7th Revolution: Criminal! the Fading Heartbeat?
In a quiet room on the third floor of a japanese hospital, a tall full figured woman with long black hair tied up in an over the shoulder sat before a bed in a black woman's kimono. With a sulun expression on her face, she stared at the person in the bed, a sickly woman who looked almost exactly like her only paler and much thinner. The woman in the bed was dressed in a white hospital gown, her arm hook up to an iv and a few machines that surrounded her.
"So…" the full figured woman muttered with a choke to her voice, "its terminal then?"
The bed ridden woman, despite her lack of strength, managed a single nod. "Fumiko…" she muttered over the steady beep of her heart monitor, "where's my son?... Naota's coming to visit soon… right?"
"Yes… Chikane, I'm sure he will" the full figured woman muttered, reaching for the bed ridden woman's hand as a tear came to her eye, "wherever he is."
With a sudden crack of both thunder and lightning, rain poured down over the city. As the rain washed away layers of dirt and grime, a cut up man hurled a punch towards a young boy in a simple hoodie, torn up jeans and worn out sneakers from the confines of a dead end alleyway.
"I WANT MY MONEY NAOTA!" the older man barked at him as he hurled him into the nearby brick wall. "Now where is it?"
Clawing at the mud and wet garbage that littered the ground, the small boy panted violently with a fatigued breath.
"I told you… you crouchy old fuck," Naota muttered, several suited goons coming up from behind his pursuer. Some carried small blades, others, guns, "You're all gonna get it.. as soon as my mother is better."
The center boss stared at Naota, raising a brow at him. "Chikane?" The boss snickered, then grabbed the boy by his hair, "didn't you hear the news kid?" He pulled Naota to his feet, "Your poor old mom has less time than you do."
Upon hearing the boss' words, Naota's heart sank and he began to tremble. As this happened, the image of pale grey humanoid dog with torn flesh and exposed bones appeared for a moment in a puddle by Naota's feet.
"You're wrong…" Naota muttered, gritting his teeth together, "she's gonna get better… just you wait." Naota's voice cracked, and he shuttered as tears began rolling down his face, "I just need-"
The boss cut the boy off by slamming his face into the brick wall, "Need what?" The boss sucked his teeth as he glared at the boy, "a bit more cash?"
Shuttering once again, Naota took in a deep breath then placed both his hands on the wall behind him. "Just shut up and die already…" he muttered under his breath.
The boss' eyes opened ever so slightly as he caught what the boy had said. "What was that?" he asked, raising his hand with two fingers up as a signal to his goons. On command, the goons who held guns cocked their weapons before aiming them at Naota.
"I said…" Naota muttered with a clear sob to his voice, as from the puddles surrounding the goons arose the ghostly claws belonging to the humanoid beast. "DIE!"
As if on command, the beast's claws tore through the goons, leaving them as piles of flesh and blood on the ground within the blink of an eye. Hearing this, Naota and the boss instantly turned around, the boss letting out a soul wrenching gasp upon seeing the carnage. This only lasted a minute however, as the boss quickly gritted his teeth together before turning back to Naota.
"YOU LITTLE RAT!" the boss snarled, grabbing Naota by his hair, "What did you just-"
As he locked eyes with Naota, all color left the boss' face. Standing there and glaring back at him in the dark of Naota's pupil, was the beast. For a split second, the beast's claw shot out from Naota's eye and lunged towards the boss before fading just as quickly as it had appeared.
The boss stood there, puzzled as his gaze darted from corner to corner of the alleyway. Moments later, his head suddenly spun completely around before being torn right off from his neck, his now lifeless body falling to the ground in front of Naota.
Naota stared at this, every inch of his body trembling like crazy as he himself fell to his knees before covering his eyes.
"Get up boy…" a gruff inhuman voice called to him as the beast's reflection appeared in the puddle of mud and blood beneath him, "do you not possess a reason for living?"
(Insert Opening Theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori)
Within the Maestro's theatre, the spyre watched from the pews with a smirk upon his face as he gazed upon the center stage. On said stage was the Jester of the Court, who flared out her claws before darting towards a gang of four mannequins each dressed as one of Jayd's four rider forms.
The jester ripped through the fake Striker and Stalker forms, only to be shot in the back by a burning arrow which was followed by a freezing ball of ice towards her left shoulder. With a snarl, Jester whipped herself around to glare at Jayd's Hunter and Caster forms which stood with their weapons at the ready.
