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The Dead PS~! (Bark, Eli, and Zyren)
Topic Started: Jul 17 2017, 11:50 PM (511 Views)
Zyren
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Soul's eye's narrowed at the demon's tone, and while he didn't like it, he couldn't say that he himself would be nice with a knife to the neck either. Apparently, this demon had carried the Hybrid here with Bark in tow and Soul had recovered; but for the second time this guy had brought up the whole forest thing and that they had met.

The only reaction that garnered from the Hybrid was a puzzled frown, but within seconds the puzzlement had faded and he thought; It had to have been Zyren while it was his turn and I was sleeping, but...

What was with the whole knife thing when he could use glowing runes and energy? While the reasoning was sound in that same type of thought, it was apparent that the demon didn't use his brain any further into his questions. Tons of answers could be generated based on hypothesis, but the easiest was and most probably was that either a; Soul didn't desire to, or b, Soul could not.

The answer that Soul gave was circumspect, but that was from both distaste for the frenemy and secretive about his own past; "You wouldn't understand, demon, and a man has his secrets for a reason. I don't ask yours, and you don't ask mine, especially after being responsible for the shit that just went down. If it wasn't for the fact that everything had happened the way it did, I would kill you were you stand."

Soul returned to being quiet for several reasons. One, he didn't need to make an unnecessary enemy, and he also didn't need to be a dick about everything. Most of his fear, no, anxiety was the fact that he had that weird dream while he was unconscious. That in itself wouldn't be so bad, but the fact that it felt so real...

He repressed a shudder at the thought about the end of it, and then repressed another from seeing his world change in a blink of his eyes. Reality had twisted and corrected itself, but would could it mean? Was he being rejected by the Universe, or could it be something such as bleed off from missing memory fragments?

Both were bad in their own right, but the common thing between the both meant that something was wrong with his psyche, and he didn't have much time. Wanda interjected her own thoughts after the demon rationalized his own points that the witch had summoned more demons no less, and Soul sighed.

He could either be childish and keep up this whole fight, or he could be the bigger person, set aside his pride, and focus on the things that needed to be focused on. That, and the fear was starting to fade away when he accepted it, so it helped lower the amount of aggression and fear within him.

The Hybrid spoke hesitantly, not wanting to reveal more than he had, but also apologize for his actions after lowering the dagger and sheathing it with a satisfying click.

"Well Wanda...he's not wrong, but I'm not either about not remembering who he is, because it wasn't me who he met, but someone like me. Neither of us are lying, and even if one of us were to do so--especially like a redhead I kind of just met--it's no one's place to call them out on it. We all have our own reasons for keeping secrets to ourselves, but like you said, self-preservation is the leading cause for mine as well.

"As for you...demon guy, I'm sorry for acting the way I did and being--"
Soul's eyes glanced at the child among them, and while she was strong and had her own secrets, he didn't want to foul the air with curses; "--A butt about it. As you may know, I'm Soul, and this is Wanda. Your name is...?"

The Hybrid paused with the intention that the demon would give his name and maybe let the whole previous exchange about enemies being let go slide--at least for now anyway--, and be friends at least.

"If we do get out of this unscathed or at least still alive, we can agree to eat and meet at a place, and I'll pay, okay? Now, if you give me just a moment..."

With that Soul sat and concentrated, both hoping that maybe his prior actions could be forgiven and also with the aim to further boost his concentration. The dream and whatever had happened could be put aside until he could handle it by himself later, but now was the time that he had to find out where the contracted demons went so that the three of them could put a stop to it.

His Sense finally clicked back into motion and blossomed out from the Hybrid, quickly reaching out to intercept any wavelengths given off by either strong powers, or anything that could be defined as unnatural. He found several clusters of both unknown and known powers, but most that he had first detected were static; meaning that they weren't fighting, or were sleeping, or something of the sort.

Even with those out of the way, there were simply too many for him to comb through with his underdeveloped Sense. If he used this Universe's method it would probably be easier and take less time, but the thing about his method was the fact that it was stronger in the long run.

The problem, of course, was that this Universe rejected everything foreign to it, and even if it didn't...it took years of constant practice to get back the Sense capabilities that he had had so long ago if his memories served him right.

Next came the part where he skimmed away anything that didn't feel "natural", but this was where his current capabilities drew to a stop, and with it came a migraine. Soul was about to give when an idea made itself known, and he figured; why the hell not?

He strained, a vein appearing on his temple, and decided to try and add the feeling of the missing memory fragment that had been at the cave before it exploded and combine it with his Sense.

There!

Soul opened his eyes and rubbed his temple, but pushed his way through the headache and spoke; "I think I found them, but...No, it has to be them. A town or city based on the number of the populace, but something...isn't right with the people I think. Just my gut, but I think we should head there."


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"Don't make a promise you can't keep, for it no longer becomes a promise...but a burden."
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<p>The witch sat down in a chair. She was dead and her soul had drowned downward toward Hell and before her was a man reading a book. She was curious as to what the book was about, seeing that the man was deeply into its volume. Page after page had flipped before he realized that he was blessed with an audience. An echo resounded as the book was slammed shut with his palms. He looked down at her. The man wore a suit jacket and a full blown attire that made him seem like he may have been a mafia boss. Several rings were set in his fingers.

<p><n>So you are the one that asked for my four top demons. It cost your soul and your life. All you wanted was to see the human suffer, and I will grant you a front row seat before I send you further into my collection of souls.</n> It was his voice that made her the most uneasy. It was deep and it spoke so clear that she thought it may have been her own thoughts speaking.

<p>He snapped his fingers and a ghastly ball of darkness appeared in her lap. From there he was able to project what was going on in Veltin City. The witch was excited. Her eyes wre fixated on what was to come and the first things she could see was the demons scattering to four different corners of the coastal city. Three of them were slaughtering the humans while one was raising the decease and using that army to attack the rest of them.

<p>This was the perfect revenge and seeing it unfold made giving up her soul seem all worth it. The man in the chair watched her reactions and could only grin to her malevolent smiles.



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<p><n>Too easy. I can yawn and kill two humans.</n> The red haired devil skated through the Eastern streets and his claws extended to cover both sides of it. As he walked he sliced human in pieces, at-least the ones that didn’t expect it. The rest of them got into buildings or to high ground in order to avoid his lethal set of claws. Damien was ruthless and careless all the same. He was tasked with killing, and so that is what he did. It did not matter how he killed, as long as life ended he was completing his goal.

<p>The police were on it. They came with heavily armed cars and they themselves were heavily armored to prevent being hacked into pieces like the common civilian. It was here that Commander Devin Vanderbilt’s squadron would try and hold down this demon. They were already dealing with the virus in the south, now that they had a demon attack the city of Veltin seemed to have their hands full now. Devin grabbed a megaphone so that he could speak with the devilish Damien and see if he had any demands to meet in order to end this savage onslaught.

