Episode 18: Smoke Manipulation. A Crow Tengu Savior

Still dazed and has red smoke like ribbons coiled around her, Phoenix has been put in a deep trance by Valentino. The moth demon shows a sharp teeth grin on his face, and his eyes practically glowing at her.

"My, what a sweet and submissive face you have," Valentino says, and places his hand on Phoenix's cheek.

When he begins to stroke it, Phoenix lets out a relaxing sigh and leans her head against.

"Now then, let's get you relaxed before we begin our little discussion. Come here, and relax," Valentino says.

Phoenix, still in a daze, nods her head in reply. Phoenix then moves herself closer to Valentino as the red smoke continues to have a hold on her. Valentino then places one his black hands on the back of Phoenix's head. Then leans her towards the white fur on Valentino's chest. He then wraps his arm around the girl's waist, and uses his upper hand to stroke Phoenix's head. Phoenix gently snuggles her head against the fur as she feels relaxed, and the red smoke continues to consume her resistance.

Back in the Hotel, Charlie continues to pace in a circle in worry while everyone else is forced to wait as they try to either keep themselves distracted or keep Charlie from worrying.

"Charlie, if you keep this up, you'll end up diggin a hole where your feet are," Grace says.

"She's right. You need to calm down. I'm sure Kuroi will get her out without worry. And Angel works there so he'll be fine," Vaggie says.

"I know. I just… maybe we should have gone to get Phoenix ourselves," Charlie says, worried.

"I hate to admit it, but I think you're right. Maybe we should have Alastor go there and kick their asses," Conan says.

"As tempting as it is, we can't allow ourselves to take any risk. If we take unnecessary risk, it will lead those three back here," Cloud says.

"The Dog demon made a valid point. As much as I want to pay a visit and have our young hybrid friend returned, we must not take any chances of her getting hurt by them. Or even yet, had targets on our back," Alastor says.

Conan rolls his eyes, "We kind of already have targets on our backs. Not only by whoever sent the Dark Sombras after Phoenix, but also those who know you're here. You're a powerful demon, for crying out loud. And with Angel Dust staying in the hotel it's no double Valentino and his friends won't be far behind."

"Thanks for making us feel better about it," Grace firmly says.

Conan grunts and ruffles his head, "You're right. This isn't going to help get Phoenix back. We know Angel will be fine, but Phoenix is who I'm worrying about."

"I don't think there's anything we need to worry about. I heard of this Kuroi before. He sounds like a cool guy. He is also very stealthy too," Niffty happily says.

"I know that too," Conan says, annoyed.

"All we can do is wait and hear back from him. I'm sure he'll get Phoenix out of the studio without them both being noticed.

Outside of the Porn Studios, Kuroi lands on top of the building and looks around to find a way inside.

"Hmm, there has to be an entry away. I can't just use the front door, they'll recognize me," Kuroi thinks.

Kuroi continues to search around until he finds a key to get in. The ventilation shaft is covered by a lid with bars on it.

"Looks like I'll have to take the vent then," Kuroi says to himself.

Kuroi then uses his magic to open the air vent. Then climbs inside and closes the hatch. In the air vent, Kuroi uses his ability to sense Phoenix's aura to know which way he needs to go. He then sees the aura is heading forward, then makes a left. Kuroi nods his head, seeing that this is the direction he needs to go.

Back in the Office Studio, Valentino still has Phoenix trapped in his clutches. His arm is wrapped around her waist, with his other hand stroking her head relaxing the girl. The red smoke that still remains in the room is keeping her body and mind numb.

"That's a good girl, just relax and answer any question I'm about to ask," Valentino says, sounding gentle, but is also sinister behind it.

Phoenix slowly nods her head and answers softly, "Okay…"

Then Valentino strokes her chin, "Since I've already learned your name. How old are you? I assume you're not a teenager."

"I… I turned eighteen a few months ago," Phoenix answers, in a soft and monotone voice.

"I see, so you just became an adult. I can also imagine someone of your age while already being 'together' with someone," Valentino says, with a grin.

"I… I wouldn't know… I… I never dated anyone," Phoenix says.

Curious, Valentino asks, "Really now? So then, I suspect you must have your virginity?"

"Yes. I do," Phoenix says, dazed.

"I see," Valentino says, and lets out an evil grin on his face.

In the air vent, Kuroi continues to crawl through the air vent to find Phoenix. Soon, he's able to pick up two different auras.

"That's Angel's aura. I must be getting close to where they are," Kuroi says.