Their stances were for not however, as with a quick and powerful dash, Jester ripped them to pieces just as quickly as she did the Striker and Stalker forms. As the ribbons of the fake Jayds fell to the floor, a slow but ambient applause from Maestro and his accompanying mimics filled the theatre.
"Well done my flower," he congratulated her, "well done."
"Don't patronize me," Jester huffed, turning to face the Maestro with a soul piercing glare, "when do I get my turn with the real thing?"
"In time my pet," the Maestro sighed, allowing his hands to fall to his sides, "besides… you'd hardly be a fan of who's domain your prize as found herself in on this day."
The jester raised a brow, "Where is she?" She asked simply.
The maestro smirked, "In the home of Balegor the Rake."
The jester gasped suddenly, a shiver running down her spine, "The… the Deathlord?" She muttered under her breath.
Early one morning within the confines of the Annex, Trey huddled on the floor by the display case where Syd kept her vials of Jaydite. With his head to the ground, and arm in the small gap between the case and the floor, Trey felt along the floor for the vial he had previously dropped behind the large immovable piece of furniture.
"Come on," he muttered under his breath as his hand ran from one end of the back wall to the other, "where are you, you little..."
"Who…" a voice chirped behind Trey, causing him to jump and whack his arm on the bottom of the case it was still under.
"Ow.." he winced, looking over his shoulder to see Torchwich, tilting his head at the boy in a questioning manner. "Oh thank god," he breathed a sigh of relief, pulling his arm out from under the case before scratching the robotic owl on the top of the head, "it's just you Torchwich."
Torchwich's head tilted to the other side, gawking at the boy as the sound of a door opening followed by footsteps echoed from behind him. Trey then raised his hand to his lips, a sigh to keep quiet.
"What are you doing?" He heard Syd's voice call out to him.
Trey immediately sweat dropped, looking to see Syd looking at him with an ice pop in her mouth and a brow raised at him.
"He appears to be sitting on the ground Syd," Eli spoke, "perhaps he and Torchwich were in the middle of a game?"
"Yeah," Trey swallowed before forcing a gulp, "a game, that's what we were doing." He looked at the robot owl, "Right Torchy?"
Torchwich's eyes flared open, the owl taking three steps away from the boy with a series of very loud chirps.
"Well, whatever you were doing, mind if we pulled you away from it?" Syd asked as she reached over Trey and grabbed one of the three vials full of Jayd that were currently on the shelf, "We're getting a little desperate by the looks of it."
"Oh yeah…" Trey eyed the many emptied vials as he climbed to his feet, "I guess the small portion we got from helping Sam and Amy is taking its toll isn't it?"
"Sure is," Syd sighed as she cracked open the via she held and sprinkled a bit of the substance inside onto her ice pop before continuing to eat it, "doesn't help with the fact we haven't found a new target in the two days we've been here."
"So… in other words," Trey took in a big gulp, "you could really use every drop you can get?"
"At the moment, that is the case Fledgling Trey," Eli told him. "You seem more nervous than we are however… is there something on your mind?"
Trey managed a laugh, "Well yeah! We gotta find this thing don't we?!" He said as he grabbed Syd by the shoulders and began guiding her towards the still open door of the Annex, "Come on, I'll help this time. Aren't I still a gate keeper magnet?"
"Hey-whoa-hey!" Syd protested, taking her ice pop out of her mouth to look at the boy, "I'm still eating here!" She planted her feet on the ground to prevent herself from moving any further.
"You can eat on the way," Trey insisted, "there could very well be a fledgling dying out there!"
"Trey…" Syd shot a glare at the young man, "if there's ever a time I need to say the following words, its now…" She looked him in the eye, then smirked as wide as she could, "I like your attitude kiddo."
Trey gulped again, then managed a nervous laugh, "Uh… likewise?"
"Come on!" Syd took Trey by the hand and whisked him out of the Annex's front door, "I know just where to start our reinvigorated search! Torchy! Get the door!"
Torch chirped, flying up to the wall the large garage door was fixed to and hitting the button to close it. Once it was closed, the mechanical bird then fluttered down to the floor in front of the jaydite display case.
Once landed, a small glimmer reflected out from under it and into the bird's optics. "Hoo?" He chirped, tilting himself forward to look under the case.
