Condemnation

Chapter five:

"Hey, apple-cinnamon!" Enrique smiled briefly at the sight and smell of his favorite pancakes, but it soon vanished. "Gracias mam, but I'm not hungry."

"Honey, you haven't eaten since last night," his mother insisted. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I realize you're concerned about your friend, but you mustn't lose hope, Paco will show up."

"Yeah, you're right," the blonde teen responded with a faint grin. He wasn't concerned about Juan alone, Rosa was also in his mind. He hadn't seen or heard from her since yesterday, when they went to look for Juan at his house. "I guess I'll have one or two." Just then, there was a frantic knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Enrique's father called. He opened the door and received a very unpleasant surprise. "Rosa! In Heaven's name, what happened to you?!"

"I…I…HELP ME!!" The beaten child wailed as she threw herself into the man's arms.

A few minutes later the four of them were watching the newscast, something indescribably awful had happened at Rosa's home.

"The call was made by an elderly neighbor," the reporter's voice said, "The police have no clue as of who committed the murders and for what reason. Furthermore, we are informed that the whereabouts of the child are yet unknown."

"Rosa, we must take you to the police," Enrique's father stated. "Look at yourself, you need help."

"I can't!" the bruised girl sobbed, "Not yet."

"Come on, Dad, give her a chance," the buzz-cut boy said, "The first thing the cops are going to do is bombard her with all sorts of questions. Let's at least give her the chance to rest a while." The four turned to the TV again. As luck would have it (or maybe a certain someone intervened), the paramedics fumbled and the stretcher fell. The morbid cameraman immediately zoomed in on the dead woman's empty eye-sockets.

"TURN IT OFF!" Rosa screamed. Enrique's mother took her in her arms.

"Come along, honey, let's get you to bed." As they went upstairs, Enrique and his father went into the kitchen to clean up, or do anything else that would get their minds off this situation.

"Here," the grown woman offered as she laid Rosa down on her son's bed, they didn't have a guest room. "Call me if you need anything."

"Don't leave!" the tan girl pleaded as she grabbed her hand. "Please, Ma'am, could you keep me company for a while?"

"Of course." She laid down beside the child and embraced her caringly. Rosa felt warm and protected, but deep inside, resentment and hatred grew.

Rosa's home:

This had once been a peaceful neighborhood, where people felt happy and safe. The only thing they had to worry about was the occasional group of teenagers driving through with their music at full volume. Now, the tragedy that had occurred at this house would leave a permanent mark of fear.

"Okay, let's beat it and let forensics pick up clues," an officer announced "And whatever body part we may have missed," he added as he shook his head. "For the love of Pete, who could do something this insane?"

"You just answered your own question," a bearded one replied, "No one in his right mind would do it. Damn, you'd think you'd only see this kind of shit in B-movies. I hope they catch the son of a bitch who did this and gas his ass."

"It shouldn't be hard, if he keeps leaving that calling card," the first one reasoned as he pointed at a silhouette of a crow painted with blood on the wall. "Come on, let's get going." A minute after they left, a crow landed on the windowsill and two figures emerged from the shadows.

"The son of a bitch who did this is going to have his bony ass sliced open," Karasu corrected with a growl. He was furious, not so much because he'd been framed, but because innocents had been used. "Whether it's a Phlegm brother or Raven, they've all been cut out from the same cloth."

"These creeps always go for friends and family," the pony-tailed angel said with disgust, "I should've known those two would do more than simply scare the children." She shook her head as her military way of thinking took over. "We've got to focus on the present crisis; the false Spawn is the one who is mostly affected by this; more anger means further integration with the suit, and all that fury is being directed towards you, Karasu no shi."

"Furthermore," Kashaku added, "The Phlebiacs will surely attempt to increase said fury. That other child is bound to become a victim. You must go defend him, Warrior."

"Kaeli, you go ahead," the undead hero ordered, "I'll stay and search for clues, find out what the demons had on her."

"What? Didn't you pay attention?" the huntress scolded, "That girl is friends with the false Spawn, that's the only reason demons need."

