notes: "trucker's solute" is basically a fancy way of saying that you flipped someone off. Same disclaimers as before.
Chapter 2
Tides rising
With spirits vast
The darkness creeps up
And takes away the daylight.
Ba'al woke slowly. Her head felt like it was splitting in two. It had seemed like a good idea, to expand those protection fields her mother taught her as a child to include her apartment. It worked in the past too, but this time, this time there had been more than her shields could handle and they backlashed on her something horrible.
She expected to be laying in pieces, or maybe dead and staring down at her body.
Not up at that absolutely horrendous bit of tasteless wall decoration that hung above Dante's couch.
That was the moment Dante walked into the room. He was dressed in just a half buttoned shirt and a pair of jeans. He had a beer in one hand and took a sip looking her over as she stared back and decided weather she was in heaven or hell.
"You're awake. So what are you going to do now chick? Stab me with your shoe and run off so that I have to save your ass from demons again?" he took a seat in the chair behind his desk and watched her as he drank his beer.
She sat up slowly deciding this was most definitely hell. Flipping him off she shook her head a bit to try and clear it "I never asked you to save me to start with, so why the hell did you? I'm afraid I don't think I'm your type." she noticed a picture of a shapely blond on the end of his desk, he was in it and looked like they where showing off something. The woman possessed a figure she'd only dreamed about.
He got up and walked around his desk sitting on the edge like he couldn't hold still in one spot for long "Don't worry, you aren't."
He suddenly grinned and it wasn't a nice one "After all, what with the stink motel you were at, likely that's the only reason you managed to survive this long. The demons had to fortify themselves before they could come after you."
"Oh well then I guess I must thank you, if the stench of this ... place.." she sniffed at his office with distaste "was what kept me safe for so long!"
"I doubt it lady, hell what was with those so called protections, connecting them to yourself? I've seen some amateurs do some really stupid things, but wow lady, you just set the bar higher for stupidity"
"Surprising comment considering your decor, what you didn't bring in anymore mangled corpses? Or am I the next trophy?" she shot back getting angry. She really did think she did the best she could with what she had available, and it had worked, worked well till now.
Though Dante had to admit, his initial reaction to her shields had been that they were good. In fact they were genius, but that she connected them to herself. He never even noticed she'd done it til the field had been overwhelmed. Much like her fighting skills. It took shear numbers to get her. But it also looked like it was going to remain huge numbers from here on out. And only he had the skills for those kinds of odds.
So he snorted instead "Well at least I don't get myself killed by my enemies." he smirked and folded his arms "Clearly its not surprising how you lived this long, killing people that are trying to help you. You'd snap the neck of some old lady just for the fun of it!"
"What's with you and old ladies? A fetish I should know about?"
"Maybe I do. 'Cause I'm looking at one right now. I mean common you're from a race that dies and gets back up, so legitimately I'm talking about a corpse not a hag!"
She blinked at him utterly confused and he watched her carefully for her reaction.
"What do you mean? I'm human." she finally said still looking rather floored by his insults.
He snorted "Oh that's rich. That's really rich." he watched her carefully to see if her confusion was real or just pretense.
Her bafflement was utterly real and finally as if in desperation she shot back at him "OH and what are you then? A Hippo in disguise? You must be, you already got the manners to match"
Dante pursed his lips a moment as if contemplating and answer. In the end he simply walked acrossed the room, sat down on the couch next to her and while she stared at him distrustfully he leaned back, turned and calmly pushed her off with his feet. Folding his arms behind his head as she stared at him dropped jawed he pointed with one finger over the edge of the armrest "Back there is a bedroom, get some sleep. And don't worry, this place actually has proper protections." and he went to sleep.
She blinked at him still floundering like a fish, just staring at him as if trying to figure out what was wrong with him.
After another moment she stood and dusted off her pants. She decided there was no real choice at the moment. She didn't know what was out there, and she already knew she could kick this guys ass if he decided to try anything.
So she went to the door in back of the office and peeked down the hall, dark, dirty, pizza boxes piled in a corner "You called my place dirty? At least I took out my garbage!" she said just loud enough that if he was shaming sleep he'd hear.
There was a sound like a strangled snore, loud enough to be unconvincing. Ba'al went down the hall, first bathroom, more bachelor's layout. Sure it was 'clean' but he never touched the corners. Typically male. The next, closest, by now she was wishing he was more pacific on which 'room' she was to sleep in. Finally she found the bedroom. At least the bed was made implying it was clean sheets. Hell looked more like he hadn't slept in it for ages. So she kicked off her single house slipper that she managed to keep and crawled under the blankets.
