Author's Note: I think there's a rule somewhere that says not to start a fanfic with only OCs, but rules were meant to be broken, yeah? Unfortunately, before we can get to the part where Rin is stuck in Elysium without his memories, I have to explain why he is going to Elysium. And what better way to do that then showing instead of telling?

So. This first chapter contains nothing but generic, unimportant characters who help me set up the setting for the entire story. I realize this may dissuade some people from reading, but that's ok – if you're not interested, you're not interested.

I wrote this to have a sort of "zombie apocalypse" feel to it and I think I did ok all things considered. If you notice any errors, please let me know. I'm not a very observant person lol.

Blue Exorcist belongs to Katou Kazue and Co.
The plot and original characters belongs to some loser living in their mother's basement.

if you took away everything
that made a man human
except for his memories
would he still be human?

BLUE DAWN
She was supposed to be halfway across the state by now. She was supposed to be on the highway, racing away from her previous life, her long, blonde hair whipping wildly behind her, not a care in the world. But, in her haste to escape, she had forgotten to check the Harley's tank. Now, she was stuck at a shitty motel in the middle of nowhere.

Skye cursed loudly and kicked the motorbike out of frustration. She immediately regretted it, barely able to catch the handles before it toppled onto its side. She steadied it on its kickstand, and then slumped against a concrete pole behind her, staring up at the empty, night sky.

She had already knocked on each of her neighbor's doors, hoping to find someone who had a bit of gas they could part with, just enough so she could make it to the next gas station, but, oddly, no one had answered. The only person she had yet to ask was the guy at the front desk. But, he was a creep—he had eyed her body up and down repeatedly as she tried to request a room. She decided going back to him would be a last resort. There was not a chance in hell she would call her mother to come pick her up—her overprotective, Catholic parents were the exact reason she was running away.

That only left Dalton, who was patiently waiting for her in Arizona with one of those old camping trailers; their 'new life', he called it. It was going to be a fantastic summer—just the two of them, with nothing but the open road and endless opportunities before them.

She smiled wistfully, the thought of his dark, tousled hair bathed in early morning sunshine as she woke to find him cuddled against her in their little bed. Moths danced beneath the streetlight above her, and, for a moment, she lost herself in their dazzling movements.

Of course, she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon if she just daydreamed and stared at insects.

Skye pulled out her iPhone and tapped the button to wake it. The tiny device didn't respond. She hissed in a sharp, annoyed breath and tried again. Nothing.

"Oh, come on!" Not only was she stranded at a crappy motel, but her phone's battery had completely died. She dug the heel of her hands into her eyes until they hurt, swallowing a scream. This was so unfair—this was the first time she had been able to escape the iron grasp of her family and everything was going so wrong.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. "It's okay," she mumbled aloud. All she had to do was ask that creep at the front desk for change, then she could use the pay phone and call Dalton to come get her. Easy.

Skye stood, brushing invisible dust from her sleek, leather pants. Her skin crawled at the thought of being alone with someone so…sleazy, but she didn't have much of a choice—might as well get this over with as quickly as possible so she could get some sleep. She gathered her courage and made her way to the front of the motel, head held high.

She opened the door a crack, poked her head in, and found the lobby empty. The lamp on the counter was still on, and a shitty oldies song was blaring from a radio she couldn't see, so she assumed he was still around. Maybe sleeping in the back? There was a door off to the side that was slightly ajar, but no light came from inside. Skye rang the bell on the counter and waited.

Five minutes passed before her impatience got the best of her. "Wake up, you old fuck!" She kicked the side door open. Inside was a tiny, messy bedroom with a cot and an inappropriate calendar of a young woman. The man was nowhere to be seen. "Hello?" She stepped back into the lobby and strained her ears, listening for a sound—footsteps, a voice, anything.

It was completely silent.

"What the hell is going on?" Was this some kind of prank? Where was everyone?