<p><n>This is Commander Vanderbilt. I don’t know what aim you have here in Veltin, but I have come here to negotiate with you.</n>

<p>Damien sighed as he heard the man over the megaphone. <n>I’ll entertain him I suppose.</n> Damien retracted the claws and with a bored sigh he spoke loudly enough for the commander to hear him. <n>I’m listening! What do you have to offer? Or do you want to know what my demands are!?</n>

<p>The Commander felt they had made progress and he nodded back toward the squad behind him. He was giving them the signal to attempt a flank. <n>Yes please give me your demands. What do you want in order to prevent more unnecessary bloodshed?</n>

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<p>What a drag. It wasn’t like murder had gotten Orion excited or anything like that, it didn’t. Stretching his muscles and actually doing stuff made he feel better than sitting back and playing cards all day. When he grabbed a man by his face and slammed him into the concrete, it didn’t spark excitement like it did Damien. Orion always had a, this is business as usual vibe to him. His job was to just obliterate a town and that was it. They were not even going to leave this town to pursue the rest of the world. Now that would have upset the balance too much.

<p>The ploy was to destroy a town and allow the witch to see it happen. While she was happy, drag her soul into the collector’s box and then they would go home. Orion knew they would have to drag the job out and instead of just blowing up his half of the city, he decided to pick them all off one by one. Maybe he was doing the humans a service by ridding them of this city. It was being quarantined because of a deadly virus that was killing people off. Orion didn’t know the details like Ellen would have, but he knew that people were dying regardless if they did it or not.

<p>Walking the streets of North Veltin, Orion blended into the crowd until he started his murder spree. Then it was more like a horror film where people ran at top speeds and he just walked with his hands in his pocket and smoking his cigar. He heard the Commander was in the East messing with Damien. That was good. It would only be a matter of time and patience before he had his own police squad at his location.

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<p>West Veltin was just a mess. Somehow the virus was able to spread much quicker and it hit the West hard. The virus deteriorated the internal organs at a slow rate down in the south, but here in the West it was accelerated. It was almost like the air was acid and people were deteriorating at the whiff of the breeze. Immediately gas masks were given out to prevent further damage. People were ushered into their homes and doors were locked and boarded up. What could cause the virus to advance greatly like this? This was Ellen’s specialty.

<p>She sat down on the highest building in that part of the city and surrounding her were mummy wraps which fluttered in the wind. Coming from the wraps was a black dust that faded into the air. <n>Didn’t take too long to take the virus’ source and improve it. It seems to be an outbreak from their lab in the south. They were careless. I’ll just leave a few husks for Richard to come and sweep up.</n> She stood up, and looked over the city once more as she thought about how fragile they were. It was just humans though, this virus wasn’t strong enough to mess with demons or saiyans. Half humans probably would fall ill if they came to the South or the West, but none of that was her concern. All she was here to do was to make them suffer for the time being.

<p>Ellen jumped off the roof and as she landed on the ground the virus’ strength intensified. It was now finding its way into locked and boarded homes and bypassing air filters. There was nowhere for the people to hide and Ellen was making sure of it.<n> I wonder what Richard is up to in the South..</n>

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<p>He was a master of the dead. Everyone he was dead would rise with his control. Richard walked throughout the barren South, barren of living people that is. Surrounding him would be robotic humans. They weren’t really robots, they just moved with a stiffness that made them seem robotic. They moved like soldiers, but when there was the scent of a lively human, they dropped down into beast and sprung to attack. Once they killed the human, Richard would raise a finger and that person would rise to be part of his master puppet show. For those that were still alive, this was the ultimate nightmare.

<p>Those that were sick had to hang on to life as much as they could, or risk being turned into a mindless slave. They hid underground and in hidden passage ways that were created for fallouts. Even then, nothing stopped the zombies and Richard from finding them. If they smelled alive, then they were easy to find. <n> What are we going to do? We can’t call for help, they won’t come to a quarantined zone. Do you think we are just doomed?</n>

<p>The man was talking to the lead doctor in charge of the healing process, Dr. Amanda Lindburough. She was in the middle of applying medication to a sick patient deep underground. <n>The only way is if we find a way to a cure and kill the virus. I already know how, I just need to get the cure into the air filters around town. It is too dangerous out there right now. If only we could get a signal out and bring in a powerful force to help us deal with these demons that showed up. It’s all over the place. Demons showed up in the North, East and West too.</n>

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<p>Ouch. That hurt a little bit. But it was true, she was lying and she even admitted it. Soul, however made it feel so bad to do it. No, she mustn’t buckle under it. Barkley knew she needed to keep this weak veil over her identity. She was still skeptical of Soul with him knowing about her mother and father almost immediately upon meeting Barkley. She doubt there was not much to hide from him anyway. At that point she decided to alert him later on about her origins, but only because it just made her feel bad. Soul was calming down though and hopefully Elijah and Soul would make up and be civil. She needed them to be such things.

<p>One could not forget that she was a child and that she could not properly lead them on some kind of epic adventure, she was surely to be the follower in this caper. They needed to get to finding the demons and that was something she was not good at doing. She could tell Soul had the ability to sense, that was the only way he could smell Yan and Anna on her the way he did. She was a bit envious of that ability, and that envy made a follower out of Barkley. She was definitely going to follow Soul and his better sense of direction. Again, that brought her back to losing her way to the police station.

<p>She realized how lost she would be without Soul today. With a sigh she ultimately decided to come clean with him. He even offered to pay for the eatery. My, he was shaping out to be quite the leader already. Soon he found where they were and voiced how things felt weird over there. Barkley nodded her head. <b> Okay so they are there? Well, what are we waiting for? Hm, let’s see..”</b>

<p>She took out her phone and she inputted the directions and what not to see what city or town was near. It showed Veltin and she skimmed through recent news and a lot of tragic information was popping up. A virus and now a demon attack… that had to be the place. <b>Veltin City, on the coast. I’m getting information about demon attacks and a virus. I think that is what you are sensing, Soul.”</b>


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Elijah felt silly being schooled by a child about ethics and learning to cope and move beyond conflict with Soul. After all, even if he showed a concern about the situation with the demons, he didn't have the drive to go out and be the one that stopped it. That's what was different about him and Bark. He would do it, but it wouldn't be because he wanted to, or because he cared about human life. His motive for helping Wanda and Soul was a greedy one at best. He was out for personal gain. Acquaintances get you places and all Elijah had to care about right now was himself, although he had to admit that some qualities of little Bark had grown on him. Also, what the fuck is a waffle house?

Soul's response, however, began as one that Elijah expected, one that he would have given himself. Hiding his own self to protect a flaw in his own system. Mentioning Elijah's faults to change the subject from himself. Extremely typical argumentative conversation that did little to nothing to amend the situation. This primitive banter could go on all day.

But it changed. Soul showed that he was stronger willed and a better individual than Elijah. He confessed to having.... a body double of some sort? A twin? Who knows. They all had their secrets; their motives. He even apologized before asking the immature demon his name. "It's... Elijah."

Now Soul and Bark were back into good guy mode. Beyond the petty bickering, onto stopping these demon low-lifes from fulfilling their promise. That could be impossible. Demon's don't simply skimp out on their promises. They bend the edges and dive through every loop possible, but one like this is pretty straight forward. End humanity. Or at least cripple it severely.

Between Soul's ability to sense energy and Bark's savvy with technology, he figured it would be up to them to lead the way onward. He figured correctly. Moments after his now neutral companion spoke of a feeling that lead him to believe humans were behaving strangely and demons were also nearby, the little ginger pulled out that device she carries around and somehow relayed information that the demons were attacking a city infested with a virus killing its citizens.

