Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, ideas, or concepts borrowed for the purposes of this story. I just wish to create stories to tell to all who would listen.
"spoken" - Possession
Chapter 2 - Bad Temper?
Thankfully that mad driver from before never made another appearance that night, so for the most part the rest of the evening was pretty entertaining. We all had dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse in the West End, where I managed to convert the retired general to the wonders of Italian cuisine. After stuffing ourselves on the fifteen-layer lasagna, the four of us wandered about some more till we found one of the few dancing clubs scattered across the inner city.
It was kind of a given that Jadzia had enough coordination and courage to dance effectively, what with several lifetimes of experience bolstering her own abilities… but Yohko…damn. I don't know if her devil hunting has anything to do with it, but I'll tell you right now, that girl has dance imbedded in her soul. Iroh mostly felt like hanging out in the upstairs loft and observing all the goings on, while I stayed with the girls and tried my best to keep up with their skills. As the night dragged on, my company and I found ourselves mixing well with the crowd. Interesting highlights included Yohko using her grace and flexibility to leave several 'pros' in the dust as well as getting a job offer by the manager to be one of the full-time dancers. Dax somehow had managed to get on the DJ's good side and was making the system churn out beats that had the whole place jumping! And Iroh, ugh, Iroh apparently was showing that all princes come with a high bonus to Charisma as I found him actually chatting it up with three flirty little things at the same time.
I'm still trying to figure out how he does it.
Unfortunately, all things must end and we managed to head out from the club and back to the hotel when it was still a couple hours from sunrise. I didn't really feel like driving home so I more or less crashed next to the aged firebender for some much needed Z's.
The next morning hit me with the sudden start of my phone's ringtone waking me from a sound snoozing. The girls started coming to as well while I fumbled about in my pockets for a moment before finding my cell. Getting a call first thing in the morning doesn't tend to be good news, and today wasn't any exception. My job was suddenly swamped with orders to be delivered and they needed all hands that were available to assist with the rush.
At first I had thought to deny the request since I still had an obligation to take care of my new friends. But that line of thought then reminded me of my other obligation: Getting that dress for Yohko. Now I wish I hadn't been so insistent on getting her to follow through with her side of the deal, with the payment accepted I was now honorbound to deliver on my end. But as things stood I was starting to run low on money, however a busy day like today tended to mean large tips as well…
Oh hell, who was I kidding? The store needs my help and I've never been able to say no before, why start now? I let them know I'd be by as fast as I could get freshened up and ended the call.
"I take it our tour of the city in daylight will be postponed slightly?" Dax spoke while pulling herself out from under the comforter she and Yohko had been sharing.
I started pulling my boots on before turning the Trill's way. "In a matter of speaking, Jadzia. The place where I work need extra hands right now, so they called me in. Is it too much to hope that you three could just chill here today?"
At that moment the devil hunter's head popped up from under the sheets with a rather cross look on her face. "Not a chance in hell, Jon. I wanna see more than these four walls today."
A sigh escaped my lips moments before a thought struck me. If you can't do something yourself, call a stand-in! One of the guys could keep everyone busy while I went in to work for a few ho-oh wait up. Mike's doing his government job right now, Josh doesn't have a car and Josh G is busy in Desoto. Wonderful...
Almost right at that second my phone rang once again, startling me from my internal monologue. I quickly answered it, partly hoping that the store was calling me back to tell me to forget it, when the answer to my conundrum fall right into my lap. "He~ey Jon, haven't heard from you in a while."
My face lit up in a smile. "Ian…"
Ian Gram had just finished his masseur training course and was waiting for the state to mail him his licence to perform said duties, which made it easy to assume that he'd have the free time required for this planned stand-in session with my interdimensional houseguests. What I didn't count on was how… eager he'd be in accepting. Granted, hearing about people from other worlds visiting Dallas sounds interesting to say the least, but Ian's always struck me as a more down-to-earth kinda guy than most of my other friends.
Anyway, within the hour I had motored everyone to my friend's home in the suburbs of Oak Cliff, a tan brick two story home, just in time for him to stride purposefully to my window and motion me to roll it down. I did so, watching as he glanced about the cabin with a growing smirk on his face. "So let me get this straight, you brought with you three highly well-done cosplayers? Jon, I don't think I've ever known ya to pull pranks like this, you win the lotto when we weren't lookin'?"
I smothered a few chuckles as Jadzia spoke up. "Honestly, I think he might've wanted to win something given how much he's been paying for our things so far."
"Ian, I'm dead serious man. This is Jadzia Dax from DS9, Yohko from Devil Hunter Yohko and Iroh from Avatar." I pointed to where each sat as I spoke, Dax in the front passenger seat next to me, Iroh behind the Trill scientist and Yohko behind me.
I swear I could hear something chink in my ear as my friend's stance and smile turned rigid for a second, then slipped back into a more relaxed form. "Jon, if ya really expect me to believe that these three are more than fans in costume I'm gonna need to see a little proof… care to join me inside?"
We all made our way into Ian's home and settled in his upstairs bedroom. Forest green was painted along all the walls with light brown trim near the carpet. From the door, if we assume that to be the southwest point, was a high set of hanging shelves alongside a medium-sized closet on the southern wall with a queen-sized bed along the southeast corner. Ian's computer system took the northeast corner, while the north and west walls held more shelves for storage. A single window along the upper half of the north wall allowed the afternoon sunlight in, giving the living space a relaxed glow.
My friend quickly took a seat at his computer desk, spinning his chair till it faced everyone else. Dax found a seat on the bed as did I, Iroh and Yohko pulling up a pair of folding chairs that had been stashed in the corner to form the rest of the semicircle.
Gram smirked as if he already knew the outcome and spread out his arms wide. "Okay Jon, Impress me."
The Starfleet officer made her move first by pulling out her tricorder and giving our host a quick scan, before turning it over to him so he could see the results. Glancing at it reminded me of the difference between a static prop on a TV show and a real… living, I suppose is the word, piece of futuristic technology. "Medical tricorders would give a more detailed analysis of biological function along with visual aids here and there, but a basic model like this one is still capable of doing a bit of everything."
The Irishman's eyebrow rose up slightly before taking the Federation tech trinket into his hands. "Niiice. When you make a costume, you go all out, don't you?"
I clapped a hand to my face once I heard that. "Ian, what kind of person goes that far in making a cosplay costume?"
"A crazy person, Jon. A crazy person."
The retired general drew attention to himself and proceeded to go into his own performance, forming three small balls of flame and casually juggling them for a few moments. I almost had to bite my tongue to smother my laughter as my friend's eyes widened to the point of popping out of their sockets. Then just to drive the point home the aged firebender collected all three spheres together and merged them into a single large one. He then tossed it lightly into the air and swallowed the fireball whole, smirked with a waggle of his eyebrows before spouting a gout of fire straight up. As soon as it died down Iroh looked Ian dead in the eye while the rest of us applauded the performance. "I trust, young man, that you are willing to consider our position somewhat better now?"
