Episode 20 – The God's Hand, Part 1
"I swear we've checked this area before."
"With your sense of direction, we've probably been here three times already," Tanya replied shortly, leaning against one side of the building they had stopped beside.
Kyle exhaled loudly, bringing his hands up to rub his face as he paced back and forth. His fingers traced the bags forming under his eyes, reminding him of the last time he had actually slept. He continued upward, running his fingers through his hair, and allowed his hood to momentarily fall back down. "Can you honestly blame me?"
"Yeah, I can find a way," Tanya replied, giving a small smirk.
"We're trying to search an entire country! It's been four days straight," Kyle exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down. "I'd like to see you guys try and search the whole of Japan for this Demon thing Savage claims is here!"
"Keep your voice down will you?"
Tanya and Kyle both turned to the third member of their little group. Truth be told, Kyle may or may not have forgotten that Isaac had been accompanying them on their little adventure. He'd been so quiet throughout the four days; dark bags had formed under his eyes, much like Kyle, and his hair looked as though he had just rose from bed, ironically.
"Kyle's taken us here about three or four times, yeah?" Isaac questioned, hand coming from his pocket to gesture between the two. Getting a slow nod in response, Isaac rolled his sleeve up and tapped one of his Howler's buttons. The red gem that made up the eye flashed briefly, before it began pulsing a slow, rhythmic pattern. "Whether it's what Savage sent us here to find or not, he'll have us gutted if we don't look into it," his eyes rose from the Howler, over the horizon.
Tanya and Kyle followed his gaze, taking a moment to look at the sight before them; a great sprawling city, teeming with life. The first signs of the neon lights started to activate on the smaller buildings, nestled among the skyscrapers. The distant sound of multiple horns blasted out, yet to the three teens, they sounded as though they were right next to them. A very sharp contrast to the silent streets of Pax Valley the teens had grown accustomed to.
"Shinjuku. That's what you said, right? Shinjuku, Tokyo?" Tanya questioned.
"Yeah…Busiest railway station in the world. Has to stand for something," Kyle reasoned, giving a slight nod. "And apparently the nosiest…God, really gets your ears ringing…" he rubbed his temples, his face screwing up in mild discomfort.
"Might be due to the fact we haven't really slept in, what, three, four days?" Tanya replied, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Look, I don't care what Savage will say, we go on like this, and we'll end up killing ourselves. We've gotta crash somewhere."
"Yeah, that'll be easy. Thank God we're in a naturally English speaking country and are loaded with cash," Isaac commented, tone sounding drier than the desert.
"With that tone of yours, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or if you're just being a dick," Kyle replied, actually turning his body around in Isaac's direction.
"I'm British; means I can be both simultaneously. Call it a gift," Isaac replied blandly, still watching the skyline.
"I call it being a dick."
"Look, we can discuss this later," Tanya interjected, looking between the males. "Yes, we've got no money, and I'm pretty sure none of us is even remotely fluent in Japanese, but c'mon. I think we can manage something like this."
"Let's just go," Isaac grunted, stepping around the pair and headed towards the city; no small feat, considering the vast distance between their current point and the closest point of the city. Kyle assumed that it had to be something close to a couple of miles or something.
Tanya walked after Isaac, pausing momentarily beside Kyle. "Is he still bummed over…you know?" he asked lowly. He got a look for his question; well, more of a glare than a look. Enough for him to answer himself. "Right…don't need to ask that." That seemed to be the kick in the ass that got him moving, quickly following after the already distancing Isaac.
The sole female of the trio shook her head slightly with a soft sigh, bringing her hands up and drawing the hood of her jacket back over her head. Tucking a few loose strands of hair out of sight, she jogged after the guys, closing the gaps rather quickly.
They entered the city soon after, and after mere minutes, Tanya already had a sense of dread starting to build up in the depths of her stomach. The constant noise surrounding the three, the very present feeling of a thousand different people around them, none the wiser to who was walking among them. Even with her face covered with a white surgical mask, Tanya could've sworn that several people looked at her a little too long for it to be a mere glance.
God, she hated this.
The three kept together as best they could, working their way through the swarming crowds of businessmen; had it not been for the surgical masks they, along with many others around them, wore, the three Caucasian teens probably would've drawn more attention. Even this late at night, they all felt themselves looking over their shoulders constantly.
Finally, Kyle pointed out somewhere for them; a hotel entrance, with what looked like a decorative water fountain built into the main doors. They entered through the glass doors, finding the lobby empty, save for the lone staff member working behind the register. Isaac went to move towards the register, but Kyle placed a hand across his chest. "I've got this; you get a little…" he chose his next few words carefully. "A little…agitated, if things go shit-shaped." Giving his chest a few taps, Kyle stepped forward, bringing his own hood down, keeping the surgical mask over his mouth and nose.
"Kon'nichiwa," the staff member behind the check in desk greeted, a Asian man of average height, dressed in casual formal wear. "Dōsureba tasukete kureru no?"
Behind the cover of the opposite side of the desk, Kyle rolled his sleeve up, partially exposing his Howler. His finger hovered over one of the buttons, triggering a short flash from the Howler's eye. Rolling his sleeve back down, and crossed his arms on the edge of the counter. "Uh, yeah. I'd like to get three beds for the night. That possible?"
Behind him, Isaac face-palmed, dragging the hand down as he asked, "Did he just ask the guy in English?"
"…Something like that," Tanya replied lowly, her own hand up pinching the bridge of her nose.
There was silence for a few sections between Kyle and the man, before the latter finally spoke again. Much to the others' surprise, he said, "Of course, we have three available now. And by the looks of you, you and your friends need it." He finished off with a smile, as Kyle blinked slowly, visibly stunned.
A similar look, though much more severe, was visibly painted across Isaac and Tanya's faces. The two shared a look, as Kyle quickly recovered and straightened up. "Uh…yeah, yeah. Thanks."
The man at the register did that same smile as before, before reaching beneath the desk and produced three wrist bands. "You and your male friend will be on the sixth floor; your female friend has to be placed on the eighth floor."
"Uh, yeah, yeah that's fine," Kyle nodded, quickly grabbing the wrist bands and headed back to the other, still stunned, companions.
"How the hell did you do that?" Isaac whispered as he was handed the orange band wrist band, and Tanya received a faded green one.
Tightening his own orange band around his wrist, Kyle replied, "I'll tell you when we actually get to our rooms."
The three approached the desk again, all giving slight nods to the man. They continued onwards, about to step out of the lobby and through the corridors, but found themselves coming to a sudden stop when a cough echoed out. Isaac glanced back, seeing the same man behind the register staring right back at them; still wearing that same smile on his features.
He reached behind him, tapping a knuckle against one of the signs behind him; a picture of shoes, beneath a massive red crossed circle. "Shoes must be left in the lobby," the man informed.
Isaac glared at the man for a brief second, before finally giving in and headed back when Kyle broke off first. "Sooner we get out of this Oriental Search, the better."
The night drew in rapidly, prompting many all-night businesses to put on their remaining lights and illuminated signs. Even with the dimming light, the waking population continued on through most of Tokyo, with car horns blaring in the constant traffic and pedestrians, tourists and natives alike, enjoying what the city had to offer.
While this was the case for most of Tokyo, there were small pockets of businesses that were closing up for the night. Lights were flicked off, doors were locked and any additional security features were put into place. For one such business, the sign, reading 'SAMURAI MUSEUM' in both English and Japanese, one beneath the other, was flicked off.
"Oyasumi," A woman called, slipping her jacket on and pulling it close around her body.