As far as Eli was concerned, demons are attracted to two things far more than anything else. Death and suffering. But why attack the damned? Surely they could let it flow its course and kill healthy people and be more efficient? He wished he could remember more about hell, something that could make him as useful as the other two.

"I wish I had something useful to throw in, but... I hones..." This wasn't like his previous flashbacks he'd experienced when he first arrived on Earth. Those were in dreams, like a memory flooding his brain, emotional memories. This was more like a powerful shot of information that was on the tip of his tongue but just out of reach. "Wait, I might know something. I know you said the human's are behaving oddly Soul, but they might not be human anymore. Demon's can possess peoples minds, it's called Majin? It could be something similar, but that takes a lot of energy, and I can't recall anyone controlling more than a few individuals at a time..." That's all he had. He could have sworn there was something else there, some how to control hordes at once, but it just wasn't coming to him.

"Never mind, I'm sorry. I doubt that's it."


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Soul hadn't been thinking clearly when he made the comment about not calling someone out on lying, and hadn't realized that he was a hypocrite until right after he said something. The look on Barkley's face showed how much the tease hurt, even if it wasn't meant to hurt from the Hybrid, so he resolved himself to apologize at a different time instead of making more drama. However, she quickly recovered and pulled out a cell phone, then used it to check on the local towns via G.P.S. with the directions he gave.

She even went so far as to cross check with the news in the local area and make sure that it was the right place, and in doing so, earned a silent praise from Soul.

She couldn't be older than fourteen, yet was this smart, but it made sense given that her power was remarkable for her age too.

When the demon---Elijah--brought up some information about other demons being able to control other minds with a technique called Majin, but apparently they could only control a few minds at a time with it. Based on that evidence anyway, it didn't fit with the fact that more than a few of the town people's Ki signatures felt...unnatural with only four demons.

It could mean that either there were a lot more demons, the four demons were either a cut above the rest and could control more...or it was something else entirely. There were too many pieces of the puzzle missing for Soul to reasonably put together anything relevant, and anything beyond that was useless speculation.

However...

The Hybrid spoke; "Before we go, we need to do a few things and make sure that we're ready for a fight if it comes down to it. Give me just a moment..." With that, Soul looked around and frowned, then sighed after finding who he was looking for with his sense. With a blur of movement, he was gone.

A few seconds passed before the Hybrid's blur slowed to a stop in front of the cat who had been in the midst of quietly sneaking away, and that action caused the creepy, white-haired cat to glare at him and speak out in a rough voice; "What do you want?"

Soul's response was an eye roll before he reached into the pouch at his waist, the simple movement causing the humanoid cat to stiffen like he expected the half-saiyan to pull out a gun or start a fight. This elicited yet another roll of the eyes, and the blonde spoke while withdrawing his hand to show what was within; "Relax, I just want to be a customer and buy a couple of senzus...and ask a few questions."

The cat relaxed at Soul's words, but his eyes narrowed at the mention of questions like they were his bane or something akin to it. The prospect of making a sale did sway him, so with a grit of his teeth, he responded; "Fine, a few questions, but that doesn't mean I have to answer. As for two beans, that'll be--"

Soul rudely cut him off while scratching his ear and looking to the side seemingly uninterested in the conversation; "800 Zeni, isn't that right, Katz?" The Hybrid simply stopped being disinterested and looked at the Cat who was giving him a mixture of both a look of surprise and anxiety, blanketed with anger. In response to the look, Soul gave a wolfish grin, and asked; "Surprised? I'd be surprised too if a stranger that you've never met or even heard of knew the price and your name, which you've only told a few people, if anyone at all. You might dismiss the knowing of the price if your memory wasn't damn near perfect--oh, and I know that too by the way--and including your name..."

Each word that the Hybrid uttered caused the cat to visibly pale and also have the fur rise, which would have been a sight to see if the tone and topic of the conversation wasn't the way it was now. The two sensu's in Katz's hand dropped the the ground with audible pit-pats, but they were easily forgotten while the Cat started to backup; his words coming out surprisingly calm compared to his physical condition, "Who are you and how do you know this much?"

The blonde Saiyan waved those aside with a casual dismissal and took a step forward, but Kat was spooked enough that he started to run, but was stopped when the Hybrid appeared awfully close. However, instead of a fight or a mugging that the Kait-Sith expected, a few small weights hit his hand accompanied by the sound of coins clinking against one other met the frightened cat's ears.

A light pat Kat's shoulder was all that Soul gave before he made a complete three-sixty and began to walk off; his hand raising once in the gesture that only Kat himself would exclusively know before the man's words drifted back casually; "Don't get your fur in a knot, it was nice doing business with you again. Until next tiiiiiime!"

Soul vanished after that, appearing once more in front of his two companions with a serious look on his face, and asked them to hold out their hands before dropping a bean into each of their palms. Next, he rummaged around in his pouch and visibly pondered what would be good to share, and snagged a few items to show both Barkley and Elijah.

With them appearing before their eyes, he finally spoke; "I won't make the same mistake again while leaving my companions unprepared, so you both get a bean, and an item or two from me. If a fight goes down and I'm not around for whatever reason, these items will help immensely, but know that I can't help protect against everything."

He paused long enough to place a familiar looking Gem in the redhead's hands, then tapped one of the obscure facets before poking her wrist with it and resuming; "Barkley, you should recognize this, but let me explain what it does. As long as it's on your person and it's primed--which I did for you now--it will provide a few things. First and foremost, it has two functions, and both are defensive. The first casts a shield around your body that both reinforces it and protects it against kinetic energy, while the second casts a reactive barrier that protects against energy and any projectiles.''

Soul stopped talking and placed a serrated dagger into Barkley's hands, then turned to Elijah and dropped what looked like a unorthodox dagger into the demon's hands. The blade section was akin to an elongated arrowhead, and instead of a normal hilt, a piece of cloth-wrapped metal jutted out from the bottom of the blade. It possessed neither a pommel nor a cross-guard, but the blonde spoke quickly so the demon wasn't discouraged at the seemingly normal weapon if he didn't count the strange appearance.

"As for you, Eli, I give you this Kunai. It may look strange, and the metal may look normal, but I promise you that it is anything but. Channel your energy into it and attack with it, and you'll notice a big change, even if you throw it or just swing it normally."

The Hybrid then took a step back and grinned at both of them, the looked toward the town before getting serious again; "If neither of you have any questions, than we can depart."

With a burst of energized air, he left the ground hopefully with them in tow, and made their way to town at a measured pace so none of them would be tired when they arrived an hour later. When the town finally appeared on the horizon, he looked back and yelled over the wind; "Remember, there is a virus, and while it may be harmful to normal people, we are anything but. We are strong, much stronger than most of the Human race, and your bodies should be able to fight off the pathogen with ease. Even if it doesn't, don't be afraid, it shouldn't come close to killing you. If it was designed to injure or kill superpowered individuals, I promise that the first sign for us would be that this town and everything around it would be dead, which obviously hasn't happened; meaning that it isn't that strong."