Kuroi continues to crawl through the ventilation shaft as he searches for the hybrid girl.

Just outside of the room, he and Phoenix have been in, Angel Dust is walking towards the door to the room, and able to get a break and is holding a small bag.

"Finally, I was able to get a fuckin break. It feels that I've been working forever," Angel says.

He then looks inside to see the weapons Phoenix has, "At least I was able to get her stuff back. I just hope Phoenix is still in the room…"

Angel then opens the door and walks inside. To his surprise and confused expression, he notices that Phoenix is gone.

"Phoenix?" Angel says, confused.

Then looks around, "Phoenix, where are you? She was here when I left…."

Then grows concern, "Unless she's already with…"

Suddenly, Angel Dust hears a strange sound and turns his head to hear the sound coming to the ventilation shaft. He then uses his third arm to take out a pistol. Just then, the air vent opens and the Crew Tengu comes peeking inside.

Angel points the gun at him and demands, "Alright, who are you? Who do you think you are sneaking in here?"

"Wait, I'm not here to cause a riot or anything. I'm assuming you're Angel Dust," Kuroi says.

"Of course I am. I'm Angel Dust, the Porn Star. I'm fuckin famous, you know," Angel says, crossing both pairs of his arms.

"Right," Kuroi says, rolling his eyes.

Then asks, "Listen, is a girl named Phoenix Magne with you?"

"Why do you wanna know, and how do you know Phoenix?" Angel asks, giving a suspicious glare.

"My name is Kuroi Tsubasa and I'm an acquaintance of Cloud and an old friend of Charlie's. He sent me here to find you and Phoenix. I had an ability to see past events and sense demons auras and that led me straight to you," Kuroi says.

"I see. Anyway, I'm afraid she isn't here. She was in the room when I left, but I had to assume that Velvet or Vox must have taken Phoenix to Valentino's office," Angel says.

Kuroi gits his lip and says, "That's usually not a good sign."

"It's not. Valentino wanted to meet Phoenix and ask her questions, but I feel he may want to do more than just that. He used his red smoke to knock her own and brought us here. I know he'll do the same thing to her or even hurt her if she refuses to talk," Angel says.

"Don't worry, I know the thing that will counter Valentino's smoke," Kuroi says.

"I hope so. If you are here to find her, she'll most likely be taken to his office. You better hurry, I had no idea how long she's been in there and I hate to think what he's doing," Angel says.

"Me too. And thank you,"

"No problem. Anything to get Phoenix out of this mess. I'll be fine here, just get Phoenix out of this place," Angel says.

"I don't need to be told twice," Kuroi says.

He then ducks back in the air vent and continues to use his powers to follow Phoenix' aura and is able to find it quickly. He then hurries in the air vent to find her, who he knows is with Valentino. And it's a bad situation she ends up with.

Back in the office, Valentino continues to use his influence to gain some information from Phoenix, and against her will.

"You know, Phoenix, it's rather curious to many demons that you have suddenly made an appearance after the Extermination and ended up being shown on the news during a Turd War. I like to know what happened before that. Anything that happened in your life before you make a surprising appearance in Hell," Valentino says, and strokes her chin to urge his command on her.

Phoenix answers, calmly, "Okay. I… I was born and raised in the human world. In Japan to be exact, with my mom who's human. My dad, who's a demon… had to leave us sometime after I was born…"

"Really now?" Valentino replies.

"Yes. Throughout my life, I've known that I wasn't fully human, and yet, I still lived the life of a normal human being. I've gone to school, studied, hang out with my friends, and well, do thing that a normal girl does," Phoenix answers calmly.

"Sounds almost like you lived a normal life, but suspect it wasn't all normal," Valentino says.

"Not really. I mean, I lived with my uncle who runs a bar and he helped take care of us. I do have the occasion of dealing with some of the mean girls at my school. The only thing that wasn't normal was when my… my powers began to develop," Phoenix explains, not of her free will.

Then says, "I've learned to control it, and during my first year of school. I was attacked by a strange shadow. I didn't know at the time that I would have to face a lot of them. But still, even though my dad wasn't around, I was able to live a somewhat normal life."

"Quite interesting. However, I assumed your normal life came to an end sometime. And that caused you to end up in Hell and get involved in a Turf War with Angel," Valentino says, and continues to stroke her head and her head is leaned against the fur on the chest.

Still in the air vent, Kuroi continues to crawl through the air vent to find Phoenix and senses hers and Valentino's aura nearby.

