Don't Be Afraid of the Dark - NEVER Make Fun Of The Pirate!
Chapter 3
Gedharm suddenly felt festive and started humming a song the whole crew knew, albeit in their own languages, including Orcish
"What's got him to festive...Christmas?" Kommamura said as Gedharm was humming 'Bink's Sake' (from One Piece) both in his native languages of Spanish and Orcish, ignoring Komammura who got near Baccus "Make him stop..." He was in the opposite mood to festive at the moment
"You start and I'll choke you..." He threatened Renji who was close enough for him to hear that annoying song he started humming along to as he replied "But it's catchy..."
"Yeah, about as catchy as chickenpox..." Ike snarled as he caught X-23 and Victor ahead of him and did like Drakko was doing to tune out the jolly Archaeologist and listening in
Victor didn't really care much for singing or music in general unless it was him cutting people to shreds, he knew X-23 knew why he targetted her the last time they met (while Kami was still very much alive but Michael Darkstone wasn't defeated yet) and not Logan...or she'd at least figured it out by now
"So where have you been all this time?" Laura asks as he replied "all over...tracking down any other remnants of those who served Kami or Darkstone...while keeping this retard from getting us both - especially himself - incarcerated or killed" he stuck his thumb at Wildchild
"Logan hasn't been the same since the things Kami said about Xavier and more turned out to be true...he's become quieter and less recognisable now" Laura explained "most of us are still here because he begged us - like on his knees, if he had to - to stay...for his sake but he told those who had parents to go back to the entire truth with more than your fair share of subtle threats that we were his kids as much as theirs and he seemed to be doing a great job taking care of us"
"Why hasn't he walked out of there yet then?!" Victor snapped with a growl, no one blamed him for being hurt and angry as they all were as Berserker said "You and Logan are well respected by the Ghouls and they begged him to stay...it was no secret to any of us that if he set foot out of that mansion, we'd never see him ever again...we even feel sorry for him and stayed for those whose loved ones he couldn't persuade with sweet threats"
"At Kami's funeral...I saw a change in him too, he wouldn't eat, talk to or smile at any of us...he felt alone, something I can sympathize with" Dartz said as he glanced at Komammura "He watches Komammura like a hungry hawk from now on too"
"We're here..." Yakuzo said as they saw the outside of the Prison facility known as the Crypt, as Multiple asked "I don't like this place already...Why do I no longer get the feeling like we're being watched...?"
"It's a prison...it's not a place you want to like, even if you're a little brain dead" Yakuzo said as he ordered "Go in...Shin should be around somewhere"
"Somewhere...how do you lose track of a blind guy that's four times your size?" Renji asks having only glanced Shin once in the past outside the prison while with Kommamura about two years ago in Venice...a place Shin seemed to like visiting "Does he ever even leave Impel Dow-I mean the Crypt?"
"No...and you know he's listening, right?" Yakuzo leered at the group as Victor scowled "Yeah yeah, where is he?"
"What do we have here, Yakuzo-san?" Shin said as he appeared behind the group without a sound from a portal of Darkness as he sniffed the air then grimaced, these scents were new to him but now he'd always remember each one 'Bakkasu, anata no hyōban wa anata no mae ni arimasu, shikashi, kono keimusho wa kodomo no tame no bashode wa arimasen, azazeru no, watashi wa anata ga ima anata no yakunitatanai fāsuto meito o kōkan suru to omoimashita ka?' (I'm peckish and in no mood for pests...Bacchus, your reputation precedes you, but this prison is no place for children, even Azazel's, I thought you'd replaced your useless First Mate by now?)
Kurt, curious, teleported onto Shin's shoulder as he stood at his full height, waving his hand in his face to get no reaction but a scowl...two things that enraged Shin most were hands being waved in his face and being touched without permission as he grabbed Kurt's tail at blinding speed "Tell me, boy...how do you wish to die?"
