We Are One:
Author's Note: Hey again! Back again with another chappie! Ready? Hope so, here we goooooo!
ShadowSin: Uh-oh! Shugo time! I love the way you portray Jamie…I have a request and you totally don't have to do anything, but…just a thought…if Jamie ever comes in contact w/ Shugo, I think he should take him on while patrolling for vamps…and gets his ass kicked a little…whattya think? Like I said it's totally up to you! By the way, thanks for making Mina really cool too and even, well, including her…I always saw her as sort of a damsel in distress, but a girl who was more then capable of taking care of herself and keeping up with the boys!
Element6- thanks for the reviews I know…lotsa Devils! It's Devil-palooza, but Kyosuke Kazama is Shadowsin's character…and Billy is DevilBillyKazama's character…we all kinda have this cross over mania going on in our stories…you'd think it'd be weird…but it's not! Anyway, if you like OC's man, you should check their storie's out, 'cause they're really good!
DevilBillyKazama- You're stories great, and I can't wait to read your latest chappie, but I think you must have just updated, b/c isn't letting me read it yet…but until I can I can't wait! Oh, and I hope you liked the review I gave you…sorry if it sucked, I tried to help but I realized that A: I'm terrible at giving advice. And B: You're stories moving along really well!
Karisan Karisan- I like your new story a lot and I can't wait to read more! Keep me posted K? And keep me and shadowsin posted about OC battles…if you have any ideas or anything that'd be great and good luck on your exams!
Asuka-Kazama-Mishima- Hi! Actually, I've only watched a couple of episodes of Buffy…the penname MooNTeARZ was actually written to share with my friend Gabby, and she loves Buffy…she's going to continue her story when she has more time…
Devil-Jun- Hi! Thanks for reviewing ( I always like getting reviews…new and old:) and I can't wait to read your story…no, I'm not gwendy…my name is actually Matt…and what you see is what you get…I've really only been a member since December…hope you enjoy this chappie!
Jamie sprinted through the night sky…he needed to find him.
And when he did, he would kill him.
It was a simple concept, one as ancient as the Nephilim…even as time itself.
Jamie was the hunter, and this vampire was the prey. Deep in the back of his mind, he felt a certain freedom as he ran, he was no longer Jamie Parker, the nineteen year old boy…the college student with witty puns, and funny t-shirts…he was no longer the skater, the surfer, the Tae Kwon Do instructor…the brother, the lover, the good friend…now, he was simply…the Nephilim.
At least temporarily, he would no longer have to wield a dual life…he could focus on his skills…the skills he was called and Chosen to do, hunt and kill.
Yet there was still a part of him that had a spark of humanity left. It was raining now, and the cool drops washed through his hair…yet, the blood…the blood on his hand and on his cheek refused to wash away…
It was Successor blood…Devon's blood.
He looked at it, and he let out a shot of anguish. This was no movie…this was no video game…Devon did not die in a warm bed and at peace…he died a horrible, agonizing gut wrenching death…and he was not ready to go either.
Jamie knew that Mina and Steve had told him that there was nothing he could have done…yet in his heart Jamie knew there was something. He should have told Devon to go with the others…he should have been firmer about it.
Looking back on it, he had absolutely no idea what possessed him to allow Devon to accompany them…after all, the vampires were here to exterminate his kind…so, logically, why in the hell would Jamie have ever thought to put one of the VDA's most promising Successors in battle like that?
Because…no matter how you look at it…you're still that scrawny, shy, insecure nerd who wants to be accepted by the popular kids…
"NO!" Jamie shouted back at his conscious.
He was running through the open breezeways now, Jamie could smell the deep, heady smell of things pulled from a damp grave…and knew that there were vampires here. His evil self was in the rose garden…he was injured and looking for a place to heal.
And he would never get that chance if Jamie had anything to say about it.
Running purely on instinct now, he was aware of a small cadre of vamps in the breezeways…they said something, but Jamie didn't hear it…they were probably telling him explicit details of how he was going to die, and how he was going to rue the day he'd ever crossed their paths.
He'd heard it all before, and grew increasingly frustrated…he didn't stop to kill them, he didn't need to. He was running so fast, all he did was decapitate them all in a macabre gauntlet as he unsheathed his ax. Finally, the smell became stronger, and he found himself in a courtyard.