Kuroi has chills sent down his spine, "I forgot Valentino's aura is immense. I must be getting close."

Suddenly, he hears a young girl's voice, "Well, it was my eighteenth birthday, and I knew that after that, my mother and I were going to leave the humane world and live in hell with my father. I… I was very happy. I know little of my father and his family, and yet I was happy to meet them."

"Interesting. Tell me more," Valentino's voice says.

Kuroi continues to walk through the air vent as he hears a girl's voice, "I was sleeping in my room with my pet fox, Kyuubi. One of the shadow creatures came into my room and abducted me and Kyuubi. I was scared that we wouldn't escape, until I… I used my powers at it. When we woke up, we found ourselves in Pentagram City, during the Extermination…"

Kuroi soon finds the end of the air vent and looks in it to see Phoenix in Valentino's clutches, and the red smoke is exposed around her and around the room.

Kuroi thinks in concern, "This is not good."

"And I'm assuming that sometime after that, you ran into Angel Dust and got caught in the Turf War?" Valentino asks.

"Yes," Phoenix answers.

"Now then, I would like to know one important thing. Since your father is a demon, and that he was forced to leave you," Valentino says.

Hearing the conversation from the air vent, Kuroi thinks, "Oh no! Not that!"

Then Valentino asks, "All I ask is if you could tell me his name."

"His name?" Phoenix softly replies.

"Yes. I like to know who the demon that would have such a unique child and was forced to be away from her all this time," Valentino says, and strokes her chin and strokes her hair.

"My father's name… my father's name…" Phoenix softly says.

Suddenly, the Phoenix begins to feel strange, making Valentino frown to not receive an answer. Suddenly, Phoenix places her hands on her head and clutches it, like she's in pain.

"My… my father… his name… but… I… i…" Phoenix says, struggling in pain.

Phoenix says within her mind, "He wants to know my father… but…. But I can't tell him. I have to keep it a secret. I promised not to tell anyone who it is. I can't tell anyone."

"My father… my father is…" Phoenix softly says.

But her mind protests, "Quiet, he'll find out… you mustn't say your father's name."

"It's…" Phoenix says, feeling the pain in her head.

But quickly covers her mouth with both hands and feels her resistance struggles.

Valentino becomes intrigued to see Phoenix's resistance and is keeping her mouth shut.

"Hmm, that is interesting. She was very submissive in telling me a lot of herself, but mentioning her father is causing her to resist. Whoever her father is, it's causing her consciousness to react and is unable to tell me," Valentino says to himself.

He then grins and says, "I will have to push her more to tell me what it is, and I have just the thing to get her to talk."

He then uses his black hand to clutch on to Phoenix's wrists and remove them as he says, "Before I forget, I have something that belongs to you."

Valentino then brings out something that is important to Phoenix. Then clasps it on her left wrist. It's actually her bracelet, the one that her father has given to her, even though it wasn't exactly personally. It's very precious to her, and it also causes her to transform into her demon self. He then has his hand on the side of Phoenix's head and leans her against the fur collar of his chest once more and strokes her head.

"I had to remove the bracelet in order to tend the wound on your wrist and I noticed something 'special' on it. The bracelet has the crest that belongs to the Rulers of Hell," Valentino says.

He then holds out his index finger from his other hand and places it under Phoenix's chin. Then lifts it up for the young hybrid to face him.

"I must admit, I find it rather odd that a young hybrid such as yourself would have something containing the royal crest. At first, I wondered if it had something to do with you staying at that Princess' Hotel. But then, I began to wonder if you have a deeper connection with the Royal Family. I doubt they just let anyone have something that has their crest. Perhaps your father," Valentino says.

Soon, more of the red smoke is seeping out of the moth demon's mouth and Phoenix ends up breathing into it.

He then repeats his question, "So let me ask once more, who is this demon father of yours? What is his name?"

"My… my father… my father is…" Phoenix begins to speak and struggles to continue.

But her resistance begins to fade as she answers, "My father is… is…"

Before Phoenix can answer, there is a knock on the door.

Annoyed Valentino turns away from Phoenix and asks, "Who is it?"

"Hey Val, sorry to interrupt your discussion with Phoenix. Some of your clients have just arrived," Velvet says through the door.

"Of course, I'll be out in a minute," Valentino says.

He turns to Phoenix who has her head laying on the chest and says, "Looks like we'll have to finish our discussion later."