Far across town in a house covered in clutter and dust, Naota shifted through the dresser in a bedroom that hadn't been used in years.
"Have you found it?" Balegor's voice echoed in the back of the boy's mind, "the relic you require?"
"Just about," Naota told him, his hands shifting through a jewelry box in the top drawer before pulling out a ring and holding it up high, "there… mother's wedding ring." He looked to a dusty old stand up mirror, "will this work?"
"That all depends," Balegor said, his image appearing within the mirror, "on your conviction fledgling."
"Then it will," Naota said with a sharpened gaze as he approached the mirror, holding the ring out the image of the beast within, "do what you have to do."
"First, I must ask and you must answer," Balegor's eyes narrowed upon the boy, "what is you goal in all this?"
"To save my mother's life," Naota returned.
"Why?" Balegor asked.
"Because," Naota tightened his free hand into a fist, "she's everything to me."
"I see…" Balegor raised a single brow at the boy, "then would you be willing to die in her place?"
Naota gasped a moment, then pulled the ring away from the beast. "What kind of a stupid ass question is that!" He barked, gritted his teeth at the beast as he tightly gripped the ring in his hand, "Of course I would… without question!"
"Very well," Balegor leaned forward, his head phasing out from the mirror and soon the rest of him followed suit, "I shall help you in your endeavour… devoted fledgling."
Back with Syd, Eli and Trey, the trio wandered the downtown core of the japanese city they found themselves in. Trey watched Syd like a hawk, paying close attention as she looked down every street before following where it led. She passed by a bakery, then a cafe with a sign in the shape of a cat's eye out front, a series of small shops before finding herself in front of the cat's eye marked cafe again.
"Syd…" Trey muttered under his breath, "are we lost?"
"Nope Trey, we aren't lost," she said with a grin, continuing on and turning a few more corners before finding herself out in front of the bakery they had started at. "Okay…" she let out a heavy sigh, "now we're lost."
Trey sweat dropped, looking at Syd as his eye began to twitch, "W-What made the difference?!"
Syd scratched the back of her neck, turning to face Trey with a nervous grin, "The fact I just realized I don't recognize a single thing here?"
"It has been a while since we were here last," Eli spoke up, "but it's not exactly like we can ask for directions."
As the trio spoke, a young japanese man about two feet taller than Trey came out from the bakery behind him with a bag in his hand. In the seconds it took him to check the time on his phone, he stepped forward only to bump directly into Trey.
"Oh," the two men both gasped in perfect sync as they turned to face one another, becoming lost in the eyes of the other for a moment. "Sorry, didn't mean to hit you."
The taller man had sharp features, short black spiked hair that was done up in a braid on one side with serious sunken in eyes that matched his hair. He wore a simple white long sleeved shirt and blue jeans that were both neatly pressed along with a pair of black stylish shoes that had not a single scuff or mark on them. His attire seemed plain, save for a pair of earrings he wore in the shape of both black card suits, a spade of his left ear and a club on his right.
Trey gulped, "Whoa…"
The taller male quickly dodged Trey's gaze then pushed passed the shorter male and carried on his way.
"Trey?... Hello?" Syd called out to the boy while poking him in the cheek, "When you're done feasting on eye candy, can you come back to reality?"
Trey blushed hard, then shook his head before looking to Syd. "Sorry about that," he grinned, "what were you saying?"
"Its Fumiko fledgling Trey," Eli spoke, the taller dark hair male stopping in his tracks upon hearing the first name Eli had dropped, "we need to figure out how to locate her."
Suddenly, the taller man turned on his heel and threw a punch right at Syd. Trey's eyes shot open, only for Syd to catch the punch from over her shoulder with her back turned to her assailant.
"Well, you're a nosey one ain't ya?" She smirked, turning to face the male with a glare. "You got a problem with anything we just said, mister?"
"What do you want with Fumiko?" The male asked, pulling his fist back before hurling another at Syd only for her to catch that one as well.
"Sorry little one," Syd winced as she and the male exchanged a few blows, "that's classified. However, if you know where she is," she caught one last punch from the male before looking him dead in the eye, "now's the time to tell."
The male raised a brow, examining the female before him and noticing the dice shaped crest on her jacket, "Red hair.. a green D6 crest…" he then eyed Eli's gem on her bracelet, "and a navigator conduit. Occupied, I presume?"
