Day Four- Conception of Souls
The next morning, all the 'usual' suspects were gathered in Ex-Chief Baker's office, all waiting for what new Chief Daniel had to say. Aya, Raziel, Torres, Cathy and Warner were all gathered around Daniel, and couldn't help but laugh a little when he tried to say something important. Raziel brushed back a bit of his black hair and commented-
"Daniel, you're doing a nice job."
"Sure… well, I'm pretty new to this and so… the first order of business today is that we got to find Eve and Kain before they have a kid…"
"God only knows where they are." Aya interjected, her voice sounding 'matter-of-fact'. Daniel glared at her and continued his little 'order speech' to the group.
"Before I was interrupted, I've got orders for you all. Aya, I want you and Raziel to get out there and find those two. Warner, I want you to find as much information on Melissa Pearce as possible, Cathy, help Warner, and Torres, make sure Aya gets an weapon upgrade." Everyone nodded and Warner, Cathy and Torres left the room, leaving behind only Raziel and Aya.
"Hey... where's the Japanese Scientist guy?" Daniel asked. Raziel pointed out the door.
"He told me he'd be upstairs in the Science Lab doing a few things. You might want to consider looking there."
"Thanks. Aya, go get him and get going. We don't have any time to spare."
With that, they headed upstairs to find Maeda. Knowing him, it wouldn't be that hard to find him. Raziel opened up the door the Second Floor crime lab, and there was Maeda, with another person, and he was pretty shocked and relived to see the duo.
"Oh! Err… Hello Aya… Hello Raziel…"
"Maeda," Aya started. "What are you doing here?"
"This kind of place helps me think clearer. Besides… well… uhh… I needed to research a few things and take care of a few… things, I suppose." He adjusted his glasses and walked over to a table to gather some papers that had some info he had collected that morning. Raziel cocked his head and said to him-
"Maeda, we might need your help."
"Me? Help? Oh nice! I'd love to help you both in anyway I can!"
"Nice. Well, I'd like it if you joined Aya and me while we look for Kain and Eve. Your wisdom might come in handy out there."
Maeda blushed a deep red. He had never been complemented like that before. He nodded his head and tried to cover up his embarrassment and happiness. He walked up to Aya and asked her something before going back to his spot. A few minutes later, Daniel came by with some information.
"Hey, Warner just got word that Klamp hasn't been seen since last night and this morning."
"Do you suppose that bastard is dead?" Raziel asked.
"I wish Raz, I wish, but seriously, wherever he is, I have a feeling he's with Eve."
"All right then, Raziel, Maeda and I shall go and find him then."
"What about me?"
"You gotta stay here Daniel. You're the chief now, and you also gotta spend time with Ben."
"*Sigh* You're right Aya, but be careful out there."
"Don't worry, I will make sure that she is protected." Raziel interjected. Daniel nodded, and handed Aya a clip of Ammo and walked out of the room. Maeda looked surprised and pulled out another good luck charm. He placed it in Raziel's hand and commented-
"I have another charm for you and Aya. Please take it, and it will protect you from evil spirits."
"Isn't that what you said about the last one you gave me?" Raziel duly replied, pulling out the charm, still around his neck from yesterday. The Japanese man blushed again and sighed, stating that the more, the better protection. Raziel shrugged his shoulders and turned to Aya.
"Ready Aya?"
"Ready anytime Raz."
"Let's go."
Raziel and Aya left the room, leaving Maeda behind. It didn't take him long to realize he was left behind, and wasn't even warned about the imminent departure. He grabbed some papers, and a few 'bullets', and took off yelping-
"Don't leave me! Don't leave me!"
Raziel yanked him by the collar of his blue jacket and set him in the car. They took off for any possible place where Kain, Eve or Klamp could be. Speaking of which, things for the nefarious duo and Klamp were not looking good... so to speak.
"Damn you!" Klamp shouted, slamming his fist on a table. "Once you showed your face in the scheme, you ruined all of my plans!"
"YOUR PLANS?" The stranger roared. A female floated over to his side. She also interjected with a few cold words of her own, grabbing Klamp by the neck and choking him-
"Your plans were meaningless as they were stupid. I have my own ideals to follow, and you are not going to use me, so you can fulfil your STUPID ideas!" She squeezed tighter and threw him against a wall. Klamp gasped for air and almost cowered in the corner.
"You, Klamp, are just like someone I knew… no, two people, who used me to do their bidding. Oh no Klamp, I will not let Eve fall prey to your damned ideas. I have known the feeling of being used as a puppet, and I will not let her fall in that trap as I did."
