BEHOLD! A NEW CHAPTER! WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?!
I told you all that I was working on new stories. And here is proof!
Lance: Wow, that was the quickest you've ever updated a story.
Me: I know! Isn't it AWESOMASTIC!?
Lance: And here I thought you regained sanity after all this time.
Me: Ohoho! How could you think that I would ever regain something I never had?
Lance: ...True.
Me: ON WITH THE SHOW!
Disclaimer: See 1st chapter (it won't change. I promise.)
Lance
Well the first day at Academy city was more or less of a success. Lance had helped apprehend a criminal (even if he almost did eat his soul) and he managed to successfully evade his sisters and their new friends all the way back to school. Thankfully for Lance they decided to quit as the sun was going down and they were tired after the exciting events that happened earlier. As Lance followed the girls to the dorms (a first for Lance as he had never been in a girl's dormitory before), he listened in on different conversations students were having, most of which were about him.
"Isn't that the only boy in Tokiwadai?" "Yeah, I heard that he manipulated the headmistress into getting in here, the pervert." Another girl joined the conversation. "I don't think he's a pervert. Earlier today I saw him at the bank as one of the crooks kicked and punched a girl. He just stood there even when the robber tried running him over. The strange part was that the car was totaled, but the new kid was completely fine! Then he lifted the car, tore it in two, grabbed the guy, and just stared at him! It was horrible! The robber started convulsing and foaming at the mouth!"
"What?! You're lying! There's no way a level 3 could do all that, let alone a boy!" "I'm telling you it's the truth! His eyes were black and the irises looked like they had fire in them!"
Lance focused out of the conversation, already having heard enough. Instead he looked back at his sisters as they stared at the sheets of paper that detailed their roommates and dorm rooms. Knowing Chiron and BB, Lance was going to be near his family. Who he would be bunking with was another question all together. Looking at his sheet of paper, he saw that his roommate was Kurumi.
"So it looks like Kurumi is with me. I take it Ruby's with Yang?" The sisters in questions gave a nod. "So that means Weiss is with Blake." They too gave a nod. Lance checked their papers, seeing that they were all next door to Misaka, which Kuroko didn't like very much.
"There has to be some mistake! We can't be so close to a boy! This is an outrage!" Kuroko shouted as the girls were relaxing in the school's main courtyard. Lance was over by the vending machines behind the girls trying to get a freaking soda but the stupid machine wouldn't let him! "I am really not liking this thing," Lance mumbled as he grabbed the machine and gave it a small shake.
He looked to the left, then to the right, making sure no one was watching, as well as making sure that his family and new friends were well within his vision. When he made sure no one was watching, Lance used the power of Order and Chaos to 'coerce' the machine into giving him his soda. The machine sparked a tiny bit before popping out the can. Sadly, as soon as Lance grabbed the can something thought it would be funny to blow his can up.
The soda splashed all over Lance, but since he was a child of Poseidon he couldn't get wet unless he wanted to. So when he heard someone snicker off to his left Lance couldn't help but feel a little miffed. Someone else inside Lance stirred with annoyance as well, but it would hardly be good for anyone if the Ghost Rider suddenly ate someone's soul just for destroying a soda can.
That didn't mean the Ghost Rider didn't try to escape nonetheless. Lance could hold him back, barely, as he looked over to see who it was. It was a girl, long black hair that flanked her forehead, and very dark eyes (kinda hard to see what color they exactly were when she had the setting sun at her back), and Lance noticed that she was one of the girls earlier who didn't believe the story about Lance. "You know, there's a rumor going around that you were at the bank and that you caused one of the crooks to spas out." Lance merely stared ahead in front of him, trying his best to keep the Ghost Rider down.
Ever since Lance became his host, the Ghost Rider has grown more lenient since they could just find a monster and the Ghost Rider could eat it's soul before it regenerates back in Tartarus. The Ghost Rider also became more human-like, and that meant it didn't want anyone insulting it.
The girl laughed as she pulled out a hand fan. "Some people are beginning to think that you're stronger than a level 3 but what I think is that you took credit for apprehending a criminal when someone else stronger than you did the work. It's such a sad thing when a level 3 such as yourself would try and-" "Shut up," Lance interrupted in a very low tone. The girl obviously didn't like being told to quiet down.
"What!? How dare you think you can order me around! Do you know who I am?" Lance shook his head, trying so hard to fight back the Ghost Rider. "No, but right now I am trying my hardest not to send you running." Lance replied as his left hand began to shake from the strain of fighting back the Ghost Rider. He grabbed it to steady it, but the girl simply laughed. "Shaking with fear I see. You may not know who I am, but you're obviously shaking because I've found your plan out. Admit it!" she shouted. Lance noticed that her shouting was beginning to attract a crowd. Great, and now he had an audience to watch him strain against the Rider.
Kuroko
Kuroko had finally begun to relax. She was still worried about the 'Ghost Rider' in Lance, but she was more worried for any enemies they may make in the future rather than the spirit turning on anyone on their side.