"Oyasumi," The remaining person in the cozy museum called, a man dressed in dark blue trousers, shirt and jacket. A small tag, reading 'SECURITY' labelled across one side of his chest. A thin goatee wrapped around his upper lip, hooking up across his chin. The door closed behind the woman, and the security guard approached from the inside, ensuring the locks were securely in place.
Now alone, the security guard slowly walked back from the door, the faint buzzing of the overhead lights keeping the small building from being cast in total silence. He passed several items and artefacts, each of which easily took the interest of several hundred tourists a week. Ōdachi and Uchigatana hung in glass display cases, a number of them sheathed with one or two in full display, the blade catching the dim lights of the building near-flawlessly.
He rounded one corner, entering a different room, each corner was fitted with a full set of samurai armour, from various time periods. He just passed a set of Ō-yoroi armour when something caught his attention. The sound of glass tapping, like someone was knocking on one of the nearby windows.
The man paused briefly, glancing over his shoulder briefly, it sounded as though the tapping was coming from one of the windows he just passed... His shoes squealed against the floor as he turned, and slowly approached the window. "Hello?" He questioned, in very heavily-accented English. "We are closed. You will have to come back tomorrow." He continued to draw closer to the window, and the tapping continued, the same sequence, constantly repeating itself.
He had partially drawn his small baton when the tapping stopped all of a sudden, just as he reached the window. Another quick look around made sure that the noise wasn't coming from one of the other windows in the room, before he took the last few steps to peak out of the window. Probably some kids thinking they were being funny or something. But no, a quick look told him it was just a tree branch, loudly tapping against window.
The guard scoffed, rolling his eyes as he turned back to walk away. 'Those trees need to be moved,' He thought sourly, giving a shake of his head as he turned the corner.
He didn't even see a reflected caught by the blade. The slice across the throat was the first, and last, sign of its presence. The shock initially kept him silence, too stunned to make a sound as blood flowed freely from the thin slice. As his hands found themselves trying to grab the blood-soaked throat, the first gargled attempt of speaking forced its way out, as he staggered forward a few steps. Blood flowed down his fingers, dripping onto the floor as he walked, some smearing the bottom of his boot, others remaining as splats on the wood.
As he collapsed to his knees, still attempting to stop the blood flow, a shadowy figure came forward; as if physically tearing itself from the wall. Sickly pale skin soon came into focus, with toxic-green tipped locks of hair flowed down her head. A wicked smirk seemed to match that eerie glint in her eye.
"Human curiosity will be their downfall…" Batibat commented aloud, carefully twirling a thin dagger around her fingers, the edge of which was lined with a thin layer of blood. As more and more blood poured from the guard's throat and onto the floor, the she-Demon was able to maneuverer in front of the gagging human, and crouched down just beyond his blood pool. One of her fingers found his chin, and forced him to raise his head, opening his wound further, allowing even more blood to cascade onto the floor.
"Perhaps one day your kind will.. evolve beyond impulses," Batibat commented, her smirk twitching a bit more as the life started to visibly fade from his eyes. Almost mockingly, she blew a kiss as the final signs of life ebbed from his eyes, and his body fell limp, falling free of Batibat's finger hold, lying in his own pool of blood. She gave a faint eye roll, and rose, smoothing out the robes around her slender legs. Her acid-green eyes drifted around the room she found herself in, and it wasn't long before a scoff escaped her.
"These Humans.. they hoard these artifacts of their petty squabbles. These are no signs of victory.. they're signs of failures," Batibat said to herself, walking along one of the corridors, pausing briefly at a rack of strangely curved swords. She reached forward, her hand passing flawlessly through the supposedly protective glass, and carefully grabbed one sword handle. The supports holding the blade up gave way with a swift jerk free, and clattered at the bottom, and it wasn't long before the blade itself followed, breaking loose of the handle in Batibat's hand.
"Pathetic.. can't even kill another Human with a weapon of such poor quality," She scoffed, almost insulted as she threw the handle away, letting it join the rest of its weapon. She continued onward, one hand outstretched. "Where is it… Where is the Pillar?"
"Surely it could not be here.. buried beneath a rancid human civilization. Such an insult to the Master," She whispered to herself, her hand moving from side to side constantly, searching. "Something is here though.. something.. drenched in the Masters' power," She said to herself, her tone slightly lower, as she came to a short stop, turning a corner and finding the source pulling that little bit stronger.
"What is here…?" She questioned, stepping past several other artifacts. She only came to a stop when her outstretched hand made contact with something, opening her eyes found herself standing before a steel door, several locks visible and possibly even more hidden on the other side. Her eyes looked upward, finding a red sign overhead.
'警告
立入禁止区域'
'WARNING'
'Restricted Area'
"Well now.. perhaps these humans have something of interest hidden among these worthless trinkets," Batibat whispered, as her hand opened up and pressed against the cold steel. But compared to the ice-cold temperature of Batibat's skin, it felt almost warm to the she-Demon. She 'breathed' out, and fingers clenched tightly, digging into the steel like it were butter. With effortless strength, she pushed against the door, its hinges groaned and warped before giving, pinging off and out of sight. The door fell back, landing on the floor with a heavy 'clunk'.
She stepped through the now-unblocked threshold of the restricted room, and immediately became aware of a low, whining alarm right in her ear. She looked across, and saw a small alarm flashing in the top corner of the room. Batibat swiftly saw the end of the alarm, a dagger embedded into the device, making it spark momentarily before cutting out entirely. That taken care of, she turned her eyes back to the contents of the room, and 'inhaled' deeply. The strength struck her with such force she nearly had to take a step back.
"Oh, this is definitely of great interest now..." She said to herself, one arm raised across, almost defensively so, as she carefully stepped further into the room. The dark essence radiating from the room was of such great strength, she had to investigate further. The closer she got to the source, the stronger the pull felt, like more ropes of darkness wrapped around her arm, drawing it in the right direction. "What artifact of the Master could these vermin possibl-" she cut herself off when she felt something cool and smooth.
Glass.
Her eyes opened once again, and this time, they widened a fraction. But they quickly returned to normal, the usual slit pupils had grown significantly, almost to the point of becoming circular.
"Well now…what are you doing here, Masutā?"
For the most part, the armour that sat behind the glass case looked just as interesting as the rest of the suits that sat in the other room. The layered leather and crude metal plates that made up the main torso armour and 'skirt' of the suit was one of its more stand out features. The metal was dented and the silver chips were taken out of it, it had been through a lot, evidently. The dented and chipped look continued onto the arm armour, old leather straps holding everything together, right down to the armour that covered the back of the hand.
The helmet was perhaps the most interesting piece of the suit, while it had a typical looking helmet and facial armour, both of which were faintly highlighted with red details, the way it was damaged was of most interest. It was if, somehow, someone had struck the wearer from the side, slicing cleanly through the side of the armoured mask, and only came to a stop with a sharp dent on the bridge of the nose. The lower jaw of the mask had also been sliced, though it appeared purposely, with the string looped around to keep the sections together.
Appearance, however, meant little to Batibat, all she saw was the echoes of her Master's essence, stuck to the armour to give the armour its deathly black colour, the strength of the essence was remarkably intact. Her fingers slowly traced up to become level with the sliced mask, as her eyes fell down the length of the armour, right down to the matching leather-y trousers and boots, and came to a stop on the small plaque at the base of the glass case.
'Great mystery shrouds this specific piece, the very shadows cling to it and act as its particular colour. Several reports have been filed with this set of armour, with the majority of people who have encountered it reporting a strange, and unexpected, sensation of dread in the presence of the armour. Reports have also tried to pinpoint the exact age of the armour, but none so far have been able to definitively say the exact time period.'
Batibat rolled her eyes, muttering, "Primitive apes…" as she brought her gaze back to rest on the actual armour once again. She remained silent for a moment, examining the armour with great interest, before something clicked and that wicked smirk crossed her lips once again.
