Hey, so this is Illusion chapter 3. So, five months without an update...yay! So, work was hectic and pretty problematic especially with everything going on in the world. But i'm on vacation, in which i'll be able to write more and get a lot more done. But anyways, thank you all for the support, hope you all had a Merry Christmas for those that celebrate it and a Happy New Year! Also, NK2 will be coming very soon, that and a lot more stories from a very very vast amount of stories and in many different genres. For those that are new to my stories, you all probably have no clue what i'm talking about. But basically I have quite a few stories planned, and if you're interested in knowing the order for the stories just PM me. But anyways, lets get back to the story!

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3:39am

On the private jet, Deshaun was on his laptop looking up more of the information Maria gave him, so far there wasn't much that would connect to everything going on. He then looked up some of the info referring to the being that's after Maria. He then searches for some results, after a bit noticed a link and looks into it. He then sees numerous articles on The whore of Babylon, he then starts reading some of the articles and with what he reads starts to come together. He then hears Maria whimpering a bit in her bed, he then gets off the laptop and sits next to Maria and lightly shakes her.

Deshaun-''Maria, what's wrong?'' He asks her, he notices her mouth whispering something and her right hand moving oddly. He then gets a pen and paper, places the pen in her right hand and puts the paper on the table. She then starts writing something, after a few minutes, Maria then wakes up a bit slowly.

Maria-''D-Deshaun...'' She said mumbling a bit, he then helps her sit up.

Deshaun-''Hey, you alright, i heard you crying a bit. What did you dream about?'' He asked.

Maria-''...i saw her again...''

Maria was in a dark void, she saw someone crying from a distance. She got closer and saw it was the red goat, she then backs away but sees that she looked different...her skin was a bit lighter red. She then breaths in a bit and walks closer, when she did, she sees writing in front of the red goat in blood. The red goat then turns around looking at her.

''Maria, what's wrong?''

Maria-''That's when I woke up, i guess my mind and body wrote what she wrote.'' She said, she picks up the paper and they read it.

...

''Let not the mighty man boast of his might...but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and Knows Me...''

...

Deshaun-''I'll look it up and see if I can find anything, we should be landing in a couple more hours. Also Maria, I've been looking up the things you told me, i think the red goat that's after you is called The whore of Babylon, does that name remind you of anything?'' He asks her, she thinks about it but shakes her head. ''Okay, you said she was crying, what do you think she was crying about?'' He asks.

Maria-''I'm not sure, maybe it was a trick to get to me.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Okay, i'll keep looking up some info.'' He said, Maria then gets something to drink and gets a water. She then looks over at Deshaun, and looks a bit sad. She then drinks some and walks over to him, she gets a chair and sits next to him and helps get through the articles. He finds the quote and sees that it's from the Bible, he then looks into it and sees a list of the seven deadly sins. They look through the list and see all seven sins, afterwards they look up a bit more about each one. ''Did the red goat, ever mention anything involving the Bible or anything involving God or Jesus?'' He asks, but she shakes her head.

Maria-''Say Deshaun, instead of calling her red goat all the time, let's just call her Babylon.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Yeah, that does sounds a lot better. So, back home, what do you like to do for fun?'' He asks.

Maria-''I use to play soccer when I was teen, but I almost grew out of it. I guess things just got more busy for me as I grew up, that and there wasn't much reason for it. But a few others and myself kept playing it, even learning different moves and tricks.'' She said smiling a bit.

Deshaun-''Cool, though how did Soccer exist back then for you? If Jesus and Judas was there at that time.

Maria-''Its been around for awhile, i guess where in my world its existed for a lot longer than here. How long has soccer existed here?'' She asked.

Deshaun-''In England in 1863, though there's info about how this started at a Chinese military in the 2nd and 3rd centuries and it was called Tsu' Chu. Guess we have time for a little history lesson, but anyways did you play against others?'' He asks.

Maria-''Yeah, though most kids didn't want me on their team, since Jesus was my friend and that I was a little girl. But some wanted to give me a chance so I got to play with some of the kids, so I just kept practicing every night and watching others play and I got better. After some time, they were begging me to be on their teams. Though after some time, a lot of kids grew up and didn't care for it anymore. But sometimes, i just play with some of teens that still played it. Some adults said it was a waste of time and energy, but we didn't listen to them and just kept playing. As of now, i haven't played it much, but sometimes when I had time and didn't want to forget.'' She said, she then laughed a little.