Having been with Rogue and Azazel training his ass off since before Bane even lost his body to Kami non-stop until their return a few weeks ago, Kurt was no longer fazed by his tail being grabbed, even being able to teleport to places he's never been to before and across dimensions like his least favorite, the Shadow Dimension which he heard from a Demon the now served him was the origin of particularly the darkest of Dark Magics and Bane Asakura's and all other Asakura's abilities centered around Shadows...despite it being Bane's X-Gene and not related to his undeniable prowess in magic
"Hey, hands off the tail, man" Kurt says as Victor lunges at him but Shin summons his darkness to stop him in his tracks, Victor has seen what happens to someone who touches Shin's magic and it wasn't pretty at all
"That's enough, Creed...get what you came for and leave already, while you still have such a choice" Shin says as Dartz walks off "I don't wanna be here any longer than any of us need to be here either...get on with it, Creed"
"Yer lucky I respect ya enough that I let ya order me around like that, Dartzy...I might take ya rushin' me like this and orderin' around like yer lackey the wrong way" Victor sneered as Dartz glared "Enough with that nickname or else"
Dartz' mood seems to be worsening by the minute and Wildchild was putting the icing on the cake as he pet Dartz' Bandana covered head like some lost puppy as Dartz froze in place and disbelief as everyone but Shin and Yakuzo got away from the two, especially Dartz who had a silver aura around him...the same one that earned him the nickname The Silver-Eyed Demon because he immediately went feral if absolutely anyone touched his bandana
"Aw...don't feel too bad, shorty...Creed's a dick to everyone as of recently" Wildchild said petting Dartz on the head until he reached his boiling point as Wildchild looked at the Captain "By the way, mister Captain...why are you allowing him to wear a washcloth on his head that he should be bathing with?"
Everyone practically heard something snap somewhere in Dartz like a twig, there were certain insults that even he drew the line at as he quickly grabbed Wildchild's hand on his head and broke it quickly, loudly and as painfully as possible before pinning him by the neck at the nearest closed cell door and easily lifted him with one hand with an axe in the other as he whispered "Watch yer back at all time around me, Gibney...cuz you'll be lucky if you don't leave this prison piece by piece...don't EVER, EVER touch the bandana...Do I make myself clear, matey?"
Gibney nods quickly as Dartz grins, sending a shiver up his spine "and the name's Dartz...you lose a limb if I so much as hear myself addressed as anything but..." He drops him and walks up to Raiko's cell
Raiko was forced to remain standing, as from the walls Hell Chains were connected and strapped to his arms...this seemed like a rather normal punishment but the slightest movement as if he's trying to escape and the chains will move on their own and squeeze with any movement of his arms or hands and burn deeper into his flesh...he looked very similar to Dartz with green hair, a trait inherited from their father who also had naturally emerald hair, silver eyes that looked similar to wolf or cat in Raiko and light skin, he was taller than Dartz by almost two feet, but shorter that Colossus and Sabretooth as he had his eyes shut as if dreaming
"Rise and shine, sleepin' ugly...I want some answers outta ya!" Dartz stood right before his brother, he used to be terrified of him but now he wasn't and it wasn't because he was helpless and unarmed without his spear, Ronin "I'm not leavin' here without 'em either, I know there's some missing dot connecting the people who sent Kommamura after our parents and whoever you answer to"
Raiko open both eyes, his voice was deeper that Dartz' barely deep voice "Took you long enough to come here...dear brother...I thought it would be more 'prison-breakey' though...ah, and you brought the love of my life with you too..." He glanced behind Dartz to see Rogue
Raiko had an obsession with Rogue from the first time they met and fought, he wants to still marry her even if his feelings for her were both one-sided and not really love since he did stab her through with his spear to show her just how expendable she was to him...he saved her life twice though, once from Kami who didn't take very kindly to it and the other was from another was from another of Michael's far from brainless goons, Grodd formerly known as Grody Wu and his son who seemed to be forced into working for Michael by his asshole father, Nathan Wu better known as Wukong who was vital in stopping Michael by betraying his father and helping Dartz, the first and only person older than him to be kind to him