"Perhaps you know where the Pillar is, Masutā.. the Master would've trusted my predecessor with that, most definitely." Her hand clenched into a tight fist, and a quick jab took her right through the glass, shattering it to pieces.
"Ahh! Fuck!"
Tyler landed flat on his back, the force of the impact creating a very faint quake in the ground beneath him. He managed to pull himself into a sitting position, groaning in pain. Though it quickly shifted from pain to one of frustration after giving each of his limbs a quick shake.
Nothing broken. Great.
He slowly rose to his feet again, seeing Savage was already back in a defensive stance, the wolf-man shirtless, wearing only his trousers. His fur hid his body well, making it look as though he wasn't a wall of muscle beneath the thick hid. His trench coat was off to one side, slung in a tree. Natalie not that far behind, deciding she'd take the time to watch.
"Let's try that again," Savage grunted, flicking his blade up from the ground and bringing it to rest on his shoulder. "And this time, remember to block."
"Yeah, yeah," Tyler responded, grinding his teeth together as he gripped both handles of the blue-stained steel, and shifted to the familiar attack stance, briefly wondering if his feet would be able to stand in any difference stance after these sharp sessions. A single droplet of sweat slowly fell down the side of his head, eyes narrowed into a hard glare as he waited for the signal…
Savage brought one foot forward, twisting the paw pads into the dirt as his muscles tensed up. His sharp lupine eyes remained open, burning a glare into anything within sight, including Tyler, staring right back at him. The teen tried to hold the glare with the wolf man, but a gust of wind went directly towards him. He tried to keep them open, but eventually had to close his eyes to stop the irritation. When he opened them again, he found Savage was no longer standing there.
Rather, the wolf was tearing towards him, as an impending streak of black fur.
But Tyler was ready, he made sure his stance was solid, and swiftly brought one end of the blade up further. The two blades chased, a small number of sparks flying from the contact. Tyler pulled back just as Savage did, and brought the lower half up to block one of Savage's low swings. He pushed the wolf man back, taking a few steps back himself and spun the blade around, briefly letting go of the handles and spinning his wrist around to adjust his hold. Now leading with the lower handle, he charged forward, accompanied with a brief shout.
Whether it was from frustration or for intimidation purposes, Savage couldn't tell.
Tyler slashed at Savage, who took steps back with ever swing. The blade cut cleanly through the air, and during one lucky swing, Savage's cheek fur. Savage snarled in irritation, taking a number of steps back and bringing a hand to the fresh cut. He brought it back, rubbing two blood-tipped finger pads together before sparring a look to the teen responsible for the cut, that glare still on his features, fingers flexing around the handles.
"Very well then…" Savage stated, tossing the sword aside. It came to rest at the base of the tree Natalie had sat herself in.
"Oh crap…" Natalie muttered, sitting up properly and pushed off of the branch.
By the time she had landed, Savage had made his move.
Tyler had somewhat expected this, and tried bringing the blade down across the wolf man; only to have the blade jerked from his grip and tossed aside. He looked from the blade to the wolf-man, his expression one of alarm when the first couple of punches came at him. Dodging from side to side, he avoided the first couple of punches, right up until the fourth or fifth punch landed, striking him square in the nose. The force of which sent him flying back, nose bent severely out of shape, and collided with another tree.
As the branches shook and leafs broke loose, Savage quickly advanced on the fallen teen. He was brought to an abrupt stop, when Natalie suddenly dashed between him and Tyler in a blur of white, and shoved open palms against the furry chest. The push sent Savage back a single step before regaining his footing, sending his own glare at the female. He even let a small snarl break through at the interference.
"That's enough," Natalie stated, pointing a finger at Savage to go with her glare.
His chest rising and falling slowly, Savage held Natalie's glare for a moment before his snarl twisted into a short smirk crossed his muzzle. He took a few steps back, the smirk withstanding as he finally turned around and approaching his blade. "More than a lucky strike, drawing blood is definitely a step in the right direction," He commented, picking small specks of dirt from the otherwise flawless steel. "But it seems you will need work on your hand-to-hand combat."
Natalie had retreated and gone to held Tyler to his feet, while he held his heavily bleeding nose and groaned lowly. He tried bringing his hand away, only to quickly bring it back into place when a fountain of blood came rushing out. "That's definitely gonna need fixing," Natalie commented, wincing slightly when she got a good look at how bent out of shape his nose look. "I'm gonna take him to have MUTT look him over."
"Good. That will be training over for the day. You two are free to do as you wish," Savage replied, reaching into the tree and retrieved his trench coat, slipping it on as Natalie brought Tyler fully onto his feet. She pulled his arm across her shoulders, and helped him away. Savage spared one last look over his shoulder, rubbing the back of his hand against the still-bleeding cut.
"God.. that motherfucker can punch," Tyler groaned, carefully feeling around the thick padding plastered across the bridge of his nose. He winced at the waves of irritating pain that rippled from his touch.
Natalie had been watching from the side, and had moved in to have a look as MUTT stepped back to clean his blood-soaked appendages and instruments. She gave a long, low whistle at the sight. "Damn.. but not the worst I've seen, you'll be glad to hear. Still gotta be Isaac and his burns."
Cocking an eyebrow, Tyler shook his head as he slowly brought his body around and brought his feet back onto solid ground. "The Instinct should start to take effect soon, so any lingering pain should be erased within the next few hours," MUTT informed, turning back around and placed the newly-cleaned syringe back with the others, perfectly in line with the others. "Though I highly suggest you two stay close to one another for time being; the concentration required, this relatively early compared to the others, may result in drowsiness, among other symptoms."
"Wow, wow, wow. What do you mean by 'other symptoms'?" Tyler questioned, a brief spell of panic playing across his eyes.
"Nothing deadly, I assure you. This concentrated amount is not enough to be of lethal risk; it will be likely be symptoms such as excessive hunger, possible mental hallucinations. Nothing too serious."
"Yeah.. because that sounds a hell of a lot better than anything I was thinking," Tyler replied, sarcasm heavy in his tone. Natalie rolled her eyes, smirking slightly as she stepped away from Tyler, letting him walk a few steps to allow himself to make sure he was still walking right.
"C'mon. We've got the city to ourselves, and there's a chance you're gonna have the appetite of an actual wolf, you're probably going to want to be somewhere where's there's food," Natalie said, gesturing for Tyler to follow her as she headed out through one of the corridors. Tyler looked back at MUTT, who gestured for Tyler to follow, before taking off after the girl.
As they left, Savage entered the main section, weapon-free and in his trench-coat.
"Just because I have free access to the medical supplies, doesn't mean you can be more aggressive with the teenagers," MUTT scowled, tapping a few keys into the small computer he was working at.
Savage gave a shrug, the blood having dried into his fur with the cut having bleed itself out. "I've suffered worse and came out fine."
"They're human, Savage. I have stated this multiple times. They are more.. delicate."
The moment they exited the Den, and re-entered the sunlight-drenched outdoors, Natalie turned back to Tyler, still walking backwards, and said, "Reckon you can keep up?"
"Pretty sure I can," Tyler responded, rising a smirk from the White Omega.
"Well then…" She said, coming to a brief stop as she looked over her shoulder. "You're gonna want to make sure you live up to that." Not a second later, she took off as a blur of white, the air cracking around her rapid departure like a white, shaking the trees and ground around her. The quakes nearly knocked Tyler over, but he maintained his balance and was only pushed back a few steps.
"Oh, that's how you're gonna play it, huh?" Tyler questioned, yet had a smirk on his face as he briefly moved into a pre-run stance. He tensed up for a moment, and quickly gave chase in his own blur of dark blue. Fresh shockwaves were sent through the ground, shaking a larger number of trees in the area.
