravely, a mess of previous emotion left upon her face. “B-but…” The girl looked away once more, pushing her fist to the table, as if to garner the strength to continue. “We don’t… Kill anyone.” Lucy surprisingly demanded, still unable to even look upon the others as she did so, yet it was still an unusual notion from the girl, and something she clearly felt strongly about, after all Sam had said on the topic of violence.


Sam crossed his arms and looked to Camilla. “Your call. I don’t know your friend's capabilities, how bonded they are, or anything. You have the info here. She going to be okay when a fight breaks out?” The girl crossed her arms with self-confidence and shot Sam a smug glance in response. “Of course she’ll be fine, I trained her after all.” It felt like no matter what amount of skill Lucy gained, Camilla took much pride in teaching her how to control her powers. Nevertheless, she was both surprised and glad to have witnessed Lucy’s resolve in the face of potential danger. “Nobody’ll get hurt on our watch - that’s a guarantee.” The statement was met only with Lucy’s usual, glance of concern, as she remained quiet.


Throughout the duration of their conversation, Argo quietly listened from behind the bar stand as he polished various glasses and plates. While it may not have been as obvious to some, Argo knew that Camilla was withholding something, and it was only by the trust in her judgment that he refrained from joining the conversation and pointing that out publicly.


Nikky threw her hands up in defeat, ”Well, if you all insist. But getting hurt is what hosts do best.” she glanced at Camilla and Sam especially. She didn’t buy into something like hosts living peaceful lives and she never will. Seeing these two talking about normal lives, not having to fight. To Nikky, fighting and killing was a cross Hosts like those in this village would have to bear sooner or later. The only reason she trained with her powers in the first place was so she could come back and fight whatever it was that drew her back to Brookfield. At the very least, they were positive, as much as that optimism pained her.

COLLABORATION POST 2/2
TerraBooma Randomfella Kiosk Boss​

 

[Sinny The Fool]

Clown

Afternoon
Brookfield | Downtown
Kruz's Place | Spare Storage Room
(Color Code - Clown & Kruz) (Collab Between - Sinny The Fool Solemn Jester )​

"Listen here you little shit. If I see you again you won't have a chance to speak. I'll have Spike rip off your limbs for an afternoon snack, then I'll take a flamethrower to your stumps so you don't bleed to death. After that, I'll lock you up with Diana until you're pissing blood, and crying lick the little bitch you are."

Wincing, with his knees, pressed up against his chest and chewing to the core of his fingernails. Elijah hadn’t been in the position to believe Tom didn’t mean what he had said, and his words drew vivid images of each act into Elijah’s mind, his own torturous and slow death ‘He’s crazy, insane, he would do it...I know he would, especially now...Was this really a good idea?’ but time for second thoughts had long passed. Elijah had felt caught in the talons of Tom, and there wasn’t going to be a way out.

“I believe you, I believe you…”

" I have no doubt you're so incompetent that you'd lose all that money. But if you think for a second I give two shits about what happened you're sorely mistaken my "FRIEND" if you want back into my good graces you best have one hell of a deal for me, and I better need you alive for it." He figured he would agree to meeting with Clown. It would at least give him a chance at revenge should this deal not be to his standards. Hell he might break a few of Clowns bones even if it did go well.

" Be waiting, if you don't show up. I'll personally rain hell down upon you. You can't hide from me, you can't run. I am your own personal Fury. Sent from hades to torment you for the rest of eternity. Or in your case, your very short life if this isn't to my liking." Tom snarled into his phone. His breathing heavy as he slowly calmed down."I'll be there. So you better he there. In person! Otherwise the deal will be off, and the hunt will begin. So don't disappoint me Clown. Spike has missed you oh so much." With that he hung up, turning to Diana and Butterfly girl.

Elijah remained silent for almost the entire remainder of the call, hanging on Tom’s every word, he dared not tempt the ‘anger of the lion’ any further than he already had. He had finished the remainder of the coffee in his mug, and his head was hanging low - the expression of pure dread on his face. All Elijah could think about was how ‘screwed’ he was ‘I can’t hide in the crowd or the deal is off, and I don’t have my mask anymore...He’s going to see my face, then there really will be no hiding; he’s going to kill me...So why do I still feel like I need to go?’ As Tom wrapped up the call and hung up, as though a shock had gone through his body, Elijah bounced up out of his chair, numerous coffee mugs being thrown to the side in the process as Elijah rushed to gather his things and leave. Dropping everything he had been doing previously, quickly slipping through the hallway, first into the room he’d been using to stash the money he managed to save up over his time working for Kruz, and then swiftly into the kitchen, taking the keys to Kruz’s car from the counter and sneaking off out the front door. Before he left, he turned around and shouted out to Kruz, who no doubt was reading something out the back as he usually did “I’ll be borrowing your car for a bit! Thanks in advance, seee yaaa!!” and before Kruz could come out with piping fury at Eli for taking off with his keys, Elijah had already gotten into the car, started the engine and was off.

-----​

Afternoon
Brookfield | Downtown
Elijah's Favourite Cafe​

Never having owned a car himself, not only did he have little experience but behind the wheel, Eli was a frantic driver, who on numerous occasions had crashed other’s cars, most notably Kruz’s previous ride. On top of never bothering to learn or memorize just about any of the road laws, in conclusion; Elijah was not good at driving. By the time he had made it from Kruz’s place to parking outside the cafe, it was only by sheer fortuitous luck that Kruz’s car had made it without a barrage of bumps and scratches all over.

Before getting out of the car, Elijah took a moment to take in a few deep breaths, peering out into the cafe windows, half expecting Tom with Spike to jump out right in front of him at any moment to tear apart his limbs. The first thing Elijah noticed, was that the Cafe hadn’t been nearly as populated as he thought, or hoped, the only good sign was that they were all still alive. Cursing to himself under his breath, he gathered his things into his pockets except for the cash, which he left behind and got out of the car.

‘At least I’ll be able to have one last cup of my favorite coffee if I die here..’ He thought as he found himself at the cafe door, knowing that Tom was likely already inside waiting for him. Elijah opened the door and entered, his mannerisms slightly awkward as he attempted to hide the severe anxiety he felt. Approaching the Cafe counter, and ordering a coffee. As he waited for it, Elijah mustered the courage and gazed around the room - and low and behold, his eyes met with the menacing sight of Tom. Who, even in a somewhat calm mood, had the air of death surrounding him and despite his best efforts Elijah’s eyes widened, imbued with fear & panic. Snapping his gaze back to the counter, and raising the eyebrow of the cafe worker on the other side of the counter, meekly apologizing and taking the mug of coffee. Eli drank the coffee as if he was taking an alcoholic shot, and exclaiming “Ahh...That is good stuff..”

After soaking up every last bit of caffeine from what might be his last coffee ever. He thanked the cafe worker for the coffee, baring in mind that if things didn’t go well with Tom - neither of them would live to see tomorrow and turned away from the counter. Walking through an assortment of tables, approaching Tom who was lounged in one of the back benches and taking a seat at the opposite side from Tom. Now more than ever, Elijah felt completely exposed, and no longer was he able to hide behind the facade of ‘Clown’.

