Strands of electricity sparked and surged nearly every second, illuminating the darkened space they thrived within with a light blue glow. Every so often, figures could be seen, illuminated by the glow. And to no surprise, they were the faces and bodies of horrid foul abominations. All of these wretched horrors had been summoned here to gather and wait to be addressed by the very powers that granted them life.
As for what was causing the electrical phenomenon the gave some light to this otherwise pitch- black environment, it was the latest sin against nature that their makers had concocted. A brain, similar in design to an Arachnotron or Mastermind complete with cybernetic enhancements, sat in the center of this large space and served as the intelligence of this Gore Nest. The others had one as well, bringing the total number to five, but as it was for this one, the other four served a greater purpose than simply increasing the demons' production. What was that purpose? It was not for mere servants of the Dark One to know; only his inner circles comprised of the Marauders were privileged with such information.
But again, it was not their place to ponder such things or to demand answers. They knew the Dark One would lead them to their shared desire of ruling over all creation; all they needed to do was follow and listen. Eventually, amidst the sounds of the crackling electricity and various growls and snarls of the demons, footsteps could be heard walking through their numbers headed towards the brain. That's when she appeared, the Mother of All Demons, she'd stand before them at the front of the brain, and while she and her twin were only physically present in two of the nests, their voices reached the ears of all their kind in the rest.
"Soldiers. Servants. And sacrifices." They spoke in unison, their minds becoming one for the time being, "If there were ever any doubts among you that our master knows the path to victory. That he has grown weak after countless centuries of conflict, today, we show you proof of how wrong such heresy is." They stated as they held out one of their hands, both still holding the drones they crushed, "Our Lord's assumption that our enemies would resort to such cheap and underhanded deceptions proved true. The Watchers, as these brains have been dubbed, detected these minuscule intruders the moment they arrived. They asked us what action should be taken, and we said to allow whatever sabotage they had planned. Give them false hope that victory will be theirs in the coming battle, only so that we may then crush it within our palms and remind them of their place. The Slayer has made them confident and arrogant. They believed that with him as both their shield and sword that defeat is impossible. And yet, at every turn, we have defied their beliefs; our master has shown HE cannot be killed, contained, or destroyed. So long as you continue to follow his orders and abide by his will, CREATION. SHALL BE OURS." They proclaimed with thunderous conviction.
What was once a nearly silent space across all five nests became filled with noise. As every demon within them roared, howled, or screeched at the top of its lungs. Their rallying cry united them and solidified their eternal allegiance to the true rule of all, The Dark One.
Meanwhile, On The Sentinel World...
"So, have any more visions?" Alastor asked as he, Velvet, and Stolas walked around the capital
city.
After their training was temporarily postponed, the trio finally decided to tour around this wonderous location and see all it had to offer.
"Nope. Not yet." She answered, her Cherub still held tightly in her arms.
"Do you think you will get more without another explosion?" Stolas inquired.
"Oh! You're right! The first time I had those visions was when I took a magical explosion to the face!" She realized, causing her to hold her Cherub in front of her, "Okay, little guy! Time to work some magic for mama!" She said.
"NO." Both Alastor and Stolas intervened.
"Aw, come on. The first one didn't do any damage, so why can't I blow myself up a second time?" She asked.
"The fact you are so willing to do such a thing to yourself is more than enough reason," Stolas told her sternly.
"But this time, we have my little Cherub! And since they come from wherever that place is, maybe if I blow THEM up, I can get a longer look?" She suggested.
"Hmm...she does make a solid argument..." Alastor hummed while rubbing his chin. "Alastor!" Stolas gasped in shock, stunned by how quickly he switched sides.
"Look, I'm not saying I want to see our sweet, dear Velvet blow herself into a million pieces. But what's the harm in experimenting with the notion that she could peer into this unknown space again if we cause a second detonation?" He asked.
"MANY THINGS!" Stolas shouted while throwing his arms into the air, "She could injure herself this time. She could cause damage to her surroundings now that we're not in the Wraiths' chamber. She could potentially open a portal to this place that we couldn't close. OR, the WORST outcome of them all, she gets sent there, and we have no way to retrieve her!" He listed.
"All sound fun to me!" Velvet chimed in.
"Shush. You have no say in the matter. You're a danger to yourself." He replied, going into full-on parent mode.
"I don't know. If Velvet is willing to give it a go, who're we to stop her? She IS an adult." Alastor countered.