As the sun was setting, Saten and Uriharu were chatting with Kurumi. "So how are you Lance's niece?" Saten asked. Kurumi smiled. "It's a very long story. You see, I'm not from around here and-" Her face suddenly went from happy and cheerful to complete fear instantly. This change didn't go unnoticed. "Hey Kurumi, are you alright?" Uiharu asked as Kurumi began to shiver in fear. Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Weiss were also concerned with Kurumi.
She looked up, her eyes full of fear, and turned to the vending machines where Lance was. Kuroko saw Kongou laughing like an idiot while Lance was shaking where he stood. Though Lance didn't seem to be shaking out of fear, it seemed more like he was straining against something. He held his left hand to stop it from shaking out of control, he had a look of pain on his face, and his breath was becoming more and more ragged by the second.
Instantly knowing how much trouble Kongou was, Kuroko teleported by her side. "Kongou, what exactly do you think you're doing?" Kongou looked at Kuroko with a look of both disgust and boldness. "I'm showing everyone that the rumors about this boy are false." Lance convulsed once before leaning against the vending machine. Ruby was already by his side, trying to calm him down and help hold him up at the same time. "The rumors are true, I was there Kongou," Yang said as she went over to help Ruby keep Lance upright. "He tore apart a car with his bare hands, he caused a criminal to spasm uncontrollably and foam at the mouth, and right now he's doing everything he can to make sure that it doesn't happen to you." Kongou tried to laugh off the warning, but Yang's face – which was normally in a cheerful grin – was deadly serious. "Why should I believe a first year like you?" "Because," Sissy said as she stepped in between Lance and Kongou, "I was there as well. I still don't fully understand what happened, but from what I can see, Lance looks to be in pain rather than fear."
As if on cue, Lance gave a grunt as he tried to steady himself. His look of pain seemed to be easing up and his breathing was becoming normal, but his hand was still shaking uncontrollably. "So tell me Kongou, would you want to take on someone who did all that and is only classified as a level 3?" It was a question that's answer was painfully obvious, and Kongou understood this. She stared at Lance as if he had pointed a gun at her head, when in reality it was something much worse that was targeting her.
Kuroko teleported next to Lance. "I'll get him and Kurumi to the dorms." Kuroko told Lance's sisters, who each gave a nod of agreement. Kuroko then grabbed onto Lance and Kurumi and teleported them into their dorm. No sooner had they entered the room Lance fell to his hands and knees, gasping for air. "That was too close." He gasped as Kurumi and Kuroko helped him stand up to full height. "What happened back there?" Kurumi asked as she and Kuroko helped Lance stand to full height.
"The Ghost Rider didn't like the fact that that girl back there was trying to prove him false. After Misaka stepped in, the Rider went from full blown mad to just angry. For the girl it means instead of her soul being devoured on the spot he would just tug on it until she cried for mercy."
A shiver ran Kuroko's spine as he said this. Kongou would never try something like this unless she was trying to test someone's power level herself. A move that almost got her killed today, Kuroko thought to herself. They helped Lance sit down on his bed, careful to move him slowly as he still gave the occasional wince. "He almost broke free," Lance mumbled as he hunched over. "He almost broke free even when I tried my hardest to stop him." He looked down at his left hand in shock. "What happens if I can't stop him next time?" "Lance, you managed to hold back a spirit of vengeance, one that has fought more demons than anyone on this world. I think if he wanted to break free he would have," Kurumi assured as she grabbed his hand.
Lance gave a little smile, and then he leaned back on his bed and fell asleep. Just what exactly is he capable of, Kuroko thought as she teleported back to Sissy's side. Kongou looked flustered as she stared down Misaka. "If he really was that powerful then why didn't he prove it? Why didn't he show us his power?" "Because he could barely control it," Kuroko said in a low tone, stopping everyone in their tracks. The crowd from earlier had already dispersed, leaving just Kuroko, Misaka, Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Blake, and Kongou. "What do you mean by that?" Kongou asked. Ruby and her sisters had decided to head back to the dorms, which now only left the three of them.
"It means," Kuroko said, "that you barely made it out with your life today." She grabbed Sissy's arm and looked back towards Kongou, "Remember that." With that lone warning hanging in the air, Kuroko teleported Misaka and herself back to their dorm.
Lance
*Time Lapse*
It was dark when Lance woke up, and a quick glance out the window informed him that it was somewhere around midnight. Why'd I wake up so early, Lance thought to himself. Hungry, the Ghost Rider growled. Lance sighed then mumbled, "So you're gonna cash in that promise tonight, huh? Alright," Lance carefully stepped out of bed, checking on Kurumi to see that she was still asleep. "Let me get changed." Lance looked down at his watch that allowed him to do so many things and held one of his closest friends, BB.
Lance twisted the top left dial until it clicked three times. He felt coldness rush through his body – almost like his body temperature dropped twenty degrees – and the Mark of The Outsider started to appear on his left hand. His clothes then morphed into the familiar hooded overcoat, buttoned over a thinner, lighter gray shirt, black pants from a High Overseer, and the familiar sensation of the Outsider's Mark appearing on his left hand. He felt around his jacket, getting readjusted to the clothes when his right pocket became heavier.