A tastefully decorated fountain still trickled water out of the mouths of (ha ha) angels and cherubs. Stone benches were placed around the fountain, and a modest obstacle course intricately lined the grounds. In a corner, Jamie saw him…he was clutching his side, and leaning against the metal pipe for support.
Jamie clutched his axe…Devon's axe tightly in his fists and stared down the menace. He turned, and saw Jamie staring at him and immediately straightened.
"Do we really need weapons for this?" Jamie asked, his voice even.
"Y'know," He grinned. "I just like them," He then ran a hand lecherously down his chest. "They make me feel all manly."
The vampire expected a witty pun, and Jamie wasn't going to supply him with one…instead, the Nephilim was just shocked at how overwhelmingly different he was from this…hideous abomination.
In the endless cannon of chosen warriors…each of their deaths had been equally unique…Jamie wasn't morbid, and he never really enjoyed hearing how his predecessors died…but he vowed, right then and there…while staring in the vampire's eyes that he would never become one of them.
He could not, and would not become something so evil and so…sadistic …something so incapable of feeling and devoid of any human emotions…this wasn't him…he may have the same name but it wasn't Jamie...and he would kill it tonight…in this garden.
"In my dimension…I've killed three Nephilim since I died…kinda like a sport for me…anyway, the last one I killed begged for his life…but I know you…I am you, and you're not the begging type."
Jamie still stared at him. His cobalt eyes wide and glinting with raw, unadulterated hatred.
"Tell ya what?" The vampire offered, his smile a cruel trademark of Jamie's own. "I'll make it quick and painless for you as a personal favor…it won't hurt a bit, I promise!"
Finally, Jamie did speak.
"No…you're wrong…it's going to hurt a lot."
"There's my boy…" Vamp. Jamie said affectionately.
They ran at eachother and thunder and lighting clashed dramatically in the night sky…somewhere in the distance, Jamie heard the bell tower ring…it rang a sad, mournful funeral dirge.
It's an angelus…they're mourning the dead…
Both came out swinging, Jamie with his ax and the raven haired vampire with his pipe…Jamie faked an overhead swing, and while the vampire attempted to block, Jamie gave the vampire a punishing roundhouse kick…to the side that had been shattered by the mace.
The vampire stooped low in pain, and when Jamie knelt to deliver a killing blow, he lashed out with his pipe and hit the Nephilim so hard in the face that he actually spun around.
"AAHH" Jamie cried as he clutched his throbbing face.
The vampire grabbed at Jamie and quickly attempted to draw him close in a deadly embrace…Jamie, who had been grabbed like this before, knew what to do. He quickly broke the monster's grip and shoved him hard backwards.
"Accept your fate!" Vamp. Jamie screamed.
"I'm not that easy!" Jamie retorted.
He attempted to side kick him, but the vampire grabbed his exposed leg and flung him down. The world spun as Jamie landed hard against the hard ground. Not wasting anytime, the vampire ax kicked Jamie in the side, shattering the ribs.
"AAAUURRRRRRGGGGGHHH!" Jamie bellowed.
The vampire then pulled back his pipe and attempted to bash it against Jamie's face…the attack would have meant instant death unless Jamie acted quickly. He rolled out of the first two attacks, and on the third, had worked up enough momentum to roll back up…but he was in no condition to fight with his shattered side…it would heal, but he didn't exactly know if he had the time to do so.
"Look on the Brightside Jamie…when the alarm clock goes off tomorrow, you won't have to wake up?" The vampire retorted.
He moved to strike Jamie with the pipe, but quickly, Jamie performed another overhead swing…this time it connected, cutting the pipe in two.
"That was a bad move." Jamie's opponent said.
And with a sad realization, Jamie knew that he was right. He now had two short staffs at his disposal…he ran and attacked immediately, using both staffs to repeatedly smack Jamie in the broken side…quickly, desperately, Jamie grabbed his vampiric double, and attempted to throw him…the vampire was quick though, while Jamie was still slow and sluggish.
Instead, the vampire broke the hold and flung Jamie through the air…the Nephilim landed against the fountain and shattered it.
God damn…my head…
The vampire was coming up to him…close now…it would all be over…Jamie had no way to fight him…the spirit was more then willing but the flesh was definitely too weak.
"Don't you see how pointless this is? Like it or not Jamie…we are one! JOIN ME!" The vampire screamed as he walked towards him.
