A/N- I really like Needless so I decided to write an xover with it. This is based on an AU ending to the manga.
I'll do my best to keep everyone in character as well as maintain both the violence and silliness that Needless is known for.
This first chapter is a test to see if the story will be well received. I may add more to it at some point.
Other than that, I hope you enjoy the story and be sure to leave a review.
***EDIT*** I have altered the first chapter a good bit and added to it. I have decided on a more appropriate way to proceed, and am using a different story arc as the start point in the DxD-verse.
Disclaimer- I OWN NOTHING!
(-)
He was lying on the ground, his back pressed firmly against the earth. With every breath he took, smoke would enter his lungs and hinder his ability to take in oxygen. The overcoat he constantly wore was nothing more than shredded cloth, his sunglasses, one lens shattered and the other cracked. A trickle of warm liquid dripped onto his left eye. He agonizingly lifted his arm up and threw off his glasses before rubbing the blood out of his vision. Pressing his elbows against he ground, he forced himself upwards. His body screamed in protest. Muscles tore and bones creaked from the simple act of sitting up.
As he rose, he was once again greeted by the sight of the battlefield. What once was an immense field was now nothing more than a war-torn hellscape. Fires raged and smoke billowed towards the sky. The dark clouds overhead rumbled in anger as the wind whipped about mercilessly. Trenches and craters were dug in the ground, the result of immense explosions and powerful blows.
And scattered all around him were the bodies of the dead and dying. The copper scent of blood hung heavy in the air, along with the retch inducing stench of internal organs. His fellow fighters were a myriad of races and creed. Human, Angel, Fallen, Devil, Youkai, Dragon, God, and many more littered the battlefield for as far as his eyes could see. There was the occasional groan, the rise and fall of chests that signified another survivor. Though many of them would not be getting up anytime soon. No, it was down to him and what few able-bodied fighters remained. They alone would have to stand against the enemy that threatened them.
Finally staggering to his feet, he looked up to see the very being responsible for the majority of the destruction.
It was a massive beast whose very presence seemed to increase the force of gravity. Its skin was darkness itself, shadows coming off it in smoky wisps. Its blood was like molten metal, burning so hot and bright that one could faintly see its glow through its skin. The beast stood on four massive legs, the fingers tipped with silver claws whose sharpness knew no equal. As it strode forward, its claws dug into the ground and left deep scars in their wake. Two pairs of wings extended from its back. The bones of them were exposed, but the tissue between them was replaced with an ever shifting projection of the cosmos. The beasts head was an immense skull with no flesh to be seen. Over a dozen horns protruded from the back of its head, each looking like menacing stakes. Two sets of eyes gazed at the man before it, the endless darkness within the sockets threatening to drag anyone who stared into them too long into the abyss. Its mouth opened, the interlocked shark-like teeth separating from each other, only to reveal another set within. Those opened as well, and the beast finally spoke.
"This is how your world ends. What once was a glorious resistance, amounted to nothing more than the pitiful wailing of an infant who didn't get what they wanted."
Its voice was a myriad of noises. Countless voices speaking in countless tongues, each vying for dominance over the rest. An undulating mass of black tentacles oozed from its throat as it spoke, the inky substance dripping from its teeth and on to the ground where it writhed and thrashed.
"Your existence has been nothing more than a passing thought to us. We never considered you anything more than worthless playthings."
The man grit his teeth and turned his gaze downward as the thing went on.
"Everything that you are, everything that you have created, it was us who made it so. And so it falls to us to wipe the slate clean."
He reached into his pants pocket, grasping for something inside it.
"You fight a losing battle. In the vast expanse that is existence, you all amount to nothing more than a speck of dust. And you have seen how easily we blew you away." the beast leaned in closer to the man, its teeth almost within arms reach of him. "Now accept your fate."
There was a slight shaking of the mans body. Accompanied shortly after by a quiet noise. He was chuckling. And it steadily grew louder.
The beast retracted its head. "Ah, so you have fallen victim to the madness as well. The reality of the situation has finally broken you."
He threw his head back and laughed so loud that nearly everyone who was still conscious, and even some who were not, could hear him. And then, the laughing suddenly stopped.
"Fuck no." he spoke.
"Hnn?"
Finally finding what he was looking for, he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and brought it up to his lips. "Dig the wax outta your ears if you didn't hear me the first time ya prick. I said 'Fuck No'. I ain't laughing because I've gone mad."