Reaching inside, Lance's hand brushed against a cool metallic surface. Pulling the object out, he already knew what it was: Corvo's assassin mask. The same skull design stared back at Lance as he felt the mask over. Lance donned the mask and pulled up his hood. Checking where the hilt for the Overseer's sword would be, Lance felt the collapsible blade that his old mentor had used for so long before passing it on to Lance. He pulled it out, thumbing the switch that shot the actual blade from the hilt.
It gleamed in the moonlight, slicing through the air with ease before he thumbed the switch again and collapsed the sword. Ready for his hunt, Lance Blinked out into the school's courtyard, then onto the school's roof. He zoomed in his mask, scanning each of the windows so as to make sure that no one was up now.
When he felt satisfied that no other students had seen him, he Blinked again and again until he was on the roof of a upper-class looking store. The store itself was located in the School Garden's shopping district – a place that Lance noticed as he was chased by the girls back to the school earlier that day. Lance crouched down as he scanned the area. No human would be out this late, so anyone who was out would be a monster in disguise… or an insomniac. Either way, the Ghost Rider could smell the monster's scent as easily as they could smell demigods.
The Rider surfaced enough to smell the area, notifying Lance of a monster only twenty meters away. Blinking to the nearby rooftop, Lance looked down to see a dracanae sniffing the air, no doubt smelling Lance nearby. How the tables have turned, BB remarked as Lance Blinked into the dead-end alleyway directly behind the monster.
The slight WHOOSH made by the Blink caught the snake woman's attention, luring her to Lance's trap. Lance silently dashed behind a dumpster near the entrance, and waited. The dracaenae slithered by on her two snaketails-for-legs, turning in Lance's direction. Lance stared back from his cover of shadows. The standoff lasted only for two seconds before the snake woman went deeper into the alley as she tried to find Lance.
Get ready Rider, Lance thought as he quietly pulled off his mask and snuck up behind the dracanae. Once they were far enough into the alley, Lance grabbed the monster by her shoulders and tossed her into the wall. She collapsed from the sudden attack, giving Lance the opportunity to grab her by the shoulders again and yank her to her 'feet' so that the Rider had an easier time eating. Lance's consciousness stepped back as the Rider took over, changing his eyes back to black and fire irises. The Rider growled, "Hungry," in its own voice before using his Penance Stare on the monster.
Lance saw what the Rider saw, and the Rider saw all the sins this one had done in the past: it had killed so many demigods (most of them not even knowing who they were), acting as Medusa in Ancient Greece and having two human slaves steal newborn babies for food, killing so many innocent people and laughing as they died screaming. The more sins that were revealed to the Ghost Rider, the more he could eat – including the target's soul. It couldn't even give a cry of pain as the Ghost Rider tore apart the creature's soul for his own food.
With one last growl, the Rider sent the dracanae back to Tartarus in a small explosion of HellFire, where its soul would reform and may once again become food for the Rider. Lance once again took control and put on his mask. As he made small adjustments to the mask, he heard someone drop a paper bag behind him. Turning to see who it was, Lance saw a girl – one who went to the same school as Lance since she wore the same uniform as his sisters and niece – had dropped a brown paper bag full of fruits and vegetables.
She had wavy light brown hair that just reached her shoulders and light blue eyes that were filled with absolute fear. Lance's adrenaline kicked in as she started to fall over, unconscious. Lance was able to Blink by her side and catch her before she hit the ground. Talk about a lady killer, BB joked. Lance merely sighed in annoyance as he gently set her down. He looked over at the brown bag, debating whether to leave it there or not. He decided that since no fruit managed to fall out the bag, it would come with. Lance picked the girl up bridal style, Pulled the bag so that it was on top of her, and Blinked onto a nearby rooftop. The next ten minutes were spent slowly Blinking his way back to the school and making sure that the girl didn't wake up and the bag didn't fall off. He finally reached the school. Blinking over to the dorms, Lance had to use Void Gaze to find any rooms that had a person missing.
He found the room, Blinked over to the door, then behind the door, and set the girl down into the empty bed in the room. Her roommate was already asleep and was facing Lance. Carefully and quietly as he could, Lance placed the bag down before Blinking back onto the dorm's roof. Are you still hungry, Lance asked the Ghost Rider. The rider replied with a growl of satisfaction. Lance breathed a sigh of relief and Blinked back to his dorm. Twisting the top left dial again until he heard three clicks, Lance transformed back into his normal sleeping clothes.
He laid down in the bed, the adrenaline starting to wear off, causing Lance to feel more and more exhausted, before he fell asleep.
Kurumi
Kurumi had been awake for the whole ordeal of Lance's transformation. She knew he had promised the Ghost Rider he would hunt for monsters in order to appease to the spirit. But she still shivered when the familiar WHOOSH sound she had heard earlier that day in the clothing store sounded again. She opened her eyes to see that Lance was gone. Easing herself out of bed, Kurumi went over to the window. She saw a lone figure on the roof of the school fade out of existence like it had dissolved into ash. That must be Lance, Kurumi guessed as she went to the door. The knob was cold as she turned it. The hallway was dark and only the moonlight shining through the windows provided any light, casting the hallway into an alternation between moon light and shadows. Lucky for her Ruby's room was right next to hers. She knocked on the door, waiting to see if anyone was up. She didn't have to wait long, as Yang opened the door. "Hey Kurumi, what are you doing up so late?"