Deshaun-''What?'' He asks.

Maria-''It's nothing, just something funny I remembered about Judas.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Come on, you can tell me.'' He said.

Maria-''(Sigh), Fine, Judas saw me playing one day with some of the teens, he wanted to impress me and tried and he always fell on his ass every time.'' She said laughing a bit. ''I'm sorry, i don't mean to laugh like it was funny. He just kept missing so much it was kinda sad honestly, so while he was having a bit of a temper tantrum, the other kids wanted him to leave, but I asked if we all could go easy on him and help since he's never played before and give him a chance. We agreed and he still kept falling, but he started to get the hang of it. Though he still felt a bit embarrassed and left, but one day in school he thanked me for letting him play the game with us. He was on my team and we were so far ahead, we were going to win regardless.'' She said. ''Have you ever played a sport?'' She asked.

Deshaun-''I played little league Baseball, but only for four years. It was alright, made quite a few friends, though we kinda lost touch after a couple years.'' He said. ''I remember one time, when I hit my first homerun and won the championship for my team, i was pretty happy. But, it wasn't what I was into. I wanted to become a superhero considering my abilities, my parents always told me that one day I would be. Just one day, until then I couldn't let anyone know about my powers. Since watching a lot of superhero cartoons, i didn't quite get it then till now. So instead, i became cop, to be able to help people legally and do the best I could for my hometown. I know i'm getting pretty sidelined from talking about sports, just thought i'd mention it since I've never told anyone about my abilities.'' He said.

Maria-''Its alright Deshaun, actually, where are your parents?'' She asked.

Deshaun-''They're back in Illinois, enjoying retirement, not having to worry about the mortgage, and worrying about me.'' He said.

Maria-''That's because they love you, your their son after all.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Yeah.'' He said, he then closes his laptop. ''Okay, so when we get settled at the hotel, we'll check all the churches to figure out what Babylon's trying to do. I'm gonna get some sleep, how about you?'' He asked her.

Maria-''I'll be okay, you should get some sleep. Also, what is this called?'' She asked looking at the laptop.

Deshaun-''It's called a laptop, its smaller portable computer. Alright, if anything happens just wake me okay?'' He asked, she then nods and looks out the window looking at the clouds and the stars. She then looks at Deshaun's laptop and opens it, she sees that he's been looking up Babylon and her. She then looks back at Deshaun and back at his laptop, she then looks at some of the articles and starts reading them.

Bethlehem, Palestine

February 24th, 2020

11:54am

It was a cloudy day, a lot of people were out in the streets selling numerous things from jewelry, fruits, vegetables and street foods. Deshaun and Maria were in a taxi cab, for they were close to a nearby hotel. Maria looks out the window, noticing all the new things and how different her home is in this world. The cab stops and they both get out, Deshaun pays and they both get their bags and enter the hotel. After a few minutes, they get to their room and put everything up. He then shows her a picture of the Church he got from the front desk.

Deshaun-''We'll try The Church of Saint Catherine since it's the closest one to us. We'll get something to eat on the way.'' He was saying, but noticed Maria looking out the window on the patio. He then walks over to her. ''Maria?'' He asked, she looks back at him.

Maria-''Sorry, okay, when are we leaving?'' She asked.

Deshaun-''In a couple minutes, you okay?'' He asked.

Maria-''Yes, i'm alright, i looked up myself on your laptop. There was, a lot about me, but it was a human and she seemed similar to me. I'm sorry for not asking you first, i just got really curious, i wanted to find out more about myself and what Babylon wanted from me. That, and I also looked up Babylon and found a lot about her too.'' She said.

Deshaun-''It's alright Maria, besides, you're more likely to understand these things better than me. But yeah, next time just ask okay?'' He asked.

Maria-''I will, thanks.'' She said, she then puts on some new clothes. She's now wearing a pink bra, non-sleeve grey shirt, blue jeans and a pair of sunglasses.

Deshaun-''So what did you find out about yourself and Babylon?'' He asked.