Grodd wore a special Cerebro-like helmet that blocked his telepathy and telekinesis completely as he was shackled to the wall by his wrists, tail and ankles and Nathan merely chained by one wrist and ankle by the same chains as Raiko and his father as he sat on the floor, suffering from extreme depression over what he was forced to do which led to him helping Dartz out in the first place
Before them was a Ghoul Priest praying without any concern for Grodd's threats to kill him first when he gets out, he was Valoran Hargreaves...he was a former Priest turned Sage, he was a calm man with no fear and didn't care particularly which God he prayed to as long as they weren't benevolent. He had white long hair and dark grey eyes, he wore a dark purple hooded cloak with ordinary clothes underneath
"You need to stay in one place, Hargreaves... Ya ain't an easy man to track down" Victor said as Valoran sighed "I prefer to be referred to merely as Valoran...now, state your business with me this time around"
"Just the location of another of Michael's hideouts...I know Kami had many here but there may be more than meets the eye to some of them"
"You'd have to be more specific than that...and where's my fucking payment from the last time I helped you?" Valoran asks "these bases have been mostly abandoned and were all dead since Asakura Bane banished Kami as a kid...I don't know what you expect to find there"
"I know they're abandoned...Logan and I were both there when Kami went all 'Han Solo' on you guys cuz of this idiot" Sabretooth pointed at J'onn accusingly as the disgraced former Ghoul Lord looked like he'd seen better days...the more Victor learned about Kami, the more he felt that Kami wasn't a villain, he wasn't even inherently evil, very undeniably cruel and ruthless but not your typical kind of 'evil' as much as he was a puppet on J'onn's strings
Remy stood right before J'onn, he showed no anger or said a word...out of everyone who was a part of the Brotherhood at the time, his hatred of Magneto was probably second only to Creed's because of what little remorse they had for using them...he expected no less from Erik but not Xavier, who was always seeming the kinder of the two...his betrayal was unacceptable even if Victor wasn't one of the X-Men
Remy clearly hasn't been himself since Kami killed him...gladly, he and many others were revived by Bane's spirit, the Elder Spirit, Bastion and while Remy was probably the most grateful for it...he was still extremely angry at a few people...Azazel and Magneto topped his list
He was livid with Azazel only for taking Kurt and Rogue, which was partially why Kami went on his murderous warpath as well, but he was forgiven as he couldn't dare even raise his hand at a Demon Lord, while Magneto only served to make him as angry as Logan because he knew what would happen and that especially Logan and Victor would have a beating of a lifetime for him afterwards but Logan had locked himself up tightly in the mansion, or what was left of it, not wanting to see anyone and Victor was God knows where
Raiko knew all of this as he looked at everyone...many of them ready to just about explode as Dartz asked "Raiko...who do you work for?"
Raiko looked down, completely unashamed of the pain he caused them all "Who I work for is the least of your problems right now, there are others who works for my employer and they're very powerful...I ain't squealin' until I'm outta the bird cage, brother" he grinned sadistically until Remy pushed Dartz aside and raised Raiko's head by force with his bo staff
"We've been through hell and back and you think this is funny?!" Remy snarled angrily, he was furious and wanted to let it all out of Raiko as he looked at Yakuzo "Open this door...I'll make him talk even if I have to beat him to death to do so"
Drakko understood why the mutants were angry, he understood better than anyone but felt that killing Raiko wasn't the most logical option right now no matter how much he wanted them to suffer as he held Remy back "Think...you snap and accidentally let him loose and he'll kill you - again - in a heartbeat...it's not worth losing your temper over"
"That's enough...I'll tell you what I know" Everyone turned to see Nathan Wu/Wukong standing as Yami scolds "Why would they let someone as useless as you go anywhere with them...huh, trash?"