Soul turned back to look at Veltin city that was now much closer, and cast out his sense to try and gauge the situation before they stepped into it, but had worrisome frown at what he discovered. The sickly energy had spread like wildfire in the time that it had taken them to travel here, but he still couldn't get anything more than a generalized "Hey, demonic energy in this town."

His ability to sense energy wasn't developed enough, and that was based under the assumption that he could even read their Ki anyway.

If they could sense energy, surely they could sense that the three of them were strong and right about the same strength, but that was because Soul had scaled back his energy output to closely match his companions. He didn't want to give the demons the idea that the three of them were here to fight, merely try to talk and see if they could resolve it peacefully.

Obviously that was wishful thinking, and no matter how many times the inter-dimensional traveler was proven wrong, Soul always tried to give the benefit of the doubt first.

That, of course, meant that shit hit the fan very quickly and out of nowhere for the three of them, and he felt like it was partially his fault for not expecting demons to resolve things peacefully!

Zy WC: 1,660/2,774
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"Don't make a promise you can't keep, for it no longer becomes a promise...but a burden."
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<p>Her phone gently plopped into her pocket as Elijah tossed in his change worth of thought. Majin was a demonic curse that she was informed of by her father in attempts to protect her from it, at-least for now. Stories of Tomoko paraded through her mind. The curse was like slipping fingers right around the brain and massage demands and messages into one’s thoughts. When they left your head alone, it felt as if there was a missing piece. There was a forever longing left behind. That was how it was explain to her. She had to be careful and that memory left her giving Elijah sneaking glances of both weary and hints of curiosity.
<p>Soul took lead with a nice sentence of preparation. Barkley nodded easy to him, the child in her wanted to follow after all. He disappeared and she looked around for a moment before focusing on Soul and the cat in the distance. <b>I think he is buying some beans. Good. Those things woke him right up and healed him. We’ll need something like that. I’m excited!</b>

<p>This was Barkley’s first team up. She was used to doing this alone. They only trusted her with easy enough tasks to accomplish alone. With being in a group, Barkley felt part of something. Sure it was with two men she had just met, and her defenses should have been a bit higher than they were now. It all just came together all at once. Neither of them had tried to hurt her so far, matter of fact, Soul saved her. She smiled at the thought of the efforts he had put in.

<p>She decided that cooking him a meal would be the best pay back. She’d invite both of them over to dinner when this was done. Doing so, however, would allow Soul to know exactly what Barkley didn’t tell him, but by that time she would have told him already. How weird would it be to bring those two around her mother and father? Soul already knew them, so it would just be slightly awkward. Elijah? Well it was not like she was bringing prom dates home or something.

<p>Soul finally came back, with the cat a bit startled and he handed them both a bean. Barkley nodded and placed the pouch in her handbag. He then showed her the same device he used on her beforehand, one that had saved her life. He explained to her what it can do and how to use it. She nodded in response and again it went into her handbag of goodies. <b>Okay then.</b>

<p>With that bit of information it gave Barkley a bit more confidence. Barkley didn’t know when they had started moving, but realized they were close to Veltin now. Just from where they were, Barkley could see destruction and chaos. The city was on the verge of a fall. This made her more excited. If they were to be part of saving the city, she would get a taste of heroism. A wide grin was on her face as the advanced.

<p><n>We have company. Not much to them either. They’ll have to split up to deal with us efficiently, or they could try and attack each of us all at once. We will have to prevent that.</n> Orion’s voice vibrated through all of the demons’ heads. Damien shrugged while he was at his stand still for the moment. He had time to reply.
<p><n>So what do you expect us to do? I can go ahead and separate them if you want. What makes you think they came here to help?</n>

<p><n>A power level of almost 10,000 across the board? That isn’t just your average tourist group. Damien and Ellen, flank them and take two of them with you. I’ll snatch the one you guys miss.</n> Orion took his hands out of his pocket and flicked his cigarette out of his mouth. As he did so, Damien and Ellen rushed up toward the trio.

<p>Damien matched himself with Barkley. He attacked her side and would force her into a blocking situation. Upon even touch, the two of them zapped away, going to the West side of the city. The same would happen to Elijah, except Ellen came to him to attempt to pull him to the East side with a zap and teleportation.

<p>They did it without an introduction, being as sneaky as possible. This would leave Soul on his own, but with Orion floating toward him nonchalantly. When Orion got there he’d make sure to be standing on the air. <n>Coming to try and save the day?</n>


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He might have felt a little silly given he realized his information was almost useless to them now, but it was also kind of a relief to retrieve thoughts and ideas that were lost in his odd arrival on Earth. Fortunately, Soul and Bark didn't dwell on the matter, apart from kind of sideways looks. Eli couldn't decipher if they were merely curiosity or concern, not that it mattered; they both had good reason to look at him with a little concern.

Soul was beginning to show his experience in many more less than subtle ways. He dashed off after the cat to have some sort of conversation. It appeared as though he was making a purchase. Bark chimed in that he was purchasing senzu beans to confirm his belief, which was perfectly reasonable to Elijah. If only he'd carried any currency with him. He supposed he'd have to actually acquire some first, and doubted stealing would get him any benefit of the doubt from his companions.

Souls return was quicker even than his departure and he asked Elijah and Bark to hold out their hands. He dropped a single senzu and a Kunai into Eli's palm. It was a generous gesture and Eli simply nodded in response, not knowing what else to do. He explained what it was, but if the scar faced demon needed any teaching, it certainly wasn't in weapons. He didn't interrupt, however, not wanting to harm their relationship any further. "Thank you." He finally muttered.

Moments later they were in the air, en route to the city of Veltin. Evidence wasn't something they had to look hard for. There was death in the air. The beautiful scent of rotting flesh and blood evaporating to the skies. Crows and ravens encompassed the streets, waiting for the opportunity to enjoy the feast provided by their demonic guests. Soul mentioned he could feel them and Eli had to admit that there was certainly a presence of power that made his skin tingle. He'd have to learn to refine that ability the way the tailed human did.

Everything changed so suddenly. The air made a loud snap and Eli noticed one of the demons had suddenly appeared behind Barkley! He called out and waved a hand over her shoulder but to no avail as Barkley was no longer in front of him. He looked to his right and saw Soul was gone as well. It took him a moment, but it slowly sank in that he was very far from where he'd been moments prior. A soft chuckle came from behind him and he whipped his head to find nothing there. A tap on his shoulder, though, confirmed that someone was toying with him.

"Well aren't you a handsome one. Guess I made the right choice! I asked to have a go with the muscle but honestly I'm glad Orion took him. And a demon, too? You should be with us, not against."

Elijah was caught off guard by her words. She spoke fast and confidently.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce yourself? I'm Ellen."

"What? I mean, why would I be with you?"

"No, I asked for your name. You can ask questions after."

"It's Elijah."

"Ok, now as for why you should be with us? It's simple. I'm a demon, you're a demon. We run together. Like the humans. What the hell are you doin' on Earth anyhow? And hanging with a fuckin saiyan and the little ginger?"

A saiyan... is that what she called Soul? He voiced his concern, "What's a saiyan? Is that why he has a tail? I assumed he was some kind of beast."

