Ehehe…heh…heh…h-howdy folks. Been a while, hasn't it? Four months and a half, give or take. Ehehe…yeah… *rubs back of neck* I have no excuse. I did have a legitimate excuse for about the last…oh, about from August 20th onward until now, my computer crashed due to a HORRIBLE virus (full excuse/explanation in my profile) and we had to send it back to the manufacturers, erasing all memory (including story files) in the process. Beforehand though, I got nothing, except the fact that I didn't have any motivation to write for this story. I still don't…but…guilt forbids me from leaving this un-updated any longer. Oh! And I almost forgot, a wonderful friend of mine that I met on the trip to England drew some character art for Nightstalker Style, "link" here (just remove the spaces):
catsvrsdogscatswin .deviantart art /Sorry -482531194
Or if that does not work, go to deviantart and search "catsvrsdogscatswin", I'm there under the same user name as I am here. The pic is titled "Sorry" and its in my favorites. My friend is called ifthereonlyweredoors.
September 23, 2014
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."
"I don't know."
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go."
-Alice and the Cheshire Cat, Alice in Wonderland
DK's POV:
"Hmm…" I sweatdropped, along with Kage, Akuma, and Hazel, watching Lord Death cock his head as he stared at Kage's outstretched arms, the cuffs still locking them together. "Hmm…" Stein sighed out a gust of nicotine. "Hmm, Lord Death? Isn't there something more constructive you could be saying?" he asked with a hint of irritation in his voice, and the Reaper cupped the space where his chin would be with one oversized white hand. "It's really quite interesting. A large part of the metal has been forged with this "Arro" character's Soul Wavelength, and several spells were cast over it as well. It creates both a barrier to Kage's powers and a dampener that feeds off her own wavelength; break one, and you still have the other to contend with. It may be very difficult to get off." he warned in his ridiculously high voice, tapping his square forefinger against Kage's forehead as she grew a small tick mark. "So you can't fix it?"
He swayed from side to side, raising his hands a hopeless, sort of shrugging gesture. "The removal and placement of such high octane spells is almost exclusively the area of Witches and Nightstalker like you." He scratched the area where his chin would be. "I honestly have no idea on how to remove it. That's not my area of expertise!" All five of us facing him sweatdropped. "In other words, you have no idea." He nodded happily. "Yup! But don't worry, I'm sure we'll figure it out!" he chirped, clapping his hands once and then opening them in an expansive gesture, before making a thumbs up sign with one hand. I'm the unholy remnant of a demon god, once feared and respected throughout the world, and here I am, in the form of a scrawny teenager listening to the Grim Reaper himself dictate like a two-year-old. Oh how the mighty have fallen. I thought as my eye twitched slightly, then shook my head rapidly. Ignore that and focus.
"The Black Mass said that all we need to do is trap Arro like Noah does for his normal creature collection, with the Book of Eibon." Akuma said, holding the large, thick tome out in front of him. "Problem is, we have no idea how to do that, and somehow I highly doubt that Noah will just come out and tell us about it. We did steal it from him." he admitted blandly, and Lord Death took it from him, flipping through the book with one thumb. "Ooh, so this is the original manuscript. Scary." Stein flicked the cigarette butt out into a conveniently placed ashtray, frowning. "If this Noah is powerful enough to have obtained and used the Book of Eibon, he isn't going to be deterred by the fact it's at the DWMA now." he pointed out ominously, and I saw Hazel and Kage shiver, Hazel because she was something of a scaredy-cat, Kage because of bad memories. I bit my lip in thought; Stein was right, and I didn't want to be the one holding the Book when Noah found it. He had looked like a formidable opponent.
"Wait! I've got it!"
I jumped as Kage snapped her fingers, looking excited. "We tail him!" There was an awkward silence as those not immured in Nightstalker phrases looked at her as if she had lost her sanity, and Akuma and I had expressions of slowly transcending genius. I looked at Kage with new respect as Akuma began to chuckle. It was times like this that I was reminded more than ever of her melding with my sister. Something this devious could only have come from Queenie. Lord Death, Stein, and Hazel were still looking at us as if we were mad, and I cackled to myself and rubbed my hands together. "So, my friends, let's discuss tactics and you'll soon understand how thoroughly we have this Noah dude surrounded."
Rowan's POV:
"Anything yet, Linden?" I asked impatiently as Berry clung nervously to Birch's back. Linden sighed and shook his head as I clutched the Book of Eibon more nervously. Kage had entrusted it to us as new recruits, and I was determined to keep it safe. Then they'll see I'm strong enough to become a Nightstalker like them! They'll see! I thought fiercely as my jaw clenched, and my hands tightened on the corners. "Oh, hello there." We all looked up as Berry cocked her head, seeing a young man with strange dark blue eyes and slicked back black hair blink at us in a friendly way. "Um…hi." Birch said shyly, a faint blush crossing her cheeks as I hid a snort. Linden kicked me under the table, and I looked at him in surprise, seeing him jerk his head towards the young man slightly. What is he…wait, that's the guy we're supposed to be guarding this from?! That little weed couldn't steal a coin from a fountain! I thought in outrage, and looked back to my right, only to see him smiling and playing with Berry as she tried to catch a small sparkling piece of string he dangled from his hand. Birch was watching them both, a faintly benevolent smile on her face.