"Hmph, very well. It seems I am the ONLY one here with a sensible head on his shoulders." He said as he crossed his arms, "As such, I am enforcing my position as a nobleman of our circle. Therefore, by my order, Velvet is forbidden from MFPH!"
Before the owl demon could react, Alastor, with a simple twirl of his finger, had his shadow wrap itself around him like a coiling serpent.
"That takes care of that." He said with a smirk as Stolas began to struggle, which was ultimately pointless, "We seem to be in a fairly secluded location. There are no men, women, or children present. So as long as you don't make your Cherub explode with the force of a massive bomb, we
should be fine." He told Velvet.
"Gotcha! Hand grenade or bust!" She responded.
"MMF!" Stolas muffledly shouted in protest but was ignored.
Taking a few steps away from her companions to ensure their safety, Velvet then held up her Cherub as she did before with an ear-to-ear grin present on her face.
"Alright! Showtime!" She exclaimed.
Channeling her power from within her soul and making it travel through her arms and to her hands. Once it reached the Cherub, it began to absorb it much like a sponge would with water. During all of this, Stolas was hopping in place, trying to break free, whereas Alastor watched on in pure delight. It took only a few seconds for the familiar to become overloaded with her power, and when this happened, a blinding light then filled their vision as it exploded.
For a few moments, both Stolas and Alastor were dazed, each needing to gather their bearings as the light faded.
"My word, good show, Velvet." Alastor complimented while blinking a few times, "So, did it work? Has the sight returned to you?" He asked.
However, when the radio demon looked to where Velvet had been standing, he didn't see her. "...Velvet?" He called out before taking a look around.
Elsewhere, Just Outside The City...
"And that's what happened!" Charlie exclaimed with a proud smile, having reached the end of her exciting tale.
Wow. What an AMAZING story. It had everything. Bravery, suspense, action, drama, a touch of waterworks at one point, with the core of this experience being the power of trust. At least, that's how Charlie saw it; in her mind, she just told a story fit for publication, an epic with the important age-old moral lesson that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
Af for what REALLY transpired, well, that's a story best saved for when all creation isn't at a tipping point.
"I must say, Charlie. I'm at a loss for words." Vega said, intending for it to be received as a compliment, "Who would've thought you'd have a knack for beast-taming? Let alone anything that naturally spawns on a planet as harsh as this one?" He added.
"Right?! You could even say it was magical~" She whimsically replied.
"No...it honestly wasn't..." The Slayer refuted as he folded his arms, "Everything in this world exists with the mutual understanding of respect and strength...even though you look like a character from a children's coloring book, they recognized the power you possess...that's all there is to it..." He explained.
"First of all, Will. Thank you." She said, taking that comparison as a good thing, "Second, you can't tell me they're so friendly because of my power. That's ridiculous!" She argued.
"No, it's not...like any rational creature they don't want to die...and that's exactly what they believed would happen if they tried to attack you..." He insisted.
"That's not true!" She continued to deny as she walked over to one of the dragons, "They may be big, breathe fire, and are overall intimidating at first glance. But these big scalie cuties are sweet!" She exclaimed before she hugged the dragon's neck.
"Yeah, I kinda have to agree." Vagatha spoke up, almost done feeding all of them, "Despite how scary they seem, these guys are incredibly laid back." She said as she tossed a piece of meat into one dragon's waiting mouth.
"Again, they're in the presence of US...if I were them, I'd put on my best behavior too to avoid getting turned into a decorative art piece..." He responded, which made Charlie gasp.
"NO ONE IS HURTING THEM!" She shouted.
"Obviously...it'd be a waste of mounts..." He told her, which earned him a glare, "...Also...it'd be wrong to kill them when they're not trying to kill us..." He added, which made her smile.
"Glad we see eye-to-eye." She said.
"Wait, you're going to take them into battle?" Lilith questioned.
"Of course...they'll give us more of an advantage and control in the air...they could also help us to cover large distances quickly..." He replied.
"Won't they be obvious targets? I'd think the demons would shoot down any giant fire-breathing lizards." Lucifer asked.
"When it comes to ranged attacks...the worst the demons can offer is Arachnotrons and Revenants...but each of these dragons can outpace their shots and missiles without even trying..." He answered.
"Include Charlie, myself, and miss Vagatha. And it would appear that the skies will be ours." Gabriel said.
"What about you, Azrael?..." The Slayer asked as he looked towards the angel of death, "Would you mind flying with them?..." He added.
"Sorry, I don't fly." She answered, "FATHER could tell you more." She said.