"There's more to it than that," the dark-eyed one insisted, "Rosa was keeping something that was used against herself, I just know it; and if she's close to Juan, it'll be used against him as well."

"Listen, kid." Kaeli let her hand down forcefully on Karasu's shoulder, "You've got no superiors to answer to, so you can waste all the time you want on making up all sorts of conspiracy theories. While I've got everything on the line! My job, my status and, most likely, my reputation! An angel who fails a mission is branded a loser for life. And in my case, that's very long."

"I understand there are rules to follow," Karasu responded as he swatted her arms away, "but you can't go by them all the time. If you can't wait, then go, I've got to stay behind and—Ow!"

"Whoops, sorry, your hair got caught in my ring. Look, getting to Aguirre is my priority, I can't allow his friend's well-being to distract me. We can only hope the mission is completed before another tragedy occurs." The blue-haired huntress gave him a bead. "If you must, then look around, but please don't take too long. Break this and you'll be teleported to my side immediately."

"I'll remember that. Good luck." Kaeli nodded then disappeared.

"I am curious, Warrior," Kashaku commented as he hopped onto his ward's shoulder, "What could be so important, that you must stay to confirm its occurrence?"

"Something was released here. It was brief, yet very violent." Karasu eyed the bead he'd been given. "Also, I just can't bring myself into trusting her completely."

"YAAARRGH!"

Living whips lashed wildly as Spawn screamed furiously, Vinnie had to cast a minor shield in order to approach safely.

"Sorry, kid, but I had to let you know." The hypocrisy with which the demon gave his condolences was sickening. "Stay with me now. The last thing we need is for you to lose your mind."

"I'll be fine," Juan lied, "Just…just give me…" The scene he'd been shown this morning wouldn't leave his mind, it overshadowed all those the green-eyed vigilante had ever seen or read about, mere words could ever describe it properly. Rosa's parents laid dead on their bedroom floor, murdered in the most grueling form ever. Wounds ranged from scratches to five-inch-deep cleaves, those limbs that hadn't been shattered were dismembered, and their bowels had been spread about so much that it seemed as though a grenade had been thrown at a crowd. As horrified as he was, the dark-clad youth could not forget the gory image of Rosa's mother holding her own eyes in her hands; and her father with beer bottles shoved down his throat. A few days ago, he would've felt sick to the stomach and curl up at a corner; now, after all the training he'd been put through, he felt outrage growing inside.

"He's dead," Spawn growled as the living mask covered his face, "I'm going to kill that murderous son of a bitch."

"And why are you going to kill him?" the green-haired punk inquired.

"That's a stupid question. After what that monster did to Rosa and her parents, I have to kill him!"

"Have to?" The pseudo-mentor shook his head. "Listen closely, Spawn. Your friend wasn't killed, nor has she been found, which probably means the Crow still has her. Who knows what sort of torture little Rosa is being put through! Maybe he's pressing hot coals against her, or left her at an abandoned warehouse where a dozen brutes are raping her non-stop." Vinnie noticed Spawn's trembling fist and felt delight. "Do you know what goes on in the Crow's mind as he does all that to Rosa? He mocks you, he laughs as he thinks of how weak you are. He claims that you will never be able to save your friend, because you're too pathetic to even raise a finger against him." Through telepathy, Vinnie spoke into Spawn's mind using Karasu's voice. "You're a weak fool, you can't stop me. Rosa and Enrique, they're going to die, and there's nothing you can do about it. And that whore you call 'mother'…she's dead as well." The disguised demon paused in order to let all these words sink in. "Why are you going to kill the Crow?" The misled vigilante raised his head slowly, his eyes glowing green.

"Because I want to."

Later that day, at a park:

A middle-aged man was sitting on a bench, thinking of nothing in particular as he looked upon the other people there; passersby, children playing and young lovers. A disgusting punk with a tattooed head sat down beside him.

"Nice, eh? Nothing like a calm and serene scene to calm the nerves."

"I suppose," the man deadpanned, uninterested in starting conversation. Yet Van insisted.

"But it gets dull pretty quickly, the same scenery every day."

"What did you expect? It's a park. If you want excitement, then go to the bull-fights."

