And hello again! Two chapters in one day. Somewhere in a Virility factory in Limbo, there's a Dante asking "What the shitting Hell is this?" Well, maybe I'm over-exaggerating. But still, unheard of for those who know me. Thank you so much for the reviews, those of you who have done so, I was pretty nervous about publishing this but I'm glad (ecstatic, really) that you all like it. :)
As usual the sons of Sparda are (still) not mine, they're Capcom/Ninja Theory's. Shawn belongs to FFVII95, Keeley belongs to ThisKittyHasClaws94, Katelyn belongs to me.
Welcome to Hell~I mean Fortuna!
Chapter Three-Objectives
The possession, as promised, was painless. But he neglected to mention that it would feel awkward and like an out-of-body experience. Katelyn could see, hear, and smell like normal, but that was all she could do. A voluntary prisoner in her own body. The ghost controlled her arms and legs. As for her voice? She couldn't get access. Whatever happened after this, she wasn't sure if she was scared to know, or sacred for wanting to know.
Keeley rested against a crate, gripping her heavily injured arm in an attempt to staunch the bleeding. Taking a risk, she looked out from behind her cover to see their attacker was now focused on Shawn. She looked over at Katelyn to see the brunette stood somewhat limply before turning around. It was like she was a completely different person. Shawn ran over to Kate, who appeared to be looking herself over.
"Not what I'm used to…but it will suffice." The possessed girl muttered as Shawn ran from the Scarecrow. As the dark-haired male looked around, he noticed an iron crowbar lying on the ground a few yards off. Quickly, he changed course towards it, but then he tripped on his own feet as he dodged another attack. He hit the ground on his side, rolling the rest of the short distance to the discarded item. The Scarecrow got closer as Shawn took hold of the crowbar and swung it upwards to defend himself.
Then it began to glow to the point of blinding, making them all look away. When the light subsided, the crowbar was gone and a katana was in its place. He didn't have it for long, as the possessed Katelyn took it. Keeley blinked, looking over to where Kate was not even a minute ago as to where she was now. The one currently using her body seemed to be able to teleport. Shawn was too confused by the circumstances for the fact that his weapon was stolen to register. Kate swung the blade a few times experimentally before nodding.
"Adequate, for a first-time transmutation…" Their friend the Scarecrow finally got its head out its ass and restarted its attack. Shawn rolled away and Kate sidestepped, retaliating with a few blows of her own. Lowering the sword, the Scarecrow ruptured. Many cuts and gashes appeared on the fabric "skin" as dark clouds of insects poured out. The specter could feel his hold on her weaken as the stress and fatigue caught up with her.
"It is done; you'll regain control of your body within moments. We have more to discuss, but that is for another time." He purred, allowing his ethereal form to slip from hers. Kate's legs gave out from beneath her, making her collapse. Keeley got up and ran over as she began to dry-heave; Shawn did the same, crouching next to their struggling friend. After a few minutes, Kate managed to get her breathing under control and stand up. Staring blankly at the weapon in her hand, she spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.
"Kee, how bad is that wound?" Shawn stood up as he responded.
"From what I saw, it was pretty damn bad. Needs stitches bad." The raven-haired girl looked at her injured arm, masking her shock as she realized it was completely healed and just covered in blood.
"It looks worse than it is. I'll be fine." She assured them. By this point, the night was fully upon them. Streetlights went on, and the group's tension was back on the rise.
"Come on, let's get out of here. Who knows what's going to swoop in on us if we stick around longer than necessary?" Keeley continued. Kate chuckled a bit.
"Yeaaaaah…Swooping…is baaad." Handing the sword to Shawn, Kate began trying to walk. A flicker of blue was caught in her peripheral vision, making her look up. That ghost, the one who was in her not even five minutes ago, was calmly leaning against a wall under a streetlight. She made her way towards him, Shawn and Keeley following in haste. He waited for her, and once she was in earshot said
"Follow me; I know of a place the three if you can stay undetected." The three of them hustled to the door, opening it and quietly making their way into Fortuna's Residential District. Shawn watched as he followed his friend. In his point of view, Katie was hiding something. That wasn't like her. But there was no way he could call her out on it while she looked so focused on whatever was ahead of them. Then there was Keeley. He saw the Scarecrow's blade sink into her arm, it almost scratched the bone, yet she was walking around with that blood-drenched arm like it was normal. While he was on this tangent, he thought back to the blade he still carried. Last he checked, he grabbed a crowbar. Not a fucking katana.