"Well, you're not exactly educated, are you?" She chuckled as she continued, "And I guess you could call saiyans beasts, but thats a different story. Tell me what you're doing here. On Earth. Not in the demon realm."


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Soul had been watching the city to see where their help could be best put to use when he simultaneously caught movement in his peripherals and sensed a distortion in the murkiness down below. He turned his attention toward it, and sure enough, three figures were racing toward them.

Well, two were, for the third took his time, but they were fast, and had clear intentions on what--no who--they were going after. The female demon went for Eli, and the male with the redhair went for Barkley.

Soul's first reaction was to try and grab Barkley and pull her out of the way since she was the youngest and because the Hybrid was technically her unofficial guardian since he dragged her into this mess. but his idea backfired.

He stopped himself on accident, a simple blunder that turned out to be a big mistake.

The Gem that Soul had received from Nara on Grace was one of the many gifts he had been given thanks to what he had done, and he had given it to the redheaded girl to protect her. Of course, it was primed and attuned to her Ki and blood, which meant that his helping gesture actually set off the shield.

Or more so, the speed and strength of the gesture did.

The shield popped into place like a bubble around the teen just in time to intercept the Hybrid's hand, but the force of the blow caused the shield to flare and collapse--if only for a brief moment. The rebound blew Soul backward, completely taking him by surprise, and that was when the redheaded demon swooped in an snatched Barkley.

He stopped himself with a burst of Ki and turned to help Eli, but was just out of reach when the girl touched Eli and vanished in a flash of light and sound.

Soul slowly turned to face the demon who was casually looking at him and turned his gaze with a glare of his own, and had to admit that if he wasn't nearly consumed by rage at the fact that they had been split up so easily; he would give the demon standing in front of him props for the nonchalant, laid back attitude.

Easily standing on the air as if it were the ground, a cig with smoke trailing out of the corner of his mouth, and the finisher was that his hands were by his sides. One was putting away a lighter, the other held what looked like to be a deck of cards that he handled absentmindedly before asking his question.

"Ehhh, I wouldn't say save the day, more just stop you and your three friends."

The demon took a deep breath of his cig and let it out with a response that could have been interpreted as a sigh; "So...Saving the day. Well, smartass, what's your name?"

Soul resisted the urge to grin at the fact that he was getting under the demon's skin before opening his mouth to respond...and stopped himself. His face lit up with a wolfish grin while he waved his finger back and forth at the demon and responded; "Ah ah ah, I'm not falling for that one, but I'll give you the alias I go by, which is Soul. What about yours, and I assume that us asking you four to stop nicely isn't going to work?"

The demon let out a small smile in response to Soul's banter, took another puff, and blew it at him.

"We both know the answer to that, don't we? I'd rather not sit around all day and play cards because it's a drag, but this is one of the rare times that I'm not coped up, and I do not want to go back right now. Plus, even if I wanted to do so--which I don't--I'm currently doing my job, and it's bad reviews if it get's dealt half-ass, y'know?

"Oh right...The name's Orion, but enough of the chit-chat, it's becoming a bore."


WC: 675/3,449
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<p>The silence was deafening for a split second before there was a rush of wind. Life was hardly detected throughout the West as the super strengthened virus did its work at silencing the humans in that area. Barkley tumbled out of the transport winds and with a few grunts she rolled about. A few coughs escaped her lungs as she sat up to see the red haired demon staring down at her with a wicked smile on his face. Immediately she felt the lump in her throat. She stood up and dusted her pants and readjusted the hat on her head. <b>Where are my friends?</b>

<p>She looked around her and could see the murky air. It had a bad odor and she was quick to cover her mouth a bit. It then hit her, what Soul had mentioned. This was meant for humans and she was a great deal human. No, that was an understatement, there was only a small fraction of her soul and body that was considered, unknown. Everything else was human. Immediately, she activated the gem and spawned a body shield. It clung tight to her skin and she winced in shock rather than pain. <b>Whoa that was weird, oh well.</b>

<p>Barkley took a breath, a very deep breath, and she stood there and looked to the demon.

<p><n>Friends? OH! Those guys. They won’t be bothering us for a while. I’m sure they are too occupied anyway.</n> He held has hands up so that Barkley could see them and the nails were cloaked with crimson energy. <n>You smell like a human. It was a good move putting up that shield, but it may be too late. The virus should be all in your system by now. Taking a long time to mess with you, though. Are you only partial human?</n> He didn’t expect her to answer that at all.

<p>But even so, it made Barkley think. She had to figure out herself more, of course after surviving this encounter. <b>So, I came here with my friends to stop you. I’m hoping you do not think I’m defenseless on my own.</b>

<p>Damien grinned wide and he hunched over like a beast. He would play that role quite well. He was such a beast and he was ready to pounce on her and rip her body to shreds right after removing that precious exoskeleton of a shield she made for herself. <n>I was hoping for that. There is no fun in a hunt that ended all too quick.</n> He finally pounced, one large leap! His clawed hand swiped the air with threats to cut her in four clean strips.

<p>He then would land and his foot would rise to kick her in the face if she had survived his initial strike, a simple two hit combination that lacked the power to be threatening with just one kick alone. That wasn’t enough for him, however. He sliced at her four more times and gave off manic chuckle after chuckle. <nt>This kid is in over her head. I’ll make her parents regret leaving her alone</nt>

<p>What he didn’t expect, was that she was nimble enough to take a step back from his slashes. She moved like water, or more so with her inexperience it was more like melted ice. The kicks came and she blocked the first one and gave herself enough time to build up enough momentum in her arm and swat the other one away. Her hand seemed to make a clawing gesture and she went right for his eyes with no kind of hold back of any kind. A few of his strikes, three of them at-least pelted against her shield. She allowed them to so it set up her next set of attack attempts, being a hop forward and a side kick that she was jumping into for more force.

<p>He winced at her hand clawing at his eyes, thankfully she only had fingers instead of actual blades or claws. The pain was more so to the bridge of his nose and the edge of his eyes socket rather than the poking of his actual eyes. The kick pushed him back a bit and as he stumbled he grinned. He covered his attacked eye for a moment, but the other stared at her. <n>Not bad kid. I see that you aren’t all that slow at all, but that barely…</n> He removed his hand from his eye and showed her very minimal damage. <n>Hurt. You might be able to hang with my speed, but you are going to burn out quicker than you think. Little girls don’t have a place fighting a grown demon like myself.</n>

<p>Barkley was still in a relaxed stance, having placed her foot down and immediately resetting herself. It was true. She honed her reflexes over her strength. <b>Little girls huh? I’m twelve and ten months, mister. I aint no little girl.</b> An aura exuded from her skin and with an explosion she pushed herself to full power. Damien rose an eye brow at what she could do.

<p><n>That’s a cute power up. It makes your speed just a wittle bit more dangerous.</n> He rushed at her again, but this time instead of close quarter combat, he scraped the concrete and created sparks of energy that trailed behind him. With a rough swipe to the skies, four dangerous waves of thin energy rushed at Barkley with threats to, again, mince her into four stripes of meat. Again. He did it again before running a circle around her and trying to catch her in mid movement.