Yami was very unpleasant towards Wukong...he had every reason not to be as they weren't friends but Nathan always tries to appeal to his good side anyway as he pointed at his father glaring at him sadistically "I can't bare spending another second being anywhere near these two pieces of trash, I don't care if I go with you or not...the sight of them sickens me"
"He is a bit young...way too wet behind the ears to be of any use to the enemy..." Roku stared at him, Nathan knew better than to even fight Mitarashi as he clearly had an entire toolbox loose rather than a few screws and seemed to have no friends...just like he did, not like Roku was looking for any however "show no mercy to the enemy...not even if he's the son of the enemy" he twitched once Wukong did look him in he eye
Dartz stops him "Let him out...I owe my life to him, he gives any trouble and I kick his ass and bring him back here to an even worse part of the prison" Dartz said as Shin added "He will serve out his sentence, one way or the other..."
Shin lets him out of the cell as he bowed to Dartz "thank you..."
"Don't mention it...and that's Master Dartz to ya" Dartz said as Wukong gave a confused "Come again?"
"You didn't think I'd let you out of my sight that easy, did ya...you're my apprentice from now on and you will be better than Kommamura's little numbnuts if I have anything to say about it, got that?" Dartz asked as Wukong was still in shock replying "Yes, Master...I think"
Wukong looked at Renji and Kommamura as Renji gave him a peace sign and a grin and Kommamura scowled at him...not the least bit curious about him
Wukong walks over to Kommamura and immediately notices his sharp claws and that he was not here to be friends with anyone as he got on his knees and bowed "Master Kommamura, I would like to humbly apologize for my actions...and words towards you, you have to believe my mind wasn't my own when I said those things"
"I don't wanna hear it...I don't forgive that easy" Kommamura snarled points at a now thrashing, angry Grodd "You're the spawn of him...don't look at me, don't talk to me, don't come near me or my apprentice ever...again and I'm not your master, don't call me Master or I fully intend to kill you"
"Isn't that a little harsh, Master?" Renji asks as Kommamura said "Let me catch you talking to him...I'll show you the true meaning of harsh treatment...Like Drakko said, we ain't here to make friends"
"Why are you agreeing with someone who hates you for ruining his life in the first place then?" Renji asks as Ike flicked him on the forehead "None of your business, it's personal"
Renji held his forehead "That's your excuse for everything..."
"About my payment, Creed..." Valoran clears his throat at the awkward moment "I want it now...or you get nothing"
"How much do I need to wire to your bank account then?" Creed asks as Valoran chuckled at something he didn't even find that amusing "Funny...but I neither have a bank account, not do I want your money...he already has it, I smell it" he pointed at Wildchild
"What does he smell on you?" X-23 sniffed Wildchild's person and didn't even need to get too personal for her eyes to widen in immediate regret and disgust "What the hell is that?"
"Does he stink that bad?" Ulysses asks as Shin clarifies for her, having the best nose of any of them and not even being near Kyle "Yeah, he's revolting..."
"Jesus Christ..." was all Dartz could say as Wildchild gave them all a bewildered and annoyed "That's not me...it's this, you bunch of idiots"
He pulled out two Ziploc bags from his bag containing almost completely rotted human flesh he's had on him for at least two weeks now, specially for this occasion...enough time for him and Victor to be all but immune to the stench "Wish I could've kept it fresher but we have nowhere to stay here yet...much less a fridge to keep it in"
"Y'know, that bag Voorhees had on him...it's not called a Store-A-Lot for nothing...a building can fit in it if ya have the means to get it in, that looks like one of 'em" Drakko grabs at Wild child's bag but misses "they were created way back when Ghouls, Orcs and Beastkins were at peace as a sign of said peace...the current Ghoul Lord's grandfather was Ghoul Lord at the time"
"I'll skin you, Hello Kitty...don't touch my stuff" Wildchild may have the weakest Healing Factor compare to monsters like Victor Creed and Logan, but it was still marginally stronger than X-23...making him a glutton for punishment that can't control his mouth, which was the reason Victor can't tolerate him sometimes and Logan tried to kill him on even more occasions than Victor...the three were still close up until the X-Men and Brotherhood took in Victor and Logan respectively and Wildchild disappeared from his constant tormentors, Weapon X and who knows who else
Ryujin had no mercy on anyone even remotely responsibly for the things Kami did or helping him, hence why J'onn was in the Crypt...once back in the city, Dartz wants to see how he's been over the years
What he did to his former apprentice was as merciful as he'd be on anyone and he'd fight anyone who got between him and beating J'onn within an inch of his life when his grief was too much for him...which was several times a day or a week sometimes
He picked favorites with no one and it was no secret that he loved his children regardless of how evil they were, mostly from how he raised them as he came out of his house but went back in the moment he saw Dartz and the X-Men
Berzerker saw the Ghoul Lord however and tapped Dartz "Isn't that his house over there...how about we go say hi?"