Ruby had already fallen asleep, which meant she only had Yang to talk to. "It's about Lance," she replied as Yang ushered her in. "What about him?" Yang asked as she plopped down into her bed. "He's gone off to hunt for monsters. I'm worried that he might lose control and go mad." Yang gave her a reassuring smile. "Aw don't worry about that. If he does snap, we'll put him back together. And I highly doubt he'd snap since he has so many people to fight for, especially his girlfriend."
Kurumi thought of Yakumo, and how she seemed to handle Lance as well as Annabeth or his mom. Kurumi and her became friends right off the bat, and not soon after she became acquainted with Lance's entire family. She had stayed behind to help with Lance's youngest sister Andromeda, the newest daughter of Poseidon. Since Lance had already made amends with Amphitrite, the sea goddess had volunteered to be the child's nana while Sally and Yakumo were occupied.
"Yes, but the other beings inside him are powerful, and Lance seems to be more tired than before." Yang nodded solemnly as she thought back to how lively Lance looked before he became host to so many beings with so much power. Kurumi hosted Amon, but he restrained himself from unleashing his power while dormant. And yet he has proven time and again that he is able to withstand and control their powers, Amon replied. "He does seem more tired, but he's fought every enemy he's come across and won. I think the time he spends here will do him some good, seeing as how peaceful it looks."
Kurumi had thought the same way before she had met Lance, before her mother died. Every time Kurumi had a nightmare, her mother would be there to comfort her. Whenever she felt scared, her mother would hold her as she soothed away her fears. Kurumi had always felt safe and secure as her mother pulled her in close, the folds of her night-dress were welcoming and soft and warm to Kurumi; a sensation that she cherished. All that seemed to vanish when she died from that demon. Her father was stone cold compared to her mother, hardening whenever she tried to bond with him. He did the same to her sisters, and he did not shed a tear during their mother's funeral.
Then when Lance entered their lives, the feelings of safety and comfort once again came back to Kurumi. He may not have been as gentle as his mother, but he certainly had a way of scaring off any fears Kurumi had. The first time she had seen him fight the demon, she felt a huge weight roll off her shoulders when he defeated it. And when the Demon King arose from his slumber and froze Kurumi, Lance had fought using Amon's power temporarily. When she unfroze and Amon returned, Kurumi had felt as if her fears were destroyed with the Demon King.
Now Lance had so many others to look after, and he had so much power to use, that he was beginning to grow more tired as time progressed. "I hope you're right Yang. Lance does need to rest. I just hope this place doesn't wear him down even more."
Yang gave her another reassuring smile, one that Kurumi smirked at before she left the room. She returned to her dorm, silently closed the door and went back to her bed. As she laid down and pulled the covers over her, the same WHOOSH from before sounded. She rolled over to see Lance was in his sleeping clothes as he went back to bed. When she was sure he was asleep, Kurumi walked over to the window again.
The moon hung in the night sky, casting a faint light over Academy City. As Kurumi stared out the window, she couldn't stop worrying for Lance. It doesn't seem fair Amon. He's done so much for everyone yet no one can do anything to help him in return. She felt Amon stir. Sometimes there is nothing you can do in return. That doesn't mean that no one can help him. Just remember not to make him worry too much. Kurumi sighed as she felt conflicted about what to do. He had a fight with the Ghost Rider today, and he barely contained it, Kurumi continued as she recalled the fight that nearly broke out.
A terrifying spirit he holds within him Kurumi, one that has been through things you cannot imagine. The longer it stays within Lance, the more human-like it becomes. I do not think the spirit would do harm to Lance. It just needs to learn restraint, Amon replied. He yawned, causing Kurumi to yawn in turn. Come Kurumi, let's go back to bed. Kurumi nodded as she felt her eyes growing heavier. She went back under the covers, falling asleep as she remembered her mother.
Kuroko
*The next day*
Kuroko had no dreams that night so the night passed by quickly for her. She woke up to bright light shining in through the window. Kuroko stretched as she sat up in her bed. Another day to catch criminals, she thought as she hopped out of bed and went about her daily routine of getting dressed for the day. In just a few minutes, Kuroko had her school uniform on and her Judgment armlet ready.
Sissy was still asleep in her bed, looking so beautiful as the light cast a radiating glow over her. She's so beautiful, Kuroko thought as she imagined her and Sissy were in the same bed together, cuddling as the sun bathed them both in a warm, golden glow. The thought alone was enough to send her swooning with delight. Oh Sissy, you will soon be mine. And once you are, we can release our love- Kuroko's thoughts were interrupted by someone pounding on her door.
