Hey! Thanx to all the people who have currently reviewed! ^_^ Okay. I still have yet to introduce the Archangels and for our main bad guys, Azmodan and Belial will make their entrance sometime in the next chapters. :P And finally you will know who Brian is so you can now lay your superstitions to the grave. Yeah, it's gonna' be a looong story. Heh. It's just something I'll wanna' work on when I'm bored. ^_^
Disclaimer: As I said before, all Diablo stuff belongs to the Blizzard guys and the moogles are strictly under the sovereign rule of SquareSoft.
The one titled Dorozan stares straight at Brian, then his face takes on a confused look. Brian shrugs at him to indicate that he had no idea of what was supposed to happen. Dorozan gets up and opens his mouth to say something, then stops himself and holds up his index finger, mouthing "Wait." He goes through a back door hidden in the painted scenery for the exhibit. After a few seconds, he reappears from the back of the tent, wiping a kerchief on his forehead
"Well, who exactly is this friend of yours?" asks Salem.
"Him!" Selena points with a tiny finger at the figure entering from the back.
"Ugh. You know you're not supposed to talk to strangers."
"Hey," says Dorozan says in a cool, crisp voice.
Kyra, standing by, overhears the conversation and takes the opportunity to say a few words. "Hey, are you Dorozan from that cage?"
"Heh. I prefer Derek, miss..."
"Kyra. Just Kyra." She giggles. "But aren't you supposed to be in there?"
"Nah. I'm off for the rest of the day. Oh, and you are?"
"Brian," he says, studying Derek and never breaking eye contact with the other.
"Ah. Pleased to meet you," Derek shakes hands with Brian, and the dark-haired guy notices that the other's hand is smooth and the fingernails were claw-like.
"So...how do you do it?" says Kyra.
"Do what?" asks Derek hesitatingly breaking eye contact.
"You know! The 'Eyes of Terror," she says in a mock spooky voice and wiggles her fingers.
"Oh that. Well it's uh...all just magi-er...special effects," he says smiling. She gazes at him, absorbing every word.
"So uh... where do ya' live?"
"Eh, here with the carnival. Wherever it goes."
"Ah, well, Salem here-"
"Nuh-uh. Nooo..." replies Salem, pushing her little sister towards the group.
"But he's ma' fwiend," intervenes Selena, holding Salem's plush prizes.
"Ugh."
"Can we go now?" Rika pops into the conversation.
"Yup. And Derek's going with us."
"Who?"
"Him," says the little girl at their feet.
"Whatever," Salem gives up. "We're gonna' go broke by the end of the month if we keep this up, Kyra," she says, directing it towards her.
'Hmmm... This monetary thing does not bode well. Perhaps I shall increase the currency they possess, lest we 'go broke', thinks Brian. 'But first, I must know who this new human is...'
*The moogle shuffles and says, "Nighty night, kupo!"*
After Derek had consulted with his superiors and quit the job saying, "Eh. They didn't pay enough and I was planning to do so ever since my first paycheck," the group rode off back home. Proper introductions and tours of the house were performed on Derek's behalf. Soon the heaviness of the night made them bone-weary, yet Brian did not sleep. He had claimed the couch and had noticed that Derek occupied the kitchen table.
And neither slept...
*The imp goes over and pokes the moogle's pom-pom and the moogles says,"Day 4, kupo. Don't touch the pom-pom kupo!"*
"So, do you believe in demons?" asks Brian warily, trying not to give away that he himself was a demon.
"Actually, yeah, I do," replies Derek over a mug of coffee.
The two were sitting together at the kitchen table while the girls were busy; Selena playing a video game and the others gone out to get food, leaving them in charge of the little one.
"Listen," says Brian leaning closer, "Who are you really? What do you want here?"
"I only need a home. I want to know the same of you also. You don't look much of the groupie type. Tell ya' what. How about I let you in on a little secret," he leans back on the chair, "and you tell me what you're here for."
"'Kay."
"But if it leaks out, I'm afraid that your life won't be pleasant...or I could just kill you." Derek frowns because he doesn't get the response he was opting for.
"Sounds fair. Deal."
"Well, fact is... I'm a demon."
"Really now," Brian says smirking, finding it wasn't quite hard to believe. "So, do you by any chance serve those by the name of Azmodan or Belial perhaps?"
Derek's eyes widen in recognition. "What?!" he whispers now, as if afraid someone might hear.
"Ah hah! Who are you?"
The blond-haired boy sighs. "If you must know, I am Diablo, Lord of Terror and I serve no such paltry, betraying fools ever to be called warlords. Yet you would not understand."
"Actually, I believe I would," relief welled up in him.
"Wha-B-Baal?"