"No, tío, you're not getting it. I don't want to see a show, I want to put on a show." There was no response, so the bald man kept talking. "For example, do you see that girl over by the water fountain? The one with the melons going over the edge? Well, if I go over there and give 'em a good squeeze, that's sure to get everyone's attention."

"Shouldn't you be talking about this at a bar?" the middle-aged man reprimanded, "There are children here, you know."

"Bah, they see worse stuff on the net. Besides," the disguised demon added, "I wasn't going to find you at a bar, was I?"

"Qué?"

"S, I was looking for you. Specifically, for that little thought in your head, the one that has been there since high school." Van opened the pocket in his jacket and out came a little black blur, it scurried towards the man's head and vanished.

The creature was a minor devil, small, but very dangerous. Such species will posses a human being and drive him into carrying out a certain idea; one that the person has always been curious about how it would feel like to do it, but never would carry it out because of morality; and in order for the possession to take place, the idea must be in the realm of conscious thought for at least a fraction of a second. Now, normally, said actions are harmless ones, such as spending all day eating nothing but cupcakes, or shoplifting a toothbrush from a corner store. But it so happened that Van had reminded the middle-aged man of a pulp crime novel he'd read during his teenage years.

"Go ahead, tío, I ain't stopping you." The stinky brute watched as the possessed one got up and stepped away. His half brother showed up a moment later. "Is the kid coming?"

"You bet. And I've already cast a disguise on that wretch." Vinnie leaned back on the bench. "You bad we didn't bring any moldy popcorn, it's gonna quite a show."

"MOMMY!" a little girl screamed.

"Tomás, I told you to leave your little sister alone!" a young mother responded exasperatedly. She turned to look and went as pale as a sheet. "No…NO!!!" What she saw was her son lying immobile on the ground, and her daughter receiving an awful blow from a stone thrown by an insane stranger.

"I… I…" The possessing devil will only stay a few moments, then leave so that remorse can take over; and at this moment, the middle-aged man was feeling an unbearable amount of it. He didn't even notice that he was about to be taken down by someone.

"You son of a—Ugh!" A black whip knocked him out; thanks to a teleporting spell from Vindicator, Spawn appeared out of thin air.

"YOU!!" His arm became a club and he bashed his enemy away. There was a second spell active, one that made the man appear as Karasu to Spawn's eyes. "You motherless fuck, DIE!!"

"Wait! I didn't know what I was doing!" The green-eyed vigilante spin-kicked him away without listening.

"Well I know what I am doing, killing you!" He extended a tentacle and pulled him over by the neck. "Where's Rosa? Tell me now!" But the man was on the verge of unconsciousness, unable to speak. This enraged Spawn even further. "Very well." He was about to drive a spike through the man's heart when another character made an appearance.

"HEEYAH!!" Spawn received an uppercut that sent him about five yards away! He got up and identified his attacker, Karasu no Shi. "You can't even tell the difference between what's real or not, works for me."

"Stop mocking me!" The rookie hero charged and delivered a blow that would've knocked out an elephant, yet the pale one caught it with one hand.

"It's hard not to make fun of you," Karasu replied as he threw him to the floor. Spawn tried to attack once more, but was submitted again.

"We're taking a big risk here," Van muttered through yellow grinding teeth. He wanted to get up and finish the longhaired hero, but he knew that having the false Spawn see him in his true form would end the charade. "Are you sure you planned for this?"

"Of course I did, everything was coolly calculated." The smarter sibling crossed his arms behind his head and laid back. "Case scenario numero uno: none of our opponents show up, the kid realizes he's killed an innocent person and collapses emotionally; and second, if one of them does show up, the kid is beaten and becomes more desperate, which is also useful for us. Nothing can wrong."

"What if they had both shown up?"

"Umm…" Vinnie went awkwardly quiet for a minute. "Shut up, man, I'm trying to follow the fight."

"Honestly, it's hard for me to believe you're even trying," the dark-eyed warrior said tiredly as he flung Spawn over his shoulder. "There is no way you can win this battle."

"Of course I can win!" Spawn claimed, "You're a villain and I'm a hero, you lose and I win, that's the way it goes."