Of all the times someone had to interrupt my fantasies, Kuroko thought as she stormed over to the door. She grabbed the handle and threw it open to see Uiharu with Wannai Kinuho, who had a terrified look on her face. "Kuroko, we have a serious situation on our hands," Uiharu said as she led Kuroko and Wannai over to the school's courtyard.
"What kind of serious situation?" Kuroko asked as she took a seat on a nearby. Uiharu nodded at Wannai, who was constantly looking around. "W-well, last night I was out picking up some late night groceries when I heard something growl that it was hungry and I-I-I I didn't know what would sound like that so I went over to see and- and…and," Wannai began to hyperventilate as she started freaking out. Uiharu placed a hand on her shoulder and did a standard calming procedure, which slowly brought Wannai back to a calm state. "I went over to see what made the sound, and there was this person holding a girl against the wall, and was staring at her. Then she started to shake uncontrollably and- and…" She had to take a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. "and… she exploded in a small fireball."
Uiharu lost all color, as did Kuroko. She nearly lost control of her stomach as she heard this, but she had an obligation to fulfill. "We'll find this guy and bring him to justice," Kuroko assured Wannai, placing a firm hand on her friend's shoulder. Wannai nodded and gave a relieved smile. Though Kuroko mainly did that because she felt scared right now, and she had no clue as how to find this person.
With a new mission on hand, Wannai was sent back to her dorm to recuperate from her traumatic night. "I'll g check the security cameras and see if we can find anything," Uiharu informed. Kuroko nodded in agreement. "If you find anything, let me know right away. I'll see what I can do here." Kuroko replied. Uiharu nodded and set off for her room.
Kuroko turned to face the dorms with suppressed fear trying to break free. I don't even know where to start, she thought in defeat.
Ruby
Ruby sat against the bench as she let the sun shine on her. "Today seems like a great day," she said to Yang, who was sparring with Lance in hand-to-hand. "It does, doesn't it?" Yang replied as she sent a right jab to Lance's midsection, only to miss as he side-stepped and returned with a feint to the hips followed by a pivoting kick, which Yang easily blocked and countered by grabbing Lance's foot and throwing him a few yards away where he landed on his feet.
Weiss, Blake, and Kurumi wanted breakfast so they went to the dining hall to see what this school had for selection. Lance had said he'd already eaten, so he sparred with Yang while they were gone. "Any ideas on what we should do today?" Yang asked as she and Lance high-fived each other. They were both covered in sweat and breathing hard. The school grounds were in better shape than Ruby thought it would be. "Maybe we can-" Lance started, only to be interrupted by Kuroko teleporting next to Ruby and saying, "I need your help." Lance stared at her for a few seconds before saying, "…or we could do that." He willed the sweat off him and Yang and joined Kuroko by the bench.
"So what do you need help with?" Yang asked as she placed one foot on the bench and leaned on it. "I- well I-, I need help in an investigation. We've received a report that someone had attacked and killed a girl last night. That's not the only thing I need help with. We were told that the girl was killed by exploding into flame." Ruby noticed that Lance stiffened for a tiny second before returning back to normal. Ruby would have to see what he knew about this, later. "And I take it you have no idea where to start," Lance finished for Kuroko. She nodded.
"I came to you guys because it's quite obvious that you've dealt with strange and dangerous things like this. So, will you help me?" You don't know the half of it, Ruby thought to herself. "Well we'll see what we can do." Ruby answered. "About what?" Misaka asked as she came walking up to them. "Kuroko here said she needs help with an investigation. Apparently there's a guy who attacked and killed a lone girl last night by causing her to explode into flame," Yang informed as she cracked her knuckles. "Well in that case count me in. You guys will need all the help you can get if you're taking on someone like that." Misaka clenched her fist in determination. "We'll bring this guy down!"
Ruby and Yang nodded in agreement. Lance, on the other hand, seemed to be in a serious mood, and for the time that she's known him, Ruby is familiar with how bad things can get if Lance gets deadly serious, 'deadly' for a reason.
"I'll talk to some friends of mine, see if they heard anything." He said as he turned and walked off. "Come on, let's try and catch this guy." Misaka said as she, Kuroko, Ruby, and Yang walked off to begin their investigation.
Lance
When Lance turned the corner, he made sure no one was around. When no one was, he twisted the top left dial of his watch until he heard three clicks, and felt the familiar power return to him as he transformed into his Dunwall attire. When it was finished, Lance Blinked back to his dorm. He twisted the dial again, transforming back into his normal self. He released his breath that he had been holding ever since Kuroko mentioned the HellFire explosion from last night, and leaned against the wall. "Awh, that was too close. I need to be more careful next time." He said as he looked down at his watch.
I agree. Next time you go out hunting, make sure there are no witnesses around to see it happening, Order said from in his mind. I vote we tell them the 'monster' they heard about is gone, The Darkness volunteered. That won't work. If anything, the girls will get suspicious of me, Lance replied as he sat down on his bed.
Well you can't keep this up forever. Sooner or later, you're going to slip up, Chaos informed. Lance sighed in defeat as he lowered his head. And knowing my luck, it's going to happen sooner, he thought. No one said anything so they must've agreed with him. He ran a hand through his hair, his worry and frustration confusing him. If I try to hide it I'll just screw up and might hurt someone, but if I tell them they'd get even more freaked out by me. Arrrgh! Why can't things be easy for once Lance yelled from inside his head as he placed his head in his hands.