It took a not even a moment for Ian's brain to reboot from that a look of dawning realization, whipping around to Yohko's direction with a look that I could only describe as a calculated leer. "Jon, does Yohko transform?"
I would've commented, but the devil hunter beat me to it. "I am NOT doing that in public!"
"So you can't," Ian shot right back in complete deadpan, his face a mask a dull boredom as if he hadn't just seen what Iroh had done.
"Well of course I can, I just don't wan-" she started to say, just as my friend cut her off.
"Nah, sounds like you can't and you're just making excuses up," Ian's face retained that same look of boredom and now even looked a bit dismissing.
The young woman seemed slightly off center as she went through the very novel experience of defending the fact she was a devil hunter. "Y-yes, I can!"
The Irishman leaned back in his chair. "Nope, obviously can't."
"I can so!"
"Lying isn't healthy."
"I'm not lying!"
"Prove it."
Yohko was absolutely livid as she suddenly stood up out of her chair. "Fine! I-"
The aged firebender suddenly clapped his hands once to break the building tension. "Miss Yohko, now would not be a good time to commit rash actions such as that. "
Her brow furrowed slightly as she tried to process what the retired general meant by that... and then she remembered what she had been about to do… right there… in front of everyone. Her entire face and neck lit up bright red while I fell onto my back on the bed howling in laughter. Ian for his part had simply crossed his arms in front of himself with his smugtastic smugly smirk on his face. Finally, with nothing else she could do in her defense the young Mano woman slumped back down in her chair mumbling about how all americans are perverts. Though it was interesting to note that I'm apparently nicer about it than Ian was.
From there the conversation drifted to more sedate topics that still interested Ian and myself, such as some of the real hard sciences the the Federation now had at it's disposal or Ian's skills as a masseuse. The retired general mentioned how some firebenders could use their abilities to make make someone feel like an absolute blob of contentment - my words, not his - and soon enough the irishman and Iroh were going back and forth about possible ways to use firebending and massage points to make the process even better for a client. Part way through the discussion, Yohko began showing interest, citing that there were times her body became rather sore from her exertions as a devil hunter.
Ian quickly offered to show her some of his abilities since some of the things he and Iroh were talking about were better understood with a subject to perform them on. I only heard Yohko start to accuse my friend of some hidden nasty motive before the lieutenant commander drew my attention away with a conversation about some of the oddest beings she'd managed to see as part of her exobiology studies.
A little time later a deep feminine moan cut through the room just as the Trill scientist was going into a detailed account of a species that actually had a type of eye that could see your current emotional state. Jadzia and I turned in that direction only to find the Mano woman laid out quivering slightly on my friend's massage table as Ian and Iroh worked on her back and shoulders. Well, to be completely accurate, Iroh looked to be teaching Ian some sort of Chi-based massage technique while the Irishman tried his best to emulate the process. Judging by how Yohko was now acting like someone had just tagged the mythical O-spot, it seemed like he'd figured it out.
And while I tried very hard not to do it, frankly my wit was aching to churn out a joke or two. "Ian Gram: A Truly Orgasmic Experience... "
"Damn straight." The irishman frowned before standing up fully from his Horse stance. "I'm still missing something though..."
With that, Ian strode quickly from the room just as Yohko weakly lifted a hand in his direction. "...wait...don't go…please..."
Ian, to his credit, simply stopped midway out the door and gave the devil hunter a wink before moving on.
Jadzia raised an eyebrow at the entire exchange and turned back my way. "Jon, do you think it's too late to ask your friend to give me what she's having?"
I smirked. "Given that he's heading for the Can, it may take a while."
Iroh quickly checked to make sure Yohko wouldn't fall off the table in her current condition before joining the conversation. "Still, for a man with no obvious training in manipulating his energies, Mr. Gram is a rather quick study. It only took him 30 minutes to get a reaction out of Miss Yohko."
I suddenly blanched when I heard the aged firebender speak. "Thirty Minutes?! How long have we been here?!"
"...about an hour or so… what's it matter?" The Japanese woman gave a contented sigh before sensually rising into a sitting position. "This definitely makes this a vacation to remember. No Demons, no interruptions when I go out at night, no pesky family meddling in my business-" Yohko suddenly gave off a girlish giggle before continuing. "And best of all: No Demons!"
Suddenly the lights above flickered for an instant as Dax's tricorder began emitting odd sounds from it's place at her belt. With practiced ease, she flipped out the device and began looking over the data being displayed. "Guys, my tricorder's picking up some kind of subspace resonance close by." She stared at the device a few seconds more before continuing. "It's gone. Whatever that was-"
The Trill was prevented from continuing by Ian loudly clamoring back into his room with a manic grin on his face. "Yohko, get back the way you were, I know what to do."
When she started to ask about what he might do, the Irishman quickly moved up to her, spun her around and pushed her back down onto the table on her stomach. The rest of us, me especially, were rather surprised at this sudden forcefulness on our host's part. Yohko would've been far more vocal about it than we were except for the fact that when Ian began massaging her upper back again, her face quickly gained a shocked, then happily flushed look before she settled down with a quiet sigh.
"...oOhhh, not even sex feels this good!" She cooed as Ian's talented hands moved about her back.
Despite myself, a smile formed on my face at the sight of everyone getting along well. I stood and started to make for the door. With Ian keeping everyone occupied, I could zip off to work and not be to-
Suddenly a loud crash and a scream from behind made me jerk back around, only to see the image of Iroh in a guard stance in front of Yohko, the Devil Hunter looking confusedly forward with growing shock. Jadzia had her phaser out and pointed forward at my friend, who just glared at all of us… with a pair of glowing crimson eyes.
Ian smirked cruelly and turned his gaze at the retired general. "Didn't expect you to notice, old man."
My blood ran cold hearing that, not at what was said, but how it was said. It was like a thousand cracking, scratching voices that somehow harmonized enough to be understood.
"I thought it strange that you had seemed to gain such a sudden understanding of chi and it's use, so I thought it wise to observe you in case you were not simply bluffing." Iroh's stance shifted while his eyes stayed firmly locked onto the Irishman's form. "I am afraid must ask you to depart this young man, spirit, and not trouble us again."
"Not a chance. We are but the first… and far from the last. Be afraid, Devil Hunter, for you are too late this time!" Dax suddenly took a shot at the possessed Irishman only to have him lean away from the red beam of laser light. In the next instant, he leapt at me and used me to springboard himself through the bedroom window while Dax took a couple more potshots. The impact flung me into the wall opposite the window, stunning me for a moment or two. When I finally shook it off, Ian was gone.
