Bracer and Clip with Ring

Chapter 9: Demon Bracer

"REPENT MOTHERFUCKER!"

An explosion and the clanging of Heavens hitting the ground, and Bracer growled as he tossed the piece of yet another ruined sword out of his right hand while Clip picked up the five coins.

"Tch… great, every sword I use just shatters on me after using it. That's just great!" Bracer complained as he hopped back into Tank Top, Clip rolling his eyes.

"Whatever… may have to do with the fact you keep grabbing them with that demon arm… heavenly weapons aren't meant to intake demonic power you know." Clip muttered, Bracer taking a turn to roll his eyes.

"Yeah whatever. Still… all of our recent Ghost hunts have been boring as shit! We take them down in one or two hits now, it's infuriating!" Bracer grumbled, leaning on the window.

"Of course you'd complain about the fighting being easy as hell… I for one am just glad we're getting easy Heavens off these fuckers." Clip stated, bouncing the pouch of Heavens they had as he dropped the new ones in there. "I bet we're faring better than the Anarchy sisters, that's for damn sure."

"Maybe."

"Hey, bro…" Clip muttered, and Bracer looked surprised, as Clip didn't usually call him that, "When are you going to stop playing dense and tell Stocking you like her back huh? Seriously, the dense idiot act is getting old… and Panty… geezus you two have been keeping this up since both of you hit puberty… just fuck and see if it means anything in the morning!"

"Clip, can we please not have this conversation in the car?" Bracer asked, his look a bit somber, much to his brother's surprise.

In fact, ever since unsealing his demon arm, Bracer had… changed. First off, his temper wasn't as short as before, he was calmer, more level headed and thoughtful… and more somber than brash, his tone not as cocky either. Sure, he still got annoyed a lot, but that was normal considering what they were surrounded by regularly… but Bracer had, notably, stopped using Zappy as a punching bag like everyone else did, and in his more recent spats with the elder of the Anarchy sisters, he'd been less… abrasive and more the level headed, logical one.

Well, the change wasn't all that bad considering this is how Bracer had been before being cursed, as Clip knew anyway.

"Uh… sure…" Clip murmured.

Monsatery

Clip was seated on the couch in his usual spot… while Bracer was sleeping on the second couch in the room, out cold but looking rather peaceful as he slept.

"Geez… he sleeps a lot more than usual…" Clip murmured.

"It's an after effect of awakening the Demon Bringer. Bracer is using up much more of his angelic energy in combat than before, while his demonic power steadily grows because of it. It's a condition the humans would refer to as hypersomnia." Ring appeared seemingly out of nowhere, Clip raising a brow.

"The inverse of insomnia I guess? So what, now he sleeps too much? That, and he's been eating way more than usual… mainly pizza…" Clip hummed.

"Yes, also that. The bean pole needs to consume a higher amount of calories than normal due to the amount of energy Demon Bringer causes him to use. Though, I am starting to have fears for him, seeing as how, as said before, his demonic power is growing, despite how intense it already is." Ring stated, taking his own massive seat, Clip raising a brow.

"Say what now?" Clip asked.

"I'm saying your older brother is progressively becoming more demon the more his power grows." Ring stated, and just as that finished, Clip ended up shrieking and jumping out of his seat when something crashed down through the roof and planted itself into the floor, and Ring simply looked up at the hole, "You're paying for that hole Azrael! MAAAN!"

"UNCLE AZRAEL?!" Clip snapped, peering up from behind the couch to see what the heck had just happened, blinking to see what was embedded in the floor, blinking to see, that of all things, it was a katana, though the length looked more like that of a tachi.

The weapon was currently within a traditional looking black scabbard with metal ornamentation on the ends and a yellow sageo, the ornament used for tying the scabbard to the waist, with an ornate, bronze colored, oval shaped guard, the hilt wrapped in white and black material in a design that mimicked the look of Bracer's Demon Bringer, or the other way around, the hilt having the relief of a dragon at the end… and there was a white piece of paper folded at the end.

"BRACER! Wake you scrawny, unmanly virgin ass up at once!" Ring yelled, throwing a punch, Bracer catching it with his right arm, an annoyed sigh coming out of his mouth as he sat up.

"What testosterone head?" Bracer muttered, getting whacked upside the head for the comment before Ring swiped the sword out of the floor, handing it to Bracer, who blinked to see the sword once again.