<p>He predicted her right. She moved out the way of the first one and barely escaped the other by moving back into her positioning. He was already at her side with her having very little room to react. Bang! She didn’t lift her entire arm up, just her forearm and a pointed finger. Vigor, colored a pure blue color and in the form of a long beam, shot him right in the eye and he hollered like a wounded animal and reached for his eye. So much for a noble human hero.

<p>He was under false pretenses that she would fight fair. He didn’t know who her father was. While he stumbled forward he fired blind blasts at her, all while he did that she either remained still as they missed or maybe stepped to the side a few times. She waited on him to near her. Barkley could tell he wanted blood. He wanted to get close to her and as he did she was reaching in her hand bag that still remained at her side. All she needed was him to get closer. When he did she roughly rammed into him and he gasped.

<p>His gasp brought open his eyes, even his injured one that was red with irritation. He looked down between them and could see a small short blade stuck in his abdomen. She was close to him. Being 5’6 and him being around 6’2 and hunched over, she was able to lean up a bit just to get into his ear. Mind games. <b>Still think I’m a little girl? Better stop playing before you are telling the embarrassing story of a little ginger bitch sending you straight back to hell.</b>

<p>His eyes widened more than they should have and this shrunk his pupils. She was on the same level as he was in terms of playing with ones food. Even if she was playing dirty and not holding back, she was adding jest to every moment. Damien, one of Lucifer’s top soldiers, was being toyed with. A menacing blast of power forced the blade and Barkley to depart from him. She went tumbling through two buildings and the blade was lost in the wreckage. Damien’s howl of angst and pain could be heard throughout the entirety of the West and his full power rumbled the ground.

<p>He had shed his human skin and was a monstrosity now. He was a Minotaur from Hell and the ground rumbled and quaked at every step he took towards the destroyed buildings. His voice had twisted into a baritone that scared all with depths rivaling the ocean. <n>Well then little bitch. I’ll bring your head as a prop to this story and add ‘almost’.</n>


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“I... “ Elijah paused thinking about his response. He didn’t want to give her the upper footing before he had a chance to lose it. “It’s really none of your business what I’m doing here. Call it a vacation.”

“Oooh, sassy. I can’t say I’m surprised. Us demons can be so fucking petty sometimes, can’t we? Looks to me like you’ve slipped in the wrong direction. You were coming to stop us, weren’t you? With the monkey and the ginger girl?”

Elijah was confused as to what she meant when she mentioned a monkey. He wasn’t with a monkey, just Soul and Bark. “They’re my friends. I owe them.”

“You’re a demon, you owe nothing. You know what I think? I think you came because you knew what we were. You came because you don’t know how to get back, do you?”

It was like she had a tap into Elijah’s mind. He knew what she was saying was true, but he still fought an internal war. His thoughts had been twisted into that of an almost decent individual, but his demonic roots still clenched on tightly. “No. I don’t know how to get back. I don’t know how… why I’m here. I came to this city under false pretenses. I agreed to stop you because I knew you had a way back. I just need to know why the hell I’m here.”

“Elijah. Everyone knows why you’re here. It’s not exactly a secret in the demon realm. Everyone knows your face and what you can do. They’ll never let you back.” She winked at him as his face turned red with embarrassment and rage.

“So why the fuck did you ask for my name? Explain to me what you’re talking about.”

“To fuck with you. And, oh, no. I can’t do that! Not after what happened! Do you know what a ruckus you all caused?” She grinned at him, “but you look like you’ve certainly lost touch with your ability, haven’t you?”

His head spun and his fists became clenched. He didn’t have a clue what she was talking about, but he felt like she wasn’t necessarily lying. He did feel that power inside him, like there was so much more potential to unlock but the key was missing. “Enough bullshit and riddles. Explain to me how to get back, or I swear I’ll slit your throat and bathe in your blood.”

“Edgy, how nice.” She sighed and glanced around the city until her face lit up like a lightbulb. “Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal! You know that pretty little ginger you came in with? I didn’t catch her name. Anyhow, what I need you to do it to kill her. I’m sure she is giving Damien a run for his money, he isn’t the strongest we had to offer. But, yeah, kill her and I’ll tell you why you’re here on this shithole!”

“What?” Elijah looked at his feet. Kill Barkley? His mind was at a standstill. He knew what he had to do, but he couldn’t. She was essentially his only friend on Earth. As weird as it sounds for a demon to say, on Earth, friends did seem to be valuable. The alternative was simple. Kill Bark. Return to his home. To whatever remains for him. Find out whatever the hell Ellen was talking about.

He picked his head back up and made eye contact with Ellen who was only feet away from him. A sly smirk creased his face as he raised his hand. She seemed confused and momentarily raised her own, as if for a handshake. However, in a split second she found Elijah’s hand around her throat. “I always knew we had a bit of a problem, Ellen. Are we all this blood thirsty? I’m afraid you’re the only girl who’s going to die today.”

His grip tightened as her face turned purple and she kicked her feet at Elijah’s torso. His grip tightened and he stared into her eyes. Second thought would be the downfall of an easy victory. He saw his mother in Ellen’s eyes. He saw hell. Home.

Was it a trick? Some kind of illusion? Or perhaps his eyes were traitors. Regardless, it gave the demon’s female counterpart more than enough time to jab him in the throat leaving him winded in the air, gasping for oxygen.

“Oh you. You really are an idiot, Elijah. You should have killed me when you just had the chance. Earth has turned you soft.” She raised a hand and instantly her entire body glowed a brilliant shade of crimson. Her aura was magnificent and he quickly met it with one of his own. Arching his back to explode into the purple hue of energy that was his signature.

The raised hand was palm out and a small ball of ki was growing swiftly inside. It soon was the size of a volleyball and she thrust it toward him, emitting a piercing beam that caught his cheek leaving a trickle of blood that rolled down to his lips. He took a finger and slid it across the wound, bringing it to his mouth to lick away.

“Cute.”


WC: 867/2108/9621
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Zyren
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Soul's mind, body, and soul all stilled at the mentioned of the demon's--Orion's--name, for the feeling of that memory, the very same memory that he had been sensing moments after meeting Barkley pressed forward.

It was close, but the blonde still couldn't see it, so what was he missing?

The Hybrid's eyes glanced at his opponent, taking in his laid-back appearance in a suit, ears remembering the way the demon spoke...and the cards. Either the combination of discoveries was strong enough to pull the memory from the dimension that the memory was in, or something else had transpired for it to be summoned here.

The memory appeared with the abruptness of lightning, causing Orion, who had been in the midst of taking a step to attack, pause and look at both it and Soul in confusion. The demon had never seen what he was seeing or sensing and the fact that he could do both--even if it seemed Orion was seeing and feeling a different thing that what Soul was at the same time.

Soul saw a shimmering, floating orb the size of a small car dyed crimson, which was both different in the average of the memories he'd had unlocked before; and because every other time the color was a shifting hue of every color in the rainbow.

This one felt ominous too.

Everything about this memory felt wrong, except for the fact that Soul could tell it was one of his.

That was the last thing he thought before it shuddered, turned on it's axis to "face" Soul, and zipped into his forehead faster than he could react. His eyes became vacant, his breathing slowed, nearly every neuron diverted work on digesting, understanding, and assimilating the lost fragment.