“Hello Tom, I’m here in person, like you said...Been a while no? Have you tried the coffee from here yet? I can get you something if you want..."
Tom​

Tom was contemplating how he'd greet his dear friend if, or when he showed himself. He knew Clown was probably so petrified by fear, that he wouldn't dare try to weasel his way out of this meeting. He was far too smart to try something like that with Tom. Clown was very well versed in how ruthless Tom could be. He didn't need to see that stupid mask to know Clown. As soon as he entered the cafe Tom was aware. When he took a seat across from him Tom tried his damnedest to listen calmly. But as soon as he opened that irritating little mouth of his Tom was overwhelmed by bloodlust. Something made obvious as Spike immediately slithered out from one of Toms pants legs, and wrapped itself around Clown body. Thus making Clown once again caught in Toms clutches. He didn't seem very angry if you simply went by his demeanor. He held an indifferent, cold state. Leaning back muscles relaxed, he raised a single finger to silence Clown before speaking.

“I thought I smelled the wafting odor of your cowardice. I hope you either have my money, or you have one hell of a deal for me. Because I am not pleased with you.” He said although it was kind of stating the obvious at this point. Spike tightened around Clown, hidden from everyone around them as he wrapped around Clown using his clothes as cover “Have I not treated you fairly? Have I...somehow led you to believe I was untrustworthy, or stupid? Did you really think...that I would let something like you losing all that money slide?” He leaned forward a scowl edging its way into his icy expression “If I ever gave you the impression I was a fool I sincere sincerely apologize. Because that was my mistake, and potentially your undoing. Now I don't want to play catch up and share a cup of Joe. Nor do I want to hear your pathetic pleas for mercy. All I want to hear from you. Is a good reason for why I shouldn't turn you into Clown confetti in front of all these nice people, and it better be a damned good reason. You have ten minutes….starting…” Tom looked at the time on his watch seeming rather laid back about it. “...Now.” Tom laid back arms crossed, staring at the time awaiting a good explanation.

Elijah had wondered if he was aging in years right there in the bench, the immense dread he felt was like nothing else he’d known, the feeling of Spike wrapping around him, threatening to grip tighter & tighter until his bones cracked and shattered into pieces if he didn’t please it’s ‘master’. Resisting the urge to frantically squirm and yelp, knowing better than to act panicked and potentially raise the attention of other patrons inside the cafe, or cafe workers themselves. Trying his best to maintain the anxiety and panic swelling within him “Okay, okay...In the back of the trunk of my car, I have a stash of the cash I’ve made since losing your briefcase...It’s not nearly enough to owe you back, but I know how I can..” lowering his voice further “Lorenzo. Lorenzo and everything he owns on a platter. If I live passed today, I’ll be able to turn his best assets against him, he won’t have anything to protect him, especially from you - and once he’s out of the picture, I can make sure everything he owns is yours.”

Tom raised an eyebrow intrigued by this sudden proposal. “Lorenzo? Now, why would you have the power to do that? I wasn't aware you were a host whisperer. Judging from your current position I'd bet you weren’t. How do you propose we deal with Lorenzo's group of elite assassins?” Tom rose a hand titled his head in a manner encouraging Clown to answer. Although at the mention of Lorenzo's whore hitman squad a sudden thought came to his mind. Someone was missing here. “What happened to schoolgirl? She beat you up and take the money to Lorenzo? Nah, he isn't so simple that he'd send her to me for that.” Tom figured something must have happened during the hollow invasion. It would explain why Clown was missing his mask, and why his gift from Lorenzo was missing “Oh don't tell me you went and got her killed already? Damn you are pathetic.” Tom slowly relaxed Spikes grip on Clown. Making it just slightly more comfortable for the anxious hacker “Alright, now tell me everything from the top. I may just be interested in your little scheme.” A smirk inched its way onto the corner of Tom's face. It seemed today was going to be very interesting. It was almost as if fate was calling out to him. He could see the stars aligning before him. All he needed to do now was follow them to his destiny.

Elijah gritted his teeth, the feelings of guilt over Hinako’s death beginning to swell up inside him again as the expression painted across his face - and the look of utter defeat in his eyes would tell Tom all he needed to know. When feeling the terrible grip of Spike loosen up, Elijah let out a small mental sigh of relief. Composing himself before going to explain his scheme further “Lorenzo has dirt on each member of his group of assassins which keeps them in line. I can erase that ‘dirt’, and turn his group of assassins against him. He’ll be completely exposed, and then - all you’d have to worry about is getting to him first..”

Spikes grip suddenly tightened again, an unamused look on his face. His scowl resting on his face as he stared Clown down “I'm sorry. Did I say give me a pathetic look and some half-assed explanation? No, I said I want to know what your plan was. That means all the details, however dirty they might be. You've tried my patience Clown. I'm not going to risk anything else on you without knowing exactly what it is we’re doing capiche?” Tom took a second to consider Clown. You could tell a lot by staring into a man’s face when he's near shitting himself. Tom was almost disappointed. He had hoped Clown hid his face due to some hideous scar, or deformity. But nope, he was just a big ole wuss.

Eli winced again as Spike tightened around him, avoiding Tom’s scowl, fearing that meeting his gaze would burn the eyes out from his sockets. If Elijah was ever going to gain the trust of Tom, he was going to have to explain everything, trying to hide anything from Tom, especially now was too much of a risk “Fine, here it is, every dirty detail..” and Elijah went on to explain everything.​

 

[Boss]

Clown | Tom

​

Afternoon
Brookfield | Downtown
Elijah's Favorite Cafe
​

Although Tom's aura of death was largely oppressive in the eyes of Elijah, it had no effect on the surrounding patrons whom all had their eyes glued to the television mounted between two menu lists above the counter. Unsurprisingly, it was the faultless, carefree face of Julius, who had been responding to questions left and right for some time now. More often than not, the broadcast switched between the livestreamed speech and a more relaxed podcast that covered the news as it happened. It did well to take the attention off of the intense situation festering at the front counter.

Conveniently, just as Elijah had conveyed his perspective of the events leading up to now, his pocketed phone echoed with an update from his Dominion scanner. Hacking into things such as security cameras and low-level computers were child's play to Elijah - and it was that particular skillset that allowed his personalized app to single-out and highlight a recently archived surveillance video with an untitled file name. Playing it revealed these contents.


The video jarred to life with the perspective of a corner-mounted ceiling camera watching over an interrogation room. Plain white tile, cool steeled walls with a one-way mirror. In the center of the room was a steel table, clear of everything but a bowl of cookies. However, the black-haired girl that sat at the table stared blankly forward with an abnormal feature; an empty hole sat where her right eye should've been. Ten seconds into the recording and two other individuals entered the room, one a guard who flanked the door, and the other presumingly a scientist of sorts with the doctor-like attire and notepad he carried with him.

Pulling out the chair on the other end and planting himself down on it, the scientist sighed, setting down the notepad and opening an assortment of notes too-small for the camera to pick up. "Doctor Orwell reporting. Subject is-.. 0-0-6-8-25. Biological name: Anzu Maruyama. For the purposes of this recording and research, the subject shall be referred to by her given name." As the scientist lazily flipped through various pages and documented information regarding the girl, Anzu simply kept her gaze forward, as if she were locked in an eerie trance. "-...Despite numerous surgeries, Anzu is still unable to hear or speak, thus constraining our communication to sign language at the time of this recording." After a brief pause, the scientist engaged in a conversation with the girl through sign language, which still seemed largely one-sided as the older man had to repeat his motions every now and then, to which Anzu simply shook her head in denial every time.

If Elijah had been paying attention, the timestamp posted on the video suggested that the video had been recorded mere hours prior. The time on the video had roughly lined up with Elijah's when he left the hospital after his bittersweet departure with Hinako. When the clock turned over to the next minute, Anzu suddenly froze solid where she sat - her one eye wide as tears began to flow down from it. Perplexed at the girl's abrupt change in demeanor, the scientist quickly called off the session and ordered Anzu to be put back in her cell. It was then that the file ended.