Maria-''Some sites said that I was the first to witness Jesus's crucifixion, burial and resurrection. A western Christian church said that I was a sinner but that isn't true, I was a faithful follower to Jesus, and that my last name came from a place called Magdala. There's more, but with Babylon, she's apparently brutal, and wants to rule over the earth and wants nothing but the destruction of Gods people and followers. She's callous, self-indulgent, arrogant and that there was a Babylonian Empire that were defeated by the Persians lead by Cyrus the Great. There was also mention of a beast she rode, it said that a women sitting on a scarlet beast full of blasphemous names and it had seven heads and ten horns. That and in the article it mentioned Rome as the new Babylon, maybe that's another location we need to go to.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Maybe you being one of Jesus's most faithful followers, maybe there's something from you she wants. The thing is, we need to know why she wants you to come here, by theory Rome, and any other locations.'' He said. ''Did you find anything else?'' He asked.

Maria-''Yes, but some of the things I read didn't seem to be connected to this or give any clue to any of this.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Okay, we'll look up some more things later.'' He said, he then checks his gun, gets some extra magazines and they leave. An hour later, they walk through a food market shop that was supposedly close to the church. ''Um, okay we should be close by, do you see it anywhere?'' He asked her, she looks around but doesn't see it.

Maria-''No, i'll ask someone.'' She said, she then tries to asks some people, but they just ignore her just paying attention to themselves. Some nearly yelling at her, but with Deshaun near they didn't for their own sake. After searching for awhile, Maria still doesn't give up and sees a sales person. Deshaun sees this and walks with her. ''Marahabal, hill tarf kim nahin baidoun an kennisa al-qudaisa caterine?'' She asked but in Arabic which surprises Deshaun.

Salesperson-''Neame, anha majarred badaa mbane al-shammal minn hanna.'' She said smiling while pointing them in the direction they needed to go.

Maria-''Thank yo- ah!'' She said holding her head, as she did she started to get hot, Deshaun quickly walks over to her to help her stand.

Deshaun-''Maria, wha- ah shit!'' He said, as he tried to help her stand his left hand got a bit burnt. Maria then started to see flashes of when she was taken, she then fell to the ground and some people noticed and walk over to them.

Some Guy-''Hill he bakhire, maza hadth?'' He asked. Deshaun wasn't sure what to do, he couldn't touch her. He then saw some blankets and got some. The owner didn't notice and Deshaun tries to wrap her with the cloth, he notices that she's starting to get warmer. He tries to get help, but people kept ignoring him as he asked for help. He then tries to carry her again, but it hurt him a lot, then a couple people came over and helped him.

Deshaun-''Thank you.'' He said to them.

Helpful stranger-''La meshkala taal mai!'' He said, they then went into a building with a couch and laid her down for it was a family owned business. As they did, the red goat was watching and spawned a black snake as it wraps around her left arm and hugs her, she rubs it's spine and it enjoys it. She looks concerned for it, but it nods and points to Deshaun and Maria. She then nods and kisses it and it slithers off her arm and into the ground, she then walks away and looks back as she then walks into a shadow and disappears.

Deshaun-''Okay, does anyone speak English in here?'' He asks him, but they didn't seem to understand. He then gets out his phone and uses a Translation app, he then types in what he's trying to say and shows the man.

Helpful stranger-''Hasna, souzheb labahath an shakhs ma ouadou lelemsade! Aydal asmi franklin.'' He said, he then quickly left to find someone who spoke English. As he did, Maria started to breath a bit heavily. Deshaun then noticed his phone starting to malfunction as phone lines and power went out. He then felt an earthquake as did the others in the building. Then a dragon came from the ground and roared loudly erupting the windows and glass close by, it was about 30 feet tall, had black scales with some green scales mixed in, one horn and yellow eyes. It then started to head towards the building Deshaun and Maria were in. People were running scared as the dragon kept destroying buildings, Deshaun then got his gun out and started to shoot at the dragon in the head as it injured it but not by much. The dragon then looks angry at him and charges at him, he then runs away from the civilians as it then breaths fire. He sees some people in front of him and hears the fire, he then holds one of his hands up and creates a crystalized grey and black shield that covers him and the civilians. He then uses his left hand to create a long thick crystal like grey and black whip/tentacle and hits the dragon as it cuts through its flesh and hurts it. It roars in pain and swipes at him but he rolls away in time, the civilians then getaway as the dragon then swipes it tail through a building. Police show up and shoot at it, for it hurts the dragon but it breaths fire burning the cars killing some cops and some people. Deshaun then shoots at it again to bring attention away from the civilians, he then runs through an alley jumping over debris and dodging debris falling from the buildings, he manages to get out and continues to shoot at the dragon. The dragon then breaths fire again to lure him out, but misses. Deshaun sees people still running and the dragon getting closer, Deshaun then creates a whip and attaches it to a street pole as the dragon then trips and falls crushing some cars and bikes. In the shop, Maria is still unconscious, but sees something for she see the dragon and an image of a lion. She then sees two figures hugging, when she did she wakes up. She sits up and gets up from the couch, she then sees the dragon as its tail is about to hit the building, she gets grabbed by Franklin who saves her.

