Hmmm... another chapter for all ye loyal fans out there! We got ships sailing at full speed and a bit of further character development... although pretty soon there'll be a bit of pirating going on.
LOOK OUT! HERE COMES JAEGER THE PIRATE!
Jaeger with no helmet and an eye-patch suddenly comes out of nowhere at the helm of a pirate sloop.
"Don't worry! I'll save you!" Josh happily calls, swinging from the masts of a solid gold galleon. He jumps and grabs onto a rope, swings over to Jaeger's ship and kicks him in the side of the head. "ULTIMATE WINGMAN SAVES THE DAY!"
"That was... interesting"
"Oooh! Am I going to be a 4th wall breaking character!" Josh hoped... looking up at the writer in the sky.
"Umm... no"
And with that, Josh's dreams were crushed forever...
Naughtbeast
Chapter 29:
Hmmm… coffee is definitely delicious…
Demon was currently sitting at the qaint little coffee shop that he had went to for his birthday and was drinking a large mocha with a caramel shot, Rosaline sitting opposite him drinking a cappuccino and a lemon tart in front of her. He had spent the entire afternoon helping her with her combat homework, analysing the counters for different fighting styles. After that, he had gotten changed into the outfit he had worn for the dance and took Rosaline to the coffee shop, sitting in a nice quiet corner and ordering their drinks. The had been sitting here, casually drinking his coffee, while Rosaline asked him hundreds upon hundreds of questions about everything, which he was all too happy to answer. They had stopped talking for a bit when Rosaline began to dig into her lemon tart, when Kalazar decided to make himself known to Demon.
"We have a problem…"
And what would that be?
"This girl… she is different… yet similar to our predicament…"
What?
"I can't quite tell just yet but I can sense a strange presence within her… but it is weak… almost as if it is dormant…"
And that could mean?
"You may have more in common with this person than you thought..."
So what should I do?
"You could actually talk to her"
What? Won't it be a bit weird suddenly asking her out of nowhere?
"Not about that… all you've done is answer questions about yourself… ask her some, you dumbass"
Since when did you care?
"It has been too long since I've bathed in blood… laughing at you failing miserably at your mortal attempts at romance is funny and all… but the quicker we get it done, the closer we are to actually killing people again!"
Is killing the only thing you ever think about?
"No… I think about how I'm going to kill, who I'm going to kill and what I'm going to kill them with… and the face they'll make when they realise they have no hope… so no, I don't only thing about killing things…"
That… is literally… exactly what I said
"No it's not… thinking about killing is just plain psychopathic… this is different!"
Oh I wish you would enlighten me as to how!
"Unlike a psychopath, I only kill because it makes me stronger and I'm eliminating the taints that cover this dimension. A psychopath, on the other hand, kills for the fun of it… granted, I do find it fun to kill, I have ulterior motives…"
I'm not even going to bother arguing…
"Smart plan… now you might want to get back into reality, the female has finished her meal"
Demon snapped back into consciousness and found his eyes focused on the confused face of Rosaline as she was staring at him intently.
"Umm… Is something wrong?"
"You phased out for like a minute… is something wrong?" she asked, her voice full of concern.
"No it's fine… so I was wondering, why exactly did you join the IMC?"
"Well… my father was the reason why I joined. He complained all throughout my life saying that I wasn't doing anything with it and I needed to get out and explore the world. When I found out that my uncle was part of the IMC I thought of no better way to do that then to join the army. I went to the nearest recruiting agency and signed up and before long I was shipped out. I completed basic training, but before I could, some douche commander asked me to clean his entire room and when I asked why he simply accused me of back-talking and sent me off to the most remote IMC controlled refuelling station, the one that you just so happened to stumble upon"
"I see… well what was your life like before then?"
"I have two sisters, both around 4 years old and my father and uncle are the only other family I have. My mum died when she gave birth to my youngest sister…" her face filling with sadness as she remembered her mother.
"It's alright" consoled Demon, rubbing her shoulders to release the stress, receiving a thanking smile from the girl "I lost my closest family when I was 6 and my cousins were all killed during a botched mission during my first week in the war… even though I found out that they are alive, it was still painful living through 13 years of my life without them…"
"Yea… even though my family's still alive I've lost a couple of my close friends to the war…"
"That would probably have been me…" he deadpanned, looking down a bit in regret.