"The way it goes?" Karasu shook his head. "If you go into battle with nothing but comic book logic to shield you, then you will always fail. Heroes don't win because they're 'good', they win because they're strong, both of body and mind. They know what to do, they know why they do it, and most importantly, they know who they are." His eyes narrowed. "Tell me, who are you?"

"The Spawn," he answered, trying to sound as impressive as he could.

"Is that it? Is that all you have, a silly name and a weird-looking suit?" The more experienced one questioned. "You're no more than a kid in a costume pretending to be a grown up. You received a power you were not ready for, one that you can't comprehend. Stop acting like an ass and think!"

And Juan did. During a brief lapse in his rage, he thought about how he'd always known what was wrong, but never had the courage to act upon it, unless there was a way to do so without it being known. Masks, one way or another he'd always worn them; in front of his mother, his friends, and his teachers. If only he'd had the courage to speak when he first heard of his parents getting divorced, speak out what he truly felt, then maybe he would've kept them together. When the suit had come to him, and he discovered what he was capable of doing, he became ecstatic with the idea of becoming a superhero, someone useful; now that he was being humiliated and questioned by his enemy, Juan began to doubt whether he was truly worthy of this power. Doubt can never be as good as realization, but at least it was helping Karasu's mission, breaking the bond between the K-Unit and it's host. It was actually beginning to melt off his skin!

"Not so fast!" The undead hero sprinted and scored a haymaker, knocking Juan out. "That's not what I need." Then he heard clapping and looked up, Vindicator was approaching, and so was Vandalizer from the opposite side.

"Bravo, an excellent performance," the gray demon praised, "Truly, it amazes me how you bitches can be even more deceitful than we."

"So you knew." The form of Karasu no Shi glowed brightly and was replaced by Kaeli's. "Not that it will help you," she added defiantly as she discarded the hair he'd taken from the real crow.

"We don't need no help in the least," the purple brute boasted right before pouncing on the Seraphic huntress. All she had to do was sidestep and the demon landed unceremoniously, making a wide crater. Vindicator took the opportunity and tried to claw her, but Kaeli blocked with her battle-axe; alas, this left her open for a punch in the back by Vandalizer. "You got cocky, didn't you, hag?"

"Don't count me out yet," Kaeli growled. With lightning speed, she connected a spin kick to the large one's jaw, then grabbed and threw him towards his thinner brother. "Did you really think you two would be able to beat me? Did you?!" The cyan-haired angel struck the ground with her weapon, a wave of energy raced towards the Phlebiacs and exploded upon reaching them. Vindicator raised a scrawny arm from the rubble.

"Frankly, I did have a strategy figured out, now I see some revisions are in order."

"Why not use that move we saw on that rugby match last night?" his thick-jawed brother asked.

"Pathetic," Kaeli spat with disgust. "As much as I would love to dispatch you sick freaks, I've got work to do." She picked up the still unconscious Juan and teleported away. The Phlebiacs crawled out of the rubble soon afterwards.

"You know?" the long-jawed one started, "The part that pisses me off is that this blast could've had a lot of casualties."

"Yeah, these heavenly broads know nothing about efficiency. I told you we should've gone to that kinder garden." Vandalizer wiped the last of the dust off his shoulder. "You placed that tracking rune on the kid, right?"

"Well duh, since the beginning. And it's not just him who has one." He took out two dark crystal disks. "Who do want to pick up?"

Enrique's Home:

"Coming," the blonde boy's mother called as she hurried to answer the doorbell. She opened the door and saw a young man with a ponytail and sunglasses. "S, how may I help you?"

"Señora, we haven't met, but I'm a friend of Enrique's. I heard about Rosa and, well, I kind of need someone to talk to."

"I see. I'm sorry, Quique left a minute ago to take a walk. He went down that direction, if you wish to catch up."

"Okay, gracias." The door closed and Kashaku landed on his shoulder. "She's hiding something."

"Indeed, the child named Rosa. And while she is well intended, we need to discover her reasons."

"Well, partner, that's where you come in."