Brian nods, glad to have found someone with whom he could associate. Now, he wouldn't have to face this new and strange world alone...and one more brother meant the closer their purpose was going to be fulfilled. This new world and their's would be reconquered. The demon recalled a saying from Kyra's memory.
'What a small world after all...'
*The moogle has a mallet but the imp insists on poking him. The moogle shouts, "Later, kupo. Don't make me hurt you kupo!"*
It was remarkable to Salem how quickly the guys had changed over a short period of time. At first, she had noticed some distant hostility between the two, but now it seemed as though they had known each other for more than a thousand years. They even claimed that they were brothers, though they looked nothing alike, but that could be explained.
She smiles as she carries in a bag full of edibles and groceries, followed by Rika and Kyra doing the same. Selena runs up and greets them while the guys sit on the couch, staring intently at the TV. Kyra goes into the kitchen while Salem and Rika place their bags on the dining table. Suddenly, Kyra shrieks in the kitchen.
The two females rush into the kitchen while Selena stares in the direction of the sound and the guys lift their heads to peek into the kitchen.
"What is it?!" Rika and Salem shout.
"Lookie at da' cute squirrels!!!"
They look but what they see doesn't exactly fit the universal description of a 'squirrel'. The things that crawled before them had two bulbous, pupiless orbs for eyes and totally black bodies crafted in the forms of snakes, lizards, bats, birds, or fish that hovered in the air; some creatures possessed tiny, bat-like wings. They slithered and writhed and crawled, all glaring up at Kyra.
"Wow. There's quite a lot of you little guys. Hmm, you must have a secret squirrel organization!"
"Erm...What are they?" says a confused Salem.
"I already told you, they're squirrels!" Kyra shouts.
"Your brain must be loose or somethin'," Rika rolls her eyes. "It feels as thought they were made of-"
"Squirrel guts!"
"No...Pure evil..."
"That's odd. But why are they in my house?" says Salem. The other two sit in thoughtful silence.
Then, Kyra runs to pick one up and the creature's body dissipates into a black smog, reforming a few seconds later.
"Whoa. Hey, well aren't you a mean lil' squirrel." She tries again but only the cold sensation lingers in her arms as she passes through it. Giving up, she puts a cup of cashews on the ground for the 'squirrels' and starts unpacking the groceries.
"Well, they look like imps to me..." says Rika.
*The moogle dances around the flattened imp, saying, "Off to church kupo!"
"Oh, I want to be an Oscar Meyer-zzzzzzt-Eh, what's up doc?-zzzzzzt-New Kia-zzzzzt-my bologna has a first name-."
'Erg. Nothin' to watch on TV," thinks Brian, clicking through the channels by secretly useing his power, since the remote control was being elusive today.
"Hey! I know that song!" says Kyra leaning over the back of the couch. "Oh my poultry had a first name, it's B-I-N-K-Y-D-O-O-D-L-E-H-E-A-D! My poultry has a second name, it's-"
"Whoa! Stop!" shouts Rika, brushing her golden, shower-damp hair. "Don't change the channel!"
Brian severs the wave of power he had been using to change the channels.
"Experience the power of the worship of the New Times," shouts the advertisement, "right in your hometown! Several preacher services a day will be held right in this town throughout the week. Our newest priest will be giving the sermons-"
"Who's that guy?" asks Rika, staring at the TV's screen, which now switches to a shot of the man that Brian had identified as Mephisto, who's growing popularity had gotten him much success in his opposing religious views.
"You don't know who that is?" Kyra says, astounded. "That's that new preacher dude Melvin. *(Sorry, couldn't think of any other names that start with M...)* He's been all over the news stations for a whole week now! I think he's been makin' quite a reputation for his speeches, even if he is trying to convert people. I don't think it'll work though."
"That's interesting..."says Rika, as if she were talking to herself. "I got an idea. Why don't we go see what this preaching thing is all about."
"Cool."
"What's all the hubbub, bub?" says the cute voice of Selena, rubbing her eyes and yawning, having just gotten up from a small nap.
"Hey, uh. Is anyone here happen to be an international criminal or somethin', cause uh... our interest grew in the bank since last I checked," says Salem who had entered through the front door, eyes widened. She describes the recent change in their money situation and everyone sits in silence, both astonished and confused...well, the humans anyway.
"The interest rates at that bank were good, but I didn't think they were THAT good," deducts Rika. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Can we go to this sermon thing tomorrow? They're holding it right here in our hometown."
"Sure...though I've never really held you as the religious type."
"Hey! How come you didn't oppose HER when we decided to go somewhere!" yells Kyra. The two began squabbling while Rika stared at the TV.
'Great! Now's my chance to contact the last of my brothers,' thinks Brian. 'But is it just me or is Rika's temperature rising?'
Okay, that's a wrap for my newest chappy! Don't forget to say which character you like the best! Me and my friends are still bettin' on it! I choose....my character, Salem!