All I could was stare out the shattered window at my friend's retreating form. This honestly can't be happening… Demons aren't supposed to exist anymore, or at least not be able to do supernatural crap on this scale! What could've-
My eyes suddenly widened as a thought came to me. Slowly, I turned my sight away from the window and focused on the young Mano woman. 'It knew her...'
My little epiphany helped set the rest of my brain on autopilot as I patted down my pockets making sure my keys and everything were accounted for. I then turned towards the door. "Yohko, I need you to transform now."
The Devil Hunter balked and began to protest before I cut her off. "Use the bathroom if you need some privacy, but the only way I'm getting my friend back from being a demon's timeshare is with a devil hunter."
Yohko looked at me strangely for a few moments. "O-okay, Jon."
As she ducked into the lavatory to change, I turned toward Iroh and Jadzia who were both looking at me. "Dax, you're the most experienced person here, bar none. What do we do?"
The Trill scientist blinked twice before pulling out her tricorder. "Well, I'm afraid none of my hosts ever had experience dealing with a possessed human before. I've still got Ian's scan data from before… I might be able to use it to get a fix on him, but honestly my expertise ends there. Iroh's a general though, and he seems aware of this type of supernatural phenomenon, I say we should follow his lead."
The aged firebender crossed his arms in front of him with a solemn look on his face. "Retired general, Commander Dax. And to be completely honest, my days of ordering men to their victory or death is something I would rather keep in the past. Furthermore, while I have experience in dealing with spirits and with troops, the terrain is something completely unfamiliar to me as is our adversary. It would be best to follow the lead of someone who knew not only the area, but also the abilities of those he commanded."
I felt an honest-to-GOD chill go down my back as the Trill and Fire Nation prince looked at me at that moment. I quickly grasped what they were on about and tried to object as calmly and rationally as I could. "ME?! Ohhhh N-n-n-n-NO, man! I'm no officer… Lord, I'm not even a soldier! Just an average guy who knows way too much about trivial crap like anime and games! How the bleeping crap is that going to help get Ian back unharmed?!"
The retired general locked eyes with my own, before sighing aloud. "Yes, that is most likely true. I suppose then you could assist Dax or myself with any knowledge that might help our strategizing?"
I nodded in agreement, and soon the two of them came up with a plan of attack, Iroh handling the spiritual side of things while Dax applied her tech savvy to the problem. Within moments a plan was hatched, Jadzia and Iroh would keep my infested friend still using suppressive fire in the form of phaser blasts and flame attacks while Yohko came in from another vector and dealt with the monster. The devil hunter had come out of the bathroom changed into her work clothes, and had joined in on the conversation at that point. She mentioned that most Demons and Devils would escape the host body when confronted and revert to their true form making it a matter of simply slaying it.
Of course, it didn't escape my notice that I wasn't really in any part of this plan of theirs outside of driving my car to chase after Ian if he decided to run for it. "So what am I supposed to do during this whole thing? Just stay in the car and keep my head down?!"
Dax frowned as she replied. "Effectively, yes. Let's be honest, Jon, you can't really bring anything of use against this thing. You know what my training as a Starfleet officer insists upon when it comes to people like you: Get Them Out of Harm's Way."
I'll admit it, hearing that stung hard. I mean, yea, on a purely intellectual level it made perfect sense to keep me out of the action. I brought nothing to the table, not even a gun or rudimentary fighting skills, and I'd be hesitant to use them against a friend if I did have anything. But look at it from the other perspective, in a way this sort of situation was like something I'd dreamed about as a little kid for years… having a great adventure alongside incredible people… and then it happens… And those same incredible people look at you and treat you like the nameless mook you actually are when all hell breaks loose.
Yea… this's really shaping up to be a good day, isn't it?
I was so lost in my thoughts it took Dax calling my name a few times and Yohko shaking my shoulder to snap me out of it. "Jon, are you gonna be okay?"
I sighed before turning to the door. "Let's just get this over with, Dax."
We soon picked up Ian's trail and managed to catch up to him deep inside a forested park a couple of miles from the Irishman's house. We all piled out of my car and began following my friend's trail of destruction to the source. The ground and various clumps of trees nearby had visible chunks torn out as my infested friend toyed with the runners that couldn't get away fast enough. I knew that since we found… the remains… of said runners along the way.
I felt horribly sick to my stomach after seeing one with his whole chest split open and entrails running down the front, but I was just able to hold it in. Then we came to the next one that looked even worse which was apparently more than my stomach could take. I just made it to some nearby bushes before losing the remains of my late breakfast that day. The aged firebender quickly moved to my aid as I dry heaved a few more times. "Jon, perhaps it is best if you do not accompany us any further. This monster is drawing pleasure from destruction, and I doubt such mutilations are the worst he can do."
Through the pain of my disturbed stomach, the images running through my head, Iroh's words lodged themselves into my brain… and proceeded to Piss. Me. OFF. "I. Am Not. Gonna bow down to something that two girls can handle easily."
With that, I quickly stood up and started moving forward down the trail of gore. When I next turned back the three of them were all looking at me with odd smiles on their faces again. "What?"
"I was just thinking that you can sound really cool sometimes, Jon." Yohko walked past me with a sashay in her step after that, followed by Dax who just gave a wink in my direction as she passed.
"Iroh, what did I say just now?" I uttered in confusion.
"My young friend, mysteries such as that must be solved on your own. Revealing it for you will diminish the wisdom you would otherwise obtain." The retired general then walked on ahead of me, while I followed a second after begging him to give me a hint at least.
We soon reached our quarry as the forested path we were walking down led to a wide open field with a few scattered trees and a large playground. From the look of things the police had finally responded to all the commotion with several cars and armed officers surrounding my possessed friend, who in turn had been casually swatting at them with various energy attacks forcing the cops to keep their distance. Simple gestures, waving hands and thrusting palms that brought forth blasts of force, purple lightning, and dark flames upon the helpless Dallas defenders, but what had me start to question the validity of this plan of ours was a simple fact.
The demon was still using Ian's body while attacking.
Frankly, the fact the demon had been doing all that without shifting forms should've been my first clue as to what was about to happen. We all split up for our individual tasks, in my case, hiding behind a single large tree to observe the fight without getting in the way. Dax and Iroh came at their opponent from the front as Yohko summoned her soul sword and dashed to the side, flanking him. The Trill Scientist fired off stun blasts that kept Ian on the defensive as the retired general used his firebending to keep their opponent corralled between the phaser and the flames.
But as Yohko announced herself as her grandmother had taught her to over a decade ago, things quickly turned ugly. "I hold no enmity for those coerced into evil! But to those vile beings who toy with the hearts a- hguk!"