"Here?" Kate asked, snapping Shawn out of his thoughts. They were in front of an abandoned-looking building, the brunette's hand resting on a brass doorknob. Gently twisting it, all three were surprised to see that it was unlocked.
"Methinks someone was expecting us…" Keeley muttered.
"Yeah. Come on, let's go in." Kate said tiredly. The door quietly shut behind them once they were inside, the streetlights barely giving them enough light to see they were in a simple hallway. Kitchen on the left, sitting room on the right, stairs going up straight ahead. Next to the kitchen and sitting room entrances were wall-mounted sconces. Katelyn's ghost-friend was leaning against the gray wall near the kitchen's sconce.
"Just a little further, Katie. I promise." He said, smirking. Kate scowled at him, grumbling some colorful things as she got closer. "I wonder what would happen if you pulled this?" he teased, reaching for the sconce with the full knowledge that he couldn't actually grab it. The exasperated brunette grabbed it, feeling it shift as she pulled down. A section of the wall near the stairs swung inward, revealing another stairway going down.
"Anyone who's played Assassin's Creed Three could tell you that much, jackass." She muttered darkly, using the wall for support as she continued to follow the ghost.
"Anyone got a flashlight?" Shawn asked.
"Check the kitchen drawer next to the fridge. Spare batteries are right next to it." The ghost directed. The tired brunette looked quizzically at the ghost.
"And you know this how? Never mind, I don't want to know…" she muttered, walking over to the drawer in question. There were two LED flashlights, a compact lantern (also LED), and a few packs of AA batteries. "Well that's useful…" Kate mused as she loaded the flashlights and lantern, and then pocketed the rest of the batteries.
"How did you…" Keeley began before Kate interrupted.
"Lucky guess." The ghost chuckled as she turned on the lantern. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" she grumbled.
"I'd be lying if I said I was completely unamused." He replied coyly. Handing the lantern to Shawn and a flashlight to Keeley, the brunette switched on the remaining flashlight and made her descent. It started off as a regular stairway, then it continued into an underground tower (for lack of better explanation). As the three looked down, they couldn't see the bottom.
"Well, let's keep going." Keeley said. Nodding, the party continued their trek. At the bottom of the shaft, there was a corridor.
"Corridors…I hate corridors." Shawn grumbled.
"Ditto, but we shouldn't have to worry about it for the time being." Kate assured them tentatively, staring at her ghost's back. The silver-haired phantom looked over his shoulder and smiled.
"Don't worry, it's just behind that door." He said. Sighing, Kate muttered
"You're smiling, that's reason enough to worry." Keeley and Shawn glanced at each other before pulling the third to a stop.
"Okay, be honest Kate. What's got you talking to the air? This isn't like you." Keeley asked in concern. Shawn joined in.
"Are you starting to see dead people Katie?" Kate scowled.
"Did you really have to ask that, Shawn? Listen you two, I'm fine. Scarecrow had me spooked, that's all. Frankly, I'm just following my instincts here." The slightly amused ghost stood by the door, listening. Even though it perturbed him to admit it, for his goals, the dead half-devil needed more than the human that he could control.
"Hurry up, Kate. There's something you'll need to see." He urged. Katelyn sighed, looking at her friends.
"Come on, let's see what's behind door number one, shall we?" she deadpanned. Walking forward, she placed a hand on the cedar door, sliding it down until it came to rest on the cold doorknob. It opened to a large room; empty, save for an intricate circle drawn in the center of the floor. The blue-clad ghost drifted to the circle and stood in its center. As the three teens drew closer, it began to glow. As he'd planned, the ghost began to visually manifest before the three.
He stood proudly with his arms crossed, his royal blue coat softly billowing in a nonexistent breeze with his silver hair slicked back.
"Ah shit, it's that Illusive Man you and Shawn love to make fun of…" Keeley said, pretending she didn't recognize the ghost before them.
"I'm not sure who this Illusive Man is, but that is not my name. Nor is it Charlie." He said, narrowing his glacial blue eyes at Katelyn. "My name is Vergil. And if you three are willing to listen, I have a proposition for you…"
Why do I feel like going "dundunduuuuuuuh" right about now? I dunno! Odds are, I won't post for a bit after this. Working on the next chapter, but I'm currently at a point where I'm just spinning my wheels. That, and I believe I mentioned the new DmC? You can expect a (maybe not so) short side-story involving these three and the new game at some point, but I'm not sure if I'll post it as a separate thing or just a filler chapter for this. Feel free to leave your suggestions and/or opinions in a comment or PM. See you guys later! :D