Skye caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned in time to see a black figure walk in front of the window. Excited, she rushed out the door. "Hey, wait!"

The figure was taller than her by at least a foot and wore all black: thin, black sweatshirt, dark, baggy jeans, black boots, even his hair was black. Skye began to feel increasingly uncomfortable as the seconds passed in silence. She stepped back to the safety of the lobby and reached for the door, just in case.

"Um… H-hello?"

He turned to face her, and it was only then that she noticed thick horns jutting from his forehead. His eyes glowed with an otherworldly, blue luster, as if some sort of fire had been lit inside them, and his fingers ended in unnaturally sharp claws. At first, she thought it was some kind of costume, or a clever illusion. But then, he roared, a monstrous, deep sound accompanied by a strange rattle, and she saw he had jagged, razor-like teeth. The sound ended in a bark, like…like he was summoning others of his kind to their location. Realization slammed into her and her breath caught in her throat. This thing wasn't a joke—it wasn't a human in a costume, it was something pretending to be human.

She managed a scream and ran back into the lobby, locking it before he could reach the doorknob. But the door was made of wood, and he bashed through it using his massive horns, like a bull. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" She scrambled over the counter and burst out the back door.

Where do I go? Where do I go!?

Her left was blocked by a chain link fence, so she darted right. She could hear his heavy steps pounding behind her as she sprinted down the alley. Tears slipped down her face and her thoughts went to her poor mother, sitting by the phone late at night, worried to death that her only daughter had taken her father's Harley and gone off somewhere.

Why did she ever leave? If she survived this night, she promised herself she would immediately return home, hug both her parents, and never let go.

Skye toppled a barrel filled with trash as she passed it, hoping it would slow her attacker down. He ran right over it without a second thought, crushing it under his foot like a dried leaf. There was nothing she could do but run. It was futile; he was faster than her, stronger than her, and she knew eventually he would catch her. What he would do once he did…well, she didn't want to know.

She turned a sharp corner and slowed to a trot, her heart thundering in her ears, her lungs burning, her tears blurring her vision. She couldn't go any further; a brick wall blocked her path. Skye whirled around to find her pursuer joined by two others, the three almost identical in the dim moonlight. She pressed herself against the wall as the first monster crept forward. Her hand groped helplessly for something to use as a weapon.

As panicked as she was, her mind still tried to make sense out of the creatures in front of her. Were they zombies? No, too fast, and they didn't seem like they were dead. Werewolves? No, those had more hair, and besides, it wasn't a full moon. Vampires? Maybe, they did have sharp teeth and pale skin. Aliens? Could be, she'd never seen anything like them before in any movie or game.

Her hand grabbed a piece of rusted rebar, and the scratchy texture on her skin threw her into action. She charged forward and swung the pole like a bat, hitting the beast in the side of the temple. He staggered and the other two were startled by her sudden movement, giving her a brief chance to escape.

Skye ran back the way she came, her muscles screaming from exhaustion, but she didn't stop. Have to get away! She dashed around corners and jumped over the crushed barrel, desperate for a place to hide. She slipped into an alley that led to the parking lot of the motel.

And skidded to a complete stop.

She had found the creep from the front desk.

He was on his back, eyes blankly staring up, mouth open at a unnatural angle. Six monsters crowded over him, two of them dining on his innards while the others licked their lips and waited for their turn. She let out a horrified squeak and quickly covered her mouth.

Too late.

Their heads snapped up to her, eyes glowing a vibrant blue. She took a small step back as three of the things crept forward, their expressions hungry and animalistic. Skye turned to run back into the lobby, but found that her path was blocked by the other three that had been chasing her.

They didn't wait this time and latched onto her, one of them sinking its teeth into the soft flesh of her neck. Skye let out a piercing scream as she was knocked back, but it was quickly silenced. Long, furry tails wagged happily as the group divided up her body and ripped her warm, supple flesh from her bones.

. . .