It left the Hybrid so completely and utterly vulnerable that if Orion wanted him dead that moment, it would have happened.

However, the Demon was too busy trying to comprehend what he had just "saw" per his mind's eye, and it was still trying to recover from the immense pressure that had enveloped his mind. He had never heard about what had happened from anyone, nor read it anywhere...so what had just happened?

Meanwhile; The Memory Fragment.

Izuku heard a movement to the right of the training range, dragging him out of his meditation temporarily to check whether or not the owner was a threat, but abandoned the meditation when he noticed who it was.

A tall, embarrassed and muscular man stood at the edge of the range, body donned in a Gui that resembled the one that his father wore, and one that the Hybrid had recognized immediately. Even if the uniform didn't give it away, the scar along the man's left cheek and the spiky hair on the right side did!

"Oh, hey Gohan, what's up?"

Gohan grinned and replied; "I just got done my training, so I was wondering if you'd like to hang out with me and a few of the guys in one of the towns close by?"


Soul lost his grip on the portion of the memory, causing it to speed up until he was able to grab hold of it and slow it down again.

Izu took a moment to breathe from his chow down and looked up at the other people that circled the table, eyes first catching Gohan demolishing his food, then Krillin, Shora, and Mits eating at a vastly slower pace than the two Saiyans. It was nice having friends, and not being alone for the second time after CWYDSNV's disappearance.

The ground shook subtlety, and the sky darkened, but none of the fighters stopped eating long enough to find out what it was. After all, if their Sense couldn't pick up on it, and they didn't hear anything...everything was fine right?

An explosion directly outside the restaurant caused everything inside to tip and rise up into the air, followed by the light blinding everything precluded by the shattering of glass--


Whether it was the explosion in the memory that he caused Soul's concentration to fail, or something as simple as him being unable to hold on in the first place he didn't know. When the Hybrid did manage to stop the memory reeling by, everything had changed.

Izuku came to groggily, his mind and body refusing to cooperate except for his eyes; which he moved slowly, as if they were drifting through syrup. Smoke had filled the sky above the ravaged city into a dense haze, and nearly all the buildings along the street they were on had collapsed. Bodies--and bit's and pieces of various limbs--littered the war-torn street, some under rubble, others in craters with the owner's missing...

He gagged from the smell of blood, death, and sewage, the action causing his body to cooperate, and he shot from his prone position to a half-crouch before a crushing headache drove him to his knees again.

Izu came face to face with Mits, or what was left of her, which could have fit into a bucket. He gagged again, nearly losing his lunch, and looked away while a morbid thought offhandedly rose in the concussed part of his consciousness; Definitely a closed casket funeral.

A burst of light among all the gray was like a beacon, dragging his attention away to see Gohan and and three more silhouettes darting around a huge monster, the size comparison between them enormous. They weren't any bigger than gnats, and apparently their attacks weren't registering as anything more than a nuisance.

The monster was a mix between a demonic oozaru, a kaiju, and an insect all combined. Yet...for all of it's apparent power, he couldn't sense it's energy, and neither could one of his four friends as they were knocked sky-high. All that registered was a disgusting, gut-wrenching feeling that dwelled on demonic miasma.

That, and a chilling laugh caused the Izuku's vision to do a rapid three-sixty to see someone only a few feet away. The same thing for this man, and the three other humanoids that were behind this redheaded man by about sixty yards in the sky. All of them wore business suits, but all seemed content watching whatever that
thing was "fight" Izu's friends.

"Oh the brat lived! That makes me so happy that my hunt didn't end so quick, but I also don't like that a kid like you lived an attack from me, even if your bitch of a friend pushed you out of the way."

The man near him reached down, palm glowing and eyes glinting with a deadly light, only for the man with the cards to yawn and stop his movements with a dreary command; "Now now, Damien, we were hired by the witch to bring destruction to this part of the continent. Let that kid go, you already killed more than you were hired to do, so just let BKCRMWDJVG finish them off. It's less of a drag that way."

The one girl of the group spoke up with a peppy grin; "Yeah Damien, you better listen to Orion! Oh, and Orion, are you sure I can't influence any of the viruses down below? Just a few things and I can make them super, and then Richard could raise the dead ones!"

The one named Orion took a drag of his cig and sighed, looked at what was left of it and then tossed it down to the city so far below and replied; "Ellen, we've had this discussion several times already. The answer is still a no, and will
always be a no."

Whatever was left of the memory fragment was knocked away from Soul's control when a jarring impact brought him back to reality, but he was only able to see a man--Orion-- and a extended fist getting smaller and smaller.

Soul was disoriented, his memory assimilation interrupted, but a sickening cruuunch followed by darkness and an explosion was the last thing he was around for before his consciousness retreated.

WC: 1,347/4,796
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"Don't make a promise you can't keep, for it no longer becomes a promise...but a burden."
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Barkley Cass
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<p>The only thing that saved Barkley from serious injury was the fading body shield. She was barely strong enough to push the rubble off of her body, but she was successful after a few pushes. She seemed to have angered the demon and made he transform into a beast. She looked about half a mile down and she shook her head. Grabbing her neck, Barkley could feel the whiplash and a soft groan came from her mouth as she pushed herself up into a stand. The body shield was flickering and that worried her. What else was there to bring her anxiety?

<p>She felt her body becoming lighter and harder to control. It could be the workings of the virus. Her unique cells were slowing it down, but that would not matter in the end. He was approaching her with slow stomps. He lost all of his speed and put it all into his power it would seem. There was no way she could beat him physically. <b>Maybe I shouldn’t have angered him.</b> She limped out of the building while using the walls to hold herself up. She was forming a plan in her head as she got as far away from Damien as she could.

<p>First she needed to get out of the west and away from the virus itself. She needed to make her way to the north. After she felt she had gathered enough energy, Barkley rose into the air and caught Damien’s attention as she flew past him toward the south. <b>I have to bring the fight to the north. I have to group up with someone.</b> She did not know that she was heading more toward the south than north, her sense of direction had been knocked into illogicality. It was a good move for her, however. The cure was there. If she figured that out then she could get rid of the nasty virus in her system.

<p>Damien followed after her in a rage. He was picking up speed and crashing through buildings as he followed her. <n>Oh no bitch! Where do you think you are going!?</n> Damien started firing blasts of energy at her from his mouth and hands as he ran after her. Barkley narrowly swerved through each energy blast before one nicked her in the leg and caused her to spiral out of control and right into a building in the south. Barkley was having the time of her life. Most of the momentum was diverted into the body shield which finally broke.

<p>Barkley was not in the south and closer to the cure without realizing it. For now, she was going to look for cover so she could plan a proper attack against this beast who rampaged throughout the city as he made his way to the south.





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Elijah
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The demon’s mouth opened wide emitting a fiery sphere of purple energy, leaning forward as a flamethrower of burning energy nearly completely enveloped Ellen. What he didn’t expect was her reaction. She let out a wail as a wall of shimmering ki forced away Eli’s attack, negating it entirely. It was something he’d yet never seen. He never intended to underestimate the girl, but clearly she was more than he’d anticipated.