"Hmph. Then what do you find so humorous?"
Placing the stick in his mouth, he brought a flaming thumb to its end and lit it. "It's quite silly really." he said as he took a drag and stared at the beast with a sneer. "For as long as we can remember, humans have always wondered what the meaning of life is. Why we're here? Why do we exist?"
Almost as if his words were a call to rally, one by one his allies began to get back up.
"And in the end, the answer was something no one would ever think of." he pulled the cigarette from his mouth and pointed at the beast. "That we're just a bunch of action-figures for some ugly-faced-fuck to play with when he's bored. And now that he's grown up, he wants to throw them away." flicking the smoke at the beast, he then raised up his middle finger in defiance. "Well tough shit. You already took us out of the box, so no returns."
"Insolent maggot." it growled.
"Whiny-ass bitch." he responded.
An indeterminate amount of time earlier...
The power of God was in his hands. He was the beginning of all things... and the end. Such was the Fragment he obtained... No, rather it was the Whole. The Almighty. The amalgamation of all the Fragments of the Second Christ that was manifested when he feasted upon the flesh of the Angel. For a moment, everything seemed so inconsequential for him. All the problems of the world were so far away. What once would be a world changing event, he viewed it as if it was nothing more than an ant. Such was the power that he possessed.
And in the end, what was the first thing he chose to do with that power?
Why, change Yamada into a girl of course. It was only natural given his perverted inclinations. Although the former boy was not happy one bit about the change.
But in the end, all was made right again. Their dead allies were brought back to life, the cataclysmic plan to end the world was thwarted, the final enemy had been slain, and women round the world now thought that it was appropriate to be naked-with-socks in public.
Truly he is an irredeemable pervert.
However as the power faded, it came with an unexpected consequence. The fabric of reality was torn open from the overwhelming power. And our heroes were being pulled into it.
"Everybody hang on!" shouted Disk as she grabbed some rubble to prevent herself from being pulled into the void.
"Blade! Do something!" shouted Teruyama.
"I can't! The Almighty power is gone!" responded the priest as he tried desperately to stand his ground against the pull.
"We'll just have to hold on until the tear closes!" shouted Yamada.
"And what if it never closes?!" asked Seto.
"Then we're all fucked!" answered Blade.
One by one the groups strength weakened and they were pulled into the void. They flew through the air, careening towards the darkness and what lies beyond it. Blade reached out and tried to grabbed Eve's hand as she was sucked towards the tear.
"Blade!" she cried as their fingers brushed against one another, only for her to fly right past him.
"Eve!" he shouted as he gave up his resistance and threw himself into the tears pull. "You ain't taking my underlings without me!" he shouted as he approached the void. "I'm coming you small fries!"
Moments after Blade's body was swallowed by the darkness, the tear snapped shut. Forever sealing the group in another world.
(-)
In a forest clearing just outside the town of Kuoh, a dark hole appeared in the air. It was not long after that a bunch of outlandish looking people were spit out of it. They all fell on top of one another in the order they had originally entered the void, a dogpile forming on top of poor Yamada.
Once the group came to terms with the fact that the 'black hole' hadn't killed them, they let out a collective sigh of relief at their fortune.
"Geez, what the hell was that all about?" asked Teruyama as he rolled his shoulders.
"No idea. It's like we were sucked down a big drainpipe." said Mio.
"Is everyone okay?" Seto called out.
The group one by one got up and took stock of their injuries. Most of them were in surprisingly good condition, though the same could not be said about their clothes. Mainly the girls.
"Alright, time for a role call." spoke Blade. "Eve?"
"Here!"
"Yamada?"
"I'm good."
"Mio?"
"A-O-kay onii-chan!"
"Disk?"
"I could use some new legs, but other than that I'm fine."
"Seto?"
"Fine."
"Solva?"
"A little shaken, but other than that I'm good."
"Setsuna?"
"Yeah."
"Kuchinashi?"
"Present."
"Aruka?"
"Despite everything, I'm surprisingly unharmed."
"Okay! That's everybody." Blade finished.
"You forgot about me!" shouted Teruyama in anger.
"Oh yeah. Uchida, are you still breathing? Because it's okay if you're not." Blade said as he picked his ear.
"You bastard! And my name is Teruyama!"