"Stop" she simply said, confusing Demon completely. He tilted his head to the side a bit, not sure how to respond. "You need to stop feeling sad for yourself… stop thinking about the people you killed, you have a new life now… a fresh start… use it to forget about your past and become a different person"
"There is a reason why I remember them…"
"And what would that be?"
"Because I can't remember them…"
She tried to comprehend what he was saying, thinking of any ways that it could make logical sense, not coming to a conclusion.
"Ummm… what?"
"I can't remember the faces of people I've killed… no matter what, even if I was staring them right in the eyes when it happened… I just can't physically remember them… that's the reason why I try to re-live the killings as often as possible, hoping that I can actually remember the people I've killed and find closure"
She was speechless. She wasn't sure if he was lying or not… how could someone just forget a person they've killed… yet he sounded like it was all too real for him.
"Ummm… so what happens when you try to remember"
"All I see are blank faces… but only on the people I've killed. People could be dying all around me but only those that I killed with my own hand don't have a face"
"That's… creepy"
"I've been getting therapy for it… but all it is equivalent to is an hour of remembering blank faces"
"Umm… I'm sorry but I have literally no idea what to do here… I'm kinda unversed in what to do now…"
"That's fine… not even a professional had the slightest of ideas where to start" Suddenly an idea came to his mind… something that would help him collect closure… or more accurately… someone.
"Rosaline, there might be something you could do… although we can't exactly do it here. Coffee to go?"
He received a nod from a slightly confused Rosaline and poured their drinks into two take-away cups before paying the waiter. He thought of somewhere where he could do what he needed… somewhere where he could sit un-moving for a while without being interrupted and where he wouldn't be heard… because it was going to hurt remembering the memories. Suddenly another idea snapped in his mind and he knew exactly where to go. It was around 5 in the afternoon and the sun was just setting, a dark orange glow coating the town. He went over to his motorcycle, newly dubbed 'Cerberus', and chugged down his coffee knowing that he would probably get arrested for driving with one hand, getting into the driver's seat as he chucked the cardboard cup into the nearest bin. Rosaline got on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, still holding the coffee in her hands.
Demon ignited the engine, hearing the delicious revving of the metal beast, gunning the engine as soon as it settled down. Rosaline squealed as he did a small wheelie and sped off down the street, Demon just grinning and relishing the thrill. He eventually wound his way to a very familiar place to him… Junior's bar. The thumping music of the nightclub could be heard a solid block away and Demon was happy that is was open. He parked his bike and noticed something which made him laugh a lot… Bumblebee was parked there.
"Welp… looks like I'm going to have to break my promise" he mused.
"Huh?" asked Rosaline, not knowing what he meant.
"Well, that bike there is Yang's… and it looks like she brought company" he noted, gesturing to the second helmet that was sitting on the bike.
"Ok then?" Rosaline replied, drinkin/g the last of her coffee and chucking it in a bin nearbly.
"Come on, let's do this"
He walked into the bar and was greeted by one of Junior's goon, nodding to the man, as he walked over to where the bar was. Junior saw him and waved him over, a slight scowl on his face which turned to relief when Demon came over.
"Hey there, wasn't expecting you back here but I kinda need to ask a favour, who's the girl by the way?" Junior asked, gesturing to Rosaline.
"I was going to ask for a favour as well and this girl is my date"
Junior looked her up and down, seeing just how young she was, and looking back to Demon, seriously questioning him.
"Isn't she a bit young?"
"I'm 19…" Demon deadpanned, crushing Juniors suspicions. "Now the favour you wanted?"
"Ahh yes… you're from Beacon aren't you? Well I need help with 'removing' someone from my bar"
"Don't you have bouncers or something?"
"Yes, but the last time we tried I had to spend around 5000 lien just repairing the damages"
"Oooo… that's gotta suck! So who do you want me to tell nicely to leave"
Junior pointed to a certain blonde brawler that was currently dancing in the middle of the dance floor with a certain near-insane explosion-loving pilot. Demon immediately began laughing and Junior was completely confused, until Demon all too happily cleared it up for him.
"Now why would I tell my sister to leave a club that I just arrived in?"
"Your… sister?" he stumbled, slamming his head on the table, not liking the idea that there were two of them.