The streaks of white and blue tore through the circle of countryside, and into the central city, tearing up the streets and flying past abandoned cars, which became more common place as they moved from the outskirts and through the industrial district, passing through that area in mere seconds. All the while, the blue streak was getting closer and closer to the trail left behind by the leading white streak. Sharp turns left and right, as if one was trying to lose the other through the streets.
Tyler saw the distance between him and the tail of Natalie's streak steadily shrink, turning sharply around street corners, and one time, he had to kick off of a car after failing to make a last second turn. He heard the scrapping of metal-against-concrete as the car was flipped at the force behind his kick, but it quickly, and literally, was pushed far behind him as he tried closing the remaining distance. He got closer and closer, beginning to actually see Natalie rather than the white trail she left behind.. almost there…
And…
It was gone.
It just stopped, momentarily startling Tyler; enough so that he almost lost his footing and dropped out of the blue blur. He skipped a few steps, nearly tripping up multiple times as he tried to stop. He finally did so, shoes sliding along the street and kicking up small clouds in the aftermath, surrounding him as he looked around. "Nat?" He called along the empty streets, looking all around.
"Over here!"
He turned to her voice, finding her back to him and disappearing into one of the many abandoned stores; from the looks of it, even the others hadn't got into it yet. If the lack of smashed windows was had any meaning. Tyler wouldn't have put it past them to sneak through the back, especially the likes of Matt…
He gave a small shake of his head, strangely surprised that was the first name that came to mind. Trying to keep the thought from lingering, he casually jogged across the rest of the street and followed Natalie into the store. From the amount of dust that had gathered on the display stands and the signs, this definitely hadn't been touched since the owners abandoned the place. A somewhat sickly smell came from some unknown area, hitting Tyler weakly in the face; it was still enough to make him cough at the foul stench, however.
"The power's still on at this place?" He asked aloud, waving his hand to try and throw the bad smell away from him.
"Eh, kinda." Tyler turned to see Natalie leaning against the counter, an open bag of chips in hand. As she ate, she explained, "MUTT managed to jerry-rig the electrics on this place, so the place could stink a hell of a lot worse. Still, on the plus side, help yourself. It's not like anyone's gonna stop you."
Tyler spared a brief look around the rest of the store after Natalie spoke, giving a final glance up to the security camera lodged in the nearest corner of the store. But after a while, and seeing that the camera seemed inactive, he gave a simple shrug and began rummaging through the various treats. Natalie let another smirk cross her face, eating another chip. "Always used to come here, after classes," Natalie explained, as Tyler vanished behind one of the columns and cleared one of the items.
"Yeah? That before or after you had this fucking thing drilled into your wrist?" Tyler questioned, raising his free, Howler-latched wrist up while the other maintained a hold on the numerous items.
"A time before wearing this thing?" Natalie repeated, bringing her own Howler into view, turning it partially to catch the store's light just right. "That's becoming harder and harder to imagine these days. But yeah.. this was all before the Howlers."
"Do you get sounding like some kind of war veteran from Savage? Or do you get that sort of mentality after going through all the shit you lot have done on the news?" Tyler asked, appearing down the opposite end of the isle he had entered, an armful of food stuffs now with him. In his other hand, a single bottle of Cola, the lid already taken off.
Natalie gave a shrug, "Bit of both, probably," as she pushed away from the counter and headed back out of the store, Tyler following after her, somehow managing to keep all the stuff balanced as they crossed the street. They reached the other sidewalk and, after sparing a glance up, Tyler saw they were entering some kind of restaurant. Definitely an independent place, didn't have any recognizable branding, as they easily entered through one of the smashed up glass panels.
Tyler lifted a questionable glance to the back of Natalie's head at their unconventional entry. She seemed to sense it, and replied accordingly, "That wasn't any of us, some asshole kids decided they wanted to come into the city after they evacuated the place. Let's just say, Tanya made sure to tell them they weren't welcome here."
"…OK, that's just fucked up," Tyler said flatly, coming to a dead stop in the restaurant as Natalie stopped a few steps ahead of him and turned back to face him. "This place was their home, probably for their entire lives. Then you lot get some sort of advantage and are like 'nope, this is our house now. Fuck off'? You don't think that's messed up?"
She seemed ready to respond immediately, but held herself back and inhaled slowly. It turned into a low exhale, as she responded, "Look... I know, I know that what I said was pretty messed up. But c'mon, you look at this situation from our perspective. All the bad shit we've done, all the lives we've ruined.. not to mention the.. worse things that've happened…"
Tyler had a feeling she knew what she meant by that.
"Add all those things together.. do you realize how fucked up, in the head, that'd make us? Savage told us that if we let those things get to us, we wouldn't last as long."
"So this is how you cope with this heavy stuff? Trying not to think of them as people whose lives you've ruined?" Tyler questioned, giving her an even more questionable look.
She offered a weak smile, "Call it being influenced by Isaac, his British-ness seems to be rubbing off on all of us."
Natalie quickly took one of the many free seats, clearing one of the tables of dust as she settled herself. Seemingly satisfied for now, Tyler took a seat opposite her, his armful of food tumbling over and spread out over the entire table. He took a swig of his drink as he sat down, and tore open a packet of cookies while Natalie helped herself to some of his treasures.
The two sat in relative silence for a while, before Tyler spoke again. "Speaking of Isaac, has he got a problem with me or something?"
"What do you mean?" Natalie questioned, pausing mid-bite.
"Since I got involved with your merry little crusade, and especially since that first shit-show I got involved in, he just seemed.. off," Tyler admitted. "I know I don't know him as well as you lot do, but he's just, I don't know, giving off these weird vibes."
"Have you asked him directly if anything was wrong?" asked Natalie, one eyebrow slightly raised.
Tyler snorted, wincing briefly at the irritation this caused. "He barely talks to me as is. Only time he talks is when we're fighting, and that's usually just barking orders or shit like that."
"That supposed to be some sort of pun?" Natalie smirked, resulting in an eye roll from Tyler.
"Funny, but no," He replied flatly. "But I don't know, does he just.. hate me, for what happened with Matt or is he…?"
Natalie brought her chin to rest on one hand, asking, "Is he what?"
"You know…" Tyler prompted, rolling his hand slowly, as if attempting to help Natalie get the idea.
It seemed to succeed, but judging by how Natalie's other hand came down forcefully on the table, it wasn't the suggestion she wanted to hear. "Sorry, but don't even go there," She replied sharply. "Isaac's a lot of things, but he's not a racist."
"I wasn't accusing him of being one!" Tyler replied quickly, one hand raised defensively. "Besides, he doesn't strike me as one. He's actually a decent guy."
"A decent guy, yeah.. he's just got a lot going through his head right now."
"What d'you mean? Oh.. is it to do with Matt?"
"I reckon it does," Natalie explained, arms folding back as she leaned against the chair. "'Course, he'd never admit it. But he's definitely got more going on, mentally, than he's letting on. He's not going anything against you; I think it's got something to do with Matt."
Tyler leaned forward slightly, arms crossed on the table. "You've said how he was there when Matt was killed. You don't suppose…?"
"That he blames himself for what happened to Matt?" Natalie finished off, complete with a slight nod. "Best bet. Isaac's definitely that type of person."
"I mean, I don't see why he should blame himself, from what you lot told me, it was totally out of his control. You weren't expecting those bullets to actually get through the suits," Tyler reasoned.
Natalie gave a small shake of her head, sighing gently. "But that isn't what Isaac's like; even without that 'Alpha responsibility', I've known him long enough to know he's the type of person who'll take the weight of a situation alone. And the fact he.. he held Matt as he died, before we brought 'em back to the Den."