Franklin-''RUN! RUN!'' He says and helps her up, they then run out the back but Maria sees Deshaun fighting the dragon. Franklin then gets in his car, but sees Maria and drives towards him. ''ADHAL! ADHAL!'' He yells, she looks back at him and Deshaun, she then runs towards Deshaun. Franklin then helps people get to safety. Maria then helps people too, and sees some people buried under rubble. She then helps them, as she does others see this and help people too. As they did this, she sees the dragon and notices that its started to slowly turn to dust and she sees what they need to do. Deshaun then sees Maria and others helping people, he then runs over and helps her.

Deshaun-''Maria! Are y-'' He says but she stops him.

Maria-''I know how to stop it! Help civilians get to safety, it'll stop it!'' She said, the dragon then sees them both and growls. Maria then continues to help people along with others, and Deshaun then uses his whips to strike it as the dragon starts to get weak and falls to the ground dead. The red goat watches this, and as she does she tears up a bit. She then wipes her tears away and notices her nose was bleeding, she then started to feel weak in her legs. She stood up and looks at Maria and Deshaun. She then walks back into the shadows disappearing.

Deshaun-''(Breaths in and out), you okay?'' He asks, as he did she nods. When she did, some people came out of hiding and saw the dragon dead, some poked at it for some reason but it was dead. It then completely turned into dust and crystals, but something came out of it. Maria looks at the corpse and sees the heart. She then walks towards it and picks it up, for it was still beating. An X then appears on it, as it did more police came and they both left blending in with the crowds of people. An hour later, they get back to the hotel and they both sit on one of the beds still in shock. The heart was still beating but it was on a table covered up with a towel. ''How did you know how to stop it?'' He asks.

Maria-''...i...i saw it, while I was lifting the rubble off those people, i saw it getting weaker. Then, when others helped me, it got even weaker.'' She said. ''Deshaun, what happened to me?'' She asked him.

Deshaun-''When the sales woman told us where to go, you were thanking her and then it looked like your head was hurting and you went unconscious. I tried to pick you up, but you were burning hot. I then took some cloth and tried to wrap it around you and it helped, then when I asked for help no one did until this family came and help me get you on the couch. Then, i asked this guy using a translator app on my phone to find help who spoke English. He did, but then the attack happened. What exactly happened to you while you weren't feeling well?'' He asked.

Maria-''I don't know, everything just went dark. I felt cold, and weak, then I felt warm and I just got warmer and warmer. Then I saw some images, and then I woke up.'' She said, she then gets up and looks outside to see the destruction caused by the dragon. Roads going towards the area were closed off, reporters were everywhere trying to get close. ''That thing, it killed so many people.'' She said tearing up a bit, but she notices that all the people are now looking at her. She then backs away a bit and turns around to see the red goat again sitting on the bed Deshaun was sitting on. Maria then looks at the heart and back at the red goat. ''why...w-what did they do to you?'' She asked angry at her, the red goat then got a knife and went towards the heart. She then removes the towel and stabs it, blood then leaks out and onto the floor. It then spells something out and Maria reads it. ''Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'' She said, Maria then looks up to see the red goat clean the knife and puts it back in the kitchen. ''Why did you have that thing attack those people?!'' She yelled at her, the red goat just kept walking towards the shadows. ''Babylon!'' She yelled, the red goat then stops and looks back at her a bit surprised. ''So that's your name, huh?'' She asked, but she didn't respond. ''Why are you doing this, Deshaun has done nothing to you, those people have done nothing to you, so why attack them?'' She asks, but the red goat then walks towards a shadow and disappears. Maria then looks at the floor to see the quote still there, she then starts to feel light headed and falls to the ground. She then blinks and is now in bed underneath a blanket, she then sits up and sees the heart still beating but Deshaun wasn't around. ''Deshaun?'' She called him out, but nothing. She then turns on the lamp and sees a note from Deshaun, she picks it up and reads it.