Attached to the file was enough information Elijah needed to locate the facility the video was shot from. The location revealed by the text wasn't a detention camp, but a remote research laboratory located on the edge of town. These laboratories were purposely made to look like abandoned warehouses, which also carried the possibility of little security.

 

[Depresso Espresso]

Diana Young
Boss
Diana was a bit surprised at the sudden call Tom got, but the fact remained they were still getting more and more frequent with each day, he was the more liked one anyways, in the eyes of the other gang members that is. Turning her attention back to Axel and the Count talking a shiver went down her spine at the mention of the manor and how they, "Wanted to meet her," would could only mean kill her in the best of terms, "Wait, why in the hell do they want to meet me? There's no fucking way I'm going back there just to kick the hornets nest ok? Fighting you alone was difficult enough, it isn't going to be much easier just because I've got floating diamonds or some shit." Saying that she tried to desperately cling to a reason not to go back, the place would essentially be walking into her own funeral, that being said... The place gave her the creepiest vibes she got in a while... Creepier than when she hangs out with Tom anyways.​

 

[Boss]

James Mac niadh Lane | Mason Mendella | Noda Hitomi | Melman Dobson

​

Afternoon => Late Afternoon
Brookfield | Downtown
Dominion Public Headquarters | Streets
​

After the Archbishop's public announcement of the host I.D cards, there had been no end to the questions that relentless demanded the young leader's answers. Some were hard-hitting, brain-tickling thoughts that required a moment of thought whereas others weren't. Needless to say, there was no immediate danger lingering in or around the massive group of citizens, rendering Omega's first debut rather uneventful. As the next hour rolled in, Justine had transitioned to lazily reclining on an office chair with her armored boots kicked up on a table surface. Among the radio channels, there was a brief discussion regarding a 'thieving host' who had momentarily stolen a patrolmen's equipment to broadcast her own personal message before disappearing from sight.

Another hour or two rolled by.

At this point, the public meeting with the newly appointed leader was reaching a conclusion. The seemingly neverending questions regarding Brookfield's future slowed to a mere question or two a minute. The once bustling crowd of thousands had dwindled down to a hundred or so. It was then that Julius had noticed the time, and clicked his tongue in unwarranted frustration. Approaching from the rear was a lower-ranked guard baring a message. "Archbishop, it's almost time for a shift change. We should finish things here." "Of course. Round up the men and dissolve the roadblocks. You can tell the Templars that they're relieved of duty as well." The guardsmen nodded in affirmation before relaying the message over the radio.

And so Omega's mission was concluded; dull, but a success nonetheless. Having been given only that task meant that the rest of their day could be spent as they pleased. Unlike patrolmen and lower-ranked soldiers, Templars were never truly 'off-duty'. It had been explained in one of the many signed papers that they were essential 'on-call' unless a specific task had been given. Some Templars chose this opportunity to play it off as if they weren't on the clock, while others never let their guard down. It was up to Omega how they conducted their personal business whenever they weren't immediately required. An added benefit to being on-call was the ability to visit any Dominion-owned property as they pleased, whenever they wanted. Like Len's, the orders of Omega were like orders from a general and were typically carried out as such.

After receiving the message over the radio, Justine stretched her muscles for the first time in what felt like many hours. Truth be told, the girl had fallen into a light sleep until the jarring noise of the radio yanked her from her slumber.

"You heard the man, I'm packing up. Try not to get eaten tonight and I might see your pathetic faces tomorrow." Was Justine's last transmission before her radio went silent.

Meanwhile...

Late Afternoon
Brookfield | Downtown
Streets​

Melman had been having a very unfortunate couple of hours. Earlier in the day, unbeknownst to him - the garbage truck drivers had accidentally bypassed the Dominion's roadblocks before they had been established, resulting in the brief ban of operating his vehicle - thus putting his once morning shift on hold and grounding the collection truck. It wasn't until a relived guardsman gave the truck two pounds on the driver's door that Melman was alerted that he could continue driving along his route. Unfortunately for Melman, this 'bump in the road' didn't allow for him to simply clock out. He had to complete his route to it's fullest despite the time beginning to transition into the evening. At least the landfill depot had a night shift so he could drop off the truck for the day...

 

[Sinny The Fool]

Clown & Tom​

Afternoon
Brookfield | Downtown
Elijah's Favorite Cafe
(Color Code - Clown & Tom) (Collab Between - Sinny The Fool Solemn Jester )(Mentions - Boss )​

After exhaustively explaining everything to Tom, Elijah had been waiting for some kind of reaction from Tom, finding it impossible to judge by his face what he was thinking. Making the anticipation of what might come next all the more terrifying for Eli, any worried thoughts that may have started to enter his mind were cleared away, and instead focused on the echoing sound coming from the phone inside his pocket ‘Is that what I think it is?’ attempting to wiggle his hand to the phone in his pocket with little success he turned back to Tom “So after all that, can you call your friend off Tom?”

Tom just stared down Clown listening without the slightest hint of which way he was being swayed. Sure the story was sad, but honestly, he didn't give two shits. It was just another example of how useless Clown was. Not only did he lose Tom’s money, but he had also badly damaged Tom's new assassin/bodyguard. But what really pissed Tom off was how Lorenzo thought he had the right to put her out of her misery like that. Tom didn't care how badly hurt she was. She could have been in a vegetable state, and he still wouldn't give two shits. HE! And only he decided when one of his employees was going to die. Regardless of where her original alliances lay. Which from what Clown was saying Lorenzo was blackmailing these women, to begin with. After considering all the facts, and taking a second to really contemplate his choices, Tom came to a conclusion. He slowly released Clown, still giving him a blank expression. Then stood up, not even giving him a second glance as he headed outside. “Come along you pathetic fool. I'll let you live, but don't think you're going to get off scot-free. I don't react kindly too Indian givers.” He started rather coldly as he exited the cafe, the slam of the door indicating his vacating the premises. He opened up the door of their new ride and sat back. Starting her up and grabbing the wheel with both hands, even revving the engine a few times to show how furious we was “Just let me know where we’re going, and contact the HeadQuarters. Let them know to send a few of our heavy hitters to our location. Just a few, we probably won’t need them. But then again, I'd hate for any ants to escape. They might go crawling to their Queen.” Tom said this looking towards his radio, the announcement ending and their Bishop heading off to do God knows what next. Probably contemplate how he'll solve world hunger. The thought would have made Tom laugh had he not already been pissed to no end.

Gulp Elijah took a deep breath, relieved that he wasn’t crushed right there in the cafe by the grip of Spike and didn’t waste any time in following Tom outside to the car and getting into the backseat. Taking out his phone now that he had the chance, his suspicions were confirmed as his phone showed a new update from his Dominion Scanner, he didn’t hesitate from opening the untitled file and watching the contents which laid within.

The video jarred to life with the perspective of a corner-mounted ceiling camera watching over an interrogation room. Plain white tile, cool steeled walls with a one-way mirror. In the center of the room was a steel table, clear of everything but a bowl of cookies. However, the black-haired girl that sat at the table stared blankly forward with an abnormal feature; an empty hole sat where her right eye should've been. Ten seconds into the recording and two other individuals entered the room, one a guard who flanked the door, and the other presumingly a scientist of sorts with the doctor-like attire and notepad he carried with him.