"No way… Uncle Azrael was holding onto this." Bracer took the sword, pulling the blade out, revealing the gleaming silver blade, spinning the weapon easily despite it's length, and then he noticed the paper as he sheathed it, "A note huh?"

Bracer extracted the note, placing the blade under his arm as he unrolled it, Clip leaning over his shoulder.

"Dear Bracer…" Bracer started to read, "The Heaven Vanguard, your old man included, has got their panties in a wad now since your devil powers have woken up for good… needless to say I'm in a pickle, but hey, nothing I can't manage… granted Gabriel got onto my ass and both you boys know a punishment from Gabriel is never a pleasant thing. Either way, I figured to send you good ol' Yamato again since I figured you'd be overloading any heavenly weapon you got your hands on. And I'm sure my old pal Ring doesn't have the funds to keep up with the rate you'd end up going through them, even with that Black Card of his."

"Well he's got that right… but just what the hell is this thing?" Clip muttered.

"I'll explain, let me finish." Bracer cleared his throat, and started talking in a more lax tone, one that was emulating their uncle as he started walking around the room, "So, in light of this, I got authorization form the G Man himself to send you the sword, seeing as how you're so proficient with it, I figured it'd come in handy during your Ghost hunts with Clip, and maybe some extra just to be safe. Granted, can't be as bad as Dakuma. Also, tell Clip that Cammie said hi… uh, not gonna add what she wanted me to add cause… shit Clip how did you get a girl like her huh? She makes Panty Anarchy look like a virgin, yeesh…"

"Hehehehe." Clip chuckled, obviously proud of that fact.

"Continuing…" Bracer turned to the next page, "So, that's all… also, Bracer, get off your ass and get a girlfriend already. One of the two Anarchy girls, or both, would suffice… besides, they're the only girls you've ever so much as talked to since pre-school anyway."

Bracer crumpled the paper at that last part with an audible sound, tossing the ball of paper to Zappy, the bird thing snapping it right up, Clip snickering in the background.

"Wow, even Uncle Azrael is telling you to get off your ass about it." Clip chuckled, and he blinked when, within the time it would take to blink, Yamato's blade was pointed at his face, Bracer now the one with a smirk as Clip's delayed reaction of shooting back and falling over the back of the couch came out, his older brother laughing as the sword was put up again.

"Hahahaha! Gotcha! Seriously though, drop that matter for now. Still, good to have my old pal' back." Bracer chuckled, Clip getting up.

"Not. Cool." Clip growled, "And what do you mean by "old pal" anyway?"

"You see Clip, that sword in Bracer's hands is a Demon Arms, a powerful weapon normally wielded by high ranking demons, the Devil class demons. They are weapons formed by the souls of demons and then subjugated by their masters. Some Devils use them as a method of getting the more ornery soldiers in line, often times bequeathing them to commanders or using the weapons themselves." Ring explained.

"Okay… doesn't explain why Bracer has it." Clip asked.

"It was my old weapon back when I was with the Demon Hunters, and before that, this sword was Uncle Azrael's. It used to belong to some Devil that betrayed Hell and helped seal up some stupidly powerful Ghost with it, and before he died he gave the sword to Heaven as insurance. By proxy of being the general weapons expert, Uncle Azrael was the one to get it." Bracer explained.

"Yes… and this particular Demon Arms is of the Dark Forged class… interesting, since they're the most powerful type." Ring hummed.

"I'M EVEN MORE CONFUSED NOW!" Clip yelled, putting his hands on his head.

"Hagh… why don't I just go and show you?" Bracer shrugged.

"Huh? But we literally just got back… we aren't gonna get another clue any time else today." Clip stated.

"Actually, I have a solution for that! Follow me you two scrubs!" Ring grabbed the boys and pulled a lever, Clip screaming as they fell, Ring stoic and Bracer watching as the seemingly random elevator took them underneath the monastery, and once it had literally crashed down, the boys awed at what they saw: A massive arena with caged Ghosts all around.

"Holy shit…" Bracer actually sounded impressed by this.

"What is this?" Clip asked.

"It is my MANLY training grounds, where I go to train and further chisel my body, pushing it to the limits! Since I do not possess a Heavenly Weapon nor Demon Arms, I cannot kill these Ghosts, and they make for excellent opponents in MANLY sparring!" Ring had gotten to posing as if he'd come straight out of Jojo's Bizarre adventure, his shirt tearing off for emphasis.