Cross that out, this weed barely qualifies as a male…
I kept a wary eye on him though, despite my misgivings about his thieving abilities, and sure enough, I noticed that he gave the sparkly bit to Birch and simply sat back with an oddly smug look on his face. "Linden, what does that thing that they're playing with look like to you?" I whispered without moving my lips, and his eyebrows furrowed. "Its…BIRCH PUT THAT THING DOW-" Too late, the square exploded in a mass of confetti and little goblin heads, and when the smoke cleared, I saw Birch lying flat on her back with Berry crying and rubbing her eyes from the stinging smoke. I hurriedly got to my feet, but Linden's hand on my shoulder stopped me. "Dammit! The Book of Eibon's gone!" he shouted angrily, tugging me until I faced the table and saw the empty space. I gritted my teeth. Damn that little weedy bastard!
"Up there!"
Linden tapped my shoulder and pointed, and I saw a faint black outline soaring away. "Well what do you expect me to do?! I'm not a Witch, I can't fly!" I shouted back angrily, cursing my current imposition. If I was just a Nightstalker, I could use witch powers to fly or something, instead of just being a goddamned meister! I thought as my teeth grinded across each other, only to jump as Birch shot by on a broom, swinging Linden onto the space beside her as Berry took my hand, transforming into a mace. "C'mon Rowan! We're gonna get left behind!" she cried, and I snapped it once, hard, letting her set the pace of rotation as we rose into the air like a helicopter and zoomed after the others. The ground unfurled beneath me like a movie in reverse, and soon enough we were cruising along Birch and Linden as the blind meister gripped the witch's shoulders, obviously uneasy with being on a piece of wood the width of his own wrist several thousand feet about the ground. "There he is!" I shouted, seeing the damned thief zipping along in front of us, strange malformed wings sprouting from some kind of bracelet on his wrist. The Book of Eibon was clutched in his other arm, tucked close against his body.
"If we target him, we might hit the Book too!" Birch cried in despair, mirroring the conclusion I had already come to, and I furrowed my brows in concentration. Brilliance came to me in a split second. "His wings! If we target them, he'll be too busy trying to stay balanced to hold onto the Book!" I shouted to her, and she nodded briefly, increasing her speed as I did the same. "Mew mew meow meow mew 'mow mew! Claw Wind!" Birch shouted, spreading her hands out as a hefty gale whistled across the scant space separating us from the thief, slamming into his back and clearly knocking him off balance as his smooth path jerked considerably. "That's our book, you bastard!" I snarled, urging Berry to speed up and then slamming my hand into his side with the hardest Soul Force I could muster. He choked, a speckle of blood flecking his lips, then snarled, his foot lashing out and catching me in the side as his wings gave me a painful buffet. I was sent back several meters, and Berry had to whirl extra fast to keep us in the air.
"The Book of Eibon is Noah-sama's and no one else's!" he shrieked back, his blue eyes alight with religious devotion. He bent backwards, and the strangely pattered vest he wore shifted, the symbols moving and opening like a mouth. "NOAH-SAMA!" he roared, and Birch and Linden slammed into me, knocking me out of the path of what appeared to be a small sun as it shot past, knocking the wind out of me. "He's a Grigori soul! And what's more, he's been augmented with some kind of freakish magic power!" Linden gasped in my ear, and Berry and I backed away as the kid's vest closed up again, sneering. "What a disgusting little boy you are, peeping into someone's soul like that. Are you the Nightstaker's newest little sacrificial lambs?" he spat, and I darted forward, ignoring my better senses that told me such a direct attack wouldn't end well for me. "THEY CHOSE US YOU LITTLE TWERP!" I roared, and he negligently blasted me backward again. "I don't have time for pathetic little distractions." he added dispassionately, taking out a small scrap of paper from his pocket. He sneered at us again. "Listen well little lambs; Noah-sama will collect the whole world, and your little clan won't be able to do anything to stop him!" He flicked the paper in the air, a bright light flowed out and enveloped both him and the Book of Eibon. We were left hovering stupidly in the air, burning failure prickling at our chests. Angry tears welled in my eyes.
"We let him get away. We lost the Book of Eibon within fifteen goddamn minutes."
9.10 PM, USA Central Time
Believe it or not, all is going to plan. Rowan and the others don't know this of course. In fact, they've kinda been played for a patsy. We'll see in the next chapter…whenever I get it up.