No sooner had he done this did the door open to reveal Uiharu and Kuroko. He laid down on his bed, tired from the long night last night, and he really didn't want to talk to anyone right now. Unfortunately, Kuroko had other ideas. "Hey, weren't you just down there…" she asked as she pointed over her shoulder. "I took the stairs as soon as I left." Kuroko seemed to buy it, but had another question as well. "Have you managed to find out anything from your contacts?"
Lance sighed as he maneuvered himself so that he was lying down on the bed normally. "No one's heard anything and they haven't seen this guy before." Uiharu shivered on the spot as Kuroko became more worried. "So we have no leads on this guy? Ugh, why can't things be easy for once," Kuroko asked as she plopped onto Kurumi's bed. You have no idea, Lance thought.
Yang
Whenever Yang needed to know something at Beacon, she'd always ask someone smart – like Ren, or Blake. And since Team JNPR had respectfully declined their invitation to come to Lance's world, she had only Blake to talk to now, so Yang headed straight for the dining hall with Ruby in tow. "Think Lance will find anything about this mysterious killer?" Ruby asked as they walked through the halls to get to the dining hall. Yang shrugged. "I doubt anyone he knows would've heard something that fast."
Ruby sighed as they entered the dining hall. "I think that it's weird someone would just attack an innocent person just for no reason." Yang looked over her shoulder to Ruby, "Yeah, well when I get my hands on this guy, we'll see just how much fight he has in him." The threat hung in the air for a while after that, following them as they searched the dining hall for Blake, Weiss, and Kurumi.
Yang and Ruby found them sitting at the end of the table closest to the door. Kurumi was busy scarfing down pancakes, Weiss was elegantly eating an omelet, and Blake was reading a book (no surprise there). Thankfully there was barely anyone around so they could have a relatively secret conversation. "Hey guys," Yang greeted as she took a seat opposite Kurumi, who gave a muffled "Mmmhhmhh." which probably meant, "Hello!"
Yang returned the greeting with a smile until Ruby sat down with a face that looked half-angry and half-determined, which threw off Weiss and Blake. "Is something wrong, Ruby?" Blake asked as she looked away from her book. Ruby shook her head as she leaned in closer. "There's been an attack in the city. Yang and I were told that someone had caused a girl to explode into flame last night, but they have no leads or anything. Lance said he'd look into it, but we also need to find out anything we can about this guy." she replied in a low voice.
Blake immediately shut her book, while Weiss got the look in her eyes that basically said, "Murder horribly first, ask questions later." "So where do we start?" Weiss asked as Kurumi went to have her plate washed. "I say we go back to the scene of the crime and start there." Blake suggested. Yang and Ruby gave a nod. "While you three do that, me and Kurumi will head out to see if anything was caught on any surveillance cameras," Weiss said. "By the way, who's in charge of the investigation?"
"Uiharu and Kuroko," Yang replied, "and when we last saw them they were heading to see if Lance had found anything on our creep." Weiss nodded as she grabbed the recently returned Kurumi's hand and set off to find Uiharu and Kuroko. "Well," Ruby said as she rose up from the table, "let's go catch a monster."
Lance
This investigation is getting too close Lance, BB warned as Lance followed the girls to the shopping district. It had been four hours since Kuroko and Uiharu visited to see if he had any info. He did, but he didn't really want to share anything so he said he hadn't found anything. After his sisters returned from their various parts of the investigation, Kuroko had said that someone in the shopping district had a lead on the suspect.
It would've been funny, if it wasn't for the fact that Lance didn't want his sisters and his new friends to think that he was a monster. He needed time to think of a way to explain all this without calling himself a cold-blooded killer. You do realize that your sisters would understand if you explain exactly what happened, Chaos asked as they stopped by a recreation area in the district. Yeah, but the way it's told is another story, he countered. If I say that it was because the Ghost Rider was hungry, then they'll think that I'm losing control. If I say it was a monster that I attacked, the others will ask for proof, which went up in flames when the monster was killed. Even if I say both reasons, how will they be able to trust me after?
Lance hated having to keep secrets from his family, especially ones that could potentially endanger them. What was even more frustrating was the fact that they kept calling the 'suspect' a monster and a fiend. No way I'd try to defend my actions, they'd just think that I'm becoming a monster, he thought miserably. And so they waited, and waited, and waited. They waited until the sun was starting to lower and the sky was becoming s golden orange until finally their informant met up.
The kid didn't look like much in terms of strength. A Tokiwadi uniform, brown, straight hair, and sky blue eyes. As she neared them, Lance started to get weird vibes from the girl, which meant that something evil was near them. Lance looked around at the rooftops first, making sure there was no movement, then he started to watch the alleyways. While the girls would have a chat, Lance would check for danger.