Tyler slowly nodded, fingers tapping the table rhythmically. "You make it sound like he hasn't let go just yet."
"To be honest? I don't think he ever will; at least not entirely," Natalie replied, looking aside briefly. "I mean, imagine it from his perspective.. after what you saw, and what you thought, would you honestly be the same? And even after you took over the Blue Howler, he still probably sees Matt in there…"
An awkward silence soon filled the vacant void of speaking, as the pair tried to figure out where to go from there. Natalie finally broke it once again, tapping both sets of fingertips against the table. "Well, that went kinda dark… I'm just gonna get something to drink," She said as she quickly got up, and disappeared from Tyler's sight after walking through one of the doors to, what he assumed was, the kitchen.
Tyler returned his gaze to the mostly untouched mountain of food packets; it needed eating at some point, he reasoned as he grabbed one of the new packets. As he tore the sweets open, he picked up footsteps from the counter; assuming it was Natalie, he didn't turn around. But as the footsteps continued, Tyler slowly set the packet on the table.
That was way too many steps to be where Natalie had disappeared through, and she wouldn't walk all the way to the other side of the counter. He would've turned around to see what it was about. And that was when the voice came.
"She's right, you know. Isaac does blame himself for what happened."
Tyler's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and his skin grew suddenly cold. He slowly twisted around in the chair, and shot up when he caught sight of the source. His breathing started to grow heavy, and he felt as though his heart was going to burst out of his chest. The glass Cola bottle slipped from his sweaty grip, and shattered onto the ground, scattering the glass everywhere.
The shard sliding across the floor, and came to a stop beside a heavy boot. It caught the reflection of the wearer, and although he was far paler than Tyler ever remembered, and his eyes seemed sunken, it was still definitely him. A small smirk crossed his features.
"Hello Tyler."
"Matt!"
Isaac shot awake, jerking up.. and immediately slammed his head on the ceiling of his coffin room. He slumped back down, his head now throbbing in pain and teeth grit together, less his shout of pain wake anyone up. Not that him shouting out was in anyway quiet…
Rubbing his forehead, he leaned up again, this time much more mindful of the ceiling. The longer he spent time in these 'capsule' hotels, the harder Isaac found it to understand why they existed, there was barely any room! He gave a slight kick, triggering the small door covering the end of his 'room' to fold upwards, and slowly shimmied himself out of his little tomb. He carefully rose to his feet, looking down the dimly lit corridor. Luckily, no-one seemed to have been awoken by his previous shout, allowing him to sneak down the corridor and disappear down a corridor.
Unaware that the door above his 'room' slowly opened, and Kyle's head peeking out just before Isaac turned out of sight.
Mindful of how much noise he made, Isaac eventually found himself where he wanted to be, an empty communal room, filled with chairs. He exhaled slowly, walking along the rows of seats before coming to rest in one. He tried relaxing in the chair, looking out of the large window he sat opposite, it must have rained earlier, judging by the condition outside the window. The bright neon-lights of some of the lower buildings flashed occasionally, filling the room with a bright orange glow.
The glow washed over part of Isaac's face, highlighting the blank expression dominating his features, yet he just stared blankly through the window. He watched a few droplets start their journey from the top of the window to the bottom. And judging by how hot he was, he'd make a bet there were sweat droplets on his forehead doing the exact same thing. He exhaled again, this one much longer than the last, as he leaned forward, bringing his hands up to cover his face, dragging them down, collecting all the sweat from his brow as the palms came to support his chin.
"Can't sleep?"
Isaac turned at the voice, visibly tensing up before relaxing when he saw Kyle standing in the doorway, one shoulder resting against the frame. "Yeah," He sighed, leaning back into the chair. "Didn't wake you, did I?"
"Oh yeah, you did," Kyle answered, entering the room fully and took one of the seats, giving a few seats gap between himself and Isaac. He saw Isaac's head give a slight shake after he spoke, as the two fell into silence as they watched the neon lights outside. "The same nightmare?" Kyle eventually asked, turning to look across at the other guy.
But Isaac continued to look ahead, both hands carefully supporting his chin as he stared blankly out of the window. "Sorry," Kyle added quickly, scratching the back of his neck slightly.
"It that obvious now?" Isaac questioned, still looking ahead.
Kyle's hand fell back down to the armrest, his expression solemn as he looked across at Isaac. At least he was admitting to it now, that was a start. "How much sleep do you think you've lost because of it?"
"Doesn't matter how much sleep I lose. The point is, I wouldn't have had to go through this if I had just-"
"Isaac," Kyle butted in, "Just stop. We've been through this enough already. You can't keep blaming yourself for what happened; neither of you could have properly prepared for the shit that happened."
"I could have moved," Isaac replied sharply, his hands visibly tensing up beneath his jaw. "If I hadn't been just a fucking idiot, maybe Matt would've-"
"Stop with the 'would have's and 'could have been's. It's the shit like that that's gonna end up messing you up in the head," Kyle argued, rubbing his forehead in irritation. Sometimes he could perfectly understand what certain people were going through, but this time, Isaac was beginning to get too much for him. He knew something like that wasn't exactly easy to forgive yourself for, but this was getting to the point of further issues becoming apparent from this.
It looked as though Isaac wanted to respond, but he couldn't find the right words, he kept opening his mouth, giving it a few seconds, before closing it again, repeating this cycle a couple of times, until he gave up entirely and just sat in silence.
"I always wanted to visit Japan," Kyle said after another period of silence, getting up from his seat and walked up to the massive window. He leaned on the wall beside it, peering down into the night life. "All the different things to try, the entirely different atmosphere to the States.. shit, if things turned out differently, probably would've come here at some point."
Isaac raised his head as Tyler spoke, giving small nods even though Tyler's back was to him. "Guess someone decided that they wanted you to have the chance," He said softly.
"If that's the case, I'm fully expecting some sort of Demon shit to go down here. Y'know, balance out everything," Kyle replied with a chuckle, turning back to look at Isaac, the second he did so, Isaac's head turned down once again. "I'm kidding, obviously."
"Someday that mouth of yours is gonna get you in the shitter," Isaac replied dryly, giving a faint shake of his head.
"You're talking like it's never happened before," Kyle joked with a grin, walking back over to take one of the chairs, this time opposite Isaac. Before silence could take over the pair of them for a third time, Kyle spoke again, "Look, we're gonna be up early later, so it's probably a good idea to get back to sleep."
But Isaac shook his head. "Nah.. not gonna be able to sleep for a while. I'll just.. sit here, see what happens."
Kyle sighed softly, shaking his head as he slowly got back up to his feet. "Well, at least do something. Go for a run or something. Fresh air will probably do you good."
"Fresh air in Japan? Fat chance of that," Isaac commented dryly, grinning blankly.
"Eh, probably right. But still, you've gotta do something. Even if you don't, that hunk of crystal on your wrist will make ya," Kyle advised, gesturing to his own wrist as he headed for the exit.
This caught Isaac's attention, lifting his gaze from the ground to Kyle, before bringing it back to his own wrist. Starring right into the eye of the Howler, the bright red glimmering back at him. The orange neon flashed again, this time dancing across the Howler, Isaac almost taken aback by how the neon seemed to bring new life to the Howler's glow. By the time he brought his eyes away from the Howler, he found Kyle had left, leaving him alone in the room. And whatever feeling Kyle had whenever the silence lasted too long, it seemed to rub off on Isaac, it brought him onto his feet, and after a quick glance over his shoulder into the empty room, turned to look back down the corridor.