Desperately, Jamie looked around for a weapon…any weapon…and his eyes fell on the ax lying at his feet. He grabbed for it and blindly…desperately, swung it…suddenly, he felt it settle deeply against flesh, as he heard a hollow, meaty, wet, thunk.
He looked up, and found vamp. Jamie's eyes open in a quiet scream of pain…when Jamie looked down, he noticed blood dripping onto his wrist…he looked where the ax had made it's mark…and found that it had embedded itself in the vampire's…crotch…normally, the Nephilim would have laughed aloud…but not now, he was too weak and tired to even make an attempt at caring.
Stunned, the creature staggered backwards, gasping in complete and utter agony. Realizing that he didn't have a lot of time, Jamie (with some struggle) stood up and walked towards him.
"That was for kidnapping Mina." He said.
He wrenched the ax deeper, causing a bellow of pain to fly out of the vampire's mouth. Next, he ripped the ax out, and made a diagonal arc…the blade made its way from the creature's right shoulder…and out the vampire's left hip. As he began to split in two, he burned in holy fires.
"And that's for what you did to Devon!"
"I…I…" His face contorted in rage.
"Oh go kiss daylight!" Jamie managed to say in an annoyed, exasperating voice.
With the vampire dead…and his strength completely gone…Jamie's legs decided to give out on him…he fell into a kneeling position on the ground and looked up at the clouds…his tears mixed with the rain…as he knelt there in complete and utter pain…and without strength left to do anything.
"Devon…Devon if you can hear me…I'm sorry alright…I'M SORRY!" He called.
The clouds seemed to rumble a response, but Jamie wasn't sure if that meant his apology was accepted or not. He knew he had to make it back to the group…and he had a feeling that now, the threat was over…as a Nephilim, he could feel demonic presences, and right now…he felt that they were all gone.
That feeling didn't last long.
With his supernatural hearing, he could hear a sound…a familiar sound…the sound of flapping wings…heavy, thick, flapping wings. A crimson feather, and a black one delicately snaked their way onto the lawn.
"Oh no…oh God no…" Jamie muttered.
Descending from the sky…he saw them coming…a part of him was relieved that they didn't appear to be Kazuya or Jin, but another part of him was wondering who the hell they were.
"Doesn't matter…they're Devils…" He added.
They landed…one in all red, and another, vaguely humanoid in appearance. He looked somewhat like Jin did in his Devil form…still humanoid, but disturbing just the same. The second, a red Devil held the appearance of Kazuya's Devil form…only this one had angel wings rather then the standard bat ones.
Bravely, Jamie struggled to stand…but fell back on his knees…he tried again, this time, managing to get up.
"I have no idea who the hell you two are…but before we do this, I want you to know that you're dealing with an extremely PISSED OFF DEMON HUNTER…you're little cronie keeps saying that he's the wrath of God? Well, he's wrong, that whole wrath thing? That's my department."
"Yeah," The humanoid one snorted. "Like you could take on a powerful Devil as injured as you are? You fought one and it nearly killed ya' you're not gonna make it with two."
"What can I say? I love a challenge?" Jamie asked.
"Wait," The red one said. "I know this looks bad…but hear us out okay?" He said, raising his arms defensively.
Well that's new…oh well, if I give 'em this chance, maybe I can heal in time to-
At that instant, the red one changed, followed immediately by the humanoid one.
"Watashiwa Kazama Kyosuke, et Kazama Billy…Jamie dannai?" He asked.
"Hai…" Jamie cautiously responded.
"We're…we're related to Jin, Asuka, and Kazuya…we're on your side alright?" Kyo explained.
"I'm listening." Jamie responded.
"Asuka called us up and told us about these orbs, and we found two of 'em…that means that you've got six right? That leaves only one more." Billy said.
"We just got done helping save Jin…he's…he's my big brother…" Kyosuke added.
"But…you can change into Devils…how is that possible?"
"We learned to deal…and control them." Kyosuke said.
Jamie had many questions to ask…and right now, he didn't have time to get an answer…he didn't know if he could trust them, but at this point he knew they weren't going to attack him. If they wanted to, they would have done it by now.
"Asuka told us that you were in trouble…we came from the bell tower to look for you…are you alright? Were you bit or anything?" Kyosuke asked.
The two strangers began to approach Jamie.
"What? No…there was this vampire…he was me…but…not…" Jamie tried to explain.
"WTF?" Billy asked.
"Long story…anyway, I killed him but it was a helluva battle…" Jamie added.