The devil hunter was suddenly wrenched upward into the air by an invisible hand of force as the Irishman's attention focused upon her. "Nice try, babe... but that ol' catch phrase of yours isn't gonna make me drop this handy new suit of mine." Just then, a thought struck my possessed pal, making him grin in a way that seemed far too wide to be normal. "Speaking of suits..."
Both the Trill scientist and aged firebender halted their attacks now that Yohko was dangling in midair by her throat, allowing the demon his next move. Raising one hand with the index and ring fingers pointing towards the young Mano woman, the infested Irishman slashed his hand straight down. At the same time, Yohko's dress split cleanly down the middle and the severed halves of the front hung limply off of her shoulders, leaving her chest and torso exposed for all to see.
"Why is it everytime I fight a monster, it tries to strip my clothes off?!" The devil hunter managed to say as she tried using her free hand to loosen what held her aloft.
"Fanservice, honey. That and it's rather easy to get you to keep those nasty powers of yours under wraps if you're distracted by the need to protect your modesty. " With that, Ian slashed at her again with his hand, this time from side-to-side, jerking her sword out of her grip and flinging it away from her. I quickly ducked behind my hiding place just in time for the blade to imbed itself in the trunk and the tip appear a few inches from my nose.
My eyes crossed slightly seeing that. "Hoookay... that was close..."
I looked back to the fight scene noticing Iroh trying to attack the possessed Irishman only to impact a barrier of energy that had formed around Ian's body. Dax ratcheted up the power to her phaser and fired off several blasts, only to have them deflect off the shield uselessly. This… is wrong. This... I'm supposed to just sit here and watch this farce go on?!
Maybe it was the fact I'd felt useless up to that point in the fight, or the fact a friend of mine was in peril right in front of my eyes, or it was simply that odd suicidal urge humans get when a bigger threat than they are shows up making us pileup on it, but as my gaze focused on the edge of Yohko's Soul Sword I stopped thinking and started doing.
I quickly grasped the blade and started pulling, hoping to loosen it enough so that I could shimmy it out of the tree trunk, only to have the weapon give off a slight glow and slide out of the wood as if it had been inside a sheath the whole time.
Not really caring for the ease of my sudden armament, I ran forward as fast as I could and took a downward swing at the possessed Irishman. The sword impacted hard against the energetic construct, sending numbing shocks up my arms. The twisted cackle of the demon filled my ears before cutting off suddenly. The sword had started glowing a little bit brighter as cracks began to show on the barrier where it had been touching the blade.
With a screeching hiss the hand that had been holding Yohko up let go of her and focused on me, blasting me clear and away from it's owner. The irishman then leapt up from his standing position and arced high over everyone's heads before landing somewhere behind the denser treeline and out of sight. For my part I'd been thrown back a fair distance only to make a sliding impact on the relatively soft ground. Amazingly I'd managed to keep a firm grip on Yohko's soul sword the entire time and after I had shook off all the grass and such I walked back to where everyone else was… being slightly grilled by the cops that seen the whole thing.
Oh. Joy.
The lieutenant commander drew the police men's attention away from Iroh, Yohko and myself and began trying to cement our standing as the 'good guys' instead of fellow threats to the public good. Or she was trying to make like this was a movie scene being filmed, I wasn't really paying attention to that. Instead, I zeroed in on where the devil hunter had fallen during the fighting. She'd managed to shake off her sudden descent and was sitting upright on the grass while holding the halves of her sliced uniform closed to preserve as much of her dignity as possible.
"You gonna be okay, girl?" I smirked her way as she looked back up at me with a small smile creeping up her face.
"I'll be okay, Jon. Not the first time I've been left like this at the end of a fight." She gave off a sigh before continuing. "I just wish it didn't take a couple of hours for my dress to reform. Plus, I'll have to change back first!"
I blinked twice in surprise. "I thought that uniform of yours was part an' parcel with the Yoma Ring?"
Yohko's braids swayed to and fro as she shook her head in the negative. "I use the ring to transform, yea, but it's my own powers that allow the dress exist in the first place."
'That's an odd bit of trivia...' I moved to hand the Soul Sword back to its proper owner, and the moment the weapon left my hands I suddenly fell forward as my vision blacked out.
"...anyone get the number of that demon...?" I squeaked out as I woke up from whatever took me out. I sat up expecting to see EMTs everywhere, but the whole place was empty save for the gouges in the grass to mark what had taken place earlier.
The retired general was at my side suddenly, poking various sections of my body at random. "How do you feel, Jonathan? Any lightheadedness, perhaps?"
I thought about it for a second. "Not really, man. I'm kinda wondering what K.O.'d me in the first place."
Iroh chuckled lightly as his right hand fell upon my shoulder. "I have never seen one's chi flare up so suddenly, so I can only guess to it's side effects."
I did what now? "Now hold up, Iroh. At what point could I have done anything like that? All I did was swing Yohko's sword at the demon, how would that 'flare up my chi'?"
The aged firebender shrugged. "I am unsure why that would have such an effect, all I know is that it has happened. Your energies have stirred and are slowly waxing. You should make sure to rest often and eat more than usual until your chi stabilizes."
My eyes rolled in my head at the 'medical advice'. "Thanks doc, I'll get right on the feast preparations once we-" I suddenly jerked upwards into a standing position. "IAN! Where is he?!"
Dax's voice turned my head to the left of me where she was fiddling with her tricorder. "He moved about a klik southwest and then stopped, he's been holding position ever since. It seems likely that Ian is waiting for us to catch up to him for some reason. As for the police, they moved on when more reports came on their radio systems about other sorts of disturbances like this one."
You'd think with a devil hunter on his tail he'd try to get as far away as he could. Reminded of our fourth party member, I started looking around the clearing for the young Mano woman. "So where's Yohko at?"
The retired general gave off a slight grin as he crossed his arms and shut his eyes as if deep in thought. "She returned to your vehicle and is waiting for us. I believe she may be a little flustered after what just occurred."
"Um… what exactly happened, Iroh?"
His grin simply widened before he opened his eyes and locked them with mine."When you passed out before you collapsed on top of Miss Yohko, pushing the both of you down onto the ground. As a result, your head ended up buried within her soft bosom. Or at least, I assume her chest was such since you seemed to mumble something of how comfortable you were at the time."
Dax gave of a slight snort before she and Iroh both started laughing quietly at the memory. At the same time, my mind filled in the blanks for what else must've happened, actually making me blush and grimace at once. "Figures. First time I come in contact with tits that don't belong to my mother and I'm unconscious for the whole thing."