"I'm feeling a lot of resentment all of a sudden. Did something happen earlier?" Vega questioned while turning to look at his daughter.
Sadly, before they could explore what the hell was going on between this father/daughter duo, a light blue portal appeared near their group. From within came two faces they hadn't seen in some time, Sir Pentious and Vox. Accompanied by the appearance of someone, most of them didn't know the identity of.
"Father, we need to speak with you immediately." The mysterious figure spoke as all three of them approached, the portal disappearing as they did.
"Samur? Has something happened?" Vega inquired, though what he said made everyone, except for the Slayer, become riddled with shock.
"S-Samur?!" Lucifer questioned as he pointed to the robot, "What...What happened to him?!" He asked.
"Upgraded. Courtesy of yours truly." Sir Pentiously proudly answered. "WITH some help." Vox reminded.
"We didn't realize your condition was so severe..." Lilith admitted as she and the others stared at him.
"There's no time to focus on that now!" Samur exclaimed, seeming to be frustrated, "Father! As I've already said, we NEED to speak with you. This is URGENT." He stressed.
Second verse same as the first, an apt saying at this current moment. Like before, the conversation was brought to a halt as even more people suddenly arrived. Although, these were two faces that were the most unlikely to appear.
"Vega! There you are!" Stolas called out just as he and Alastor came into view, both running towards them from the city, "We have a problem! A MASSIVE problem, that is ALL. HIS. FAULT!" He shouted while pointing an accusatory finger at the radio demon.
"For the record, I didn't think it'd ACTUALLY happen!" Alastor exclaimed in his defense, to what Vega and the others still didn't know.
"I SAID IT WAS A POSSIBILITY! AND YET YOU JUST HAD TO TIE ME UP WITH YOUR SHADOW BECAUSE YOU'RE A LUNATIC! AN INCURABLE PSYCHOPATH WHO LOVES
TO CAUSE CHAOS!" Stolas angriy responded.
"GENTLEMAN." Vega loudly interrupted, which thankfully made them shut their mouths, "WHAT has the two of you so riled up?" He asked.
"VELVET. SHE'S GONE." Stolas immediately answered, which did NOT sit well with Vox. "...What?..." He spoke up as he approached the nobleman.
"Vox, take it easy." Sir Pentious said as he stayed by his friend's side, able to see that this wasn't going anywhere pleasant.
"It's...It's complicated, Vox." Stolas began, realizing that he wouldn't know anything about this, "In short, something happened during our training with the Wraiths. Something peculiar. Because of that, our training was postponed until they discussed it with Vega and his family. However, as we walked through the city during our break, Velvet began to suggest recreating what caused the peculiarity, which Alastor supported but I was against. One thing led to another, she replicated what she did previously, and now...she's disappeared." He explained.
A wave of emotions came crashing down on everyone. Confusion, more shock, and a pinch of anger. Except for Vox, he only felt the third emotion, and it was quickly boiling up inside of him as he looked at the radio demon. Acting purely on this feeling rather than his usual rational thought, Vox grabbed Alastor by the collar of his jacket and brought their faces together.
"WHAT. DID. YOU. DO?!" He demanded to know, his virtual face beginning to glitch out due to how furious he was.
"Vox! Control yourself!" Vega commanded, both he and the Slayer getting ready to intervene should this become violent.
"TELL ME, YOU SELF-SERVING BASTARD!" He continued to holler as he shook the radio demon, "WHERE IS VELVET?!" He asked.
"Behind you!"
...
...
...
That voice...it...it was Velvet's...and...it sounded like it came from behind them...but there was no way...
"Um, hello?" The voice spoke again, sounding confused, "I said I'm behind you! Why aren't any of you turning around?" She asked.
As though they were each made of concrete, everyone turned around towards the dragons, the only exceptions being Alastor and Stolas as they were looking that way, to begin with. Standing there, with her usual smile and carefree attitude, was indeed Velvet, rocking back and forth on her heels with her hands behind her back as if nothing was wrong.
"Geez, are you guys okay?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head, "You look like you're staring at a corpse. What? Am I that ugly or something?" She questioned.
Elsewhere, Within The Royal Chambers Of King Novik...
"Hmm...so you believe that it is possible to have our wolves possess these mechanical beasts?..." King Novik inquired, finding the forge master's proposition to be her most interesting to date.