"You're a bastard, you know that?"
The stranger lunged forward, ripping Klamp's arm off, the blood squirting from the wound. The stranger sucked a little of the crimson blood and then threw the 'amputated' arm back in Klamp's face, causing him to now cower in the corner. The stranger once again picked him up, and slammed him repeatedly against the wall before the woman, Eve could interfere.
"Kain, stop it. Klamp, Heh, have you learned your lesson not to use me as a toy?"
"Please…" Klamp cried… "Stop it…"
Kain slammed Klamp onto the ground, breaking both his legs. Now Klamp was defenseless and couldn't move. Kain walked back to Eve'' side and they both howled with laughter once they saw the poor man trying to escape. Eve got an idea.
"You wanted to be a mitochondria creature, is that correct Klamp?"
"What makes you think that?" He snapped.
"From the way you were talking to me, I thought you wanted to be one."
"And now you will get your wish." Kain interjected, placing his arm around Eve's waist and she did the same thing. Klamp started to squeal in horror, as he knew very well what fate awaited him. He covered his face, not wanted to see what would happen.
"After this Kain, want to… get close?"
"Heh, of course…"
"I knew you wouldn't forget last night…"
Kain nodded and then Eve outstretched her hand. Klamp felt all hot inside, and then he burst into flames, his skin now all hard, and then the slimy mitochondria started to burst from the hardened skin, more limbs growing from the arm-less right shoulder. His face started to be skinless, and his eyes fell from their sockets, and his head burst open to reveal a mutated head, its pain emitting from its howls. Kain was a little disgusted, but pleased.
"That is so… disgusting, but it's a testimate to your powers Eve…"
"Go on… Now beast… go find Aya Brea and Raziel... track them down, and KILL them."
The beast moaned and then stumbled off, through the window and fell to the ground below. The duo looked deep into each other's eyes, an undying feeling rushing through them. Eve swept Kain off of his feet, and carried him into another room in the Chystler Building.
"Eve…" Kain said, noticing that Eve was carrying him. "You're such a…"
"Wench?" She jokingly finished, resting him on a conference table. She looked down at him, and she stated, her voice in a seductive tone- "Are you thinking… what I'm thinking?"
"Of course…"
"So, where do we start looking? They could be anywhere in New Your City for all I care." Raziel scoffed, has he had to sit in the backseat… AGAIN. He folded his arms and hunched back in the seat, resting his head against the rear of the passengers seat. Aya saw him in the rear view mirror and stated-
"If you wanted Passenger seat, you could have asked."
"RRRRRRRRR!"
"Oh, Aya… you made him angry…" Maeda ducked in his seat, preparing in case Raziel tried to kill him. The reaver swung back in his seat and rested his head on the windowsill, his mind racing. Where to start looking? That was the hard part. He muttered a few things about things that he had experienced, and all Aya could do was nod along.
"Raziel," She started. "I know I shouldn't ask this, but how did you get into New York City, this year, 2000. How?" There was a deadly silence that followed; no one in the car said anything at all for a good 2 minutes, before Raziel took a deep breath. Aya slammed the brakes on the car and turned around in her seat, looking at him.
"Aya… a few days ago… I was chasing Kain through an era of industrialization, not unlike The Human Citadel, Meridian, and Coorhagen… none of those places. I ran across time, and then I came to an era of strange people… no vampires or hunters in sight. They all looked at me strangely, but none of them knew who Kain was… so I dove across time, and I ended up here… and I found Kain…" He voice trailed off and then he brought himself back to the topic, albeit a little warily.
"I guess I should make it a little clearer… A very long time ago, after a series of events, I made my way to the Chronoplast chamber where Kain awaited. We fought, and he escaped through the device, and I chased after him… perused him through time…"
"Like a Time Chaser right?" Maeda interjected, adjusting his glasses.
"I guess you could say that Maeda…" Raziel sighed. Aya rested her hand on his shoulder and stated calmly, not unlike her stubborn nature-
"You don't have to say anymore if it pains you. I understand completely where you're going with that. C'mon, let's go look for them."
Maeda had a somewhat better idea, although not by much. He fixed his jacked, cleared his throat and said-
"Well, I suggest that we split up to cover more ground. I'll go with Aya, since I if I go alone, I might burn up!"