That brought forth a whole new round of laughter from the pair so I, in turn, hightailed it back to the car. It was still in the side lot I had parked it in earlier, the devil hunter quietly sitting in the front passenger seat with the door hanging open. I started to move towards the car but stalled to a halt. What would I say, exactly? Sorry for doing a faceplant into your boobs and noting the softness while asleep?
...Ah, fuck it. Just apologize man, it's not like you had a chance with her beyond being friends anyway.
I moved up to the passenger side of the car and got Yohko's attention only to again freeze up for an instant when she locked eyes with mine. I shook it off quickly before bowing my head in the Japanese style as best I could while saying how sorry I was for embarrassing her earlier. I know, it's odd to do that sort of thing but I honestly thought it might help in some way.
"Why are you apologizing, Jon?" I lifted my head while keeping my bent over position allowing me to see the young Mano woman looking at me with a rather confused expression. "I mean, it's very nice you actually bowed like back home instead of however you do it here but it's not like you planned to fall unconscious into my chest, right?"
My cheeks heated up slightly in response and I just managed to stutter out an agreement. "Um, but that said, Yohko, why exactly are you being so understanding about all this? I always thought girls would react… erm, what's a good word for this?"
The Japanese woman's eyes became half-lidded as a smirk grew on her face. "Aggressively?"
"That's actually one of the words I was trying to avoid." I grimaced slightly. "Besides, you did react as expected before back in the hotel room."
Now it was the Devil Hunter's turn to frown. "That was different, Jon."
And I, in turn, now sported a smirk. "Uh huh. Same situation, same body location, different reaction. Try again."
Yohko huffed and turned her head away from me, her body slowly tensing up. "It-it's just different, Jon."
"I'm sure it is in Yohko's World, but if you want it to make sense in Jon's World you're gonna have to give me more than 'It's different.'" My smirk faded as Yohko seemed to shrink in on herself mumbling something quietly. "C'mon girl, what's up? What's got you speaking on eggshells around me?"
"...the fact that there isn't any way to save Ian apart from killing him..."
I blinked once, twice, and twice more before I spoke up again. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? Because it sounded very much like you said you were considering killing. My. Friend."
I dunno if it was her guilt over the situation or how my face looked at that moment, but either way the Devil Hunter turned to face me for an instant before shivering slightly and jerking her gaze the other way.
"Jon, you saw how trying to restrain him almost got us killed. If you were in his position, wouldn't you want to make sure that you were stopped, even if that meant having to die?" I turned back around to see that Dax and Iroh had finally caught up to us. As the Trill met my eyes with her own she stood her ground and continued speaking. "Iroh doesn't know how to get this… whatever this is out of your friend. Nothing in Starfleet Sciences or Federation protocols involving telepaths that my previous hosts or myself have seen comes close to what I just witnessed back there. And while Yohko mentioned a talisman of hers that might do the job-"
My head perked up at that, a smile slowly growing on my face.
"-that spell requires materials that would take far too long for her to get without accepting the fact that the next time Ian goes on the move he might hit something far more populated than a public park."
My head dropped as the frowning snarl slapped itself back onto my face quick as could be. ...She's right. They're right. Even if Yohko started drawing the ofuda right now there just wouldn't be… enough… time? Hang on a sec-
My eyes locked with Dax's in an instant. "Dax, how long does someone remain under the effects of a maximum stun blast?"
The Trill Scientist looked slightly stunned at my suggestion before continuing. "An average adult humanoid would be under for about 4-6 hours at that setting, provided a non-critical area was hit like the brain. But some humanoids are capable of shaking off the effects much sooner, those can be up in about an hour or less. "
The aged firebender stepped into the conversation at that moment. "Miss Yohko, might it be possible for you to create one of your talismans within that time if the conditions were ideal?"
A small smile started to blossom upon the Mano woman's face as she thought about it. "...maybe. The biggest problem is in making sure the characters are drawn precisely, but if I'm in an area without any kinds of distractions, I think I can do it."
The lieutenant commander's voice cut into the conversation as she unholstered her phaser. "Jon, my phaser didn't work on him using the stun setting before. Even at maximum, I think it's too dangerous to try this idea of yours."
A part of me smirked at that. "Dax, I think we have to try. Besides, I think it's more accurate to say your phaser didn't work on his shield, instead of him." There was more… C'mon Jon if you don't convince 'em of this you're gonna have to go along with killing your friend and it'll be your fault! "I think that… the demon inside of Ian has given him powers like that of a psyker, so first we need to-"
"What exactly is a 'psyker', Jonathan?" Iroh spoke up suddenly, interrupting me.
"It's a use-all term for beings that can develop multiple types of mental abilities like telekinesis or telepathy, some stories and games use it. Anyway, I think what we can do is-"
Now Dax got in on derailing my train of thought. "Now wait just a minute! Are you trying to tell us you came up with this plan of yours from these games you like to play?!"
I snapped back at her with a fair amount of the stress I'd been building up at that point. "YES Dax, I've come up with a very hairbrained scheme to save Ian that I came up with using my game trivia and observational knowledge from the last fight that may in reality have a snowball's chance in hell of actually working. Now can I please tell you guys my idea so we can get on with it or shoot it down?!"
No one gave a reply to that, but the retired general was suddenly next to me and giving that same super glare that he'd hit me with when we first met. I flinched back slightly, but then started returning his glare with my own. Moments started to pass, and just when I thought he was gonna turn me down, he suddenly stepped away from me with the serious look still on his face. "I… will help you with this plan, my young friend. But I think that we should also prepare for the worst case scenario, and swiftly, in case this idea of yours fails to succeed."
I thought about it for a second, then nodded my agreement. Dax and Yohko were soon on board as well, and I detailed my first crazy plan to they who would become my team.
All the while I'd been revealing my idea, I half expected Dax to say that Ian was again on the move and I'd be forced to just gun him down before he hurt someone else.
As we drove to where he was waiting for us, since by this point it seemed clear he was waiting for us, I thought he'd start running and it would end with some grand shootout a few miles away near a school or something.
Which meant once the four of us were standing at an opening in the brush cover that would guide us to where the Irishman still remained, I was so nervous and scared and jittery that if someone stepped on a twig at that point I'd probably keel over right then and there. 'What am I doing? Who am I to give commands to these people? '
But just when it seemed like I'd pass out from breathing too much, I felt a warm, rough hand clap itself onto my forearm. "You have already crafted an excellent plan, my friend. Now all you need do is execute it."
My eyes followed the sound and locked onto the retired general's face. "Do not look so distraught, or that feeling will spread to those you lead."
I felt my shoulders hunch close to each other. "But what makes me qualified to be a leader? Yea, I came up with this cockamamy idea in the first place just so that I wouldn't have to kill one of my best friends, but I'm no soldier. I'm just… just someone normal and boring."