"As it would appear," Eli spoke up, "it's nice to see you after all this time Rin."
"No way," Syd blinked, pulling her hands away and letting out a small gasp. "Rin?! That's really you?!" She smirked, then reached up and pinched his cheeks, "You were so small the last time I saw you! What happened?"
Rin simply blinked, "Time…" he shrugged, "I guess?" He looked to Trey, "Who's your friend over there?"
"Classified," she told him.
"I see," Rin looked back to Syd, "and your reason for seeing Fumiko?"
"Also classified," Syd returned.
"Figures," Rin let out another heavy sigh before turning back to the direction he was previously headed. "Well, if you're here to see her I'll take you right to her."
"Thank you very much," Syd said with a bow as she and Trey followed Rin.
"Eli," Trey whispered, "you were able to recognize him despite how long it's been?"
"Of course," Eli told him, also in a whisper, "and it surprises me that Syd could not-"
Eli was suddenly silenced by Syd hurling a quick jab into Trey's shoulder, "Oh can it," she blushed, "no one's perfect alright? Not even me."
In a dimly lit bar on the other side of town, a tall suited man adorned with jewels snarled at a photo that he gripped in his hand. The photo was of bloodstained Naota leaving an alleyway. "When was this photo taken?" he asked one of his goons.
"Five minutes after our brothers were killed sir," the goon told him.
The boss sucked his teeth, casting the photo to the table and towards the other goons which surrounded him. "Listen up boys," he looked upon his men, "I want this kid found and," he ran his hand along his throat, "taken care of."
"Don't worry boss," the goon chuckled as the other men surrounding him cocked their guns, "he will be."
Suddenly, the front doors to the bar opened up and Naota walked inside. Closing the doors behind him, he stared the entire gang down as they sat there gawking at him.
"Hey boss," whispered the goon, "ain't that the kid?"
The boss snarled, "You're damn right he is." He snapped his fingers, causing all his underlings to shoot up from their seats and aim their guns at Naota.
"Bale'gor," Naota whispered under his breath, aiming his closed fist at the gang which was adorned by his mother's ring, "you know what to do."
"As you command," called Bale'gor as he emerged from the ring and charged at the gang, ripping them to pieces within an instant. As blood and dismembered flesh stained the establishment, all the other patrons and staff stared at the scene that unfolded and fled in mass panic after a loud collective scream.
"Good work Bale'gor," Naota said in a cold and commanding voice as he headed up to the remains that was previously the boss. He knelt down and began removing the jewels from him, even going as far as to take every bit of cash he had in his wallet, "Take what you can, then let's get out of here."
"The ones that got away," Bale'gor looked to the kid with a raised brow, "you aren't going to stop them? They might alert the authorities."
"Then that's all the more reason why we need to move as fast as we can," Naota said, his tone not softening for a moment as he stuffed the valuables he had looted into the pockets of his hoodie. "I've got too much to do to slow down."
{End of Part A}
{Start of Part B}
Trey and Syd followed Rin as he opened the door to a dusty antique shop. Rin entered the shop, wiping his shoes on the mat with Syd following suit as she casually strolled in. Trey entered, walking off the mat without doing anything to it only for Rin, Syd and Eli to look back at him and saying in unison, "Shoes."
Trey's eyes widened as Syd wagged her finger in front of his face, "First rule of Fumiko's place, wiped your shoes and your face."
"Oh, sorry," Trey blushed in embarrassment, taking a moment to step back onto the mat and wiping his shoes on it. He then looked back up at Syd with a glare, "And why do I gotta wash my face?"
"Cause you just came in from outside," Rin said as he placed the bag he held down on a desk with a register near the store's back wall, grabbing an apron shortly after. "I'll go fetch Fumiko and let her know you're here."
"No need my son," a voice sang like chimes on a hot summer day. All eyes turned to a doorway lined with a beaded curtain only a few feet away from the desk Rin stood beside.
Standing there against the doorway was a tall full figured woman, her eye hair and skin color the exact same as Rin's. Her long flowing black hair was down and she was dressed in a loose fitting silk midnight blue kimono with pink tsubaki flowers flowing throughout its design.
"Fumiko!" Syd cheered as she rushed over and threw her arms around the woman, pulling her into a tight hug, "How've you been?"