Pulling out the chair on the other end and planting himself down on it, the scientist sighed, setting down the notepad and opening an assortment of notes too-small for the camera to pick up. "Doctor Orwell reporting. Subject is-.. 0-0-6-8-25. Biological name: Anzu Maruyama. For the purposes of this recording and research, the subject shall be referred to by her given name." As the scientist lazily flipped through various pages and documented information regarding the girl, Anzu simply kept her gaze forward, as if she were locked in an eerie trance. "-...Despite numerous surgeries, Anzu is still unable to hear or speak, thus constraining our communication to sign language at the time of this recording." After a brief pause, the scientist engaged in a conversation with the girl through sign language, which still seemed largely one-sided as the older man had to repeat his motions every now and then, to which Anzu simply shook her head in denial every time.

If Elijah had been paying attention, the timestamp posted on the video suggested that the video had been recorded mere hours prior. The time on the video had roughly lined up with Elijah's when he left the hospital after his bittersweet departure with Hinako. When the clock turned over to the next minute, Anzu suddenly froze solid where she sat - her one eye wide as tears began to flow down from it. Perplexed at the girl's abrupt change in demeanor, the scientist quickly called off the session and ordered Anzu to be put back in her cell. It was then that the file ended.

‘Yes! I found her! And judging from how long ago this was taken, we should still have time to get to her before she’s potentially moved elsewhere.’ Avoiding potentially meeting Tom’s piercing stare through the revision mirror Elijah gave the location and started on contacting HQ for Tom’s requested support “We’re heading to the edge of town, the place probably looks like an abandoned building, I’ll show you the way…” giving the directions, Tom and Elijah started on their way towards the location and getting into contact with HeadQuarters.
​

 

[Azukai]

A Dark Shadow Looms
Sam Sarith | Lucy Black | Camilla Ferarri | Nikki Viole | Kaivant Tsukino | Azrael
​

Kaivant was quick to respond to Camilla’s signal--a small bolt of lightning which stretched into the sky and gave him a rough location to pin too. Since her departure from the alleyway, he had been waiting atop the roof of the tallest building in Brookfield. And it was from there, he opened his usual portal which soon connected him with the forest which surrounded the village outskirts. Things were different. There had been a lot of damage from the earlier conflict between his organization and the village, yet all of it had been seemingly restored in the matters of a few months. On top of that, the environment was entirely different from before. The village was nowhere in sight, just the brush of the woodlands and Camilla...with her unexpected crew. “I figured you went back to village to close ties, not kindle them.” He muttered while glancing at the others who surrounded her. He had no qualms with the two girls--one of them who he even recognized from the past. It was Sam, however, who left him slightly hesitant. Although he had no particular issues with the man, their last interaction hadn’t left off on the greatest of terms--an element which could prove detrimental to their journey East. “Not that I am against others, just...there are expectations to be understood and followed. I would imagine we understand that, yes?”

“Kaivant.” Sam said with an Icy tone to his voice. “I'm not going to shoot up the place. If that’s what you mean. As long as it doesn't start shooting first.” He held a very...cautious expression. If this is how Camilla wanted to do things, fine. But he'd be prepared to ride out of hell if need be. Quietly watching was the role Nikky seemed to often fall into in these situations, the tension between this Kaivant and Sam reminded her of a soap opera but this was way more uncomfortable when she was standing in the same room. She coughed,

“Well! If that’s all-” she looked towards Kaivant, personally she wasn’t sure how to proceed he looked familiar but she really couldn’t place a finger on it. “I.. can’t say I’m a very big fan of you either, Kaivant but I need you and I just want my family back.” Nikky shrugged, “If we’re really going to work together, I suppose being honest like this would be good.”

Head held down, blue eyes gazed upward between each of the hosts, and the agent before them as they spoke, every new sentence seeming to shock them in surprise as they darted around carefully. Lucy didn’t completely understand the hostility, the way Sam spoke… Was it all because the man was an agent of the Dominion? The agent made her feel uneasy by his words, that was for certain, yet it was hardly unusual for the girl. Lucy remained by Camilla’s side, absorbed by her thoughts as she continued to stare, always keeping her irides from those of the others. Sure, it wasn’t the American branch, but wasn’t the whole point of staying within the village to hide from the Dominion? She couldn’t help but feel like this whole thing was intended to set them up, and her lack of knowledge was clearly getting to her.

Camilla had remained silent while she let introductions handle themselves. Her grey eyes shifted between Kaivant and her party of three attentively. If they were expected to journey to the other side of the planet, Camilla needed to know if they were capable of speaking to one another without trying to maul each other first - them mainly being Sam and Kaivant. Through her quiet observation, she noticed the lack of an additional mask-wearing member and decided to ask about it. “Where is Azreal?” she inquired towards Kaivant.

Kaivant’s immediate response was to clench his fists. “He will not be accompanying us. I will not permi--” He was cut short by the sound of shattered glass; a sound which made him inevitably sigh in anticipation of who was due to arrive. Sure enough, the masked youth popped from out of thin air and gave the entire group a cheerful wave, a resulting high-pitched *eep* echoing from Lucy, as her body stammered back for a second in shock. “You’re saying what about me.” Azrael jested with a cheeky grin on his face. “Setting aside your personal grudge. For you, I’m actually going to be useful for once.” With a snap of his fingers, a digital swallow emerged from a manifested mirror, and instantly expanded into a screen which hovered in the air for everyone to see. On the screen, satellite images of a particular mountain began to actively stream--in particular the details of an ancient civilization which stood on the peak. On the outskirts was a large red dot, unmoving, but rapidly flashing as if to signal something.

“Wh-why is--” Kaivant was never given a chance to finish his reaction. The communicator in his ear signaled an incoming message that was instantly accepted and transmitted for the group. “Kaivant, this is Covert Operations with urgent news. We believe the Watcher has fallen and request an immediate investigation. We believe this attack has ties with a recent infiltration on the trial. One of the girls has been critically injured, whereas the demon hosts are presently mia.” If Kaivant was at all affected by the somber news, he didn’t show it. “Understood, divert your forces into the infiltration, I will personally handle the Watcher. Also notify the arrival of Sam, Camilla, Lucy, and Nikky--hosts under my watch.” The call was immediately disconnected, after which Azrael began speaking once more. “Told ya. Even my organization hasn’t been able to pinpoint the location of the Si Xiang, up until now. You’re gonna need me, just like I need you.”

Kaivant exhaled a heavy sigh, while his brow furrowed from the thoughts that began to rush through his head. A few seconds passed until he eventually reached forward and grabbed Azrael by the excess of his shirt. “You will stay out of sight. We will contact you when I deem it acceptable, understood?” Unphased by the sudden aggression, Azrael simply rolled his eyes with a shrug. “Whatever you say, boss man.”

“Then we move.” Kaivant growled. He reached into his inner robe and retrieved his usual transporter. It was a direct connection to the outskirts of the Si Xiang; in particular to where the red dot was flashing. If something was happening, then they were teleporting right into the thick of it; hence Kaivant barked an immediate order which was directed at the less experienced in the group. “If anything happens, Camilla, take Lucy and get to the Si Xiang behind you. They will know you are coming, get us help. If something actually took down the Watcher, then this is something far beyond you at the moment.”

And with that, they stepped through the portal and into an immediate nightmare - except for Lucy, who had felt unfamiliar movement behind a particular tree thanks to her kinetic sense, her body turning toward it instinctively. Similar to the reunion earlier that morning, Umbra had quietly stood beyond the concealment of a large tree with her focus on eavesdropping. Unlike the previous encounter, however, Umbra spoke under hushed breath, and despite the large locational gap between where Lucy stood and Umbra, her whispered words were clearly heard in her host’s mind. “..That dreaded hour is fast approaching. When it arrives, be the beacon that my other half needs.”