"Figures you would go with Aya. I'll go at it alone, and take these 'subway' systems. Perhaps one of us shall find something." Raziel replied, unbuckling himself from the back seat. He got out of the car and Aya gasped asking-
"Wait! Shouldn't we drop you off?"
"I'll do fine walking. Besides, I can't burn up, I'm already dead." With that, he walked away and Aya groaned, looking at Maeda and commenting-
"Look at it this way, at least he won't burn."
"That is true, very true."
"Eve…" Kain moaned, looking up at the mutated woman, who looked a little different than when she first appeared. Gone was the ripped red dress, but now she wasn't wearing much of anything at all (though nothing was revealed), her hair was now slicked back from the protruding spikes that were once in her hair. She looked down at Kain and placed her index finger to his lips, herself making a 'shhh' sound.
"Shh… just lie back and enjoy it." She said, stroking Kain's white hair, her own hair falling into her face. The two shared a seductive laugh and went on with their own private business, which, needless to say, I can't write about here.
Raziel was now riding down the desolate NYC Subway escalator; a device that he had never rode on before. It was rather pleasant experience, that of which he did over and over again for tumbling down the moving stairs. He wiped the dirt off of himself and walked by the ticket window, which there only stood a mangled corpse, dried of its blood and mitochondria. He gasped a little and then saw a small fire blazing in another window. He ran his reaver through it and it ignited, giving off a little light to see in the darkness.
"I will say this, these New Yorkers don't keep their subways clean." He commented after seeing the various pop cans and shredded magazines along with unlit cigarettes and clothes littered the concrete floor for reasons he didn't know. He looked at some more mangled corpses, drained of all life. His heart ached when he saw little children- dead. He clashed a hand to his chest and thought to himself-
"Damn Kain and Eve… killing innocent CHILDREN for their plans! Madness…"
Before he could walk forward, he heard a few child-like cries coming from under a bench. He walked forward and moved his Fire Reaver by the bottom and saw something saddening- children hiding, with no parents. He kneeled down and asked them kindly-
"Little children, what is the matter?"
"Are you… one of those bad creatures?"
"No… what are you 3 doing here? Where are your parents?" Raziel asked, his heart gathering more sorrow and anger at the sight. A little 5 year old crawled out and said to Raziel, her voice wavering-
"Our parents were taken by a really scary blob, but we got away before it could get us."
"Help us please…" A 13 year old pleaded. "Please get us to safety… we don't know where to go!" The 13, 5 and 10 year olds looked frightened. Raziel took pity and scooted them out, kneeling down and telling them some directions to get to safety.
"Go up the stairs and look for a police car. They will help you, trust me."
"Thank you mister… you're a really nice person." The 10-year-old commented, and then the three took off, but not before the 13-year-old turned around and gave Raziel and item. It was a crimson red hooded sweatshirt, and it looked to be big enough for Raziel to fit in. He thanked them and as they ran off, he put it on. It was a snug fit, but it looked good on him.
"I pray that the children get out okay… and the gift the girl gave me… it fits nicely…" He slipped his left claw in the front pocket, keeping the other out since it had the Fire Reaver. He walked forward, stepping around the bodies and he saw a door just ahead, and it was open a little ways. Who might be in there, he wondered. Creeping forward and slinking along the wall, he heard a few mangled noises emitting.
"What are those wretches?"
He saw a mangled man with a mutated head, hideous arms and his skin falling off, looking eerilie like Melchaia with legs instead of no feet. He emitted a small gasp and walked up opposite the door, and he heard a few warped words coming from the beast, to another creature.
"*Pshh* You… go find… *ack * them… keeeeeeel them and *hic *… I will have mah revenge on that man for making me what I am *blargh * now…"
The small chattering of what appeared to be a large centipede was the answer, and it slithered off, making a hole in the wall. The mutated man walked away, slamming his fist on the subway controls, making everything nearly active, well, just the trains anyways… one such train zipped past, behind Raziel, startling him enough for him to emit a loud gasp… one that was loud enough to alert the hideous man.
"* Gasp! * What the hell was that?"
"Who'shhh… dere…?"
Raziel felt panic, and his Fire Reaver burned out, reverting to the normal Reaver. He panicked, and saw a train with the door still open passing by. Thinking quickly, he sharply jumped to Spectral before the beast could find him. Time was still, and he barely made it to the train with the open door before a wraith could get him.
Shifting back to Material, he slumped on a seat, his heart pounding from that close call and the short fight with the wraith. Brushing back some of his hair, he pulled the hood over his head and looked out the window, as things passed by in a blur. He also saw the centipede, but it didn't see the train.