"Can't complain personally," Fumiko grinned, reaching up to pinch Syd's cheeks, "but it's always so dull when you're not around S.Y.D."
"Syd," Trey corrected Fumiko, all eyes going over to him.
Fumiko tilted her head to the side, "I'm sorry my child.. What was that?"
"Sorry," Trey bowed his head to Fumiko, "she goes by Syd now, not S.Y.D."
"Oh really?" Fumiko's eyes narrowed upon the red haired girl in front of her, "is this true?"
Syd nodded, "It has a ring to it."
"I see, and I happen to agree," Fumiko's grin returned as she looked back at Trey, "then what can I call you young sir?"
"Trey ma'am," the boy told her, "Trey Morgan-Hart."
"Well then Trey Morgan-Hart," Fumiko's gaze turned to her son Rin who had at this point sat down at the front desk and began working on paperwork, "would you be so kind as to lend my son here a hand while I speak with," she looked back to the red haired network rider, "Syd was it?"
Syd nodded once again.
"O-Oh, sure.." Trey muttered, glancing at Rin only to meet the other man's gaze for a moment before going right back to looking at Fumiko. "But! Can I ask a question first?"
"Of course," Fumiko said in a voice softer than silk as Syd walked past Fumiko, disappearing through the doorway, "ask me anything."
"How did you know we were here?" Trey asked point blank.
"I am an oracle, Fledgling Trey Morgan-Hart," Fumiko smirked as she turned on her heel to follow after Syd, "being able to see those who will soon be in your path is the first thing I was required to master."
Trey watched as Fumiko disappeared beyond the doorway, the young man remaining still long enough for even the beaded curtain to stop swaying and return to the way it had been before anyone had even touched it.
"Whoa…" he finally muttered. "OKAY!" he clapped his hands together, then turned to Rin, "So, what can I help you with Rin?"
As Trey turned to face Rin, he saw the other man sit at the front desk with his feet up on it and shuffling a deck of cards in his hands. "Hmm?" muttered Rin as he looked up at Trey, "Oh, that.. Sorry, but I already finished all that."
Trey blinked, "What?! When?!" he barked.
Rin blinked at him, "While you were standing there."
Trey's jaw hit the floor, then he slapped himself in the face, "I'm sorry…"
Rin blinked once again, then he managed a small laugh, "Hey, don't worry about it." He finished shuffling the deck of cards then placed them down on the table, "It's not like you work here or anything."
Trey let out a sigh of relief, then pointed a finger at Rin, "You promise?"
"Of course I do," Rin assured him, "besides, I thought you were cute.." he shrugged, "in a weird sort of way."
This comment somehow made all of Trey's nervousness wash away, "O-Oh…" he muttered, swallowing once again, "Well, there has to be something I can do."
Rin stared at Trey for a moment, then eyed a folded up chair in the corner of the room, "You could grab that chair and sit with me for a while."
"Alright," Trey said as he grabbed the chair and unfolded it, placing it down in front of the desk, "so…" he sat down and looked to Rin all while tapping his hands on the surface of the desk that divided them, "what are we doing?"
"As an oracle in training I need to practice with basic fortune telling," Rin said as he placed his hand atop the deck of cards on the table, then looked Trey in the eye, "care to lend a hand?"
"Sure," Trey smiled, "what do I do?"
"Just sit there," Rin told him, spreading the cards out on the table with one quick motion of his hand, "and pick three cards."
"Okay," Trey said as he pointed to one card by the end that was once the top of the deck, then one by the end that was once the top and finally a card near the middle, "what for?"
"They will represent your past," Rin said as he picked up the first card Trey pointed to, "your present," he then picked up the second card, "and your future," before finally picking up the third.
With one hand, Rin swept the deck back up before splaying out Trey's three cards in front of him from right to left in the order in which they were chosen. Rin then placed his hand over the first card, then looked back to Trey.
"Ready?" he asked the other man. Trey simply nodded, then Rin flipped it over, "Queen of Hearts," he announced as the card was revealed.
Trey blinked, then looked to Rin, "What does it mean?"
"If I recall correctly," Rin tapped his finger on the surface of the desk, closing his eyes as he recited line for line what he had read on the card before him, "A fair-haired woman with a good nature; or a woman with Water signs predominating in her chart. Kind advice. Affectionate, caring woman. Sometimes, this card can indicate the mother or a mother figure."
