I'm just gonna shit out these last few chapters for this now that my mojo is back! I know probably no one is even reading this, but I don't care! I need the slot in my schedule open!
Enjoy!
It had been a while since Neptu, Elizabeth and Zynna had left for Zentopia, and every day made Gin even more worried than the last. It wasn't that he didn't have faith in him, but he knew this was a difficult situation. Not only that, but they still had the Anna situation to deal with. And that was going to be a big pain in their ass as well.
Speaking of the girl, things had remained relatively unchanged since he'd discovered that she was a Demon Lord takeover wizard, and that was just the way he wanted things to stay. The less that happened involving that girl the better. After all, she was a demon surrounded by people who would probably rather she was dead.
Sighing, Gin exited his room to start his morning. He greeted those that he saw on his way to the dining hall, hoping that The Cross was already there. Even before they all became aware of Anna's situation, the group stayed tight knit and relatively away from the other members of the guild. After all, nobody wanted to talk to Gin, and The Cross probably suffered that by association. Even still, staying together made him more comfortable. Reaching the dining hall, he spotted the others sitting with Anna, eating and talking. Quinn said something that made Anna laugh, Tristan roll his eyes and Abigail smile. It was odd, how comfy everyone looked. But maybe they always looked like that. He was kind of new to seeing them off the battlefield after all.
"Good morning Gin," Abigail greeted as he reached everyone. "Did you sleep well?" Gin shrugged.
"About as well as usual," he said. "How're you guys?"
"I feel kinda sick," Anna replied with a small frown. "My tummy hurts and my head does too."
"Does it?" Quinn asked, looking concerned. "How long have you felt sick?" Anna shrugged at this.
"A few days I guess," she said. "But it hasn't been bad so far."
"We should let her see a doctor," Abigail said. "Does anyone know if there's one in the guild?"
"There should be," Tristan replied. "We just have to find him That or we find Dharen, he can heal people right?" That was true. Dharen's magic allowed him to preform healing magic, so he was probably who the guild turned to in their time on need. Looking up, Gin scanned the dining hall to see if he could see the man. He didn't manage to find him, but he did see Xeros seated by himself at a bigger table, also enjoying his breakfast.
"I'll go ask Xeros where he is," Gin said as he made his way past everyone.
"Be careful," Tristan called sarcastically, making Gin roll his eyes. He ignored the stares he could feel as he walked up to the master, who saw him coming a mile away.
"Can I help you Gin?" He asked, putting his fork down.
"I was hoping you may of known where Dharen is," Gin replied as he pocketed his hands. "Anna is feeling sick and I want him to look at her." Xeros nodded at this, stretching his back.
"He headed out to town earlier this morning," he replied. "He was saying something about the gardeners in town ripping him off and giving him shitty seeds, so he went to deal with that. Knowing him, he may not be back until later. You can go and seek him out if you want." Nodding, Gin quickly made himself scarce. He didn't want to irritate the master with his presence. After all, he was on thin ice these days. Then again, when hadn't he?
"He said Dharen went out to town," he said as he reached The Cross again. "According to him we should probably go and find him."
"W-We don't have to do that!" Anna said, shaking her hands wildly. "I'm not that sick. You guys don't have to look out for me like this."
"Don't wanna hear it, little lady." Quinn said as he stood. "If we gotta go to town to get you checked out, then we go to town to get you checked out." Anna seemed surprised by this as Tristan and Abigail also stood. Soon after though, she smiled.
"Okay!" She said as she jumped to her feet. "Let's go!"
"C'mon you guys, you're so slow!" Gin just watched with a weak smile as the apparently sick girl ran far ahead of him and The Cross. How she claimed to be sick and somehow still had enough energy to bound around in front of them like that.
"She's somehow still full of energy, huh?" Abigail asked, speaking Gin's mind to the others.
"Don't let it fool you," Quinn said. "She's probably trying to hid it."
"What kid tried to hide how sick they are by bounding around recklessly?" Tristan demanded. Quinn shrugged.
"I don't know," he replied. "But I'm concerned about her powers, honestly. Maybe it has something to do with it." That hadn't occurred to Gin at all, and maybe it should have. Being the small girl that she was, Gin was unsure as to how her power might have been affecting her. Was she somehow different from him or Damien? He wasn't really sure.
"Don't talk about that," Abigail hissed. "It's not important right now. For all we now she's just nauseous."
"Why does everything have to be so stressful?" Tristan hissed irritably. "Neptu gone fighting for his life, us hiding a Demon Lord in a guild that hates them, on top of that we have one in the open we're ostracised for."
"Well when you put it that way we sound pretty stuck," Gin replied. "But let's just keep our smiles on our face for-?!"
Gin choked on his own sentence as he watched Anna collapse into the pavement, face down and unmoving.