"Now that we have confirmed that we are all alive and relatively well, what is the plan?" asked Aruka. "I can say for certain that we are not in the Black Spot, nor are we anywhere near the city."
"Hmm, she's right." agreed Seto. "One of us needs to get up high to get a lay of the land."
"I'll do it." responded Eve. The girl then used her Doppelganger Fragment to grow a pair of wings and flew upwards.
"Well? What do you see?" asked Yamada.
"There's a town in that direction." Eve answered as she pointed south. "But it certainly doesn't look like we're anywhere near the Black Spot."
"Hmm, any ideas Disk?" spoke Blade.
"Well I could try to hack into some of the satellites to pinpoint our geographic location." the robot girl answered. "But I'll need an access point to do that."
"Like what?"
"Anything that can send a signal out and receive one. A computer preferably."
"Alright, well it looks like we're gonna have to head into town." Blade said with a nod. "Let's get going everybody!" he said as he turned and started walking in the direction of the town.
"Wait!" shouted Yamada. "We can't just go into town like this!"
"What do you mean?" asked Eve.
"I think it should be obvious enough." spoke Aruka. "We stand out like a sore thumb. No doubt the remnants of Simeon are looking for us. If we just stroll into a random town like this, then we are sure to be reported."
"So we'll just beat up whoever we come across." Blade replied simply.
"You can't do that." Aruka said with a sigh. "There are rules on the outside. Laws that need to be followed. It doesn't matter how strong we are, we don't want to bring the whole world down on us."
"She's right." Setsuna agreed. "The majority of us are half-naked, and I'm sure a badly damaged cyborg is bound to attract attention as well."
"Tch, so annoying." groaned Blade. "Eve, we need some inconspicuous clothes. Do you have enough energy to make some?"
"I should. My reserves were replenished from when you were Almighty." she answered. The girl then proceeded to use her Fragment to make some new clothes for the group.
Once everyone was appropriately dressed, or at least by their standards seeing as how Eve and Blade were still wearing their standard outfits, they began their march towards the town. By the time they got there the sun had set and the town was blanketed in darkness. To avoid suspicion, Disk was being carried by Blade piggyback style with her legs concealed in his jacket.
"So, where do we find a computer?" asked Teruyama.
"Most households are likely to have one. But we can't just break into someones home, so our best bet is the public library." Aruka answered.
"And just how do you suggest we find that?" Seto questioned.
"Perhaps we, I don't know, ask someone?" was Aruka's snide response.
"Sounds like a plan." Setsuna piped up. "That looks like an adequate place to make our inquiry." she said as she pointed at a nearby convenience store.
"I'll handle the talking. You guys wait out here." Aruka said as she walked inside. After conversing with the man working behind the counter, he gave her a slip of paper and she emerged from the store to report her findings.
"Well?" asked Solva.
"I've obtained a map of the area." she said as she unfolded the paper. "Apparently we're in a town called Kuoh. No idea where that is in relation to the Black Spots, but it's a start."
"There." Yamada said as he pointed at a spot on the map. "Library."
"It looks like it's that way." Setsuna said as she pointed down one of the streets.
"Alright. Time to get moving small fries." Blade said as he lead the way.
After about a 20 minute walk, the group arrived at the library, only to find that it was closed.
"Looks like they aren't open this late." Mio observed.
"Like that's gonna stop us." Blade said as he made his way to the front doors.
"What do you think you're doing?" asked Aruka.
"Forcing my way in. Duh." he answered as if it was obvious.
Aruka pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's not what I meant. I mean why are you forcing your way in?"
"Because we need to use the computer. We can't just fly around in the dark right now, we need to find out where we are."
"Yes, but there is a thing called subtlety." Aruka replied before turning to Eve. "Eve, use your Fragment to make a key for the door."
"Ah! Good thinking uh, what's your name again?" Eve responded.
"Aruka." the girl answered.
"Okay! I'll call you Mikasa for short." the bluenette said in her usual bout of forgetfulness.
Aruka rolled her eyes, but resigned herself to her fate. She knew that nearly everyone that Eve knows was giving a new name by the girl. But only Yamada's and Uchida's seemed to stick to the point that everyone called them that.
Meanwhile, Eve joined Adam at the front door where she stuck her finger into the lock and used her Fragment to form the key. The lock clicked and the door opened.
"Alright, let's get inside already." spoke Blade.