A slight stream dropped down Lucy’s eye, running softly over her cheek, before passing the light smile that formed on her face as she nodded toward the zodiac, turning back to nervously follow Camilla through the portal. The thought of Umbra’s words would not easily be lost in her mind, it was almost like making a promise to the girl herself.

Part 1 of 5​

 

[Azukai]

A Dark Shadow Looms
Sam Sarith | Lucy Black | Camilla Ferarri | Nikki Viole | Kaivant Tsukino | Azrael
​

Gore was the first thing that Kaivant saw--pieces of a body and blood which covered the mountain side on which he stood. That in of itself wasn’t anything shocking to him--what concerned him was the oversized dragon that was being consumed. Its body was limp, and in the grasp of a beetle-like creature that was busy feasting upon its ethereal existence. Everything at hand seemed impossible at best; however, somehow the unknown monster was in the process of enjoying a meal that consisted of a host and its Zodiac.

“Ah, so the watcher is dead.” Azrael said as to state the obvious. There was still a smile on his face; however, his hands immediately went into a combative posture which summoned shards of quartz-shaped glass.

Nikky curled her hands into fists, waves of force rising up and enveloping her arms, “Goddamnit...”

Sam immediately went into a combat stance himself, gun quickly drawn from his belt. A handful of harpoons rose from the ground, interposing barbed bits of metal between the party and the beetle. “What the hell!?” He shouted, stepping forward. More astute observers would realize he had placed himself between Camilla, Lucy, and the monsters. Acting as a barrier between them. “Kaivant, the hell is this?”

As soon as Lucy joined them, her face quickly turned to one of fearful disgust at the sight they all shared, almost thankfully that Sam’s body came between them, blocking her view of the scene. “T-Tha-That was the?...” Part of the massive dragon could still be seen around Sam’s body, it was like they were back in Brookfield with the pure threatening presence of it, and yet… This ‘watcher’ had fallen to that thing? The girl’s face slowly turned pale, the image of the beetle reminding her of another insect that had infested her mind. Her expression could only respond by turning to Camilla, who laid her hand on the girl’s shoulder to remind Lucy that she too, wasn’t the same girl as she was two months ago. Camilla offered her friend a reassuring smile before her expression steeled - she could smell the metallic blood that lingered in the air.

Opting to move around Sam rather than stand behind him like a frightened child, Camilla glared at the gruesome sight that had caught everyone’s undivided attention. Glancing to her right, Azreal had formed a fleet of shards around him. To her left, Sam had already manifested his weapon and endless supply of harpoons around him. “So this is no friend, then?” She asked the obvious, before preparing for battle herself by stuffing her hand into her jacket pocket and pulling out a rolled up steel chain that she had been practicing with. Letting go of one end and channeling her supernatural electricity through it forced the chain to float majestically around her as it hummed and crackled with raw electric energy.

Sam smirked at the sight. “Good to know you won’t need a harpoon this time. Lucy! How do you fight? Up close? Or far back?” The girl’s eyes, which darted between each of them preparing for battle, stopped on Sam as he spoke her name. How did she fight? Was that even the right question? She knew coming here was likely to involve it, but that never meant she was ready for it, not this soon, not against this… Thing.

“I-I-...” Lucy continued to stammer at his request, fear fresh in her wobbling eyes, her stone body unmoving. “Y-You can do this Lucy, it can’t hurt you, nothing ca…” The split second image of the creature came fresh into her mind once more, causing here body to recoil back slightly, it was truly horrific, not the first, and never the last, but such a thing she did not know she would ever get used to. She wanted to say far back, to stay out of notice, but the words wouldn’t come. They weren’t true, without some sort of combat to garner energy she had no use, and would end up getting in the way for the hundredth time. “E-either” She could only whisper, barely audible through her clenched teeth, some sort of spoken resolve to her own mental crisis. The small tree branch slowly swung her body to the side, taking another look toward the monster around the man’s body, taking in a deep gulp of saliva as she locked eyes on it once more, her body refusing to take her sights from it, no matter what her mind continued to demand.

A hand fell on Lucy's shoulder, whom slightly jumped from the sudden feeling of movement toward her, Nikky lightly squeezed recalling how someone had done that when she felt nervous, the girl’s skin was surprisingly firm. Honestly, she still felt anxious, she had a slight uncertain look as she watched the scene, but she still took a step forward--even if she was standing behind the three. Nikky was moving pass Lucy to position to the left of Sam, as everyone was preparing themselves. "You'll be fine." As much as she mentally chided Sam and Camila for false reassurance she found herself doing the same at a time like this. Lucy reminded her a lot of when she was her age and still she wished she could have said something more. While she could manipulate her powers for long range the kickback wasn't worth it, especially with hosts with ranged capabilities right there. Getting close will be dangerous... Nikky suddenly looked back towards Lucy as if she just realized something, “You absorb kinetic energy, right?” The young woman nervously looked back at her, and began to open her mouth. “Y-”

Part 2 of 5​

 

[Azukai]

A Dark Shadow Looms
Sam Sarith | Lucy Black | Camilla Ferarri | Nikki Viole | Kaivant Tsukino | Azrael

​

“There’s no time for small talk,” Kaivant interrupted, and not a moment too soon, Lucy’s mouth snapping shut in stuttered response. The creature, having realized it was no longer alone, rose its head as if to sniff the air. There were no facial features apart from its shell, yet even still, one could practically feel the cruel smile that had formed on its face. “This ends now.” Kaivant expressed before dashing forward in a brilliant display of flame. Burning wings had formed on his back--the symbol of the phoenix which gave him the source of his strength. It had taken him but a fraction of time to clear the distance to the enemy, and with blinding speed, he drew his blade in an upward slash that was directed towards the its head.

CLANG

Kaivant’s blade striking against the armored shell of the creature’s hand, sent an echoing clang all across the mountain. There had been a colossal amount of strength put into Kaivant’s blow, yet in this case, it hadn’t even left a scratch, much less sliced through. “Ignite.” The flames from his back rushed forward and expanded across the length of the blade. From there, they immediately spread to the creature’s hand where they began burning under a snow white hue. Under normal circumstances, the purifying flames were a detriment to any creature of corruption; however, in the case of the beetle, they were nothing more than a curiosity that it began to inspect. The speedster’s eyes widened with shock. “His blade was stopped..?!”

“Intriguing. Fire without heat.” It announced in a peculiar, insect-like voice. “Another delicacy of this fragile, pitiful world.” One of the beetle’s legs flicked forward and tapped itself against Kaivant’s blade. To those watching, it was almost comical to observe such a dainty action; however, the true horror was the fact that the blade instantly shattered, and his body was sent flying into the side of the mountain. Dust surrounded the point of his impact; however, it quickly settled to reveal the man’s bloodied body which now rested several feet into a bed of rock. “It ruins the flavor when you dally. Better to end this now as he said.” The beetle began to chuckle, but only for a moment, as he soon began his meal which consisted of the flames.

“I don’t get it-.. Where is the Dominion in all this?!” It was a valid question given the heavy implications earlier, but instead of stepping through the portal to end up within Dominion borders, the group was dropped in front of a gruesome scene to face a powerful creature not even Kaivant could put a dent into. Instantly she looked to Azreal for answers. “Care to enlighten us on what we’re dealing with here?”