"Don't worry… just don't piss her off on her date night and everything should be fine, if you need any consolation I won't be destroying anything. I just need to borrow a back room for a couple of minutes…"
Junior immediately raised his eyebrows and looked between Demon and Rosaline a couple of times, not really sure about their request. When Demon saw this, he immediately realised how wrong it sounded and cursed Juniors sick mind.
"That is NOT what it is for!" he cleared up, giving Junior a death stare, making the man back up a bit.
"Sorry, but that wouldn't be the first time someone asked for that…" he turned to one of his goons and told him a few things before turning back to Demon. "Follow Jack here and he'll show you to a room you can use… and don't be lying about what you're doing" he deadpanned, giving Demon a hard look.
"You're paranoid… but thanks" Demon nodded, following the goon as he led them to the back of the club. As they were walking, Rosaline lent up to his ear and whispered to him "What was he talking about back there with the whole suspicious looks thing?" Demon simply replied with "Ahh… the innocence of ignorance… I'll tell you when you're older" She huffed and followed him until they made it to the room. The goon opened the door and Demon was glad with Juniors selection. It was quint with a couch and a large television screen and an arm-chair. Demon dismissed the goon and went in, Rosaline following and he locked the door behind them.
"So… what do you need?" she asked, not really knowing what to do.
"Well… I was told by my therapist that if I specifically focused absolutely all my mind on remembering the faces then I might be able to remember them… I haven't been able to do that at all but I might be able to now"
"Umm… ok then… so what do you need me for?"
"Emotional support" he joked, receiving a punch in the side.
"I need someone to be here while I do is so that I don't accidentally kill myself while it happens"
"WHAT!"
"My therapist said that if I ever did remember then it wouldn't just be slow… it would just come in one giant tidal wave of memories… and judging by the amount of people I've killed it won't be pretty"
"Ummm…"
"All you need to do is shoot me in the knee or something if I get out of control" he said, acting as if it was as simple as pushing a button.
"SHOOT YOU!" she screamed, the music in the background drowning out her feminine voice to dull it to normal talking volume.
"Yup… now do you want to do this or not?" he asked, doubt beginning to creep into Demon's mind.
"Ummm… if it will help you then yes" she nodded, determination crossing her features.
Demon nodded, thanking her, before he laid down on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest ready for what was to come, Rosaline taking a seat in the arm-chair and dragging it over so she was directly next to him.
Ok… Kalazar!
"What? I was just thinking of how funny it would be if we choked Yang to death with her own hair!"
That's never happening and I need your help with something…
"And what would that be?"
I can't remember the faces of the people I've killed…
"So you want me to make you remember?"
Exactly…
"Well I can… mainly because I'm the reason why you can't remember"
WHAT!
"I store the memories of those we've killed to capture them in the last moments of their lives… It's actually quite ceremonial as they probably didn't get a burial"
Well I need to remember them…
"You'll go insane with the influx of knowledge"
Meh…
"Really? Is that all you have to say?"
It would be worse if I lived the rest of my life without seeing them…
"Well I personally don't want to be the only thing in this weak body of yours… it would be sad to be mortal"
Stop complaining… you're either doing it or I stab myself again…
"You do realise what that does?"
Nope…
"It creates a negative feedback loop… I siphon the energy of those we kill… so when you stab us, I siphon energy from us on top of the damage the blade would do which just results in no fun for either of us"
Well… it works well as a bargaining chip…
"Touché"
Kalazar finally gave in to Demon and began the memory restoral, giving him back the memories of those he killed while shutting him inside his own mind to reduce outside interference. On the outside, he was already sweating, although he was cold, while he was shaking all over from the sudden flood of memories. His mind was trying to comprehend what was happening and didn't give a crap about the rest of his normal functions, causing his breathing to be shallow and fast and his heart rate increased to one that would probably challenge Velvet's own rabbit-fast pace, spasms racking his body as it continued.
The memories flooded through his mind at a million miles per hour but he could clearly see the faces of the people he had killed, faces of pain, sadness, fear or just plain acceptance. He saw men and woman, all of them wearing IMC gear, yet he still felt sadness and regret for them, knowing that they still probably had people that cared about they yet he ripped them from this world.