Silk and satin.. nice... she fell asleep.
Morning came and Ba'al woke with a start. She was exhausted but it was rather hard to sleep with someone banging away on a set of drums with little real training but more than enough enthusiasm. Getting up she made her way back to the front room, the trophies that hung about the walls where still ugly as sin, but they weren't so scary in the daylight. Dante was shirtless and banging away on a set of drums to the beat of the stereo.
She covered her ears and glared at him and he only gave her a cocky and unrepentant grin to which she answered with the truckers solute. The song came to an end and he held his sticks and leaned over the farther scar drums crossing his arms and watching her "Hungry?" he asked.
"Starved," she wondered if he had any coffee.
He nodded his head at his desk where left over pizza sat and a couple beers next to it.
"That.. Is.. Not.. Breakfast"
"Well I don't cook chick."
"I'm NOT eating pizza and beer for breakfast!" turning she went back to the hall and hunted for the door to the kitchen. There was a second bedroom, and finally a small kitchen. Obviously someone knew how to cook, since it was stocked, even if half of it was going bad. Flinging the bad food into the trash she started a pot of coffee and found eggs and bacon. Not the really good breakfast she was use to, but better than cold pizza and warm beer.
Dante watched her muttering to himself about ingratitude, of course the first plate she finished he stole and was eating despite her sour looks, at least she kept the second plate for herself when he tried to grab it and she nailed a kitchen knife between the figures of his hand.
"HEY! What gives?"
"That is mine, if you want more make it yourself!" and she nabbed the plate.
"Well it's from my kitchen"
"Which you were letting go to waste!" she snapped back "Just look at all the wasted food. You better be good at your job cause that's a month's salary for most people!" and taking her cup of coffee she perched herself on a stool keeping a somewhat distrustful eye on the guy who seemed to be her self proclaimed guardian.
"What on earth possessed you to decide to protect me? I'm no one special"
He snorted like he agreed, but instead of starting another argument he pulled a cup down from a cupboard and got himself some coffee "I was hired by an old man."
"I don't know any old men"
"Maybe he was a regular at that bar you work at."
"It's a lesbians singles bar. I sing there."
"Well that explains why you're such a cold fish."
She only rolled her eyes "I just have better things to do with my time than cater to anyone's ego."
Dante remained silent, his mind went blank and be couldn't think of any good retorts for that one. The tight lipped smirk she gave him in return for his silence was annoyingly superior. He mentally gritted his teeth as she ate her breakfast in fast, neat, tiny bites that was on the verge of inhaling the food. He blinked a moment at her. He'd never seen anyone scarf down food so fast, and so neatly. Perched on the stool in capri pants and an oversized shirt that might have come from the men's department. She really needed some other clothing, he thought distractedly, something that made her look a little less like a gender confused teenager.
She finished and went to the sink with her plate and began washing up the dishes she dirtied while somehow managing to drink her coffee plus another cup in a few gulps. She washed the cup and turned back to him waiting as he sat there with his own plates watching her.
Standing he walked as if he hadn't a care in the world and practically dropped the stuff into the sink with enough noise to make the girl wince as he likely chipped the already abused flatware.
Then he left. He had to put his mind on more important things. Like what the hell the demons wanted with a girl that could turn them mortal. Sure the old man talked about power and that the mortal thing was a defensive strategy, but still there were things that just wasn't adding up. That overly organized attack on her apartment. The demons had all been of a lower class. Not known for being able to organize much of anything unless directed by someone stronger. Then there was Godzilla, he wasn't even sure WHAT that thing had been to start with or if it even had a name. He needed to know more. He needed to come up with a plan. Sure he might find going in with guns blazing and sword drawn the easiest tactic. After all, get rid of the problem and work your way to the source was always good fighting tactics. Once the source was gone then so was the problem.
Problem was he didn't know what the source was at the moment. Only the sketchy information that old man gave him. Ba'al was useless in this, she honestly knew nothing of what she was or why the demons wanted her.
He needed to find what he could so he could know the enemy.
What did that old man mean by saying that his father had killed one before? He was staring at a book page blankly his mind trying to put random bits of information together but still not coming up with a clear picture. What he knew of his father involved honor and protection of those against the demons.
Why would he kill something obviously so rare and pretty harmless really?