“You are already familiar with what we face...” Azrael said with a frown that channeled his obvious frustrations. “..This creature is not unlike the cerberus from before, though this one is a bit stronger, perhaps too strong.” Without further hesitation, he threw one of the glass shards in the direction of the creature. Like before, it immediately rose its hand as a means to block the oncoming projectile; however, before it could make contact, the glass shattered and from it came a ethereal reflection of Kaivant’s blade. Immediately, the manifestation performed an upward strike with the power of the white flames imbued atop. Another clang rang out from the collision of steel and shell; however, similar to before, the now-fading attack was deflected with nothing more than a small chip from the creature’s hand.

This gave Camilla more than enough time to act. Before the echoes of their last collison were silenced, Camilla’s steel chain was already wrapped around the enemy’s beetle-like frame several times over with the speedster gripping onto one end. She channeled a powerful surge of energy throughout the linked chain in hopes that it would lock-down the creature’s muscles and other internal organs, if it had any.

Sam leapt into action shortly after camilla. While his reactions weren't supernaturally fast, they were still high. He dumped a clip of armor piercing ammunition into the beatle, before holstering the gun and going into melee. He swam into the air and brought a handful of harpoons firing into its legs, attempting to pin it. Sam's charged and closed the gap, using his non-gun hand to charge in and stab it. It didn't seem to have eyes, which worked in the shark man's favor. If it was sensing his host energy or trying to track him via smell? He'd be practically invisible.

“N-No Wait!” Lucy shouted out toward the two as they rushed into action, her body leaping forward no more than a foot, as if desperately trying to coerce them back, yet she snailed in comparison, stopping with failure. So much for Sam’s description of Camilla, they were more alike than Lucy first realised, rushing in just like the others, whos attacks had been flung away like nats on the beetles back. The girl knew little of any of the strangers, especially the two that had brought them here, but they were surely powerful. As for the creature before them, it seemed no one knew anything about it, and here they were smashing their heads against a shell. Lucy pointed her finger toward the ground behind her desperately, unable to think through the ideal, nothing but concern for the lives of the others in her mind. Suddenly, the girl’s body was propelled into the air, as the energy left her fingertip, seemingly moved by nothing. Her body didn’t even ripple as she landed. Her eyes glanced toward Nikky frantically, before staring back at the battle. Her legs could barely move, it was always far easier to leap into such a predicament, after all.

Nikky quickly moved her hands downwards, forcing herself up and launching her forward. before she landed too hard she forced herself to slow her momentum for a softer landing. She hadn't been able to get a look at most of these powers until now, the raw strength this insect had surprised her the most, she watched the shards of sword fall and clatter to the ground and the others rush in. She almost followed in as well but caught Lucy’s eye for a moment. Nikky quickly closed the distance between the two, the woman had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she ran up.

"Lucy, I'ma punch you." Nikky slowly reeled her arm backwards,"Really fucking hard, so ready up." The girl in question stared back toward her with shock.

“Oh, o-okay.” Lucy nodded, an awkward expression on her face as she stood still, her eyes closing tightly as her body stiffened and crumpled expentingly. It wasn’t a strange notion to the girl, not after her training with Camilla, but this was a stranger, one whom she still did not trust, yet judging from the power of the creature before them they needed to act now. Nikky nodded, and threw her whole body weight into her punch knocking the girl in the chest. A wave of force sending nearby gravel and dust flying, yet the girl remained still, her arms flung into the air cowardly as she felt the heavy movement of the blow. Lucy’s power was like a better version of hers. Nikky’s power worked best in motion to amplify the energy the movement created to ‘push’ but Lucy--

The tension of the blow quickly built up within the young woman, the pure kinetic energy flowing through her upper body. “Nice.” Lucy whispered awkwardly and Nikky nodded in agreement. The hit was definitely enough to stiffen the girl’s muscles, as she casually brought her finger up like a cocked gun pointing toward the creature. Her finger shook, not from the tension in her body, but from the thought of what she was about to do. Lucy had never actually had to use her abilities to defend herself, unless you would count what she did to that creepy man in Brookfield, to say it slightly rattled her nerves would be an understatement. Still, her body and mind wanted nothing more than to unleash the stored energy, the uncomfortable feeling to be lost, and so, as a clear shot of the monster came into sight… *zshoom*

There was a considerable amount of dust stirred from the combined actions against the creature. The results of their attempts were not immediately visible; though, they didn’t need to be since the voice which followed confirmed the absolute worst case scenario. “It is rude to interrupt a meal, especially with such meager strength.” By the conclusion of its words, the dust had settled to reveal what little had changed from before. It’s body was now glowing with a faint crimson hue; yet, such change was not a result of the attacks. The electricity that had struck its body had been absorbed and consumed, much like the fire which had preceded it. There were small dents in the creature’s shell--likely from the force of Lucy’s blow, combined with the anti-armor bullets that had struck it. Sadly, however, those attacks proved to be the most inflicted damage, especially when compared to the harpoons that had bounced off its body without a scratch to boot. “Weakness does little to whet the appetite.” The beetle wrapped its front most leg around the steel chain on its body. It then pulled the weapon taut and flung it in the direction of the nearest ledge. Sam was in a state that made him practically invisible, not that the creature even cared for his melee assault. Instead, it turned its focus to the backline which quickly turned into the front. There was a tremendous amount of force that came from its legs and propelled it forward at blistening speed. It stopped directly in front of Lucy and Nikki, where it sent a fist plummeting towards the youngest’s face. Rather than allow the blow to connect, it instead opted to grip her head and lift her into the air, all with the gentlest touch that the tips of its fingers could manage. Nikky was too slow to stop it.

“You are a threat. To imagine you countering my strength is not a thought I wish to contend with.” The small figure clenched within the palm of his hand squirmed, her feet flailing mid-air, as her left arm gripped his, another pathetically striking at his arm in an attempt to break free, eyes forced shut to black out his image.

“Dammit!” Sam cursed as the monster sent a good chunk of his allies into disarray. He spared a glance to check on Camilla before refocusing on the task at hand. It had prioritized Lucy… Which meant that she was their best resource. “Hold on kid!” Sam called, and extended his hand into a portal of seafoam that appeared at his side. His hand reached out of the air next to Lucy and grabbed her wrist. She let out a gasp of air, feeling a strange, tingling sensation, as her body turned into seafoam and was pulled through the portal back to Sam’s side where she reformed. Essentially he had phased her into an empty limbo and pulled her out again by his side. It was one of his more technical moves...and it drained like hell. He grimaced, forcing himself to focus. He still wasn’t 100% after the fushinsetsu fight. Still he had to think. The monster had dealt with everyone else, but ignored him. Does that mean he couldn’t be detected? He focused on extending his aura suppression, still holding onto Lucy’s arm. It would extend his state of nondetection outward, and if the thing could only track via host energy, she’d also fall off its radar. He stood in front of her, bracing himself for a follow up attack regardless.

“You okay kid? How’s the head?” He asked, the girl before him clenching it tightly, yet not in pain, she almost looked confused. “F-Fine.” Heavy breathing interrupted her whispered words, her body in a state of panic, barely able to contain itself. With all of those strong hosts there, why had it targeted her? How could she ever be a threat? “He’s… Strong.” Lucy stated the obvious, glancing back over toward the creature, which only drove her breathing to grow more rapid. The amount of energy he let out from simply gripping her… It was already starting to build up, if it wasn’t for Umbra, she wasn’t sure she would still be awake. “Fast…” She added, not even having time to react to the creatures rapid movement toward her, feeling it, and now it knew what she could do. “I don’t know if I c-ca…” The words wouldn’t leave her mouth, a mix of sweat and tears covering the messy strands of hair that now covered her face.