"I dunno...he doesn't seem to act like I would expect a Ghoul Lord of his stature to act" Drakko was apprehensive and with good reason as he felt the Ghoul Lord's bottled up feelings
Dartz walked up and knocked on the door, he and Ryujin had a great respect for one another since he became Bane's bodyguard, he praised Dartz on how powerful and controlled he was, something Dartz held pride in when his own past was looked at
Dartz was also worried as no one had seen or heard from the Ghoul Lord and he refused to attend Kami's funeral, keeping one of his own with the Kurosaki Clan "Ryujin...ye in there?" Dartz asks
The answer he received was a sword through his palm touching the door and another one that missed his face, Dartz' reaction to this was a grin though as he pulled his hand off the blade that went through it, which healed "he seems happy to see me..."
"If this is how he shows happiness then I would hate to see him angry...he is Kami's dad however, so I wasn't expecting him to be a pushover" Berserker said, having heard of Ryujin from Bane
"You know he can see and hear us, right?" Dartz asks as he could see Ryujin as well with the Kakugan's abilities to see through objects as Ryujin threw another bigger sword at Dartz' stomach but Dartz caught it before he was stabbed
"What do you want?" Ryujin finally asks as Kitty walked through the door, thinking it was okay "To see you, silly..."
She jumped back out almost immediately however as Ryujin tried to slash her throat "go away...do not intrude on my privacy and why the hell are you with these freaky kids anyway?"
"We're Logan's kids...and we're not freaky" Spyke went into his armored form and charged to Kitty's rescue
Ryujin became cold at the very mention of that name, he greatly respected Logan and Victor, even treating the two as the only non-Ghouls that were his equals as he stabs him in the stomach with a dagger through his armor, whispering in his ear and crying "Kami's gone and you think I care about Logan...what makes you think I have anything left to live for...or lose?"
"No!" Rogue snarled as she summoned six Demons, Azazel's Royal Guards and attacked Ryujin charged them head on, but stopped in his tracks as Shin appeared between him and Rogue, protecting her with his body and his magic known as 'Yami ga tsutsumikomu' (Darkness Envelops) or to the prisoners of the Crypt, 'The Darkness that Fears no Light'
This was because a vengeful Ghoul once barged into the Crypt one time to rescue his friend...only to find her being tortured by Shin, he hoped to overpower and likely kill Shin by using Light Magic which was strong against his Dark Magic...that was when Shin's magic reacted and began consuming the Lightning of it's own will before also consuming the Ghoul, as other mortified inmates and Guren, a fellow torturer only loosely affiliated with the Crypt watched to see that Shin had barely noticed the man he just killed despite knowing he was there
While it was true that Shin's magic was more than capable of eating people, he preferred to eat that way only to prove a point and preferred using his own mouth and teeth as people had also assumed that he had removed some or all of his teeth at one point to 'feed' his magic which was true whenever he was hit hard enough to dislodge a tooth as when he fought Bane when he was a kid but Shin was notoriously hard to hurt and easy to anger, so the chance of that happening very often was slim
"Interesting...she doesn't smell like beautiful to me at all...more like really cheap perfume and many...many bar fights, I like it" Shin protected Rogue by use of his Dark Magic
It took a second before Rogue noticed that she was the item of desire the Blind Psycho was speaking of as she seemed a bit insulted by the gesture "Excuse me...Bar fights?"