"You mean you're a chosen warrior tricked out with martial arts skills and one little vampire almost killed you?" Billy asked.
"Billy! C'mon man…if Jamie says it's powerful then he's probably right…I mean, you didn't even know vampires existed until two weeks ago!" Kyo retorted.
"Yeah, but when we fought 'em they never had a chance…everytime they came at us, I always had this great feeling like I'm gonna win, and they're gonna lose!" Billy said.
"Yeah," Jamie retorted. "Except for that sad feeling you get when they win and you're dead…" He finished flatly.
Kyosuke stifled a laugh.
"Hey," Billy broke in. "I don't think I like your tone."
"And I don't think I like yours!" Jamie argued.
"Hey!" A low voice called.
They turned to see a man wearing a black spy outfit leap from the rooftops and in between the two arguing teens. Jamie thought he recognized him from the tournament…he always hung around Nina, but he couldn't place the name…or the face for that matter as it was covered by sunglasses.
Who the hell wears those things at night?
"Teenagers…never did like your kind anyway," He glanced at Jamie's ax and tsk-ed. "Isn't that like a Nephilim? Always trying to solve his problems by sticking things with sharp objects?"
"Raven?" Kyosuke asked. "What are you doing here?"
"I've come to help…both my team and yours are fighting for the same cause. The use of the Chakra Orbs to defeat Jinpachi Mishima." Raven said to Jamie.
"Are you serious?" Jamie chuckled. "You, the one who hotwired the Jacks in the Zaibatsu? I think it's my turn to ask 'WTF!"
"I understand your distrust…but I have proof." Raven reached into a secret pocket and pulled out a Chakra Orb…the final orb to be precise…it had the symbol for eternity on it…written in the Japanese style of calligraphy.
Jamie could tell that it wasn't fake, he could feel the energy radiating from it…the power…the mystique…and the incredible age of the thing.
"Talk about bling…" Billy mused.
"Alright," Jamie said. "Welcome aboard…first let's find the others, and we'll see what we can do from there.."
Raven and Billy walked forward, but Kyosuke stayed behind as Jamie limped after them.
"Hey," He said. "Do you need some help?"
Jamie was touched by the friendly gesture…still, he didn't want everyone's first impression of him to be a pathetic lame-o who relied on everyone else for help.
"Naw…I'll be fine bro." Jamie replied with a smile. "This is nothing…I just…I just had sorta an off day today…"
"That's understandable…I…I heard about your friend…the musician…I'm sorry. We're you guys close?"
"No, not really…well…kinda…he used to defend me from bullies and stuff, but we were never really tight though." Jamie gazed wistfully in the opposite direction. "It's just so weird…I should've told him to stay…and now, I mean…his family…his girlfriend…hell, even his bandmates…what are they going to think?"
"It wasn't your fault…Devon made a choice…nothing you could've done would have made him stay anyway…he made the decision…not you…and he died fighting in battle…in my country…well, that's a big deal." Kyo said with a smile.
Jamie chuckled. "Yeah…maybe you're right…by the way…I'm not normally like this…but after you've just killed your vampire double…and nearly been beaten to death with a rusty pipe, I tend to get a little cranky…"
Kyo laughed too. "Don't worry about it…and as for Billy…he tends to shoot his mouth off from time to time…normally Jin and Asuka knock him down…I just kinda deal with it."
"Don't worry about it." Jamie said with a chuckle.
Slowly, Jamie began to feel himself healing bit by bit, and by the time he made his way inside, he was only walking with a slight limp…as he led the way to the library, he passed an antique mirror, and while he did, he swore he saw Devon's reflection in it…but when he looked again, all he saw was his own damp image.
After seeing Devon he thought he heard someone whisper "Thank you" in his ear but when he turned, no one was their…noticed his peculiar behavior, Raven looked at him.
"Something wrong?" He asked gruffly.
"No…nothing's wrong…" Jamie said.
It's the least I could do Devon…I avenged you…and all those others that bastard killed…I…I hope that was enough…
Author's Note::Sighs and slams head against the keyboard: IT IS LAAAATTTTEEEEEEE YOU GUYS! I am sssooooooo tired…once again, much love to everyone, read and review, shout outs to all my peeps and thanks to shadowsin and billykazama for A: letting me use their characters. And B: for using mine in their stories…just hope that I didn't mess it up too bad!