"The mother…" Trey muttered as he stared at the card, feeling his heart sink down into his chest.
Rin looked at him with an empathetic gaze, reaching his hand out to cup the hand of the young man in front of him. "She passed away sometime ago… didn't she?"
Trey shook his head, "No… at least, not that I know of," he said, balling his hand into a fist and pulling it away from Rin's. "She was a network rider, and she left when I was little."
"Even so, her leaving put a whole in your heart no one could fill," Rin continued, "didn't it?"
Trey's lower lip began to quiver, feeling the sting behind his eyes of tears which took all of his strength to hold back. After a nod, he took in a deep breath, "Next card please…" he said on the exhale."
Rin nodded in understanding, going to the second card and flipping it over, "Ten of hearts." He raised a brow, taking note of the fact it was the same suit as the last card, "Good luck, success. This is an important card that suggests good fortune after difficulty."
This reading made Trey snicker. "Accurate," he said as he wiped his eyes.
Rin looked to Trey and raised a brow, "How so?"
"It's a long story," he said, dismissing the matter with a wave of his hand. "Next card! Future this time, right?"
"Future, yes," Rin nodded before flipping over the final card, "King of Hearts."
Trey's eyes shot open as he looked to the full line, "Hearts for all three?!" He looked Rin in the eye, "Is that unusual?"
Rin nodded, "Very."
"What does it mean?" Trey asked, "The card I mean."
"An affectionate, caring man," Rin told him, once again placing his hand over Trey's, "this man will help you out without much talk. His actions will reveal his kindness and concern."
Trey blushed, then dodged Rin's gaze, "You… you don't say…"
"Trey," Rin said in a stern voice, "would you be willing to spend a bit more time with me after work? There's a place I'd like to take you."
Trey broke out in a slight fit of nervous laughter, "Geez, you sound like you're asking me out on a date or something."
"It's because I am," Rin told him, narrowing his gaze upon Trey, "so, how about it? You good for around nine-ish?"
Trey looked up to Rin, his eyes sparkling as he met the other man's gaze, "... Yes."
Beyond the doorway at the back of the storeroom Trey and Rin sat in, Syd and Fumiko sat at a round table in a darkened room lined wall to wall with violet curtains with the only light being cast from the gentle flicker of a single candle placed at the center of the table.
"So, that boy out there," Fumiko spoke, looking Syd in the eye, "he's Jewel's boy, isn't he?"
Syd managed a slight nervous laugh. "Nothing gets past you, does it Fumiko?" she said as scratched the back of her neck, "When did you figure it out?"
Fumiko smirked as she ran her hand over the candle on the table, "I foresaw it… as I do all things my child."
"Okay…" Syd thought for a moment, "what am I going to ask next?"
"Yes," Fumiko looked at the girl in front of her, "my sister was the navigator of the network rider that took down one of the spyres."
Syd let out a small whistle, "Impressive as always."
"I am aware you may not have the clearance to tell us Fumiko, but I must ask nonetheless," Eli spoke in a composed tone of voice, "how did they do it?"
"I can't say… not because I'm not allowed," Fumiko let out a heavy sigh as he hand dropped to the table, "but because I do not know." She balled her hand into her fist as she looked Syd in the eye with a sharpened gaze, "All I know, is that my sister gave her life to do it."
The room fell silent for a long while, then finally, "Damn…" Syd muttered after what felt like an eternity, "I knew the spyres were tough but…"
"But nothing," Fumiko gave her a stern look, "Syd, Eli… the two of you are planning on going after a spyre are you?"
Syd froze, then turned away from Fumiko, "That's…" she muttered under her breath, "classified."
"Don't be stupid Syd," Fumiko said, reaching out to take hold of Syd's hand which sat in a closed fist on the table, "you can tell me and no one, not even Cleric, will ever know."
Syd remained silent, but eventually, "We have a mission, Fumiko, given to us by Cleric herself," Eli told her, "to destroy the remaining spyres wherever they might lie."
"I see…" Fumiko said, pulling her hand away, "so you both plan to die then?"
"If that's what it takes," Syd told her, looking back to Fumiko with a smile on her face, "to protect this world."
Fumiko gasped under her breath. "Syd…" she muttered, only to clear her throat moments later. "Then before you do, I have a favor to ask the both of you."