"This thing has a crush on Rogue...he said she didn't smell beautiful" Bobby joked as Shin grabbed him and lifted him "Thing? Me? You must be stupid if you thought I was blind and deaf...you will be the first to see just how that traitor feels in a cell at my prison" he tossed Bobby into the Darkness, but he wasn't eaten...only sent to a waiting cell
"Lay your bets, Gentlemen...who wins on a three way clash between Lord Kurosaki, Shin-sensei and Dartz?" Berserker says to Kurt, Beastkin and Gambit
"This is Kami's father we're talking about here...my bets are on Kurosaki" Gambit says as Nic agreed
"Shin..." Beastkin placed his bet with real money as Berserker replied "No way, Lord Kurosaki would slice him to bits before he even...uh, heard it coming"
"Dartz is hands down the best fighter among the Black Fangs and not so easy to take down..." Kurt spoke fondly of the Pirate despite his attitude problem sometimes with people who should be in authority over him but he won't listen to out of a lack of respect...mostly on his own part
Shin froze, he could barely believe his ears "Are your kids...making bets on me winning or losing a fight?"
"How'd you guess they weren't gambling or something?" Ryujin asks as the blind man replied "Because even if they were...they can't do the type of gambling done in this city, I highly doubt they're that stupid"
Suddenly, a man appeared wearing literally rags, a sign that he was from the rogue Ghoul neighborhood, The Slums...he had a sickly look to him but his yellow eyes looked at the group, particularly Dartz, Shin and Ryujin
'Subarashī... Anata wa kon'ya no raionzuden ni komakai tsuika o surudeshou... Watashi wa korera no wakai totsuzenhen'i-tai ga kachigāru nimokakawarazu, anata no kakaku o agete kudasai' (Wonderful...you will make fine additions to tonight's Lion's Den...I wonder, how much these young mutants are worth though, name your price) the man said with a voice that seemed too old for someone as young as himself, because it wasn't his but the ruler of the Slums, Garuda as his eyes met X-23's
Dartz quickly got between him and the teens "Not interested..." He knew of Garuda but this was their first time meeting and it wasn't what he was expecting
The possessed man frowned and glared at Dartz from the corner of his eye "Not interested...why would I care what you would be interested in...you either attend or I find...other means of gettin' you there and I doubt you need proof of how unpleasant I can be" he then becomes amused at the looks the X-Men were giving him, Garuda and Kami were always compared to one another in terms of who was more evil but while Kami was a bigger threat, Garuda was definitely far more dangerous in every other way...Kami saw him as a threat and used Kurosaki Clan Sealing Magic to confine him to what is now called The Slums, effective removing him from the Chess game
Garuda's body may have been confined, but his mind clearly wasn't confined at all as his astral form can travel across the city easily and probably the world if he wanted to as well as possess the bodies of others and he's been spreading a drug based virus all over the Slums and the city at large without anyone being aware that it was his doing to control the minds of the city as it made them more susceptible to Garuda's will...Titus, alongside his older brother Yamato left to fend for themselves on the streets after the Binge War, they were taken in by a seemingly very nice Garuda in person but were treated as the trash he saw them as eventually, he was trained by Garuda personally as well but when he saw his chance he took it and fled, despite wanting his brother with him or going in his place
Speaking of Titus, he was nearby and not too pleased about the X-Men meeting Garuda...or Garuda's very presence at all as he threw his Death Axe at the possessed man "Garuda...your presence is not welcome here and you are not allowed to go near these newcomers, I don't care if Victor Creed is among them!"