He inhaled slowly, and let out a final sigh, closing his eyes for a moment, as if internally debating his next action. Whatever his options, he chose the one that, upon opening his eyes again, made his tear down the hallway, blurring into a streak of red through the silent halls.
He tore his way out of the corridor and covered the flights of stairs in a blink of an eye; if anyone was awoken by the sound of wind rushing past them, all they would've caught was the faint tail-end of a red streak. He would've gone the full way and go through the door, which was thankfully opened by someone entering the hotel, but he was quickly reminded that he was still had no shoes. He quickly turned back, still in the faint red blur, and swiftly recovered his shoes, putting them on in double quick time. Without skipping a beat, he tore out of the hotel and into the bustling night-life of Japan.
All of this being accomplished in mere seconds.
The man that had served the three of them was still at the counter, and looked up when another man entering the build exclaimed in surprise. He looked towards the door, only seeing the aftermath of what appeared to be a massive force of wind blowing through the door, startling the man entering.
A small smirk pulled at the corner of his lips, his eyes becoming a striking blue in the process.
"He is leaving the building."
The massive screen at the centre paused, giving a high-resolution picture of the front of the hotel. One man was halfway through the door, looking back onto the streets, shock plastered across his face. And though it was very faint, towards the right edge, there was a red tinge that soaked all that it passed in a crimson tint.
"Should we continue to track him?" One person said, lifting their gaze from their personal computer, a number of maps opened up in different tabs, each highlighting different parts.
The man in the black suit, sitting at his own computer, paused briefly and answered. "Continue to do so, it will be fruitless to send out them out to capture them. The less of a potential threat to the public, the better."
He got a nod in return, and all sets of eyes returned to monitors, keys pressed regularly as information was passed to and fro. Behind the man in black, another person entered the room, hands in trouser pockets. "Any idea where he's going?" E asked, arms folding on top of the chair beside the suited man. A couple of people in the room briefly glanced at the entrance of the Agent, quickly returning to their work as the man in charge turned his attention to E.
"Our observers tracked them to a hotel, and reported in that one was seen leaving. From the images recorded, we believe it to be the Red Ranger. Apart from that, we don't have any more information," The man answered stiffly.
E gave a curt nod in return, before lifting his gaze to the large screens overlooking the group of investigators. "I take it the other two are still in the hotel? Pretty sure you've got their files. Why don't you just send in a group to.. 'collect' them?"
Again, the man in the suit gave a distasteful side glance across at E. "There are currently thirty-four civilians in the hotel along with your wanted fugitives, the risk is too great for unnecessary civilian deaths. If your information regarding these fugitives is correct, then we shall take steps accordingly."
"…You do realize what these guys can do, right? You've seen the news and my reports, these guys don't fuck around," E responded flatly, gesturing to the computer screens.
"Yes, and provoking them will only result in these reports coming to life," The man replied, his tone just as flat, as he tapped a few keys. He turned to face E entirely, adding, "Perhaps this is something you Americans can learn when dealing with your problems, in your country."
"I'm not American, bud," E sharply responded, pointing at the suited man accusingly. "At least not entirely."
The man didn't respond, as a notification had appeared on his screen. At the same time, one of the other investigators informed him, "He's come to a stop, we've lost sight of him on top of one of the buildings."
From his perspective atop the building, Isaac got an even better view than the one from the window. The neon lights unobscured by glass, seeming that much brighter because of it. The sounds of tourists enjoying a late night, and letting everyone in the immediate area know it, was even louder than before, almost to the point of irritation, if Isaac hadn't tried focusing on something else.
He took a seat, feet hanging over the edge of the building, as he got another look at the darkness-wrapped skyline. Arms braced just behind him, he tried relaxing again and allowed his eyes to close as a light wind blew around him, catching parts of his looser jacket and hood. Slowly, the noises down below started to fade as he focused on memories. His drifting mind, combined with his senses picking up in sensitivity with his eyes closed, allowed him to pick up subtler sounds and smells.
Sounded like some sort of break-in, not too far away. Judging by the lack of a sudden shriek, they weren't caught. Not yet, anyway.
A couple of streets over, it sounded as though something had spooked a dog. The barks seemed to rise the owner, clearly irritated as they tried to shut their dog up. A faint smirk crossed Isaac's face when the barks only grew louder and more frequent, resulting in a back-and-forth argument between a pair of quickly agitating parties. Various other noises overlapped one another, to the point where Isaac couldn't be bothered to pick out anything specific from the mess and left it as such.
He inhaled the cold air, thankful for the lack of fumes in the area he had found. But he still couldn't relax.
"Dammit…" He said under his breath, sitting up straight again and leaned over the edge slightly, the building wasn't that tall, though others would probably say otherwise. He took a deep breath in through his nose, taking in the various smells that seemed to be stuck to his clothes ever since he entered Japan. Numerous new food smells, freshly made that day, merging together with the countless unique scents of every single local. They merged with the somewhat familiar scents of the Western tourists. Oddly, they had an underlying familiar base sent, very earthy.
Then there was the wretched, back-of-the-throat stabbing sensation of layers upon layers of toxins in the atmosphere. 'Anyone who thinks air pollution isn't real or climate change is bullshit, they're the ones breathing the crap in,' Isaac thought to himself, bringing his forearm up to momentarily block his nose to try and cut off the chemicals forcing their way up his nose.
It was at this point that he noticed his Howler's crystal pulsing slowly. He brought his other hand up to press one of the Howler's buttons, but in doing so, he got another whiff of the infected air. Only this time, something familiar cut through the many layers of toxic air. But it just that much worse, almost causing Isaac to gag if he hadn't caught himself.
He knew that smell…
"Had to be fucking her, didn't it?" He asked himself bitterly, his hand slowly clenching into a fist as he quickly got to his feet. He took another deep inhale, the bad taste rolling around his mouth, as he looked around, just had to narrow down where she'd be…
Bingo.
He jumped off the edge of the building, dropping through the air onto the lower roof of the next building. He rolled upon landing, letting the momentum carry him forward as he got back to his feet and began running. Small clouds of dust kicked up with every pounding step as he jumped across buildings, leaping into the air whenever a street cut through the concrete canyon. With every step and every leap, Isaac felt the smell become stronger and stronger. It seemed to be clogged up in his nose right now, and it seemed to become even more toxic the greater amount he sniffed up.
One particular jump landed him right in the middle of an empty, narrow alley, cratering the ground and forcing a crack to partially run up a nearby wall. Without skipping a beat, Isaac took off down the alley, tearing into a red streak as he entered and followed the road. Right to the source of the wretched smell…
"Almost there…"
Batibat repeated to herself under her breath, one hand outstretched and open, while the other remained at her side. It had screwed up into a tight fist not too long ago, and was starting to faintly shake.
From her open palm, a swirling column of black-and-green mist came forth, traveling slowly across the space between Batibat and the suit of Samurai armour before her. Said armour was already encased with a thin layer of black fog, the sickly green accenting colour giving off an uneasy vibe as it collected under the mask, as though it was forming the eyes beneath. The dark magic pushed into the chest armour had started to spill out into, what appeared to be, a pre-determined shape, filling out the arms and stretching down to fill out the leg armour and boots.
A loud gasp of relief came when Batibat finally stopped pumping out energy, taking a few staggering steps back. The last of the energy passed through the armour, finishing with a definite clunk, like a lock being turned. The she-Demon watched in anticipation, her eyes darting to different parts of the suit, waiting for some sign that she hadn't wasted that much energy.
As the swirling died down, however, she found herself waiting more and more, and this only caused her anticipation and aggravation to steadily build. She stepped closer again, one hand brought up again to touch the armour.
Her wrist was forcefully stopped, another hand latching onto it.