Syd smirked, crossing her arms, "Hit us with it."
"It's a fledgling, who's the son of a dear friend of mine," Fumiko told the both of them, "save him."
As the sun set around him, Naota sat on the dusty couch in his living while looking out to the coffee table which was covered in both cash and jewels. The cash was clean and intact, but the jewels were scuffed and stained by dried blood. Bale'gor watched the boy from across the coffee table with the eyes of a predator watching his prey, the fledgling with much the same gaze as he, with a simple ragged, cleaned the blood and human remains from each jewel he had in his possession.
"All this bloodshed and clutter," Bale'gor spoke up suddenly, his eyes still fixed on Naota, "what's it for?"
"My mother is dying Bale'gor," Naota told the gate keeper, not taking his eyes of the jewelry he was cleaning, "and I'm going to use all the money I can to save her life."
"But you have taken many more lives in your efforts to do so," Bale'gor said, raising a brow, "won't the authorities come after you?"
"Let them come after me," Naota returned, "I don't care."
"You'd throw your life away for another?" Bale'gor questioned, "Why?"
"You said you were human once, didn't you?" Naota took his eyes off the jewel he head and turned to the undead he viewed as his accomplish. "Was there ever someone that you'd risk everything for?"
Bale'gor stared at the boy in front of him, then suddenly he found himself snapping back in his mind to when he was human.
Bale'gor, then a young black man with rough features in a white long sleeve shirt and roughed up jeans with simple red runners, sat in the passenger seat of a car looking to the back where a small girl lay asleep in a booster seat.
"Is she asleep?" asked an asain male in a semi formal attire.
"Yeah," the human Bale'gor said as he patted the girl on the head, a smile coming to his face, "she really is a cute one by the way."
"So, I'm guessing that's a yes? On sticking around I mean," the other male grinned. "She really does like you, and so do I."
The human Bale'gor's grin widened, then cupped the other man's cheek before leaning into kiss him on the lips, "What sort of question is that?" he whispered against his lips, "of course I do."
This intimate moment was not meant to last however, as a pair of headlights blared through the front window followed by a sudden collision to the driver's side of the vehicle. As a result of the impact, the vehicle flew backwards, flipped and tumbled until it crashed on the ground causing glass and debris to scatter on the road and the human form of Bale'gor to be jettisoned from the vehicle.
"Oww…" muttered the human Bale'gor as he writhed on the ground in agony with shards of glass covering him and cutting into his flesh, "shit, what the hell was that?"
"HEY!" a loud voice roared from over Bale'gor's shoulder, a scrawny white man with a curly beard and baseball cap dressed in flannel coming over and kicking the downed man in the gut, "WATCH WHERE YOU FUCKING DRIVING FELLA!" He spat in Bale'gor's face, the took a swig from a bottle held in his hand.
Bale'gor reached forward, grabbing the man by his ankle, "Please…" he muttered, "call for help…" he whimpered, looking up to the man who was just kicking him, "there's still time to save them."
"Them?" the drunkard raised a brow, looking over to the totaled car before letting out a laugh. "Oh I'll help 'em alright fella." The man smirked and approached the vehicle, emptying the bottle he held over the wrecked before breaking the bottom with one hard toss to the ground.
"Wait…" Bale'gor gasped, "what are you doing?!"
The drunkard smirked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a lighter, "Helping them to hell." With one quick flick of his thumb, the male ignited the lighter and tossed it onto the car, walking away from the wreckage and back over to his truck as the vehicle exploded next to Bale'gor.
"NO!" cried the broken man on the ground as he watched the two inside become engulfed in flames. All the man could do was watch as the flames shot up, burned all around them and died leaving nothing but scorched metal and bone once they eventually died down. "Someone please… help…" the human Bale'gor whimpered, tears running down his face as he stared at the rubble and ash.
In the dead silence, a faint clatter of ghostly chains filled the air followed by a gruff booming voice. "The souls within have passed on already.. Forgive me, but fate stayed my feet from aiding you sooner."
All the human Bale'gor could do in that moment was tilt his head back to catch a glimpse of who was speaking to him. As he turned his gaze to the voice all that the broken man was able to see was a large battleaxe coated in an ice cold aura. The axe itself seemed to be made of bone with a screaming skull adorning the center of the double sided blade.