Ushering the group inside, Blade cast one last glance about the street to make sure no one saw them. Confident that they were still off the radar, he then followed the gang inside.
"There's the computers." Disk pointed out at the far corner.
"Okay. Let's get this over with already."
Placing Disk down at the computer desk, Blade backed up and let the cyborg work her magic. Panels on her arms opened up and wires snaked their way out as they plugged into the computer. "Okay, accessing the database now." Disk said as the screen started displaying information at an alarming rate. Too fast for others to follow, but not for Disk.
"So Disk, where exactly are we?" asked Yamada.
However the girl didn't answer. Her eyes were glued to the screen, widened in disbelief.
"Disk?" Blade called out as he nudged the girls shoulder. "Disk!" he said in a louder tone with a bit more force behind his nudge.
"Hwuh?" the cyborg uttered unintelligibly.
"What did you find Disk?" asked the sort-of priest.
"Well, it's actually what I didn't find that's more important. According to this information, there are no Black Spots." she answered.
"What?!" exclaimed Aruka.
"How is that possible?" Kuchinashi 'asked'.
"What's more, it says that the current year is 20XX."
"What?! But that's over a hundred years in the past!" spoke a confused Teruyama.
"How is this possible?" asked Eve.
"I've no idea. All of this data is telling me that we are most certainly not in the same year that we were in prior to falling into that void. In fact, I don't even think that this is the same Japan." Disk responded.
"How so?"
"There are different landmarks all over the place. Cities and towns that didn't exist, events that didn't happen such as what led to the Third World War... it's all baffling to me!"
"So what does this mean exactly? It's obvious that the hole well were sucked into did something to the world." Blade mused.
"Actually, I don't think it did anything to the world itself." Disk said with a shake of the head. "I think it did something to us."
"Like what?" Mio wondered. "I don't feel any different."
"I don't mean it did something to change us." Disk corrected. "My best guess is that the hole was actually a tear in time and space. When we got sucked in, we essentially fell out of existence and traveled through the multiverse before being spit out in another world."
"Just like the Angels!" Aruka exclaimed in understanding.
"It might not be the exact same thing, but it's a pretty good comparison." the cyborg responded in confirmation.
"So what exactly does that mean?" asked Seto.
"It means, that there are no Black Spots, no Needless, no 'advanced' technology, no quarantine zones, no Simeon... nothing. And as far as this world is concerned, we don't even exist." Disk said in summary.
"Then that means... we're free..." Aruka spoke quietly. "No one is going to hunt us down, no one is going to threaten the safety of the world, no human experiments... all gone."
"Correct." Disk nodded. "We have basically been given a fresh start at life in another world."
"NOOO!" Seto cried in despair as she fell to her knees. "All my money is back in the other world! We need to go back!"
"There, there Seto. It'll be alright." Solva said as she patted the girl on the back.
"As dramatic as she is being, Seto does bring up a good point. We have no money, no ID's, no residence, nothing. If we get in trouble, then we won't be able to explain to the government our situation." Disk explained. "We currently have no way of sustaining ourselves. And before you even think of saying we'll just take what we need, you have to understand that, like Aruka said earlier, there are laws that need to be followed." she said as she stared at Blade.
"Geez, fine." the man grumbled. "So what's your plan then?"
"I can hack into the Japanese government's databases and make us some citizenship files and ID's. Then I can make us a bank account, wire some money to it from the nations treasury, and anything else we might need."
"And how long will this take?"
"Given how primitive the technology of this world is... right about now." at her words, the nearby printer came to life and began printing out all the necessary documents that they needed to get by. "Now all we need is a place to stay for the night." the cyborg said as she turned back to the computer and began typing away. "Here we go. An abandoned church on the far side of town. Seems appropriate."
"Trust me, the irony is not lost given my technical profession." spoke Blade.
"According to what I've found, it's up for sale, but no one wants to buy it for whatever reason. Something about it being haunted."
"Hah! We ain't afraid of no ghosts." Blade said with a smirk.
"Good. Because I already finished the purchase online. We can pick up the deed and the keys tomorrow, along with withdrawing some funds from the bank. But for tonight we'll just have to break in and stay there."
"It's our property now. We can do whatever we want with it."
"Yay!" cheered Mio. "Finally we can get some sleep!"
"Alright, you heard the girl. Time to go check out our new digs." Blade said as he led the group out of the library.