“What kind of bullshit is that, did you just yell my attack away?” Eli gave a smirk as he remarked her defense.

“Well, you technically yelled your attack at me, didn’t you? Please tell me that's not all you can do. Perhaps you were just overhyped by the others.”

Every time she spoke like that it stung him deeper. What did she mean? Why was he expelled and why were people speaking of him? Was she toying with him entirely, making up a story to get him riled up, or was there truth to her words? He very much intended to find out.

“Listen Ellen. You will tell me why I left the demon realm, and it won’t be due to Barks death. I will peel the flesh from your bones if I have to. Really, I think I’d rather it be that way.”

“Eli, the tough act kind of turns me on, if I’m being honest. But it’s not you. Cut the shit. We both know you’re outmatched, we both know what’s going to happen. Either you die with your friends, or you help us kill the little girl. The others probably already killed that blond fuck.”

Eli’s knuckles were white from the tight fist his fingers were curled into. “There’s a third option. And you can count on that. You won’t like it.”

“Fine. Option one it is. Fool.” With those word’s Ellen disappeared from the air. Eli glanced left and right before hearing something behind him. He spun halfway before he felt the white hot energy blast she’d thrown at him from behind. He was thrown 30 feet to the ground and landed with a dull thud. His shirt had evaporated from his body, and pieces fluttered to the ground around him. His body scraped and bruised deeply.

Ellen floated five feet from him now and smiled. “I guess it’ll be me that gets to report that the exiled Elijah is finally put to rest. Goodnight sweet prince.” Her hand raised in front of her face and began to charge a large beam.

As he lay there, sore and beaten from her single attack, he let her words sink in. She’d called him prince. Prince of what? Of whom? If he let this happen, he’d die. Be sent to hell, perhaps put to eternal rest as if he was some normal mortal. No, this isn’t how Eli dies. Not at the hands of an errand running bitch.

Just as the attack left her outstretched fingers Eli brought up his left arm and swiped sharply through the air, catching it and propelling it into a building meters away. As it collapsed he could hear screams from within, but they were falling on deaf ears.

Ellen’s face was a mixture of shock and glee. A look that said, ‘Oh, shit he’s still kicking.’ Eli’s was more serious. His typical resting bitch face, but inlaid with a hint of determination and courage.

“No, Ellen. This is the day that Elijah puts you in a cage like the animal you are. It’s the day that I sentence you to do my bidding, to fulfill my orders. Soon you won’t call me prince out of spite or sarcasm, but king out of respect.”

She rolled her eyes, “Ho-ly shit you’re corny. Look at this. You’re halfways dead already. Just rollover and take i-”

Eli ignored her words and cut her off, throwing the Kunai that Soul had lent him towards her abdomen.


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He was unconscious, but how he knew that, he couldn't say, but the break from the outside world--however brief it would be, served to be the much needed down time that his mind needed to finish absorbing the memory fragment that Orion had so kindly interrupted.

However, when Soul was able to view the memory, it had skipped forward once more and was near the end by the time he grabbed it.

Izuku blinked, finally becoming aware of where he was...but his mind was curiously blank. His eyes had been open quite a long time if the burning and dry feeling was any indicator, but what they were staring at brought another question to his mind.

Why are my hands and arms ripped up, covered in burns, and bloody?

At the same time, however...he found that he had no real desire to care about his injuries, or better yet, how he had gotten them. Instead, he tracked each burn, each bruise, each cut in morbid curiosity; instead wondering instead how deep the cuts were, how large were the bruises, and how bad the burns.

Absentmindedly, he knew he was floating, but didn't care to try and remember why, or even to see where he was.

A small part of his mind had been tugging at him for some time, to try and and drag him out of his stupor, to get his attention so things could be done. It was the rational part, but he simply "looked" at it and turned away; focusing on his injuries again.

It was raining?

No...It had been all along, but he didn't care about that either.

Shock..., the rational part whispered; and finally something "woke" him up. He warily raised his eyes, but found that it was hard to see with how dark it was, especially with all the rain. Everything was unfocused--no wait...was that a mountain? No, he didn't know any that looked like
that, all irregular; uneven, not sculpted by nature.

It almost looked...humanoid?

It was then that reality decided to come back full force with the abruptness of lightning on a sunny day; the thunder being the memories that slowly trickled back. His training, then the meet up with his friends where they ate at the buffet. Following that...an explosion.

Waking up, grouping up together and trying to save people and figure out what had happened, what was going on. Another explosion, panic, slight injury...fear when they found out what had caused it, what
it had caused. The demonic, twisted freak of nature that made skyscrapers look like boots.

Them trying to fight it, but it was strong, stronger than anything they had ever felt or fought before--but they couldn't Sense it. It was something that they all had taken for granted, that they relied on for everything since learning it...and now that it was gone, useless against this monstrosity...

It was like one of their main senses were gone, like sight or hearing.

Pain, and more fear, than a bright light and Mits shoving him out of the why--followed by an explosion and darkness.


Soul stirred, the minor movement causing the building that he was currently entombed in to tremble before the memory drew him back in.

Then, awakening to see what was left of Mits, then finding out from the demon--Damien was his name--that she had sacrificed herself to save him. Fear and revolution.

He puked.

Being forced to fight the monster, then watching as it killed his friends one by one.

His only friends, his first friends since the Girl who had saved him, who had raised him had left him all alone suddenly one day. The fear at losing them, the anger and shame and disgust at himself for not being strong enough; for never being strong enough as each one fell.

No matter his emotions, or his efforts, or his tears...

Each of them died before his eyes.

Something snapped inside of him, something simultaneously both foreign and familiar, and the last thing he remembered was his normally silver energy transforming into one of gold...

Izuku dry heaved, attempting to puke at the sheer disgust in himself, for being the only survivor yet again...for being alone again...


The memory retreated, it's duty done, leaving him once more in floating darkness; only his emotions and thoughts keeping him company...

He struggled against them, against whatever was keeping him down and out, and silently roared in frustration when his attempts yielded nothing...

---------------

Orion had just flicked his lighter closed and was taking a drag of a fresh cigarette when he paused, eyebrows twitching in surprise, and turned around to face the half-demolished building. At first, he didn't think that his punch--as unguarded as it was--was enough to take "Soul" out for the count, so he had waited.

And waited.

And waited. Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes trickled by...but nothing happened. The Hybrid's energy had long ago dropped like a stone with his punch, but Orion had thought it was a ploy, a trick to scale down Soul's power to land a surprising blow...

But nothing had happened. He was about to fly away to the South when something Ominous had appeared...but the strange thing was, it wasn't coming from the boy's body. Instead, it was like the power was coming from the building---the very atmosphere itself; causing the Demon to look up...and pause.

Before they attacked, it had been a sunny day, and even throughout him and the three other demons antics, it had only turned slightly cloudy, and that had been minutes ago, maybe a half hour at most.

No, now a storm was brewing, the size of the atmospheric disturbance growing right before his eyes; the power of it or whatever it was making itself known to anyone and everyone that could sense it. It felt like the demon's miasma in form or "feeling," but different at the same time.

WC: 1,006/5,802
PSWC: 13,093
"Don't make a promise you can't keep, for it no longer becomes a promise...but a burden."
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