“Lucy. Stay with me. Slow breaths.” Sam could tell pretty easily that Lucy...wasn't a fighter, the girl’s eyes looking toward him nervously. “I know there’s a lot going on, but stay with me. He targeted you, so if we play our cards right, you’re the key to winning this. But I need you to keep your cool. You can do this.” He hoped to anchor her with his words, but the pressure that they implied only moved to tense her even more. Camilla, who had been effortlessly flung along with her weapon, collapsed at merely half the distance her chain flew. The harsh landing was the only reason she hadn’t been at Lucy’s side the moment the creature attacked her, and it was at that point she that had regained her senses to witness the beetle’s reddish glow. “..Even the electricity?!” she growled in frustration as she attempted to stand, only to yelp and rest on a knee as an intense pain pinged through her right arm. Looking down, she squinted her eyes in pain as her arm failed to move in any way and hung limp at her side instead. Lucy staring toward back toward her nervously

Because of the direction in which she was tossed, Camilla ended up behind the creature - thus out of its line of sight and unaware of Lucy’s near-death experience. It was hard, but Camilla strained to put the pain aside to think clearly. “This thing-.. Our abilities don’t affect it in the slightest-... We need to-.. get out of here-..”

Part 3 of 5​

 

[Azukai]

A Dark Shadow Looms
Sam Sarith | Lucy Black | Camilla Ferarri | Nikki Viole | Kaivant Tsukino | Azrael



​

Nikky sighed, glad to see Lucy safe, grinning at Sam’s quickness she didn’t know he could do that, but if that thing really saw her as a threat she wouldn’t be safe for long. Nikky forced herself upwards, high enough above while she assumed it was too busy watching Sam and Lucy. If that attack Lucy made really did something then maybe Nikky could try as well-- She let herself fall, throwing out her leg in a downwards spin, aiming to land a solid strike to it’s back.

CRASH

Nikki’s leg coming into contact with the shell sent a small shockwave spiraling outward from the collision. It was the cleanest strike that had occurred thus far--even if it had been blocked by one of the beetle’s legs. That being said, its left arm was braced against its leg as further measures against the sheer force that Nikki had generated. “Unexpected.” It exclaimed with a hint of genuine surprise, right before it reached out and grabbed Nikki’s leg. In an instant her body was flung into the air, only for the creature to proceed and whip her with a quick flick of its wrist. The immediate crack and gruesome sound of tearing flesh was an obvious prelude to what had occurred. While her leg remained firm in the creature’s grasp, the rest of her body was flung off into the distance, where it landed with a solid thud against a rocky outcrop. “Fragile...weak...the likes of you are why your fate as a race is to submit before our might.” This time, the creature was speaking to everyone in the area. It rose its arms into the air, almost as if it were preaching to the crowd. Nonetheless, before it could speak another word, there was another impactful crash as a hollowfied arm shot from the side of the mountain and smashed against the body of the monster. “Azrael, now!” Kaivant’s voice rang across the mountain side. On cue, dozens of mirror-like shards began to form throughout the sky, each surrounding the creature from every possible angle. Azrael immediately snapped his fingers which caused each of the shards to explode into a reflection that copied Kaivant’s arm. All at once, every arm smashed into the monster and began a flurry of consistent blows that pummeled against its shell at an unrelenting rate.

“Fuck your subjugation.” Kaivant said before retracting his extended arm and dropping into a stance that was meant for a piercing attack. In his hands, white flames manifested into the shape of a burning spear that he thrust forward into a dashing charge. In the split second before impact with the creature, Azrael dispelled his onslaught of arms; only to be replaced by a swirling pyre that exploded into the sky. Having come in contact with the monster, Kaivant’s charge met immediate resistance; however, even still he continued to push through--inching through the creature’s defenses every so slightly. A feral roar escaped his lungs as he channeled every ounce of strength into the spear and shoved forward--hoping to pierce through the heart of the demon.

But then it began, the heart-shattering laughter which signaled the coming of an end. There was no will left in Kaivant’s spirit as he watched his flames be consumed by the beetle and its shell burst into a boiling, crimson red. All Kaivant could do was utter his final order to the crowd, “It’s over, leave.” before the oncoming explosion began...

Part 4 of 5​

 

[Azukai]

A Dark Shadow Looms
Sam Sarith | Lucy Black | Camilla Ferarri | Nikki Viole | Kaivant Tsukino | Azrael



​

Lucy sat, her body rocking, arms over her head in the pure bliss of distress, the image of Nikky’s leg being torn from her body all that she could see. “Hope… Hopeless…” She was back at her house, weak, alone, in comparison to this creature that was how she felt, human once more…

Sam had barely had seconds to formulate a plan and gauge the battle before it all went to hell. The battlefield disintegrated as the team sustained heavy injuries. He watched in horror as Nikki’s leg went flying off, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the way Camilla’s arm was limp at her side. She was right, they needed to go.

On the opposite side of the pillar of fire, where the only two souls capable of existing inside of its wraith was Kaivant and the creature, Camilla was barely holding her ground. Even as she witnessed Nikky’s leg tear from the rest of her body in a gruesome fashion, the speedster didn’t even have the time to paralyze herself with fear before Kaivant’s final effort signaled the climax of the one-sided battle. As the white flame raged upwards into the sky like a cyclone, the heat radiated far enough that Camilla started to sweat even from where she stood - and through the thick of it all, Kaivant’s words reached her ears. “D-don’t tell me this is-..”

“Shit. SCRAMBLE!” Sam called out to the group as he sensed the explosion about to start. With the scent of Nikki’s blood, Sam’s powers were at highest capacity. With a flick of his wrist, Two sharks, Lucas and Luna suddenly appeared out of seafoam and started to drag the now-a leg down, woman to safety. They were fast, and cut through the air as fast as they could, just trying to build distance. And since they were bound directly to Sam instead of Cetus, they hadn’t been destroyed when the Soiree ship’s hold had been annihilated by canons. With Nikky as safe as he could get her, Sam looked to Kaivent. He was just too far. While in his heightened state, he was fast, but he wouldn’t be able to make it to the man in time. Cursing, he turned and grabbed Lucy, who’s body ragdolled in his grasp. He couldn’t save Kaivant, but he could only hope that Camilla would know what to do.

“Hold on!” He shouted in order, before the pair dissolved into seafoam. The least he could do was get Lucy out of the blast radius. He traveled in an instant, silent through Limbo, to get them as far as the sharks could before the beatle-bomb went off. In the last second, he reappeared, pushing Lucy down and doing his best to cover the two women. If they couldn’t escape the blast zone, he just had to hope his armor-like-skin could hold.

Watching the other three disappear into seafoam relieved Camilla, and inwardly she thanked her ‘uncle’ for keeping the others safe where she couldn’t. This only left Kaivant and herself. Despite his obvious choice to sacrifice himself in order to buy them time to escape, Camilla was all too stubborn to allow that to happen. “Kaivant, NO!” Her voice echoed into the air as time itself slowed to a crawl. Grabbing her unresponsive arm with the other, she broke out into a sprint towards the pillar and soon-to-be-explosion. The air was scorching hot as if she was climbing into an oven, and it only got worse as she neared its source. Camilla refused to stop and braced herself, crashing through the wall of hellfire and refusing to stop until she put all of her weight and speed behind the collision into Kaivant’s body, blasting both of them onto a course several dozen feet outside of the pillar. Naturally, this resumed time for Camilla and left her left-side covered in burns as they tumbled to a stop. “You're a fucking fool, kid.” Kaivant muttered once his body had come to a stop. Everything in him wanted to reach over and smack Camilla for her idiotic save. Nonetheless, he was on the edge of his conscious, which limited him to a small smile before he blacked out with his final word. “Thanks…”

“...-Not over-.. yet..” she admitted, as the crash had only separated the two from the beetle by a measly 25 or 30 feet. The creature was bound to explode - if they wanted to survive, Camilla had no choice then but to run. Lifting herself up with her only functional arm, she pulled herself over to Kaivant and gripped his arm - all the while, the energy swelled inside the beetle began to crack through at an alarming rate. Lightning coursed over the two, and they disappeared into a stream of electricity that bolted in the opposite direction.