Nothing was making sense, he didn't have enough information to go on and he didn't know where he could find more. If Trish was here she'd likely pop up with something. Maybe some lore of Ba'al's kind or something. But his partner was currently involved in another job acrossed the country. One that Dante had no desire to take himself, but paid enough that Trish decided to take it to save the bank account. Lately the little jobs around the local area where pretty scarce and far between.
As if, know he realized, something had pulled everything out of the area to start with. Likely to mass up the attacks on Ba'al.
He looked up suddenly when he saw ba'al bustle into the main office armed it seemed with broom and dustpan. She started attacking his floors with a single minded determination that was actually kinda cute.
"What are you doing?" he demanded finding his good humor starting to return to him.
"CLEANING!" she stated and went diving over his sofa and coming up with a sock that looked like it been there a long long time. She wrinkled her nose and flung the stray peace of garment aside and went diving over again her backside in the air.
He tilted his head admiring the view. She might be an annoying runt, but she wasn't built like one. He chuckled softly.
"OH MY GOD!" and she finally just went to the side of his sofa and pushed. Revealing dirt and garbage that likely hadn't been touched since before Trish moved in with him.
Even Dante had to make a face at the pile in distaste as he watched the girl march off with more of that single minded determination and wonder what she was going to do, get a nuke?
She came back with a bag and a dustpan. Then she began shoveling the pile into the bag without care as to weather any of it was salvageable. Tying off the top of the bag she put it in a spot then began to pull out the other pull bags of garbage she'd collected from his place.
She'd been busy, he decided once he saw the rather impressive pile. Maybe he was getting something out of this arrangement after all. He didn't have to do it, and she sure complained a lot less than Trish would have when faced with this much garbage.
Suddenly she put her hands on her hips and gave him a look that warned horribly agonizing death if he tried anything "Garbage, out, now"
Dante only saluted like an obedient soldier, and took out the garbage without asking questions. One, he didn't what to know what she'd do in revenge if he gave her lip, and two, he wouldn't want her to run it out herself anyway. Once she left the office she would be vulnerable. His protections where not the best in the world, but they handled most things. Trish had said they should contract someone to set up something better, he just never got around to it.
As afternoon came, the place was cleaner than it likely had ever been since before he even moved in. Ba'al had even gotten the cobwebbing around the trophies. Which made them look a little too alive, so he had no plans of ever dusting up there again. He was thumbing through a few pages of a book that looked promising and watching her out of the corner of his eyes. She was staring fixedly at her toes waving them idly with her arms flung back over her head and over the back of the couch, which she was stretched out so that her butt hardly rested on the edge of the cushion. She looked about as bored as he felt. Only the light ticking of a clock could be heard in the silence of the building.
She spoke suddenly it startled him out of his blank contiplation of nothing at all, "Do you think anything survived at my apartment?"
He turned and looked at her for a long moment. She hadn't said anything to him at all since she ordered him to take out the garbage. True there was still laundry, but he didn't have anything to do it here and he wasn't about to let her go out just to wash his dirty clothing. Since it was all gathered, he'd just take it with him to the dry cleaners with the rest of his stuff.
After a moments brief contiplation of her question he shrugged going back to his book and scanning a few words, he didn't look up when he finally spoke "I'm sure everything is left at your apartment, but I wouldn't recommend going back there, who knows what would be found. Could be King Kong next."
She gave a long sigh and stared at the ceiling "I wonder if Lucky and Meimei are doing alright."
Now he looked up at her with a raised brow "Lucky and Meimei?"
"My bamboo and goldfish" she responded and managed not to sound sheepish "Lucky is a bit of that living bamboo, it was the only sprig to live out of an entire arrangement. Meimei's in an aquarium in my bedroom."
He thought about it a long moment then closing his book he set it down and got up from his seat "Wait here then, I'll go get them." he could likely pick her up some other clothing. That would save him time and cash really. While he hoped this wouldn't take long, there was no way he could lone her something she was too tiny, and too tiny to wear any of Trish's things either. She'd look like a child playing dress-up in her parents wardrobe. A funny image, but not one he needed assosiated with him. After all he had a reputation to maintain.
She blinked at him dumbfounded and he suddenly felt like grinning cockily but managed to stay somewhat serious as she blinked green eyes for a few moments, "um... thanks?" Ba'al didn't sound as if she was sure she should be thanking him or not. As if waiting for the catch.