"Bro that's like… torture…" Bracer muttered.

"Ah no. All of these Ghosts went feral long ago. They have lost any and all sense of human reasoning that some Ghosts still manage to possess. They are little more than mindless monsters." Ring stated, said Ghosts gnawing and gnashing at their cages like beasts. "Each one is also rather powerful. Feel free to test yourself against some Bracer. But not too many!"

"Oh I hear ya' loud and clear." Bracer chuckled, jumping off into the arena.

"Hey, Ring, what the heck did you mean by you were worried about Bracer and his demon powers?" Clip asked, following Clip to the main tower.

"I fear that the ever increasing demonic power in your brother may bar him from Heaven all together… the great Lord God is forgiving, and in his infinite wisdom I do not doubt he could raise your brother… but somehow not even our good Lord could lift the curse that awoke the demonic side of your brother… I fear if that power is allowed to grow, then your brother will forever be barred from the great land of heaven, no matter how liberal our heavenly society may be. The Vanguard has their limits." Ring explained, Clip giving a wide eyed look, looking to his brother, and the black visage of the Doppelganger, what they'd dubbed the shadow that Bracer could summon, appeared for a moment as Bracer moved… that dark visage, the one that appeared demonic, haunting to look at.

"Bracer… might be locked out of Heaven forever?! No way… there's no way God would let one of his best Angels be locked out because of being a Nephilim!" Clip objected.

"I'm not saying it's matter of whether God wants to let Bracer back in or not… I'm saying if it's a matter of if he can or cannot… our Lord may be the Almighty, but not even he has control over the demons and the Devils, which is why we Angels must fight them and preserve the balance. Bracer has become one of those rare individuals who sits at the middle of light and dark… but for now, watch, and see the power your brother held as a Demon Hunter." Ring slammed a button, and a few cages opened up, letting five of the snarling Ghost beasts loose.

"Hehe… let's get dangerous." Bracer chuckled, flexing his right hand, and as one of the Ghosts lashed at him, he was gone and on the other side of the beast, sliding Yamato back into the scabbard, and when the blade clicked, what looked like a distortion in the space around the beast formed in the shape of a cut, said Ghost falling as it fell into two pieces.

"What the heck… that was so fast I couldn't even see it…" Clip mumbled, "And… was that…"

"Yes… Yamato, the Dark Forged Blade with an edge so sharp it can cut even space apart. A truly formidable weapon." Ring hummed.

Below, Bracer was dodging and sidestepping the Ghosts attacks with an almost casual amother of ease in his steps, every dodge little more than a blink as he moved through the air, and one dodge ended with Bracer severing a beasts limb with a lightning fast strike, sheathing his blade and then grabbing the Ghost beast, tossing it high before making what appeared to be the slightest of movements with his blade, the Ghost Beast then bursting as multiple cuts appeared in the air around it, then proceeding to cut down the third by catching it's maw on his blade, the beast being ripped clean in half by the blade, Bracer not so much as moving as it exploded, leaving the last two beasts to prowl around him.

"Shit fuck?! Three down and he hasn't taken even a scratch!" Clip yelped, leaning forward on the railing.

"Hmm… no wonder Bracer seems to have grown bored… your battles against Ghosts have been nothing more than pointless gimmick battles." Ring hummed.

"Huh?! Gimmick battles? Fuck that, we're gathering heaven coins so we can get home, why are they pointless!?" Clip snapped.

"That is something that I, sadly, cannot inform you of at this time young Angel. Let us just say that Bracer's reason for being banished from Heaven is a lot different than you previously thought it was." Ring stated, Clip raising a brow.

"Hmm… two against one eh? Well, why not make it more interesting?" Bracer smirked, stepping to the side, and as he did, his Doppelganger formed from a black aura that rose around him, holding a perfect, spectral copy on Yamato, and then Bracer stood back to back with the specter as the Ghost Beasts lunged, both vanishing with quick steps, the beasts exploding as Bracer sheathed his blade, and above, Clip blinked when he swore, that for a split second, Bracer's form changed, if for just a brief moment, as his Doppelganger faded back into him.

"What was that?" Clip murmured, rubbing his eyes to make sure he hadn't seen anything.

"Hmmm… I'll give him one more opponent… the exit elevator is nearby. I need to go and make a call." Ring walked off, Clip lifting a brow as he pressed one more button, and the younger Justice brother yelled in shock when, lurching out of the larger gate, came out a massive Ghost beast that oozed like slime, but had the form of a hydra, and Bracer just looked thrilled to see it as he dodged the beasts acid spit.