"Caw." The black bird flew around the house until he found a proper window. Through crow-vision, Carlos eavesdropped on a conversation between Enrique's parents.

"Enough beating around the bush, tell me what's wrong," the auburn-haired woman ordered.

"It's about Rosa," her husband answered, "I've treated several types of bruises, and have learnt how to identify them. How they were made, how long ago, how strongly, etc."

"Then you should tell the police!" she reasoned, "That information will help them find the murderers."

"That's not what I'm meaning to tell you," the man corrected, "Rosa, her bruises, none of them were made today."

"Qué?"

"That girl has been beaten continuously for a long period of time, which possibly lasted months, even years."

"But that would mean that she… Oh my god." The auburn-haired woman had to sit down. "My dear, we must help her!"

"We will," Enrique's father assured, "She will get the proper help." He took a deep breath and held his wife's hands. "I'd hate to think what would happen if she doesn't."

"That's it! Kashaku, let's go!" The black marks appeared on Karasu's face as he ran off. Before long he was leaping across the rooftops. "Now I know what I was feeling, resentment, she grew to hate her parents. And not being touched by the demons could only mean that…" His opaque eyes widened in terror. "She couldn't have."

"One's actions can make blood bonds grow dangerously thin," the bird replied, "Your theory was correct, Warrior, that child will become an instrument towards the false Spawn's perdition. Despite our mistrust towards her, we must inform the huntress Kaeli."

"Right." Karasu took out the bead and crushed it. "YEARRGH!"

"CAW! Warrior!" The guardian watched as his ward crashed in the alley bellow. He dove and landed next to him. "Warrior, what is wrong?!"

"Ah-I c-can't move."

"He triggered a paralyzing trap." The startled bird turned and saw Vandalizer. "I could've given you some tips about dealing with Kaeli. You see, I've faced the bitch before, and therefore know how she thinks." He stomped over and picked up the undead hero. "You'll find out why she betrayed you soon enough." The purple demon looked over his shoulder. "Are you coming?"

"I prefer my own means of transportation," Kashaku responded as he took off. From above, he saw Karasu and Vandalizer disappear in a swirl of green fire. "Hold your ground, Warrior, you can't afford to lose."

Guadalquivir River:

"It's odd," Rosa said as she stared at the western clouds, which were becoming as pink as her hair, "I'm only just beginning to realize how tremendously my life is about to change."

"S." Her friend was at a loss for words. "Rosa, when my great-grandmother died I felt, well, alone. You guys wanted to help, but I wouldn't let you, because I felt you couldn't understand my loss." Enrique took her hand. "Rosa, I can't understand yours, I hope I never have to, but I can help, if you'll let me." The following reaction was quite unexpected, she laughed.

"Quique, you stupid bastard, of course you will never understand." The buzz-cut boy nodded, and was about to say something else when she continued. "There's no fucking way you'll ever understand my loss. Not when you've always had everything!"

"Qué? Rosa I don't—"

"Do you know why I only went to your house that one time, but never again until today? Because you made me so sick to my stomach!" The tan girl was forcing her once friend to back away. "Your perfect TV family. Everyone loves each other, everyone's so pretty and handsome, and everyone's so disgustingly happy! And what did I get? An abusive alcoholic and a neglecting whore!"

"Okay, time out!" Enrique was up against the guardrail and growing desperate. "What the hell are you talking about?! I didn't know anything about this!"

"Of course you didn't. How could you, living in your little private paradise?" Rosa kept closing in on the boy, forcing him into a precarious position. "When I said change, I was talking about what I'm capable of doing now, and what I'm about to claim." She was calm now, yet her gaze was ten times as frightening. "Quique, you don't know what it's like to experience a tragedy, but you parents will."

"Whoa there Missy!"

"Qué?" Rosa was hoisted into the air. She turned and saw a red-eyed monster with three horns and a long jaw. Naturally, she was scared at first, but then said: "You! What are you doing here?!"

"Being awed by your initiative," Vindicator quipped. "Now come along, it's time to honor your part of the deal." He turned his attention to Enrique, who was petrified with horror. "You can come too, after all, no one wants to miss a finale."