The aged firebender nodded with eyes closed before crossing his arms in front of himself. "Yes, this is true. You are no soldier." His left eye opened to look at me for an instant, then it's twin joined it as his face lit up in a smile. "However, I have watched you for the past few days, as you interacted with us and allowed us to see your world. I have seen a young man of kind heart, who has given of himself simply because it is what his honor and conscience insist upon. Who when faced with a threat to one he calls a friend has then reached into himself to find the will to do what needs to be done. And while it is true that you are not trained for this sort of situation, frankly I have known many who were that fared far worse when battle came."
I smiled a little at that, before the worried frown reasserted itself. "But everything depends on the next few seconds. What if I mess this up, Iroh?"
Brown eyes full of age and wisdom focused upon hazel eyes full of doubt. "Even plans conceived by the most cunning strategists are like simple bubbles of soap when used against the enemy. Thus, a leader must fortify that plan with the skills and trust of those he commands, turning a fragile bubble into a mighty barricade."
He and I then gazed to the side where Dax was waving her hand to get our attention, the signal that Yohko was in position and ready to go. "The time has come. Are you ready, young captain?"
Maybe it was how he said it, or just what he called me right then, but I swear to this day so many years later it was as if a switch went off in my mind clearing away the mist inside. And what was left, I'm actually a little proud to say, was ready to rock. "Let's do this, old man."
Iroh nodded with a smirk and the both of us strode through the breach. Inside, the bare branches above our heads allowed enough light in to make sight an easy thing. Ian was sitting cross-legged in the center of the covered clearing next to the jagged stump of an old tree that had once shaded the immediate area alongside it's kin. Hie head tilted at the aged firebender and myself before grinning slightly. "Nice to see you finally showed up. Any longer and I would've been ready to come back after you, devil hunter."
The aged firebender and I turned to face each other for an instant before turning our very confused gazes back upon the possessed Irishman. "I'm a what now?"
My friend's glowing eyes suddenly brightened considerably as he snarled at the both of us. "You as well as this host would take me for a fool! You honestly believe centuries of battle against the accursed women of the Mano line would not give us insight into some of the magic's workings?! You are turning. Soon, very soon your essence will be at it's peak and then! Then another thrice-damned line of Hunters will begin." Just then, Ian seemed to regain his composure as his eyes dimmed to their original luminescence and his mouth formed into a grin. "Thus why I decided to find an out of the way place and wait for you to follow me, since here there are few things to interfere with me ending this problem before it begins…"
He raised his left hand as eldritch lightning began to gather within it. "One Devil Hunter away, no doubt licking her wounds. The foreigner Trill, using her crafts and sciences to aid the Hunter's recovery, and no doubt leaving her light weapon in your care. Which leaves an old man crippled by regrets and a man with a little boy's heart to face me. Pathetic."
My face gave a deep frown for an instant at the Irishman's description of myself and my new friends, before following through with the plan and letting a smirk that I really didn't feel form on my lips. "Maybe so, man, but I have to wonder about something."
Ian paused in his windup with a slightly confused expression as I nonchalantly tucked my hands into the pockets of my jeans. "What makes you think the girls would avoid all the fun?"
My possessed friend's eyes widened seconds before the branches behind him began to rustle loudly. He quickly spun around and tossed the energy ball at the noise, grinning when a sudden shriek filled his ears.
That grin didn't fade even as a bright red gout of flame impacted against a barrier that had up to this point been completely invisible. Ian turned back our way before shaking his head dramatically. "Hitting a man in the back? Such a dishonorable tactic…"
The retired general took that as his cue and dove for the possessed Irishman while I stood still with a pinched expression on my face. Iroh and Ian quickly traded off blows and kicks, fire blasts and waves of psychic energy. It was at that point I turned to the right and called out. "Yohko, Jadzia, now!"
At that moment the Trill Scientist and Devil Hunter both burst from the barren bushes to the right and far side of the clearing. Yohko, though not transformed into a Devil Hunter, rushed at the demon with several inscribed slips of paper while Dax covered her advance with several beams of crimson light from her chosen weapon.
We might as well have shot mace in his eyes. The moment Ian noticed the talismans he made every motion possible to keep distance from the young Mano woman. Unfortunately, the lieutenant commander's energy beams bounced off of his barrier harmlessly and the aged firebender was doing more damage to the surroundings instead of his target. The Irishman wasn't limiting himself to just dodging, however, choosing to toss lightning and various large branches that he could get his mental grip on any of the trio fighting him as they moved and dodged in turn.
I'd like to say there was some sort of rhythm to it, but frankly it was a three-for-all that was slowly but surely taxing the demon's abilities beyond their limits. But just when it looked like we'd simply tire him out to the point of collapse, he suddenly made a mad dash for me forcing the others to stop their attacks or risk hitting me in the process.
Now with me held in front of him and his left hand free to aim another energy blast at me, the Irishman's grin was back in force. "I thought you were smarter than this, Jon. The three of them just fought me to a standstill right in front of you and all you could do was stand and watch. You didn't even try to dodge out of the way of… wait."
His expression fell at the same exact moment the energy of a phaser blast pierced his side, dropping him to the ground. I stepped away from Ian a few paces and turned to facehim, which allowed the Irishman to see that I had Dax's phaser in my hand. He seemed to have lost the ability to speak, instead bearing his teeth in a fierce snarl while I began speaking. "Yea, I know: 'Didn't the Trill only have one weapon?' You're right, she did."
I gave a nod to Jadzia who showed off the boxy frame of her tricorder and proceeded to shoot herself in the hand with it, leaving no damage. "It seems tricorders can do a pretty good visual of a phaser blast when tuned properly, even though it has no actual power behind the shot. But since we were counting on you actually keeping up that barrier of yours the whole time, the possibility of you getting hit and noticing what wasn't there seemed rather small."
Iroh moved behind the Irishman and got a firm grip on his shoulders, keeping Ian in a kneeling position. "Now we're all going to stay put right here, until Yohko heads to the car and comes back with an actual ofuda charm to use on you, then say our goodbyes and banish your ethereal ass back where it came from nice and proper."
My possessed friend lost his snarl and managed to tilt his head towards the Devil Hunter. She in turn grinned widely and showed that the strips of paper in her hand had the kanji for Fake messily drawn upon them.
The demon seemed to be gaining a little more fluidity in what movement he could make as his body visibly relaxed in front of us. "Well done, Hunter. You have valiantly risked life and limb for a trusted friend. But is it worth it, I wonder, knowing what he has done?"
I frowned deeply. "All those people that were killed back there were your doing, monster! You're just using my friend's body like a puppet!"