Father Liam strode calmly through the predawn fog, collar of his exorcist uniform propped up to protect his throat from the relentless wind. His breath misted in the air before him.

One week. It had been almost seven days since the first known attack and already Satan's growing army had commandeered most of California. It was like someone had flipped a switch; suddenly random civilians were being possessed for no particular reason, turning into these starved, violent beasts. And the more people they attacked, the more demons woke to join the fight. It was like a slow spreading virus, and would only increase in speed as time went on.

No one knew exactly how it was happening, and those who had ventured to the heavily populated state before him had yet to report back.

The Vatican issued an emergency message as soon as news reached them: all available exorcists were to make their way to San Francisco and attempt to cull the growing infestation. Liam was visiting family in London when he heard and wasn't able to make it back to his home in Wales. Instead, he was apprehended at the train station and shoved onto a private jet that flew him, well, here.

In spite of his confident outward demeanor, Liam struggled to convince himself he wasn't nervous, but the sight of so many American soldiers clad in full body armor was less than reassuring. He sighed through his nose—they had no idea what they were up against; as far as they were concerned, they were fighting a viral outbreak, a biochemical weapon unleashed by some foreign terrorist group. They couldn't possibly know how useless their automatic guns and ballistic armor would be.

He cocked his shotgun and hooked it through its holster on his back. One of the soldiers eyed him suspiciously—it wasn't everyday you saw a priest with a large firearm and grenades strapped to his belt.

"Ready, Father? We need to get moving."

He wrapped rosary beads around his right hand and kissed them for luck. "…Ready." Better not keep Satan's army waiting.

They filed into the APC, joining another small team of kids no older than twenty, (the Vatican had 'promoted' them due to a stark decrease in exorcists.) Apprehension and dread hung thick in the air around them, and seemed to swallow Liam as he sat down. No one spoke—there wasn't anything appropriate to talk about anyway—and even the trained military men kept their eyes locked to their feet.

The engine roared to life, and soon they were rolling to their destination a few miles south of the airport. As the only priest and certified exorcist there, Liam felt obliged to say something to lighten the mood.

He cleared his throat loudly. "Hell of a way to start a weekend, huh?"

"Do you know what we're dealing with, Father?" The question took him by surprise. "Is it zombies?"

He managed a small laugh. "No, son, it's not zombies." The media liked to exaggerate these things for ratings, but all it did was cause more panic and confusion. The Vatican planned to silence them within the next few days.

"Vampires?"

"It's not vampires," one of the other soldiers quickly responded. "If they were vampires, they'd burn up in the sun."

"The ones in Twilight didn't burn."

"They're demons," Liam finally answered. Someone let out a rude, sarcastic snort. "I assume they've been planning this for a while."

"Demons? That's almost as ridiculous as vampires."

"It makes sense. Why else would they have us escort a group of exorcists?" Liam glanced at the small group of exwires beside him. They were all unnaturally quiet, doing their best to ignore the conversation. He couldn't blame them.

"Shit…"

"Is this the apocalypse?"

"Listen," he turned back to the soldiers, his voice tense. "It doesn't matter what they are—zombies, vampires, demons, aliens, whatever—what matters is that they're killing innocent people, and we're going to stop them."

The APC was eerily silent for a long while, the only sound the treading of uneven ground as the vehicle was forced to maneuver around abandoned cars.

"Father… Is God going to save us?" He looked up to meet the terrified gaze of one of the younger soldiers.

"I don't know," he said carefully. "But…humans are capable of the impossible if we work together. We might not need God to help us."

"…Do you believe in God, Father?"

Did he? After everything he'd been through? After losing his wife and unborn child to the monsters God was supposed to protect them from? He ran a shaky hand through his short, black hair.

"Father?" He didn't respond, and the mood in the APC grew darker.

Liam sighed heavily—so much for trying to make everyone more confident.

Their ride suddenly swerved to a stop. "Contact!" The soldiers were the first to react, readying their weapons and quickly exiting the APC. Liam was next, and froze at the sight that awaited him.