"Oh now this looks like a fun Ghost! How come Daten City never gets things like this in it huh?!" Bracer landed on one of the Ghost's heads, vanishing as another bit down at him before using Demon Bringer to grab said head and yank off both in one go, though four more just sprouted from the stumps, "Right… cut off one head and two more take it's place… guess it's gonna have to be all at once then!"

Bracer took a stance, his right hand on his sword's hilt, the arm glowing as he poured power into the sword, his look serious, and he smirked as the hydra ghost charged at him.

"Jackpot!"

Bracer vanished with another burst of power, and all one could see were the after images of his moves that then seemed to gather back to him as he spun to a stop, sliding Yamato into the sheathe, a glint of light coming from the blade as it contacted, the hydra falling as it faded, a few Heavens dropping with it as Bracer stood up, flicking his right arm to the side.

"Hehe, so, Clip, whaddya think? Big Bro is pretty impressive when he's going all out like that huh?" Bracer flashed a thumbs up, Clip getting a red face.

"Do not bring up that childish nickname for you dammit… I stopped that when we were ten." Clip muttered, Bracer jumping up next to him.

"Yeah yeah, complain all you like. Ain't lettin' it go though." Bracer chuckled, poking Clip between the eyes. "Hey, were's steroid junkie?"

"He went to call someone apparently… I dunno… hey, wanna go stop by the Anarchy's place and see what's going on?" Clip put his arms behind his head and turned, Bracer humming.

"Sure why not? They drop by here all the time, might as well return the favor." Bracer hummed.

Elsewhere

"Yes… yes indeed I saw it… it was only a glimpse but I feel that, if the right conditions are met, Bracer could unlock more of the Devil class abilities he has… yes of course, I'll continue to watch him."

Ring was currently conversing with… someone, on the phone, Zappy perched on the Priests shoulder as he proceeded through the rows of trapped Ghost Beasts.

"My opinion? Well, the boy is certainly growing strong… Clip as well… but, Bracer's demonic abilities are more concerning at the moment… I fear he'll be locked out of… hmm? He wouldn't mind? I mean, Bracer is an odd case for Angels, but to not want to… you're his uncle, and you were more of a father to him than Michael ever was or could be, why would he not want to come back, if not to at least see you again?"

Ring stood there as the one on the other end, likely Azrael, spoke more on this matter, the Angel priest humming.

"No, I completely understand the situation… but Bracer would never leave Clip behind either… improvement? What do you… oh… yes, I do think Clip needs to learn to not rely on Bracer to be the problem solver but… no, yes, I understand… no, completely understood… the Anarchy girls? Bracer acts as he usually does… blows off Panty in her attempts to bed him, and acts oblivious to Stocking… "Did I ever consider why he does so?"… what do you mean? Bracer has no reason to avoid this matter."

More words from Azrael, and Ring hummed as he thought.

"That is a possibility but… even if he is how he is… no the thought did cross my mind before now… but I thought it a passing joke!... No I can see why… but to think he can hide it so well… my… why does Michael have to have such a troublesome child? I still find it odd… why is it his heritage never mattered until now?... the curse you say? No… neither Bracer nor Clip are aware of this matter, and I personally believe they should know who their mother truly was. I do not wish to shame Michael by letting his sons know that secret… about time? When?! Both may not be virgins to combat and strife but… no…. yes… I know… of course. Alright. I'll report in later about the progress of the boys' growth."

Ring hung up and sighed, Zappy flitting off his shoulder and too a cage.

"Zappy, I believe our wandering children are in for a rough time… these Ghosts they face will no longer be a challenge for either of them… but I feel the weight of a much more powerful threat looming over Daten City, one that makes even the Hell's Monkey pale by comparison… and as for Bracer… his future is clouded in mystery to me… I cannot see what awaits him unlike his brother… hmm… Lord, the gift of foresight you have given me is failing to help one of your sheep… please, allow him to have control of his own fate… let our cursed angel forge his own path… whatever it may be."

A/N

DWWWWOOOOON! *foreboding music* Ah yes, foreshadowing, how I love it. I plan for some fun over these next chapters… and expect plenty of interaction between the Justice and Anarchy siblings… also, ya'll are finally gonna get to meet Clip's GF too.