(-)
Arriving at the church, the group was surprised to find it in rather good condition from the outside. Almost as if someone was already living there. Their first thought was that it was a homeless person who they could easily chase off.
"Knock, knock!" Blade shouted as he kicked open the doors to the church.
"What are you doing?!" screamed Yamada.
"Making a dramatic entrance of course!" the fake priest responded.
"For who?!"
"You do realize that you just broke the doors to our new church." Seto spoke in annoyance.
"Bah! We can always fix 'em."
"By 'we', I hope you mean you. Because I will have no part in it." spoke Aruka.
"Geez, the hell happened here?" Teruyama wondered aloud. He used his Fragment to light up the main hall of the church, which had seen better days. "Looks like a fucking bomb went off in here."
"Low-yield by comparison to what we're used to." muttered Setsuna.
True to the fire users words, the entire place looked wrecked. Scorch marks, overturned pews, shattered windows, bullet holes, etc. And by the looks of it, most of the damage was done recently too.
"Either someone really doesn't care for Big J, or there was some kind of fight club hosted here." said Blade as he placed Disk down on one of the intact pews. "Anyone want to take a guess as to which?"
Kuchinashi began sniffing at the air before writing on her white-board. "The scent of death lingers in the air. It's coming from behind the podium."
"Is that so?" Blade responded with a grin. "Well, let's see just what kind of worship was taking place in this holy-house."
Walking up to the podium, Blade noticed a hidden stairway behind it. Eve and Seto joined him as he descended the stairs and into the hidden room beneath the church. As they made their way deeper into the darkness under the church, the pungent odor of decay became much stronger.
"Eve, light." the silver-haired man spoke.
"Right." Eve then used her Fragment to produce a flashlight to illuminate the darkness.
As she raised the tool, they were greeted by the sight of well over a dozen rotting corpses. All were dressed in white robes and uniforms of similar appearance. Each had a crucifix round their neck, signifying their allegiance to the higher power. Various weapons of medieval design littered the floor near each body, lying in a dried pool of the wielders own blood.
"I'm guessing this wasn't some kind of cult suicide bullshit." Blade mused as he removed his sunglasses.
Kneeling down, Seto rolled one of the bodies over to examine it. "Unless it was assisted suicide, I doubt it. This one was cut down."
"And this one had his chest caved in by a powerful blow." added Eve as she looked over another body. She then raised the flashlights beam towards the back of the room. "What's that?"
The object in question was a slightly altered crucifix that had strange writing drawn in a circle around it with a pentagram on top.
"Religious crap. Nothing more, nothing less." answered Blade. "Probably wanted to sacrifice a virgin for their god or something. I guess somebody wanted to put a stop to it."
"You do realize that's not what Christianity is about, right?" asked Seto.
Turning his back to the bloody scene, Blade headed back towards the stairs. "Doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with us regardless. When morning comes, we'll deal with the bodies and the cleanup."
Upon exiting the secret room, Teruyama greeted the trio while smoking a cigarette. "Well?" he asked as he offered one to Blade.
"Over a dozen corpses." he answered as he took the cigarette and placed it in his mouth. Bringing his finger to its end, he lit it using his copy of Teruyama's Fragment. "Nothing that concerns us. Just someone who didn't bother cleaning up after himself."
"Heh, ain't no common courtesy to be found here either." mused Teruyama.
Out of the corner of his eye, Blade noticed that the rest of the girls had raided the churches supply closet and brought out some linens to sleep on. Yamada was already asleep, leaning into his/her sisters side who was gently brushing his/her head with a smile.
"The rest of the church is surprisingly well kept." spoke Teruyama as Eve and Seto emerged. "It seems that this main room took the brunt of the damage."
"Less money we'll need to spend on repairs." noted Seto.
"Well we certainly aren't bringing anyone in to work on the place until we get rid of the more unsightly problems." said Blade. "Tomorrow we'll dispose of the bodies and spray some air freshener. But I'd like to leave the secret room down below for us to work on personally. You know, make sure it stays a secret."
"... We're gonna need a lot of air freshener." opined Teruyama. Feeling a tug on his sleeve, he turned to see Kuchinashi.
"No problem." she 'said' with a thumbs up.
"Ah, that's right. Your Fragrance Fragment."
It was then that Disk chose to speak up. "Would it at all be possible for me to have the antechamber?" she asked. "I need a new place to setup a new mainframe for myself. The room would be large enough, and being underground will help keep it cool."