True to her word, the forge master headed straight for King Novik's throne to talk with him about her idea of how to improve the Slayer's ancestor's invention. However, what she had in mind wasn't simple hardware or programming upgrades; she wanted the spirits of their trusted hunting companions who were as loyal as the Sentinels themselves to operate them.
"I do, sire." She replied while kneeling before him, "The spirits of our brothers and sisters can easily interact with physical objects. And we have seen the same from our wolves, albeit with simple things like toys or tools. But since these machines, the Slayer's ancestor has provided us with, are essentially the same as them. So I don't believe any time would need to be spent training them how to use them. As for any weapons or other additions that they can be fitted with, the riders will have full control over those." She explained.
"How does the Slayer's ancestor feel about this?" King Novik asked. "He was entirely supportive." She answered.
"Hmph, then you have my approval." He granted, much to her pleasure. "Thank you, sire. Our work shan't disappoint you." She promised.
"I expect nothing less." He replied as she stood, "Your craft has never once yielded anything but perfection. And you have always sought to push the boundaries of what is possible. This latest spark of ingenuity is all but-"
SLAM
Both the King and the forge master were startled as the doors to his chamber were thrust open. His guards, who were also in the room, immediately readied their weapons, assuming this to be an intruder.
"MY KING!" A fellow Sentinel cried out, allowing the guards to lower their weapons, "AN EMERGENCY MEETING IS BEING HELD IN THE WRAITHS' SANCTUM! YOUR
PRESENCE IS REQUESTED!" They informed.
"Why are you so frantic? Did you run here?" The forge master asked for her ruler.
"Yes...forgive me..." They apologized, the adrenaline that propelled them starting to fade, "But the creator told me it was a most important occasion...so I thought it best not to waste time and come here as fast as possible..." They explained.
"The creator? Hm, then this is a matter of great magnitude." King Novik said as he rose from his throne, "Thank you. I shall depart immediately. Please, rest here until you've recuperated." He instructed before looking at the forge master, "Would you like to accompany me? It may save time later by repeating what is said." He suggested.
"I'd be honored." She accepted, not needing to think twice about attending a meeting in which both the creator and their gods would be present.
A Few Minutes Later, Inside The Wraith's Sanctum...
Never before did the Wraiths ever believe their personal domain would be filled with so many people. Everyone of significance was here, from the Slayer and his companions, the latter of whom got their reactions out of the way when they first arrived. To the creator and his children, and even a few faces they'd never seen before. The sheer number of occupants alone was enough to show that this was a serious situation, but combined with the topic at hand, this could very well be one of the most important moments in their history.
"Before we begin." Vega spoke, electing to be the head of this meeting, "Are there any questions NOT relating to why we've all gathered here that anyone feels the need to ask?" He inquired.
"I do, grandpa." Charlie responded with her hand raised, "Are you sure we should wait to tell everyone else about this? I feel like they should be here." She asked, referring to their friends still in the arena and BJ and the Wretch at the forge.
"Too much time would be wasted..." The Slayer answered for Vega, "Everyone who is in this room, excluding a few of you, know why we're here...if we brought the others in, we'd have to spend a lot of time explaining everything, which would be counter-productive..." He told her.
"Counterpoint, WE still need a shit ton of things explained." Vagatha joined in, "All we've been able to piece together is that Velvet apparently disappeared, and yet she pulled a Harry Houdini and reappeared behind all of us. Conveniently right as we were talking about it." She said.
"A good point...but Velvet will help to paint the picture herself once she explains what happened...plus, only you two alongside Voc and Pentious hadn't seen the Wraiths yet...that on its own would've been a hassle to wait on as everyone else had their reactions..." He replied.
"Which, by the way, I just want to reiterate for the official record how fucking COOL you guys
are!" Sir Pentious complimented, referring to the Wraiths.
"We're flattered, thank you." They responded to show their appreciation, "However, if those are the only inquiries that needed to be addressed. May we proceed in hearing what Velvet has to
say?" They asked, speaking to the Slayer.
"That depends...WERE those the only questions?..." He asked while looking around the room, receiving nods from everyone, "Alright...Velvet, get to talking..." He said as his and everyone else's eyes fell onto the doll demon, who stood at the center of the room.
Taking in a deep breath, which was unusual for her, Velvet did this to ensure her thoughts were in order, and she wouldn't screw up.
"Alright, here we go." She began as she closed her eyes, "It all started after the Cherub exploded. For those of you who don't know what that is, don't worry, that's going to be the LEAST difficult thing to describe..." She assured, already establishing that what she had to share was going to be a LOT.