"Anna!" He shouted, running to the girls side. He lifted her up and shifted her, looking for any sign of consciousness. So far all he could tell was that her face was flushed, and her breathing was heavy.
"What the hell happened?!" Tristan asked. "She looked okay a second ago! What is she sick with?!"
"We don't have time to argue about this!" Abigail shouted as she stood up. "Gin, carry her! We'll run to find Dharen!" The Cross split up and ran different directions away from Gin as he ran down the main street cradling the girl in his arms.
"Don't worry Anna," he hissed. "We'll get you some help. Dharen's around here somewhere, and he's a doctor so you'll be okay!" No matter where Gin looked or shouted for Dharen, the man seemed to have disappeared. He didn't know if any of the others had found him yet, but he assumed they'd contact him if they had.
"Hello boy," A new voice said. Gin growled and looked over to find Mortavius standing there, his face twisted into a grin.
"Don't start with me," Gin hissed. "I'm busy."
"Actually if I were you I'd put the girl down," Mortavius replied. "This is getting dangerous." Gin made a face as he doubled back to stare at the Demon Lord.
"What did you say?" He demanded. Mortavius just gestured to Anna, and Gin looked down, his eyes widening. Anna's form was glowing black, a magical power pulsating from her body. Each pule grew in strength, other people nearby taking notice of the pair.
"What was it I always told you, Gin?" Mortavius asked. Gin stared down at Anna, unwilling to reply.
That was, of course, until the girls eyes snapped open, revealing a deep blood red colour.
"Oh, right. A saying as old as time. Bloodshed is inevitable."
An explosions sounding off echoed all throughout New Avalon, causing Quinn to trip and land on his face, He could have spent all the time in the world cursing about the blood now dripping from his nose, but clearly he had more important things to worry about. Quickly getting back to his feet, Quinn activated his telepathy and connected to the others.
"What the hell was that?!" He demanded as people ran past him, away from the blast.
"No idea!" Tristan replied. "Gin, you there?! Gin!"
"He went that direction," Abigail said. "Something happened. Let's go!" All three severed the connection and ran in the direction the explosion had come from, hoping that they didn't find something horrific when they got there. It was a little difficult for Quinn to make it there through the crowds of people running the opposite way, but he had to find this source of the explosions.
And soon, he did.
In an open clearing of the city, Gin was sitting up in the middle of a bunch of debris and flames. He was staring ahead in shock, and Quinn quickly ran to his side.
"Gin!" He shouted. "Gin! What happened?! Where's Anna?!" Gin was silent for a moment, before he eventually gestured up into the sky. Quinn followed his gaze, and his eyes widened.
Flying above them with leathery black wings spread from its back, was a woman. The form and overall look of the woman was a mixture of both Anna and the demon she had transformed into. She was a little shorter thanks to Anna's age, but she still radiated raw power. Instead of donning armour like many other Demon Lords, the woman was wearing a dark black robes lined with red, the same shade as her lips. Her eyes also radiated a deep red colour from underneath the hood, and in her hands she controlled a ball of what Gin hoped was just cherry flavoured water. Gin watched as the woman aimed the ball, throwing it high over the forest. After she had done this, he watched as she bellowed an angry roar, firing off blasts of dark magic every which way. Truly, it was a horrific sight.
"Please don't tell me that's Anna," Quinn whispered weakly.
"Sorry to disappoint then," Gin replied. "But that's her alright."
"What the hell happened over here Gin?!" This question from Tristan signified the arrival of the other two as they rushed over, both looked worried and frantic. "Why did Anna transform?!"
"I-I don't know!" Gin shouted back, also looked disoriented. "She was in my arms and then all of a sudden she started to radiate magic before she transformed!"
"Shit," Tristan hissed as he looked up at the demon as it fired of blasts of magic. "What do we do?"
"Contain her," Abigail replied as she cracked her neck, face growing serious. "If she does anymore damage, we'll need to make New New Avalon. And we won't be able to explain that to Xeros or Neptu." Quinn agreed with that at least. The thought of Xeros growing aware of Anna's power terrified him, but it was inevitable at this point. After all, she was tearing a hole through the city he protected. But that could come later.
"Cast Divine Territory, Tristan." He said, the holy blade Dyrnwyn igniting in his hand. "We need to take this girl down, and now."
"Don't kill her, moron." Tristan said, bringing his hands up to pray. Nodding, Quinn rushed forth as the dome of Divine Territory encapsulated the fight, sealing Anna inside with them.
"Hey, Anna!" He called. The demon turned to face her, her blood red eyes regarding him coldly. Like one would a piece of meat. "Temper tantrums aren't cute, so you'd better calm down!" If the demon could talk, it didn't respond. It brought up one hand to block the strike from Dyrnwyn, clanging off of her hand like he'd struck steel. The woman raised a hand, preparing to blast him with magic.