The possessed Irishman lifted his head to face me before grinning fiercely. "Are you so certain? Surely you must be curious as to why it was so easy for me to possess this man's body…"
I thought about it for a few moments before answering. "There isn't anything to be curious about. You possessed him, end of story."
At that instant, the grin turned into a snarl! "Then allow me to show how limited your perception can be!"
The demon sudden broke free from Iroh's grip and lunged for me, and my hand squeezed the phaser on reflex. The beam hit Ian smack dab in the center of his forehead while a small bolt of lightning from the aged firebender struck him from behind. The next thing I know, my possessed friend was sprawled upon the ground and I dropped to my knees at the sight as my legs lost the strength to hold me up.
I dunno how long I just sat there with the words 'I killed him' racing through my head before my body decided it had had enough fun today and allowed me to pass out in a dead faint.
As I woke up this time I started to wonder if I would somehow lose my right to call myself a man if I fainted in the presence of women anymore today. That thought made me give off a snort of laughter before the reason why I fainted came back to me.
...I killed him.
I mean, I suppose Ian would've prefered that to being that demon's meat puppet any longer… still though…
It was around that point I registered the fact I was back in Ian's room, on his bed, as I turned my head towards the window. I squeezed my eyes shut hoping to stall any tears from escaping as I continued to silently grieve over all that had gone down. To win, to succeed despite everything that could've gone wrong and then have that very victory blown apart right in front of you. A sob managed to sneak out of my throat as did a few tears from my sealed eyelids.
"Jon, you awake?" I heard Dax's voice to the right of me just as a warm hand lightly shook my left shoulder. I opened my eyes and saw the Trill scientist looking over me with a gentle expression on her face. "How're you feeling?"
I snorted a lungfull of air in through my nose to clear it of any phlegm that might be waiting to drip out before responding as Dax's expression suddenly turned surprised at what I'd just done in front of her. "A-a little stunned, honestly. All that effort, and the demon still got away with it."
The lieutenant commander gave off a light smirk before helping me up into a sitting position. She then directed my attention to the area near the foot of the of the bed where Ian's body had been propped up on a chair and was twitching every so-
My train of thought suddenly derailed as I registered that Ian's body was showing signs of life. It was at that moment Yohko and Iroh both walked into the Irishman's room from the opposing doors connecting to the hallway and bathroom respectively. As the two of them registered that I was up, both the aged firebender and devil hunter started smothering laughter at my rather gobsmacked look.
The retired general was first to regain his composure after a few moments. "I'm glad you were able to regain consciousness when you did, my friend. Any longer and we felt it would be best to proceed without you."
That phrasing helped me throw off my mental bluescreen. "Um, ok… Glad to hear it, man. W-what exactly were you all waiting for?"
Instead of answering, Iroh simply directed the young Mano woman to go ahead with what she was about to do. That turned out to be Yohko simply walking up to where Ian was propped up and, with a wink in my direction, lightly tapping an elaborate strip of paper onto the Irishman's forehead. An instant later, sparks of energy began dancing across Ian's body making him grimace in pain. Suddenly the possessed Irishman's eyes opened as he jerked to a standing position while giving off a literal roar of agony. The four of us watched on as after a few moments of the demon futilely tearing at the ofuda and thrashing about in place, a midnight black mist ejected from my friend's body and evaporated into nothingness. With nothing to continue the struggle, my friend simply collapsed to his knees in a slump.
Slowly, the Irishman began to stir, raising a hand to the bridge of his nose and pinching it to help stave off a rather nasty headache. He started to speak, but it came out raspy and weak before he coughed loudly to clear his throat before trying again. "...Jon...if you ever shoot me with that thing again I'm gonna punch you in the dick so hard you'll be peeing blood for weeks."
Yes, he could have said anything other than a threat to my urinary tract, but I honestly didn't care as I fumbled my forward and tackled him in a bear hug with new tears in my eyes. After a few seconds the Irishman started lightly patting me on the back. "Jon, you done yet?"
I shook my head, still holding on. I admit at the time I was worried that I might be dreaming and keeping a grip on Ian was helping fade that fear. Unfortunately, that meant that things quickly began to feel awkward for the Irishman and he started lightly pushing at me, hoping I'd get the message. "Aaaaanytime you're ready, Jon. Just eh, starting to feel a bit trapped...again… and unable to move freely… again."
Ok, thinking back on this I should've probably wised up and let go of him since that should've been enough to assuage any lingering fears at that point. Problem was I was kinda stuck in la-la land giddy over the facts that I didn't kill my friend and I did save his life. Even then, I don't blame him for what occurred next.
Growling out my name, Ian roughly shoved me away from him… and a force other than his arms aided in prying me off, flinging me into the far wall of his room. I impacted the wall, thankfully impacting only drywall as my body punched through before I fell out of the hole landing on the bed. As quick as could be I propped myself up on my arms staring straight at Ian with wide eyes. Everyone else was too, just as dumbstruck over how I could be flung several feet by a normal human being.
And given the way Ian was now looking at his arms, the concept and how it didn't seem to fit with how things should be had registered with him as well. He then turned to the nearby chair and thrust out his hand palm open. Whatever was now within him responded once more, knocking the furniture into the shelving along the window side of the room. An outright feral grin spread over my friend's face as he began experimenting with his newfound ability. First by pulling and pushing random objects about his room, then by picking small things up and letting them orbit his body while giggling madly. Thankfully, this display of power was prevented from escalating further when the Irishman actually used a burst of his ability to cause Yohko's skirt to flip upward as if a swift wind erupted underneath her.
The young Mano woman shrieked and took a few moments to try keeping her panties out of sight before she gained a furious look on her face, stomped up to Ian and clocked him upside the head. With his concentration disrupted, everything that had been affected by his telekinesis dropped to the floor. Rubbing his head where she hit him, Ian grinned roguishly at Yohko. "You could do so much better than plain white. Ever think of wearing a thong?"
The devil hunter's face blanked for an instant before flushing deep red with anger. She raised her hand high as if to hit him again, before her features suddenly calmed to normal. She pivoted on her heel to face my direction before climbing onto Ian's bed and draped herself over my back with her arms loosely around my neck. "That's something Jon's more likely to find out about instead of you." She then nuzzled the back of my head with her cheek, making several giddy thoughts flutter about in my stomach as I gave off an embarrassed chuckle at my reversal of feminine fortune.
Iroh clapped his hands twice, snapping all of us out of our little reverie. "While this is a rather entertaining diversion, should we not be asking ourselves why Mr. Gram is now capable of such unusual feats?"