Back in the real world, Rosaline was getting very worried for Demon. The only skin she could see on him was between his neck guard and his mask and that was drenched with sweat, his body convulsing under the constant pain of whatever was happening to him. She was watching him closely and failed to notice his left arm reaching over to grab the knife that was sheathed at her thigh. When she heard the casual 'shink' of the blade coming free, she panicked and kicked his hand, causing him to drop the knife and instead try to cut out his throat with the sharp ends of his bladed gauntlets. He clawed around his neck, continuously trying to get at his windpipe, while Rosaline sat there in mute horror as this happened. She finally snapped out of her state and grabbed both his arms, surprised that she actually had enough strength to pull them away. When she did, she felt no resistance but the efforts would not cease. He continuously tried to pull them back up but she wouldn't let him and pinned both his arms to his chest by sitting on them, knowing she wouldn't be able to hold him any other way.
Back inside his mind, Demon was continuing to view the victims of his life, when suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a voice intruding his mind… although it wasn't Kalazar.
"So… the murderer is finally seeing those that he caused so much pain to over the years"
Demon didn't respond and continued to look over the memories, hoping it would be over soon. As he continued watching, he noticed something a bit strange about some of the memories. Instead of Demon being level with them, the memories showed the people looking 'up' in fear… not level. He wouldn't have killed them while he was on a building or something, that would have meant they were further away… no, these photos showed Demon to be at least two times the size of some of these pilots… but how was that possible? These strange memories became less common after some time until they eventually faded and he re-lived all the other memories.
"Hmm… you do not feel remorse when you kill… you just murder… you're just like Kalazar" the voice accused, filling his head with its voice.
Demon was continuing to re-live them when he suddenly realised something… the voice was right.
I am a murderer… I was always one… I won't try to justify my actions anymore… I must accept the consequences and live through them… you're right whoever you are… I am just like Kalazar… because we are one and the same… we are both Demons
Demon didn't hear anything from the voice and re-lived the last of the memories before finally finishing them all, his mind being free of the intrusions of the memories being re-filled. The voice of Kalazar once again filled his mind, giving him something to hold on to in the infinite blackness of his unconscious mind.
"So… it appears you're not insane… that's a better result than I hoped for"
Hoped for?
"I had hoped that I would at least become in control of your body so I could actually kill people after so long… unfortunately that didn't happen"
Can't you just take control of me?
"You are mistaken… I can only take control when you grant me access or you are in moments where your will is very weak… only then can I assist you in your plights"
Noted… well can you get me back to reality thanks… Rosaline will probably kill me for this
"I shall talk later Hawk…"
See you later asshole!
Demon groggily awoke and opened his eyes to see Rosaline staring at his face through his mask with a look of worry on her face. That was normal at least… until he realised she was sitting on him. He moved a bit underneath her and she just kept sitting there.
"I'm back to normal" he spoke a bit hoarsely, causing her to quickly jump off and Demon sat back up. Demon went back over everything he saw and was glad that it happened… now he could move on.
"Thank you Rosaline… I needed that" he said, tears falling from behind his mask, knowing he could finally come to terms with his actions. She nodded and went over, hugging him to make him feel better. When he was in the embrace, he felt calm… at home… peaceful. It was basically the opposite of every day he was in the army and he loved it. They broke of and Demon decided to do something he thought he would never do… something that he would probably punch himself later for… but if this was going to continue she needed to know. He slowly reached up and disconnected the straps at the back of his helmet, Rosaline looking very alarmed.
"What are…"
She didn't have time to finish before he fully pulled it off, flicking his hair to get it out of the pressed-back look when he wore a helmet. She stared at his face for a few seconds, Demon's gut dropping as he thought of what she would say about his eyes.
"You… have… nice eyes" she finally spoke, smiling as she did.
Demon was completely taken back by this… something must be wrong. He quickly looked around for a mirror and settled with the blade of his knife… then he saw something that made him lost for words. His eyes were no longer fully blood red anymore. He had pupils again as well as an iris and the surrounding white. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was that his right eye was silver while his left was red, but only in the iris. A tear of joy came from his eye and he couldn't believe that this was actually happening. He sheathed the blade and ran over, hugging Rosaline as hard as he could and lifting her into the air as well.
"THANK YOU SO MUCH!" he chided, happily spinning her in the air.