"Anna's magic doesn't work!" Tristan called, making Quinn smirk. That should cancel the attack.
It didn't.
Quinn gasped in surprise as he was thrown from the sky and back into the pavement by the blast, blood spurting from his mouth.
"What the hell, Tristan!" Quinn shouted as he stood. He was bleeding from his mouth and nose now, and overall this day was horrific. "I thought you cancelled her magic!"
"I did!" Tristan shouted back, looking beyond irritated. "Don't ask me why it didn't work!"
"It's because it's not Anna!" Gin shouted from the back of the fight. "She's not in control right now, so Divine Territory didn't cut anything off!"
"But it's still her takeover!" Tristan called back.
"Yeah but she didn't initiate it! Call the Demon Lord's name!" Tristan rolled his eyes, but nodded all the same and attempted to speak again. For some reason though, he just hung his mouth open like he was expecting someone to toss food into it.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Abigail shouted. "Say something, you moron!" Tristan looked a little flustered as he tried to shut his mouth, but it just kept hanging open.
"I'd really rather you did not do that, Tristan." A new voice said. Eyes wide, Quinn looked up at the demon in the sky, as she had been the one to speak. She had lowered herself down a little bit to speak, regarding Tristan coldly. "It is in Anna's best interest that you not step in right now."
"What do you mean?" Quinn demanded, not lowering Dyrnwyn in the slightest. "What are you doing?"
"Saving her life," the woman replied. "I am Quinxotic, The Blood Priestess. Know this, Demon Hunters. This girls life is in my hands. I care for no one but her. Come after me, and I will ensure you die by my hands. Is that clear? release this dome of magic, and allow me to run free. If you do not, Anna will die."
"Give us more to go off of then that!" Gin said. "Why are you doing this?! These people don't deserve it!"
"I am not targeting anyone in particular," Quinxotic said. "Although I do admit I may have caused collateral damage when I released myself. Now, the dome?" No one spoke for a moment, all four members of The Hollows exchanging looks. After a few nods, Tristan managed a groan even with his mouth hanging open. Divine Territory dispelled around them, allowing Quinxotic to burst free of the city and fly into the sky. She continued to blast off magic at anything she could, and every which way. The remaining hunters could do no more then watch as she continued her rampage.
"What was she talking about?" Abigail asked weakly as they watched. "How is she helping Anna?"
"We didn't get to that part of her explanation," Tristan replied as he massaged his jaw. "That was so weird. It was like every blood vessel in my jaw forced me to keep it open so I couldn't voice a command. I gotta make sure I can use that without speaking."
"We need to come up with some sort of plan," Gin said. "If we let her continue like this, then-"
"Hey! You guys!" All four present turned and watched as Dharen ran up to them, looking just as confused and worried as they felt. "What the hell is going on?! What's that demon in the sky?!"
"Anna," Quinn replied, shocking Dharen thoroughly. "Apparently we've got a demon problem."
"Seriously?" He asked. "I can't believe we let that girl infiltrate us so deeply. What's she trying to do?"
"We don't know," Abigail replied as she crossed her arms. "But from what the demon herself said, she's trying to save Anna's life."
"From what?!" Dharen demanded.
Of that, nobody really had any clue.
Amid the forest near New Avalon, the ball of blood Quinxotic had thrown was working it's magic upon the animals inside. All over the forest foxes, bugs, fish, wolves, bears and anything else with blood in their system dropped dead, their blood forcefully leaving their system and flying up into the sky. The blood merged with the blood ball that Quinxotic had created, making it known to anyone watching that she was to blame. One after another they dropped death as their bodies lost almost all of their blood to the Priestess.
Somewhere within the chaos, a trio of three were running towards the city.
"This is frigging creepy," Zynna Skylancer said as they regarded the dead bodies lying around. "Right when we'd just made it back to the mansion, we here explosions. But, this? This is messed up."
"Don't look at it too much," Elizabeth said with her eyes on the sky. "It looks like a demon is too blame."
"Is it your friend?" Zynna asked.
"Don't even go there," Neptu Skylancer said, looking back towards his sister. "Gin can't drain the blood out of living things, so this is't him. It's a different one entirely. And from the looks of it, this is an indiscriminate attack."
"So it was good that I put a charm up to protect us from it, then." Elizabeth reasoned as they ran. Jumping a log, Neptu frowned and looked back towards New Avalon, unsure as to what to think. They leave for little over a week, and all of a sudden a demon attacks? Why? And who?
No matter what it was, it was clear that they needed to be stopped, before New Avalon met the same fate at it's predecessor before it.
Probably only one more chapter for Homecoming! I can definitely squeeze everything left into one chapter. Might be extra long, but I've already left this story for too long anyway. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!