Dax took out her tricorder and walked up to Ian, taking several scans of his head and body. "...mmm… I'd have to use a medical tricorder to get the whole set of changes, but I'm detecting brainwave activity far higher than what should be seen in your average humanoid. The neurological mass is also somewhat denser than before." Dax crossed her arms in front of herself for a moment before speaking again. "It could be a side effect of the combination of both the stun blast and Iroh's lightning hitting Ian's nervous system. It's possible that when that happened the overload of energy… supercharged him for lack of a better word. I just really wish Julian were here right now, he could make more sense of these readings than me."
I blinked in confusion with Yohko still leaning on my back. "So basically, since I zapped Gram in the head by mistake, he's got Force powers now? And is this a permanent thing?"
The Trill scientist gave a shrug of her shoulders. "I'm not a medical doctor, Jonathan, I honestly have no idea what's going to happen with this."
The Irishman had gotten bored with the conversation and levitated a thick ceramic cup from the eastern-style tea set he owned and proceeded to entertain himself by using the cup to lazily trace figure eights in the air in front of him. Dax gave off a slight frown at that. "Ian, I don't think you should be using these powers of yours so frivolously. For all we know, this could be a side effect of brain damage from what happened to you earlier."
The cup halted its journey for an instant as Gram now had a frown to match Jadzia's. A breath of time later it began moving through the air again, only it's path had grown considerably more complex. After a minute or so of mutual silence I decided to speak up. "Ian, I think it'd be a good idea to quit playing with your new toy for a bit. We still need to figure out what to do next since it seems like all hell's breaking loose around us. Demons popping up outta nowhere isn't natural for our world."
The empowered Irishman smirked as the cup started moving faster along it's unseen path. "If more of 'em come our way, I'll use this trick of mine to stuff those demons back into their hole."
Suddenly Iroh reached out and plucked the cup from its midair journey. "Perhaps, young man, but in the meantime it seems rude to play with such abilities while we're in the middle of a discussion like this."
My friend's expression remained neutral though his body language started growing tense. "I'm listening already, what's the plan?"
With that statement, three sets of eyes zeroed in on me as did the fourth once he realized who the rest were looking at. The aged firebender spoke up."Well, Jonathan? What is our plan, now?"
Now normally I like being the center of attention, but given what was hinging on the attention I opted for being nervous instead. "Why ask me? I mean, yea, my idea worked. Why does that mean I'm the leader now?"
Iroh smiled at me. "It isn't just the fact your strategy proved successful, but also that with Mr. Gram gaining these new abilities after his ordeal you still seem to recognize them for what they are. Thus, you remain the most logical choice to synchronize all our talents together. Do you disagree?"
I felt Yohko adjust her positioning on my upper back as I leaned backward slightly with a thoughtful expression on my face. "Well, no. I suppose I don't, man… Lemme think."
I closed my eyes to help me focus, and a moment later I continued speaking. "I guess we need to try going after any other demons nearby. The one that infested Ian said 'We are the first, and certainly not the last'. That sounds like baddies are all over the place right now. The five of us might be the only ones that can do anything about it."
Ian suddenly kneeled in front of me moving into my field of vision, locking eyes with my own. "I for one will not run from this. Do any of you have an idea what it feels like to be possessed?! It's like an out-of-control roller coaster, you can see what's coming and you wanna stop it but you can't. I just saw my own hands gutting grown men, tearing through their flesh." He then stood up and turned away from me. "We're fighting, Jon. We're fighting and we're killing them because I… because we must. And because I frankly wouldn't wish that on anyone else."
Then I suggest you all step to it, then.
The five of us suddenly jerked at the voice that spoke up seconds before Q of all beings appeared in a flash before us. He was leaning against the door to Gram's closet with his arms crossed in front of himself, still wearing his own take on a Starfleet uniform, still with that damnable haughty look on his face. "Frankly I'm impressed with you, Jonathan. You actually managed to pull off that hairbrained scheme of yours."
I only could look at the godling for a second before I felt a growl rumble in my chest and my blood start to boil. I slipped out of Yohko's grip and flung myself at the member of the Continuum with my right fist swinging for his noggin. Only the little bastard flashed away from where he had been meaning my fist slammed into the wall. I winced as I pulled my hand back and started shaking it about, popping the knuckles to help reduce the twinging pain.
Q reappeared standing right next to me. "Now now, violence isn't the answer…"
I gave off a little quiver in anger before speaking very calmly. "You're right, Q. Violence isn't the answer. It's the question." I suddenly bared my teeth in a snarl as I turned around to face Q again. "And for what you did the answer is 'FUCK YES'!"
Ian moved at the same time I did, actually showing he might have more than just Force Push to play with as energy began collecting in his hand. For my part, I had my fist chambered and swung just as I finished getting Q in my sights.
That's when the omnipotent annoyance reminded all of us of the fact he was hit by Sisko that one time because he allowed it to happen. Q lazily caught my fist and proceeded to squeeze it like it was in a vice, bringing me to my knees in screaming pain. At the same time my friend had his legs pulled out from under him, actually getting him to flip completely over landing roughly on his stomach. Whatever attack the empowered Irishman had been charging up suddenly fizzled as Ian had the wind knocked out of him. "First, don't blame me for the demons running around the place, it's that interesting ring of Yohko's that guided them here."
The devil hunter gave off a shocked gasp upon hearing that, which in turn helped me get angry enough to ignore the pain from my hand for an instant. "How dare you blame her f-gahahaaa!"
Q tightened his grip keeping me on my knees before speaking up again. "Second, while a part of me would enjoy watching the both of you rail against omnipotence for as long as you are willing to try we frankly don't have time to waste like that."
Before anyone could say anything the godling snapped his fingers warping the lot of us out of there. The next thing any of us knew, we appeared high in the sky, held up by invisible forces out of our control. Q then finally let go of my hand and allowed all of us to look around. Didn't take long for us to figure out that we were a few thousand feet above the Trinity River with the inner city of Dallas a relatively short distance away. Right before our eyes, a deep blood red light began emanating from somewhere in the city center. Just as quick as it appeared it began to fade, and an inhuman roar suddenly echoed in our ears.
I felt an arctic chill go down my spine. "Q, what the hell was that?"
The omnipotent annoyance frowned before answering. "That would be one of the first successes of the demon spirits in bringing their larger fellows to this world. They've infested several hundred of you lower life forms and began performing summoning rituals to call their brethren here. Unless something is done, these demons will use your quaint little section of the universe as a foothold for their conquest."
As we continued to look on, one of the smaller buildings suddenly imploded while air raid sirens began to blare. The attack had begun. Dax began comforting Yohko as she became hysterical while Iroh merely looked at the growing carnage with a pinched look on his face. That left Ian and myself who both turned back to the godling that continued holding a similar frown to us our way. "Well then, do you still wish to attack me? Or do you now understand that you all have much bigger fish to fry?"
Chapter 2 - Complete.