It was like something out of a movie: one side of the highway was congested by abandoned vehicles, worthless belongings were strewn about on the side of the road, and the city in front of him was completely dark. He could see broken windows from looters, dark patches where fires had been carelessly lit, and one of the buildings had a large sign on the roof that read 'help x14' in bold letters. The worst part was the silence—no people, no sirens, no helicopters, no birds; it was so quiet Liam feared the others would hear his heart pounding in his chest.

"Father!" The popping of a gun instantly reminded him why he was there. "Wake the fuck up!"

The spray of bullets was enough to stun the demon, but only briefly. It shook its head to clear its vision, and then continued to charge at Liam. Reacting quickly, he pulled the pin on one of his grenades. Holy water fizzed and exploded around him just as the demon came within reach. The force of it knocked both of them back.

Liam scrambled to his feet and equipped his shotgun. The holy water in his grenades was potent enough to burn demonic flesh, so he shouldn't have to worry about…

He watched with unveiled horror as it stood, blowing water out of its nose. It faced him, tail wagging eagerly, and tilted its head, carefully eyeing the shotgun in his hands. The demon was moving cautiously now, not wanting to get sprayed with water again. Aside from a stuffy nose, it had no visible injuries.

That wasn't possible. No demon this small had ever survived a blast from his grenades, and even the larger ones were always severely crippled from the holy water.

So how…?

It barked and then roared, overlapping scales on its tail lifting and making a rattling sound. Almost immediately, the exwire to Liam's left let out a terrible scream and dropped to his knees, head clutched in his hands. Ribbed horns erupted from inside his skull, scattering droplets of blood everywhere. A tail emerged from his clothes and two massive, muscular arms ripped themselves free of the flesh on his back, poised over his shoulders like scorpion tails. He tossed his head back and roared, and a rattling sound similar to the first demon came from the tiny scales on his new wrists.

What was going on? This poor boy who had been utterly human a moment ago had just turned into a demon! How could something possess him so quickly?

Liam aimed his gun, but couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. The exwire's face was unchanged, save for the infamous, blue fire that glowed in his eyes.

A nearby soldier went down in a spray of blood, and another was attacked as a demon sprang out of its hiding place. He fired at one of the monsters devouring his comrade, but it continued eating, oblivious to any damage caused by the silver bullet. More of them began to emerge from the city, eager for the promise of food. It was all happening too fast, and before he knew it, Liam had dropped his shotgun and was running.

As his feet pounded against the hard soil, his mind attempted to unravel the mystery of the exwire's abrupt transformation. The only demon powerful enough to possess and transform a human that quickly and with such drastic results was Satan. But even the lord of demons couldn't possibly be possessing that many humans at once. Something else had to be taking place. But what? What was the one thing all these people had in common?

Demon blood. According to the files Liam had reviewed on his flight over, that exwire was the only one in their group to be biologically related to a half-breed. Which meant...

Belatedly, he realized Satan wasn't sending his demons into Assiah to possess humans; rather, he was creating another army here in Assiah using humans with demon blood as his soldiers. And how many families had ancestors who unknowingly fornicated with demons? How many people had the faintest trace of demon blood in them and didn't even know? Millions. Probably more than half the human race was susceptible.

Liam had to get to civilization. He had to tell someone, to alert the Vatican.

Tightening his grip on his rosary beads, he scrambled up a steep hill overlooking the highway. He paused to catch his breath and watched as demons began to emerge from their nighttime hiding places. First there were twenty, then thirty, then fifty, and then he lost count. Each beast had a pair of vibrant, blue eyes that glowed ominously in the early morning light. He pressed his fingers together and tried to recite a prayer, but the words escaped him.

"God have mercy…"

. . .