"Your crushing me" she managed to choke out before he guiltily put her back on the ground. "Why are you thanking me?"
"Let's just say that my eyes weren't normally like this"
"What? With two colours?"
"Just imagine a Grimm and stick its eyes on me… it's a side effect of constant stim usage but I thought it was irreversible… apparently not"
"Ummm… you're welcome?"
He hugged her one last time before he re-attachd his mask, once again being enclosed in its cool embrace. He went over to the door, opened it, walking back into the club with Rosaline follow him. He walked back over to Junior and found him staring at the dance floor once again, although this time there were two girls beside him, one red and the other white. Demon walked over and chucked him 100 lien, the man not even noticing it and allowing it to hit him in the side of the head.
"What!" he almost shouted, an angry look crossing his face until he laid eyes on Demon. "Sorry there… finished with the room?"
"Yep… thanks by the way. So what's got you distracted?"
He pointed to the dance floor and Demon saw Yang and Tempest dancing together, their faces filled with happiness.
"I still don't like the idea that she's in here… it was… 'painful' the last time" he stated, wincing when he remembered her grabbing his manly parts and nearly crushing them.
"Don't worry, I got this…" reassured Demon, beckoning for Rosaline to follow. He was halfway across the dance floor towards Yang when she saw him and her face turned sour, flipping the bird at him trying to tell him to piss off. Demon, of course, ignored her completely and went up to both of them. Tempest turned to him, but didn't look that bothered at all.
"Hey man! What brings you here?"
"Oh… I was just riding around town with Rosaline when we saw Bumblebee and decided to check in on you two"
"So you knew?" Temest questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Yup… I overheard you two talking at breakfast… it was honestly by coincidence that I ended up here though, I only knew that you were going out, not where you were going"
"Ok then…" Tempest conceded, turning back to see Yang still staring with a death-glare at Demon. "Umm… hello Yang?"
"Piss off Demon! I'm having a good time and you're not interrupting"
"Hey! I'm just here to help you two out! Just a tip… if you want to have a good night and not end up in the morning with a splitting headache… get back to Beacon and let Tempest cook for you! It'll be like the first date flower thing except better… because I can guess he sure as hell didn't get you flowers"
"Tempest… cook?" Yang tried to contemplate the idea, wondering how in high hell Tempest would be able to cook good food.
"Trust me… everything else will taste like shit after you've had a steak made by him!" Demon announced, the idea still not sounding anywhere near the realms of possibility.
"HELL YES! LET'S GET COOKING!" Tempest happily cheered, grabbing Yang by the arm, but not before she could whisper into Demon's ear "If this turns out to be shit… you're dead"
"Wouldn't expect it any other way…" he happily replied, looking forward to everyone's faces when they tasted Tempest's food. "So Rosaline, would you like to accompany me back to Beacon"
"It would be my pleasure" she replied, smiling once again. They both walked out, Demon waving to Junior and receiving a smile and nod of thanks in return.
Ahh… Tempest's cooking… something that sounds like you've been put on the highway heading straight to hell… oh, the faces they'll make when they taste it… but until then…
"Hey Demon…" Rosaline casually interrupted his thoughts, brushing aside a piece of hair that was on her face.
"Yup…"
"You know about the flower thing…" she began, hoping that he would get the idea. Demon just reached behind his back and when he pulled his hand back, he was holding a massive bouquet of roses, which he promptly handed to Rosaline, a blush coming over her face.
"How did you do that?"
"Magic!" he replied, waving his hands around in the air like he was a wizard. Rosaline just giggled a bit before heading for the door after Yang and Tempest. Demon made it to Cerberus and jumped on, turning on the engine and waiting for Rosaline to get back on.
"Hey Yang! Race you there!" he challenged, revving his engine.
"You're on! Just so you know I made sure to boost this baby's speed by 125%"
"That's cute…" he replied, receiving a fierce look and Yang gunning the engine at top speeds with Tempest on the back shouting in joy.
Hmmm… I should probably give them a headstart…
He waited for around a minute, Rosaline just about to ask why he wasn't going, when her voice was interrupted by Demon suddenly gunning the engine, doing another wheelie and speeding off after them. Rosaline was squealing again, crushing Demon's chest as he sped off down the road, the man just laughing in joy.
Let's burn rubber baby!