...

Hey Maria,

I went out to get us some food, I left at 7:00pm and should be back at 8:30pm US time. If i'm not back by 9:00pm without calling the room, then I need you to use the phone in the side bag and call the number I left under my laptop and say my first name. Then leave the room and head towards the location the person on the phone gives you. If i do come back, then just keep this note just incase anything happens to me...

Ford

...

She then gets up from the bed and walks over to the laptop, she then lifts it up and sees a phone number on it. She then puts it down and opens it to see that it's 7:39pm, she then closes the laptop and looks at the heart for it was still beating. She remembered what the red goat showed her in her dream, so she got up, went to the kitchen and got a knife. She then walks over to the heart and is about to stab it, but stops. She didn't know what would happen if she stabbed it, for all she knew it could bring the dragon back or worse. She then puts the knife back in the kitchen, lays on the bed and thinks about what happened today. Why did it happen, what was the red goat trying to do, what even is her plan. This was all she could think about, and the fact that these visions are starting to mix too well with reality. She then looks over at the laptop again, gets up and opens it. She ignores the beating heart and starts looking up more info on herself and Babylon, but as she did she noticed news articles about the attack in Bethlehem, Palestine. An article confirmed 7 deaths, both from the ones found in the attack area, and those that died getting to the hospital and some people that were already at the hospital. Maria then wipes some tears away and closes the articles, she then saw an article for Jesus and considered looking through it. But decided not too since it most likely wouldn't help in this situation, she then heard someone knock on the door.

''Maria''

She then got up and unlocked the door to see Deshaun with two bags with food.

Maria-''Hey Deshaun, let me get this one.'' She said as she got one of the bags.

Deshaun-''Thanks, i got us some baked potatoes. So did anything happen while I was gone?'' He asked.

Maria-''Babylon came back. She showed me that we need to stab the heart, it'll give us a quote which should lead us to the next heart or to whatever we're supposed to do next. It might be a trap by her, but it's all we have that may lead us to her.'' She said, Deshaun then looked at the heart and got a knife.

Deshaun-''First, we need to try and figure out what that dragon was, if Babylon has more of them then we need to see if there's anything.'' He said.

Maria-''The beast, one of the articles I read talked about Babylon riding a beast with seven heads, ten horns and had blasphemous names. The dragon you fought was the first beast, when people were ignoring us they were just focused on themselves. Then when that family helped when I went unconscious, it came. Maybe it was pride, its one of the seven deadly sins.'' She said.

Deshaun-''Then that means there will be other dragons, but who knows where they'll be.'' He said, but they both then look at the heart. ''Before we stab it, we should eat first, in case something happens where we won't be able to.'' He said, Maria then nods and sits down at the table and eat. However, Maria doesn't really eat the potato like Deshaun for she's taking her time a little. After a few minutes, Deshaun finishes while Maria is almost done too. After a few minutes, she gets done and puts her plate away in the dishwasher. Maria then gets a knife and they both walk towards the heart, she then removes the towel and stabs it. Blood then starts to poor on the floor and the same quote as she saw before was on the floor, as this happened more blood came out of the heart but instead started to float in the air and form a circle. It then set on fire and was then a portal with a somewhat blinding light inside, they both were shocked to see this. However, the knife then fell out of the heart and the portal closed. They both then pack everything and get ready to leave, a couple minutes later they finish packing. Deshaun then gets a knife and stabs the heart again and the portal reopens, they then go inside of it as it closes behind them. Back in the hotel room, the red goat appears from the shadows and takes the heart. She then has it turn to dust and has two more snakes appear in front of her, she then opens the portal again and sends them both in. She then walks into the portal herself and closes it behind her.

...

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So this has been chapter 3, so again i'm really sorry for the late updates, i honestly really miss writing and I just never had time or energy to do it. Now that I do, i'll be back with updates and new stories coming out next year. No not next year in an unknown amount of time, but you'll see new things coming soon. But yeah, thank you for reading, if you have any questions for me, just PM me or leave them in your reviews and i'll see you in chapter 4.