She shouted out at the bone-crunching grip, and frantically tried to free herself; only accomplishing this when the hand threw her back, slamming her right into one of the sword racks. Several of the blades came loose and clattered onto the floor, both behind and beside the slumped Batibat.
While she recovered, the hand that had thrown her slowly pulled itself back, gripping the edge of the display case the rest of the suit was contained in. The other leathery hand came forward, latching onto the other edge of the display case, the remaining panels of glass starting to spider-web. The metal frame quickly gave out as the suit pulled itself out, glass shattering entirely with the destruction of the case. The destroyed metal was thrown aside, as the suit now stood to its full height, pushing the 7ft mark.
Batibat looked up at the armoured colossal, quickly rising to her own feet; only managing to come up to the suit's upper chest armour. As her eyes rose, the suit's eyes slowly lowered, a faint green glow burning from beneath the sliced eyeholes of the mask. The permanent scowl moulded onto the mask seemed all the more threatening with the toxic green traces burning out of the eye holes, tracing the slice through one of them.
"Masutā…" Batibat started, only to find herself abruptly cut off when one of the hands suddenly grabbed her throat, bringing her up off of her feet by a solid foot. She gasped out frantically, clawing at the armoured glove wrapped around her pale throat. She tried kicking and punching, but nothing seemed to be effective against the stoic, armoured suit.
It brought Batibat closer to the face guard, one pair of toxic green eyes looking into another. At this close proximity, she picked up on the faintest traces of ragged breaths from beneath the helmet.
"Who…are you, to call my by name?" a low, raspy voice questioned, as the armoured fingers tightening around Batibat's neck, bringing even more desperate gasps out.
"Bat*gasp*bat. H...Ri..Right…Hand of*gasp*the Master," the she-Demon gasped, still desperately clawing at the armour, throwing a punch to the upper arm. But it got her nowhere, as before.
The grip remained iron-like around her throat for what seemed like eternity, before loosening a fraction. Still, it was enough for Batibat to gasp out loudly and breathe just a little easier.
"The Master…lives?" Masutā queried, his smoky green eyes visibly narrowing a fraction as he brought Batibat closer to his scarred helmet. His eyes narrowed further, but not in question; rather in suspicion. "You are the Master's Right Hand? Then who…is the Left?"
A bewildered look crossed Batibat's face through her struggles. "I…I never-"
"Do not…toy with me, she-Demon," Masutā stated, pulling her back a fraction. Batibat finally felt the tip of her toes dragging against the ground, but couldn't get enough of a grip to stable herself. "Only the Master can forge His Hands, to do His bidding. I was the first to be granted the two titles, of Warlord and Hand; just as you have, I suspect. Yet there is no absence of a Hand, as I sense. So tell me…who is the Left?"
Her breathing had calmed slightly as Masutā spoke, yet the slight twitches in her expression gave away her thoughts; the angered twitch at the corner of her lips, her jaw visibly tensing and her eyes took on a partially hardened edge. She grit her teeth for a moment, as she finally spoke. "Fear. Fear was the Left Hand, but he was foolishly captured by the Humans. Now Death has been made the Left Hand."
No response came initially, as Masutā looked partially to one side to think. He quickly turned back to glare once again at Batibat, leaning in close. "And is Fear…dead?"
"Not that I'm aware," Batibat responded, grinding her teeth as she felt the fingers slowly tightened once again around her neck.
The green glow of his eyes grew darker, more excessive smoke billowing from the eyeholes. "Then the sacred rule has been broken," he stated, finally letting go of Batibat entirely; throwing her against the nearest wall, severely splintering the decorative design. As she recovered, the titan of a Demon looked around the restricted room, coming to a stop when he spotted a weapons rack across from him. He stepped towards the displayed weapons, igniting the obvious glare focused on the back of his helmet.
"The Master was the one to bring Death to the rank of Hand, and I suspect he knew Fear was still ali-"
"Do not DARE defile the Master's word!" Masutā exclaimed, turning around sharply, the tip of a sword pointed directly at Batibat's eye. He slammed the sword down, losing the faint greenish glow it gave off the moment he let go. "Perhaps a time has come that the Master sees it fit to…change His rules. Perhaps He now sees you and Fear as unfit to stand alongside Him alone."
"I was not sent to restore you by the Master's side," Batibat interrupted sharply, fingers flexing around the handle of a dagger concealed up her sleeve. Half-tempted to cut her losses and stab the Warlord right there and then, she held back for now as she continued, "I…require your…assistance." The pauses only exaggerating the distaste in her words.
Masutā paused briefly, commenting, "Then it is you who further breaks the rules. What could a Hand of Horror require so desperately, they dare break the Rule of the Hand further?"
Batibat stepped forward, becoming level with the towering Hand and looked up at him with a fiery glare, as she spoke. "The Great Darkness has been re-initiated, and I need to know where the Pillar is."
"Something happen? I hear a glass smash," Natalie quickly appeared in the door frame once again, looking out into the restaurant. Her eyebrows cocked in confusion, seeing Tyler standing with his back to her, looking across the room. "Tyler?" She asked, taking steps around the counter and towards the statue-like teen.
He turned around sharply, and Natalie almost took a step back when she saw his look. "Jesus.. looks like you've seen a ghost," She commented, taking a cautious step closer.
Tyler's wide eyes had an alarmed look dominating them entirely, and he turned back around, to how Natalie had found him, then back to face Natalie again. His expression only grew more and more distressed. "Y... You're not seeing what I'm seeing?"
"No…listen, try to calm down," Natalie pressed, taking small steps closer around the table and eventually managing to rest a hand across his shoulder. "MUTT said it's likely that you'll suffer from hallucinations after that dose of Instinct. Just.. try and relax, OK?" she asked as she tried guiding the stiffly-moving Tyler into the nearest seat. She gave a final, slightly harder, push to finally get him sitting down, and she went to the other side of the table. "What were you seeing, anyway?"
He went to speak, but glanced up from the table to Natalie and gave a slight shake of his head, rubbing a temple. "You'd think I was mad if I told you…"
"Try me," Natalie pressed.
Tyler inhaled slowly, before he looked Natalie right in the eye and said, "I saw Matt."
"He was just.. walking in as you left, saying how everything you said about Isaac was right…" He further explained as Natalie watched him closely, her fingers idly tapping against the table.
She slowly ran one hand through her hair, saying, "Look, Tyler. It's my fault for even allow us to talk that much about it after that dose of drugs. It was bound to mess with your mind, seeing stuff like that. Please.. try not to think about it, OK? They'll lose the effects sooner or later."
He seemed doubtful of her suggestion, his eyes darting all around frantically, his arms wrapped around his stomach. Natalie sighed slightly, head falling slightly as she tried relaxing.
And at that point, a small bang came from the kitchen.
"Shit! Forgot I left stuff on in there!" Natalie exclaimed, quickly rushing around the counter and back into the kitchen. Her entry was shortly followed by more metal clattering in the distance. Leaving Tyler by himself once again.
He gave it a few seconds, before slowly looking around over his shoulder; his shoulders sagged slightly and he sighed in relief when nothing was standing there. He gave the entire room a quick once-over before slumping more against the chair. Maybe it was all in his head…maybe he really was just seeing things and-
"This seat taken?"
He jerked his head forward again, and almost jumped out of his seat at Matt standing at the opposite end of the table once again. He felt his heart-rate start picking up again with his breathing, but he kept his eyes glued to the table, refusing to look up. A moments' silence followed, interrupted when Matt spoke. "Fine then.. take it it's not," he said, Tyler only hearing the chair getting dragged out and set down again. Tyler spared a brief glance up, only to stare down at the table with even greater intensity. Why'd he have to sit like Matt as well? The chairs' back to him, and Matt facing towards him, his legs coming around the sides and arms folded atop the back.