"Good lord, that was a close call…" He placed his left hand back in the front pocket and closed his eyes, hoping that he had escaped from the mitochondric creatures, and he also wondered how he had gotten caught up in this. Just a search for Kain turned into something more… Raziel shook his head and muttered aloud-
"God, I hope Aya is fine… I hope she isn't hurt badly…" He stopped to think. What was he saying? Did he like Aya? He knew she didn't like him in THAT way, but what did he think of her? It was so confusing… his mind treated her as a partner, but his heart had other plans… his mind hurting, he curled up on a row of seats and fell asleep, taking a nice cat nap of sorts.
Of course, Raziel didn't take into consideration that the centipede was crawling on the roof, for it could sense that Raziel was in the train. He slowly started to cut through the roof; little scraps of shrapnel were falling. One such scrap fell on Raziel's head, jolting him awake. He looked around and saw the room was starting to open.
"Oh hell… this does not look good…"
He quickly dodged out of the way, as the cut part of the roof fell down and it slammed to the ground, and the head of the centipede came bursting through, emitting a loud, mangled wail, staring Raziel down in the face, sending shivers down his spine. It breathed on his a little, and poked and prodded him with its sharp antennae, but Raziel had enough.
"Get… AWAY!" He gave it a swift kick, and it retaliated by trying to impale him with its 'fangs'. He dodged, rolling around and he swiftly moved into the next cabin, hiding under some chairs. His energy level wasn't filled, and he needed to drink a few souls… his head was hurting, and he couldn't see straight. Before long, the insect burst into the next cabin, thrashing around trying to find Raziel.
"I got to… have some souls… I can't focus properly…" He curled up against the back wall under the seats, perfectly still as it nosed around in various places. He silently wished they didn't split up in the first place, and Aya wouldn't be here to save him this time. And then, before he could sift to spectral, it hit him-
His hands were trapped under another chair, which the insect caved in. He started to squirm violently, struggling to free his hands. He damned his luck and placement, and then did the one thing he rarely ever did in his 'lifetime'- He started to cry. Crying, because everything seemed hopeless. He was trapped under a chair, his hands stuck, and a giant mutated insect crawling around outside, waiting to kill him.
"Damn… I have never * hic * been in this situation before… I'm trapped; no way out… no one to help me… I can't shift… Aya isn't here to help me… Oh god, if there is an answer to this, please deliver it to me now!" Raziel sobbed, convulsing on the floor, his whole body trembling as it started to loose energy slowly. Even if he were to go to spectral, he'd still be trapped. And then, the answer came to him in the form of a ghostly image of a small girl that looked like Aya Brea.
"Aya? But you are just a child…" Raziel wondered, seeing the visage go towards the centipede, which was now thrashing in anger for it lost it's dinner, which happened to be Raziel. The girl giggled and touched the creature, causing it to rupture, and turn into a hollow shell.
"Tee hee!"
"What… is… going on?"
The girl kneeled down and saw Raziel stuck on the floor. She reached her transparent hand on the downed chair, and then, it lifted off, freeing Raziel's claws. He gasped and rubbed them, for they were very sore. He saw the girl and asked her softly, hoping not to scare her-
"Who are you little girl? Why did you save me?"
"Maya… Aya's sister… be warned Reaver of Souls… the worst has happened, be prepared for what lies ahead tomorrow…" Maya started to fade away as Raziel tried to reach out to her. He missed as she vanished into the nothingness from which she came. He sighed heavily, and noticed that the shell of the centipede was starting to rupture and crack.
"Maya… what did you do? What do you mean by 'the worst has happened…?" Raziel jerked around and heard the sound of the shell bursting open, and then a strange colored insect with fangs and such was born and it lunged to him, and he shouted in anger-
"This time you little insect, I won't let you discourage me…"
"That… was most… pleasant… if I do say so… myself." Eve said as she lay next to Kain, her voice deeper than it usually was. He turned to look at her, himself very worn out from that moment. The two didn't say much; maybe because it was the fact they were both equally worn out.
"Have you ever… experienced pleasure like that before Kain, hmm?" She asked, turning around to face him, her green eyes still burning with passion. He didn't look at her; he was too disoriented from what he had experienced. He could feel as though his heart would burst from his chest, because it was pounding so hard. Eve looked down at him and ran her fingers through his hair and commented-
"Aww… are you okay?"