He then uses his arms to grab a hold of Phoenix and lifts her off of him. He then lays Phoenix on the couch gently so she will relax.

He then strokes her cheek and says, "Now sleep, we'll continue our discussion when I get back."

Phoenix instantly listens and is now fallen into a deep sleep. Seeing her sleeping, Valentino then walks to the door and leaves the office. Unknown to him, Kuroi has been watching what's been happening, but is glad he's been called away before he can press Phoenix further for answers. Seeing Valentino is no longer in the office, Kuroi is able to open the air vent and climbs out of it. He then uses his levitation powers to slip through and gently land on the ground. He then slowly walks towards the couch and looks to see Phoenix fast asleep on it.

"It's a good thing Valentino left before he could manipulate her further. I need to get her out of here," Kuroi says.

He then reaches into a small backpack and says, "But first, I need to get Valentino's influence out of her system."

Kuroi then places his backpack on the ground, opens it, and searches for a few things. He then takes out a small bundle of lavenders, and a few herbs. He then takes out a lighter and lights them on fire for a few seconds. He places his claw hand on one side and blows it against the fire. The flowers and the herb soon begin to let out light purple smoke.

"There," Kuroi softly says.

He then brings the lavender and herbs close to Phoenix's face, but not enough to cause harm to her.

"Don't worry, these herbs and lavenders will help remove the submissive effects of the red smoke you've breathed in. It might take some time. I don't know how much of his smoke you've breathed into," Kurio whispers.

Having the light purple smoke close to her, Phoenix ends up breathing into them as she sleeps. Kuroi waits patiently as he holds the flowers and herbs to the young girl, and she breathes into the smoke. Moments later, Phoenix grunts and groans as her eyes begin squinting. Soon enough, Phoenix wakes up, but is still feeling a little tired. She slowly opens her eyes and gently turns her head to see someone in the room, but knows it's not Valentino.

In a soft voice, she asks, "Wh-who are you?"

"I'm Kuroi Tsubasa. I'm glad you're feeling alright," Kuroi answers with a calm smile.

"Kuori?" Phoenix softly replies.

He then digs into his backpack and says, "I don't have a lot to explain, but I'm here to help you. I'm an acquaintance of Cloud, and an old friend of Charlie."

"Cloud? Charlie? Then you must know Vaggie, Conan, and Grace," Phoenix softly replies.

"Yeah," Kuroi says, and brings out a brown glass bottle.

He opens it and explains, "Cloud contacted me about how you and Angel disappeared and asked to find you. I was able to track you and Angel here. I know that you've been badly hurt and Valentino used his special cigarette to manipulate you."

"How did you…?" Phoenix softly asks.

But Kuroi says, "As I said before, I don't have too much to explain, but we need to get out of the studio before the Three V's come back to continue what they started."

He then places the bottle on the table and helps Phoenix back into a sitting position, but her body is so weak and numb that it's hard for her to move.

He then picks up the bottle and presents it to Phoenix, "Drink this elixir, it will help give you back your strength."

Phoenix slowly nods her head and drinks the elixir with Kuroi's help. Soon enough, Phoenix feels that her strength is coming back to her and begins to push herself into a sitting position. Suddenly, she begins to feel dizzy and nearly falls over, but Kuroi catches her in his arms.

"Easy now, the elixir will take a little while for you to be back to full strength," Kuroi says.

Phoenix softly says, "Thank you."

She then looks down at her arms and notices that her bracelet is back on her wrist. The last time she remembers it's been removed. Suddenly, she remembers Valentino has placed it back on her wrist during the conversation. However, Phoenix still rather weakens and leans against Kuroi's chest.

Kuroi softly smiles and says, "It's okay. You take it easy, and I'll take things from here."

Kuroi then lays Phoenix back on the couch and puts the supplies away. He also blows out the lavenders and herbs and the rest of the light purple smoke is lifted into the air and disappears. Once he has everything packed, and places his backpack on his back. He picks up Phoenix and uses his power to open one of the windows. He then flies out the window, closes it, and flies away from the studio with Phoenix in his arms.

Kuroi looks down at Phoenix and says, "Don't worry, Phoenix. I won't let anything happen to you. I know a good place where we can hide until Cloud can retrieve you."

Kuroi continues to fly across the red sky of hell with the hybrid girl in his arms. Phoenix looks to see the boy carrying her, but is so tired from earlier, she soon closes her eyes and falls back asleep, and hopefully by the time she does awake, Phoenix will regain her full strength.