Everyone was sure that the Death Axe had split the man in two as he was way too weak and starved looking to even hope to move out of the way fast enough, once the dust clears however, Garuda's messenger is shown to be, not just unharmed and uncaring, but standing on the end of the Death Axe's handle
"Ah, on time as always...my son, Guide them home to me" Garuda says to a less than pleased Titus who swings a kick right through him like he was a ghost snarling "Baka...asshole...son of a bitch...I don't take orders from scum like you!"
Garuda react to this violently, catching a fist without looking then choking Titus in the air with one hand "There are ways to teach you proper respect for your elders, Titus...shall I demonstrate just how useless you are again...shall I make you my bitch again?!"
Titus remains silent and everyone looks stunned as Garuda's rotten temper simmers and he frees Titus before he kills him before disappearing like he was made of data "Don't keep me waiting...for his sake"
"I think I'll stay with you for a while longer, Cap'n..." Gedharm says as he'd already perused the library here when J'onn was still Ghoul Lord and was very curious about the 'Living Library' from the Slums which consisted of far more forbidden items that can only be read about in other places
The Group made they way back to the Crypt to find Bobby in Raiko's cell, inches from the Ghoul who was now fighting even more against his restraints...someone else was also there...the Ghoul Juggernaut, who was less than pleased to see Bobby in Raiko's cell or that Shin was out when he arrived
"C'mon...get over here!" Raiko was inches from biting Bobby in the face as Juggernaut stood outside the Cell stoically, he's been away for so long that he'd forgotten some of the X-Men but not his vengeance against Xavier and Magneto, the men who broke him according to Dartz
"Ey, Icepick...you can play with Dartz' brother later...we have places to be" Gedharm says as Shin uses the Darkness to pull Iceman out of the cell
"About time you got here..." Juggernaut spoke for the first time since Bobby saw him here as he looked at Shin who said "I have a way for you to get a Tome of your own"
Juggernaut showed no visible reaction to this besides a nod "You seem less than happy about this...what is it?" Shin asked
"What do you care...I don't even see why you're trying to help me" Cain snarled as Shin confessed "I don't care...but I do wish to know how mighty the Ghoul Juggernaut has become...or will become"
Cain shrugged as he stared deeply into Victor's eyes but said to Dartz "Why are you here, Dartz...if it's for me, I won't come without a fight"
"We ain't here fer you, mate...we're only passin' through" Dartz said as Bobby scowled "You could've helped me, y'know, Juggernaut"
Juggernaut gave him a glare that silenced him "I will rip you in half, Iceman...I'm not in any mood for games...anyone who sides with Xavier or Magneto is no friend of mine"
Juggernaut was more than ready to fight as he looked at the other X-Men and Black Fangs but chose not to, he felt that he would disrespect Shin and Yakuzo by fighting in their prison, something he has done here before which caused him to end up fighting an inmate, Yakuzo and Shin at once and barely making it out alive, he returned and apologized but only Shin has forgiven him, Yakuzo barely wanting anything to do with him as long as he never fought again in the prison
"We're heading somewhere ye can let off all that steam, Cain-san" Baccus said as Juggernaut replied "I know...that's why I'm coming with you, Captain Baccus"
Baccus was surprised that he knew who he was as Titus interrupts "Are we done here...?"
"You seem quite adamant on us going there and leaving quickly, Mr. Titus..." Kitty says as Titus replied "I want Garuda...in pieces, I will free the Slums and my brothers...I really don't mind guiding you in and back out but would it kill ya to hurry up a little?"