Blade shrugged. "Sure, why the hell not." he said as he took another drag of his cigarette. "So what else are we working with here?"
"A small kitchen, one bathroom, but there's no shower, an office, and 5 bedrooms." listed Setsuna.
Blade sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "That's one for Aruka and Yamada, one for you, Kuchinashi, and Mio, one for Seto and Solva, one for me and Eve, and I suppose we can give the last to Uchida since Disk is taking the basement."
"Why did you say that like I'm an afterthought?" spoke Teruyama as he tried to stifle a yawn.
"We can sort out the rest of this crap in the morning." Blade said as he snuffed out his smoke on a pew and grabbed a blanket and pillow. "For now, I'm fucking beat."
"Agreed." said Seto as she setup a makeshift bed for herself.
The fake priest made his way towards Aruka and the sleeping Yamada and set his linens down on a pew next to them.
He lay there for a few moments in silence as everyone else began to turn in.
"Any particular reason why you chose to sleep near me?" asked Aruka.
Blade's eyes remained focused on the ceiling as he remained silent for a few moments. "... You never did say why you decided to screw over Arclight."
"..."
"If you don't want to tell, then whatever. Just something that's been bugging me."
"... Cruz was the only family I ever had." she said after a few moments. "We never knew our parents, and growing up in the Black Spot was understandably rough on the both of us. And it was that reason that I chose to protect him the best I could. And when my Fragment manifested, I finally had the power to keep him safe from all the dangers that surrounded us."
"But it wasn't as clean-cut as you thought." mused Blade.
Aruka shook her head as she continued to pat the sleeping Yamada's head. "At first, I just saw my Fragment as being a powerful tool to use. But then I found out just what it was. Agni Shiwatas, the Flame God's Breath." she held up her hand which radiated a slight glow. "The Right Hand of God, Ultimate Destruction, Dragon's Breath... The ability to destroy anything. It is the most powerful offensive based Fragment. And it is one that Arclight required for his plan to succeed."
"So scar-face would eventually learn of your existence and come for you. Thus you decided to go to him first in order to protect Yamada."
"There's more to it than that." Aruka responded as her gaze drifted to her little brother/sister. "If the Right Hand of God exists, then it is only natural that the Left Hand exists as well. Aegis Shield, Unbreakable Defense, the Immovable Barrier, Eternal Protection. The ability to defend against all attacks. And it seemed fitting that the Two Hands of God resided in a pair of siblings."
"So?"
"So even if I managed to convince Arclight to let Cruz join, he would inevitably kill him once he got what he wanted. Aegis Shield is the one Fragment that is truly capable of standing against his power... And Arclight would see that as a threat. So when Cruz started showing signs of manifesting his Fragment, I brought him to an expert neurosurgeon to have it suppressed and all memory of it erased." the girl remained quiet few a few moments before continuing. "Everything I did was for his benefit. I made sure he went through the sewer that led to your church, I did my best to redirect attention from him and provide aid where I could, and when my hand was forced, I did my best to play the part of the antagonist just to ensure he had a chance at surviving."
"Your love for your sibling is commendable." Blade said as his gaze drifted over to the sprawled out sleeping form of Eve. "I suppose you're more than a little pissed that I turned him into a girl."
Aruka let out a slight chuckle. "Boy or girl, Cruz is still my family. And I will love him/her all the same." she then looked at Yamada's sleeping face. "Although, now that Cruz is a girl, I'll be able to do sister things with her. Try on dresses, talk about boys, have pillow fights, do each others makeup~."
Blade took note of the rather possessive look on Aruka's face. 'So, she was a brocon, and now she's a siscon... Why am I not surprised?'
(-)
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, the shock-wave of power that rippled across the Earth from the Needlesses arrival had finally been taken notice of.
In Heaven, a man who sat upon the gilded throne that belonged to his Father, felt something familiar. A power that was long gone. A power that belonged to Him. And just as suddenly as he felt it, it disappeared.
In a lab in Japan, a man bolted out of his sleep next to a computer. His great black wings, all twelve of them resembling a raven's, flared open. "This power... It couldn't be..."
And in the Underworld, a meeting between the Four Satans was interrupted by the pulse of energy. The scarlet-haired man who was in the middle of speaking, snapped his head in the same direction as everyone else. "Impossible..."