"I see," the broken male sharply swallowed, then closed his eyes, "then use that weapon of yours to allow me to join them."
"Forgive me, but I cannot," the voice told him, "it is not your time to leave this world."
"But I am already dead…" the human Bale'gor pleaded, "a world without them is not worth living…"
"But do you not see?" The voice aimed his battleaxe to the scorched wreckage, "If the condemned soul who ran you off the road is not put where he belongs, only more will be lost the same as your loved ones. Knowing that, can you truly leave this world?"
The human Bale'gor looked to the wreckage, then narrowed his gaze upon it, "No…" he muttered, his voice turning into a snarl as pale white fur began to cover his body, "I cannot!"
"Then it is as I suspected," the voice called to him as the broken male clawed to his feet, becoming more and more like the undead he was in the present, "you still possess a reason to exist." The axe was lowered onto one of the male's shoulders, then was placed on the other, "Arise Bale'gor the Rake, my new angel to lives cut short and jailor of the damned."
As the battleaxe lowered, the newly reborn Bale'gor rose to stand before the being that gave him new life. Even in the dead of night the being before Bale'gor was as clear as day, a large yet stoic orc with skin as grey as a corpse frozen over in the dead of winter. His hair, black as obsidian was done up in a crest that went up in a fan like motion on the top of his head. He wore heavy plated armor, every inch of which was adorned with some form of skull or bone detailing that was so close to life like it was uncertain if it was made from steel or the genuine article. The entire being before Bale'gor gave off an ice cold aura like frozen air rushing off from dry ice.
"Before I take what's mine," Bale'gor bowed, "what do I call you?"
"Astaroth," the being told him, "the Deathlord."
Further down the road, the drunkard drove his trunk with the radio on full blast, driving through a red light only to be stopped by the sudden thud of Bale'gor landing on his hood. The drunkard jumped back, looking forward and being struck speechless by the being before him.
With a snarl, Bale'gor drove his claw through the windshield and grabbed the drunkard by his throat. "Hey," the undead snarled, "watch where you're going."
Back in the present day with Trey and Rin. The two young men sat as they previously were in front of the store as Syd rushed out from the back and grabbed Trey by the collar, "Come on Trey! We've got our mission!"
Rin and Trey both blinked in surprise, the both of them having barely enough time to react. Nevertheless, Rin reached out a hand to grab Trey but simply was not fast enough to prevent him being whisked over to the door by Syd.
"Syd! Wait a moment please!" Fumiko called out to her as she came into the front room, regaining the smile she had when the trio had first arrived. "Can you do me one more favor before you leave?"
Syd paused, then looked over to Fumiko, "Uh… sure?" she questioned, unsure of what Fumiko wanted at this time.
Fumiko looked to Rin, "You were practising your fortune telling, correct?" Rin nodded, then Fumiko looked back to Syd. "Then perhaps a quick reading before leave?"
"Alright," Syd said, releasing Trey as she approached the desk as Rin began shuffling the cards in front of him, "but just a quick one, okay? Bing bang boom, ya know?"
"Alright," Rin said, looking Syd in the eye as he finished shuffling and placed the cards down on the desk, "past, present or future?"
Syd thought for a moment, "Uh…."
"Future," Fumiko cut in.
Syd and Rin both looked to Fumiko, then awkwardly looked back to each other, "Uh… what she said?" she laughed nervously, pointing over to Fumiko.
Rin nodded, then splayed the cards out on the desk, "Pick one then turn it over."
"Right," Syd nodded back, running her hand along the cards before finding one towards the middle but leaning closer to what was once the bottom of the deck. "This one," she said, picking it up and turning it over.
All eyes turned to the card as Rin read out, "Ace…" he paused for a moment before looking Syd in the eye, "of Spades."
Trey stared at the card, then looked to Rin, "And… what does that one mean?"
"He can tell us when we get back," Syd told Trey, grabbing Trey by the wrist and heading out the door, "See you in a spell!"
With that, Syd, Trey and Eli left and the door slammed behind them. Once they were gone, Fumiko looked to her son then raised a brow at him, "Rin?"
"Ace of Spades," he told her, "Misfortune; sometimes associated with a difficult ending… Or more often," he looked towards the door that Syd and Trey had just left out from, "Death."
To Be Continued
{Insert Ending Theme: "Again" by Beverly}