"We're ready..." Dartz said once everyone was ready "Let's get outta here"
The group left the Prison for the Slums, little did they know they were being watched and followed by the very people Raiko warned them that they'd eventually cross paths with
A man came down from the mountains wielding a Scythe and a large sword on his back, a bruting fellow was with him wielding an even bigger sword over his shoulder that seemed to have a revolving saw around it
"Shall we follow them, Echo?" The man, Jericho said to the larger man as Giriko looked into the prison and spotted Raiko and revving the saw on his sword in anger, they were using magic that made it impossible for them to be seen of heard by others "The Master is far too lenient on Raiko-san, he's lucky we can't enter that little funhouse prison and teach him a lesson"
Echo sighed, but his anger was very hard to quell as he grins sadistically "We're going...I can't let that overgrown monkey kill Garuda...the children of Azazel are also among them, I want them"
The two persued the Black Fangs/X-Men and remained far enough away that they couldn't be sensed but they knew they were being watched as well...by Garuda
Garuda sat on his throne in the Slums, he true form was a hulking man slightly taller than Shin wearing a blackish-grey shirt and pants with the sleeves and legs cut in a zigzag pattern
Garuda's eyes were set on the X-Men and Titus as he thought of the prospect of having Titus at his side again...he had a set to complete and he was the final piece as he stared at his other piece, Yamato in chains and clearly not under Garuda's control
"Tell me...how does it feel to watch helplessly as your brother thought of only himself and left you here?" Garuda asks as Yamato remains silent and looks away but Garuda forced him to look at him "you could've gone in his place but chose to fight me instead to protect him knowing I wouldn't risk letting both of you out of here alive"
The white haired Binge Eater chose to answer by spitting in Garuda's face as Garuda seemed frozen by it for a bit before going into a fit of anger "You will learn your place here, even if I have to kill you in the process"
Garuda spun feverishly looking around his feet as he found a rock the he precedes to beat Yamato's face with it until it broke apart in his hands "I gave you all the drugs you needed, put my Garuda Force under your command and you repay me with betrayal?!"
By the time the rock was in pieces in Garuda's hand, Yamato was covered in blood as Garuda grinned evilly, whispering in his ear "I can't wait to see Titus' expression when he sees you like this...even better when he and his new friends join you here...leave him here to bleed" Garuda said to a man coming to help him as he bowed "Yes, my lord"
Elsewhere, Voorhees was still going at it with Grimm but Voorhees was quickly getting bored...and bad things happened to people who made Voorhees bored during a fight
Grimm felt like they were being watched while Voorhees didn't care as long as they stayed out of their way as the two were covered in cuts, bruises and scratches and both dropped their magic to the weakest
The second Grimm noticed that they were being watched, Voorhees tossed a dagger in that direction without looking himself as a Ghoul with unnatural yellow eyes fell out of the bushes with Voorhees' dagger in his forehead "I don't suggest that you pay attention to anyone but me...I don't wish to break a promise I made to my Captain"
Grimm raises his magic a small amount, Voorhees does the same but with only a sliver more power than Grimm as the Ghoul with Voorhees' dagger in his forehead rose and said "Carry on with your battle to the death, I have no intention of intervening...but your friend, Kaizoku-san is on his way to see me and well..."
A large Orc walked out beside the Ghoul with one yellow eye and the other eye was it's original red color but blinded anyway with a scar over it "I've been dying to add to my Orc collection, but you guys have become so reclusive over the years...you two will make fine additions to the family"
"It seems we've garnered the attention of the Garuda Force...Dartz, what trouble have you gotten us into now?" Voorhees asked himself as he and Grimm disappeared and began bouncing around the forest and off each other
The possessed Orc suddenly forced himself free to see the Orc Chief fighting one of his sons, a look of rage coming over him as he snapped the head off the Ghoul beside him and began an unfinished glyph drawing on his own ribs before succumbing to Garuda's will again, Garuda praised Orcs for being harder for him to control than his own Ghoul brethren but not impossible
A/N - The X-Men have garnered the attention of the master manipulator, Garuda who makes Titus guide them to him simply because he has Titus' brother...Garuda is pretty much the biggest threat now with Kami dead and has a personality very akin to Frieza from Dragonball Super...he's very evil, very good at it and will not stand for anyone standing in his way but also very manipulative and far stronger than most of the Ghoul Lords. Will Titus get his revenge and save his brother or will he, the Black Fangs and the X-Men join Titus' brother under Garuda's control? Find out next chapter!