The council was arguing loudly, as they always did, trying to convince the two currently present members of the Grigori to rule in their favor. Do this. No, do this. No, don't do that, this is a much more intelligent decision! It was enough to drive a man insane. But Dr. Demetri Rascalov found enjoyment in watching these pillars of society fight amongst each other like children. Sometimes they would get so angry their faces would turn red—it was better than television. He sipped his coffee slowly, enthralled by the sounds of bitter, human arguing.

"We should round up all the half-breeds and execute them!"

"What!? You can't just kill them!"

"It's a waste of resources! What if this is only confined to North America?"

"There have been demon sightings in Africa as well!"

"We should use them to test new chemicals!"

"And how do you suppose we keep them under control? We barely have enough exorcists as is!"

"Alright, enough!" Capser slammed her hands on the table and stood, immediately drawing the attention of the council. "This has gotten out of hand," she continued, calmer. "What do we know about the infestation so far?"

"Well, it's not really an infestation—"

She glared, silencing the young man who dared to correct her. "What do we know so far?" her voice was hard and annoyed.

"Anyone with the slightest trace of demon blood in them is transformed. They use vibrations—similar to a rattlesnake—to activate receptors in the brains of nearby targets. These receptors then force the host's demon blood to surface, causing the change. Once a transformation has begun, it can't be stopped."

"Can the receptors be removed?"

"Not without killing the host."

"Damn." She ground her teeth in frustration. "What else?"

"The transformed demons are immune to all our modern technology, most likely due to their human origins. They're also unaffected by fire or heat, though we're not sure why yet."

"I heard they don't like electricity."

Capser turned to the woman who spoke. "Where did you hear that from?"

She shrugged. "They interviewed someone on the news who managed to kill one. He said he made a trap with a generator and exposed wires. Fried the thing to a crisp…apparently."

"We should take all second-hand information with a grain of salt until we can test it for ourselves."

"Agreed. Anything else?" Capser sat back down, pleased that their discussion was finally going somewhere.

No one spoke.

Feeling her anger rising again, she turned to the man sipping coffee at her side, hoping he would be able to shed some light on the situation. "You've been awfully quiet, doctor. What do you think?"

"I think I have an idea that you will all enjoy." Demetri placed his mug down and looked up, the simplest of smiles animating his dark face. "It's called 'Elysium'."

Author's Note: Taa-Daa! Just like the Walking Dead except with zombie-snake-demons, right? N-no? Oh, ok...

So as you've probably noticed, the author's note at the end of each chapter is going to be stupidly long because I like to type, so if you're not interested in reading technical notes about boring Elysium-related stuff, feel free to stop here!

Now then. Most of the things in the story I've left up to reader interpretation. For example, I do not go into detail about how demons spend their free time in Elysium nor do I describe how humans survive in cities overrun with demons (though I might do a short story about the latter after this is done.) You're free to fill in the blanks however you'd like!

But there is some technical information about the Elysium universe that I would like to describe in greater detail in a section at the end of each chapter. If you have any questions or are confused about something or just want more info, please let me know in a review and I'll be sure to address it at the end of the next chapter.

To start us off, I would like to go into more detail about this new demon species (and yes, I realize all of this is impossible in real life, but the genre is sci-fi so I think I can get away with it)

The nifty new things you get when you transform are…
- More strength and impenetrable hide
- Immunity to all exorcist weapons and mantras (along with blades and most (but not all!) bullets)
- A ravenous, unending hunger (transformed demons will eat literally anything if they can't find meat)
- A cool set of interlocking scales that make more friends (more specifics on this later!)
- An uncontrollable rage
- An extreme dislike of certain emotions (anger, fear, etc) and a set of sensitive antenna to pick up on these
- A need to be around more of your kind (transformed demons are very social creatures and can go nuts if they don't have a family)

Oh, and in case it wasn't clear (because I'm awful at these things) Capser and Demetri are the two members of the Grigori in the last scene.

That's all for now! At the end of the next chapter I'll go into more detail about who the transformation affects and the differences between transformed demons and transformed humans. Updates will be every Saturday (unless I have a migraine...) Ta!