Kuroko was the first to greet the girl. "Thank you for coming forth with information. Tell me, what is it that you exactly know?" The girl looked to her left and right before leaning in and muttering, "The guy you're after is going to show up at the school soon." Lance froze as she said this. What is she getting at, he wondered as he listened in. Kuroko was just as suspicious. She crossed her arms and gave a cautious look. "And how do you know that?"
The girl started to giggle, which really made Lance get bad vibes. "Because we'll be the ones bringing him to the school." she giggled. Warning bells were going off in Lance's head now as he began to get an idea of what she was talking about. "'We?'" Kuroko asked as she leaned back slightly.
The informant gave a creepy grin before she started to transform. Her skin became leathery, bat-like wings sprouted from her back, she grew talons and claws for hands and feet, her eyes became charcoal black, and a whip materialized in her hand. Before Lance could react and kill the Fury, she cackled and flew off in the direction of the school.
"What was that?!" Uiharu cried as Kuroko stood frozen in fear. "No time for that, it's heading for the school." Lance replied. That did the trick for Kuroko, as she stiffened and looked at Uiharu. "Uiharu, go back to Judgement headquarters and notify them of the situation. We'll head back to the school and hold off that thing." Uiharu didn't immediately reply, but when Kuroko turned away, she nodded and ran off. "I can only transport a few people at a time. One of us is going to have to go the long way back to school and meet up with us there."
Lance was the first to reply. "You guys go on ahead. I have other ways of getting to the school, but be careful. She said 'we' which means there will be others. And if I'm right about who she brought, then you guys need to be cautious." They nodded as Kuroko huddled them together, and teleported them back to school. Lance looked at the setting sun before looking at his watch. She said our 'suspect' would be there. I'd hate to disappoint her, he thought as he twisted the top left dial until three clicks sounded and transformed back into the masked culprit everyone was after. He felt his left pocket for the assassin mask Corvo once wore, put it on, and Blinked to a nearby rooftop.
Ruby
Ruby was actually kind of nervous as they teleported into the school's courtyard. Lance looked like he didn't want them to fight whatever that monster was, but she was even more nervous at the fact that Lance wouldn't be there with them right from the start.
She gripped the bracelet that disguised Crescent Rose as she looked around the courtyard. No one seemed to be panicking, which must mean that they got there before the monster did. That would mean they have the element of surprise and a first attack. "Hey guys," Mikasa greeted as she walked up to them.
"Sissy, I need you to get out of here." Kuroko commanded as she tried to move Mikasa away. "What? Why?" "Because we are about to stop an attack from the culprit." That didn't make Mikasa get away. It made her determined to fight. "Then I'm staying with you." Kuroko didn't like the idea. "There is no way I'm going to let you get hurt by that creep!" "And there is no way I'm going to back down while you have to deal with a murderer!"
Kuroko saw that Mikasa wasn't going anywhere, so she grudgingly let her stay. At least we have one extra team member, she thought. She didn't get to relax though, because someone screamed as they heard wing beats over head. Looking up, Ruby was able to see it was the same monster they met only a few seconds before, only this time she had two friends with her.
They all landed in the middle of the courtyard, each holding a whip that looked like they could fry an Ursa. The one in the middle cackled with demented glee. "Soon sisters, we shall have the power of this masked man for ourselves. Then no one, not even that upstart Lance, will be able to stop us!" The other two cackled as they all cracked their whips. Everyone in the courtyard had retreated back to the dorms or the main building.
Ruby gulped in fear as she stared at the monsters. Her heart began to pound, her stomach felt light, but she was resolved to stopping them. However, before anyone could react, the three hags hissed at the rooftop to the building behind Ruby. She didn't want to look, but she forced herself to anyways. There, standing on the edge of the rooftop, was their culprit. He wore a slightly worn but official looking hooded coat/duster, a terrifying metal skull mask underneath his hood, with black pants tucked into a pair of knee length boots, a large sash running diagonal over his chest with a pistol at his side. He had his arms crossed, as if he was disappointed with the monsters.
He clenched his left hand into a fist, and one moment he's on the roof, and the next he's on the ground. His move made a slight WHOOSH sound as he appeared only a few yards away from Ruby and the group. The hag on the left screeched in delight as she used her wings to dash at the masked man, only to have him move out of the way and plant a gleaming sliver sword into her neck.
She dissolved into a gold dust, which left two monsters. The one on the right screeched, "Sister!" and did the same thing. This time, the sword collapsed, but as the monster flew past, the man grabbed it and tossed it down. He waited for it to stand back up before kicking it's knee from the side, and while it was going down, snapping its neck.
Only one monster remained, and she looked the angriest out of the three monsters. "You dare to kill the Furies!? I'll see that you suffer in Tartarus!" With that, she lashed her whip out at the man, but he did the same teleporting move and the whip hit open air. She whipped at him again, and again he teleported away.
When she reared back her arm for a third whip, the girl that they first heard about the masked man from tripped through a door. The monster saw this, grinned evilly, and lashed her whip at the girl. No one had time to move as the whip sailed straight for her. Just as it was about to make contact, the guy managed to somehow teleport to her, grab her by the hand, and teleport them both out of the way in less than a second. He ended up three feet away from Ruby, the girl in his arms and cowering in fear.