“I-I’m sorry.” Lucy could only repeat through her tears, her mind flashing back to her past showings of weakness… History just continued to repeat, and repeat, and… Large blue eyes locked back to Sam, his body shielding them. That was true power, not the way you held yourself, but the actions, the sacrifices you chose. “...Sam.” It was the first time she had addressed anyone but Camilla and Samantha so genuinely, her shaking arms poking around his sides, almost as if she was about to embrace him. “Hit me.” She suddenly spoke up, a nervous tone infecting her lungs, as the kinetic energy she had stored from the creature’s attack began to stream out from the tips of her fingers, a strange, near silent noise escaping her body gradually as she did so, a barrier of pure kinetic energy beginning to form between them and the detonating fiend. She had little experience with this, and had no idea what kind of strength she could put behind it, but she wasn’t about to let someone else get hurt protecting her. “Now Sam! And don’t stop!” The young woman demanded in a roar of uncomfortable, apprehensive rage, her eyes staring into his, before closing as she braced herself, tears continuing to stream down her cheeks.

Part 5 of 5​

 

[Solemn Jester]

Melman Dobson (Please give me back my font button...please)
Melman had been so engrossed in his music that he didn't notice when he drove past the roadblock. Due to his overzealous singing, and his blunder which meant they had to postpone their work until given the clear. Melman workers were not happy with him. So he quietly sat on a sidewalk staring off into the sky. Thinking about life, and the world morality. How everyone was so quick to resort to violence. He was probably going to get at least a garbage truck style wedgie. But thankfully his Mama would be home to comfort him and assist in dee wedgifying him. "Oh no! I totally forgot about Mama! What am I going to do!?" Melman suddenly felt nervous, his guts filled with butterflies in response to his emotion. He knew his mother's Nurse would probably stay a bit longer of Melman was late. But the latest he had ever been home late was half an hour. So she would probably leave before he got home, and Melman could only imagine what would happen to his poor mother at that time. What if a fire started, or an earthquake happened, or someone broke in a forced his mother to do indecent things! Like...like...CLEANING HIS UNDERWEAR!? Melman screamed inside his head. Knowing it would probably kill his mother just to stand, and not really knowing many indecent acts being his sheltered poor self. Of course when the man gave them permission to move on Melman moved faster than the Flash trying to save his mother from being killed in the past. Which this was similar if not more dire! So before he could even hear a word or sass from his coworkers he cut them off. "Look I know I messed up but I must get home to my mother before her nurse leaves so you can do whatever to me some other time because I am in a rush!" He said surprisingly forceful for once. His coworkers a bit surprised but very much aware of how protective Melman was of his mother simply nodded, not saying a thing.

Of course, this was but a ceasefire. Their temporary understanding didn't mean anything other than they didn't want to send Melman into a tantrum and cause a ruckus that could hold them up even longer. They wanted to head home just as much as Melman did at this point. So they quickly went about their route. Driving from place to place, picking up trash, telling racist, sexist, and rude jokes. (Although Melman simply ignored these jokes as they made him uncomfortable.) Then dropped the trash off, right before the truck. He was still very late. But not nearly as late if he had not been adamant about hurrying. With the day done, and the night upon him. Melman waddled with the ferocity of a raging elephant. Which is probably what most compared him to as he charged past then screaming Sorry to everyone he forced aside. He wasn't far from his house now. Thankfully he had done everything quickly and efficiently, as well as turning in everything at the end of the day with a meticulous perfection that only his Mother's safety could motivate in him. So he wasn't held up at the end of the day for a scolding. Even though he was late. He just hoped he didn't get home to his mother being forced to bleach some strange mans undies! Oh the horror!

Boss

 

[Azukai]

On the Road to Recovery
Sam Sarith | Lucy Black | Camilla Ferarri

Bliss was the best description for the current experience--a stark contrast to the horrors of the battlefield that they were once on. The monster and the mountainous terrain were nowhere to be found; instead, everything was a vibrant culmination of color. Glistening blue skies stretched far past the horizon in every direction, all while the immediate ground was defined by endless seas of plush, golden clouds. Here and there, towering shrubs in the shape of sheeps were littered across the terrain, and from them, came not leaves, but rather rainbow colored confetti which fluttered through the air, traveling along the occasional warm, gentle breeze. Camilla, Lucy, Sam, and Kaivant were all in a similar situation--each of them were nestled into the comfort of an sheep-shaped cloud that acted as their gurney and suspended them midair. No one was restrained, but there was a miniscule, horned creature that remained at their side and observed their condition administered treatment as necessary.. For an experienced host, it was obvious their surrounding environment was a certain limbo or another; however, there was a lack of connection to their physical body, in addition to the Zodiacs that their body inhabited.

The effects of regaining conscious were like resurfacing amidst a sea of darkness. Camilla could feel the occasional gust of wind on her skin, the rays of what felt like sunlight were all too comforting compared to recent events, which therefore begged the question, “..Where-.. Am.. I?” Slowly, the girl opened her eyes for the first time in what felt like forever, though she saw nothing but pure light for the moment. That being said, it didn’t take her eyes long to adjust--her first view being the wooly face of her dedicated critter. It was a small, tan-skinned female that sat on her chest and wove around a small baton in the directions of Camilla’s wounds. The immediate air was filled with miniscule puffs of snow-white cotton--obvious manifestations of Zodiac power which provided gradually healing upon contact with Camilla’s injured skin. The girl never spoke; however, she did express a beaming smile upon noticing that her patient was finally awake.

At a higher altitude, Sam had been conscious for the longest of the group. A somewhat...irritated expression on his face. “Hellooo? Anyone?” The man called out. He knew it wasn’t a limbo trap, he could still move. He sat on his spectral cloud...gurney thing and peered down. “Where are the others? And where’s this?”

“I think he’s dense.” The male creature which was sitting on the rear-edge of Sam’s cloud was the first to respond to his declarations to the world. Nonetheless, it didn’t take long for another reply, as another horned creature, this time a significantly taller female, bounded through the air and leaped onto platform which Sam rested upon. “Maybe he hit his head too hard.” She announced with a giggle. Immediately, the pair of creatures began poking at his head--each touch causing a pulse of energy that emanated a soothing warmth. “Look around you, dumpy.” The female creature added as she pointed towards the other platforms that contained his companions.

“I ain’t dense.” He snarked back with a sigh, moving to stand on the edge of the platform. “Hey! Guys! You okay over there?” He poked his head over the cloud, trying to judge if he could make the fall down without sustaining further injury. That being said, he wasn’t given time to contemplate his decisions as both spirits pranced forward and shoved him the platform. Falling in the current realm wasn’t the same experience as it was on Earth. It was slower, controlled. In his current case, all he had to do was let himself float downward until he reached Camilla’s platform.

Part 1 of 4