"Hey, buddy? You just gonna stare or you actually going to talk?" Matt suddenly spoke up, snapping his fingers right in Tyler's face.
Tyler shook his head slightly at the sudden snap, eyes briefly lingering on the teen opposite him before quickly looking elsewhere. "I ain't talking to some damn hallucination…" He muttered under his breath.
"Well what do you think you're doing now?" Matt smirked, why'd it have to look so real? "Besides, I'm not some hallucination kid."
"Who the fuck you callin' a kid? We're the same damn age," Tyler replied sharply, sparing a glare up at the boy sitting across from him. "And of course you're a damn figment or some shit of my imagination; you're dead as f-"
SLAP!
Tyler's head jerked to the side sharply at the contact, blinking slowly as he turned back wide eyed. Did he just.. slap him?
"That feel real enough for you?" Matt questioned, sitting back again. "Trust me, I'm not anything that mind of yours could possibly come up with."
"Did you just.. slap me?" Tyler questioned in astonishment, rubbing his struck cheek.
"Yes, I did. And the fact that the last thing Matt would do would slap someone to hit them, should be proof enough; you and I both know that. Now, you gonna listen to me or what?" Matt asked, arms folding once again.
"…Either I'm really tripping balls, or I'm gonna have to admit I'm talking to some.. thing using some friend as some sort of puppet. Supposedly you know Matt, so you know better than anyone which one I'm gonna find easier to accept," Tyler said sharply, finally lifting his fiery glare up and directed it across the table. "So why don't you fuck off?"
"Wow, bit harsh. I just got back."
"Nat!" Tyler exclaimed, his sour expression quickly dissolving as he became aware of the White Warrior standing at the end of the counter. "I, uh.. didn't see you there," he added eyes briefly glancing to the seat opposite him.
"Uh-huh…" Natalie gave a nod, a sceptical look playing across her face as she walked around. "Do I even what to know what was going on, or is it along the lines of 'I don't want to know'?"
"She can't see me, you know," Matt informed, leaning more against the chair as Natalie came to stand alongside him, though unknowingly. Tyler stole a brief glare to the body in the seat, barely noticeable as his eyes returned to Natalie; he didn't expect his day to go like this, even after joining these guys…
"Umm.. yeah, let's just leave it as is. Hallucinations and shit," Tyler replied, waving a hand absentmindedly as he spoke; stealing brief glances at that smirking bastard.
"Fair enough," Natalie shrugged, not wanting the matter pressed any further. "Anyway, I thought of something to do, and it'll help you in the process. Plus it'll get Savage off your ass, so that's gotta be a positive."
"What's that then?" Tyler questioned.
Finally, it seemed, Isaac found the source of the Demon scent that had dragged him halfway across the province to find. He moved slowly, he peaked around the corner of a building he'd taken cover behind, and his eyes found what he was, hopefully, looking for. "Samurai museum, eh?" He asked himself, spying the unlit building nestled among the rest. Yet it was that building in particular that stuck out, it was drenched in the demonic scent, enough to practically burn his nose off.
He pulled back around the building and brought his Howler up. "Tanya, Kyle?" He asked into the pulsing crystal. A few seconds passed before he got a response.
"Isaac? What's up? Where are you anyway, I heard you leave a while back." It was Tanya.
"I needed to get out. Can you get Kyle and get here, quickly? Think I found the Demon trace that's been bringing us back here," Isaac replied, peaking around the corner a couple of times as he spoke. He was sure he heard voices, but he needed to get close to distinguish them apart.
"We're on it," She replied, comms cutting off shortly after. Isaac looked around one last time, before carefully stepping around and approached the museum, dropping into a crouch as he stopped beside one of the windows. It looked partially opened, and as he carefully reached for the side, Isaac briefly wondered what they were going to be dealing with. Just as he was about to pull on it, however, the voices started again. This time, much clearer and easier to distinguish.
"The Great Darkness has been re-initiated, and I need to know where the Pillar is," Said one voice, the one he, annoyingly, recognized as Batibat. But what was she on about?
Another voice, a new one, interrupted his thoughts, this one was far rougher, and lower toned than what Isaac had heard her talk with before. Or heard anyone talk, for that matter.
"The Pillar of the Eastern Reach? And you require *my* help, to find it?" The other voice questioned, and finally Isaac decided to risk a peak. He looked through the window, and held his breath when he saw the two figures standing among the museum pieces. One was clearly Batibat, a look of irritation across her pale face and arms folded, looking like she was trying to burn a hole through the taller, more-armoured Demon standing with his back to her.
"Perhaps the Master doesn't trust you as well as you may think," The armoured Demon added, twisting to look at the she-Demon over his shoulder, Isaac managed to catch a glimpse of sickly green around the eyes of creature. Was that some kind of mask he was wearing?
"I can take your life just as easily as I gave it back to you, Masutā," Batibat warned, her look becoming even sourer if possible. Isaac made sure to take a mental note of the other Demon's name as said titan turned around; he quickly pulled back from the window, seriously hoping he remained unnoticed.
"I believe you should know better than most, not to threaten a Hand in that manner. So I recommend reframing from doing so again," Masutā 'advised', though Isaac was pretty sure that was more of a threat than anything else. He heard the shuddering footsteps of the towering Demon as he walked around the room, followed by the sound of metal scraping against wood. "A threat must be followed through, less your enemies see it as an empty one. Then they see.. a warrior, using hollow threats as a shield. I ensure, any threats I make, I follow through with them."
"La-de-da, smug bastard," Isaac muttered under his breath with an eye roll.
"I do not need a lecture. I want to know where the Pillar is," Batibat hissed, eyes narrowing as her irritation grew. "Or do I need to resurrect another Demon to assist me?"
"You would be wasting valuable resources doing so, the Master trusted me alone with the protection and maintenance of the Pillar of the Eastern Region of His Reach. I, and I alone, can activate it. So I recommend you know your place in this Region," Masutā gave another one of his 'suggestions', and Isaac heard the tell-tale sound of a pristine blade being moved through the air. "It is clear that you still have much to learn."
"I know enough," Batibat hissed, one dagger finally flicking out from her sleeve, twirling it around her fingers dangerously.
"And yet, it will never be enough," Masutā replied, and Isaac heard the heavy footsteps seemed to be getting closer. He carefully moved an inch away from the window, seeing the shadows growing larger, drowning the light cast. "For example…"
The pause grew so much that Isaac, holding his breath, tried stealing a peak.
A hand smashed through the glass, clutching around Isaac's throat and leaving him to struggle as glass showered down upon his face. He gasped out, trying to free himself as the armoured fingers dug into his flesh. He tried digging in to get a foothold, but Masutā easily picked him up and dragged him through the window frame as if he weighed nothing, taking out the rest of the glass with it. Isaac shouted out as he was thrown to the floor, rolling a few times before coming to an abrupt stop, grunting when a foot slammed onto his chest, pinning him down with enough force to test a couple of ribs.
"You don't seem to know when the enemy is near," Masutā said, sword pointed directly at Isaac's cut-up face, giving off a faint green glow as he turned the blade accordingly.
Breathing heavily, Isaac's eyes darted back and forth between the two Demons towering over him, the she-Demon aiming her latest dagger directly between his eyes, while the armoured titan stood off to the side, blade a little too close to his throat for his liking…
"Shit," Was all he could say.
To be Continued...
I wanted to put the completed chapter up at once for you guys, but I figured you've gone long enough between chapters. So this part is gonna be released now, and hopefully I'll have the rest down before the end of the month.
As always, I hope you like the story so far, and don't forget to R&R.
-Nf991.