Either from being near the person that horrified her in the first place or from the monster almost killing her, Ruby didn't know. The man set her down slowly, then teleported by the monster's side, sword in hand, and tried to get it with a kidney stab. What no one expected was for the monster to do the same teleportation move and land only a few feet away from her attacker.
"Don't think you're the only one with that kind of move," she hissed as she lunged at him, teleporting in the process. She reappeared in front of him, and as she tackled him they both teleported away. Both reappeared about two feet away, clashed sword against claws, and teleported again, this time ending up near the center of the courtyard and the man going for a stab to the heart.
Another teleportation and they were two yards to the left, the monster's whip wrapped around the man's sword. As the fight continued on, Ruby's brain started to hurt from trying to catch up with the fight. Finally, after what seemed like hours, they teleported back into the middle of the courtyard, but the masked man sent a kick to the monster's stomach. It doubled over in pain as it fell to its knees and dropped its whip. The man stood over her, staring down at her with that lifeless, metallic skull mask. He lifted her chin up with his sword until she looked directly into his eyes, then he stabbed her through the head.
As she dissolved into dust, a faint screech could be heard before being blown away by the wind. The man was panting heavily, but he managed to stay on his feet. He looked over at Ruby, causing her to take a step back, and teleported by her side, placed a hand over her pocket, and teleported away.
Ruby stood there, frozen in both fear and confusion, for a total of ten seconds before she checked her pocket. She felt a small piece of paper. Pulling it out, Ruby saw it was a folded up note. She unfolded it, and read,
Meet me behind the dorms at midnight. Bring everyone one else along and I'll explain everything. "What does it say?" Kuroko asked. Ruby handed her the note, still wondering as too what just happened. When they note was passed to Yang, she looked up and said, "It's high time we get some answers."
Lance
As Lance waited behind the dorms, back in his normal Tokiwadi male uniform, he felt butterflies in his stomach. He was waiting for the girl to arrive so that he could explain, but at the same time he felt as if they were going to freak out and flip on him. Relax, Order said, once they know the truth they won't flip out on you. Lance ran a hand through his hair as he waited for the girls to arrive. Easy for you to say, you don't have to worry about them freaking out on you and shunning you, Lance retorted. Well I-, he never finished, because the girls had finally arrived.
Mikasa was the first to notice Lance. "Lance? Where were you today? You missed an incredible fight." Lance sighed as he tried to steady his nerves. "Well, you see… I didn't miss the fight." "What do you mean?" Yang asked. Here goes nothing, Lance thought as he once again twisted the top left dial on his watch until he heard three clicks and transformed back into his Dunwall attire, only this time the mask was already on his head.
The sight of Lance being the guy they were after stunned the girls. They stood there for a good five seconds before anyone reacted. Sadly, the first to react was Kuroko. "You mean to tell me that all this time, you were the murderer!?" Lance raised his hands quickly. "Wait, wait, it's not what you think." He took a deep breath before continuing.
"Remember yesterday, when that girl nearly set the Ghost Rider off? Well, in order to calm him down I promised him that I'd take him monster hunting once, whenever he wanted, so that he could eat a monster's soul. The nearest monster just happened to be in that fancy district over there, a dracanae, but it was apparently using the Mist to disguise itself as a student from this school."
Kuroko stood there with both confusion and relief on her face. "What's a dracanae?" Mikasa asked. "It's a snake woman, skin like a snake with two large snake tails for its legs and feet." "And what exactly is the Mist?" Saten asked. "The Mist is this Greek magic that hides everything magical, you know, monsters, demigod weapons, all that stuff, from mortal eyes. Some people are even strong enough to use it to bend a person's reality."
Ruby walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "But, why didn't you tell us before?" Everyone stopped their thoughts and listened in. Lance lowered his head. "I was afraid of you all freaking out and running away, thinking that I was a monster." He looked up to see Kuroko looking back at Mikasa, then to Saten, then to Uiharu, before looking back at Lance.
"We don't think you're a monster, Lance. But next time this happens, please, just let us know first." Lance nodded as he breathed a huge sigh of relief. That went better than expected, Lance thought. He began to smile under his mask, until Yang punched him in the back of his head. "AAAAHHH!" he shouted as he bent over from the pain. "That was for keeping this whole thing a secret." she said with an angry look.
Two seconds after, though, she was back to her original self. "Anyway, tomorrow you're going to tell us how you got those powers." Lance quickly nodded in response just to end this night. After Lance transformed back into his normal self and they were all in their dorms, Lance didn't even bother changing for bed. He just plopped down on his bed, and fell asleep.
AND THERE WE HAVE IT! ANOTHER CHAPTER DOWN! BOOYAH!
So remember to leave a comment, either as Guest or nor, and/or any suggestions on where Lance should head to and I will begin to work on it.
Also, as said before in Chapter Uno, this story will be put into both the A Certain Scientific Railgun and A Certain Magical Index (because I can't spell Japanese without butchering at least part of it) corssover sections. This was not a mistake.
Until next time: DEUCE!