He nodded shortly, with all seriousness "Not a problem, after all when living alone a person has to have something around, even if it's just a plant, or fish, or the roaches on the wall."
She screwed up her face comicly "eww"
"Hey! Why do you think I don't mind mine around?" he nodded at a fat one that came stuttering out of a corner as if trying to locate the trash Ba'al disposed off "That one's Rick, his dad's cool."
The look of horror she gave him nearly made him loose the serious expression he was fighting to keep. It said clearly without any words: 'You better be joking, and please oh please, let me crush it!'
He had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from cracking up, "Now be careful! These roaches value family. Don't go stepping on them while I'm out." and he went outside and once there he peeked in the window briefly. Ba'al was seated on his sofa stiffed back with her knees pulled up really close as if terrified of touching the ground now. Staring wide eyed at the roach, which the cocky little thing was staring right back.
He managed to get at least around the corner before he howled in laughter startling a couple pedestrians.
Dante reached the apartment and went in the front. No one had been there since he made his escape with Ba'al the night before. The screams of demons must have kept the other people of the apartment building locked into their homes and no one even bothered trying to call for police.
They wouldn't have done any good, just added to the bloodbath.
He glanced around and quickly spotted the bamboo, it was in the kitchen next to the sink. Obviously to remind her to water the poor thing. There was a fern hanging in another corner, so try and very dead. The girl definitely had a black thumb. She said that this bit of bamboo was the only survivor of the arrangement, which was pretty sad. He didn't know anyone who could actually kill the stuff. It was a weed. He wondered how she was handling his teasing back at the office.
Ba'al squished another roach underfoot "Sorry Rick, but this is for my sanity." she scooped the dead body into a small bag, then stuffed the bag into a larger one with other bits of random things she managed to locate after her cleaning exodus. She found some unused roach traps and bait in a cupboard and stuffed them into little cracks she figured Dante would never notice.
Just in case he WAS serious about the roach thing...
Dante was shaking his head at the destruction. It looked like after he left a couple demons decided to have a party. The place was thoroughly trashed. TV broken in, couches shredded and turned upside-down, coffee table broken in half. That was just the livingroom. Most of her weapons were missing, so likely some of the demons took a liking to them and gave them new homes.
There was a growling sound and he ducked just as a blade swished where his head was and turning he saw a demon, monkey like this was one of the lowest of the low class demons. But it watched him with a very unusual glint of intelligence in its eyes.
"Sorry, I'm fresh out of bananas" he told the thing stepping back careful of the mess around him and put his hands to his guns.
The creature moved slightly to one side and he saw its eyes move in another direction.
Dante jumped just as the scythe fell where he had been. There were more of the blasted things! He found his back up against the wall for the moment but it gave him time to count just how many of hell's primates he was up against. Only four. So long as they all didn't act as smart as that first one he should be more than fine.
"Shouldn't you guys be like eating your own fecal matter?" he asked them conversationally.
Suddenly something brown and squishy hit his boot. He glanced down as the demon apes made sounds suspiciously like laughter.
Looking up at them dangerously he tilted his head slightly "Oh you little son of a bitch" and he ran at them guns forward. No one cuckolds one of his jokes. Especially not a little half formed ape of a demon.
The demons swung weapons at him and he kicked off ones face shooting ivory and ebony off at two others. When he came down from his flip on the one demon he gave a high kick and sent it flying back. One of the other two had managed to dodge most of his bullets but the other blew up in a cloud of dust. Of the remaining two one got in behind him while the other swung its weapon down to hit him with while the other had him pinned.
Thinking on his feet he dropped down into the splits as the one behind him was about to grab. It was then impaled by the weapon of the other one. He looked up at the thing's slowly growing look of shock and grinned as he put ivory into the things dropped jaw "Enjoy hell you little shit stain." and fired.
It blew to pieces. He noticed the one he flung to the corner starting to get up and without moving he fired off a few rounds filling it with holes till it too turned to dust.
Waiting for more demons who didn't show he finally relaxed and ever so slowly shifted his legs "Oh shit, holy mother of GOD!" he cursed half couching in on himself "That fuckin' HURT" he holstered his guns and managed to turn a sofa back upright to sit on his legs slightly spread to ease the strain "There is a reason girls are better at the splits than guys are" he muttered staring up at the ceiling and its bumpy cottage cheese texture. "Next time lets jump up rather than going down dumb ass" he continued to mutter to himself as he recovered from the fight. Taking the extra moment since it didn't look like anything more was going to attack.