"Oh please…" Kain groaned, slowly moving his body around, getting into a comfortable position. Eve grinned and slid up to where he was. He looked at her and asked quizzically, his voice a little strained- "I'm just exhausted, woman. No more than that, no less than that."
"Heh, you men are all alike, but you sure are different in ways I cannot explain…"
"Then learn."
The two looked at each other deeply, and then they kissed lightly, before pulling away, and then looking out the window. They held hands and smiled devilishly, knowing very well what would happen the next day, but what they didn't know was how many 'children' they would have… but that didn't matter, it was far from their minds. They enjoyed being in each other's presence's more than not.
"Kain… I must go later…"
"Where to?"
"Somewhere that I please… the museum…"
"I see. And that that time, you'll just discard me as some old, beat up toy?" Kain hissed, sounding a little angry. Eve turned to look at him and she laughed before commenting on what he said-
"Oh please Kain, you're killing me. No… I want YOU to come with me… you are the father of my child… and you and I… now that I mated with you… you carry a newfound power to evolve…"
Raziel ran down the cars, heading to the front car. The various parts of the centipede were vastly closing on him. He ducked under incoming debris from the various cars, and jumped over the flying chairs and shrapnel. Never before, had he experienced something like this. Tripping slightly, he stumbled into the main area and saw the various switches.
"Oh damn it… so many buttons… which one to push?"
He heard the deafing squeals of the insect behind him, and then he got an idea. He saw that the train was fast approaching the main bridge, and he saw the steel pillars holding the bridge up. Yes… that would work, he thought. Walking over to the switchboard, he saw the track switch.
"If I pull this, and jump off at the same time, it'll crash, the thing will die, and I escape to safety… that might work somehow, someway…"
He threw the switch, and the proceeded to bust open a window with his Force Projectile. It shattered on the floor, breaking into million-some pieces. Raziel saw the door started to burst open, and he quickly climbed out, not noticing that one of his wings was caught on a small hook in the car.
"Huh?" He saw it there, snagged. Frantic, he tried to get it off, but too late. The train was now derailed, the door broken by force, and the centipede was now in his face… literally speaking. It started to breathe on Raziel; it's poisonous blood-like substance oozing from its fangs. The Reaver was now stuck once again, but he didn't panic.
"See you in hell mutant insect."
He jumped out, his wings free of the bonds, and as he was about to hit the tracks, and go rolling down the rails, he shifted to spectral, time freezing before him. As he had this advantage, he quickly scrambled past a few wraiths and souls, before reaching a planar portal on the otherside of the bridge. He shifted back, and watched the events unfold… and h was thankful he got out in time.
"This could get very messy…" He ran behind a metal pillar and like a flash, the train smashed into the metal pillar, causing a chain reaction of events- first, the main car blew up, then the centipede exploded into a mitochondric mess. Then the next few cars piled up on each other, hitting another car, and so on and so forth. Admits all the painful squeals of the insect, there was a huge earthquake, and the Brooklyn Bridge started to crumble.
"Oh damn… what did I do?" Raziel wondered as he saw the fastly shifting Brooklyn Bridge. First went a power line, then a few cars, and then came the finishing blow of sorts- the bridge collapsed on itself, into the sea below. Raziel almost went down, but not before someone saved him…
"AAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
"Gotcha Raz!"
"Aya…? You came? How did you know I was here?"
As the explosion settled, Aya and Maeda hoisted Raziel up and onto solid ground, his heart beating so rapidly, it would have bursted out if it could. He placed a hand on his chest and panted heavily as Aya explained.
"Well, there were these three kids who told us where you were. We came across them as we inspected Klamp's old office. We took them back to the precinct, so they're okay. I'm just glad you are." Aya said as Raziel brushed some dust off of his hooded shirt. Maeda grew curious and asked him-
"Raziel... ahh, where did you get that shirt, and what happened?"
"Let's just say Maeda… it involved a centipede and those three kids… I'll tell you more about it at the precinct." With that, the trio got up, and headed for the car, but not before Raziel noticed a very errie sight near down town-
"Aya… is that the… people of the Central Park?"
"I'll be… it's heading for the museum… but why?"
They looked at each other and Raziel said in a serious tone-
"I know why… and we need to get moving fast… Maya said the worst has happened…"
"Maya? Where did you see Maya?" Aya gasped.
"In the train… I'll tell you on the way to the museum."
With that, they headed off, not knowing what might happen the next morning… of course… there awaited suspense and revelations… but… what was the slime monster doing near the museum?
